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LOUISBURG -- A shot fired during a cold morning in January 2023 took 19-year-old Hamilton Woods from his family.
A jury decided Gavin Miller's decision to fire that .40-caliber hollow point bullet was murder -- and not self defense -- convicting him of second degree murder after a week-long trial.
Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson sentenced him to between 192 and 243 months in prison.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners agreed to inject more than another million dollars into the sheriff's department to retain and attract officers.
Franklin County management already planned to install countywide salary adjustments in October as recommended by its pay and classification study.
County Manager Kim Denton said it's estimated that the sheriff's office would have realized about half a million dollars in increased funding for salaries spread across the sheriff's office, jail staff and courthouse bailiffs.

Normal activities paused for a few moments last Wednesday as firefighters and others held the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony on the courthouse steps. Old Glory was flying high, held aloft by two fire department ladder trucks as the terrorist attack that shook America was remembered and those lost that day were memorialized.

LOUISBURG -- There was a lot to like -- and things to be concerned about -- in the statewide data on student performance for the 2023-24 school year that was recently announced and which was presented in great detail to the Franklin County Board of Education Monday.
Although Superintendent Rhonda Schuhler told the board that "a lot more work needs to be done" to improve student performance, there was a lot to be proud of in the data.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town commissioners put their support behind an alignment of the southern tip of the bypass that's expected to have the least environmental and home impacts.
In the months prior to the board's Sept. 12 meeting, town staff worked with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization representatives to amend the path of the bypass -- the genesis of the Youngsville Bypass Hot Spot Analysis.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners approved three EMS positions to get through a staffing pinch.
On behalf of the Emergency Medical Services Department, Assistant County Manager Ryan Preble asked the board for nearly $200,000, covering three three emergency medical positions.
The item was on the board's Sept. 3 agenda, set to be passed with no discussion, but Commission Chair Harry Foy said he wanted clarity about the department's staffing levels.

Jacki Waldron, Louisburg's new finance director

Don't push the panic button, but summer is just about over!
Fall begins this Sunday, Sept. 22, although it's been feeling a bit "fallish" over the last several days.
For many of us -- even those of us who don't mind the heat -- a respite from this summer's humidity will be quite welcome.
So welcome, in fact, I've seen a lot of folks getting outside to do long-delayed chores or to just have a little fun before you-know-what arrives and it gets downright chilly.

Court TV doesn't have a live feed inside the Franklin County Courthouse.
And, the superior courtroom doesn't have stadium seating.
But, as I spent the better part of last week covering a murder trial, I couldn't help but wish that every parent and every teenager in Franklin County could have listened to witnesses recount the months, weeks, days, hours and minutes leading up to a tragedy during the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2023 -- on a nondescript, Youngsville-area cul de sac.

Dear editor: The lack of maintenance at the Owens Disc Golf Park is disappointing.
It has not been taken care of since this spring and it is no longer an enjoyable playing experience. Local players are going to Wake Forest, Wilson, Cary, Farmville, Rocky Mount and other nearby courses to play as a result.
Tee boxes and fairways are overgrown and basket areas are also not being mowed.

Dear editor: I'm hoping Franklin County's property tax revaluation gets more attention than the road sign covered by vegetation on South bound Bickett in advance of the Bickett Blvd. / NC 56 intersection.
At the Franklin County public meeting about property tax revaluation earlier this year didn't Franklin County residents say no to property tax revaluation?
Our farmland in Franklin County's revaluation came to $478,740. Even with a senior citizens' discount our property tax bill was about double what it was in 2023.

Dear editor: It's time to call a spade a spade.
Most longtime area residents probably know that our county was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was arguably the wisest and most versatile of our founding fathers. He was also "a little d democrat."

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Clara Delois Bullock, age 71 who died on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, were held 1 p.m., Monday, September 16, from the Jones Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Louisburg, NC.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Glenn Douglas Bullock Sr., age 77 who died on Monday, September 16, 2024, will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, September 21, from the Jones Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Louisburg, NC.

LOUISBURG, NC--Funeral services for Lela Mae Sutton, age 90 who died on Saturday, September 7, 2024, will be held 1 p.m., Thursday, September 19, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, NC.

BUNN, NC-- Margaret Louise Strickland White, 92, of Bunn, died Saturday morning, September 14, 2024 at her home.

LOUISBURG, NC--Marie Fergus Pearce, 78, passed away on September 14, 2024 at Maria Parham Health in Henderson, NC. Marie was born on January 26, 1946 to the late John and Estelle Salley Fergus. In addition to her parents, Marie preceded in death by her husband, William R. Pearce; and her son, Bryon Pearce.

LOUISBURG,NC-- Raymond Bennett Joyner, 64, died on September 7, 2024. Bennett was born January 13, 1960 to Edna Mahler Joyner and the late Malcolm E. Joyner, Sr.

Henderson, NC--Funeral services for Samuel Lee "Sammy" Alston, age 69, who died on Monday, September 16, 2024, will be held 2 p.m., Tuesday, September 24, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Cemetery on the Hill.

Franklinton, NC--Terry R. McCane, age 85, of Franklinton, NC, died September 10, 2024.

Rocky Mt., NC--Funeral services for Vanell H. Hedgepeth, age 89 who died on Saturday, September 14, 2024, will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, September 21, from the Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hollister, NC.

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Walter Henry Hargrove, age 83 who died on Sunday, September 15, 2024, will be held 2 p.m., Sunday, September 22, at Faith Missionary Church in Louisburg, NC.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Defenses have certainly been running ahead of offenses through the early portion of the 2024 high school football season in Franklin County.
Franklinton, Bunn and Louisburg have all flashed signs of being strong on the defensive side of the ball, but points continue to be harder to come by.
Nowhere is that more evident than at FHS, where the Red Rams are 1-3 despite allowing just a combined 70 points during those four outings.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Barring an upset, it's looking like another Nash County kind of season this fall in the Big East Conference football standings.
The county ruled the Big East last fall, with Southern Nash (Class 3-A and overall) and Nash Central (Class 2-A) claiming the crowns in their respective classifications.

BUNN -- There have been a few changes within the Bunn High School boys soccer program, but the scoreboard result isn't one of them.
Last season, Bunn reached the third round of the Class 2-A State Playoffs under the direction of John Rappold.
Over the summer, Rappold stepped down from his head coaching duties, but has remained as an assistant under new skipper Brad Davis -- Rappold's former assistant himself.

HENDERSON -- The name and colors might be different, but Aaron Elliott knows he's at home when he steps onto the campus at Vance County High School.
Several years ago, Southern Vance and Northern Vance merged to create Vance County HS on the former SV campus south of Henderson.
After struggling to build the school's football program into a consistent winner, Vance County turned to Elliott three years ago -- and the results have been phenomenal.

ZEBULON -- The Fredericksburg Nationals punched their ticket to the Carolina League Championship Series with a 5-2 win over the homestanding Carolina Mudcats last Thursday at Five County Stadium.
Fredericksburg went on to tangle with Kannapolis in this week's championship series.

Pianist Benjamin Hochman will return to Cherry Hill in a performance of Beethoven works on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Hochman, born in Jerusalem, now resides in Berlin, Germany. He performed at Cherry Hill when he was visiting professor of piano at East Carolina University.
Hochman fills many roles, from orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician to conductor. He regards music as vital and essential, and members of the music performance world recognize his deep commitment to insightful programming and performances of quality.

The muscadine grape is a nutritional powerhouse.
Like many intensely colored fruits, vegetables, and berries, the muscadine grape is a rich source of polyphenols.
The skins and seeds of muscadine grapes are particularly rich in the polyphenolic compound resveratrol, which has been studied for its anti-oxidant benefits in numerous diseases, including cancer and heart disease.

LOUISBURG -- An animal welfare advocate praised county improvements within animal services, but criticized one commissioner who still allegedly appears to be antagonistic toward progress.
During the public comments portion of the board's Sept. 3 meeting, Carla Roshitsh took an opportunity to praise county leadership for improvements at the shelter, noted she is buoyed by a reinvigorated animal services advisory board and called into question Commissioner Roxanne Bragg's continued antagonism toward animal services.

LOUISBURG -- What has become a biennial celebration, again, bolstered the efforts of a small farmer.
Dinner in the Meadow serves as a fundraiser for the Leonard-Mobley Small Farm grant, established to support and cultivate small farms in the state.
Grant award winner Beth Gayden, who operates Shrooms to Grow -- an organic mushroom farm in southern Franklin County that specializes in gourmet and medicinal forest farmed mushrooms -- said she got bitten by the farming bug when she got tired of feeling like a commuter drone.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners agreed to talk a bit more about their emergency radio system on the front end, hoping to avoid communication shortcomings on the back end.
In August, commissioners approved some change orders to the system, primarily to address the relocation of a tower site in Bunn.
Included in the list of change orders, though, was a decision to accept that along a two-mile area of U.S. 401 near the Wake/Franklin County line, emergency communication signals would be slightly less able to penetrate dense buildings -- like big box stores -- than engineers originally planned.

September is Smart Start Month following a proclamation from Gov. Roy Cooper.
The proclamation acknowledges the Smart Start Network's commitment for over 30 years to ensuring all North Carolina's young children enter school healthy and prepared for success.
FGV Smart Start, Inc. has been a member of the Smart Start Network since 1997.

Rayo Studio recently held their grand opening in Louisburg. The hair salon is located at 115 Jolly St. Pictured from left: Maria Ordonez, Stylist/Barber; Areli Rayo, Owner/Stylist; Flavia Sanchez, Salon Manager/Stylist; and Marisol Labra - Makeup Artist.