Recent Articles

LOUISBURG -- Vance-Granville Community College will soon offer its Mobile Food Truck Entrepreneurship Workshop Series at the college's Franklin County Campus, where it originated in 2015.
This series of courses for entrepreneurs who want to compete in the growing food truck industry is unique in the North Carolina Community College System.
A partnership of VGCC's Small Business Center and Personal Enrichment department, the program will be held in October in Building 4 on the campus, located on N.C. 56 just outside Louisburg.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND.--Funeral services for James H. Lewis, 73, who died Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m. at Allen Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the Mary Helen Jones cemetery.

WARRENTON - Funeral services for Fedwood Alston, 76, who died Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2016, will be held Friday, Sept. 23, at 2:30 p.m, at Shiloh Baptist Church in Warrenton. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Funeral services for the Rev. Starkey A. Manning, 81, who died Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, will be held Sunday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m. at Walnut Grove Baptist Church, with the Rev. John A. Manning officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

WASHINGTON, DC - Graveside service for Thelma D. Rogers, 80, who died Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, will be held Friday, Sept. 23, at 12 noon at Eagle Rock Cemetery, with the Rev. Sidney E. Dunston officiating.

PASCHALL - Ivey A. Bolton, Jr., 80, passed away on Monday, September 19, 2016 at Duke Regional Hospital. Mr. Bolton was born in Warren County, NC to the late Ivey A. Bolton, Sr. and Ida King Bolton. He was also preceded in death by three sisters, Lois, Evelyn and Dorothy.

FRANKLINTON - Funeral services for Donyal Delsetta Jacobs, 46, who died Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, will be held Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m. at Shady Grove Baptist Church in Louisburg, with the Rev. John A. Hopkins Sr. officiating.Burial will follow in the Manasseh Chapel Baptist Church cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Mildred Louise McLeod Fillingim, 93, of the Rocky Ford community, died Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. Services will be held in Florida at Pensacola Memorial Gardens on Saturday, Sept. 24. Burial will follow at Lathram Chapel Cemetery, Cantonment, Fla.

WILLIAMSTON, SC - Keith Charles Watkins, Sr., 59, husband of Elizabeth "Beth" Waters Watkins, passed away Saturday, September 17, 2016.

LOUISBURG - LaVerne Edith Neff, 97, of Louisburg, died Sunday at her home surrounded by her loving family.

A trail ride in the Kittrell area of northern Franklin County turned violent Saturday night and left one man in the hospital being treated for a gunshot wound.
According to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, the incident occurred about 11:20 p.m. Saturday when two men, who apparently were on the trail ride, got into an argument in an open area near 5202 Rocky Ford Road.
The men were both armed and exchanged gunshots.

OXFORD -- Earlier in the week, Franklinton football coach JeVar Bransome discussed the importance of a quick bounceback performance following last Friday's disappointing home loss to Tarboro.
Consider it done as the Red Rams took the lead by scoring on their first two series and never looking back on their way to a 30-6 decision Friday night at non-conference opponent Oxford Webb.

LOUISBURG -- It's almost impossible for a team to lose when it scores a touchdown on every possession -- an astounding mark the Bunn Wildcats achieved during Friday's road grudge match against the Louisburg Warriors.
Bunn found the end zone on each series and never punted or turned the ball over.
The result was a walkaway victory for the Wildcats, who rolled 54-7 over Louisburg in front of an overflow crowd at Patterson Field on the LHS campus.

HENDERSON-Alridge Edward Woodlief, 55, a resident of 466 Buckskin Lane, died Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 at his home. Funeral services will be held Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. at Victory Baptist Church by the Rev. Ricky Easter. Burial will follow in the Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery.

LOUISBURG--Linwood Ray Stanley, 67, died Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 at Rex Hospital. Services will be private.

LOUISBURG - Robert Earl Leonard, 61, of Louisburg passed away Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at his home. Born on August 25, 1955 to the late Sanford and Lorine Dorsey Leonard. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Donnie Leonard. Earl loved his family, his dog Cujo and fishing.

LOUISBURG -- Fifteen years after terrorists struck on Sept. 11, killing thousands, sending people running for their lives and scattering the masses, organizers of a ceremony to remember those lost and those who risked their lives to save others said we need to focus on the things that bring us together.
The Franklin County Firefighters Association hosted the 9/11 ceremony last Thursday on the steps of the Franklin County Courthouse.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education is gearing up for a major capital improvements initiative but decided Monday night to study their options a little further -- and to give the public a chance to comment.
Roughly $11.4 million remains unspent from the most recent bond issue, although the district's needs exceed that total by several million.
On Monday, Dr. Larry Webb, executive director of auxiliary services, outlined eight possible projects that carried preliminary estimates just under that $12 million cap.

LOUISBURG -- "We're movin' on up," quipped Dr. Rhonda Schuhler, associate superintendent of Franklin County Schools, as she explained student achievement data results to the board of education Monday night.
She noted that the district rose from 82nd in the state to 63rd, lagging behind only Wake and Johnston counties in this region.
Wake County is ranked 10th in the state and Johnston is ranked 44th. (See chart for other adjoining county district scores.)

John Overby builds a fire atop a rather unusual mound that was constructed in Louisburg's Riverbend Park last Saturday as part of the River of Yesteryear exhibits that were part of the Tar River Festival. He is creating a small replica of a way to remove turpentine from old yellow pine wood. The fire above heats a metal dome inside the dirt pile. Under that dome is a container containing old yellow pine "lighter" wood that still is filled with resin. The heat drives the resin out and it drips into a pipe that directs it to the small cast iron pots visible here.

LOUISBURG -- Residents will know next week what health care groups are interested in coming to Franklin County and what they have planned for new hospital services in Franklin County.
And during a meeting in October, they'll be able to tell county commissioners just what they think of those plans.

LOUISBURG -- Police arrested a man they allege was responsible for a near head-on, hit and run collision that killed a Wendell child.
Victor Hugo Parra Angulo, 31, of Stone Southerland Road, was arrested Tuesday and charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony hit and run and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Louisburg Police Chief Rick Lassiter said more charges are pending in the Sept. 11 collision.

There was a lot of vintage farm equipment, from tractors to trucks to hit-and-miss engines, at the Justice Tractor Show last weekend -- and these two ladies were trying out a couple of vehicles that were almost their size. Ready to hit the fields were Aubree Bowling, 2, and her sister, Graycen, 5. They are the daughters of Brandon and Amy Bowling of Franklinton.

LOUISBURG -- The State Board of Elections agreed with a local plan that limits the first five days of early voting to one site in Franklin County.
The decision came after the county's Democratic party challenged the plan, proposing instead to allow early voting for all 17 days at four sites -- the county election's office in Louisburg and libraries in Bunn, Franklinton and Youngsville.
James Jones, the lone Democratic representative on the county's three-member Board of Elections, voted against the local plan and his proposal for all the sites was presented to the state Board of Elections on Sept. 8.

Bunn High School footballer J.D. Rice