Recent Articles

LOUISBURG, NC --Funeral services for Randolph Spivey, age 71, who died on Thursday, February 26, 2026 will be held on Tuesday, March 3, at 1 p.m. from the Gospel Unlimited Church in Castalia with Bishop Donnell Durham officiating.

Pianist Benjamin Hochman will return to Cherry Hill with a program of works by a number of favorite composers on Sunday, March 1. Hochman first performed at Cherry Hill when he was visiting professor of piano at East Carolina University and returned to the historic Warren County venue in 2024 during a U.S. concert tour. Hochman fills many roles, from orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician to conductor. The Cherry Hill concert begins at 3 p.m. and will include works by Bach, Brahms, Debussy, and Chopin.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Youngsville completed another leg in its relay to fast track a downtown bypass.
Last week, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Board voted unanimously to award Youngsville $9.3 million to help build one-fourth of the bypass.
"This is a huge win for the town and we are excited to see this come to fruition," said Youngsville Commissioner Scott Brame, who is also a member of the CAMPO executive board.

LOUISBURG -- Nearly 5 percent of registered voters had cast an early ballot in Franklin County by press time.
According to the State Board of Elections, 2,761 voters had cast an early ballot by press time -- Wednesday morning.
At last check, there were 56,138 registered voters in the county.
Up until Feb. 28, those voters have a chance to cast an early ballot in the primary. Election day is March 3.

FRANKLINTON -- For Lauren Matthews, the line of duty to save a life beats any line on a map.
So, when, emergency dispatchers sent out a call of an unresponsive person, it didn't matter that the call was outside town limits.
"There is no imaginary line for us, we just go and assist anyone we can," said Matthews, who has been in law enforcement for a decade, but been with Franklinton PD for just more than a year.

Like his brother Augustus, Peter S. Foster received an exceptional education. Franklin County historian Thilbert H. Pearce quoted portions of a letter of Peter's written to his father on March 26, 1840, while he was a student in Raleigh. He and his teacher, who may have been John Y. Hicks of the Raleigh Academy, were excited witnesses of the coming of the first locomotive of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad to reach the capital city.
According to existing records at William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, Foster began studies at William and Mary College in 1839.

Andrea Wright, Nancy Davis, John Roberson, Liz Seibel and John Allers at the Blue Collie Coffee Shop grand re-opening

LOUISBURG -- A suspect accused of shooting a Franklin County deputy, point-blank, is next slated to appear in court this spring.
Jermaine Anthony Branch has been awaiting his court date from a new setting since the end of January.
The evening of Dec. 18, authorities allege the 40-year-old Louisburg man shot Dep. Taylor Lucas before fleeing from arrest on E. River Road near George Leonard Road.

Quite by accident last Wednesday, we discovered what could be a new trend in evening dining ... and found it partly by accident and partly by necessity.
Forget all that dining by candlelight stuff -- it's so 18th Century after all.
What we discovered -- and it just might become a new trend -- was dining by cell phone flashlight and, for awhile, that was rather nice.
To be honest it wasn't something that we thought of -- and was nothing that was planned.

This coming September, I will have called Youngsville home for eight years.
Aside from trying to cross Main Street during rush hour, it's been one of the best and safest places I've been able to call home.
And, I know you're probably chuckling a bit, considering that I was born and raised in Durham -- which many people consider, wrongly I might add, a haven for crime.
In my nearly 40 years of living there, I had only been a victim of crime once.

Dear editor:
There is far too much money being dumped into our politics, and it appears to be reaching our local elections.
Dark PAC money--often with unclear or undisclosed origins--has crept into Franklin County and is actively distorting our democratic process.
At this point, elections risk becoming less about qualifications, integrity, or actual service to the community, and more about who has the largest war chest.

Dear editor: In his recent letter on Bonhoeffer's "theory of stupidity," Robert Strickland warns that people can surrender their critical faculties to power, propaganda, and emotionally charged narratives. Yet he conveniently overlooks his own statements in prior letters which shows a heavy reliance on the very same devices he condemns.

Dear editor:
Mr. Day wrote last week that he is afraid "progressive propaganda" will lead to national chaos. The chaos is already here, but it isn't coming from progressive propaganda, it's coming from the lawless actions of the Trump administration.
Day wishes us to believe that due process is "malleable," and that federal district courts have no authority to intervene in detentions undertaken by Trump or Bondi.

Dear editor: Well, it's been two weeks now since the tragedy on Hickory Rock Road.
A man loses his home, his pet is missing and the terrible loss that was the death of Dale Malone.
Dale was a symbol of the heart, soul and breath of White Level Fire Department.

LOUISBURG -- Authorities continue to look for a suspect who led police on a chase and search that, so far, has turned up fruitless.
The suspect is not considered to be armed or a safety threat, though.
"My belief," Louisburg Police Chief Travis Lincoln said, "is that he was just trying to get away from law enforcement."
According to Lincoln, a Louisburg police officer noted a vehicle traveling at excessive speed on N.C. 56 and Woodbine Drive, heading out of town at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

FRANKLINTON -- A Henderson man was killed in a head-on collision Tuesday morning.
Mitron Antonio Terry, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
According to State Highway Patrol Sgt. J.K. Legan, Terry was driving a Nissan Altima west along N.C. 56 near Sterling Drive when he crossed the center line just after 5 a.m.

Dear editor: In 1973 Bob Dylan wrote a song titled "Knockin' on Heavens door."
That song is one of the top 500 greatest songs of all times.
The song refers to difficult times and even death. In the lyrics of the song it states that a long black cloud is coming down.
I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

Dear editor: Once again, I am not sure I read all the recent letters Mr. Strickland submitted to this paper, but I am certain it has cured my appetite for reading.
I can only conclude that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real with some of the folks in this country. It does not seem to be a curable disease.
I worked with a guy years ago that said, "I know it is true, I read it in the News and Observer." That was long before the internet, but just as crazy. I might be going out on a limb, but I do not think you can believe everything you read on the internet. What a shock.

FRANKLINTON -- Town commissioners took action to make city streets safer.
And, they agreed to move forward with a project designed to improve downtown infrastructure and appearance.
Staff proposed turning six intersections into four-way stops, and reducing the speed limit to 20 mph on two streets.

FRANKLINTON -- Officials accepted an audit report that reflected a strong financial position for the town.
Joe Turchetti, an accountant with Raleigh-based PT CPA's PLLC presented the financial finding to town commissioners during the board's Feb. 17 meeting.
"This was a great audit this year," Turchetti said. "Your town ... had quite a successful year, financially."
PT CPA's issued the town a "clean" audit for the fiscal year ending June 2025, noting that there were no findings and no material weaknesses discovered.

LOUISBURG -- A Henderson man was indicted last week on a second degree murder charge -- more than a year after the fatal shooting.
A grand jury indicted Talib Na-Quan Alexander on Feb. 16, finding enough evidence to levy the charges following a November 2024 shooting.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested the 23-year-old Alexander a day after they allege he shot and killed Xavier Clifton of Bunn.
According to authorities, officers were dispatched to 547 N.C. 39 South at about 5 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2024 to investigate a shooting.

Dr. Oberlin McDaniel, left and NC State vet student Nicole Torres, provided some dental treatment for Rebel, a 27-year-old Tennessee WAlker, during an equine EIA/Coggins clinic on Feb. 14. In all, 11 horses were vaccinated during the annual event hosted by the Franklin County Cooperative Extension. The clinics provide opportunities for horse owners to save money on vaccination costs and Coggins tests. This was the first year a dental program was included with the EIA Clinic. Dr. McDaniel and her staff with the NC Mobile Veterinary Service of Enfield provided the service.

Louisburg, NC -- Funeral services for Gracie Mae "Ray" Wright Branch, age 101, who died on Monday, February 23, 2026, were held on Saturday, February 28, at 11 a.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Thomas Richardson officiating. Burial followed in the Haywood Church Cemetery.