Recent Articles

Louisburg, NC--Funeral services for Patrick P. Bumpers, age 41, who died on Thursday, August 29, 2024, were held 11 a.m., Saturday, September 7, from the Allen Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Stanley Dunston officiating. Burial followed in the Oakwood Cemetery.

CASTALIA, NC--Minnie Colbert Wilson, 81, of Castalia, died Thursday morning, September 5, 2024 at her home.

NASHVILLE, NC-- Donnie Ray Richard, 73, of Nashville, NC diedWednesday evening, September 4, 2024.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners committed to increase their support toward a grant application that could help build a new Franklinton Elementary School.
This is the third year that Franklin County public schools will have sought $42 million in state funds to replace the aging school.
The first two years, though, the state has required a 5-percent local match to pull down the Needs Based Public School Capital Fund grant.

BUNN -- Town commissioners are set to decide whether a property next to Bunn Elementary School is rezoned to allow light industry -- making way for a meat processing facility.
Abdell Othman has petitioned the town to rezone 4.84 acres at 685 Bunn Elementary School Road from low density residential (R-1) to Light Industrial (I-1).
According to town staff, Othman wants to process cattle and sheep, using a kosher process, inside a building to be built on the property.

LOUISBURG -- Vance-Granville Community College's Small Business Center named a Franklinton nonprofit food ministry as its Small Business of the Year.
VGCC presented the honor to Sowing Seeds during a celebration last month.
"[Sowing Seeds Operator Joni McPhetridge] is an exceptional individual," said Carolyn Perry, director of VGCC's Small Business Center.
"Her combination of humor, self-motivation, and leadership are truly inspiring qualities," Perry said.

BUNN -- Town commissioners will decide whether bars, nightclubs and taverns are allowed in its downtown district.
If commissioners side with the town's planning board, though, downtown will remain a party-free zone.
Back in July, Deana Leggett and Kyle Smith petitioned the Bunn planning board to change zoning so it can operate a bar at the former First Citizens Bank building at 321 Main Street.

From left, Todd, Joni and their daughter, Rebekah McPhetridge, accept Vance-Granville Community College's Small Business Center Small Business of the Year award.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County has tasked a former sheriff with shepherding its animal services department on a temporary basis.
Jerry Jones began work on Tuesday as the county's interim animal services manager.
Jones previously served as sheriff from 2002 to 2006, and again from 2011 to 2014.
It was during that second stint that Franklin County placed the authority of animal control under the authority of the sheriff's office.

After holding a brief discussion over the propriety of even meeting, the Louisburg town council held a nearly two hour executive session last Thursday evening and then adjourned after taking no action or even announcing what the purpose of the closed-door meeting had been.
The meeting -- held in the old town hall facility on Nash Street instead of the more traditional Karl Pernell Safety Center meeting space -- began at about 6 p.m.
Councilman Tom Clancy said almost immediately that it was his "understanding" that the meeting would not be valid because of what he termed issues of proper notification.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's former commission chairman said he and his colleagues failed at every level regarding revaluation.
And, the recent disbursement of tax bills is the punctuation.
For the second consecutive meeting, a property owner appeared before commissioners to lament their tax bill and their inability to get relief.

ZEBULON -- A toddler was killed last week when he was run over by a pickup truck.
No charges were filed against the driver -- the child's grandfather.
According to Trooper C.R. Lanham, Jonathan Martinez Juarez, was apparently playing in a ditch area in front of his 1108 Ridgecrest Drive home when the accident occurred at about 1 p.m. on Aug. 28.

With Labor Day now securely behind us, we've turned that proverbial corner that usually brings changes well beyond the weather.
Granted, the scorching hot and horribly humid days are behind us -- at least mostly behind us, although a few remain -- the real change this time of the year usually comes in people's attitudes.
Summer vacation season is over, the kids are back in school, football season is in full swing and a lot of those projects that have been postponed or ignored because "it's just too darn hot," will now be tackled.

Sooner, rather than later, it'll be darker, soon.
And, already, school buses are back on the road.
And, if we're being more honest than we'd like to admit, fall and winter brings about a seasonal depression that can often lead folks to drink more than usual.
Add all those things up and it makes our roads a bit more dangerous than usual.

BUNN -- Players aren't the only people who need to make adjustments when a new high school football coaching staff is implemented.
Sometimes, it's also the coaches.
Such was the case last season when Andre' Davis was selected as the new head grid coach at Bunn High School -- his alma mater.
Davis was a star quarterback during some of the Bunn glory days before heading off to Elon and Campbell to compete on the collegiate level.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Here are area schedules for the 2024 college football season:

FRANKLINTON -- Ask any expert, and they'll be quick to tell you the importance of continuity in building a successful high school football program.
Such is the case at Franklinton, which has boasted a myriad of quality players and coaches through the years.
Of course, players come and go, but so have the coaches -- and there have been some really good ones.
Franklinton hopes that problem will be remedied with the hiring of Michael Justice in the off-season.

LOUISBURG -- Strange as it may sound, it's as if a time capsule landed at Louisburg High School and took away two consecutive senior classes from the Warriors' football program.
Last year, the Warriors had only five seniors on their roster -- but quality certainly trumped quantity in the form of now-graduated greats Donte' Strickland, Anthony Carter and Isaiah Eddie.

County Commission Vice Chair Roxanne Bragg tours Royal Elementary

KITTRELL, NC--Shawn Kelly Wright, 41, of Kittrell died unexpectedly at her home on Tuesday August 27, 2024. She was born on October 1, 1982 to Joey and Susan Wright.

DURHAM, NC--Edward Lee Charleston, 84, of Durham (formerly of Franklinton, NC) died Saturday, August 31, 2024.

ROCKY MOUNT, NC -- Memorial services for Luzionna Richardson, age 80, who died on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 from the Richardson Funeral Home in Louisburg, NC. Rev. Thomas Richardson, officiating.

RALEIGH, NC--Sheila A. Arnold, born on March 19, 1973, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 26, 2024, after a courageous 14-month battle with cancer. She was 51 years old.