Recent Articles

FRANKLINTON--Mary Weaver Harris, 84, of Franklinton died Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 at the NHC Healthcare, Garden City, in Murrell's Inlet, SC. Due to Covid, a private graveside funeral service will be held at the Flat Rock Baptist Church cemetery, Louisburg.

CASTALIA--Homer "Ricky" Richard Callahan Jr., 60, of Castalia, died Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. A memorial service will be held privately for the family at Cedar Rock First Baptist Church, Louisburg.

LOUISBURG--Graveside services for Dorothy Mae Thomas, 77, who died Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. at the Mary Helen Jones Cemetery in Louisburg, with the Rev. Omega Perry officiating.

LOUISBURG--Lucy Cooper Foster Denton, 83, of Louisburg was called to Heaven on Thursday, October 22, 2020. She was born on August 9, 1937, to the late John, Sr. and Mattie Murphy Foster. In addition to her parents, Lucy was preceded in death by her husband, Callie Stephenson Denton; brothers, Joe, Elmo, Jeff, John Jr., Tom, Billy, and Wilton Foster; and sisters, Annie Rue Foster and Berta Moore

FRANKLINTON--April Michelle Pender, 46, of Franklinton died Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 at WakeMed Health. Funeral service was held Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. at Kinches Chapel Christian Church, 1055 Gordon Moore Road, Franklinton, with the Rev. Willie R. Nixon serving as eulogist.

LOUISBURG--Joseph "Joe" Elliott Elmore, 87, of Louisburg died Wednesday night. Joe was born in Wilson, Wilson County, NC on December 5, 1932. He was a son of the late Thomas O. Elmore of Wayne and Lenoir Counties and Effie Morris Elmore of Bertie County.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for Florine Green Edgerton, 101, who died Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, will be held Monday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. at South Main Street Baptist Church in Louisburg, with Pastor David Rosby officiating. Burial will follow in the Cedar Street Cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Early Cope "E.C." Gupton, Jr., 94, of Louisburg, died peacefully Wednesday morning at his home.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for Bennie "Blimp" Pettiford Jr., 80, who died Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. at Mitchiner's Grove Baptist Church in Franklinton, with Pastor Melvin Jackson officiating. Burial will follow in the Cemetery on the Hill.

LOUISBURG -- By the end of this month, visitors to Franklin County's Owens Park could be treated to WiFi hotspot access.
Then, by Thanksgiving, residents around White Level Road could be feasting on broadband access.
"The projection is, by the end of the year, to have, our estimate, is to get about 100 people signed up before the end of the year," said Alan Helias, area manager for Open Broadband, the company the county hired last year to bring broadband to Franklin County -- targeting unserved and underserved communities.

LOUISBURG -- Patricia Chastain has 30 days to notify the courts if she'll continue to fight for her job.
On Oct. 16, Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock issued an order that permanently removed Chastain from her position as superior court clerk of court -- a decision he reached two weeks after attorneys argued for her removal.
It was a hearing that became necessary when Louisburg attorney Jeffrey Scott Thompson petitioned the courts for her removal.

LOUISBURG -- Already, more than 10,000 voters have cast a ballot during early voting, which began Oct. 15.
Early voting for the general election began on Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through Oct. 31, with voting hours from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m, Monday through Friday.
The county's plan also includes one day of Sunday voting, Oct. 25, from 1-5 p.m.

LOUISBURG -- Town officials got some good news about the long awaited Depot Hill project Monday night during a meeting that may have set a new record for its shortest ever -- just about eight minutes.
Town officials learned from Administrator Jonathan Franklin that the Tobacco Trust Fund has awarded the town $125,000 for the Depot Hill project that has been much discussed but long delayed.

LOUISBURG -- Town officials got some good news about the long awaited Depot Hill project Monday night during a meeting that may have set a new record for its shortest ever -- just about eight minutes.
Town officials learned from Administrator Jonathan Franklin that the Tobacco Trust Fund has awarded the town $125,000 for the Depot Hill project that has been much discussed but long delayed.

County resident Dorene Upchurch

Louisburg's Dr. Phillip Stover is now a Kentucky Colonel granted by that state's Governor Andy Beshear. Dr. Stover, his family and friends gathered outside his Louisburg Family Practice 7 Pain Management Clinic recently to watch him receive the award. Kentucky Colonel celebrates the ideal that we all can live in the service of those around us, be they in the local community or the global community.

LOUISBURG -- COVID-19 cases in Franklin County continue to go up, but the county has not registered a coronavirus-related death in weeks.
And, while two charter schools and Louisburg College are open to face-to-face learning, and teachers have been back in the classroom, there have been no cluster of cases reported in the county, Health Director Scott LaVigne told commissioners on Monday night.

LOUISBURG -- A resident has brought a complaint to the attention of local elections brass, county management and state elections staff, but no resolution appeared evident.
Jo Scott Dorsett served as a volunteer observer during an Oct. 6 elections meeting dealing with absentee ballots when she said board member Angela Pearce was not wearing a mask and not adhering to social distancing practices -- endangering fellow board members, staff and members of the public serving as witnesses during the process.

You've heard that the devil is in the details, right?
That certainly proved true for me last week as we were putting together the Oct. 15 edition of this newspaper.
I've been supportive of Franklin County's effort to upgrade its office space -- and especially if those upgrades make it easier for citizens to find and utilize county services.

Look, I already know that this is going to sound like an indictment of the county's newly named county manager.
I can assure you, it is not.
But, the process by which we have our newly named county manager reminds of an old Cosby Show episode.
In that episode, Vanessa, the Cosby's third oldest daughter, shows up with a fiancé in tow -- she had been engaged for six months but did not tell her parents.

Dear editor:
With Friday's announcement that elected Clerk of Court Patricia Burnette Chastain has been ousted from her seat on the grounds of "willful misconduct," a dark and angry cloud now hangs over the Franklin County Courthouse, and it brings not only an injustice to the people of Franklin County, but it undermines the foundations of American Democracy.

FRANKLINTON -- Police Chief James Davis informed commissioners and the public that some schedules have shifted to better cover the town.
On the evening of Oct. 7, officer J. Wilson responded to a domestic disturbance at 23 W. Green Street.
After speaking with both parties and conducting an investigation, Wilson began to arrest a man at the scene when the suspect began fighting.

102 YEARS OLD AND COUNTING -- Maggie Kearney of Franklinton was born Oct. 24, 1918 in Kittrell. Due to COVID-19, this year's birthday celebration will be confined to celebrating with family at home,which includes her two children, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Her secrets to a long life are to drink lots of water, eat three meals a day, eat lots of vegetables and be outside as much as possible.