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LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education is planning to meet in a special, virtual session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, (tonight) and the only item on the agenda is an in-depth discussion of Option C for re-opening schools next month.
Option C calls for all students to attend classes virtually -- no face-to-face classes -- and is one of three options local school officials have developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FRANKLINTON -- Police Chief and Assistant Town Manager John Green announced his retirement, punctuating a meeting where residents expressed concerns about safety and frustrations with a lack of governmental response.
Inside a socially-distant, but packed town meeting space on Tuesday, Green told commissioners, Town Manager Gregory Bethea and a host of residents that he was retiring, effective Sept. 1.

This impressive home at 101 Elm Street in Louisburg has been overlooking downtown Louisburg for decades and now the town council may consider trying to save it as part of the effort to renew the downtown business district. The council is slated to meet at noon on Monday, July 27, in the town Operations Center to consider acquiring this historic property.

LOUISBURG -- The town council carefully made its way through a long agenda of assorted issues Monday night -- but it was the recent controversy over its decision to move the Confederate monument away from North Main Street that sparked most of the comments from the public.
Nearly 50 people showed up for the in-person meeting that was held at the town's Operations Center -- and each person had to pass a temperature check, use disinfectant on their hands and wear a mask during the meeting.

BUNN -- Commissioners adopted an ordinance strengthening the town's ability to enforce better animal control issues.
During the board's June meeting, Officer Adam Tucker and Chief Steve Massey told commissioners about the problems they've seen with residents who keep their dogs tethered -- essentially -- in inhumane ways that prevent the animals from getting to their food, water or shelter.

FRANKLINTON -- The town is open for business.
That was the message delivered by representatives of a downtown development group to real estate brokers, town and county officials and anyone else interested in economic development in the town's core.
Franklinton Development LLC and the town have been working for nearly a year, coordinating efforts to revitalize downtown.

Louisburg football legend Donte Strickland

It is an insane, upside down, inexplicable world we're living in -- and not just here in Franklin County.
Just last week, I wrote a news story about the various plans and schemes officials have come up with to educate our children beginning next month.
Franklin County, like most districts across the state, has different options. One is full-time, face-to-face school; one is part-time face-to-face school with days of virtual learning interspersed and the third option is entirely virtual learning.

There's a reason stories have headlines: They should give you pause and a reason to read what comes below.
So, when I saw this headline in the USA Today: "At least two pharmaceutical companies promise affordable COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic," I knew I had to pay attention.
But, because I'm a natural cynic -- which is, unfortunately, kind of a job requirement -- the headline both excited me and deflated me at the same time.

Dear editor:
As the events of the last several months have unfolded, the silent majority in our nation has increased in numbers. The mobs have attacked anyone with a red MAGA hat and now they are attacking anyone with a red hat of any description. This effort has not reduced the people that make up the silent majority. So much for tolerance by these mobs.

BUNN--Frederick Lewis Kincaid, 63, died Tuesday, July 21, 2020.

LOUISBURG -- Alex Edwards was an impact player from the moment she first stepped on to the softball field for Louisburg High School as a freshman.
Her presence, along with that of fellow ninth-grader Ragan Holloman, could not have been more welcomed -- or have come at a better time.
Back then, in 2018, Louisburg had a lineup worthy of state title contest -- but there were a few holes that needed to be filled.

LOUISBURG -- A new field ready to be unveiled to the anxious public. A returning veteran quarterback to go with 14 other experience-rich seniors.
And an incoming freshman class that has been hailed as potentially the best ninth-grade group the school has produced since the Jeremy Arrington Era 20 years ago.
Certainly, there is much to be upbeat about within the Louisburg High School gridiron program.

FRANKLINTON -- After saying goodbye to one of the school's all-time best senior classes -- along with its long-time coach -- the Franklinton Lady Rams seemed on the cusp of a potential rebuilding campaign on the volleyball court last fall.
So much for that -- Coach Tom Harris' inaugural campaign at FHS proved to be a profitable one as the Lady Rams went 20-5 and shared the Big East Conference regular season championship.

CHARLOTTE -- After thorough analysis, the Board of Directors for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), in conjunction with its Athletic Directors Association (ADA), has voted that NCAA sport competition sponsored by the conference will not occur during the fall of 2020 due to ongoing safety concerns associated with COVID-19.

NASHVILLE -- The Nash Community College Foundation will host its Fourth Annual Student Scholarship Sporting Clays Tournament on August 7 at Rose Hill Farms Sporting Clays and Hunting Preserve in Nashville.
Check-in and warm-up will begin at 1 p.m.

RALEIGH -- The National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes have announced that FOX Sports Carolinas will broadcast every game of the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup Qualifying Round series against the New York Rangers.
Additionally, FOX Sports Carolinas will televise Carolina's exhibition game against the Washington Capitals on July 29 at 4 p.m.

L to R) Louisburg High School softball stars Ragan Holloman and Alex Edwards have both committed to continue their respective careers on the collegiate level.

Now a junior, McKenzie Hill was exceptional last season as a sophomore for the always-successful Franklinton High School volleyball squad.

In the years before he became an internationally recognized country music superstar, Kenny Rogers was the leader of a popular singing group known as The First Edition.
In 1971, Rogers and the band came to town and performed at the old Louisburg College Auditorium. Made up mostly of former members of the New Christy Minstrels, The First Edition's style ranged from psychedelic rock and R&B to folk and country music.

What comes to mind when you think of summertime?
For Eastern North Carolina, it could be sweltering heat, the cut-it-with-a-knife humidity, or those lovely gnats that we all adore so well.
However, there are a few things that are as quintessential to this season as abundant sunshine and lemonade, and that is zinnias.
Zinnias exude summer happiness much the same way that looking upon a field of sunflowers can bring.

Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply for grants to support their professional and artistic development through a partnership of the North Carolina Arts Council and the Franklin County Arts Council, Vance County Arts Council, Halifax County Arts Council, and Warren County Arts Council.
Artist Support Grants will be distributed to eligible applicants by the Franklin County Arts Council in Warren, Vance, Halifax, Northampton, Granville, and Franklin counties.

The Franklin County Board of Education last week handled a variety of personnel issues. Among those, the board:

The Kid's Corner in Louisburg held its graduation in June at the center. Daycare director is Joni Peoples and the owner is Amy Merritt. Shown in front row (left to right) are Alexander "Tripp" Cheek, Anna Faulkner, Hunter Kassnove and Princeton "Gage" Perry. The back row (left to right) includes Brayden Webster, assistant teacher Barbara Coons, Paxton Lester, Josie Anderson, Lincoln Wood and lead teacher Tina Holden.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Officials scheduled a public hearing next month, giving residents another chance to sound off on a proposal to expand the town's noise ordinance.
The issue of amplified sounds from businesses infringing on nearby residences has been a debated issue since the fall of 2017 as nightspot operators book musical acts that nearby neighbors say destroy their peace of mind.

REFRESHING LOOK BACK. Despite what many Franklin Countians may be thinking these days, it's not always a scorching 95 humid degrees and sunny in this part of North Carolina. Sometimes, it's been so cold that the Tar River has frozen solid, allowing people to walk on it. This photo comes courtesy of Robert "Bob" Alston Jr., of Grimesland. He said he's been self-quarantined for several months and has been searching through family scrapbooks and photos.

Author RJ McCarthy's newest novel, released recently by Scuffletown Press, is a departure from his crime fiction stories into literary fiction.
One of the Boys is set in a rural Southern town. Case Parnell's coming-of-age is framed by the wisdom of Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird). Case anticipates a world based on fairness.