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LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's class of 2022 captured an impressive $6,832,842 in scholarships, grants and other aid to further their educations beyond high school.
That was the gist of a report presented Monday night to the Franklin County Board of Education.
Here's how the Class of 2022 fared -- and where they are headed next.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County and the Research Triangle Region are growing.
What's dwindling, though, are the wide open spaces that horse lovers need and want.
As a result, places like Wildwynne Stables in Youngsville is plum full of horses and a waiting list that stretches for years.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- A Louisburg man is helping coordinate and working with Franklin county residents to create a supply drive to aid the residents of Eastern Kentucky, a region that has been ravaged by some of the worst flooding in that state's recorded history.
Mike Anderson of Louisburg is heading up the drive -- and plans to deliver the collected items himself on Monday, Aug. 15.

OUISBURG -- The dominant strain of COVID-19 is tightening its grip on Franklin County, accounting for a growing majority of new cases of the coronavirus.
And, with the start of the traditional school year just over two weeks away, the county is experiencing a troubling trend in the number of cases involving young people, said Franklin County Health Director Scott LaVigne.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County reported its first case of Monkeypox last week.
The county is a long way from panic, though, said Franklin County Health Director Scott LaVigne.
"The prevalence at this point; you know we have about 70,000 people in Franklin County and we have one case right now and that hasn't budged since Friday, so ... at this point, we're not seeing dramatic spread of the disease, locally, so I would say just good, normal hand washing, use of antibacterials ...

Bunn Police Chief Steve Massey

Can't wait to see how this turns out -- just hoping to be around long enough to see it happen!
In case you missed it in last week's edition, the Louisburg Town Council voted to purchase a long-closed convenience store downtown for a whopping $425,000. That works out to just over $276 per square foot.
For comparison's sake, it was on the tax rolls for just under a $100 grand so the town paid, using our tax dollars, about four times the tax value.

I received a Liberal Arts degree, so I've always felt more comfortable letting other folks do the math.
And, according to those mathletes, animation's most famous father of the future was born, more than likely, in July of 2022.
According to the stats, the Jetsons first aired in the summer of 1962 and the show was set 100 years in the future.
And, since the bumfuddled patriarch of the show, George Jetson was 40, backwards math puts his birth date somewhere in July, August or September of 2022.

Henderson, NC--Clyde Wright Pernell, 88 of Henderson died Saturday, August 6, 2022. He was born in Franklin County on May 6, 1934, to the late Bennie and Viola Pernell. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his siblings, Marvin, Thomas, Roger, and J.P. Pernell.

Louisburg, NC-- Funeral services for Etheline "Phia" Williams Harris, age 64, who died on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, will be held 1 p.m., Sunday, August 14, 2022, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Douglas Harris officiating. Burial will follow in the Haywood Baptist Church Cemetery.

Castalia, NC-- Louis Wilson Gupton, 84 of Castalia died Sunday, August 7, 2022. He was born on July 30, 1938, to the late Ira Lee and Bettie Burnette Gupton. In addition to his parents, Wilson was predeceased by his wife, Rose Bobbitt Gupton, a son, Jack Gupton, and his brother, Donald Gupton.

Castalia, NC-- Rose Marie Bobbitt Gupton, 78 of Castalia died Thursday, August 4, 2022. She was born on October 10, 1943, to the late Haywood Dean and Ruby Inscoe Bobbitt. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by a son, Jack Gupton; and her siblings, Becky, Thad, Annie Grey, and Ruby.

FRANKLINTON -- Opponents of the Franklinton High School volleyball program who are looking for a reprieve from the Lady Rams' recent success are apparently going to have to wait for a long time.
The end of Franklinton's excellence under Coach Tom Harris is expected to continue this year and beyond as the Lady Rams are loaded with returnees from last year's club, which won the Big East Conference's regular season championship and advanced to the second round of the Class 3-A State Playoffs before running into a powerhouse Carrboro squad.

LOUISBURG - When last we left the Louisburg High School volleyball program, the Lady Warriors were just a match point away from advancing to the fourth round of the Class 2-A State Playoffs before falling at Ayden-Grifton in what was supposed to be a rebuilding (if there is such a thing at LHS) campaign.
The top hitters from that club have returned for another season, so expectations are high this fall at Louisburg -- though they usually are within the tradition-rich program.

LOUISBURG -- There's a new baseball coach at Louisburg High School -- but he is certainly a familiar face within the program.
Casey Bolton was named recently as the new diamond skipper for the Warriors. A long-time assistant, Bolton succeeds Juan Lopez, who stepped down after one season to accept a position in Wake County.

BUNN -- Bunn High School will have a yet-to-be-named new coach when the Wildcats kick off their boys soccer campaign on September 12.
Last year, the Wildcats posted a winning record under Coach Robert Petrone in the strong Big East Conference and were able to qualify for the Class 2-A State Playoffs.
Petrone stepped down in the off-season, though he will still serve as the BHS girls head coach in the spring.

ZEBULON - Jheremy Vargas had a go-ahead single in the sixth, Jace Avina followed with a three-run home run in that same sixth inning, Jeferson Quero went 3-for-3 while extending his hitting streak to nine straight and Jesus Chirinos hit a two-run home run as the Carolina Mudcats defeated the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 9-6 on Sunday afternoon at Five County Stadium.

LOUISBURG -- Quinderra Spellman's first season as the Louisburg College head football coach will begin on September 3 with a matchup against Central International College.
The game will be played at the Field of Dreams in Waverly, Virginia.

The entrepreneur class at Vance-Granville Community College, sponsored by the Northeast Franklin Revitalization Committee, concludes today. Above, weeks ago on the first day of class, member Melissa Hodges, front, center, and other members greeted about a dozen students who took advantage of the opportunity. Each person who completes the course will receive funds, which Rep. Matthew Winslow helped secure, to either start or grow their business.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town commissioners will consider a staff-prompted rezoning that cleans up a mistake and clears the path for development along a major corridor.
In 2014, town commissioners agreed to rezone 207 S. Cross Street/ N.C. 96 from Residential Single Family to Commercial -- paving the way for property owner Paul Popescu to build a restaurant on the back half of the property.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's airport runway is back open after resurfacing effectively shut it and the airport down to fixed-wing traffic for about a month.
While airport management has always asserted that it did all it could to expedite the work and warn tenants of the closure, truncated complaints from a long-time tenant on Tuesday prompted the airport's advisory board to petition county commissioners to reinstate the advisory board as an empowered commission, again -- a status that advisory board members said would make them more responsive to issues and concerns that came to a head during the advisory board's meeting.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg police arrested a Franklinton teenager, accusing him of breaking into a downtown bar.
Louisburg Police Chief Jason Abbott said the 17-year-old entered the back entrance to Tonic Bar and Social Club of Louisburg just after noon on Aug. 6.
The teenager is alleged to have taken cash from the register, as well as some food items.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies are looking for a suspect who robbed a Dollar General.
Authorities allege a black man entered the store in the 3700 block of N.C. 39 on Tuesday night, displayed a weapon in his waistband and demanded money.
The suspect, described as a black man, about six-feet tall, medium brown complexion, short hair, wearing a black hat, red shirt, red shorts and black shoes, left the scene with less than $200 from the register, authorities said.

Care & Share of Franklin County has received $2,500 from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to help feed local residents in their time of need.
Care & Share will use the gift to assist with the purchase of food and provide storage of perishable food for distribution to the hungry.
"The support from Food Lion is a prime example of the partnership that Care & Share strives to have with local businesses, and we greatly appreciate this generous gift from Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation," said Nicki Perry, DSS director.

Above, Louisburg Police Sgt. Joe Sherrill, with the help of Officer Dylan Moore, calls out raffle ticket winners during the department's National Night Out event on Aug. 2.

Above, from left, Safe Space's Monica Kearney, Rhoza Lee and Traci Dunston manned a booth set up at Louisburg's National Night Out held at Joyner Park.

Sa'Nobia Wilson selects a bookbag, one of the many dozens that the town gave away during its National Night Out in Bunn.