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LOUISBURG, NC -- Barbara Ann Debnam, 89, passed away on November 22, 2025 at her home in Louisburg. Barbara was born on February 11, 1936 to the late Harold and Elsie Bailey Hudson.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Archie Lee Silver, age 76, who died on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 29 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Benjamin Jenkins officiating.

LOUISBURG - Rita Sellers Daniels, 74, of Louisburg, passed away Wednesday afternoon, November 19, 2025.

Roanoke Rapids, NC -- Joyce Evelyn Joyner Hurst, 93, of Roanoke Rapids, NC, passed away peacefully on November 20, 2025.

Dr. Daniel Steinert will present the fourth annual Thanksgiving program at Cherry Hill on Sunday, Nov. 23 beginning at 3 p.m.
The concert will feature the talents of Dr. Steinert as pianist and conductor, along with his daughter Caroline and violinist Eric McCracken.
Adding their voices to the program will be the Cherry Hill Children's Voices under the direction of Joyce Roberts, music director of the Cherry Hill Concert Series.
The program, titled "Autumn Anthems of Thanksgiving," will include works by Drovak, Rachmaninoff, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Bach, and traditional and folk music to fit this season of joy and blessing.

The Bee Gees Gold tribute is the experience of seeing The Bee Gees in their prime. Backed by a live band, they recreate the look and sound of the Bee Gees from the 1960's to the late 70's with their unique falsettos that made them legends.
Bee Gees Gold performs early hits as "Massachusetts" and "I Started a Joke" to the later disco classics such as "Stayin' Alive," "You Should be Dancing" and even several of Andy Gibb's top songs!

LOUISBURG -- Prosecutors notified the courts that they would not be pursuing the death penalty in an apparent retaliatory drive-by shooting that killed an innocent bystander -- a 69-year-old woman.
Authorities allege that Anarie Brown, Ny'zir Karian Miller-Stevenson, Jaquan Lynch, and Donavan Boyd killed Bernice Pender Massenburg when they fired shots inside her Bert Winston Road home on April 1, 2025.

LOUISBURG -- The United Way and the community celebrated another Day of Caring, sprucing up a coffee shop that is a cornerstone in the community and champion of the differently-abled.
For more than two decades, the United Way of Franklin County has galvanized the community to take on projects around Franklin County -- from building handicap-accessible ramps, to bolstering homes and floorings, to yard work to improving businesses that cater to the community, like Safe Space.

LOUISBURG -- A Wake Forest man accused of killing his seven-week-old child is now cooling his heels in jail after missing a court date. Patrick R. Jordan could find out during his next hearing whether or not he could face the death penalty.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested Jordan in April, alleging the 25-year-old seriously injured and killed Chozen Jordan in January 2024.
He was and charged first degree murder and intentional child abuse causing serious physical injury.

LOUISBURG -- Even though an Alert man was convicted of sexual assault, the father of the victim remains critical of a plea system that allowed him to remain, essentially, guilt free.
On Nov. 4, Perry Wheless Moseley entered an Alford plea in Franklin County Superior Court -- admitting that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict, but never admitted being guilty of sexually assaulting a girl who was about 12 at the time the incident was reported more than a decade ago.

LOUISBURG -- A superior court judge agreed to dismiss two counts against Louisburg and its town administrator in a wrongful termination case, but four more remain pending in Franklin County Civil Superior Court.
Raleigh attorney Taylor Rosbrook filed a complaint in Franklin County Civil Superior Court on June 26, alleging Louisburg Town Administrator Sean Medlin was guilty of wrongfully terminating Jeremy Henthorn in retaliation for his complaints against the department, opposition to workplace misconduct and his continued association with former chief, Randy Lanham.

Staff Sgt. Ida Tomlinson, Spc. Hattie Richardson & Sgt.1st Class Teresa Thomas

Canvassing on Nov. 20 put the Nov. 4 election officially in the books.
And, kind of like how Thanksgiving has become just a speed bump on the way to Christmas, this fall's October and November elections feel like rumble strips on the way to next year's next big-boy election.
Statewide candidate filing for the 2026 primary starts at noon on Dec. 1.
That's right.

Dear editor: After reading your most recent of many articles regarding public official Patricia Chastain who was accused of misconduct, I felt it necessary to make a point regarding the handling of this case by the courts. I'm not sure why the article published in your newspaper read as if Chastain had five accusations against her when only one was discussed by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Dear editor: We have all heard that there are two things money can't buy, true love and good home-grown tomatoes. I guess the fine folks in Chapel Hill can add a successful college football program to that list. I could be wrong.
As for the folks that continue to spout about the end of democracy, maybe they would be more effective standing on a street corner in an ill-fitting suit, waving a bible and preaching about the end of time.

LOUISBURG -- Folks escaped serious injury following a four-vehicle wreck on Bickett Boulevard last week. (See photo and column on page 4 of this edition.)
According to a report by Louisburg Police Officer J. Justice, Laureen Jones was traveling south on Bickett Boulevard at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 13 when she attempted to make a left turn -- crossing two travel lanes -- into a parking lot near The Franklin Times office.
The car she was driving clipped the rear of a sport utility vehicle driven by Dwane Cannady in the right, northbound lane of Bickett Boulevard.

Benchmark Community Bank celebrated its opening in Franklinton with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 12. Above, Branch Manager Crystal Tilley, second from right, is joined by, from left, Relationship Teller Melissa Hicks, Relationship Specialist Casandra Webb, Franklin County Market Executive Gerald Lloyd and Senior Vice President Rick Houser. The bank, located at 103 S. Main Street, trumpets the return of the first bank in town in more than 10 years. For more information about Benchmark, visit: bcbforlife.bank/w/franklinton.

LOUISBURG -- A Franklin County couple lost their home Monday in a fire.
Justice Fire officials said the home in the 2200 block of Seven Paths Road was a total loss from smoke and fire damage.
There was one person at home at the time of the fire, but they were able to get out and no injuries were reported, said Justice Fire Chief Kelly Harris.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Fire Marshal's Office, but authorities said the fire appeared strongest at the rear of the home and deck area.

There is a wide range of Narcissus that is grown commercially.
The so-called hardy types are generally called "Daffodils" or "Jonquils;" while the tender types are called "Paperwhite" or "Tazetta" Narcissus.
Flower sizes can range from 1-5 inches in diameter, depending on the cultivar. Some cultivars have multi-flowered inflorescences. Flowering periods are cultivar and weather dependent.

LOUISBURG -- A Henderson man arrested on an attempted murder charge is slated to appear in court next month.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested Michael Leon Bullock, 58, was arrested Sept. 22, 2022 and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
According to authorities, Bullock is alleged to have met a man in the 900 block of Vaiden Road the afternoon of Sept. 20, 2022 regarding some money that was owed.

LOUISBURG -- Police arrested a Henderson man they allege tried to kill a man by firing a gun into a car.
Louisburg police took out a warrant against Alphonso Jermain Kingsberry on March 12, alleging he shot at Vernon Hicks who was driving a car at the time of the incident.
The court report does not indicate where the shooting incident took place.

Honking horns, squealing tires and the occasional, but sickening, loud crunch of metal aren't uncommon sounds around our office, all courtesy of Bickett Boulevard, a brief stretch of road that is long overdue for ... something!
It's time to stop -- or, actually, START talking about what can be done to make Bickett safer and saner -- and actually do something.
Although there have been frequent crashes near our office over the years -- including one which sent a pickup truck rolling into our parking lot before it stopped 15 feet from my office window, wheels up and still spinning -- one crash last Thursday should be the final straw.

Randall Shirley of Louisburg was a winner in the State of NC Senior Games competition. He won first place for his watercolor of Boat Harbor, and second place for his oil painting of the Christmas House. In the photo above he is shown exhibiting his winning artwork.