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LOUISBURG -- Franklin County and Franklinton are both looking to provide incentives that could transform downtown Franklinton.
S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. is looking to continue the renovation of the old Sterling Cotton Mill Building, developing it into a mixture of business, affordable housing and small business development.
"This would be great for the downtown," Franklinton Town Manager Tammy Ray said of the potential $11 million investment.

BUNN -- James Hylton got a rare chance to bring a history lesson alive.
Seventh graders at Bunn Middle School had just finished reading Storm Warriors -- an historical fiction novel about the Pea Island Life Saving Station in 1896.
Life Saving Stations were precursors to the U.S. Coast Guard.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners showed some solidarity this week, agreeing to support a range of issues that local leaders across the state want their federal counterparts to push in 2015-16.
At the same time, they want their federal leaders to know about one particular need right here at home -- U.S. 401.
Each year, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) solicits input and proposals from its county members concerning the most important federal issues that impact North Carolina counties.

LOUISBURG -- It may have rained on a parade of people who showed up to support officers this past Saturday, but it didn't dampen their spirits.
More than 100 people showed up at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office in inclement weather on Jan. 3 to show their support for law enforcement officers and the work they do.

Louisburg College student Sammy Rowland

If you're thirsty and buy fresh lemons, it's your job to make lemonade.
Common sense?
I thought so.
But common sense is anything but common.
Such is the case with Franklin County and its utility services, especially in the southwestern end of the county.

We either ended 2014 or began 2015 with two positive stories that began on page 1 -- but you'll have to decide if that was a positive ending for '14 or a great beginning for '15.
The stories were published on page 1 of our Jan. 1, 2015 edition -- which was delivered and posted online on Dec. 31 because of the holiday.

Certainly, writing newspaper stories or columns is not rocket science.
Neither is it working in a coal mine, or serving like an officer or firefighter.
Not to say that serving as a community watchdog does not have its merits, but I often like to think -- like those other jobs -- I'm not putting my life at risk by punching the clock.

This is my first non-holiday article of 2015 for this publication.
With the seemingly perpetual campaigning Americans now must endure, the calendar may as well read 2016.
That means the Governor's race is in the starting blocks. This is a big deal and North Carolinians cannot allow it to become an afterthought in a presidential year.

FRANKLINTON-- Funeral services for Alice Marie Johnson, 93, who died Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, at Manassas Chapel Baptist Church, with the Rev. Samuel Tunstall officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

OXFORD-GRANVILLE CO. - Dora Boyd Faulkner, 62, a lifetime resident of Granville County, passed away Thursday January 1, 2015 at her home alongside her husband Jerome Taylor Faulkner.

OXFORD-GRANVILLE CO. - Jerome Taylor Faulkner, 73, a longtime resident of Granville County, passed away Thursday January 1, 2015 at his home alongside his wife Dora Boyd Faulkner.

LOUISBURG - Mildred Graham Murray Bobbit, 87, of Louisburg died Tuesday, December 30, 2014. Born on October 29, 1927 to the late Millard and Pattie Jo Thompson Murray. She was employed with the FBI and the USDA for 40 years.

On Monday evening, December 29th at 9:10 p.m., our world momentarily stood still as our force-of-nature father, Richard Paul Dean, Jr., stepped into the presence of his Lord and Savior.

LOUISBURG -- Courtney Tart couldn't help but wonder about his club's emotion level before the Louisburg Warriors tangled with Granville Central in a key Tar-Roanoke Athletic Conference wrestling match.
Tart, Louisburg's veteran coach, is never short on energy. He was curious if his Warriors could match his intensity, especially since they seemed a bit subdued before taking the mat.

BUNN -- The time-honored 'tournament tested' phrase took on a new meaning last Tuesday for the Bunn Ladycats in the championship game of the Bunn Christmas Classic.
The undefeated Ladycats endured a tough challenge from Corinth Holders and were able to eventually wrap up the tourney crown with a hard-fought 51-47 decision at the Bunn Dome.

BUNN -- Coach Renny Taylor's message was simple heading into last week's action for his Nash Central High School boys basketball squad.
Make it a three-win week.
"That's what we talked about,'' Taylor said. "We won on Monday and Tuesday (at the Cleveland Classic Christmas Tournament), so we had a chance last Friday to get a victory in each of those three games.''

LOUISBURG -- After seven successful seasons of building the football program at Louisburg College, John Sala is about to embark on another challenge -- one much closer to his roots.
A proud native of the Midwest, Sala has accepted the head coaching job at Anderson University, a Division III school in Indiana.

BUNN -- Louisburg led at halftime, but the Lady Warriors couldn't hold on the rest of the way during their consolation matchup against Red Springs last Tuesday at the Bunn Christmas Tournament.
The Red Devils rallied after the break and went on to defeat Louisburg by a 45-42 margin at the Bunn Dome.
All-Tournament selection Vanisha Wilshire sparked LHS with 21 points. She was the lone double-figure scorer for the Lady Warriors.

BUNN -- Just three days removed from a a strong two-day run through their holiday tournament, the unbeaten Bunn Ladycats returned to their regular season schedule last Friday -- and faced a streaking Nash Central squad.
Central was coming off a championship effort at the Cleveland Classic Christmas Tournament, and the Lady Bulldogs looked to be much-improved from their previous loss to BHS.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College's women's basketball team returned to the hardwood following Christmas Break with an exhibition Tuesday night against a club team from Australia.
Louisburg used 24 points and six boards from veteran Kennethea Galloway to defeat the squad by a 94-35 margin at Taylor Center on the LC campus.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Listed are the game and individual winners from The Franklin Times Bowl Game Football Contest:

BUNN -- It seemed like almost a dose of destiny that the East Wake Warriors would claim the championship at the annual Bunn Christmas Boys Basketball Tournament.
After all, East Wake is coached by Gerald Melton, whose successful 15-year run at Bunn came to an end last spring.
Now in Wake County, Melton returned to the Bunn Dome for the first time to participate in the tourney.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The North Carolina Wesleyan College men's basketball team opened up USA South Conference play on Saturday afternoon with a 73-65 win over Piedmont College in the league opener for both squads.
At halftime, Wesleyan honored former Battling Bishop and Louisburg College standout Roger Taylor, whose retired jersey #44 was officially unveiled in Everett Gymnasium.

FRANKLINTON -- Using a 'Romeo and Juliet' theme, the Franklinton High School Marching Red Rams enjoyed a strong competition performance during the 2014 fall season.
FHS, with Derek Southerland serving as director, took part in five events from September through November.
Franklinton's show placement scores by event were as follows:

A Louisburg wrestler (right) tries to escape this hold for the Warriors as part of Tuesday night's home wrestling showdown against conference foe Granville Central HS.

Bunn's Precious Walker (left) slides past a Nash Central defender during last Friday night's non-conference girls basketball event at the Bunn Dome.

Bernadette Cooke (with ball) helped the Bunn Ladycats outlast Corinth Holders in last Tuesday night's championship showdown at the Bunn Christmas Basketball Tournament.

Bunn's Tainasha Vines (left) came up with a clutch performance while helping the Ladycats top Corinth Holders in the title game of the Bunn Christmas Girls Basketball Tournament. Vines was tabbed as the event's MVP.

Nitrogen is everywhere in this world. Our bodies are 3% nitrogen and the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen. Your tire shop will even fill your tires with pure nitrogen to improve performance.
Most of us interact with nitrogen when we use it as a fertilizer, as nitrogen is the element that helps plants maintain a healthy green color. Any farmer will tell you that after a rainy spell the nitrogen in the soil leaches out and plants with nitrogen deficiency have a yellow, washed-out look.

RALEIGH -- Rep. Bobbie Richardson, D-Franklin, is seeking high school students who are interested in applying for the NC House of Representatives Page Program.
This program offers young men and women the opportunity to learn about and participate in the legislative process of our state.

LOUISBURG -- It's been almost 10 years since organizers began thinking of ways to give kids an alternative to the streets.
In that decade, the Franklin County chapter of the Boys and Girls Club remains a strong resource for area children, organizers told Franklin County commissioners while presenting an update of the program on Monday night.
"It's a program that lets kids be kids," said Paige Sayles, a member of the Franklin County advisory board and member of the steering committee that brought the Club to Franklin County.

The Franklin County Training School/Riverside Union High School Association met at Sage Restaurant in December to celebrate the holidays. The celebration included carolling, led by James Otis Wilson and Phil Young, and a meal. The association also presented a $200 check to Karen Wilson from the Franklin County Department of Social Services with the request that the money be used to spread some holiday cheer with a family recommended by Social Services.

Army Pvt. Antonio Rogers has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

The Town of Louisburg's Electrical Department wore pink hard hats during the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Those participating were (left to right): Paul Jones, Lin King and Rene Plascencia; back row (left to right): Mike Ayscue, Donald Grice, Brandon Shearin, Ben Benton, Larry Perry and Utilities Director Ray Patterson.

BUNN -- A Charlotte-area company has combined efforts with a Pittsburgh-based power management company to boost a project in Bunn.
Recently, Eaton, based in the Northeast and which has an office in Youngsville, announced two contracts to provide electrical distribution equipment and engineering services for two 5-megawatt (MW) solar installations -- the one in Bunn and one in Chocowinity.