Recent Articles

LOUISBURG - Doris Strange Phelps, 89, of Louisburg, died Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016.

Franklin County Emergency Services is opening the Louisburg Senior Center in the Shannon Village Shopping Center on Bickett Boulevard in Louisburg as an emergency shelter, beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Any resident who feels the need to seek shelter can go.
Companion animals, however, will not be allowed at the shelter. They can be taken to the county's Animal Control Shelter on T. Kemp Road in Louisburg.

Nell Perry Beasley, 88, of Louisburg, went to join her Lord Thursday, February 18, 2016. She was a daughter of the late O. W. and Nellie W. Perry. She was preceded in death by her husband, Sam Beasley; sisters, Virginia Mitchiner, Linda Jones, Rebecca Elmore and Billie Ethridge.

Beloved husband and father, Derree "Darrell" Maurice Tant, 63, of Wilson, passed on November 21, 2015. Known for his infectious laugh and sharp wit, Darrell was always there to lend a hand to those in need. An avid outdoorsman, Darrell hunted at the Law Club in Warren County, NC where he was known as Ghost.

LOUISBURG-Bobby Wheless Murphy, 74, of Louisburg died Saturday, February 20, 2016, at Nash General Hospital.

FRANKLINTON - Funeral Services for Wilbert Jeffreys, 73, who died on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, will be held Saturday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. from the Union Grove Baptist Church in Youngsville.

Arthur Maitland Burkam Jr. passed away Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. He was born on January 9, 1931 as an only child to Arthur Maitland Burkam Sr, and Sue Simpson Burkam.

KITTRELL - Clyde John Woodby, 86, of Kittrell, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 at his home.

FRANKLINTON -- David Leonard Garrett, 91, a resident of 7 North Second Street, Franklinton, died Tuesday February, 23, 2016 at Maria Parham Medical Center. Born in Vance County on December 13, 1924 he was the son of the late Nolon Garrett and Mabel Morton Garrett. He was a veteran of the US Army and was retired from Burlington Industries. A private service will be held by the family.

Funeral services for Leah Redmond, 83, of Louisburg who died on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, will be held Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 at 12 noon from the Concord Baptist Church in Kittrell.

BUNN - Gary Stephen Green, 64, of Bunn, passed away Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 at Duke University Hospital. He was born in Troup County, Georgia and son to the late Thomas Green and Voncile Chavez Green.

LOUISBURG - James Donald Cole, 78, of Louisburg died Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at his home. He was born on June 19, 1937 to the late Arlis and Eva Lindsey Cole. Donald lived in Hendersonville, NC until finally making his home in Franklin County in 2001. He was preceded in death by his wives, Margaret Cole and Faye Breedlove Cole; his two brothers, Carol and Gordon Cole; and his sister, Hazel Cole.

LOUISURG -- Sheriff Kent Winstead keeps a folded obituary handy.
The face looking back on the worn piece of paper belonged to a cherubic 25-year-old, who is quickly becoming the face of heroin in Franklin County.
The Centers for Disease Control didn't break out the number of heroin cases, but, overall, the number of drug poisoning deaths has jumped from 366 reported in 1999 to 1,358 in 2014 -- the most recent data available.

Since late last year when Novant Health abruptly closed Franklin County's only hospital, questions have swirled about what is being done to revive the facility.
With that in mind, the Louisburg Town Council asked one of its members, Boyd Sturges, to provide an update on the situation even though Sturges has repeatedly cautioned that some of the details of the situation must be kept private as negotiations progress.
Sturges, a local attorney, spearheaded the town's efforts to deal with Novant and has been in the forefront of efforts to deal with the loss of the hospital.

LOUISBURG -- What started out as wish fulfillment has turned into a full-time job for Rose Holmes.
"We actually didn't plan to have a wedding venue," said Holmes, who since the before the summer of 2014, has worked to turn her family farm into the backdrop for matrimony.
"My daughter [Leslie Holmes Cordero] wanted to get married at home. She said she couldn't have her dream wedding anywhere but at her mom's," Holmes recalled.

LOUISBURG -- Town officials heard some sobering financial warnings about the direction its Electrical Department is heading even as town officials consider a rate reduction for both residential and business users.
The warnings came from Mark Beauchamp, president of Utility Financial Solutions, a company hired by ElectriCities to help communities decide how to react now that the utility has sold off its generating assets, drastically lowering debt payments.

Franklinton Mayor Art Wright presents Town Manager Tammy Ray with 15-year service award

Wake Forest Police arrested two teenagers and a juvenile in connection with a series of recent break-ins.
Police received more than a dozen reports of break-ins of unlocked vehicles, storage sheds and garages during the overnight hours of Feb. 6.
By noon on Feb. 6, police arrested Christopher M. Ray, 18, of Gordon Moore Road, 19-year-old Devin Bilodeau of Wake Forest, and a juvenile.
Bilodeau and Ray were charged with burglary, breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, attempted breaking and entering, breaking and entering a motor vehicle and misdemeanor larceny.

Whoa! For a moment there I was almost ready to yell "stop the presses" because there were some really new ideas floated in a local government meeting -- and they came amid a plethora of good news.
That's not exactly what grizzled old reporters expect to find when they drag themselves to a budget/planning retreat which is usually about as exciting as watching paint dry.

A few weeks ago, this newspaper suggested in an editorial that it was time for an in-depth audit of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
For the record, that's something that current Sheriff Kent Winstead fully supports -- and actually promised would happen when he was running for that office more than a year ago.
But since that editorial, two things have happened which make the request for an audit obsolete.

I came across a rather interesting headline the other day, so I was compelled to read the story.
The headline blared: 'Teachers can lose license elsewhere, work in Tennessee.'
So here are the key points:

LOUISBURG -- Personal property belonging to a suspected killer is set to go on sale next month.
In December, Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood issued an order allowing the sheriff's office to sell two vehicles belonging to Garry Yarborough.
Franklinton police arrested the 35-year-old in July, hours after they allege he shot and killed his estranged girlfriend, Tracy Williams.
Attorneys representing Williams' children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Yarborough in September -- alleging Yarbrough was responsible for inflicting severe emotional distress.

COUNTY NATIVES TO HELP. Maude is getting some assistance from two Franklin County men who are making it big in the music business. Maude, of course, is the 1921 American La France type 75 fire engine that is once again owned by the Louisburg Fire Department. The truck was Louisburg's very first motorized fire engine and is a candidate for restoration. That's where Jason Michael Carroll and Larry Frick enter the picture. They have agreed to hold a concert fund-raiser on March 5 at the Louisburg College Jones Performing Arts Center.