Recent Articles

LOUISBURG -- A hearing to determine the fate of the clerk of court is slated for next week.
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge John Dunlow suspended Patricia Chastain from her position on July 13 after a Louisburg attorney petitioned for the move, alleging, among other things, that Chastain overstepped her authority on a number of occasions, ran an office that had questionable financial accountability and suggested her erratic behavior might be attributed to substance abuse.

RALEIGH - North Carolina residents who have received seed shipments that they did not order from China or other foreign sources are advised not to plant these seeds because they could be a pathway for introduction of invasive species, insects and plant diseases.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has been contacted by numerous people who have received the seeds, which are likely the product of an international internet scam known as "brushing."

For a minute last week, walking into a face-to-face meeting of the Louisburg town council was like barging into a movie audition for actors wanting to play the parts of bank robbers.
It's a little disconcerting, at first anyway, to suddenly confront about 50 people wearing masks.

As a parent, your children reach certain benchmarks and milestones for which you take great pride.
Obviously, there's birth, for which parents hope and pray comes without complications.
Usually, around the 12-month mark, kids take their first steps and we're all so happy until we realize it means that they can get into EVERYTHING, now.

Dear editor: Regarding "College trustees address monument issue" under letters to the editor in a recent Franklin Times, it appears select Louisburg College Board Members attempt to respond with an approval of action taken illegally on the Confederate Monument. I do agree the Monument is not owned by the college. As I understand it, when the monument was erected in 1913, the college was on one side of Main Street.

FRANKLINTON - Nehemiah Judkins might be one of the best under-the-radar athletes in recent Franklin County history.
Some of his Franklinton High School track and field teammates may have accumulated more accolades than Judkins over the past four years, but none have the collection of Big East Conference Championships that he has piled up.

ELM CITY -- Grandstands are still closed at Elm City's County Line Raceway, but that did not deter fans from coming out in droves two Saturdays ago as the 3/8-mile clay oval played host to six races, including a 30-lap FUEL Series I-95 Late Model Challenge feature.
It didn't take long for the excitement to start, either.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Because of the fluidity of the COVID-19 health situation, the NC Wesleyan College Women's Soccer program have decided to postpone their upcoming ID camp that was scheduled for August 9 to a date to be announced later.
For more info on women's ID camps, contact head coach Beverly Biancur at bbiancur@ncwc.edu or assistant coach Kohl Orner at korner@ncwc.edu.
They can also be reached at (252) 985-5215 or 985-5447.

FAYETTEVILLE -- With the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and athletics staffs as their priority, the Presidents of the USA South Athletic Conference have voted unanimously to postpone all fall sport conference competition until the spring 2021 semester.
The sports impacted are football, men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, and women's cross country.

Nehemiah Judkins (left) has been effective in several sports during his time as a track and field standout at Franklinton High School -- including the 110 Hurdles.

RALEIGH--Milton Ernest Hobbs, III of Raleigh passed away at the age of 76 to his eternal rest. He was born July 17 to the late Milton Ernest Hobbs, Jr. and Ethyleen Bryson Hobbs. He attended North Carolina State University.

LOUISBURG - Mavis Nash Burnette, 94, of Louisburg, died Sunday morning.

FRANKLINTON--Funeral services for Helen Burt, 74, who died on Saturday, July 25, 2020, will be held Friday, July 31, at 12 p.m.at the Greater Ransom Way of the Cross Temple in Henderson. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for James Davis Sr., 77, who died Wednesday, July 22, 2020, will be held Sunday, July 26, at 2 p.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, with the Rev. Thelma McClean officiating. Burial will follow in the Mitchell Church cemetery.

LOUISBURG--W.G. Ayscue, 88, of Louisburg, passed away on Monday, July 20, 2020 in Raleigh. He was born October 18, 1931 in Franklin County, a son of the late Walter and Alease (Foster) Ayscue. Along with his parents, he was pre-deceased by his brother, Daniel Ayscue.

REFRESHING LOOK BACK. Despite what many Franklin Countians may be thinking these days, it's not always a scorching 95 humid degrees and sunny in this part of North Carolina. Sometimes, it's been so cold that the Tar River has frozen solid, allowing people to walk on it. This photo comes courtesy of Robert "Bob" Alston Jr., of Grimesland. He said he's been self-quarantined for several months and has been searching through family scrapbooks and photos.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education is planning to meet in a special, virtual session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, (tonight) and the only item on the agenda is an in-depth discussion of Option C for re-opening schools next month.
Option C calls for all students to attend classes virtually -- no face-to-face classes -- and is one of three options local school officials have developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This impressive home at 101 Elm Street in Louisburg has been overlooking downtown Louisburg for decades and now the town council may consider trying to save it as part of the effort to renew the downtown business district. The council is slated to meet at noon on Monday, July 27, in the town Operations Center to consider acquiring this historic property.

LOUISBURG -- The town council carefully made its way through a long agenda of assorted issues Monday night -- but it was the recent controversy over its decision to move the Confederate monument away from North Main Street that sparked most of the comments from the public.
Nearly 50 people showed up for the in-person meeting that was held at the town's Operations Center -- and each person had to pass a temperature check, use disinfectant on their hands and wear a mask during the meeting.

BUNN -- Commissioners adopted an ordinance strengthening the town's ability to enforce better animal control issues.
During the board's June meeting, Officer Adam Tucker and Chief Steve Massey told commissioners about the problems they've seen with residents who keep their dogs tethered -- essentially -- in inhumane ways that prevent the animals from getting to their food, water or shelter.

FRANKLINTON -- The town is open for business.
That was the message delivered by representatives of a downtown development group to real estate brokers, town and county officials and anyone else interested in economic development in the town's core.
Franklinton Development LLC and the town have been working for nearly a year, coordinating efforts to revitalize downtown.

It is an insane, upside down, inexplicable world we're living in -- and not just here in Franklin County.
Just last week, I wrote a news story about the various plans and schemes officials have come up with to educate our children beginning next month.
Franklin County, like most districts across the state, has different options. One is full-time, face-to-face school; one is part-time face-to-face school with days of virtual learning interspersed and the third option is entirely virtual learning.