Recent Articles

Franklinton's Russell Dennison tries to gain an escape during last Saturday's action at the Big East Individual Wrestling Championships at Southern Nash.

BUNN - Over 20 years after starting the program, Bunn High School finally has its first league wrestling championship.
And it was worth the wait. And the suspense.
For the Wildcats, their opportunity to claim the Northern Carolina Conference regular season team mat title would come down to a dual match last Wednesday against long-time rival Roanoke Rapids at the Bunn Dome.

Bunn's Octavio Acuna (left) tries to avoid a hold attempt during last Wednesday night's Northern Carolina Conference mat showdown versus rival Roanoke Rapids.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Younger generations might not know about the amazing exploits of the Youngsville High School boys basketball squad.
But thanks to a new banner at the Franklinton HS Gymnasium, maybe some curiosities will be piqued.
Youngsville was consolidated in the late 1970s, but not before the school produced some of the best basketball talent ever produced in Franklin County.

YOUNGSVILLE PHANTOMS 1968 STATE CHAMPIONS

FRANKLINTON -- It's official -- the Big East Conference's girls basketball standings are quite the mess.
The league's squads have taken turns defeating each other as part of a parity-filled first half of the Big East schedule.
But what that means is that several clubs are still in the mix for a possible berth in the Class 3-A State Playoffs -- including the Franklinton Lady Rams.

LOUISBURG -- Working together for a common cause was the chief focus of Louisburg College's First Annual First-Pitch Gala last Saturday at the Taylor Center on the LC campus.
The event was coordinated by the school's softball and baseball squads in order to raise money for the programs.

Former Louisburg High School multi-sport star JyQuan Taylor (left) poses with LHS hoops coach Michael Sheldon during last Saturday's First-Pitch Gala at Louisburg College. Taylor is now a freshman member of the Hurricanes' baseball squad.

ZEBULON -- The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that Joe Ayrault will once again return as manager of the Carolina Mudcats for the 2019 season.
Ayrault enters his third year as manager of the Mudcats and will be joined this year by Pitching Coach Cameron Castro, Hitting Coach Bobby Bell, Coach Fidel Peña, Athletic Trainer Matt Deal and Strength and Conditioning Specialist Jonah Mergen.

HENDERSON -- Kerr-Vance Academy's first-ever swim team, coached by Elizabeth Richardson, is headed to the state finals in Greensboro on February 11.
The event will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Swimmers had to earn qualifying times in various regular season events to earn this trip.

Franklinton High School's Laquasia Clifton scores in the paint for the Lady Rams during last Friday night's home outing against league opponent Rocky Mount.

BUNN WRESTLER SCOTTIE SPENCER

COACH PARKER HAAKE AND TEAM CELEBRATE AFTER FINAL MATCH

DURHAM -- Looking for something unique to get your Valentine this year?
Send that special someone a Wool E. Gram delivered personally by Wool E. Bull himself.
You'll need to act fast, though, as Wool E. Grams are limited and sell out every year.

CHAPEL HILL-- Janiya Downs from South Rowan High School and Jordy Lopez from Bunn High School have been named recipients of the NCHSAA Performance of the Week awards.
Each week, two athletes in North Carolina High School Athletic Association competition are selected for this award from nominations received from media and school administrators.

HENDERSON--Funeral services for Wilbert Eaton, 77, who died Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, will be held Saturday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the M. H. Jones cemetery.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for Monique Armanda "Mo" Bryant, 51, who died Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, will be held Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m. at Haywood Baptist Church in Louisburg, with Pastor Douglas Harris officiating. Burial will follow in the Haywood Church cemetery.

FRANKLINTON-- Bobby Lee Mendenhall, 72, of Franklinton, passed away on Thursday, January 24, 2019. He was born on September 5, 1946 to the late Rupert and Esther Wood Mendenhall.

YOUNGSVILLE--Funeral services for Myrtle "Lois" Cannady, age 61, who died on Wednesday, January 23, 2019, will be held on Tuesday, January 29, at 2 p.m. at the Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Louisburg.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners awarded a contract to update its Comprehensive Development Plan.
Staff and commissioners said they're going to need it.
"We need [this plan]," said County Commissioner Shelley Dickerson. "Growth is coming, whether we like it or not. It's here.
"We need to direct our growth rather than have growth taking us over."

LOUISBURG -- Where most people see weathered facades, cracked windows and dingy floors, Ron Cox sees opportunities.
Putting his vision into reality has turned vacant buildings in Louisburg into hubs for business and the community.
And, his passion has helped lead a revival in downtown Louisburg, through his service as the town's downtown ambassador and chair of the Louisburg Downtown Economic Development Committee -- which has led to events like the Friday Nights on the Tar concert series, the town's Strategic Economic Development Plan and what has become an annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

Randy Green holds the Director of the Year award presented to him by Dr. Cheryl Benson, a fellow Chamber of Commerce board of directors member.

FRANKLINTON -- State and local authorities continue to look for suspects responsible for Franklin County's first homicide of 2019.
Franklinton police responded Jan. 18 to what appeared to be a 911 hang-up call just before 7:30 p.m. at 16 Fairlane Avenue.
When Sgt. Adam Carlson arrived, he found Clarence Person Jr., 49, on the floor, dead from a gunshot wound.

LOUISBURG -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not a man who sat on the sidelines.
Neither was Franklin County equal rights icon Rosanell Eaton.
The best way to remember either of them, former State Sen. Doug Berger challenged a pew-filled St. Paul Presbyterian Church crowd, would be to continue their fight for equality.

BUNN -- When Joe King left Burlington for Bunn, the idea of coming to his wife's family home in Franklin County appealed to him.
Come Jan. 30, he'll be able to spend a lot more time there as the veteran lawman is retiring.
"I just turned 65 years old," said King, who's been Bunn's police chief since the summer of 2015 -- replacing Kent Winstead who left the post when he was elected sheriff in the fall of 2014.