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KITTRELL , NC--Patricia Rowland Rogers, 86, of Rocky Ford Road, died Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at her home.

LOUISBURG -- A trio of Youngsville residents asked county leaders to witness their community's nightmare.
During the Franklin County Board of Commissioners meeting on Oct. 21, residents along E. Franklin Street and N. Nassau Street asked commissioners to act upon the requests made by Youngsville officials to speed up the Youngsville bypass.
Those residents also invited commissioners to visit their neighborhood during peak traffic hours, to get a first-person view of how Main Street and side street traffic congestion ruins their daily lives.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners fired their county manager and the two commissioners who made the decision possible aren't saying why.
Kim Denton immediately left the dais and her post, and Assistant County Manager Ryan Preble was elevated to county manager on an interim basis.
During the "other business" item on Monday's agenda, Commissioner Danny Pearce made a motion to terminate Denton and elevate Preble.
Commissioner Michael Schriver seconded the motion, giving the board the opportunity to discuss the matter and take a vote.

LOUISBURG -- Nearly 78 percent of the county's voters turned out, giving the Republican party a stranglehold on the county's board of commissioners -- holding six of the seven seats.
Republicans Logan Davis and Stuart May had the most votes on election day for seats for District 1 and 7, respectively.
Incumbent District 3 Commissioner Mark Speed secured 3,685 votes to lead the race against Russell Bottoms, who got 3,612 votes -- which is within one percent, and could spur a request for a recount.

FRIGHT NIGHT. Some were frightening, some funny, a few just cute and even some that seemed prehistoric. You guessed it, it was Halloween in Franklin County. Both these photos were taken in Louisburg but other creatures roamed Franklinton. (Above) Oliver Cottrell, 3, rides his pet Pterodactyl around downtown Louisburg.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's school board chair urged commissioners to push for long-gestating education funding.
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners will hold their Legislative Goals Conference on Nov. 14-15.
During Monday's county commissioners meeting, Rosemary Champion asked Franklin County officials to make releasing Leandro funding part of NCACC's legislative goals.

LOUISBURG -- When the Louisburg mayor, town council and three top administrators met last Saturday morning in a reconstructed log building at Lynch Creek Farm, the challenge facing them was immediately evident.
The price tag was staggering -- $82,350,000 spread across town departments and representing needs that are coming in the relatively near future. They were called "the most crucial for the town at this time."

Amber, Emory, Sloane and Raina Heiney

Dozens of decorated pumpkins were on display, including the "Game of Life" pumpkin (above).

Meagan Coker holding Scooter, Chastity West and Jennifer Spain, all with Impact Healthcare of Louisburg, pause for a photo during the Halloween festivities in Downtown Louisburg.

Colton Hare, Chelsie Lockey and Kayelyn Lockey in Downtown Louisburg on Halloween

LOUISBURG -- A Louisburg man was killed Monday morning when his truck hit a tree.
According to the State Highway Patrol, Jeffrey Alberto Resendiz-Perez was driving east on Tarboro Road -- between Murphy Road and Mays Crossroads -- when the truck he was driving ran off the road just before 7 a.m.
The truck hit a tree and overturned. Resendiz-Perez, 21, was not ejected from the vehicle, but his injuries proved fatal as he was pronounced dead at the scene.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town management has confirmed it's rounding out its leadership team.
Youngsville Town Manager Nathan Page said that former Franklin County assistant county manager Will Doerfer has signed a letter of employment to become the town's first assistant town manager.
Doerfer will start on Nov. 18.

ADELPHI, MD -- Evalee J. McNulty of Youngsville earned Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management from University of Maryland Global Campus in the summer 2024.
McNulty was one of more than 3,200 students worldwide who earned degrees from UMGC in the summer 2024 term.

BUNN -- Town commissioners approved a rezoning that helps a family secure land for future generations.
And, an auditor gave the town a clean financial bill of health.
Berteen Wilder, Michael Wilder and Judy Matthews each petitioned the town to rezone five parcels from Highway Commercial (C-3) to Low-Density Residential (R-1).
It's a total of about 14 acres.

Franklin County resident Carolyn Andrews and her granddaughter, Stella, from Raleigh check out one of the quilts on display at the recent show at the Person Place in Louisburg. The event was conducted by the Quilt Trails of the Tar & Roanoke Rivers and included a combination of new and vintage quilts. The event, held annually, is free but a quilt raffle is held to raise money for the Margaret Hilpert Scholarship fund which awards a scholarship to a senior high school student from one of the host counties of the Quilt Trail.

MARS HILL, NC -- Scott Thomas Casagrande of Bunn is one of 387 Mars Hill University students named on the Honor Roll of the Academic Dean at the end of the spring 2024 semester.
To qualify for the Dean's List, students must earn a grade-point average of 3.5 on a minimum of 12 semester hours, and carry no grade below a C.

Whew, glad that's over -- Halloween, not the election, although the election was plenty scary in its own way.
As always around these parts, Halloween was a big deal -- and some of the decorations and outfits were incredible, taking a lot of time, energy and work.
Fortunately, since we live out in the country, we don't have to spend a lot of time decorating for that frightening time of the year.
No fake cobwebs, spiders and the like for us.

I live in Youngsville.
And, there was a time when I was an active runner, making my daily trek through downtown.
I say that to say this: Youngsville's traffic woes are not new or uncommon to me.
But, I have to tell you, last week opened my eyes even more than before.

Dear editor: Thank you for highlighting the improvements at the Franklin County Animal Shelter. Thank you to Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jones and all the wonderful rescuers that help out.
We have been fostering kittens that mostly come from there and were rescued by Hope's Animal Kingdom Cat Rescue in Louisburg.

Hollister, NC--Memorial services for Roberta Lynch-Richardson, age 82, who died on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, November 9, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Minister Jeffrey Sidberry officiating.

Henderson, NC -- Linda Kay Edwards Hickox, 76, of Henderson, died Tuesday morning, October 29, 2024.

Louisburg, NC -- Funeral services for Curtis "Skeet" Pettiford, age 63, who died on Sunday, October 29, 2024, will be held 1 p.m., Thursday, November 7, from the Ambassadors For Christ Ministries in Louisburg with Evangelist Rebecca Faye Leonard officiating. Burial will follow in the Cemetery on the Hill.