Local Guardian ad Litem Training Begins Jan. 13, 2026

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The local Guardian ad Litem program is a statewide program designed to place trained volunteers to serve as advocates for neglected or abused children going through the court system.

The next six-week training session begins on Jan. 13, 2026. Area Supervisor Samantha Branch, who serves the five-county region that includes Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties, is seeking additional volunteers who want to become advocates for this very important program.

Formed in 1983, the Guardian ad Litem program serves in all 100 counties in North Carolina and is a division of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts.

According to information on its website, when a petition alleging abuse or neglect of a juvenile is filed in district court, the judge appoints a volunteer GAL advocate and an attorney advocate to provide team representation to the child.

Program staff in each county work with the GAL child to provide support – legal and advocacy – to children as they go through the court process.

Advocates protect and promote the best interests of juveniles in abuse and neglect court proceedings, as well as report the child’s wishes to the court. They also could contribute to independent investigations to determine the facts, the needs of the child and identify resources appropriate to each case.

Learn more about the program at https://www.nccourts.gov/programs/guardian-ad-litem.

If you think you’d like to become a trained Guardian ad Litem advocate, call 252.430.5121 or visit volunteerforgal.org.

(Information above originally posted Dec. 17, 2025)

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TownTalk: Around Old Granville – National Registry of Historic Places in Old Granville, Franklin & Warren

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Anyone interested in historical architecture and preservation of homes, businesses or other structures that have been around a really long time surely would have a field day in the four-county area. Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties are replete with buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which operates under the auspices of the National Parks Service.

If you’ve ever wondered how these homes, churches and other buildings get on “the list,” WIZS’s Bill Harris can provide a firsthand account: His family home is set to be included on the National Register in 2026.

Harris and local historian Mark Pace ran through a list of properties in Franklin and Warren counties on Wednesday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

One of the newest additions to the Warren County list is All Saints Episcopal Church, officially included in August 2025.

The church served the African American community in the Warrenton area beginning in the 1910’s. The famous Delany sisters – known for their longevity – have a connection to the stone veneer church; their father was pastor there in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Like so many of the historic structures you’ll find on “the list,” All Saints is still standing today. But, as Pace pointed out, “just because a house is on the national register doesn’t mean it will be preserved forever.”

The Little Manor is one such example of a home still listed but is now in ruins.

According to Pace, Warren County has 228 total structures listed on the National Register – 27 individual buildings and 202 included in the Warrenton historic district. Franklin County has 240 structures – 213 of which are situated in Louisburg’s historic district.

A structure must be nominated for inclusion on the National Register, so there needs to be an advocate of some sort to fill out and submit the paperwork that’s involved.

According to information on the National Parks Service website, a property must meet the National Register Criteria for Evaluation that includes the property’s age, significance and integrity.

For all you Baby Boomers out there, don’t be shocked: a structure can be considered historic if it’s at least 50 years old.

But, Pace said, the list includes more than just homes or other structures that have been around for centuries. For instance, the Wheless home in Louisburg was built in the mid 1950’s.

It meets the age criteria – barely – but it’s the style of architecture – reminiscent of the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright – that put this relatively young home among other homes that have graced the landscape for centuries.

Franklin County has many entries on “the list,” but there are many more located in northern Franklin County than in the southern part of the county, Harris said.

One of the newer additions is the Pearce-Massey-Stallings in southern Franklin County. It was nominated about five years ago and Harris described it as a “handsome” house built in a couple of different sections, the older back part dating back to about 1820.

The front was added about 1910, but the property is also significant because of the large number of outbuildings that are still standing. It’s also remains in the family, Pace said.

Another example of generations of ownership by the same family of a historic property is Cassine, near Louisburg. Descendents of the original members of the Perry family retain ownership of this historic property, which dates back to the 1760’s.

Want to check out some of these examples of historic architecture? Arm yourself with a list available at https://www.hpo.nc.gov/ or bring along the county’s architectural survey and chances are you’ll wend your way by a good number of homes, churches – and if you’re in the Inez area of Warren County – even a fire tower, all considered worthy of inclusion on that NPS’s National Register of Historic Places.

Just remember to drive by – don’t trespass, Pace reminds.

“Most of us are proud of our old houses,” Harris said. So if you happen to see someone out in the yard when you’re driving by, it could be worth a try to stop in and say hello. You might end up getting a tour.

 

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NC State Board of Elections

State Board Of Elections Completes Random Process To Determine Order Of Candidates’ Names On 2026 Ballots

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— information from the N.C. State Board of Elections

State elections officials on Friday afternoon completed a two-step random process to determine how names of the upcoming ballots would appear. State law requires that the State Elections Board determine the order that names will appear on the ballots.

First, a ball was selected out of a bingo machine, with the letter on the ball corresponding with the first letter of the last name of the candidate to be listed first on the ballot. Second, a coin was flipped, with the side facing up corresponding to whether the candidates will be listed in alphabetical order (“heads”) or reverse alphabetical order (“tails”).

The letter on the ball selected from the bingo machine was the letter “F,” meaning candidates whose last names begin with the letter “F” will appear first in contests in the primary and general elections. The subsequent coin flip showed “tails” facing up, meaning that additional candidates will follow in alphabetical order as follows: F, E, D, C, B, A, Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G

This ballot order drawing applies to all 2026 primary and general election contests except for municipal contests. Candidates for municipal office are listed in strict alphabetical order beginning with A, according to state law.

The ballot order selection process was streamed live on Webex.

The 2026 primary election is March 3. The general election is Nov. 3.

 

Raleigh Man Gets 50-Year Federal Prison Sentence For Cocaine Trafficking Operation

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— information courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of North Carolina

On December 11, 2025, a federal judge sentenced a Raleigh man to 600 months, which is 50 years, in federal prison for leading a large-scale drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and other narcotics throughout the Raleigh area. Earlier this year a federal jury convicted Akeem Netron Holder Evans, age 36, of multiple counts of conspiracy, possession, and intent to distribute illegal drugs.

“This dealer ran a large-scale drug operation, exploited people he trusted, and pumped deadly drugs into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “This sentence, spending the next 50 years in federal prison, makes it crystal clear: if you sell drugs here, we will find you, we will convict you, and you will spend decades behind bars. This Big Shark Bad Boy won’t hurt our families and children for a long time.”

“For years, Akeem Evans peddled poison to his own community without a second thought. He’ll have the next 50 years in federal prison to reflect on his actions. This case is a direct result of the FBI’s relentless determination to partner with state and local departments to rid our neighborhoods of drug-fueled gang violence,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.

“The sentencing of Akeem Evans brings closure to a deeply disturbing case. We are pleased that justice has been served and that those who distribute deadly substances into our community are being held accountable. This outcome reflects the strong collaborative efforts between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Raleigh Police Department. We are sincerely grateful for this partnership, as well as for the continued support and dedication of our local, state, and federal partners whose work was instrumental in this case,” said Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Evans operated a long-running drug trafficking organization out of multiple residences in Raleigh and the surrounding areas. Investigators determined that Evans’ organization distributed at least 11 kilograms of cocaine, more than 4.8 kilograms of crack cocaine (35 pounds combined), fentanyl, oxycodone, and marijuana, and that Evans orchestrated others in storing, transporting, cooking, and selling drugs.

As part of the operation, Evans exploited personal relationships to help sell drugs. He even convinced his former childhood football coach to transport kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Raleigh area for distribution, demonstrating the depths he would sink to insulate himself and expand the tentacles of his gang.

The investigation revealed that Evans and his co-conspirators used stash houses, encrypted communications, and counter measures in a vain attempt to evade law enforcement. Investigators also identified Evans as coordinating drug deals with multiple customers and directing them where to purchase drugs.

In March 2022, during the execution of a search warrant, officers recovered several kilograms of cocaine, hundreds of grams of crack cocaine, fentanyl pills, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and firearms from multiple locations connected to Evans and his dirty gang of drug peddlers.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley H. Foxx, Toby Lathan, and Robert Dodson prosecuted the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case.

SportsTalk: Lady Hurricanes Go Into ‘Break’ Excited for 2026

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Dennis Gaskins, Head Coach for the Women’s Basketball Team at Louisburg College, joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and Steve Lewis to talk about how the Lady Hurricanes are going to assess the Christmas “Break”, and how they plan to come back in January ready for the rest of the season.

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Alert, NC Christmas Parade Sat., Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

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Who: Larry Ayscue

What: Alert Christmas Parade

When: Saturday, December 13 at 2 p.m. but come about an hour earlier if you want to be IN THE PARADE.

Where: “A-lert,” the community that’s just over the Franklin/Vance County line beyond Epsom, near the intersection of Alert and Jordan School roads.

Additional Details: Good old-fashioned entertainment. Larry Ayscue is one of this year’s parade organizers, but he also is credited with being the original organizer of that first parade 35 years ago. He told WIZS back in 2024, “I would love to get the word out, just come and see it – check it out and see what you think of it,” he said on WIZS TownTalk last year. Unlike Christmas parades that are held inside town or city limits, Alert’s parade isn’t fettered by rules and regulations. “Alert is not a town,” Ayscue said. “I always tell people, don’t come expecting a town – it’s just a little community.” No forms to fill out, no official lineup to follow translates into good, old-fashioned fun, with “a lot of hollering, wavin’ and carrying on,” he said. “We’ve had people to tell us that they’d rather be in that parade than any other one they’ve ever been in,” he added. “It’s just a lot of fun.”  For more information, call 252.343.9275.

SportsTalk: Louisburg College Men’s Basketball Update

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Bryan Bagwell, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Louisburg College, joins SportsTalk to discuss his team as they are 10 games into the season. Scout Hughes and Steve Lewis also talk about Jeff Kent and how we was the only player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2026.

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Phase 2 Of Operation ‘Robocall Roundup’ Expands Crackdown On Illegal Calls

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— information courtesy of the office of N.C. Attorney General

N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson kicked off Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup, expanding the crackdown on illegal robocalls to include four of the largest voice providers in the country. As part of an ongoing investigation, the bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, led by Jackson, has directed Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Lumen, and Peerless to stop transmitting suspected illegal robocalls across their networks. The letters to the companies are available here.

In a statement Thursday, Jackson said “Phase 2 of Robocall Roundup is about the larger companies that are knowingly pushing through millions of scam robocalls. “We’re giving them thirty days to clean this up. If they don’t, we’re prepared to use every tool we have. The scale of this abuse is outrageous and we’re not going to tolerate it.”

In August, Jackson sent warning letters to 37 smaller voice providers that were allowing suspected illegal robocalls onto the U.S. telephone network. This next phase targets companies with far larger footprints in the U.S. telecom ecosystem. The four companies are continuing to transmit hundreds of thousands – and in some cases, millions – of suspected illegal robocalls.

In 2022, 51 attorneys general joined forces to create the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, which is led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. The Task Force investigates and takes legal action against companies responsible for significant volumes of illegal and fraudulent robocall traffic routed into and across the United States.

Phase 1 of Robocall Roundup included sending warning letters to 37 companies, with positive results:

  • 13 companies were removed from the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database, meaning no provider in the United States may accept their call traffic.
  • 19 companies stopped appearing in any traceback results, indicating they ceased routing suspected illegal robocalls.
  • At least four providers terminated high-risk customer accounts identified as transmitting illegal traffic.

Jackson said the changes demonstrate that enforcement is working. “But to protect the public, the largest carriers must meet the highest standards,” he said.

 

SportsTalk: Dennis Gaskins and the Lady Canes Ready for the Task at Hand

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Dennis Gaskins, Head Coach of the Louisburg College Women’s Basketball Team, joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and Steve Lewis to discuss the rest of the games in December as the Lady Canes are ready for a strong finish to 2025.

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Franklin County Names Jason Rogers Planning & Inspections Director

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Franklin County has selected Jason Rogers as its new Planning & Inspections director, replacing Scott Hammerbacher, who was promoted to Assistant County Manager in March.

“As a lifelong resident, I am honored to serve as Franklin County’s Planning & Inspections Director,” Rogers said. “I look forward to helping guide the county’s growth thoughtfully and responsibly, while continuing to support our staff and strengthen our customer service for residents and the development community.”

Rogers has served Franklin County for more than 20 years, beginning in August 2005 as a Planning Technician. He then became a Planner in March 2006 and served in that capacity before becoming a Principal Planner in July 2015. In September 2019, he was promoted to Planning Administrator and became Assistant Planning & Inspections Director in February 2023. He has served as the interim Planning & Inspections Director since April.

“Jason has served Franklin County for more than two decades, working on thoughtful and responsible planning and zoning,” Franklin County Manager Ryan Preble said. “We look forward to his continued leadership in the department.”

Rogers holds an associate’s degree in Elementary, Middle, and Special Education from Louisburg College and two bachelor’s degrees from East Carolina University, both in History and Geography.