Recent Articles

Given all the potential for funny, controversial things to happen, the Democrats' convention in Philly went fairly well -- and pounded the nation with a relentlessly positive, upbeat message that perhaps we've needed to hear for a long time.
Even if you're not a Democrat, you have to hand it to old Joe Biden who rocked the house with one of the best purely political, intensely partisan speeches that has been given in a long while.

During the Democrats' convention last week, a speaker noted that it is never a good idea to bet against the United States.
There are a lot of reasons for that -- and one of them is shown, a veteran of the U.S. Army who served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Although his active service is over, the former sergeant isn't about to forget his brothers and sisters who are still dealing with the demons remaining from their service experiences.

Lilin, Tritons, Bergrisars -- oh my.
For the uninitiated, the above are references to mythical creatures, like the Yeti, or Big Foot or an honest politician (sorry, I couldn't help myself.)
The reason I reference these mythological creatures is because, surely, I relegated the "Nigerian Prince" to legend, as well.
You know the Nigerian Prince, right?

Two songs provide the themes for today's article. They are both American.
The first is the 1893 classic Happy Birthday. Today I send it out to two of the best people ever to come into my life: my wife and my President.
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 and my wife on that date a few years earlier.
The second is The Temptations 1971 hit Ball of Confusion. It spoke of racism in America and it reminds me of the status of voting rights in North Carolina in 2016.

Dear editor: Our community is fortunate to have a Guardian ad Litem program How does a community benefit from a Guardian ad Litem?
In North Carolina, approximately 1 out of every 100 children, or about 1 percent of the state's child population, are abused or neglected.
The North Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program works with children who have been petitioned into the system and who have been appointed a Guardian ad Litem by a judge - about 15,000 children every year.

LOUISBURG -- High school students from across the region recently attended "Mini-Medical School" camps organized by the Wake Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in partnership with Vance-Granville Community College.
The first camp was held in June at VGCC's South Campus and the second camp was held last month at VGCC's campus in Franklin County -- and 44 students completed the program.

Mary Smith of Warrenton and Johnny Smith of Franklinton announce the engagement of their daughter, Bianca Smith to Adrian Savage, son of Bonnie Lynch of Rocky Mount.   The couple resides in Greensboro. The ceremony will take place at St. Stephen's Missionary Baptist Church in Warrenton on Sept. 24, 2016 at 3 p.m.

NEW ALBANY, IN--JC (Julian Carl) Proctor, 86, formerly of Louisburg, died Friday, July 29, in New Albany, Ind. A graveside memorial service will be held at Oakdale Cemetery in Spring Hope on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 11 a.m.

ZEBULON - P.G. Denton, Jr., 89, of Zebulon, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, on Tuesday, August 2, 2016.

LOUISBURG - Funeral services for Magnolia P. Fogg, 83, who died Sunday, July 31 2016, will be held Friday, Aug. 5, at Mitchell Baptist Church in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

DURHAM - Funeral services for Shelton Maurice Jones, 64, who died Sunday, July 31, 2016, will be held Saturday, Aug. 6, at 11 a.m. at Peace Missionary Baptist Church, with the Rev. William E. Daye officiating. Burial will follow in White Oak Baptist Church cemetery.

YOUNGSVILLE --Edith Alford Pearce, 85, died Monday evening, Aug. 1, 2016 at her residence. A funeral service honoring her life will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, at Beulah Christian Baptist Church, with the Rev. Ronnie Snead officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Teresa Dickerson Wrenn, 54, of Louisburg, passed away Friday morning.

LOUISBURG - Nancy Hayes Yarborough of Louisburg died July 29, 2016. Nancy was born in Franklin County on January 19, 1924 and was a daughter of Hugh Jones Hayes and Clafton Mundy Hayes. She married Edward Foster Yarborough February 8, 1948 and they were married 48 years.

FRANKLINTON--Memorial services for Nobie Hickman, 76, who died Wednesday, July 27, 2016, will be held Sunday, Aug. 7, at 4 p.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home chapel in Louisburg, with the Rev. Bernice Richardson officiating.

FRANKLINTON - Claude Lee "Blackie" Wrenn, Jr., 90, passed away Friday, July 29, 2016 at Rex Healthcare. Claude was born June 26, 1926 in Franklin County to the late Claude Lee Wrenn, Sr. and Allie B. Fuller Wrenn. Claude was a self-employed farmer.

Hopefully, now that the dust has begun to settle from the Republicans' big party in the Mistake on the Lake, otherwise known as Cleveland, we can review it with 20-20 hindsight, a wonderful skill.
Certainly, they get an A+ for entertainment value, especially if you have a rather warped sense of humor and to be a reporter for more than 10 minutes, your sense of humor better be warped.

YOUNGSVILLE -- After an Army career that included two tours in Iraq, there's not much anyone could do to get Michael Boncek to do another single pushup.
But to bolster the spirits and help his fellow military men and women suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and committing suicide by the dozens, daily, he'd walk to the ends of the Earth.
This past spring, he settled for a journey of 2,200 miles -- representing the 22 veterans each day that take their own life.

LOUISBURG -- The United Way of Franklin County is under new leadership.
The community networking organization hired Andrea Bell Wright as its executive director.
She takes over for Kathy Harrelson, who was terminated this past fall.
Wright is the former president of Campaign Resources, Inc., a Raleigh-based fundraising consulting firm.

FRANKLINTON -- Tucked away on the corner of the Franklinton Middle School Campus is a new-concept educational facility called Vine Academy that's scheduled to open next month.
It takes its name from Vine Street -- but Principal Zachary Richards has a slightly different spin on the name. He prefers to view the school as a "vine" that will wrap around students, providing them a safe, secure and nurturing environment where they can deal with their special challenges and get back on track.

How do you unstuff a school bus? One item at a time -- and it helps if there are many hands to do the work. Such was the case last Friday morning at Youngsville Elementary School when Youngsville Masonic Lodge 377 arrived at the school with a big yellow school bus stuffed with fully loaded backpacks and lots of other school supplies. School students were recruited to help unload and that's exactly what John Smith (foreground) and Jeffrey Strong are doing, carrying backpacks into the school lobby staging area while other students line up to help.