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LOUISBURG -- COVID-19 cases continue to grow exponentially in Franklin County as a new outbreak has been reported at an assisted living facility, businesses are reporting clusters of cases and large gatherings continue to generate new cases.
Franklin County Health Director Scott LaVigne gave the sobering update to county commissioners during the board's July 6 meeting.

Donning hard hats because it's still a construction site, masks because of the COVID-19 virus, this duo toured the nearly complete Louisburg High School Athletic Complex this week, just hours after sod was installed on the football field. Checking things out were (on the left) Louisburg High School Principal Melissa Thomas with Dr. Larry Webb, chief of auxiliary services for the school district and the man who has been overseeing the year-long construction project for the school system.

LOUISBURG -- A judge denied a motion to immediately stop Louisburg officials from moving a Confederate monument, but the case challenging their actions will move forward.
During a special called, virtual meeting on June 22, the Louisburg Town Council voted 4-3 to remove the statue, citing moral and safety concerns.

Lily Hood was sporting a cat on her shirt and a fish at the end of her hook last month as the Northern Sportsman -- Chris Edwards -- and a host of sponsors pulled together their annual Take A Kid Fishing event on June 20. Dozens of kids, their families and friends cast a line in a Louisburg pond, hoping that some fish were biting. Above, Hood, 8, had some good luck and was all smiles when she pulled this crappie from the pond.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County Commissioners have invited members of its first responder community to tell them about their experience with the much-maligned emergency radio system.
The invitation was extended Monday night after representatives from Harris Corporation provided them with a report of the fixes and adjustments they made to meet the mid-June deadline commissioners gave them to fix issues that law enforcement, firefighters and emergency crews had noted within the system.

LOUISBURG -- A majority of Franklin County's elected Democratic leadership has asked its state party to remove the clerk of court from its executive committee and look into her fitness to hold office -- an action made in the form of a resolution that Patricia Chastain said her party didn't even send her.
Chastain is a member of the Franklin County Democratic Party's executive committee, but the party met the evening of July 2 and voted to ask state party officials to remove Chastain from its executive committee -- and also called for a "judicial review" of her performance as clerk of court.

Franklin County newborn Mila Moreschi

You snooze, you lose.
We've all heard that old adage and it's usually true.
But even though most of us here in Franklin County haven't been snoozing in recent days, we may be about to lose something important thanks to clueless legislators in Raleigh.

Here it is, the second week of July and I had an opportunity to look back at, well, I won't call them New Year's resolutions, but some things I intended to enjoy more in 2020.
Of course, at the end of December 2019, who had any idea what a cluster-you-know-what that 2020 would turn out to be.
Fortunately, though, my goal was to enjoy more of nature.

In recent weeks, I have been reflecting on the unprecedented challenges that our community and our team at Maria Parham Health have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More specifically, I've been intentionally looking for every possible silver lining in a time when - let's face it - we all need some positive news. We are always seeking new ways to enhance how we care for our community and advance our mission of making communities healthier.

Dear editor: Today we celebrate the arrival of the United States of America onto the world stage. As a member of American Legion Auxiliary Franklinton Unit 52, I want to personally thank all service members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America for their innumerable contributions to protecting our freedoms and keeping our nation safe.

Dear editor: As the Confederate Monument is coming down, I am certain there will be tremendous benefits for everyone.
Louisburg College will be revered as an educational mecca for high school students who want the absolute best education available. Certainly, the Town of Louisburg and Franklin County will be considered responsive to the desires and opinions of most of its citizens.

Dear editor: The Franklin Rifles, Camp 310, of the Sons Of Confederate Veterans felt we had to say something. As most of you know, the Town of Louisburg voted recently in favor of totally and blatantly disrespecting a group of Franklin County Veterans. They voted 3 to 4 in favor of moving the memorial that has stood on Main St. sinse 1914 -- "The Monument To The Confederate Dead."

Dear editor: This is not to get a pat on my back but I was the first one to suggest to move the monument to the cemetery by the newspaper, "The Franklin Times." I learned that they had ancestors out there by a great-great-grandson that was a patient of mine when I worked at the hospital.
But I just want to thank that professor that did more research and pushed the Louisburg Town Council to use our suggestion.

FRANKLINTON--After an extended illness, Carolyn Jones Ball, 87, of Franklinton died on Thursday night, July 2, at Duke Raleigh Hospital. Her daughters, Cynthia Ball and Amy Ball, were with her.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Once a perennial powerhouse in the Big East Conference, Wilson Hunt High School's football program has been hindered in recent campaigns by a revolving door at the head coaching position.
Hunt hoped to fix that problem recently when the school hired long-time Nash Central High School assistant coach Juan Jackson to take over the Warriors' program.

BUNN -- Southern Nash and Bunn have undertaken one of the area's best non-conference football rivalries over the past two decades and beyond.
The clubs played against each other some through the years before adopting a home-and-home two-year contract that has been renewed every time since the mid-2000s.
But Bunn has opted not to renew the contract, at least for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.

LOUISBURG -- While Louisburg College veteran softball coach Eric Lee was happy to welcome Haleigh Joyner and Haley Tomlinson back into the fold for one more year, there was still the matter of business as to where LC's other sophomores were going to continue their careers.
Due to COVID-19 cancelling the spring season, LC sophomores were given the opportunity to return to campus for another season.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College has added international student Fabian Giebel to the men's basketball recruiting class of 2020.
Giebel is a 6-6 forward from Hamburg, Germany. He shot 40 percent from the 3-point line last season.
"There was no question that Fabian can shoot the ball," said Louisburg head coach Bryan Bagwell, "But after we had several conversations over the phone, I knew that he was a guy who I want to coach. He has a seriousness about his craft that will be a positive impact to our locker room."

LITTLETON -- Fuses were short but tensions were high last Saturday night as drivers and fans from every direction gathered at Halifax County Motor Speedway for a special Independence Day edition of racing in the FUEL Late Model Series I-95 Challenge.
After the pre-race ceremonies, which included the traditional prayer and National Anthem, as well as a celebratory firework show concluded, the 16-car Pure Stock V8 field headed to the starting grid to begin the night's contests.

RALEIGH -- The National Hockey League intends to resume play in the summer of 2020, with 24 teams returning to compete for the Stanley Cup.
The Carolina Hurricanes will be among those 24 teams and are slated to match up against the New York Rangers in a best-of-five Stanley Cup Qualifier, the winner of which will advance to the First Round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

FORGET BALLOONS. Critters visiting your birthday party are more fun, just ask 7-year-old Aiden Allen whose parents, Dustin and Jilian Allen, invited not only his friends but Dan Breeding of Wild Animal Encounters of Raleigh and his friends! The youngsters got to visit with Little Joe the alligator, a couple of large python snakes, a Eurasian owl, a kookaburra (bird) and Mikey the vervet monkey.

Phillip Holden, center, helps, from left, his grandson, Paidon Anderson, and his son, Zarius Holden, catch fish

Ryden Clark has a great seat to take in all the fishing action

The Franklin County Economic Development Commission is slated to meet today, electing leadership, learning more about COVID-19's impact on business and getting an update on the county's hubsite.
The virtual meeting will take place via Zoom.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners moved forward with an agreement that would give them another water supply in case of an emergency.
The agreement, said Assistant County Manager Kim Denton, would do just that.
The agreement does not supplement the county's normal allocation of water it needs to meet demands on the system caused by residential and business growth.

FRANKLINTON -- Sheriff's deputies have charged a Franklinton man in a shooting that sent someone to the hospital.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies charged Jaquan Sebastian Allen, 28, with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and assault by pointing a gun.

A LOT HAS CHANGED in the last 12 months -- and the long-awaited Louisburg High School Athletic Complex is nearing completion. A year ago, at a tree-covered site just west of the Allen Lane-Wilder Street intersection, convenient to Louisburg High School, officials broke ground on what has become a roughly $6.5 million athletic complex. At the time, the contractor, Daniels and Daniels of Goldsboro, predicted that there could be "cleats on the ground" by late fall of this year and the facility will be ready, although whether it will be used is uncertain because of another unknown, the COVID-19 virus.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Sheriff's deputies arrested a Youngsville man they allege pulled a man from a car and assaulted him.
Brion Jemod Brodie, 46, was charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury, sending the 19-year-old to the hospital, witnesses said.
Brodie was also charged with second degree kidnapping and assault by strangulation in an unrelated matter that was revealed during the investigation.