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LOUISBURG -- Franklin County management said they'll be prepared on May 17 to address concerns raised by residents who questioned the county's plans to update its Unified Development Ordinance -- including rezoning nearly half of the county's 36,000 properties.
The county has set out to update its UDO -- a document that combines zoning and subdivision regulations with other design guidelines to guide development for two purposes:

LOUISBURG -- The Triangle North Executive Airport's Advisory Board heard from two disgruntled tenants during its Tuesday meeting.
The lack of any real resolution highlighted the board's lack of any real authority.
First, Brett James, who operates an aeronautics maintenance and modification business at the airport again complained to the board that has yet to get insight from airport operators on how he can procure or secure a hangar to continue to operate and grow his business.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners agreed to provide First Fruits Farms with $25,000 to help advertise the 1,000-acre farm's first Memorial Balloon Festival.
The goal is that there would be no way anyone in or around Franklin County could miss the Memorial Day weekend event expected to draw between 50,000 and 100,000 people over the four-day weekend.

LOUISBURG -- Although the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be waning in Franklin County, it was still a "threat" woven through much of the Franklin County Board of Education meeting Monday night. The district's most recent data shows five students testing positive for COVID and one staff member.
The school board learned that about six in 10 local students have returned to face-to-face (F2F) learning in the last few weeks but another 38 percent are still learning virtually.

WHITE LEVEL -- Hard work pays off.
That's what Fire Rating Inspector Tony Bailey told residents inside the White Level Fire House, announcing that the volunteer department attained a 5/9E rating on a scale where 10 is the lowest.
The department previously had a 9.

Brian Rice, Clennie Wilkins

Words have meaning. And impact.
You may not be surprised that before last week's paper went to press, I spent time pondering the use of the word "weaponized" in the main headline pertaining to the zoning proposal that was the topic of a poorly advertised public hearing a few days earlier.

It would be easy to pile on Open Broadband's efforts to roll out broadband Internet service in Franklin County.
In June 2019, leaders in three counties, including Franklin, chose Charlotte-area Open Broadband -- over Cary-based North Carolina Broadband Partnership -- to bring another Internet service option to the county, with an eye toward expanding the service to unserved and underserved areas.

Dear editor:
My name is Burt Pearson, 241 Camping Creek Road, Franklinton, NC, and I spoke at the May 3, 2021 Commissioners meeting via Zoom. I spoke mainly about the area of Franklin County Zoned R-30. After rereading the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) I was astonished to find that 99 percent of Franklin County is zoned to permit lots, really meaning subdivisions, to be sized at 30,000 square feet and use a well and septic system.

ZEBULON, NC--Betsy Baker Smith (Bet Bet), 71, of Zebulon, passed away at her home on Monday, May 10, 2021. She was born in Wake County, a daughter of the late Henry Kearney Baker and Ruth Scarborough Baker. Along with her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Walter D. Smith and her sister, Joan Baker Driver.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Clarence Jerome Yarborough, Jr., age 45, who died on Thursday, May 6, 2021, will be held at 12 noon Wednesday, May 19, 2021 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, NC.

YOUNGSVILLE, NC-- Clementine West Young, 89, of Youngsville, NC (formerly of Newark, NJ died May 5, 2021.

RALEIGH, NC -- Funeral services for Tyrell A. Cohen, age 25 who died on Sunday, May 9, 2021, will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 15, 2021 from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg, NC.

BUNN -- Emily Bell was a four-year cornerstone at second base for the Bunn High School softball squad -- and she is continuing that trend at Barton College.
Bell, a sophomore at Barton, enjoyed a sterling spring for the Bulldogs while helping them to a 21-18 record under the direction of legendary head coach Junior Bailey.
Bell started in each of Barton's 39 games and finished second overall in hitting for the club with an impressive .346 batting average.

STANHOPE - Southern Nash's boys and Franklinton's girls were the big winners at last Wednesday's Big East Conference track and field meet at Firebird Stadium on the SNHS campus.
Due to COVID restrictions, Big East meets are limited to just three schools -- though all six league entrants will be able to compete in the conference championships in June.

LEXINGTON, S.C. -- Losing the winner's bracket finale game inevitably provides a difficult proposition at the annual Region X Baseball Tournament.
The winner of that outing advances into the finals, needing just one victory the rest of the way to claim the championship in the double-elimination format.
But a loss puts a team immediately back on to the field 30 minutes later in an elimination showdown against an opponent that has gained some momentum with a few victories coming out of the loser's bracket.

JACKSON SPRINGS -- When one chapter ends, another begins.
Louisburg High School boys golfers John Allen Faulkner and William Dement competed this Monday in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Class 1-A Golf Championship at Foxfire Golf and Country Club.

DEMOREST, GA. -- Former Louisburg High School and Louisburg College standout Summer Phillips enjoyed a strong season this spring as a member of the North Carolina Wesleyan College softball squad.

ZEBULON - Joey Wiemer and Ernesto Martinez both hit towering home runs, Gabe Holt and Darrien Miller both had late two-run doubles, and Evan Reifert earned his first win after totaling five strikeouts over two and 1/3 as the Carolina Mudcats defeated the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 8-4 on Sunday at Five County Stadium.
The Mudcats (5-1) originally took an early 1-0 lead after getting Wiemer's homer (both his first hit and first home run as a pro) in the second, but Fayetteville (1-5) bounced back with two home runs in the third to go up 2-1.

FRANKLINTON -- Five key Franklinton High School contributors have earned spots on the 2021 All-Big East Conference Football Team.
The Red Rams, who went 3-4 overall this season, were represented on the prestigious list by Kenny Cornell, Will Germann, Devin Patterson, CJ Dicker and Chris Simons.

FRANKLINTON -- Three players from Franklinton have been honored with spots on the All-Big East Conference Girls Soccer Team for the 2021 season.
FHS' list members are Ladenna Cornell, Yarianna Valdez and Page Eddina. Franklinton's Emma Styers claimed a position on the Honorable Mention Team.
Southern Nash's Kathryn Robinson, who has signed with Louisburg College, was another selection on the All-Big East Squad.

Franklinton High School's Ernest Crudup competes in the Boys Shot Put during last Wednesday's Big East Conference Track and Field Meet. The event was held at Firebird Stadium on the campus of Southern Nash High School in Stanhope.

Louisburg High School's representatives at the Class 1-A Boys State Golf Championships were (l to r) Head Coach Michael Sheldon, William Dement and John Allen Faulkner.

LOUISBURG -- Christopher Cullom has been named as the next principal of Bunn Elementary School (BES).
"Cullom brings a commitment to servant leadership and a passion for learning to the principal role. He knows the community well, and I'm excited for the future of Bunn Elementary as they continue to move forward in a positive direction," said Superintendent Rhonda Schuhler.

LOUISBURG -- Joseph Cobb has been named a new assistant principal for Franklinton High School.
Cobb is from Raleigh and graduated from North Carolina Central University with a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. He was also a member of the AKD Sociology Honors Society.

LOUISBURG -- The company hired by Franklin County to provide better Internet service has expanded its reach, officials said.
New areas are available for sign-up, including customers in the area of the Louisburg 911 tower, as well as areas in Bunn and areas in the Edward Best/Castalia area.
"We are excited to offer our fixed-wireless broadband service in Franklin County," said Open Broadband CEO Alan Fitzpatrick.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College students are slated to take part in commencement activities, including some who missed out on the pomp and circumstance last year.
COVID-19 prompted the college to cancel graduation ceremonies last year.
There will be visitor restrictions for events this Friday and Saturday, but in-person festivities are set to mark matriculation, staff said.