Recent Articles

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for Deaconess Lucy McKnight Eaton, 93, who died Tuesday, July 14, 2020, will be held Tuesday, July 21, at 11 a.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with the Rev. Michael Alston officiating.

RALEIGH--Elaine Gibbs Mangum, 88, of Raleigh departed this earthly life on Monday, July 6, 2020. She was born on October 17, 1931 to the late Rufus H. and Becky Pearce Gibbs. In addition to her parents, Elaine was preceded in death by her son, Mike Mangum; her daughter, Susan Pillsbury; and her sister, Margaret G. Mitchell.

HOLLISTER--Funeral services for Velus Roscoe Lynch, 77, who died Saturday, July 11, 2020, will be held Friday, July 17, at 11 a.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, with the Rev. Thomas Richardson officiating. Burial will follow in the Pine Chapel Memorial Garden cemetery.

FRANKLINTON--Rupert Perry, 75, died Wednesday, July 8, at his home. Memorial services will be private.

LOUISBURG--Timothy Allen Fuller, 44, of Louisburg died Monday, July 13, 2020 from injuries sustained from an automobile accident. A graveside service will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at Lancaster Memorial Park, with the Rev. Dale Eatmon officiating.

FRANKLINTON-- John O. Woodlief, 86, died Saturday, July 11, 2020. A funeral service was held Tuesday, July 14, at 10 a.m. at Lancaster's Franklinton Chapel with burial following in Fairview Cemetery in Franklinton.

LOUISBURG--Margaret Wiggins Strickland died on July 13, 2020. She was fortunate to have her son, Robert, care for her for the last few months so she did not have to leave the home she loved. Margaret was born to Robert and Eva Wiggins on December 15, 1923 and lived her entire life in Franklin County. During her long life, she experienced the Great Depression, World War II and many other defining historic events. She also had the unique experience of being confronted in her yard by an elephant after the animal escaped from a circus in Louisburg.

YOUNGSVILLE - James Michael Joyner, 69, of Youngsville, died Saturday afternoon.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for Emma Jean Townes, 79, who died Saturday, July 11, 2020, will be held Thursday, July 16, at 11 a.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, with the Rev. Willie Morton officiating. Burial will follow in Oakwood Cemetery.

BUNN - Ronald "Ronnie" Bell Tant Sr., 82, of Bunn, died Friday evening, July 10. A graveside service will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday at Bunn Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends immediately following the service.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA--Shelton A. Miller, age 54, of Chambersburg, PA, and formerly of Bunn, NC, died Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at his home. Born August 13, 1965 in Philadelphia, PA, he was a son of Allen Miller and Bishop Patricia Horton Tillman.

FRANKLINTON--Infant Syrin O'Shea Yancey died Tuesday, July 7, 2020. A graveside service will be held Monday, July 11, at 3 p.m. at the Cemetery on the Hill in Louisburg, with Joseph Cutchins Jr. officiating.

LOUISBURG -- COVID-19 cases continue to grow exponentially in Franklin County as a new outbreak has been reported at an assisted living facility, businesses are reporting clusters of cases and large gatherings continue to generate new cases.
Franklin County Health Director Scott LaVigne gave the sobering update to county commissioners during the board's July 6 meeting.

Donning hard hats because it's still a construction site, masks because of the COVID-19 virus, this duo toured the nearly complete Louisburg High School Athletic Complex this week, just hours after sod was installed on the football field. Checking things out were (on the left) Louisburg High School Principal Melissa Thomas with Dr. Larry Webb, chief of auxiliary services for the school district and the man who has been overseeing the year-long construction project for the school system.

LOUISBURG -- A judge denied a motion to immediately stop Louisburg officials from moving a Confederate monument, but the case challenging their actions will move forward.
During a special called, virtual meeting on June 22, the Louisburg Town Council voted 4-3 to remove the statue, citing moral and safety concerns.

Lily Hood was sporting a cat on her shirt and a fish at the end of her hook last month as the Northern Sportsman -- Chris Edwards -- and a host of sponsors pulled together their annual Take A Kid Fishing event on June 20. Dozens of kids, their families and friends cast a line in a Louisburg pond, hoping that some fish were biting. Above, Hood, 8, had some good luck and was all smiles when she pulled this crappie from the pond.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County Commissioners have invited members of its first responder community to tell them about their experience with the much-maligned emergency radio system.
The invitation was extended Monday night after representatives from Harris Corporation provided them with a report of the fixes and adjustments they made to meet the mid-June deadline commissioners gave them to fix issues that law enforcement, firefighters and emergency crews had noted within the system.

LOUISBURG -- A majority of Franklin County's elected Democratic leadership has asked its state party to remove the clerk of court from its executive committee and look into her fitness to hold office -- an action made in the form of a resolution that Patricia Chastain said her party didn't even send her.
Chastain is a member of the Franklin County Democratic Party's executive committee, but the party met the evening of July 2 and voted to ask state party officials to remove Chastain from its executive committee -- and also called for a "judicial review" of her performance as clerk of court.

Franklin County newborn Mila Moreschi

The Franklin County Economic Development Commission is slated to meet today, electing leadership, learning more about COVID-19's impact on business and getting an update on the county's hubsite.
The virtual meeting will take place via Zoom.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners moved forward with an agreement that would give them another water supply in case of an emergency.
The agreement, said Assistant County Manager Kim Denton, would do just that.
The agreement does not supplement the county's normal allocation of water it needs to meet demands on the system caused by residential and business growth.

FRANKLINTON -- Sheriff's deputies have charged a Franklinton man in a shooting that sent someone to the hospital.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies charged Jaquan Sebastian Allen, 28, with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and assault by pointing a gun.

You snooze, you lose.
We've all heard that old adage and it's usually true.
But even though most of us here in Franklin County haven't been snoozing in recent days, we may be about to lose something important thanks to clueless legislators in Raleigh.

Here it is, the second week of July and I had an opportunity to look back at, well, I won't call them New Year's resolutions, but some things I intended to enjoy more in 2020.
Of course, at the end of December 2019, who had any idea what a cluster-you-know-what that 2020 would turn out to be.
Fortunately, though, my goal was to enjoy more of nature.