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LOUISBURG -- Voters can begin casting ballots for the county's next municipal leaders on Wednesday.
One-stop/early voting begins on Oct. 16, giving residents in Bunn, Franklinton, Louisburg and Youngsville the chance to get a jump on the Nov. 5 election.
There will be no Saturday voting during the early voting period.

LOUISBURG -- What was once viewed as a traffic conundrum has apparently turned into an easy pass.
Preliminary State Department of Transportation maintenance plans called for simultaneous closure of sections of Pete Smith and Person roads for bridge repair projects.

Duke Life Flight nurse Ally Griffin, foreground, left, looks on as Lori Rayman, foreground, right, takes a picture of her son, David Rayman, right, and family friend Ella Obiedzenski, inside the Duke Life Flight helicopter that landed in front of the Louisburg Training Center as part of the Louisburg Fire Department's Community Day this past Saturday. Visitors were treated to up-close and personal looks at fire equipment and learned safety tips during the family-friendly event.

WARRENTON -- A judge entered a $26 million judgment against a local cattle company accused of fraud and deceit.
Superior Court Judge Alma Hinton's order hasn't been reduced to writing and officially signed, but an attorney representing the plaintiff and a court official confirmed the hearing on Monday afternoon.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County has no low-performing schools.
One of its most difficult middle schools is showing improvement.
One of its best-performing high schools needs more space.
The system has been able to better compensate its staff.

LOUISBURG -- Following a closed session, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners agreed to give the county manager a raise.
Angela Harris' salary went from $127,992 to $150,000 -- a 17 percent increase.
There was no blanket cost of living increase for county employees in the most recent budget, but those eligible for a 2.5 percent career advancement hike would have received them if they met benchmarks.

Mason and Rita Cox

This is just a guess, but it's possible that Youngsville's town administrator, Phillip Cordeiro, learned one of life's ironic lessons recently.
The lesson is that the better you do your job, the more difficult the choices you have to make become.
At a time when all we hear is that recruiting and keeping law enforcement officers gets more difficult by the day, Cordeiro managed to get some 60 applications for the police chief's job in Youngsville recently.

I know what you're thinking: The air has turned crisp and it's time to move those sweaters to the front of the closet and find that coffee shop that has the best pumpkin spice whatever.
You'd only be half right, though.
It's also time to figure out who will be the best people to lead your towns and communities.

Dear editor:
It has been my pleasure to work with a great team at FGV Smart Start to provide a unique event for the community the last 10 years...the Ducky Derby. This year was quite exceptional for several reasons.

FRANKLINTON--Vann McCrary, 81, born in Denison, TX and a resident of Franklinton, NC, died peacefully on Sunday, October 6, 2019.

FRANKLINTON--Funeral services for Viola Kearney Jones, 102, who died Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, will be held Sunday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Franklinton, with Rev. Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery.

LOUISBURG -- History can indeed repeat itself -- as evidenced by this season's Northern Carolina Conference volleyball series between perennial powerhouses Louisburg and South Granville.
When the clubs met for the first time back on September 12, Louisburg cruised to a first-set win, and then saw the Lady Vikings rally with three straight set triumphs to take the match.

BUNN -- Hannah Martin, a senior at Bunn High School, has been recognized for her outstanding performance as a student-athlete, leader and community servant.
Throughout the school year, WRAL-TV in Raleigh recognizes one student-athlete each week with the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.
The students who receive this recognition are chosen because they excel on the playing field, as well as in the classroom and in their community.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton had an opportunity Monday to create some space for itself in the always-competitive Big East Conference boys soccer standings.
But once again, the league's parity ruled the day as Southern Nash spoiled the potential Franklinton party with a 1-0 triumph over the Red Rams in a key Big East showdown at the FHS Football Field.

LOIUSBURG -- Each Northern Carolina Conference victory provides another step toward the state playoffs -- and Louisburg took a huge one last Friday against league opponent Roanoke Rapids.
The streaking Warriors, who have now won four of their past five outings, pulled away from the visiting Jackets in the second half on their way to registering a 33-14 conquest at historic Patterson Field on the LHS campus.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- When looking for an opponent to end a four-game football losing streak, Rocky Mount High School certainly wouldn't be the first choice.
But that's the task the Franklinton Red Rams face this Friday when they open Big East Conference play against a humdinger foe in the powerful Gryphons.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. on the RMHS campus in Nash County. Tickets will be available at the gate.

RED OAK -- Justin Marshall was once again the big winner for Northern Nash during last Wednesday's latest Big East Conference Cross Country Meet.
Marshall, a junior, continued his consistent string of first-place finishes, and was able to do so at NN's picturesque home course at Red Oak Middle School.
Marshall brought home a victory with a time of 18:43.88 over the 3.1-mile layout -- almost 17 seconds ahead of the second-place performance of Southern Nash's Shamir Small.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's Owens Park is quickly becoming a distance-running mecca -- a trend that continued last Tuesday when Louisburg High School hosted a Northern Carolina Conference cross country event at the facility, which is on the grounds of the old Bull Creek Golf Course.
The former layout lends itself perfectly to cross country, with rolling hills combined with long straightaways -- and quality vistas from several vantage points for spectators.

Senior outside hitter Kristen House (right) was exceptional for the Louisburg Lady Warriors during Tuesday's home match vs. South Granville.

A Franklinton player (right) sprints through the midfield for the Red Rams during Monday's home matchup against Big East Conference opponent Southern Nash.

Franklin County Arts Council is accepting applications for North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Arts Program subgrants through Dec. 31.
Since 1977, the North Carolina Arts Council's Grassroots Arts Program has provided North Carolina citizens access to quality arts experiences. Using a per capita based formula, the program provides funding for the arts in all 100 counties of the state through partnerships with local arts councils.

Margaret Rand Hilpert is an award-winning artist who lives and works at Cedar Cross Retreat center in Franklin County and is an active member of the Franklin County Arts Council, having served on its board of directors, and is a retired docent for the NC Museum of Art.
She will be the featured artist at the Third Friday with the Artist event on Friday, Oct. 18, in downtown Louisburg. The event is part of the town's Third Friday concert series.

LOUISBURG -- Motorists avoided life-threatening injuries following two accidents on Bickett Boulevard.
First, officers responded to Bickett Boulevard and Wade Avenue just after 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 when a scooter rear-ended a vehicle at the intersection.
According to the report, both vehicles were heading south on Bickett when the driver of the scooter, Wiley Radford of Louisburg rear ended a vehicle driven by Marvin Thomas.

SPRING HOPE -- An Apex man was killed Monday evening following a fiery, single-vehicle wreck.
According to the State Highway Patrol, Emir Trnjanin, 36, was traveling east on U.S. 64 near the Foy Mart at about 7:15 p.m. on Monday when he ran off the road to the right, crossed a ditch, hit some trees and overturned.

STRAIGHT-LINE FOCUS. Camden Yarborough shows off his fire hose skill at the Louisburg event.

COMMERCE CENTRAL. Craft vendors were set up inside the Louisburg Fire House.

Eighteen years and a couple of hours after the first hijacked airplane slammed into one of the twin towers in New York City, retired Wake County fireman Wilbert "Tramp" Dunn said that fateful day will "forever be in my heart."
Dunn was the featured speaker at a brief downtown Louisburg service on Sept. 11 marking the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attack that rocked the nation to its foundations.