Recent Articles

That was one ugly storm!
Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as bad as the Raleigh TV prognosticators breathlessly forecast for days -- but it was more than enough for me.
Out our way in Greater Metropolitan Mapleville, we got maybe quarter of an inch of ice on trees and shrubs and about that much plus a light dusting of snow on the ground.
It's what is normally called a "wintery mix" of precipitation -- and it was enough to shut down much of Franklin County on Saturday evening and through Sunday.

To say that January 2026 has pretty much slid past us like Bobby Drake dashing down an ice slide is an understatement.
While there have been days where endless ice storm forecasts may have made it seem like January was taking forever, in reality, we say goodbye to the first month of 2026 on Saturday.
Then, February starts and, in a few weeks, early voting for the spring primary starts.
That's right, because nothing says turning on the heat like the potential for primary battles during a mid-term election ... especially in today's political climate.

Dear editor: I am writing to applaud you, our Editor, for your recent work of historical fiction appearing in the "My Turn" column of the January 15, 2026 edition of The Franklin Times. You titled your opinion piece, "Those who go looking for trouble, often create it!"
As a retired law enforcement officer with 25 years of local and federal experience, I respectfully take issue with your simplistic view of law enforcement officers in general and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in particular.

Dear editor: After J.D. Vance announced last week that ICE agents have "absolute immunity," it was almost inevitable that more killings would follow.
ICE thugs murdered 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a VA ICU nurse, in the street after he tried to help a woman whom agents had shoved to the ground.
Trump officials, who lie like the rest of us breathe, immediately tried to justify the execution, just as they did after Renee Good was murdered, but their lies are contradicted by video and sworn affidavit testimony.

Franklinton, NC -- Funeral services for Towanda R. Bobbitt, age 62, who died on Thursday, January 8, 2026, will be held on Saturday, January 31, at 11 a.m. from the Mitchner's Grove Baptist Church in Louisburg, NC.

FRANKLINTON, NC -- Carrie Bell Kearney Brodie, 95, of Franklinton, was born July 27, 1931, in Franklinton, North Carolina, to the late Vincent Levi Kearney and Ruth Parrish Kearney. She died January 14, 2026, at her home.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Napoleon "Nay" Livingston, age 82, who died on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, will be held at 12 p.m. Thursday, January 29, from the Perry's Missionary Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Randolph Alston officiating.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Charles Douglas Gill, age 77, who died on Friday, January 23, 2026, will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, from the Allen Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Stanley Dunston, eulogist and Rev. M. Rose Gill, officiating. Burial will follow in the Allen Chapel Church Cemetery.

CASTALIA, NC -- Bobby Leonard Murphy, 87, of Castalia, passed away Wednesday morning at Brekenridge Retirement Center in Rocky Mount.

SPRING HOPE, NC -- Lisa Jo Harris Byrd, 62, of Spring Hope passed amongst family and friends on January 22, 2026.

BUNN, NC -- Judy Chamblee Medlin, 83, of Bunn, passed away Friday evening, January 23, 2026 at Transitions Life Care.

EBULON, NC -- Bobby Glenn Perry, 87, of Zebulon, passed away on Saturday, January 24th, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

What better time is there to share God's love than Christmas, and that's what Community Cares was blessed to be able to do -- in nearly triple form!
Community Cares is a local group of caring individuals from Franklin County formed in 2023 to address food insecurity of students attending Franklin County Schools, with a priority to serve students identified as Homeless through the McKinney Vento Act.
With the vision that no child should be hungry for nutrition or hygiene needs to achieve their full academic and social potential, one goal of Community Cares is to provide supplemental food and hygiene products to students four times a year during extended breaks from the school calendar.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners and staff committed to addressing public input on a development.
During the public comments portion of the board's Jan. 5 meeting, (335) Gardenbrook Lane resident Benjamin Quinn questioned the board about a 123-unit mobile home development off nearby Ferrells Bridge Road.
He was particularly interested in six matters regarding the development that's near the Tar River:

LOUISBURG -- We Shall Overcome was more than the gospel sung during the NAACP's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Monday -- marking the 40th anniversary of the federal holiday.
It's "the theme," said the Rev. Dr. Eric Mansfield, who delivered the address inside St. Paul Presbyterian Church.
And, it's a message that needs to be delivered now, more than ever, he said.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- County agencies are coordinating safe passage for Buddhist monks as their Walk For Peace is slated to pass through Franklin County -- as early as next week.
Franklin County Emergency Management Director Nicholas Thorpe said authorities are anticipating the news-making group to arrive here on Jan. 26.
Thorpe said the county's emergency service partners -- the sheriff's office, Louisburg police, Franklin County EMS and public information staff -- are working with their colleagues in Raleigh and Rolesville to "coordinate escort plans and transfers as they enter and move through Franklin County."

FRANKLINTON -- Town commissioners cleared the way for a nearly 20-acre development that will eventually grow the town.
And, they amended downtown regulations to allow for digital signs when they met Tuesday night.
First, commissioners took a series of actions that will allow for the buildout of Maple Ridge Subdivision -- a 34-single family home and 86-townhome housing development at Lane Store and Cedar Creek roads that sits within the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

RALEIGH -- A Louisburg man was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison for distributing child sex abuse material.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Jan. 13 that U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced William Justin Lewis to more than 17 years in federal prison for distributing the material online.
Lewis was charged with distributing child sexual abuse material and possessing child sexual abuse material.

KITTRELL -- A Franklin County man is slated to appear in court next week after deputies charged him with stabbing a woman.
Geoffrey Richard Hunt, 27, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury following the Jan. 16 evening incident.
According to published reports and court documents, deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call on Rising Sun Lane, in the Kittrell area of Franklin County.
They found a woman identified as Destiny Ladd suffering from a kitchen knife wound.

LOUISBURG -- Police arrested a Franklinton man on drug trafficking charges.
Antuann Lamont Green, 39, was charged with two counts of trafficking in cocaine.
According to court documents, Franklin County sheriff's deputies allege Green possessed and transported up to 200 grams of cocaine, taking out an arrest warrant on Jan. 12.

Todd Land was the winner of the 2025 Franklin County Soybean Yield Contest, with a yield of 65 bushels per acre. The winner received a plaque and a $100 check. The yield contest is sponsored by Franklin County Cooperative Extension and the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District Board.

LOUISBURG -- The case against one man accused of trying to kill a Franklin County deputy, and the case against a Henderson murder accused of killing is friend were both continued in court.
Deputies arrested Jermaine Anthony Branch the evening of Dec. 18 after they allege he shot and tried to kill Dep. Lucas Taylor before fleeing from authorities.
Louisburg police arrested Talib N. Alexander in November 2024, after they allege he shot and killed 25-year-old Xavier Clifton of Bunn.

YOUNGSVILLE -- A Franklinton man is slated to appear in court next week on sexual assault charges.
Youngsville police, with assistance from the Raleigh Police Department, arrested Hector Gabriel Cardona the afternoon of Jan. 8.
He was charged with second degree forcible rape, second degree kidnapping, both felonies, and sexual battery and assault on a female, both misdemeanors.
He is being held without bond.