Recent Articles

LOUISBURG--Juanita Stokes Williams, 85, of Louisburg died Sunday, March 20, 2016 at Wake Medical Center. Born on February 27, 1931 to the late William Calvin "W.C." and Norma Hines Stokes. Juanita had a music degree from Greensboro Womens College and taught piano lessons and she loved traveling the world.

LOUISBURG--George Herman Murphy, Jr., 83, of Louisburg passed away suddenly on Monday, March 21, 2016 in his home.

YOUNGSVILLE --Alicia Palacios, 53, died Friday, March 18, 2016. A funeral service was held Sunday, March 20, at 2 p.m. at the Falls of Neuse Pentecostal Holiness Church, 9501 Fonville Rd., Wake Forest, with Pastor Abbott officiating. Burial followed in the Wake Forest Town Cemetery.

ROCKY MOUNT--Funeral services for Isiah Joshua Johnson, 28, who died Sunday, March 13, 2016, will be held Saturday, March 19, at 11 a.m. at Union Hill Baptist Church, with the Rev. John Richardson officiating. Burial will follow in the Forest Hill Cemetery.

LOUISBURG -- The county's planning board recently recommended county commissioners approve what would be the largest solar farm in Franklin County.
Carolina Solar has proposed building a 278-acre solar farm on just over 701 acres off T.K. Allen Road. If approved, it could be the company's third solar farm in Franklin County.
Last week, county commissioners approved a 40-acre Carolina Solar farm proposal located off Tides Lane off N.C. 39, and the planning board at its meeting the next day recommended that commissioners approve another Carolina Solar farm, 65 acres on May Day Drive.

Wayne Champion (left) was recently recognized for 25 years of service with N. C. Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. He is shown here with Bennie Ray Gupton, president of the Franklin County Farm Bureau, who presented the award. A lifelong resident of Franklin County, Wayne was contracted as an agent with Farm Bureau on Feb. 1, 1991, and earned his professional LUTCF designation five years later. During his 25 years of service, he has received many awards for his sales achievements from Farm Bureau, including Master Agent and "Top 75" which is given to top producing agents each year by the company.

LOUISBURG -- The continuing school budget crisis fueled by both the NC General Assembly and the Franklin County commissioners will again impact school staffing this fall with more cuts potentially on the way.
Under a budget approved Monday night, the county schools will cut another 24 teaching positions -- 18 of them in elementary schools and six in secondary schools.
That brings the total number of teacher cuts to 43 since the 2008 recession began. In addition the district has cut 23 teacher assistants and non-instructional personnel, all by not refilling vacant positions after resignations or retirement.

LOUISBURG -- Just under 39 percent of Franklin County voters turned out for the primary, electing some new and old faces on the school board and setting up battles for the county commission this fall.
Unofficial tallies from Tuesday night's election saw:
Assistant Superintendent Tommy Piper beat out incumbent District 2 School Board member Synthia Richardson, 1,651 votes to 1,186.

LOUISBURG -- There are going to be a number of new faces at Franklin County schools come fall, some the result of retirements and some because of reassignments.
On Monday night, the school board accepted the retirement resignations of two veteran principals, Jewell Eason at Bunn Elementary School and James Harris at the Early College High School.

YOUNGSVILLE -- The Town Hall has wiring issues.
Cracks at the police department have been sealed with thick foam to keep out mice.
Both buildings have poor roofs and electrical issues.
And, the plumbing is so bad that if you flush the bathroom at Town Hall, you have to wait about 30 minutes if you want to use the one at the police department.

Members of Girl Scout Troops 508 and 961 recite Pledge

Deputies are looking for suspects alleged to have shot at an occupied house.
No injuries or damages were reported.
According to a report, a resident at a home in the 1400 block of Walter Grissom Road reported hearing gunshots the evening of March 12. Deputies found a shell casing, but didn't find evidence that the home was hit.

After a sleepless night recently, I had an epiphany: North Carolina must modify its constitution.
I've always been deathly afraid of Constitutional amendments because of unintended consequences.
But I can't see an alternative.
The amendment should specify that, under penalty of death for violation, no public building could ever again be built with a flat roof -- or a nearly flat roof.

Spring is springing -- and will be here officially in just a few days.
While the season means many different things to different people, a couple of pertinent facts are worth pointing out along with a cautionary note.
As temperatures warm and it becomes even more pleasant to be outside, certain kinds of accidents become more common.
A case in point happened last week when a coed, crossing North Main Street at Louisburg College was clipped by a passing car.

An annual report that ranks the healthiest places across the country has Franklin County somewhere around the midsection of healthy counties in North Carolina.
You wanna guess where the county scored the worst?
Here's a hint, it was in two categories and both can be extremely deadly.
While the county had fairly pedestrian ratings on issues such as length of life and quality of life, there were two issues that anyone who has spent more than a day in Franklin County knows dragged the rating down.

When evaluating the worth of a public official, the first thing I consider is their judgment; one of the best ways to ascertain whether it is good or not is to review their priorities.
Recently, the Republicans in Raleigh gave an issue the highest priority they have given anything since gaining control of the General Assembly in 2011.
Was it nuclear war? Was it a foreign invasion?

A few days ago we learned who the winners of the 2016 Primary Election were.
To all that competed honorably and fairly, thank you for taking on the challenge.
To those that took the low road, bending the laws as you lied about your competition, shame on you, and shame on those who knowingly supported your dishonesty.

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hedrick and Mr. and Mrs. Clay Cannady of Franklinton announce the engagement of their daughter, Kristin Snow Hedrick to Michael Paul Nastasi, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nastasi of Wake Forest. A May wedding is planned.

The United Way of Franklin County's grant cycle for 2016 is open through April 21.
Any non-profit agency in the county or government exempt program can apply.
Applications (eight copies) may be mailed to PO Box 342, Louisburg, NC 27549 or hand delivered to 101 N. Church Street, Louisburg.
Applications can be found at www.uwfc.org

RODEO SWEETHEART -- Julie Ford, 6, of Epsom was crowned Miss Rodeo North Carolina Sweetheart during the first Miss Rodeo pageant held in the state in recent years. The first grader at Laurel Mill Elementary competed Jan. 30 in the Miss Rodeo North Carolina pageant at the Southeastern Ag Center in Lumberton, in conjunction with an N.C. Horse Council Show. She is the daughter of Darlene Vaughan-Peoples and Jack Peoples. The Miss Rodeo N.C. pageant is the state division of the Miss Rodeo America pageant.

LOUISBURG -- The passenger in a fatal wreck that investigators believe was fueled by alcohol is suing the owner of the store where he alleges beer was sold to the underage driver.
Perry Jackson Frazier, 18, was driving a pickup truck during the early morning hours of Oct. 10 when he ran off the road, hit a tree, was ejected and killed.
According to the March 7 lawsuit, his passenger, Dustin Garriss, 18, suffered a traumatic brain injury, fractures of his cervical spine, and an avulsion -- tearing away -- of his left ear.

FRANKLINTON -- Police arrested two Cary women on heroin charges after catching them in a compromising situation.
Officers responded to a report of indecent exposure during the evening hours of March 9 to find Sarah Sims, 26, and Page Csonka, 25, in a car in the Walgreens parking lot.
As one of the suspects, who was in a state of undress, put her clothes on and got out, according to the report, police allege bags of heroin fell from her shorts.

RALEIGH -- A jury awarded a sheriff's deputy close to half a million dollars for injuries she suffered as a highway patrol cadet back in 2008.
Attorneys for Jennifer Martin hope the March 2 verdict serves as a catalyst for change within the State Highway Patrol's cadet program.
"... We are now hopeful, finally, that there will be an honest examination of practices there so that this does not happen to any cadets in the future," attorneys Leonard Jernigan and Robert Zaytoun said in a statement.