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HUGS FROM SANTA. Sisters London Collins (left), age six, and three-year old Emerson Collins were dressed up in their Christmas-best during a visit with Santa at the Louisburg UMC bazaar recently.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg's police chief urged officials to boost pay 20 percent to stave off a "staffing crisis" and pull the department back from the brink of disaster.
Jason Abbott made the remarks Monday night after anecdotally sharing how residents support the department.
Then, he asked town officials to step up.

YOUNGSVILLE -- The town's auditors gave Youngsville a clean bill of wealth.
"We have really good news to report," said Lee Grissom, with S. Preston Douglas & Associates, who presented the audit to commissioners during the board's Dec. 8 meeting.
"The financial trends that we'll look at ... are really positive," he said.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Following a closed session, Youngsville commissioners committed to its attorney, full-time.
Katie Barber-Jones, a senior associate with Hartzog Law Group, has represented the town as its attorney for the past two and a half years.
During that time, she served in an on-call capacity, as the town budgeted $42,000 a year for those services.

Laurel Mill Elementary School Principal Genie Faulkner helps Maddox Hughes, Caden Jarman and Harper McCarter pick out the best gifts. With community help, Chris Edwards, The Northern Sportsman, organized the Christmas bounty.

Donna Wade at Bunn Christmas parade

The end of the year usually brings about reflection.
The hope is that whatever walk down memory lane you take, the road is not littered with regret because, truly, no one wants to wince while looking back at the things they did.

FRANKLINTON, NC-- Funeral services for Charles L. Blacknall, Sr. age 94, who died on Monday, December 19, 2022, will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, December 24, from the St. Paul Presbyterian Church, Louisburg, NC. Burial will follow in the Concord Baptist Church Cemetery.

Spring Hope, NC--Funeral services for Kavester "Kaye" Cooke, age 68, who died on Sunday, December 18, 2022, will be held 2 p.m., Friday, December 23, from the Mt. Hebron Holiness Church in Louisburg with Elder Sylvester Cooke officiating. Burial will follow in the Mitchner's Grove Church Cemetery.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg High School will find some old friends -- and some new ones in the making -- when it moves to the Northern Lakes Conference next season.
After two years in the Class 2/3-A Big East Conference, the Warriors successfully petitioned the North Carolina High School Association to leave the league and has been placed in the Northern Lakes, which also features a 2/3-A split.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- It was a banner season for high school football in the Big East Conference, starting with Northern Nash's march to the Class 3-A Eastern Regional Championship and an appearance in the Class 3-A State Finals -- to go with a Big East Conference crown and a 15-1 overall worksheet.
But the heroics didn't stop there as Franklin County's three schools made an impact this fall as Bunn and Franklinton both made the state playoffs, while Louisburg boasted a winning record.

LOUISBURG -- If someone is an excellent all-around athlete, why limit themselves to just one sport on the collegiate level?
That's the thought process of Louisburg High School senior Greenleigh Gleason, who is an elite-level standout in both volleyball and softball.
When presented with a wealth of collegiate options, Gleason decided to opt for the two-sport route as she will continue to play softball and volleyball at Caldwell Community College after signing a letter-of-intent with the two-year school.

LINCOLN, NE -- Youngsville's Chloe Rose Groathouse was among 1,288 graduates who received degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during commencement exercises Dec. 16 and 17 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Groathouse earned a Bachelor of Science from the College of Arts and Sciences.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Police are investigating reports of shots being fired into an occupied dwelling over the weekend.
No injuries were reported in the late-night, Dec. 17 incident, authorities said.
Officers responded to 115 Thompson Circle in reference to several shots being fired into the occupied house from an adjacent street.

The Franklin County Firefighters Association donated toys to help the Franklin County Department of Social Services provide Christmas for those in need in the area. Above, center, Social Services Director Andrew Payne and his staff, Susan Weathers, John Winstead, Maria Diaz and Candace Knox accept gifts from, Association members, from far left, Brittany Johnson, Chase Wammock and Ricky Johnson.

BUNN -- Following a closed session that was part of a special called meeting on Dec. 14, town officials hired its newest town clerk.
Dottie Taylor will begin her stint with the town on Jan. 3, said Mayor Marsha Strawbridge.
"She's a local person," said Strawbridge, noting that Taylor was hired by unanimous decision. "We're looking forward to working with her."

YOUNGSVILLE -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested a Youngsville-area man on sexual assault charges.
According to arrest information, Robert Ray Rednour is alleged to have committed the crime on May 26.
He was charged with sexual battery and assault on a female.

YOUNGSVILLE -- A Henderson man has been charged with killing a Clayton woman in a two-vehicle wreck at one of the area's busiest intersections.
According to Trooper J.T. Southerland, 36-year-old Shannon Patrice Floyd was traveling west on N.C. 96 at about 1:45 a.m. on Dec. 11 when a Buick Lacrosse, driven by Antavious J. Williams, ran a red light on U.S. 1 and crashed into her Ford Escape.

RALEIGH -- Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey announced that the Pilot Fire Department, Inc was awarded a $6,079.50 grant through the 2022 Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund from the State of North Carolina.
The check will be mailed to Fire Chief Thomas Lane Hobbs to be used by this rescue/EMS organization to purchase needed equipment.