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BUNN - What was expected to be an offensive shootout certainly didn't turn out that way.
Instead, the high-powered offenses from Bunn and South Granville combined for just one touchdown, but that would go to the Wildcats as part of a tight 9-3 victory last Friday at the BHS Football Field with first place in the Northern Carolina Conference at stake.
"It was just a great defensive game between two good football teams,'' said BHS head coach David Howle.

LOUISBURG - Geraldine Edwards Horton, 83, of Louisburg died peacefully Tuesday morning, October 25th at her daughter's home. She was born in Franklin County, the daughter of the late Rosa Branch Tharrington Edwards and Paul Hampton Edwards. She dedicated her life to her family as that was the most important thing to her in her life.

LOUISBURG - Betty Jean Leonard Marshbourne, 83, of Louisburg, passed away Sunday, October 23, 2016 after suffering from Parkinson's Disease for a number of years.

LOUISBURG - Roland Jerry Strickland, 68, of the Lake Royale Community, died Monday morning, Oct. 24, 2016. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday at Maple Springs Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the fellowship hall.

LOUISBURG - Fredrick Samuel Lopp, 90, died Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. A visitation was held Saturday, Oct. 22, at Strickland Funeral Home, Louisburg. The family will also gladly accept calls and visits at home.

LOUISBURG - Norman F. Pearce, 77, died Sunday Oct. 23, 2016. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the chapel of Bright Funeral Home, with the Rev. Dr. Bill Haley officiating.

MARIETTA, GA - Funeral services for Delois Lynch Woodson, 73, of Marietta, Ga., formerly of Hollister, who died Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 11 a.m. at Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hollister, with the Rev. Robert Hedgepeth, officiating. Burial will follow in the Lynch family cemetery.

GOLDSBORO--Funeral services for Debbie D. Davis, 56, who died Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, will be held Saturday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. at Social Union Baptist Church in Nashville. Burial will follow in the Shiloh Church cemetery in Whitakers.

FRANKLINTON-- Howard Mann Jr., 67, died Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at his home. Funeral services were held Saturday, Oct. 22, at First Baptist Church, Franklinton, with the Rev. André Johnson officiating.

FRANKLINTON-- Donald Bruce Willis, 71, died Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 at his home. A memorial mass will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church. Inurnment will follow in Oakwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the mass.

STEM - With first place in the Tar-Roanoke Athletic Conference at stake, the Louisburg Warriors stayed with host and defending league football champion Granville Central for one period on Friday.
But the Panthers would pull away in the second stanza en route to defeating Louisburg by a 33-17 margin at the GCHS Football Field.
Granville Central is now 3-5 overall and 2-0 in the TRAC while holding the inside track toward a league title repeat. Louisburg dropped to 4-4 and 2-1.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton's key standings swing game with Roanoke Rapids went into the fourth quarter with the outcome yet to be determined.
But the visiting Yellow Jackets, bolstered by short fields due to FHS turnovers, would be able to pull away late to earn a 28-6 decision over the Red Rams in Northern Carolina Conference prep football action Friday night.
Roanoke Rapids is now 8-1 overall to go with a 2-1 mark in the NCC, which is good enough for a second-place tie with South Granville.

BUNN -- What was expected to be an offensive shootout certainly didn't turn out that way.
Instead, the high-powered offenses from Bunn and South Granville combined for just one touchdown, but that would go to the Wildcats as part of a tight 9-3 victory Friday at the BHS Football Field with first place in the Northern Carolina Conference at stake.
With two games remaining, Bunn controls its own destiny as the lone undefeated club in NCC action at 3-0. The Wildcats are also 8-1 overall, while South Granville fell to 7-2 and 2-1.

BUNN - Lorraine Smith, 57, died Friday, Oct. 21, 2016.  Arrangements, William Toney's Funeral Home, Zebulon.

After dropping a tough match to Franklinton last week, Audrey Wilder and the Bunn Ladycats avenged that setback in the Northern Carolina Conference Tournament semifinals with a five-set win over FHS. The Ladycats tangled with top seed and tourney host South Granville on Wednesday in the title match at the SGHS Gymnasium.

Bunn's Victor Dunston (left) plays some sound defense last Friday night against rival Roanoke Rapids.

LOUISBURG -- A small Wake Forest company got a chance to relocate to Louisburg -- and perhaps expand -- thanks to action taken by the Louisburg town council Monday night.
The council unanimously passed an amendment to the Louisburg Zoning Ordinance allowing anodizing as a permitted use in the B-1 District.
That will allow R & M Metalworks to relocate to the South Elm Street building that previously housed Mullis Millworks.

LOUISBURG -- Safe Space, a non-profit domestic violence agency serving Franklin County, will host a candlelight vigil tonight.
The 18th Annual Candlelight Vigil on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Dickson Auditorium of Louisburg College is set up to remember victims and survivors of domestic violence.
For additional information about the event, or Safe Space services, visit the Safe Space website at www.ncsafespace.org or they can be reached at (919) 497-5599.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Contractors are knee deep in town hall/police department renovations.
It's a welcome sight for town officials and staff who first began looking at the need for a new town hall and police department space more than a year ago.
"We have a building permit, and we actually have progress," said Police Chief Darin Kirts, who has relied upon his background in contracting to guide the project along.

Franklinton resident Douglas Wooten

YOUNGSVILLE -- The most recent town meeting featured a call to service and a means to trumpet the town's accomplishments.
If the call to service isn't heeded, though, one of the town's mainstay events could go away.
During the meeting, resident Keith Falt, Lila Hedlund with the Youngsville Woman's Club and David Jerose, past president of the Youngsville Kiwanis Club, asked officials and residents to be more outspoken about activities going on in the community, while also putting out a call to volunteer.

It was sad but somehow fitting that we -- Donna, Nick and I -- had just returned from a hike to visit Virginia's Natural Bridge area when we learned of the passing of one of Franklin County's icons and good friend, Allen de Hart.
De Hart was an avid hiker, author, retired professor and creator of gardens in both North Carolina and Virginia which he donated to Louisburg and Ferrum colleges a few years ago.

Granted it's probably already too late for this level of out-of-the-box thinking but stick with us for a minute just in case.
As virtually everyone in Franklin County knows by now, three companies are interested in providing some level of health care in Franklin County after we were so unceremoniously abandoned by Novant Healthcare about a year ago.
In a nutshell, these three companies are looking at leasing the 60-year-old Franklin Medical Center and re-creating the emergency room, reopening a few acute care hospital rooms and using a lot of the facility for behavioral health care needs.

When I graduated college after four and a half years, I was dead broke.
And, it was the best feeling in the world.
I come from a hard-working family, but paying for two kids in college would have been a stress and a financial situation that might have been just beyond us.
Fortunately, I had a steady part-time job through much of high school and all through college.