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LOUISBURG -- By a split vote, Franklin County commissioners refused to rezone a property that an overwhelming number of Olde Liberty residents said would have been a detriment to their golf course community.
During the board's Aug. 3 meeting, dozens of residents spent an hour and a half telling commissioners that they opposed a rezoning request that would have turned 4.5 acres along N.C. 96 from low-density residential to neighborhood business...

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners agreed to allocate water for 10 developments, including one that is the subject of a federal lawsuit challenging the county's previous lack of action.
In most instances, the approval came six months after the initial requests were to be considered, and as developer unrest mounted.

Area students are returning to school -- Franklin County Schools reopened Monday -- and many parents and students are scrambling to locate adequate internet connections.
All Franklin County Schools will be operating virtually for at least the first part of the school year and many students are opting to pursue remote learning all year long in the face of a COVID-19 pandemic that shows few signs of abating.

MANITOWOC, WISC. -- More than a year after recovered wreckage revealed the fate of a World War II submarine, historians believe they can finally put a face with the name of a Louisburg sailor believed to have gone down with the vessel.
Steward's Mate First Class Davie Lee Williams was believed to be part of the 60-man complement aboard the USS Robalo when it launched from Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1943.

LOUISBURG -- One of Louisburg's subsidized housing projects may be getting a major overhaul in the near future thanks to a joint agreement between the Burlington Housing Authority and the town.
In a nutshell, the Burlington Housing Authority is planning to spend $5.5 million to purchase and rehab the 50-unit Franklin Court Apartments in Louisburg through a cooperative agreement with Louisburg.

Judy McArn takes the oath of office from Mayor Art Wright, left, while her husband, Mark, holds the Bible. McArn replaces Brad Kearney, who resigned his post to become the town's new public works director. During Tuesday's brief meeting, commissioners agreed to convey three properties on Mason Street to Franklinton Development LLC with the agreement that the developer will invest at least $220,000 -- the tax value of the properties calculated over the next decade -- in the rehab and renovation of the properties at 3, 5 and 7 Mason Street and create at least one new job.

Engaged Sweethearts Loganne Driver, Colton Young

It seems you can't turn around these days without running into problems created by the COVID-19 virus that neither our government nor our health care system seems to be able to corral.
Many businesses remain closed, some are working on reduced schedules or capacities, many other businesses can't get whatever products they need because manufacturing has been slowed down and everyone is not only on edge, but most of us are wearing masks while hoping for the best.

In July, Franklin County secured $1.3 million that it and towns can use in their efforts to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
And, during the Franklin County Board of Commissioners' Aug. 3 meeting, staff informed commissioners that they had secured another round of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds.

HOLLISTER--Funeral services for Bettie Lee Evans, 81, who died Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, will be held Sunday, Aug. 23, at 11 a.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, with the Rev. Thomas Richardson officiating. Burial will follow in the Pine Chapel Memorial Garden Cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Betty "JoAnn" Shepherd Gupton, 73, of Louisburg, died at her home Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. A funeral service was held Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 19, in the chapel of Strickland Funeral Home, Louisburg. Interment followed at Saints Delight Baptist Church, 565 Firetower Rd. Louisburg.

FRANKLINTON--Colleen May Hawkins, 89, of Franklinton died Monday, Aug. 17, 2020 at her daughter's home in Bloomingdale, GA. A graveside funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday Aug. 21, at Fairview Cemetery, with the Rev. David Averette officiating.

HOLLISTER--Funeral services for Ethel J. Richardson, 83, who died Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, will be held Saturday, Aug. 22, at 2 p.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, with the Rev. Alonzo West officiating. Burial will follow in the old White Rock Church cemetery.

LOUISBURG--Norma Wiggins Arnold, 87, of Louisburg passed away on Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at Wake Medical Center. She was born in Johnston County, the daughter of the late Alice Mabel Massengill Wiggins and Elbert Wiggins. She was preceded in death by her husband, Grover Cleveland Arnold, and a brother, Jimmy Wiggins.

CHAPEL HILL -- Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, as evidenced by the recent 2020-21 school athletic year calendar change by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, the NCHSAA had already pushed back the start of fall sports, and there was an uncertainty about the future of prep sports this calendar year.

CHAPEL HILL -- Here is the 2020-21 Amended Sports Season Calendar from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association:
Cross Country
• First Practice -- November 4
• First Contest -- November 16

GREENVILLE -- Seventh-year head coach Cliff Godwin formally announced East Carolina University baseball team's 13-man incoming class last Friday, which features seven position players, three pitchers and three two-way players.
The 2020-21 recruiting class consists of three infielders (Joey Berini, Jacob Starling and Josh Moylan), three outfielders (Garrett Chandler, Ryley Johnson and Trey Truitt), one catcher (Joey Rezek), three two-way players (CJ Boyd, Cam Clonch and Austin St. Laurent) and three pitchers (Danny Beal, Landon Ginn and Josh Grosz).

TOKYO -- Christian Buffaloe, local Kyokushin Karate instructor and fighter, was featured in the September, 2020 edition of World Karate Magazine, a leading martial arts publication in Japan.
This premiere magazine exclusively features only the top Japanese & international Kyokushin Karate fighters and instructors.

Scottie Spencer (left) and his Bunn High School wrestling teammates won't begin defense of their Northern Carolina Conference championship until April 26.

Taylor Leonard and her Louisburg High School volleyball teammates will conduct their first regular season match on November 16 according to the latest scheduling format released by the NCHSAA.

On June 10, 1946, Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion boxer, was critically injured in an automobile accident near Franklinton.
Traveling along U.S. 1, then a narrow two-lane road that wound its way through Franklin County, Johnson's Lincoln Zephyr crashed into a utility pole on a spot known as 'Cadillac curve.'
The location earned its grim nickname for the many cars that frequently ended up in the ditch on the sharp right bend.

LOUISBURG -- The United Way of Franklin County has made a contribution of $69,000 to Franklin County Schools, which will enable the district to purchase Kajeet Mobile SmartSpots for use by students who do not have access to reliable, high speed Internet.
"Many of our families are without reliable internet service. This generous donation from our valued community partners will help provide many of the Kajeets that are so desperately needed to help fill the internet gaps," said Dr. Rhonda Schuhler, Superintendent of Franklin County Schools.