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Sturges, who is counsel for the college, predicts the school will go on probation at the end of the warning period -- accreditation intact. The school has already cut staff, held a successful fundraising party at First Citizens Bank in Raleigh and named an interim president, Rodney Foth, who had previously been a vice president.

Hospital convulsions

The hospital, meanwhile, has been in newspaper headlines in both Louisburg and Raleigh.

A recent report found the hospital acted improperly when a 76-year-old patient complained of chest pain and having no feeling in his arm before a knee replacement surgery.

There is no written proof that the man's complaints got to the surgeon or anesthesiologist, and he died after his December operation, said the report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which threatened the hospital's funding.

That threat was removed after hospital officials submitted a plan of action that included the replacement of top medical administrators.

That has hurt the reputation of Franklin County's only hospital, but the town is also faced with the possibility of it moving to Youngsville. Franklin Regional and Rex Healthcare have partnered on the move, and a decision from the state should come late this month.

Sturges predicts this proposed move will also fail. On Monday, members of the state's legislative black caucus will protest the move. The state has already turned down the hospital once before.

State Sen. Doug Berger, who represents Franklin County, agrees. The hospital has a historic obligation to serve the rural poor, he said, especially when aided by the UNC Health Care System's wholly-owned subsidiary, Rex Healthcare.

"There's no question a hospital can thrive in Louisburg," he said. "The hospital has just been stubborn about having a broader vision and a broader obligation."

Without the school, without the hospital, townsfolk agree Louisburg will wither.

But people there will tell you they are country-tough, sturdy enough to survive in the Triangle's shadow.

(Staff researcher David Raynor contributed to this report.)

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