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After these fifth grade students at Louisburg Elementary School were assigned to research and prepare a project for Black History Month, they were given the opportunity to present it to the Louisburg Town Council at its February meeting. The students are (left to right) Evelyn Bocanegra Vazquez, Radu Veranjac, Aaron Fajardo Turrubiartes and Marley Austin. Their teacher (and Council member) Dalita Woods said the students "worked really hard researching, reciting and creating these amazing projects.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College announced this week its next college president.
Richard Campbell will succeed Dr. Gary Brown.
"I am deeply humbled to be named the 29th President of Louisburg College," Campbell said in a press release.
"This institution holds a remarkable legacy of transforming lives through education grounded in faith, community, and opportunity," he said.

Nashville, NC -- Funeral services for Carolyn Westry Morgan, age 74, who died on Friday, February 27, 2026, will be held on Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m. from the Union Hill Baptist Church in Nashville, NC with Rev. Xavier Harrison, officiating.

Louisburg, NC -- Funeral services for Rhonda R. Jones, age 41, who died on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 will be held on Thursday, March 5, at 1 p.m. from the Lifeline Outreach Ministry in Louisburg.

Rocky Mt., NC -- Funeral services for Lealer M. Perry, age 97, who died on Tuesday, February 27, 2026, will be held Monday, March 9, at 12 p.m. from the Perry's Missionary Baptist Church, Centerville. Burial will follow in the Perry's Missionary Baptist Church cemetery.

Nashville, NC -- Funeral services for Stephen J. Harper, age 36, who died on Monday, March 2, 2026, will be held privately.

BEAUFORT, NC -- Charles "Charlie" Holmes, 79, passed away on February 25, 2026, in Beaufort, North Carolina. Born on January 20, 1947, in Louisburg, North Carolina, Charlie was the beloved son of the late Graham and Mary Charles Alford Holmes.

RALEIGH, NC -- Judy Gaynelle Finch Eason, 91, of Raleigh, died Wednesday evening, February 25, 2026, in Raleigh.

Wake Forest, NC -- Leigh Brown Melvin, age 55, died March 1, 2026.

Nashville, NC -- Funeral services for Magalean "Mag" Hedgpeth Faison, age 71, who died on Friday, February 27, 2026, will be held on Friday, March 6, at 1 p.m. from the Social Union Baptist Church in Nashville, with Rev. Melvin Johnson officiating.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Visitation for Frank Earl Hilliard, age 71, who died on Friday, February 20, 2026, was held on Saturday, February 28, from 1 - 4 p.m. at the home, 112 Hilliard Rd., Louisburg, NC.

LOUISBURG, NC -- June Vick Lyles, 89, of Louisburg, died Thursday, January 29, 2026 at Louisburg Nursing Center.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Aileen Mills Harris, 56, of Louisburg formerly of Henderson, died on February 28, 2026, at her home.

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.