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LOUISBURG -- As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb in Franklin County, the county school system will return to at least a week of remote-only learning following the holiday break.
The school board decided Monday night that the district will return to Plan C, with no face-to-face classes during the week of Jan. 4 to 8 to give school officials a chance to assess the effect on both students and staff of the long Christmas, New Year's break.

Everyone -- from parents, to teachers to administrators and especially to the students themselves -- realizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on public school systems across the country.
That is becoming increasingly clear locally as evidenced by a report that Dr. Lela Nichols, chief of academics for the county schools, gave to the Board of Education Monday night.

Franklin County Department of Aging Staff check names off a list, making sure they get Christmas goodies to all those who came by the Louisburg Senior Center on Tuesday.

LOUISBURG -- It's a little late to take their Christmas "wish list" to Santa Claus this year, so the Franklin County Board of Education will be taking it to the county commissioners at that board's first meeting in January.
The wish list, more formally known as a state-mandated Facility Needs Survey, shows just over $69.1 million in facility needs for the district over the next decade.

County Department of Aging day program participant Debbie Hill

Well, it didn't' take long for the new board of county commissioners to take the wind out of our sails!
I was anxiously awaiting the intersection of two things -- the changeover of the board to a Republican majority and a decision on the very expensive rehabilitation of the county's recently leased office space.
(Okay, maybe it doesn't take much to amuse old reporters but then again, it's 2020 and it's a very strange year indeed!)

You may want to avert your eyes because this column is going to touch upon two things I'm certain most people would rather not talk about: the media and politics.
Last week, WRAL reported that the publisher of The Alamance News was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs as he made an attempt to question a judge's decision to close the court to the media on a couple of cases.

Dear editor:
I have just seen that the President-elect and Vice President-elect have been named by Time Magazine as "The Person of the Year". Wow! How does that work?
Maybe I am just a hick that lives in a rural county in North Carolina, but I can list numerous citizens far more qualified for this recognition.

FRANKLINTON--Berklin Crudup Jr. died Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. His life will be celebrated during a graveside service at 1 p.m. Saturday Dec. 19, at Popes Chapel United Church of Christ cemetery in Franklinton.

WAKE FOREST - Sydney Edward Bailey died Sunday Dec. 13, 2020. Private memorial service planned.

RED OAK -- Senior Night also provided a Spoiler Night opportunity Monday for the Northern Nash High School volleyball squad.
The Lady Knights, though much more competitive, are still seeking their first victory of the 2020-21 campaign.
And what better way for Northern Nash to come up with that milestone than by topping Big East Conference powerhouse Franklinton while honoring its group of three upperclassmen?

WILSON -- Northern Nash's decade-long Big East Conference boys cross country dynasty was destined to be put to the ultimate test last Wednesday afternoon.
That's when Northern and its five league foes convened at Gillette Park in Wilson for the running of the annual Big East Championships.
Under the watch of coaching legend Jeff Dodrill, the Fighting Knights were seeking their 10th consecutive conference team crown, but one rising power was standing in their way -- the upstart Rocky Mount Gryphons.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The Northern Carolina Conference has released its boys and girls basketball schedules for the upcoming 2021 shortened season.
This schedule is for conference games only. Non-league events will be announced at a later date.
NCC action will begin January 5 with a big Franklin County meeting between Bunn and host Louisburg.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- With Franklinton's Class 3-A enrollment numbers continuing to rise and Louisburg poised to be one of the smallest Class 2-A schools, it was realistic to think that Franklin County's three high schools -- Franklinton, Bunn and Louisburg -- would ever be in the same conference again.
But that's a potential scenario following last week's First Draft realignment release by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association for the 2021-25 four-year span.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg High School has announced several changes to its 2020-21 volleyball schedule.
The Lady Warriors' slate for the remainder of the campaign will be as follows, with home matches listed in CAPS:
• December 22 -- ROANOKE RAPIDS
• December 23 -- at South Granville

A group of runners, including Franklinton's Nicholas Payne at far right, speeds away from the finish line at the Big East Conference Cross Country Championships.

Irene Bullock celebrated her 100th Birthday on Friday, Dec. 11, at Franklin Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Louisburg. The highlight of her day was watching her birthday announcement on the "Today Show." Her family also had a drive-by celebration planned in her honor.

Dawayne McIntosh was named the director of communications for Franklin County Schools during Monday night's board of education meeting. McIntosh has been serving as the interim director of communications for the past few months and before that worked in the district as an instructional technology facilitator (ITF). He said he is excited about the continued opportunity in this new role.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Generally, COVID-19 has a two-week incubation period.
But, in the days after the town hosted its Christmas parade, officials and staff celebrated the effort required to pull off the event, they say, in a safe and festive manner.

FRANKLINTON -- Town officials decided to give residents and property owners another month to digest proposed changes to a town zoning district.
Then they agreed, again, to move forward with plans to sell the old town hall -- but probably at a lesser price.
And, town management introduced Interim Police Chief James Davis as its new, permanent chief.

BUNN -- Franklin County schools and the town of Bunn have a buzzard problem.
So, they've teamed up to install a propane cannon atop the roof of the Bunn High School gymnasium in an attempt to rid the area of the pests which are more accurately known as vultures.

LOUISBURG -- Noxious fumes closed the courthouse for a day last week, but firefighters, maintenance staff and air quality evaluators never found the cause.
The morning of Dec. 10, Franklin County Courthouse staff contacted the Louisburg Fire Department, complaining of conditions consistent with a gas leak.
Firefighters responded, using sensors and other equipment to investigate the matter but did not detect a leak or any existence of dangerous gases in the building.

LOUISBURG -- Police arrested a Louisburg man on robbery charges after responding to a domestic disturbance.
According to authorities, Raymond Curtis went to a residence at Franklin Court Apartments, pulled a knife, and stole keys, a wallet and cell phone from a 21-year-old woman there.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg police arrested three suspects in a Waffle House robbery.
Officers responded to the Waffle House on Bickett Boulevard at about 3:45 a.m. on Dec. 15.
No injuries were reported in the robbery.

Everyone knows that Santa Claus needs a lot of help this time of year to make Christmas merry and to get folks started on a happy new year. With COVID-19 and all the other disruptions of 2020, that task was even greater this year, so the Country Boys ATV Club of Warrenton jumped into the effort and sponsored families in Franklin, Vance, Warren and Granville counties.

LOUISBURG -- Former clerk of court Patricia Chastain continues moving ahead with her appeal, but legal counsel for the attorney who petitioned for her ouster want to make sure they're not left out of the process.
Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock removed Chastain from her post on Oct. 16 following a three-day hearing to determine her fitness to remain on the job.

Ruby Slippers Vintage Boutique proprietor Liz Seibel, front, snips a ribbon, marking the grand re-opening of her store after moving from downtown Louisburg to 214-F Bickett Boulevard.