Recent Articles

ZEBULON, NC -- Mattie Pearce Whitley, 95, of Zebulon, died Friday morning, February 13, 2026, at Wake Med.

Born February 26, 1930, Mattie was the daughter of the late Joe and Florence Perry Pearce. She was preceded in death by her, husband, Joe Whitley; daughter, Janet Phelan; two grandchildren; brother, Joe Lee Pearce; sisters, Helen Leonard, Mary Wilson, and Florine Johnson.

Louisburg, NC -- Funeral services for Early "Bay" Thomas, age 87, who died on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, will be held on Saturday, February 21, at 12 p.m. from the Old Liberty Baptist Church in Louisburg, NC.

Louisburg, NC -- Funeral services for Harris "Truman" Hedgepeth, age 80, who died on Friday, February 13, 2026, will be held on Sunday, February 22, at 3 p.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home in Louisburg, NC.

Nashville, NC -- Funeral services for Jeanetta Alston, age 82, who died on Saturday, February 14, 2026, will be held on Saturday, February 21, at 5 p.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home in Louisburg, NC. She was born March 5, 1943.

Kittrell, NC -- Funeral services for Melvin L. White Jr., age 62, who died on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, will be held on Saturday, February 21, at 2 p.m. from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, NC with Rev. Angie Brown, officiating.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The State Highway Patrol is investigating two fatal accidents in as many days.
According to Trooper A.D. Adcock, Leslie Leonard was traveling along Duke Valentine Wynn Road, about half a mile west of the intersection of N.C. 561, when she ran off the road just after noon on Feb. 8.
The vehicle she was driving ran into a ditch, then hit a tree.

LOUISBURG -- Early voting starts today, giving folks a chance to get a jump start on the primary election.
Early voting runs from Feb. 12 through Feb. 28, including Saturday voting on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on both those days.
Otherwise, early voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The polls open on election day, March 3, from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning that developers of a nearly 1,000-acre property say will allow them to better take advantage of the landscape.
And, commissioners believe the decision allows them to guarantee more green space.
Durham-based engineers Thomas & Hutton petitioned Franklin County to rezone 990.78 acres on West River Road from Agricultural Residential to Residential-8.

LOUISBURG -- A charter member and "backbone" of the White Level Fire Department died while responding to a house fire Tuesday.
Dale Malone died following a medical emergency at the scene of a fire on Hickory Rock Road.
Malone would have been 67 this Friday.
"He was that person that you could always count on. He would always be there," said longtime firefighter Johnny Hight, who served as White Level's chief during some of Malone's service.

LOUISBURG -- Attending her first meeting as Superintendent of Franklin County Schools Dr. Nakia Hardy said she is "grateful to officially call this community home" and then thanked all of those who have helped with her transition.
That transition has been an unusual one for Franklin County. Shortly after taking the oath of office, she was greeted with an ice storm which was followed by a snow event, all accompanied by very cold temperatures -- and that made some of her first decisions to be about closing the schools to keep students and staff safe.

RALEIGH -- Special Olympics North Carolina announced the team that will take part in the USA Games this summer, including a stalwart athlete from Franklin County.
Lorenzo Stancil will join nearly 50 other athletes to represent the state in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota.
Stancil, his coach said, has become a breakout star on the track and especially in the field as a shot put thrower.

Author Lewis Bowling will speak about Duke basketball in the Norris Theatre at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 as part of a Tar River Center for History and Culture program. A 1980 graduate of Louisburg College, Bowling has written more than 10 books on different topics including Granville County history. He also writes a weekly history column in the Oxford Ledger newspaper. During his visit here, he will discuss the history of Duke University Men's basketball. This event is free and tickets are not required. For more info, call 919-497-3251.

Here's betting that I'm not the only person crossing off the days until we can reasonably expect Spring-like weather.
You know, more than just some of the sunny blue sky days we've been enjoying lately -- but without the temperatures taking a nose dive every evening about sundown!
Hopefully one of these days, all this Arctic-like weather will get "deported" back into Canada -- and we'll start enjoying North Carolina-style weather again.

I'm going to have to sit here and say I agree with Commissioner Harry Foy.
And, I'm also going to have to say Commissioners Roxanne Bragg, Logan Davis, David Bunn and Mark Speed took some actions for which I'm happy.
So, let's start.
Monday night's meeting space was nearly filled with folks. And, that's a good thing -- because it means folks are concerned and engaged in their governance.

Dear editor: Everyone has heard of habeas corpus. But not everyone knows what it means.
The Latin phrase translates "You shall have the body."
It requires the government to physically present a detainee before a judge to evaluate the legality of their confinement.
It is the government's responsibility to prove the person's detention lawful, and if they cannot, the person must be freed.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners held off on shutting down four citizen-led advisory boards, agreeing to consider the matter more before taking action.
Including in the board's consent agenda on Monday night was an action that would have given the Historic Preservation Commission, the Economic Development Commission, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Solid Waste Education Task Force 60 days to conclude their affairs before being shuttered.

LOUISBURG -- Back-to-back winter ice and snow storms -- accompanied by bone-chilling cold -- may create a positive outcome after all.
The Louisburg Town Council discussed how best to meet residents' needs in such inclement weather, noting that the White Flag shelter at the Louisburg United Methodist Church was open for almost two weeks, providing warmth and food for those in need.
And, it was noted, that Franklin County operated a shelter at the Health Department on Industrial Drive that also helped many in need.

IRS Tax Tip 2026-10, irs.gov
A tax credit reduces the amount a person owes in income taxes dollar-for-dollar. Some tax credits are even refundable, meaning if a person's tax bill is less than the amount of a refundable credit, they can get the difference back in their refund. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill has brought enhancements to some of these credits.
Here's a quick overview of some of the more common credits:

County Planning & Inspections Director Jason Rogers

Louisburg, NC -- Patricia Ann Branch, 70, of Louisburg, died February 3, 2026 at her home in Louisburg. Patricia was born on December 30, 1955 to the late Maurice and Ruby Marshall Colbert. In addition to her parents, Patricia was preceded in death by her husband, Wilson Branch.

Hollister, NC -- Funeral services for Lewis Richardson, age 86, who died on Friday, February 6, 2026, will be held on Saturday, February 14, at 2 p.m. from the Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hollister, NC.

CASTALIA, NC -- Leslie Anne Leonard, 32, of Castalia, died in an automobile accident Sunday afternoon, February 8, 2026.

LOUISBURG, NC -- William "Bill" Jacob Qualk, Jr., 77, of Louisburg, passed away peacefully Tuesday night, February 3, 2026.