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LOUISBURG -- Both Bunn and Louisburg had difficulty with ballhandling mistakes and brick-laying free throw issues down the stretch of Tuesday's key Big East Conference boys basketball event at the historic LHS Gymnasium.
But when it mattered the most, it was the silky-soft fingertips of Bunn's Jay'von Perry that made the difference.

Bunn High School senior veteran Jay'von Perry (right) came through with the game-winning tip-in for the Wildcats during Tuesday's evening's key Big East Conference boys basketball meeting against homestanding Louisburg at the historic LHS Gymnasium.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg's full-court pressure defense proved to be too much for rival Bunn during Tuesday's Big East Conference boys junior varsity basketball game at the LHS Gymnasium.
Louisburg never trailed after the midpoint of the first quarter and went on to pull away from the Wildcats by a 52-36 margin.

Louisburg High School's Peyton Faulkner (with ball) tries to evade the Bunn defense during Tuesday's junior varsity boys basketball contest.

LOUISBURG -- Will yet another Region X Championship -- and a national tournament appearance -- be in the cards this spring for the Louisburg College Lady Hurricanes?
In 2021, LC, coached by legendary skipper Eric Lee, won the Region X regular season and tourney crowns before heading to the nationals, where the Lady Hurricanes posted a fine third-place performance.

GREENVILLE -- The East Carolina University baseball program earned its third preseason national ranking of the 2022 season after being tabbed No. 12 by D1Baseball the publication announced Tuesday morning.
The Pirates, who were picked as the preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Conference by the leagues head coaches, also have been ranked No. 8 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 13 by Perfect Game.

DURHAM -- The partnership between the famed university and the home of the Durham Bulls began in 2010 as Duke would play select home games at the Triple-A stadium throughout their season.
Prior to the 2016 season the partnership was strengthened when a new agreement was formed to allow the ACC school to play a majority of their games in downtown Durham.

HOLLISTER, NC -- Funeral services for Arnie M. Richardson, age 89, who died on Monday, January 17, 2022, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, January 24, 2022 at from the Mt. Bethel Baptist Church in Warren County, NC, with Pastor Willie D. Silver officiating. Burial will follow in the Mt. Bethel Church Cemetery.

FRANKLINTON, NC-- Mary Dunston died January 15, 2022.

FRANKLINTON, NC--Robert Charles Ross, 44, of Franklinton, passed away on January 14, 2022. He was born on March 2, 1977 to James Albert Jr. and Rachel Eve Hoyle Shelton. Robert is predeceased by a sister, Jennifer Lynn Ross.

FRANKLINTON, NC-- Frances Wood Goodwin, 86, of Franklinton died Monday, January 17, 2022. She was born on October 28, 1935, the daughter of the late Henry Clarence and Katie West Wood.

SMITHFIELD, NC--Funeral services for Alexander "Al" Sneed, age 51, who died on Friday, January 14, 2022, will be held 2 p.m., Sunday, January 23, from the Rocky Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg with Pastor Rory Sneed officiating. Burial will follow in the Rocky Chapel Church Cemetery.

FRANKLINTON, NC--Mary Elizabeth Human Sullivan, age 67 of Franklinton, NC died Saturday, January 15, 2022.

LOUISBURG -- With COVID cases spiralling upward across the nation and Franklin County, fueled mostly by the Omicron variant, the Franklin County Board of Education on Monday night voted to keep a mask mandate in place for the foreseeable future.
The mask mandate requires masking indoors at all times for all preK-12th grade students, staff and visitors to campus, with the exception of meals and in the event of a district-approved mask exemption for medical reasons. That rule is unchanged from previous months.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County health members say a new resource for mass testing should soon be available.
The health department, in conjunction with an experienced lab, is planning to begin mass COVID-19 testing on Saturday.
"Immediately following the reports of omicron in the United States, [we] began preparing for an anticipated surge in testing demand," said Health Director Scott LaVigne.

LOUISBURG -- The Louisburg Town Council agreed to move forward with extending its water agreement with Franklin County and extending its corporate limits, a couple of actions the board took during its January meeting.
After adding the item to the agenda on Monday night, the council approved an amendment to its water contract with Franklin County that would tie them to a three-year deal and increase rates, going from the current rate of $3.50 per 1,000 gallons to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons, effective on Aug. 1.

LOUISBURG -- Almost hidden in a flurry of bad COVID news Monday night was a bit of potentially very good news for the Franklin County Board of Education -- and students.
The school board learned that the district is eligible to apply for a school construction grant of up to $30 million to be used for either a new elementary school or upgrades to an existing school.

Louisburg Mayor Christopher Neal presented Louisburg School of Dance Owner Jennifer Nelson with an award, recognizing the group as the best entrant in the town's Christmas parade.

Franklinton basketball player Shontalae Evans

Leading up to Christmas, the Interfaith Council of Franklin County held a Christmas food distribution at the Blessings Resource Pavilion at St. Paul Presbyterian Church. Above, Stephanie Banks places a bag of food into the trunk belonging to one of the hundreds of folks who turned out.

BUNN -- Town commissioners adopted a whistleblower and a data breach policy -- two things the police chief said he needed to secure a grant and law enforcement equipment.
The actions were taken during the board's Jan. 3 meeting.
The first was the Information Technology Use and Data Breach Policy.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Police continue to look for suspects in the armed robbery of a sweepstakes cafe.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
According to authorities, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at the A-7 Café Sweepstakes in the 1100 block of U.S. 1 just after 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 6.

You just never know what you'll learn from reading a newspaper.
This paper is about as far from a musical entertainment publication as you can get -- but last week we learned that none of our county commissioners are country music fans.
Well, okay, let's narrow that down just a bit.