Recent Articles

CARY -- Two Franklin County residents and firefighters graduated last week as part of the State Highway Patrol's 140th Basic School.
Trooper J.T. Southerland and C.R. Lanham were two of the 47 cadets who completed the 15 week academy, enduring training in physical fitness, defensive tactics, drivers training, as well as other sessions of motor vehicle laws.
Their graduation was held Nov. 18 at Colonial Baptist Church.

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" will return to Louisburg Collect Dec. 1 to 11.
Norris Theatre Director Wally Hurst will direct the production, which was written by Barbara Robinson.
In this Christmas tale, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids - probably the most inventively awful kids in history, Hurst said.

Allison Kaye Fobes and James Furman Wright Jr. were married on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 during a 4 p.m. ceremony at Duke Memorial Baptist Church. The officiating minister was Tony Gupton.
The bride is the daughter of Rodney and Lisa Fobes of Castalia.
The groom's parents are Lisa Neville of Louisburg and the late James Wright Sr. of Henderson.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies are looking for a suspect who robbed a sweepstakes business at gunpoint.
According to authorities, a man entered the sweepstakes cafe located at 225 Weathers Street just outside the town limits just after 9 a.m. on Nov. 20.
The man pointed a nickel-plated long-barrel pistol at a store clerk and demanded money.
There was one other person inside the business, according to Franklin County Sheriff's Office Chief of Staff Terry Wright, but no shots were fired and no one was injured.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Police arrested a Louisburg man they allege ran from a police checkpoint.
According to a report by Youngsville Police Lt. M. Little, he was conducting a license checkpoint when someone, later identified as Charles Wright, 41, pulled up in a burgundy Kia Sportage sport utility vehicle.
Wright, according to authorities, approached the checkpoint, he almost drove off the road to the left, nearly hitting a parked patrol vehicle, before stopping.

In April 2013, a small group formed in the Moulton Road community to pick up litter.
The group picks up litter on a two-mile stretch of Moulton Road near the convenience site on Saturday mornings every six to eight weeks.
The group has picked up 21 times the past three years, with on average four to 10 volunteers who pick up 10 bags of litter each time - half of which is recyclable materials.

With the snip of a ribbon last Thursday evening, Fresenius Kidney Care's new Louisburg facility opened its doors to the community.
The facility, which is located at 935 North Main Street, is not quite ready for patients but will be shortly as soon as it passes its final inspection by the state, officials said.
Fresenius Kidney Care, the dialysis division of Fresenius Medical Care North America and the nation's leading network of dialysis facilities, invited the community to an Open House celebration on Thursday, Nov. 17.

BUNN -- Bunn hosted a pre-game ceremony last Friday to commemorate the illustrious career of retiring head football coach David Howle.
But Howle hopes he still has a dose or two of heroics remaining in his tenure as the Wildcats continue to advance through the Class 2-AA State Playoffs.
Howle's storybook night won't be his last as Bunn, after a slow start, rolled past St. Pauls by a 49-12 margin.
The second-seeded Wildcats, now 11-1 overall, will move into a second-round event this Friday at home versus Northside-Jacksonville, which was a winner at Randleman.

BUNN - Four years ago, Charles Haley took over as the head boys soccer coach and Haley faced an immediate communication problem.
Bunn had too many players with the first name of 'Brian' on its roster, so Brian Husinko simply became known as 'Husinko' -- and that would stick for the rest of his career.
And what a career it would be as Husinko developed into a dominant performer, especially during his senior year, when he made a name for himself in the area soccer circles.

LOUISBURG -- Following a successful regular season, Louisburg High School was able to secure a home game in the first round of the Class 1-AA State Football Playoffs.
That didn't mean, however, that the contest would be easy as Gates County brought a solid club to Patterson Field last Friday -- and left with a 34-17 decision over the Warriors.

BUNN -- With point guard Bernadette Cooke out until later in the season and post Cressida Duncan moved back to Kentucky -- and several other key players graduated -- the Bunn Ladycats are short on experience but high on potential during the 2016-17 basketball campaign.
Bunn opened its season in short-handed fashion last Thursday against backyard rival Southern Nash.
The Ladycats showed their inexperience -- but also displayed some promise for the future -- during their 31-29 home loss to Southern at the Bunn Dome in a back-and-forth game.

AHOSKIE -- A tough first-round draw awaited the visiting Franklinton Red Rams in their final football season -- at least for the near future -- on the Class 2-AA level.
That campaign would close last Friday night as the Red Rams were defeated 46-18 by a strong, high-powered Hertford County contingent.
Franklinton, which entered as the No. 6 seed, fell behind 20-3 after one period of action.

CHAPEL HILL -- Listed are last Friday's results and this Friday's schedule for Class 1-AA and 2-AA State Football Playoffs:

Louisburg's Terry Allen (right) registers a quarterback sack during last Friday night's home playoff setback against the Gates County Red Barons.

Makayla Strickland (with ball) is one of several new faces this season for the Bunn High School girls basketball squad under Coach Matt Keith.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College's list of returning starters from last year's men's basketball team was a big zero.
As in none.
So LC head coach Neil Dixon is literally starting all over again with no players back -- but he expects the program to quickly reload and once again be a factor in the Region X standings.

Louisburg College's Jordan Oakley (right) plays tight defense in the backcourt during last Saturday afternoon's home hoops victory over Thomas Nelson Community College.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College's football team ended its season with an undefeated mark.
The Hurricanes beat nine teams - the best record in 11 years of competing.
The young men who brought home the wins are rightfully proud of their accomplishments.
They were honored during Louisburg College's basketball game Nov. 21.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Adrian Moore poured in 30 points and Justin Tankelewicz added 22 to lead their North Carolina Wesleyan College basketball team to a 90-71 win over Frostburg State last Saturday in the 2016 Marlin Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Virginia Wesleyan.
Moore, who had previously scored 29 points in Friday's opener, was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
Versus FSU, the Bishops used a 22-6 run midway the first half to forge a 55-30 halftime advantage.

THAT'S A BIG BASS! Riley Burton of Franklin County caught and released this 8-pound, 2-ounce large mouth bass on his Zebco 202 last month while fishing in a private local pond with his grandfather, Hudson Burton.

In August 1890, 15 years after the town of Youngsville was incorporated, its commissioners adopted a set of local ordinances. Similar to those used in Franklinton and Louisburg, the ordinances reflect varied aspects of life in a simpler era, when animals pulled wagons and motor vehicles were rare.
The first few rules demonstrate the importance of animals to the local economy. It was unlawful "for any live stock to run at large within the corporate limits of the town, to be ridden, driven or fed upon the sidewalks, nor hitched to the trees, pailings [sic] or fences on the sidewalks under penalty of one dollar for each offence."

Amazingly, it's time to talk turkey.
And all the fixin's -- and probably a long, long nap for many of our male readers who will be catching a little shut-eye while the female members of the family are planning their annual assault on all things retail.
If that sounds sexist, so be it. It's also based on experience -- and examples are easy to find.

Don't look now, but Turkey Day is upon us!
In just a few hours -- earlier in some homes where cooks prepare food well in advance -- ovens will be heated up, cooktops filled with pots and pans and everyone will be eagerly awaiting the fun, food and fellowship which comes with one of this country's favorite holidays, Thanksgiving.
It's a time for families to gather together and enjoy the fruits of their labor and continue a long-standing tradition that dates to our more agrarian roots when the feasts of fall followed a bountiful harves,t period.

Trying to cover the twists and turns from this election is tough, particularly on a short week -- I wrote this on Friday morning because of Thanksgiving deadlines.
There are a lot of moving parts.
It made me think of how Star Trek sci-fi engineer Montgomery Scott described transporting matter from one place to another -- which is traveling beyond the speed of light.