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LOUISBURG -- If preliminary numbers hold, Franklin County Schools will be asking county commissioners for a $3,451,738 increase in local current expense funding for the 2019-20 school year, which begins on July 1.
That was the indication following the Board of Education's first formal budget session Monday afternoon -- and that total does not include capital expense projections of $2 million, maintaining last year's funding levels in this area.

LOUISBURG -- The possibility of selling liquor by the drink in Franklin County might not have a shot.
In the past three months, two businessmen asked the county to help them in their efforts to be able to sell mixed beverages at their bar and restaurant, respectively.
Michael Hicks and Russell Vollmer have distinctly different obstacles to their goals.

The work of Sherri Hieber Day, a textile artist who creates hooked rugs, will be on display through March 7 at Louisburg College. Day said she experimented with a number of mediums and discovered hooked rugs which allowed her to "satisfy her desire to create work with a physically animated surface." Shown here with one of the exhibits in the display is Louisburg College Visual Art Professor Will Hinton. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Officials changed the duties and responsibilities of town management before naming its new town administrator.
Phillip Cordeiro was sworn in as the town's new administrator at the end of the board's Feb. 14 meeting, shortly after town officials adopted an ordinance that gives him the powers of a town manager.

Well, maybe he is, just a little. Louisburg Mayor Karl Pernell (with his back to the camera) leads a crowd of onlookers on a countdown to the re-lighting of the V. A. Peoples Bridge over the Tar River on Monday night. The lights, visible on both sides of the bridge and with the downtown in the background, are part of a revitalization effort. The bridge had lights several years ago but they were removed.

LOUISBURG -- The Louisburg town council hit one business sector with a one-two punch Monday night.
Sweepstakes Cafes, one of the most successful small business ventures in small towns in a decade, will now be prohibited from using flashing, chasing and rope/string lights in their windows or on their window frames, the council declared.

Bunn HS wrestling coach Parker Haake

Well, we're about two-thirds of the way through winter, Mother Nature is beginning to tease us with hints of springtime and, brace yourself, it's budget season for local governments.
As always, a prediction: Grab your shirt, your wallet and brace yourself for the onslaught!

We've said it before -- and we're saying it again.
In fact, we're saying it again at an even more opportune time to call for a true forensic audit of Franklin County government than in the past.
Anyone who has lived in Franklin County very long knows that the county has had a pretty checkered history that its normal "audits" simply didn't discover.

A recent conversation at a Louisburg Town Council meeting got me thinking about a conversation I had with a fellow reporter many years ago.
At that meeting, Louisburg Town Councilman Chris Neal figured that the town's governing board has been doing a pretty good job and, well, when someone has been doing a pretty good job, capitalism suggests one be compensated appropriately.

LOUISBURG--Maria Benigna Garcia Mireles, 70, died Monday, Feb. 18, 2019. Funeral services were held Wednesday, Feb. 20, at Corinth Baptist Church, with Pastor Jon Owens officiating.

SAN ANTONIO, TX--Robert Bowden, Jr., 69, of New Braunfels, TX, formerly of Franklin County, transitioned into his eternal rest on Tuesday, February 5, 2019 in San Antonio, TX.

LOUISBURG - Dropping close games has become an epidemic this season for the Louisburg College men's basketball team -- and it happened again twice in recent Region X action.
Last Wednesday (February 13), the Hurricanes hosted Bryant and Stratton for a high-powered, back-and-forth contest at Taylor Center on the LC campus.
But in the end, the visitors were able to post an 84-78 victory over the Hurricanes, who struggled mightily from beyond the 3-point arc (just 4-of-26 for the game).

ROCKY MOUNT -- Looks can be deceiving on the basketball court, and that was once again the case this season for the Franklinton High School boys basketball squad.
Under first-year head coach Darrin Stinson, FHS won just two outings for the second consecutive campaign.

LOUISBURG -- Never one to back down from a tough test, Louisburg College softball coach Eric Lee pounced on the opportunity to host powerhouse Lake Land College from Illinois as part of a round-robin event last Thursday and Friday at Sheilah R. Cotten Field on the LC campus.
Pitt Community College and Harford Community College also took part in the two full days of competition.

FRANKLINON -- The Media Center at Franklinton High School has been buzzing with activity lately -- and not just with students reading books or learning on the computer.
The FHS Media Center is the site of the school's student-athlete college signing ceremonies -- and there have been plenty of them in the past several years as the Red Rams continue to churn out collegiate-level athletes.

Franklinton's Kendric Holt signs a letter-of-intent to continue his football career at Winston-Salem State University. Also pictured are (back, l to r) FHS Athletic Director Jeremy Crawford, FHS assistant coach Elerod Morris and FHS head coach Jimmy Williams; (front, l to r) parents Theric and Kenya Holt.

Franklinton's Steve Green signs a letter-of-intent to continue his football career at Louisburg College. Also pictured are (back, l to r) FHS Athletic Director Jeremy Crawford, FHS assistant coach Elerod Morris and FHS head coach Jimmy Williams; (front, l to r) parents Steve Green and Tisha Crudup.

BUNN -- There is no denying one fact about the current Middle Athletic Conference basketball scene.
This is the time of the Cedar Creek Middle School dynasty in both boys and girls action.
That recent trend was on display once again last Thursday as the Jags and Lady Jags swept the championships at the annual MAC Tournament, which was held at the Bunn High School Gymnasium.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The unique backdrop at the Rocky Mount Event Center posed a potential issue for long-range shooters during Monday's meeting between Franklinton and Southern Nash in the opening round of the Big East Conference Girls Basketball Tournament.
Unlike high school gyms, with the wall almost directly behind each basket, there is plenty of space past the baselines at the brand-new Event Center, which has drawn rave reviews since opening back in the fall.

WINTERVILLE -- Louisburg College dropped a baseball doubleheader last Friday at long-time rival Pitt Community College.
In the opener, Pitt shut out the Hurricanes by a 6-0 margin. The Bulldogs closed out the sweep in the nightcap by taking a 10-9 slugfest.
Game One saw Louisburg muster just four hits, two of which came from Josh Baker.

Cedar Creek's Dashaun Grant was sharp for the Jaguars during the Middle Athletic Conference Boys Basketball Tournament last week.

Ninth-grader Dayson Henderson (left) was exceptional this season for the Franklinton High school boys basketball squad, which saw its season conclude Monday.

Cedar Creek's Kayla Wilkins drives for a basket during last Thursday's game.

Bunn native Aaron 'Tank' Simmons drives into the paint during last Wednesday's home men's basketball matchup for the Louisburg Hurricanes.

LOUISBURG -- It was a bit of deja vu last weekend.
On the exact same date -- Feb. 9 -- 17 years ago, the Franklin County Arts Council and Performing Arts Black History Club held its first banquet to recognize black living legends, recognizing African Americans from Franklin County who made notable contributions to the arts, humanities and politics.

LOUISBURG -- A new wrinkle -- possibly saving some money on town-owned vehicles -- was added to the town of Louisburg's first budget meeting last Wednesday.
Town officials annually gather in these budget sessions, usually to outline their "wish lists" for town projects in the coming fiscal year. (Those wish lists are detailed in a separate story in this edition.)

SPRING HOPE -- Authorities continue to look for one suspect who fled a vehicle stop while a deputy struggled to detain an armed man.
According to authorities, Dep. C.D. Strickland was on patrol near the intersection of Tant Road and Old U.S. 64 just after 9 a.m. on Feb. 11 when he spotted a 1979 Oldsmobile with no license plate displayed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Two people, including a Louisburg College student and a Franklin County man, died on Franklin County roads in two separate Valentine's Day crashes.
First, Nadia Davidson, 19, of Nokesville, Va. was killed in a three-vehicle accident on N.C. 39 at about 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 14.

YOUNGSVILLE -- It will take nearly $84,000 for officials to begin paying town employees what they're worth.
And, it'll take more, $27,500, to maintain that market rate.
That was the message that Piedmont Triad Regional Council Assistant Director Matt Reece delivered to town commissioners during the board's Feb. 14 meeting.