Recent Articles

FRANKLINTON -- Last weekend proved to be a historic moment in more ways than one for Franklinton High School 285-pound wrestler Landon Michael.
During the Class 3-A East Regionals at West Carteret HS, the talented Michael finished in third place in his classification -- which earned him a spot in this coming weekend's Class 3-A State Individual Championships, which will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

BRIDGEWATER, VA. -- The North Carolina Wesleyan University baseball team defeated Bridgewater 5-4 last Saturday afternoon.
The Bishops were able to hold off a late comeback from the Eagles to sweep the opening weekend series.
Wesleyan had several players with multi-hit games, including Luke Chung, who went 3-4, and Jean Legreca, who went 2-3 with a walk.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's economic development director is preparing for retirement.
Franklin County's Human Resources Department closed applications for the post on Feb. 14 as Economic Development Director Richie Duncan prepares for retirement after nearly 20 years in the office -- spending the last six-plus years as director.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County filled out its economic development when it hired a new economic development specialist.
Monique Wilkins is slated to start in that post on Monday.
For about the last three years, Wilkins served as Louisburg's economic development coordinator.

BUNN, NC -- Peyton Maddison Driver, 87, of Bunn, died Monday morning, February 13, 2023, with his family by his side.

LOUISBURG, NC - Sue Baldwin Clark, 83, of the Lake Royale Community, Louisburg, died Monday afternoon, February 6, 2023.

OXFORD, NC--Diane Marie Thorpe, age 65, of Oxford, died Thursday, February 9, 2023 at her home. She was the daughter of the late William Hockaday, Sr. and Annie Hockaday born on March 4, 1957.

Littleton, NC--Funeral services for Luther "Jabo" Hedgepeth, age 83, who died on Sunday, February 12, 2023, will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, February 18, 2023 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Robert Hedgepeth officiating. Burial will follow in the Pine Chapel Memorial Garden Cemetery.

Wake Forest, NC--Funeral services for Susie B. Tanner, age 72, who died on Sunday, February 12, 2023, will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, February 18, 2023 from the Greenfield Missionary Baptist Church in Creedmoor with Rev. Norman Cooper officiating. Burial will follow in the Greenfield Church Cemetery.

Castalia, NC--Funeral services for Joe Lee Carroll, age 69, who died on Saturday, February 11, 2023, will be held 2 p.m., Thursday, February 16, 2023 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, NC. Dr. Timothy Walker, officiating.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Rosa Lee Ruffin, age 93, who died on Thursday, February 9, 2023, will be held 12 p.m., Thursday, February 16, 2023 from the Mt. Hebron Holiness Church in Louisburg with Elder Patricia Clifton officiating. Burial will follow in the Oakwood Cemetery.

LOUISBURG, NC--Myrna Ayscue Fuller Neal, 91, of Louisburg, NC passed away on Tuesday February 7, 2023. She was born on September 3, 1931 in Franklin County, NC to the late James C. Ayscue and Bessie Wrenn Ayscue.

LOUISBURG - Gerald Thorp Leonard, 87, of Louisburg, and formerly of Newnan, Georgia, died Tuesday morning at his home.

LOUISBURG -- Two suspects accused of killing a Youngsville teen are slated to, again, appear in court.
The family of Hamilton Woods Jr. say they aren't the only two who should be facing justice.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested Gavin Lloyd Miller, 18, and 19-year-old Dillon Thomas Piper -- charging them with second degree murder in Woods' Jan. 29 death.

LOUISBURG -- County commissioners agreed to support the Youngsville bypass, but refused to commit to any action that would let a subdivision leapfrog the allocation process.
In November, Youngsville commissioners adopted and agreed to forward a resolution to county commissioners, asking them to expedite water allocation for the Rolling Meadows subdivision -- which has committed itself to building a third of the Youngsville bypass when their buildout warrants.

BUNN -- Town commissioners officially said goodbye to long-time public servant and Commissioner Mack Jones.
Then, they announced that long-time resident and zoning board member Audrey Jones would be appointed to fill his vacancy.
During Monday's meeting, though, officials invited Jones' family to attend and shared with them his impact on the community.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College, in partnership with the Tar River Center for History and Culture and Preservation North Carolina, is hosting an exhibit recognizing Black architects and builders from across the state.
Louisburg craftsman Merlyn Macon, who died in 2009, is part of Preservation North Carolina's roving exhibit called We Built This -- recognizing African American builders and their contributions.

SPRING HOPE -- The State Highway Patrol continues to investigate the circumstances that left a truck submerged in a pond and two people dead inside.
Authorities confirmed that Joshua Autrey, 14, and Milton Ray Vick, 38, were found dead inside Vick's Dodge Ram truck, which apparently ran off the road and into the water.
The vehicle was found shortly after Autrey's family reported him missing at about 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 5.

Bunn HS senior wrestler Damarion Watkins

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners are set to consider providing a business incentive to bolster an Indiana company's efforts to locate here.
Short- and long-term, said County Economic Development Director Richie Duncan, Franklin County's business park could be home to development and expansion for Advanced Systems & Integration's headquarters.
And, North Carolina could be the new home for the company's headquarters.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College officials extended the tenure of its president.
On Jan. 24, the Louisburg College Board of Trustees announced the contract extension of Gary Brown.
The five-year extension will begin at the end of his current contract in 2024.

LOUISBURG -- A Louisburg man was killed Tuesday following a head-on collision.
According to Trooper C.R. Lanham, Antonio Morales was traveling west on Flat Rock Church Road just before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday when he ran off the road to the right, hit a mailbox over-corrected, crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a van.
Morales, 62, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene.

LOUISBURG -- A Louisburg man was charged with reckless driving after crashing into Walmart last week.
Police responded to the Retail Way store just after 8 p.m. on Feb. 2 to find a Ford Explorer had crashed though a barrier, then the grocery and pharmacy doorway -- coming to rest in the breezeway between the outer door and main entrance.

With all due respect to one of North Carolina's favorite sons, all I can say after trying to watch Sunday's Pro Bowl is that "what it was, wasn't football."
I suspect everyone has heard the late Andy Griffith's ode to the gridiron called "What it was, was football."
That was recorded in November, 1953, when Griffith portrayed a country preacher who finds himself watching a football game.

Last month, I watched a pretty preposterous plot play out.
It was about a troubled little girl who found comfort in her best friend.
It just turns out that her best friend was essentially an overprotective android with murderous tendencies.