Recent Articles

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Firefighters Association is set to host its annual 9/11 Observance.
The event was cancelled last year because of COVID-19 restrictions, but the association is set to host once again this Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Franklin County Courthouse steps.

LOUISBURG -- Work to widen U.S. 401 from Wake County to the Royal community in Franklin County will continue with $10 million in bond funds.
Last week, State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced the release of $252.6 million in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle [GARVEE] Bonds to maintain or accelerate a number of transportation projects, including U.S. 401.

LOUISBURG -- A Franklinton woman who is suing a landlord over a bat infestation has moved.
The lawsuit remains pending.
In June, Superior Court Judge Alma S. Hinton approved a consent order that would relocate Sharon Jones and her family into a bat-free apartment.
The judge's order required Academy Village and its parent operation, One Management Inc., to relocate Jones and her family to a satisfactory unit by June 30.

STEAM Camp volunteer Jonathan Correa

If you stick around long enough you're likely to learn something -- and one of those examples was in last week's edition.
Who would have thought of a regatta in Louisburg where our biggest body of water is the shallow, usually muddy and almost completely ignored Tar River?
But leave it to the Boy Scouts as they and their leaders figured out a way to have a regatta -- and I don't think they even used Tar River water, let alone the river itself.

Like a lot of folks last weekend, I was flipping through channels as football season began in earnest for many colleges and high schools.
It was an Aug. 29 matchup between perennial high school powerhouse IMG Academy and a fairly new entry, Bishop Sycamore, that prompted me to put down the remote and glimpse some future stars.

LOUISBURG -- County commissioners adopted a policy that will guide how the county maintains its vehicle fleet.
The policy, among other things, outlines the process by which vehicles are purchased; their appearance, including consistently located and designed county logos; their schedule of maintenance, including more real time accounting of miles and service histories; and transparent plans for replacing vehicles or re-distributing them through county departments.

ROCKY MOUNT-- When assessing how the Big East Conference volleyball standings were going to shake up this fall, it was easy and convenient to point toward Franklin County.
After all, that area has more of a spike tradition than Nash County, and Franklinton has been a force in the Big East over the past four campaigns.

LOUISBURG -- Better late than never for the Louisburg High School football team.
Week One of the gridiron campaign saw the Warriors' undertake a predetermined bye. But in the next week, LHS' scheduled game was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns from its opponent.

LELAND -- Talk about a last-minute football marriage -- that was certainly what happened last Friday when Bunn traveled to, of all places, North Brunswick for a non-conference gridiron showdown that hadn't even been scheduled until that morning.
Both Bunn and NB had seen their prospective opponents cancel due to COVID-19 concerns. So the Wildcats gathered a few buses and made the trip to Leland for an impromptu meeting between two clubs that knew nothing about each other -- aside from a playoff meeting several years ago.

RALEIGH -- North Carolina State University's two-headed backfield tandem appears to be stronger than ever -- at least judging by the results from the Wolfpack's regular season opener last Thursday against South Florida.
Franklin County's Ricky Person (Heritage) and Nash County's Zonovan 'Bam' Knight (Southern Nash) combined for a whopping 327 total yards of offense to go with four touchdowns as the Wolfpack roared to an impressive 45-0 decision over the Bulls at historic Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Bunn High School's Keagan Osika rises up for a kill Tuesday evening against volleyball rival Franklinton.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County' health department is preparing for a three-headed monster: Renewed COVID-19 testing, preparing to roll out thousands of booster shots and navigating an unrelated Medicaid transformation.
The question of how long the health department and the county is mired in this pandemic is up to the public, said Franklin County Health Director Scott LaVigne.

YOUNGSVILLE, NC -- Funeral services for Jonathan Kearney, age 64, who died on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, will be held on Monday, September 13, 2021 at 1 p.m. from the Union Grove Baptist Church in Youngsville with Pastor Samuel T. Tunstall officiating.

Rudolph G. Bunn, 87, of Zebulon, died September 1, 2021 surrounded by his loving family after a period of declining health.

LOUISBURG, NC-- Evelyn Marie Smith Pernell, age 87, died September 1, 2021. Born March 27, 1934, she was the daughter of the late James Wiley Smith and Lucy Tharrington Smith.

LOUISBURG, NC--Dorothy Jean Perry, 76, of Louisburg, died Sunday afternoon, September 5, 2021.

CREEDMOOR, NC -- Annette Tharrington Blacknall, 59, of Creedmoor, NC, daughter of the late John Ed and Marie B. Tharrington was born November 20, 1962 in Granville County and on August 29, 2021.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for James Haywood "Carpet Man" Foster, age 90, who died on Sunday, September 5, 2021, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, September 12, 2021 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Lucy Alston officiating. Burial will follow in the Foster Family Cemetery.

ALERT, NC -- Troy D. Eddie, age 41, died Friday, September 3, 2021.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Walter L. Hayes, age 72, who died on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 11, 2021 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Douglas Harris officiating. Burial will follow in the Haywood Church Cemetery.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Pastor Nino Akridge, age 47, who died on Monday September 6, 2021, will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 11 a.m. from the Nelson Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Micha Mason officiating. Burial will follow in the Nelson Chapel Church Cemetery.