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LOUISBURG -- More than 200 people gathered peacefully in front of the Franklin County Courthouse Saturday evening, ultimately holding up candles against the approaching darkness and remaining silent for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time it took for George Floyd to die at the hands of Minneapolis police.
The rally, billed as a time to heal by organizer Ebonee Strickland, featured speeches by Louisburg Police Chief Jason Abbott, author Rhoza Lee, Safe Space Director Monica McInnis and Dorian Cannady, a local man who offered an emotional African-American perspective both on Floyd's murder and on the state of racial relations locally.

While the adults held a vigil, these two youngsters put their focus on creating art. The budding artists are Case Gilliam, 6, and 20-month-old Hazel Judd.

LOUISBURG -- The town council got its first look at a nearly finalized 2020-21 budget during a work session Tuesday evening and made few changes in the document that was presented by town administrator Jonathan Franklin.
Essentially, the new budget stands at $14,728,197 and keeps the property tax rate for the coming year the same -- 45 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners adopted an $88.8 million spending plan without much dialogue, much to the chagrin of one board member.
Commissioners had a public hearing on the matter during a virtual meeting on June 1, which prompted no public comments about the budget.

Birthday Boy JC Wright, 2

Last week was a bit of a roller coaster ride, starting out on rather rough ground but ending on a positive point that renewed some of my faith in the future of this country and the people coming behind us who will one day lead this nation.
As everyone knows, protests and riots -- and those are two radically different things done by two (or more) very different groups which must not be confused -- rocked the nation last week following the murder of a man in Minneapolis by poorly trained and largely unsupervised police.

Sometimes, as a reporter, you have an idea of how a story will turn out. Still, you're supposed to let the facts drive the narrative, not the other way around.
So, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I started thinking about the impacts it could have.
So, back in April, I spoke with law enforcement and Safe Space Executive Director Monica McInnis about how isolation protocols put in place to combat COVID-19 might impact incidents of domestic violence.

Dear editor :
Compare the tone and rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered near the end of our Civil War, with Donald J. Trump's tone and rhetoric -- and his utter lack of empathy, understanding, or even humanity,

Dear editor:
On Flag Day, June 14, we commemorate the adoption of the American flag. For more than 200 years, Old Glory has served as a symbol of our nation's freedom and as a source of pride for our citizens.

HAZARD, KY--The Reverend Thomas Otey Feamster Jr., age 89, husband of Betty Baldwin Feamster, passed away on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at the Greg and Noreen Wells Hospice Care Center in Hazard, KY. Born in Warwick, VA on October 23, 1930, Tom was the son of the late Thomas Otey and Gladys Kincaid Feamster. Tom attended William & Mary and Florida State University. In 1955, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams and traded to the Baltimore Colts in 1956.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Deran Coe's career was on the path to success literally from the moment he began teaching in Franklin County two decades ago.
Coe would become the first-ever head coach for the Franklinton High School boys and girls soccer program -- building the Red Rams and into one of the area's top powerhouses in a short period of time.

BUNN -- Bunn High School capped off another exceptional -- albeit shortened -- sports year by handing out its annual postseason awards recently.
The honors would have usually been presented as part of the school's Athletic Awards Ceremony at the BHS Auditorium, but that was not possible this spring.
Instead, a virtual ceremony was held online, with coaches offering a speech before announcing their winners.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The North Carolina High School Athletic Association announced a Phase One for resuming athletic participation on Monday -- but also gave individual school systems the opportunity to reopen at their own discretion.
The NCHSAA's press release listed June 15 as an opening day for limited off-season workouts in all sports.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College women's basketball head coach Jason Rasnake has announced the signing of Destini Abramson-Lee out of Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School.
Last season, the 5'7 guard helped her team reach the 4A state championship game for the 4th year in a row.

ROCKY MOUNT -- North Carolina Wesleyan College has announced that all home football games are scheduled to be played on campus for the 2020 season due to a generous donation from alumnus Vernon T. Bradley, Jr.
The college recently received Bradley's gift of $150,000 to be used for bleachers, a scoreboard and other signage.

Safe Space will hold virtual classes for teens on healthy relationships, problem solving and conflict resolution without violence into our youth.
For ages 12-14: Shifting Boundaries is a program designed to reduce abuse in relationships and harassment among middle school students. These classes will be held on Zoom twice a week at 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for 30 minutes. This is a certification program lasting for two consecutive weeks.

LOUISBURG -- A Louisburg woman died over the weekend following a single-vehicle wreck.
According to a report by Trooper A.T. Lamancusa, Ethel Wilder was driving east on East River Road -- about six miles east of Louisburg -- when the 2003 Volkswagen Beetle she was driving ran off the road to the left.

LOUISBURG -- A routine audit revealed bookkeeping errors that resulted in thousands of dollars in unclaimed funds sitting in the Franklin County Clerk of Court's office bank account, rather than being returned to the rightful owners or the state treasurer's office.
Superior Court Clerk Patricia Burnette Chastain blamed the errors on staff shakeups and a lack of proper training during the time of the audit -- from July 2019 until January 2020.

CHAPEL HILL -- Bunn Town Clerk Pamela Perry received the designation of North Carolina Certified Municipal Clerk from the NC Association of Municipal Clerks, along with the School of Government of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for achieving its high educational, experience, and service requirements.
Perry attained her designation as a NC State Certified Municipal Clerk through the completion of the NC Association of Municipal Clerks Program, conducted in cooperation with the School of Government of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

BUNN -- Town leaders appointed a new commissioner, adopted a budget, mulled a tethering law and, following a closed session, provided some cash for two town employees.
Charlene Clay announced in April that she was stepping down as a commissioner, ending public service that she began in 2009.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Sheriff's deputies arrested a Louisburg man in a shooting that may have been accidental.
Demeterious Diquon Taylor, 26, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
According to authorities, Taylor, Elijah Wright and some other people were at a home in the 100 block of Elsie Marie Drive just after midnight on June 7 when the incident occurred.

A seven-point call to action was issued this week by the Franklin County Democratic Party, according to Lucy T. Allen, chair of the group.
The seven points call upon government leaders to "establish an aggressive reform agenda that allows for increased transparency and accountability, including, but not limited to:

The immune system is a powerful component of the human body. The immune system recognizes when viruses, bacteria and other foreign invaders enter or compromise the body, and then takes action to prevent illnesses from taking over. The average person can help his or her immune system do its job more effectively by making the immune system as strong as it can be.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Even as the world begins to unpause, wearing masks seems likely to continue.
According to Penni Watts, Ph.D., RN, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, masks are designed not to prevent the wearer from getting ill, but to protect other people from getting the virus.

Many businesses were forced to close their facilities to the public as local governments implemented measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Businesses deemed "non-essential" could no longer welcome customers into their offices and stores, prompting many people to wonder just why some businesses are considered "essential" while others are not.