Recent Articles

Vance-Granville Community College recently partnered with the Justice Rural Volunteer Fire Department to offer an unusual training program designed to prepare local firefighters for specific emergency situations that may occur on farms.
A course called "Agricultural Machinery Rescue" was conducted from Jan. 19 through March 3, with instructor Joe Burris of Greenville teaching at the fire station in Justice and, at times, on the farm of Kelly Harris, the former chief and current assistant chief of the department.

LOUISBURG -- At its regular meeting on Monday, the Franklin County Board of Education named Kimberly Marion as principal of the district's Early College High School and Caroline Linker as assistant principal of Bunn High School.
Marion currently works as the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Magnet Schools program manager for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and will replace retiring principal Jim Harris, who opened the early college in 2009.

LOUISBURG -- In an unusual meeting Monday night, the Franklin County Board of Education heard from 13 speakers during the public comment portion of the board meeting, all but one of whom focused on keeping Jeremy Buck as Franklinton High School's head football coach.
Buck was relieved of his coaching duties earlier this year by Principal Russell Holloman, although Buck remains at the school as a teacher.
On Monday, several parents and some students urged the school board to reconsider the decision to remove Buck as a coach, citing his history of working with students as one of the main reasons.

Bunn softball fan Landon Davis

They're back.
The hummingbirds, that is.
Got a call last Thursday afternoon that Curtis Adams had just seen one at his feeders on Clifton Woods Drive, south of Louisburg.
No word if the little fella was wearing an overcoat or long johns, but maybe if the weather begins to warm up consistently, we'll be seeing more of the aggressive and entertaining feathered flyers around local feeders.

We want to be positive about this, we really, really do!
But more importantly, we don't want a repeat of 2012 when it seemed like everyone in the county was mad and some of the "fixes" county officials were making defied logic.
The issue, of course, is re-valuation of property in Franklin County for tax purposes.

You remember the case, right.
The one where an attorney argued that his client was too privileged to understand the consequences of his actions.
And courts in Texas bought it.
So, instead of doing hard time, a 16-year was sentenced to probation and a stint in rehab after killing four people in an alcohol-fueled crash in 2013.

A while back, I began referring to Pat McCrory as the Governator.
The term is a combination of Governor (the office he was elected to in 2012) and Terminator (for the physical and economic danger he poses to North Carolina).
He is not acting alone, we can't afford it and, fortunately, we can do something about it this November.
Last week, PayPal announced it was cancelling plans for a new global headquarters in Charlotte because of HB2.

Dear editor:
I went to what is now called middle school with some boys who had an annual contest of getting expelled from school for the rest of the year. The first boy to be expelled for the rest of the year won.
They would have loved today's school policies, void of common sense and guided by zero tolerance.

Members of the Kerr-Vance Academy Student Government Association (SGA) spent a recent Saturday morning cleaning the roadside along Vance Academy Road as one of their local service projects. Fourteen members of the SGA picked up 29 bags of trash along the roadside. "As the Student Government Association, it is our goal to be active and make a difference in and around our community, said SGA President Drew Griggs.

BUNN -- Wake and Franklin County authorities arrested a Bunn area man, alleging he was responsible for a shooting near Zebulon.
According to reports, Wake County investigators suspect Michael Jermaine Jackson, 31, was involved in an early morning argument and shooting that occurred at his mother's home on Debnam Road in Wake County on April 6.
The name and condition of the man who was shot in the head has not been released.

BUNN -- A Zebulon man was killed in a motorcycle accident this past weekend.
According to the State Highway Patrol, Brian Creech was riding a 2015 Harley Davidson east on Pilot-Riley Road at about 6:25 p.m. when he ran off the right side of the road on April 9.
According to the report by Trooper C.M. Garner, the motorcycle then hit an embankment, went airborne and hit a tree.

The Rev. Junious M. Debnam and his fiancee, Margaret, will have their wedding at St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday, April 30, at 3 p.m. The Rev. Dr. Anthony Q. Alston will be officiating. All members and friends are cordially invited to attend.

According to a fact sheet developed by South Carolina 4-H and Clemson Extension, communication and public speaking are important life skills taught by 4-H Youth Development.
Presentations are used in 4-H as a means of sharing information, teaching poise, and gaining self-confidence.

Louisburg College and the Jones Performing Arts Center (JPAC) will host the Celtic musical group "Bill Leslie and Lorica" for a special benefit concert at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 22.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Louisburg Lions Club and Happy Camper, specifically to provide camp scholarships for local children in need and to fund Lions charities for the blind and visually impaired.

FRANKLINTON -- When Brad Kearney ran for public office in the fall of 2015, one of his campaign goals was to re-establish the town's recreation program.
Less than a year on the job, that campaign promise has become a reality when the town hosts opening day for its youth baseball program on Saturday.
He didn't do it alone, though.
Now, as commissioner, Kearney teamed up with Franklinton Police Chief John Green Jr., Sgt. Andrew Bishop and a host of parents and businesses in the community to bring the program to 130 kids -- ages 4-14 -- who will be on t-ball, coach pitch and baseball teams starting on Saturday.

The Friends of the Youngsville Library will be having a Spring Book Sale on Saturday, April 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Youngsville Library. There will be follow-up days April 18-20 during normal library hours, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., or until all the books are gone.
Anyone wanting to donate books for the book sale can drop them off at the library during normal library hours (10 a.m. - 7 p.m.) through the week of April 11-15.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg High School continues to make progress in the rebuilding of its girls soccer program -- but results might not necessarily be evident against a high-powered opponent such as Northern Nash.
The tradition-rich Lady Knights invaded Joyner Park last Thursday and closed out a regular season sweep of Louisburg with a 9-0 triumph.
Rebekah Beal, who has signed with Chowan University, delivered five goals for Northern Nash, while teammate Olivia Bunn chipped in with a trio of markers, all of which came in the second half of action.

Louisburg's Paulina Dominguez (left) tries to track down the ball against Northern Nash.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton's Drive For Five was plenty alive during last Saturday's action at the annual The Franklin Times Franklin County Track and Field Championships.
FHS' girls and boys have each won the team crowns at the event for the past five years -- a stretch that continued under adverse weather conditions at the FHS Football Field.

(L to R) Franklinton's Ricky Person hands the baton to relay teammate Tyler Irby.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College's hopes of a high seed for the upcoming Region X Baseball Tournament have all but vanished, so first-year coach Blake Herring is focused on other tasks heading into the homestretch of the regular season.
One of those goals is making sure the Hurricanes gain some momentum can close the campaign on a positive note.
That's especially true in Region X, where the regular season standings have no determination on the winning team at the tournament -- and the district qualifier.

LOUISBURG -- Quint Hester is now attending the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but his legacy remains at Louisburg High School.
Last year, Hester started the Warrior Pride 5-K Fun Run with the idea of raising money for Louisburg's Scholarship Fund. The inaugural event proved to be a success, but Hester's graduation meant that another LHS student would have to step up and take over responsibility of the race.
Reed Wheless, a multi-sport athlete, accepted the challenge and helped stage the run, which was held last Saturday morning on the LHS campus.