Recent Articles

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Terry Lennette Winston, age 52, who died on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, will be held at 2 .m. Wednesday, March 6, 2024 from the Mitchner's Grove Baptist Church in Franklinton with Pastor Melvin Jackson, Eulogist and Rev. Timothy Green officiating. Burial will follow in the Mitchner's Grove Church Cemetery.

CASTALIA, NC -- Funeral services for Thomas "Tom" Strickland, Jr., age 60, who died Thursday, February 22, 2024, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 9, 2024 from the Red Budd Holy Church in Rocky Mount with Bishop Warren C. Lynch officiating. Burial will follow in the William Morris Cemetery.

BLOOMFIELD, CT, (Formerly of Louisburg, NC) -- Graveside services for Shirley T. Young Paddyfote, age 87, who died on Nov. 10, 2023, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 8, 2024 from the New Liberty Church Cemetery in Louisburg with Bishop Faison officiating.

ORLANDO, FL, (formerly of Louisburg, NC) -- Funeral services for Thomas Napoleon Alston, age 70, who passed away Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, will be held on at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 9, 2024 from the Kinches Chapel Christian Church in Franklinton with Rev. Willie R. Nixon III, eulogist. Burial will follow in the Cemetery on the Hill.

BUNN -- Town planners are drafting policy that would allow Franklin County to build an emergency services radio tower at Bunn High School.
It would require planning board review and commissioner action, with public hearings at each step of the process.
Franklin County staff would only say that they are working with Bunn to resolve an appropriate location for the public safety radio tower.

LOUISBURG -- Investigators with the State Fire Marshal's office are investigating a blaze that totally destroyed a Louisburg business.
Initially, though, the cause of the fire that destroyed Clifton Auto Sales on Bickett Boulevard remains undetermined.
"It's undetermined, right now, because of the damage," said Randy Lanham, Louisburg's fire chief as well a fire investigator with the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

LOUISBURG -- Following another prolonged discussion of a temporary "white flag" shelter, the Louisburg Town Council tabled the whole matter pending further study.
A white flag shelter is a temporary shelter that would be available only during a period of very cold weather -- and open for only a very few hours at a time.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County investigators linked an addictive drug to a teen's death last week.
Franklin County authorities responded to a home in the 1700 block of Old Halifax Road the afternoon of Feb. 17 to find 18-year-old Jacob Cope dead.
In an incendiary social media post on Tuesday, Sheriff Kevin White attributed the death to Fentanyl.
"I am angry," White said. "Mad as hell actually.

CASTALIA -- "Firefighters are a brotherhood. We look out for one of our own." Leland Joyner, chief of the Castalia Fire Department, described the sentiment but not the scope of the outpouring of fire trucks and more than 80 firefighters Saturday for a tribute parade to Castalia Fire Captain David "Pac-Man" Braswell.
Capt. Braswell, an active member of the Castalia Fire Department for 38 years, is out on extended medical leave.
Along with Joyner, Braswell watched the massive demonstration of support from his front porch along NC 58 in Castalia.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Funeral services for a longtime firefighter and community stalwart are set for today, Feb. 29.
Youngsville Fire Department Safety Officer Louis Dunston died Feb. 20, in what is characterized as a line of duty death. He was 78.
On Feb. 19, the U.S. Fire Administration said, Dunston was participating in departmental training.
The next day, Dunston experienced an apparent cardiac arrest, authorities said, and could not be revived.

Sinorris Branch at the Louisburg Senior Center

SPRING HOPE -- Two men in their forties, one from Spring Hope and one from Bailey, are being held in the Nash County Detention Facility on $100,000 secured bonds after their arrests for alleged sex crimes against a 20-year-old woman described as "mentally incapacitated."
A third man, 39-year-old Aaron Danay Lucas of NC 581, Spring Hope, has reportedly turned himself in after a felony arrest warrant was issued for him but no other information about charges was available at press time.

If you're reading this column while it's hot off the press, you're reading a Leap Year edition on the 29th day of February.
It's one of those calendar-making quirks which makes the every-four-year adjustment that is just plain weird, but which makes the numbers work.
But, in any case, we've all pretty much survived February, one of the truly dreary months of the year and, if we can get through the first couple of weeks of March, maybe springtime will brighten things up.

Early voting ends this Saturday and we have a primary election slated for Tuesday.
And, no, I'm not going to blame you if this primary election has sort of snuck up on you.
And, yes, I am going to admit that I have yet to cast a ballot.
But, that doesn't mean I won't.

Dear editor: On Feb. 22, 2024, Laken Riley was found dead. She was a nursing student and was reported missing after she did not return from jogging on the campus of The University of Georgia.
The initial autopsy indicated she died from blunt force trauma to the head.

COLLEGE VISITORS - Founded in 1970, Austin, Texas-based Asleep at the Wheel has been part of the American Roots Music landscape for more than 50 years. Inspired by Western Swing and Honky-Tonk Country, the band has accrued 10 Grammy Awards. They have released more than 20 studio albums, and have had more than 20 singles on the Billboard country charts. Asleep at the Wheel regularly plays between 180 and 200 dates a year, traversing the globe as ambassadors of Western swing music.

LOCAL TEAM FARES WELL. Franklin County Schools' Winterguard team shone in recent competitions. Winterguard, under the direction of Bailey Pelt, Meredith Bryan and Kerry Shimfessel, has been seeing success in their 2024 season. The team is composed of students from schools throughout Franklin County. This year's show is titled "Dance of the Faerie Folk" and is designed to symbolize the myth of joining a faerie circle and dancing until one dies. The team uses conventional flag, rifle, and sabre work and dynamic formations to convey their theme.

RED OAK -- Talk about role reversal -- that's been the main theme of the 2023-24 Big East Conference girls basketball season.
Last year, Rocky Mount defeated rival Franklinton four times en route to reaching the Class 3-A State Finals.
Retribution was 365 days in the making for FHS, which has completed a clean sweep of the Gryphons this time around -- including a victory last Friday night over RM in the Big East Conference Tournament Championship Game.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Bunn's continued dominance and Southern Nash's recent resurgence were the main storylines this winter in the always-tough Big East Conference wrestling scene.
Bunn, guided by veteran skipper Parker Haake, claimed its third consecutive regular season league dual crown en route to making the Elite Eight of the Class 2-A State Playoffs (after back-to-back years in the state finals).

RED OAK -- The date was January 6, and the Northern Nash Fighting Knights had just dropped to 6-7 overall following a loss to a strong Fayetteville Westover club.
Though only seven weeks in the past, that time seems forever ago for the now-rolling Knights, who haven't been defeated since as part of a 13-game winning streak.

RALEIGH -- Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, has announced that the team is launching its 2024-25 season ticket campaign.
Current Season Ticket Members will have the first right of refusal to renew their plans through mid-March and will receive information and invoices via email this week.

ESSAY WINNER. Randi Arrington, a 12 year-old Bunn Middle School student and current Carolina's Our Little Preteen North Carolina, recently won a Juneteenth essay contest for 13-18 year olds, held by The Town of Wake Forest. Her winning essay is now on permanent display at the Alston-Massenburg building in Wake Forest. For the past two years, she has also had a segment on the Louisburg radio station, every third Saturday of the month.

Raleigh, NC--Funeral services for Itous "Higgie" Stallings, Jr., age 66, who died on Thursday, February 22, 2024, will be held on Saturday, March 2, at 11 a.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Perry's Church Cemetery.