Recent Articles

PIANO PERFORMANCE. Pianist Solomon Eichner will appear in concert at Cherry Hill beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 29. The performance will be followed by a reception in the 1858 plantation house in Inez. Admission will be taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted at no charge. Eichner, a native of Baltimore, graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the University of South Carolina. He debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2016 and has performed across the United States and Europe.

First, a confession. I really did comb through the county's proposed 2022-23 fiscal year budget looking for something positive.
And I failed.
Miserably. The budget was downright depressing, partly for what it proposes to do but also for what it totally ignores, like a future source of adequate water.
The most shocking line item in the budget -- well, actually there were two -- but let's first focus on a $2 million give-away of your tax dollars.

Back in October, I wrote a column about who you had to know or where you had to go to get some alcohol, particularly, liquor.
It was a month after my boss wrote a cool feature story about retired ATF agent Johnny Binkley, whose book, Moonshiners & Revenuers, paints a pretty vivid picture of the colorful 1960s through early 1990s of Franklin County's illegal whiskey-soaked past.

WELCOME. Franklin County Department of Aging held its Senior Spring Day, May 10 at Riverbend Park, Louisburg. Above, attendees receive a welcome and review of the Older Americans Month Proclamation from Franklin County Assistant Manager Will Doerfer.

Carolyn Peters, Senior Center Staff and Michael Patterson from the Kerr-Tar Area Agency on Aging

Members of the Louisburg Senior Center learned about strawberry farming from Sue Leggett at Strawberry City in Nashville. They had fresh strawberry ice cream that is made daily, and picked their own strawberries to take home. Pictured above, Jean Lloyd (left) and Martha Stallings enjoy fresh homemade ice cream.

Seniors may have more time for leisure and recreation than working adults, and the summer months provide ample opportunities to get active.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults age 65 and older get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. There are plenty of ways for active seniors to meet this exercise goal and have some fun along the way. The following are good starting points:

Lorenzo Stancil to sing anthem at upcoming state Special Olympics games

CASTALIA, NC--Louis Walton Bobbitt Jr. died May 16, 2022 at his home. Louis was born on August 15, 1930 in Castalia, NC. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Ella Yvonne Bobbitt Cornwell, his father, LW Bobbitt, Sr. and mother, Ella Johnson Bobbitt, his sisters, infant Dorothy Bobbitt, Lurlene Bobbitt and Jaunita Bobbitt Smith, and a nephew.

CASTALIA, NC--Delton Nelms, 84, of Castalia and the Red Bud Community passed away Wednesday, May 18, 2022. He was born June 9, 1937 in Franklin County, to the late George Allen Nelms and Hettie Davis Nelms. In addition to his parents, Delton was preceded in death by his five brothers, Melvin Nelms, Clemon Nelms, Ensley Nelms, T.O. Nelms and Lloyd Nelms and his sister, Veryl N. Wood.

ZEBULON, NC -- Gabriel Robert Cribb, 16, of Zebulon, died May 18, 2022, along with his twin brother, Garrett, in a tragic automobile accident.

ZEBULON, NC -- Garrett Lee Cribb, 16, of Zebulon, died May 18, 2022, along with his twin brother, Gabriel, in a tragic automobile accident.

LOUISBURG, NC - Christopher Loyd Johnston, 43, of Louisburg, died Friday night.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Graveside services for Joe Kearney, age 73, who died on Monday, May 23, 2022, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 29, 2022 from the Coley-Kearney Family Cemetery in Castalia.

ZEBULON - Luis Miguel Santiago Franco, 20, of Zebulon, died Saturday morning at his home.

Thomas Lynn Howell, 83, of Rolesville, died Thursday, May 19, 2022 at WakeMed Raleigh. A native of Franklin County, he was the son of the late Arthur Leon Howell and Elsiephine Fuller Howell Wright.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Elizabeth Harris Brown, age 93, who died on Friday, May 20, 2022, will be held 12 p.m., Saturday, May 28, at from the Jones Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Jones Chapel Church Cemetery.

Franklinton, NC -- Funeral services for Roxie Mae Lynch Ward, age 90, who died on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, will be held 3 p.m., Sunday, May 22, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Dazalle Vines Kearney officiating. Burial will follow in the Lynch Family Cemetery.

LOUISBURG -- If results hold, residents in District 3 will have a new representative on the Board of Education -- an election which saw two teachers added to the county school board.
Otherwise, incumbents maintained their hold in local primaries. And November's sheriff's race is set.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners will get their first chance today to analyze and tweak a budget that proposes to add new employees, raise salaries and lower the tax rate.
It also cuts into the school system's operating request by just more than $1.3 million.