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LOUISBURG -- Municipal candidate filing ends Friday at noon.
And, while early filing has guaranteed battles in some races, others remain wide open.
In Louisburg, Incumbent council members Boyd Sturges and Christopher Neal have filed for the mayor's seat, a post that's up for grabs after incumbent Mayor Karl Pernell opted not to seek re-election.

LOUISBURG -- A Maria Parham executive said the healthcare provider plans to "reinvent" two of its service lines -- meaning some of its care is relocating to Henderson and a service that has long been absent from the county is making a return.
During last week's Franklin County Economic Development Commission meeting, Maria Parham Health Chief Operating Officer Antoine Ransom told members that the company was "actually looking to kind of reinvent" its multispecialty clinic and primary care clinic.

For a number of Franklin County Schools' students, summer is providing an opportunity to address learning gaps that may have developed during the unprecedented pandemic year that we have faced.
We have summer learning camps taking place for students preK-12, with a focus on students in need of an additional boost in the academic areas of reading, mathematics, and science.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners were expected to amend its dangerous dogs ordinance, an added defense against a former Garner couple looking to bring the dogs here.
Last week, Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier granted a temporary restraining order, sparing the lives of two dogs that killed seven-year-old Jayden Henderson and injured her mother, Heather Trevaskis, during an April 27 attack in Garner.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Franklinton and Louisburg leaders are trumpeting development they expect to buoy their respective towns.
They made the pronouncements during the most recent meeting of the Franklin County Economic Development Commission.
First, Franklinton Town Manager Gregory Bethea said downtown development remains strong, with a proposed Mexican restaurant in the que and a brewery set to open in August.

Matthew Johnson

I'm willing to bet (small money) that a lot of Franklin County folks are patting themselves on the back about now for being so smart and far-sighted last spring.
The reason? Gardens are coming in fast and furious.
Early last spring, many of us couldn't wait to get outside and "play in the dirt" after enduring a long, cooped-up winter because of COVID and far more rain than normal.

It wasn't that long ago that municipal elections brought with them a similar headline: Filing Period Lacks Buzz.
That was most often the case in Centerville, a community that was chartered in 1965 but, by town decision, gave up that charter in the February of 2017.
Before that happened, though, on a few occasions I wrote stories about having to extend the filing deadline because either no one or too few folks had expressed interest in running for office.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Julia G. Collins, 71, of Henderson, passed away on Friday, July 9, 2021 in Henderson. She was born in Granville County on July 7, 1950 a daughter of the late Alfred and Ruth (Critcher) Glasscock. Along with her parents, she was predeceased by her son, Brian Lane Nance, her siblings: Al Glasscock, Mildred Yarborough and Marie Lankford.

LOUISBURG, NC -- Funeral services for Mamie C. Williams, age 95, who died on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, July 19, 2021 from the Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Castalia with Rev. Thomas Richardson officiating. Burial will follow in the Hickory Grove Church Cemetery.

WENDELL -- It didn't take long for the Louisburg All-Stars to make an instant impact at the Tar Heel Coach-Pitch District 4 Baseball Tournament.
The All-Stars roared to an early lead and never relented en route to defeating Knightdale by a convincing 14-2 margin at Carver Elementary School in Wendell.
Louisburg boasted plenty of consistent hitting to go with slick fielding, especially from pitcher Ronald Lassiter.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Plenty of changes -- along with a few familiar standouts -- will be coming this fall to the Big East Conference.
Long a Nash County staple, the Big East has been drastically shifted by the most recent realignment by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Formerly a Class 3-A only league, the Big East will now be a split 2/3-A conference -- with an even number of four schools in each classification.

FRANKLINTON -- A trio of Franklinton High School standouts have earned prestigious spots on the 2021 All-Big East Conference squad.
FHS, under the direction of veteran head coach Dale Byrns, won a pair of matches this spring in the always-competitive Big East Conference.
Franklinton was represented on the All-Big East Team by Emma Styers and Kayley Vereen. FHS' Ava Ponziano was an Honorable Mention selection.

LOUISBURG -- It took longer than expected, but Louisburg College outfielder Trendon Craig was selected Tuesday in the Major League Baseball Draft.
Craig was tabbed in the 20th Round (587 overall) by the Baltimore Orioles -- a team Craig has been linked to for quite awhile.
Ironically, former LC standout Cedric Mullins also plays for the Orioles and was a starter in Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game in Denver.

ZEBULON - Two costly errors in the second inning of action led directly to runs and proved to be the difference as the host Carolina Mudcats fell 2-1 in a six-inning, rain-shortened loss to the Lynchburg Hillcats on Sunday at Five County Stadium.
Starter Miguel Guerrero worked all six innings and allowed just two unearned runs while recording his first career quality start and his first career loss.

Louisburg All-Stars first baseman Trey Bunn (left) somehow managed to register an out on this play during Tuesday's action against Knightdale at the Tar Heel District 4 Baseball Tournament at Carver Elementary School in Wendell.

Louisburg's Quinn Towler (right) gets tangled up with the Knightdale third baseman during Tuesday evening's contest at the Tar Heel District 4 Coach-Pitch Tournament in Wendell.

With the chartering of the Bunn CERT Lions Club, Franklin County now has five Lions Clubs. The others are located in White Level, Louisburg, Franklinton and Pilot. A previous story in The Franklin Times omitted the White Level Lions Club.
We regret the error, especially since we're fans of their fish dinner fund raisers!

FRANKLINTON -- Two Franklinton High students were the first recipients of the Lester Wilder Memorial Scholarship.
Mariam Wahba will be attending the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Sakiya Alston will be attending Winston Salem State University.
Each received $1,750 to assist with college expenses.

LOUISBURG -- To mask up or not, that is the question -- and it's a question that may not be settled anytime soon.
That was the word the Franklin County Board of Education received Monday night as school officials look to the opening of a new school year in coming days and weeks.

RALEIGH -- The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Jamel James as the new warden of the Franklin Correctional Center in Bunn.
James had been the associate warden for custody and operations at Wake Correctional Center in Raleigh since 2017.
"Warden James is an experienced leader and an outstanding professional," said Todd Ishee, commissioner of prisons.

LOUISBURG -- Brian Marchese, a Mark Walker for North Carolina Senate Campaign representative, and Craig Kinsey, candidate for U.S. Congress District 4, told Franklin County Republicans last week that top issues for the 2022 election will include securing the southern border as well as reducing crime.
In addition, the two listed as priorities:

GRADUATION. Robert Sherrill, the son of Joe and Jennifer Sherrill of Franklin County, graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island on July 2. He is presently at the School of Infantry at Camp Geiger, NC. and plans to go on to Marine Security Guard/Security Forces Training at Quantico, VA.

ZEBULON -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested a southern Franklin County resident on robbery charges.
Luis Santiago-Franco, 19, was arrested on July 12 and charged with breaking and entering.