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LOUISBURG -- Following a successful regular season, Louisburg High School was able to secure a home game in the first round of the Class 1-AA State Football Playoffs.
That didn't mean, however, that the contest would be easy as Gates County brought a solid club to Patterson Field last Friday -- and left with a 34-17 decision over the Warriors.

BUNN -- With point guard Bernadette Cooke out until later in the season and post Cressida Duncan moved back to Kentucky -- and several other key players graduated -- the Bunn Ladycats are short on experience but high on potential during the 2016-17 basketball campaign.
Bunn opened its season in short-handed fashion last Thursday against backyard rival Southern Nash.
The Ladycats showed their inexperience -- but also displayed some promise for the future -- during their 31-29 home loss to Southern at the Bunn Dome in a back-and-forth game.

AHOSKIE -- A tough first-round draw awaited the visiting Franklinton Red Rams in their final football season -- at least for the near future -- on the Class 2-AA level.
That campaign would close last Friday night as the Red Rams were defeated 46-18 by a strong, high-powered Hertford County contingent.
Franklinton, which entered as the No. 6 seed, fell behind 20-3 after one period of action.

CHAPEL HILL -- Listed are last Friday's results and this Friday's schedule for Class 1-AA and 2-AA State Football Playoffs:

Louisburg's Terry Allen (right) registers a quarterback sack during last Friday night's home playoff setback against the Gates County Red Barons.

Makayla Strickland (with ball) is one of several new faces this season for the Bunn High School girls basketball squad under Coach Matt Keith.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College's list of returning starters from last year's men's basketball team was a big zero.
As in none.
So LC head coach Neil Dixon is literally starting all over again with no players back -- but he expects the program to quickly reload and once again be a factor in the Region X standings.

Louisburg College's Jordan Oakley (right) plays tight defense in the backcourt during last Saturday afternoon's home hoops victory over Thomas Nelson Community College.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College's football team ended its season with an undefeated mark.
The Hurricanes beat nine teams - the best record in 11 years of competing.
The young men who brought home the wins are rightfully proud of their accomplishments.
They were honored during Louisburg College's basketball game Nov. 21.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Adrian Moore poured in 30 points and Justin Tankelewicz added 22 to lead their North Carolina Wesleyan College basketball team to a 90-71 win over Frostburg State last Saturday in the 2016 Marlin Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Virginia Wesleyan.
Moore, who had previously scored 29 points in Friday's opener, was named to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
Versus FSU, the Bishops used a 22-6 run midway the first half to forge a 55-30 halftime advantage.

THAT'S A BIG BASS! Riley Burton of Franklin County caught and released this 8-pound, 2-ounce large mouth bass on his Zebco 202 last month while fishing in a private local pond with his grandfather, Hudson Burton.

In August 1890, 15 years after the town of Youngsville was incorporated, its commissioners adopted a set of local ordinances. Similar to those used in Franklinton and Louisburg, the ordinances reflect varied aspects of life in a simpler era, when animals pulled wagons and motor vehicles were rare.
The first few rules demonstrate the importance of animals to the local economy. It was unlawful "for any live stock to run at large within the corporate limits of the town, to be ridden, driven or fed upon the sidewalks, nor hitched to the trees, pailings [sic] or fences on the sidewalks under penalty of one dollar for each offence."

Amazingly, it's time to talk turkey.
And all the fixin's -- and probably a long, long nap for many of our male readers who will be catching a little shut-eye while the female members of the family are planning their annual assault on all things retail.
If that sounds sexist, so be it. It's also based on experience -- and examples are easy to find.

Don't look now, but Turkey Day is upon us!
In just a few hours -- earlier in some homes where cooks prepare food well in advance -- ovens will be heated up, cooktops filled with pots and pans and everyone will be eagerly awaiting the fun, food and fellowship which comes with one of this country's favorite holidays, Thanksgiving.
It's a time for families to gather together and enjoy the fruits of their labor and continue a long-standing tradition that dates to our more agrarian roots when the feasts of fall followed a bountiful harves,t period.

Trying to cover the twists and turns from this election is tough, particularly on a short week -- I wrote this on Friday morning because of Thanksgiving deadlines.
There are a lot of moving parts.
It made me think of how Star Trek sci-fi engineer Montgomery Scott described transporting matter from one place to another -- which is traveling beyond the speed of light.

Today is Thanksgiving eve in America.
It's a holiday that has morphed into a day where the nation takes some time to reflect on all it has to be thankful for between eating and watching football.
Like the great nation it is part of, Franklin County has much to be thankful for.
Today I wanted to point out a few of our blessings.

FRANKLINTON -- The town's board of commissioners approved two special use permits to add to the town's housing options.
First, Michael Hurt proposed converting a single family dwelling at 312 Bowen Street into a duplex.
His brother, Mason Hurt, proposed doing the same at 304 Bullock Street.
"I know that there is a need for it," Michael Hurt said. "I feel it will benefit the community and increase property values.

FRANKLNTON -- A collapsed sewer main caused sewage to spill from the Franklin County system last week.
According to county staff, a terra cotta clay sewer pipe, which had been partially encased in concrete, collapsed on Nov. 15.
As a result, about 2,000 gallons of sewage from an eight-inch sewer main on Taylor Street spilled.
Franklin County Public Utilities staff investigated the matter and later that day, they found the source of the issue and made repairs.

LOUISBURG -- The Trustees of the Alston-Pleasants Post-Graduate Scholars Fund announced that Allison Blackburn has received a Scholarship Award to support her post-graduate studies at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Blackburn is a member of the Occupational Therapy Class of 2018 at the Medical University of South Carolina, and was recently elected President of her OT class.
"I am honored to serve in a leadership position, and am looking forward to serving my classmates and professors," Blackburn said.

Mike Anderson was busy talking with visitors at the Village of Yesteryear at the North Carolina State Fair this year when a man invited him to come outside the exhibit area and listen to a musical group perform on a nearby stage.
Playing the violin -- or fiddle, if you prefer -- was Katelyn Martin of Durham who had won a free instrument from Anderson a year ago.
Anderson said he recalls enjoying the music when Katelyn stopped between songs to point him out to the crowd, thanking him for his generosity and acknowledging his skill as an instrument maker!

Franklin County 4-H'ers were busy this fall as they prepared their crafts, produce, poultry, and livestock for the 2016 NC State Fair.
Franklin County had an overwhelming 73 youth participate in the State Fair this year. There were 31 youth who entered items in crafts and 38 kids that showed livestock.
Some of the categories that these youth showed or entered items into included but are not limited to: livestock (cows, goats, sheep, and hogs), poultry, crafts in the 4-H division and other divisions, culinary, produce and canned items.

Louisburg College: America's Premier Private Two Year College.
Yes, "premier" for many students who have come and gone from an institution that has changed their lives forever.
At the "Happily Ever After" reunion, which took place Oct. 29 (Homecoming), the memories were flying everywhere, and the recollections of good times and happiness were obvious for those present (about 100 of them); five Alumni Awards were given, and LC won the football game.