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LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Elections added a Sunday to its early voting schedule, while also securing sites that will allow voters to practice social distancing.
Early voting for the general election begins on Oct. 17 and runs through Oct. 31, with general statutes governing the minimum amount of time the polls should be open each weekday -- 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

LOUISBURG -- With less than a week before Franklin County Schools begin a new year -- virtually, the county Board of Education got a glimpse of what the year may hold and had a chance to look back at the successes of the recent graduating classes during a routine session Monday night.
At that meeting, held virtually and which got off to a rocky start because of audio problems, the board was told that schools this fall will look much different than the hastily arranged virtual classes offered in the spring as the COVID-19 pandemic forced an end to face-to-face classroom instruction.

Crosscreek Charter School staff is preparing this week to open its brand new school to students. Above, the school's mascot, a hawk, greets faculty, staff and students who will begin in-person learning at the school on East River Road. Teacher workdays, new-teacher activities and open houses on Thursday and Friday are planned this week in anticipation of the first day of school on Aug. 18.

LOUISBURG -- Police arrested two more suspects in a shooting outside a gas station they believe was the result of an ongoing dispute.
The evening of Aug. 4, Louisburg police officers responded to a wreck in the 200 block of Bunn Road to find that the driver, Patrick Lynch, suffered from a gunshot wound.

LOUISBURG -- A trio of judges is set to hear arguments regarding the innocence of Kenneth Leon Evans who, 30 years ago, investigators allege bound, gagged and kidnapped a Centerville woman.
Evans, about 27 at the time of the 1990 crime, was sentenced to 40 years on the kidnapping charge, 40 years on the second degree burglary charge and an additional 40 years on robbery by firearm charge following the 1995 trial.

Franklinton United Methodist Daycare students Avery Handle, Tinlee Roberson, Brandon Frederickson and Barrett May

We Franklin Countians ducked Mother Nature's "bullet" last week, faring far better than our neighbors to the east.
The hurricane-turned-tropical-storm, named something many of us still can't pronounce, spared us any major damage and we suffered no serious injuries or deaths because of it.
Most of the county didn't even lose power which, given our providers' track record in past storms, is something of a miracle.

I've been covering crime and courts, in some capacity, for more than 20 years.
And it's been my experience that it's the little things that get criminals in the most trouble with the law.
It's not uncommon for a successful criminal enterprise to unravel because a taillight doesn't work or an expired registration caused an alert police officer to stop a vehicle.

Dear editor:
I am writing in response to the published letter to the editor recently in The Franklin Times.
There must be two Will Hintons in Franklin County, NC, as I do not recognize the one described in that letter to the editor.

Dear editor:
I can identify with Ann E. Brown's observations and frustrations as well as present and past opinions of LC; however, let's examine who and what has caused the dilemma we find ourselves and Louisburg involved with presently - not just the handsome stone confederate soldier atop a beautiful statuary monument and the roles of various individuals.

Dear editor:
Caesar Cooper claims that science guides him when he issues his edicts concerning COVID-19. Whatever guides him, it is not science.
Like other respiratory viruses, COVID-19 spreads via the air, not just via droplets or touching contaminated surfaces.

Dear editor: Since you opened the political idiot door, allow me to add to the political idiot list Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, New York mayor Bill de Blasio, and the list could go on, and last but not least, Joe Biden.

BUNN--Matthew Steven Bass, 32, of Louisburg/Bunn departed this earthly life on Friday, August 7, 2020. He was born on November 9, 1987 to Charles Broddie Bass, Jr. and Donna Bissette Bass. Matt was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Charles, Sr. and Martha Bass, and his maternal grandmother, Ruth Bissette.

Myrl Christine Wiggins West died after a short illness in the ealy morning of August 6, 2020. She was born July 17, 1925 at the family home in the Flat Rock community of Franklin County to loving parents, James "Jimmy" Wiggins and Norna Marshall Wiggins.

HENDERSON--Funeral services for Sierra Tiesha "Ponnie" Neal, 33, who died Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, will be held Sunday, Aug. 16, at 2 p.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Jordan Chapel Church cemetery.

FRANKLINTON--Funeral services for Thomas "Darrell" Perry, 56, who died Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, will be held today, Thursday, Aug. 13, at 12 p.m. at Rocky Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg, with the Rev. Rory Sneed officiating. Burial will follow in the Shady Grove Church cemetery.

ZEBULON--Virginia Long Johnson, 84, of the Pearces Community in Franklin County, died Thursday morning, Aug. 6, 2020 at her home. Graveside services will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, at 2 p.m. at Pearce Baptist Church cemetery, with the Rev. Mark Cottrell officiating.

LOUISBURG -- COVID-19 isn't just affecting the current situations of high school athletes -- it is also putting their immediate futures in limbo.
Ponder the case of Elijah Jamison, the high-scoring rising senior boys basketball star at Louisburg High School.
Due to COVID, Jamison has not received exposure this summer on the AAU level.

CHARLOTTE -- Funny how it all started pretty much as a gag, with Justin Burnett following the life-imitating-art route -- like so many other adolescents in the early 2000s.
Always blessed with an artistic streak, Burnett sought unique hobby interests as a student at Southern Nash High School -- and found one in the form of the family camcorder.

GREENSBORO -- The North Carolina Coaches Association has announced dates for the 2021 East-West All-Star Games.
The 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. This year's scheduled coaches will perform the same tasks in 2021.
Players who were selected this year but were unable to play will be invited back in 2021 and will be introduced to the crowd at the respective sites.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Hayden Bay, the company responsible for installation of the dome of the new Indoor Sports & Education Facility at North Carolina Wesleyan College, recently began mounting and assembling the mechanical systems for the building.
Crews broke ground on the project in early February.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Dozens of residents flooded a public hearing, arguing that a rezoning change would allow for undesirable development near the entrance of their golfing community.
Larry and Dorothy Mitchell have proposed rezoning a 4.57-acre lot along N.C. 96 from R-40, which allows low-density residential development, to Neighborhood Business, which allows a number of business uses, either by right or with a conditional or special use permit.