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LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Animal Services Advisory Board opted to wait until they have a full board before electing a chair and vice chair.
But, for the first time in months, they have maintained a quorum and continue to bite off significant animal care issues.
At Monday's meeting, residents brought spay and neuter regulations and tethering laws to the table.
Dee Sams, an animal advocate who used to volunteer at the shelter, said the advisory board should consider recommending that the county install a countywide spay and neuter ordinance.

FRANKLINTON -- For AG Anderson, Henry Hanson, JD Henderson and Leah Williams, their time at FACT started out like "Perfect Strangers," but ended up as "Friends."
Now, they're a "Modern Family," connected through the theater.
"They would have never met without [the Franklinton Area Community Theatre]," said Lisa Lawrence, the founder of the community drama program since its inception 20 years ago.

YOUNGSVILLE -- The Miracle League of Franklin County's plans for an all-inclusive playground cleared a hurdle.
During its March 20 meeting, Franklin County's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recommended using more than half a million dollars of rec in lieu funds to build the playground -- completing Phase 3 of the Miracle League's development at Long Mill Elementary School.
Miracle League, which provides baseball and other activities for kids and adults with physical, developmental and behavioral disabilities, built an accessible ball field at the Youngsville school back in 2013 as part of Phase 1.

Relay for Life volunteers Cornelius & Mildred Cheatham celebrated 57 years of marriage March 30

It ended as we feared -- but not as we had hoped.
Last week, not long before press time, a search and recovery party managed to find the body of a 7-year-old child who had drowned in the Tar River and they returned the body to the family, giving them some degree of closure, at least.
What turned into a difficult, eight-day search began with the faint hope that it could be a rescue mission but as time quickly slipped past, the realization dawned that it would be a recovery mission.

Saying animal advocates are passionate about animal welfare is like saying water is wet or the UConn Huskies women's basketball team is in the Final Four.
It feels like a certainty or inevitability.
And, I'm not saying it's good or bad.
It just is.
The most recent meeting of the Franklin County Animal Services Board is an example.

Dear editor: When your community invests in you, you feel invested in your community.
That is something I hope our commissioners will consider as they are planning the 2026 budget. They have spent taxpayers' money and many man hours on studies to plan for the future of Franklin County.
I know of at least four studies in the last 10 years. The comprehensive plan for Franklin County was completed in 2020.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Diane Layton, 83, passed away on March 29, 2025 at her home in Louisburg, NC, surrounded by family.

FRANKLINTON, NC -- Lula Denton Bobbitt, age 100, of Franklinton, peacefully entered the gates of Heaven on March 29, 2025, because God needed another special angel to help care for all His adorable babies.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Rickey Charles Alvis, 82, of Louisburg passed away on Monday, March 31, 2025. He was born on October 29, 1942, to the late Charles Edward and Maxine Campbell Jones in Los Angeles County, California.

BALLSTON SPA, NY -- William Dexter Grice "Joe Ayscue," age 81, of Ballston Spa, NY, formerly of Franklinton, NC, passed away peacefully on March 11, 2025.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton girls basketball coach Bryan Perry figured his club would have to overcome some adversity in 2024-25, but he never expected it to happen before the campaign even began.
FHS was already destined to deal with a huge loss after then-senior Mikayla Taborn graduated before departing for Campbell University.
But Perry then found out that rising sophomore Asia Burton -- pegged to be one of the top players in the Big East Conference -- transferred to Oak City Prep in Raleigh.

JD Henderson as Mufasa and Jasper Kavanaugh as Young Simba are perched on the top of Pride Rock surrounded by the Grass Ensemble during a rehearsal for "The Lion King."

Easter festivities
• Franklin County
Franklin County will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, April 5, in Franklinton.
A specialized hunt will take place at 10 a.m. at the Franklinton Middle School gym, 224 Rams Way.

LOUISBURG -- "The Piano Men" is a musical celebration of the 1970's- year by year, hit by hit from the songbooks of Billy Joel and Elton John. The event will be held at the JPAC on Friday, April 11 as Award winning Canadian recording artist Jim Witter and his band lead a tour of an entire decade that begins with "Your Song" and winds along on a musical time machine, saluting two of the century's most popular contemporary songwriters.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies are investigating a fatal drive-by shooting.
Sheriff Kevin White didn't respond to a direct query from The Franklin Times, but posted online that deputies responded to Bert Winston Road in Youngsville at about 9:30 p.m. to find an elderly woman dead inside a home -- from apparent gunshot wounds.
Multiple casings were found in the roadway and multiple bullet holes were in the residence.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Following a recent closed session, commissioners authorized town management to move forward with acquiring the final piece of right of way for the bypass through condemnation.
Commissioner Joe Johnson was not in attendance at the meeting, but the action passed by unanimous decision.
Staff said the right of way will clear the way for the Cedar Creek Extension -- a new section of Cedar Creek that would be straightened to extend south beyond Tarboro Road to connect with N.C. 96 heading out of town.

In an effort to promote business growth in Northeast Franklin County as well as Franklin County, NC in general, the Northeast Franklin Revitalization (NEFR) Group is offering a grant program to encourage new businesses and help expand existing small businesses under two years old and with a workforce of three or less.
The grant amount will be $650 each, awarded to ten small businesses to start or expand a small business in Franklin County.