Choirs to perform
A holiday concert is planned for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 18th, at Cedar Creek Middle School and will feature choirs from all three grade levels (6-8), as well as a few additional songs by selected students.
Though it is during the holiday, it is not a "holiday concert," but it will have a couple of holiday songs, said chorus director Ted Willis. It will also feature some standard choral songs that the students have been working on since the beginning of the year, he added.

Person Place
A 19th Century Christmas Open House will be held at the Person Place (circa 1789), 605 N. Main Street, Louisburg, on Friday, Dec. 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. The tour will include an 18th Century Hall/Parlor (Spinning), a 19th Century Parlor Christmas Tableau, Heritage musicians and more.
This event is open to the public free of charge.
For more information, please visit: info@personplace.org.

Coats needed
Coats for Christmas is currently underway. You can drop off your new or gently used coats in Louisburg at First Citizens Bank, Rustic Building Supply, Farm Bureau Insurance, 401 Dry Cleaners or Care 'n Share on Industrial Drive.
Please make sure coats are in good shape. All sizes are needed.
For more info, call Wayne Champion, (919) 496-2051.

Library Outreach
The Franklin County Library Outreach program includes direct delivery to home-bound adults and children as well as to children's day-care programs.
If you or a loved one would like to receive this service, call (919) 496-2111 and ask for Vickie Williams, the Outreach Program coordinator.
To help library officials better understand patrons' needs, please visit; www.Surveymonkey.com/r/Franklin_County_Library_2018. Paper copies of the survey are available at all library locations.

Sponsors needed
The Franklin County Department of Social Services is seeking sponsors for Christmas. If interested in sponsoring a needy child, family or elderly person for Christmas, contact Kellie Branche at 919-496-8171.
Names may also be chosen from the Angel Tree. The Angel Tree holds the wish list of 60 children in the custody of the Department of Social Services.

Helping Santa
Girl Scout Troop 508 is helping Santa with personalized Santa letters as a fundraiser.
Please email bettycraig@centurylink.net for more details.

Marketing beef
Area cattle producers are invited to participate in a beef cattle marketing seminar on Tuesday, Dec. 18, in the Annex meeting room at the NC Cooperative Extension, Franklin County Center in Louisburg.
The seminar will begin with a sponsored meal at 6 p.m., followed by educational and informative programs. Guest speaker is Dr. Chris Prevatt, beef cattle and forage economist, from the University of Florida Range Cattle Research and Education Center.
He will present a webinar on "Cattle Marketing, Cycles, and Projections in 2019 and beyond."
Register to attend by calling the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Center office at 919-496-3344 or email agent Martha Mobley, martha_mobley@ncsu.edu by Friday, Dec. 14.

Service Award
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Governor's Volunteer Service Award. The awards program, created by the Office of the Governor in 1979, recognizes North Carolina's most dedicated volunteers.
Each county selects up to 10 individuals, businesses, groups/teams and one paid Director of Volunteers to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to their communities. One of the nominees will be nominated for the Governor's Medallion Award for Volunteer Service, which is awarded to the top 20 volunteers in the state. A local committee evaluates the nominations.
Nomination forms are available in Franklin County at the following locations: Cooperative Extension and the Franklin County Libraries. They can also be found at www.volunteernc.org. Nomination forms are due by Jan. 18, 2019 to the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office (103 South Bickett Blvd. Louisburg, NC 27549). For further questions, please contact Cooperative Extension at 919-496-3344.

Writing contest
The Franklin County Writers' Guild is hosting a Starving Writers Contest, a one-time only fiction contest. First place prize is $500; second is $250; and third is $100. Guidelines: Submissions can be made until May 1, 2019. Fiction only; not previously published short stories or novel chapters with maximum 3,000 words.
Entries must be double-spaced in a 12-point font and blind submissions with contact info on cover page. Send entries to Starvingwriters2020@gmail.com.
Winners will be announced Aug. 1 and prizes awarded in late November at the County Lines book launch.

County holiday
Christmas has become a three day holiday for many Franklin County government employees this year.
Most offices will be closed beginning Monday, Dec. 24 and will reopen on Thursday, Dec. 27.
All branches of the county library will be closed Saturday, Dec. 22, through Wednesday, Dec. 26.
The Solid Waste transfer station will operate from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 24 and will be closed on Christmas Day It will reopen on Wednesday, Dec. 26.
Convenience Centers will operate from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 24, be closed Dec. 25 and reopen Wednesday, Dec. 26.

Career choices
In collaboration with Joy L. Daniels, the Franklin County Library has arranged two meeting opportunities for the public in Louisburg and Bunn. Daniels works for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety as a regional employment consultant and representative of the Human Resources Department of the NCDPS.
Daniels will be available to explain about career opportunities with NCDPS, particularly correctional officer positions and correctional healthcare positions, at a meeting in the Louisburg Library Annex at 106 Justice Street on Monday, Dec. 17, at 1 p.m. She will also be available at the Bunn Branch Library, 610 Main Street, Bunn, at 4 p.m. that day.
Daniels will offer information, applications and prescreening and counseling about the number of career opportunities that the Department of Public Safety offers.