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LOUISBURG -- Voting officials and staff remain in flux after a federal judge announced plans to temporarily block the requirement that North Carolina voters provide ID to cast a ballot.
According to reports, U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Biggs is presiding over the case that challenges North Carolina's voter ID law and announced last week that she will temporarily block requirement as the lawsuit continues to wind its way through the courts.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town officials and staff are set to host Round 2 of their efforts to solicit public input on their proposed Youngsville Development Ordinance.
The ordinance includes a number of provisions to regulate a variety of things.
It will also be used to implement the town's Comprehensive Land Use & Master Plan -- a document adopted in the spring of 2019 which incorporates every facet of how the town will develop well into the future, from infrastructure planning to zoning regulations and priorities in between.

FRANKLINTON -- From the Franklinton Middle School auditorium stage, TyRone "Hollywood" Brown dazzled and amazed students with basketball skills that the Harlem Globetrotters have made famous worldwide.
But, the former Globetrotter was just as quick to point out how science and technology can assist students in their journey to success.

FRANKLINTON -- If you're in academia, you'd like to show that what you're doing in the classroom translates to breakthroughs in the real world.
If you're in the business of science, you'd like access to some of the newest insights bubbling out from the classroom.
Recently, a leadership team from NC State, including its chancellor, visited one of its strongest research partners, Novozymes, to talk about the symbiotic nature of its relationship.

Basketball fan Zamari Mitchell

Wow. Here we are on the brink of a brand new year.
And what a year it promises to be.
Although none of us have a crystal ball, it doesn't take one to predict that one of the major focal points -- and points of controversy -- will be the upcoming elections.

In my last column, I offered communities, municipalities and the county the Christmas gifts I felt they so richly deserved.
Now, it's time to move into 2020 with resolutions ... and not the kind that require a motion, a second, discussion and a vote.
I'm offering New Year's resolutions for our towns and county.

Dear editor: I am writing in response to the newspaper article outlining the proposal by NCDOT to make improvements to Bickett Blvd ... a project forecast to last three years. As Mr. Hammerbacher has stated, the center turning lane can be dangerous; it can be.

Dear editor: I feel that I have come to understand this impeachment process. I doubt if this understanding would rise to the level of an epiphany, but none the less.
The people in our nation's capital do not like this President.

CASTLE HAYNE--Harold Wallace Spencer, Sr., 77, of Castle Hayne, NC, died December 26, 2019. He was born in Louisburg, NC, a son of the late Halbert Spencer and Cornelia Radford Spencer. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter Samantha Dallas Spencer. He was a US Navy Veteran and a HVAC Contractor.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for James "Hop" Strickland, 67, who died Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, will be held Thursday, Jan. 2, at 1 p.m. at Rowland Chapel Christian Church in Henderson, with Pastor Ronald Regular officiating. Burial will follow in the Rowland Chapel Church cemetery.

ZEBULON--James Christopher "Chris" Webb, 55, of the Pilot Community died at his residence on Monday afternoon, Dec. 23, 2019. A memorial service was held Saturday, Dec. 28, at Pearce Baptist Church. 4634 Pearces Rd., Zebulon, with the Revs. Mark Cottrell and Roscoe Davis officiating. Immediately following the service, a celebration of Chris' life was held at the church fellowship hall.

STEM--Nancy Wilson Ashley, 64, died Friday, Dec. 27, 2019. A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Jan. 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Creedmoor.

LOUISBURG--Rhina Lee Walker Smith, 92, died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019. Funeral services were held Sunday, Dec. 29, at White Level Baptist Church, with the Rev. Jason Currie officiating. Burial followed in the Smith family cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Velvet Newman Perdue, 49, of Louisburg, died Saturday morning.

BUNN -- Bunn experienced three distinctly different in-game scenarios during the Wildcats' work at their own Bunn High School Boys Basketball Christmas Tournament.
And each scenario should make the Wildcats a better team as they head into the upcoming meat of their always-challenging Northern Carolina Conference schedule.

BUNN -- One week after capturing the Nash County Christmas Tournament Championship, Northern Nash High School shifted its focus to the annual post-holiday Bunn Christmas Tournament, hoping to win pick up its third consecutive event championship.
After knocking off Athens Drive and the hometown Bunn Wildcats in the first two rounds, the Knights settled in for a matchup with Clayton last Saturday night in the tourney finale.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Despite being in a rebuilding mode this past fall, there were still a fair share of heroics from the Franklinton High School football squad.
The Red Rams won their first two outings of the campaign but were unable to win another, despite a few close calls down the stretch.
Several FHS performers offered standout campaigns, and four of them have seen saluted with spots on the prestigious 2019 All-Big East Conference Football Team.

PIKEVILLE -- Bunn High School featured a pair of weight-class champions at last Saturday's Falcon Invitational Wrestling Tournament at C.B. Aycock High School in Wayne County.
Bunn's winners were Scottie Spencer at 120 and Sam Kagarise at 138.

BUNN -- Here is the list of All-Tourney players from the 2019 Bunn High School Boys Basketball Christmas Tournament, which concluded last Saturday night at the Bunn Dome:

Among the All-Tournament picks from the Bunn High School Christmas Tournament were (l to r) BJ Freeman, Clayton (MVP); Mason Rusch, Clayton; Sencere Battle (Northern Nash) and Isaiah Jones (Bunn).

Bunn High School's Xavier Jones (with ball) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the annual BHS Christmas Boys Basketball Tournament, which concluded last Saturday at the Bunn Dome.

FRANKLINTON -- What started as an imaginative idea last spring became reality on Dec. 17 when Franklinton Middle School's STEAM Lab officially opened its door, stations and opportunities to learn during an Open House Celebration for the community.
The new Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Lab was made possible through the support of the United Way of Franklin County, Novozymes, ThermoFisher Scientific and Franklin County Schools. However, many other community partners also volunteered their support along the way.

YOUNGSVILLE -- A Youngsville man and Wake Forest woman died late last week in a head-on collision.
According to a report by Trooper J.T. Southerland, Alexandria Cunningham was traveling east on NC 96 near Ridgewood Road -- west of U.S. 1 -- when she crossed the center line at about 8 p.m. on Dec. 26.

LOUISBURG -- A Thomasville man arrived at the emergency room with a gunshot wound to the face, but he wouldn't open his mouth to authorities.
Louisburg police said the man went to the emergency room at Maria Parham Franklin on Sunday evening, suffering from a small-caliber gunshot wound to the face.
The man's wounds were not life-threatening, said Louisburg Police Chief Jason Abbott.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Republican Party is soliciting interest in serving on the county's Board of Elections.
Board member Larry Tucker is set to resign at the end of this month as he will no longer be a Franklin County resident.
Tucker serves as one of the two Republicans on the five-member board.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Five people were taken to the hospital late last week following a three-vehicle wreck.
The injuries were not life-threatening.
According to authorities, the driver of a grey Mazda was heading north on U.S. 1 and making a left turn onto Holden Road at about 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, turning into the path of a pickup truck [pulling a trailer with another vehicle attached] heading south along the highway.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies charged a woman with assault following a knifing.
Deputies responded to a home in the 200 block of Clearwater Lane just after 3:15 a.m. on Dec. 21 to find a man suffering from a stab wound to the back.
The man's injuries were not life-threatening.