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LOUISBURG -- The filing period concluded last week, promising a handful of municipal races, including one for mayor of Franklinton.
Commissioner John Allers filed for the mayor's seat, meaning he and Incumbent Mayor Art Wright will battle for the post in November.
Wright was elected mayor in 2015, after serving several terms as commissioner going back to 2001.
Allers was elected to his first commissioner's term in 2009.

LOUISBURG -- Filmmakers turned their cameras toward the unhoused, bringing into focus a plight that most don't see.
With the premier of their documentary film, "Gimme Shelter," the Franklin County Interfaith Council, shelter operators, mental and physical health representatives and others fighting to end homelessness are on a mission to rally leaders to provide the lifelines needed to end the problem.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Arts Council has announced that it will be closing its downtown Louisburg gallery on Saturday, July 29 and drastically scaling back its other activities.
The gallery will remain open through July 29 on its regular business schedule -- and begin winding down its operations through the first quarter of 2024.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Barrel racing is noted for its quick and swift twists and turns.
Building a barndominium during a pandemic is more of a marathon.
That's what Ernie and Brenna Warner learned when they decided to convert an old soybean farm in Bunn and turn it into a home/barn for their barrel racing adventures.

FRANKLINTON -- Auditors presented town leaders with a clean financial opinion.
Then, commissioners made varying decisions about some properties designed to either provide affordable housing, lower a family's tax burden or add to downtown's development.
First, Joe Turchetti with Raleigh-based PT CPA's PLLC said the town's financial accounting has no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.

Franklinton legend Nick Tabron

Can't believe this column will appear in our last edition of July -- and by next week we'll be well into August!
Don't know where the summer is going, it's moving too fast to keep up. But one thing is certain, the temperatures have certainly caught up with the calendar -- and it's just plain hot with no significant relief in sight.
Of course, hot here is not the same as hot out west and let's hope we never reach the kinds of numbers that are scorching that part of the country.

I'm not going to pretend like I know the intricacies or the ins and outs of the steady creep of artificial intelligence.
But, I can tell you this: As someone who communicates through the written word for a living, the thought of getting replaced by a machine or AI is not the most pleasant one I've had in the past few days.
I am not going to lie, in the more than 20 years that I've turned my reporting into writing, I've had to rely on artificial intelligence.

Dear editor:
I read with interest the County's monthly payment of $20,000 of our taxpayer dollars to a South Carolina (?) consultant to help us "secure long term water."

Dear editor:
As an avid reader of this county's prized newspaper, I look forward to reading the other letters you publish as I find them somewhat hilarious as they make for good reading.

WILLOW SPRING -- Ellen Roseline Stone Brown, 88, of Willow Spring, passed away Saturday morning, July 22, 2023 surrounded by her family.

Franklinton, NC--Julia Ann Tisdale Lawrence, 76, of Franklinton, NC died July 24, 2023. Julia was born on February 14, 1947 to the Ann Pearl Tisdale. In addition to her birth mother, Julia is predeceased by her mom, Mary Louise Tisdale; and her son, Jay Nowell.

FRANKLINTON, NC--Katherine Ray Davis, 85, of Franklinton died Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at her home. She was born September 23, 1937 to the late David and Ruby Ray. She was also preceded in death by a son, Durwood Davis Jr.

YOUNGSVILLE, NC--Peggy Jeffreys Hedrick, 85, of Youngsville, died Tuesday night, July 25, 2023, at home.

Youngsville, NC--Memorial services for Phillip Anthony "Lou" Lee Sr. age 58, who died on Sunday, July 23, 2023, will be held 1 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg.

FORT WASHINGTON, MD--Phillip Eugene "Gene" Pender, age 78, formerly of Franklinton, NC, died July 15, 2023, at Fort Washington Health & Rehabilitation, Fort Washington, Maryland.

LOUISBURG, NC--William Floyd "Billy" Griffin III, 59, of Peletier, formerly of Louisburg, died July 20, 2023. He was born on December 11, 1963 to the late William F. Jr. and Joyce Eagles Griffin. In addition to his parents, Billy was preceded in death by his brother, Richard Griffin.

William Lloyd "Bill" Morrison, 83, of Louisburg, passed away early Saturday morning, July 22, 2023.

GREENSBORO -- It took all of one play for the Big East Conference to flex its collective, seven-deep muscle for the East team during last Wednesday's North Carolina Coaches Association's East-West All-Star Football Game.
That's when Northern Nash quarterback Keno Jones, he of the postseason heroics that helped lead the Knights to the Class 3-A East Regional Championship in 2022, took a keeper around the left side and wasn't stopped until he had traveled 39 yards downfield into West territory.

LOUISBURG -- It's a long way -- both palatially and professionally -- from some of the area rec centers to the Golden 1 Center, home of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings.
And, of course, it's quite a difference from glancing down to the opposing bench and seeing the likes of Guilford Tech, Vance-Granville and Johnston Community College -- or one of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball.

RALEIGH -- The Town and Country Stingrays fought hard but suffered their first loss of the 2023 summer swim season on July 13 on the road against the Stonecreek Tsunamis.
The Stingrays had several strong finishes and posted 115 points overall, but were unable to come away with the victory.

FRANKLINTON -- Following a strong run last spring with the girls program, Bri Folds will take over as the boys soccer coach at Franklinton High School this month -- and she will undertake an immediate challenge.
The Red Rams lost several key standouts from last year's club, which went 13-9 overall to go with an 8-6 record in the competitive Big East Conference.

ZEBULON -- Jace Avina drove in three runs while collecting three hits, Luke Adams scored twice and Jadher Areinamo drove in two runs on two hits, but the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers scored 17 runs and totaled 19 hits while defeating the homestanding Carolina Mudcats 17-7 on Sunday afternoon at Five County Stadium.
The loss put an end to Carolina's five-game winning streak, but the Mudcats still took the series five games to one.

CLASS REUNION. Youngsville High School Class of 1958 celebrated their 65th class reunion at Johnny Bull's Steakhouse on July 22.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED. Martin and Reesie Mitchell of Franklinton, NC were married July 22, 1968 in Tennessee. They have one daughter, Daphnee, who is married to Chris Lightbourne. The Mitchells celebrated their 55th anniversary with family and friends Saturday, July 22.

Louisburg Senior Center held a "Health Pasta Bakes" class at the center recently. Participants worked together and were able to take home four different dishes. Pictured above, Scott MacLean and Shannon Dixon.

Louisburg Senior Center held their monthly cornhole tournament. Winners pictured above, first place, Fred McGuinn, second place, Jimmy Martin and third place Lucy Martin.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton police are warning residents to keep an eye on a crime wave that's started in the Triangle, but could spread other places.
According to police, there has been an increase in vehicle thefts in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, particularly involving Kia and Hyundai vehicles.
Residents are asked to keep an eye out for suspicious activity and, if they see any, they should call 911.

SWORN IN. The Franklin County Board of Elections swore in three new members during its July 18 meeting. Joining returning members, from left, Angela K. Pearce and Board Secretary Harry Barrick III, are Board Chair Bobbie Richardson, and members Cedric Jones and Robert (Bob) Flournoy. Richardson, Jones and Flournoy replace members Sonravea Privette, Mary Gill and Barry Gupton.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's Economic Development Specialist is one of six in the state to be in the 2023 Class of certified economic developers.
Monique Wilkins, who joined Franklin County as an Economic Development Specialist in February, is one of six economic developers who attained certification during 2023 through the North Carolina Economic Development Association's (NCEDA) certification process.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County Public Utilities experienced a sewage spill last week.
The state requires operators of any wastewater plant to notify the public of a spill of more than 1,000 gallons.
The county's spill was reported at the American Legion Wastewater Pump Station.

American Legion Post 52 in Franklinton sponsored two delegates to the 83rd annual Tarheel Boy's State program at Catawba College in Salisbury.
Tarheel Boy's State is a summer youth leadership and political affairs program for rising high school seniors in the state. Delegates Nick Valentino of Heritage High School and Marwan Arafa of Cary High School were selected and sponsored by Post 52.