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LOUISBURG, NC - Mary Helen Bartholomew Phelps, 58, of Louisburg, died Monday evening, February 13, 2023.

LOUISBURG, NC - Owen Keith Tharrington Jr., 91, died Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at Maria Parham Health. Born June 27, 1931, in Vance County, he was the son of the late Owen Keith Tharrington Sr., and Ruth Hoyle Tharrington and was the widower of Ann Petty Tharrington.

Sunday's big game almost lived up to some of the pre-game hype -- but the ending was kind of a dud, entertainment wise.
It was unfortunate that a questionable holding call by the officials cast a pall over the contest, and allowed the Chiefs to win easily by manipulating the clock.
Granted the clock gambit was perfectly legal -- and which most of us would have done if we'd been the Chiefs' coach -- it was a sad ending for such a hard-fought, exciting game.

LOUISBURG -- The grand jury meets near the end of February and there's a chance prosecutors will seek first degree murder charges against two men accused of killing a Youngsville teenager.
Late last week, District Court Judge J. Hoyte Stultz refused to lower the bonds for Gavin Miller and Dillon Piper, the 18- and 19-year-old accused of killing Hamilton Woods Jr. on the evening of Jan. 29.

LOUISBURG -- Charges involving a fight between two girls sheds a bit more light on a January murder that sprang from the altercation.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested Gavin Miller and Dillon Piper, alleging the two were responsible for shooting and killing 19-year-old Hamilton Woods Jr. on Jan. 29.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town commissioners held off on changing zoning in a neighborhood that's seen its fair share of zoning battles.
Cary-based Land Alternatives LLC has petitioned the town to rezone 66.37 acres from Agriculture Residential to Mixed Use -- making way for 400,000 square feet of technical flex space.

CHECKUP. Dr. Cole Younger of Full Circle Mobile Vet Clinic checks out Skipper, a quarter horse owned by Lee-Ann O'Neal, right. The annual equine vaccine clinic -- held Feb. 11 -- was hosted by the Franklin County Cooperative Extension and held at the Franklin County Farmer's Market Shelter. The central location allowed horse owners to save money by not incurring a farm call fee. Younger offered Coggins, 4-Way, 5-Way, Rabies and West Nile vaccines.

Bunn Ladycat Alexis Perry

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is investigating an apparent inmate suicide at the Franklin County Detention Center.
Staff found the inmate unresponsive in his individual cell at about 7:15 a.m. on Wednesday.
Detention officers and medical staff worked to resuscitate the inmate until EMS arrived.

The Order of The Eastern Star Helen D. Collie Chapter #39 recently visited the Louisburg Fire Station, then the Louisburg Police Station, to deliver some sweet treats to the fine men and women who serve and protect Louisburg. Tommy Leonard, now retired, worked with the Louisburg Police Department for 32 years and arranged the visit to honor the fire and police professionals. The group learned the history of each department.

The first concert of 2023 at Cherry Hill will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 and will feature pianist Robert Buxton with a unique musical presentation.
The assistant professor of piano at East Carolina University will play music originally written for the violin and later transcribed for the piano.
Works by J.S. Bach, Paganini, Faure, Elgar, and Kreisler were arranged by Franz Liszt, Percy Grainger, and others, including Buxton.

I've been at this newspaper long enough that I've become part of the institutional history around here.
And, what I can tell you is that Youngsville has a very circular history when it comes to development, non development and exactly what side of the fence the town and its residents come down upon -- depending on the circumstances.
Let's start with development along Fleming Road and the Fleming Farms subdivision just outside of Youngsville.

Dear editor: I am both concerned and confused about the recent balloon sightings and when and where they were shot down.
For years NORAD has been able to track Santa Claus all the way around the world and now we are told they are unable to determine where some of these high-altitude objects came from.

WAKE COUNTY -- The Wake County Sheriff's Office said one person died and another was injured after a reported shooting Sunday afternoon near the Franklin/Wake County line.
Wake County sheriff's deputies responded to 7720 Zebulon Road -- just outside Youngsville -- at about 3:15 p.m. to find on adult dead. According to some reports, the decedent is a Youngsville resident, but authorities have not released an identification.

LOUISBURG -- A long-time tenant at the county's airport said inaction and indifference by airport staff and county officials is killing his business.
During the board's Jan. 17 meeting, Brett James, who operates a maintenance, seaplane and charter business at Triangle North Executive Airport advised the board that he's been interested in a space that's been vacant since June when Triangle Skydiving Center -- now Cadence Sky Sports -- left the space to operate their own landing zone at the airport on N.C. 56, between Louisburg and Franklinton.

Lisa McClowry will bring her portrayal of CHER, featured in her one-woman Broadway-style show, "The Beat Goes On" to the Jones Performing Arts Center, at Louisburg College. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 23.
The show incorporates dynamic dialogue, humor, seriously fun audience participation, and integrated interactive multimedia.

Back in the middle of winter, you may have noticed a red hue cast across the forest landscape; these were red maple trees blooming and is where they get their namesake. Red to yellow-orange flowers appear to float amid the bare branches. Upon closer inspection, red maple flowers are extremely intricate. Red maple trees are dioecious, meaning male or female flowers occur on separate trees. Still, it is not uncommon for both male and female flowers to appear on the same tree.

FRANKLINTON -- If ever there was a season-long rivalry that deserved an encore performance, it's the Franklilnton-Rocky Mount showdown that has been one of the highlights of the 2022-23 campaign in the Big East Conference boys basketball scene.
The clubs have played two memorable games to date, beginning with Franklinton's triple-overtime triumph at home over the Gryphons last month in a down-to-the-wire thriller.

Franklinton's Chance Walker drives for a basket during Tuesday's tournament decision against rival Bunn.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton's inside size and Bunn's perimeter speed provided an interesting contrast during Tuesday's first-round matchup in the Big East Conference Girls Basketball Tournament at the FHS Gymnasium.
But the result was the same as the two regular season meetings as the Lady Rams' paint prowess was simply too much for the smaller Ladycats.

Bunn's Alana Sanders (with ball) drives toward the basket during Tuesday's matchup at victorious Franklinton in the first round of the Big East Conference Girls Basketball Tournament.

BUNN -- These are whirlwind times for high school wrestlers -- especially when deep postseason surges are involved.
Such is the case at Bunn High School, where the Wildcats are experiencing limited turnaround time in both individual and dual team formats.
Less than one week after the Wildcats took part in the Class 2-A State Team Championships, they were back on the mat last weekend as they hosted the 2-A Mideast Regional Individual Championships at the Bunn Dome.

Bunn High School's Austin Chastain (left) will represent the Wildcats at the Class 2-A State Wrestling Championships this weekend in Greensboro.