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Franklinton's Tyler Irby signs a letter-of-intent to join the track and field program at Virginia University of Lynchburg. Also pictured are (back, l to r) FHS assistant coach Ben Snelling and FHS head coach Clennie Wilkins; (front, right) Joanne Irby (mother).

Franklinton's Jivel Teasley signs papers to join the track and field and football programs at Virginia University of Lynchburg. Also pictured are (back, l to r) FHS coach Clennie Wilkins and FHS assistant Ben Snelling; (front, right) Wanda Pace (mother).

BUNN -- Few prep coaches in Franklin County, regardless of the sport, have Henry Jones' consistent knack for being able to reload on the fly.
No matter the circumstance, Jones has been able to field an ultra-competitive team during his 20-plus seasons in charge of the Bunn High School volleyball program.
Even when he fields squads decimated by graduation and other circumstances, Jones seems to find a way to excel.

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - James Pugliese, Craig Brooks, Tommy Nance and Daniel Lewis combined to hold the Mudcats scoreless as the Pelicans finished off a series sweep with a 6-0 victory against Carolina on Sunday night at TicketReturn.Com Field in Myrtle Beach in a Class A Carolina League baseball event.
The loss was Carolina's fifth straight overall and dropped them to 12.0 games back of first in the second-half standings behind first-place Myrtle Beach (63-51, 27-17).

LOUISBURG -- The Louisburg Moose Lodge 2256 and Women of the Moose Chapter 2312 will host a softball tournament fundraiser on Aug. 20-21 at the Moose Lodge Park in Louisburg.
Proceeds from the tournament will support Moose charities.
Team entry fee is $250 per person for the double-elimination event.

LOUISBURG -- When perennial powerhouse Louisburg High School was defeated in the quarterfinals of the Class 1-A State Volleyball Playoffs last October, it certainly wasn't the end of an era.
Not with so many key players returning this season as part of another campaign that will feature plenty of high expectations for the Lady Warriors.
Louisburg lost only one rotation performer from last year's club -- hitter Loganne Driver.

STANHOPE -- When a Southern Nash High School representative phoned over to Bunn to ask for a reference on Melanie Davis, the caller was surprised to receive a quick-but-stern two-word reply.
"Hire her,'' was the pointed response from Franklin County.
And so Southern Nash took the advice and hired Davis to be its volleyball coach for the 2016 campaign and beyond.

Three years ago, the quilt trail team of Franklin County Arts Council (FCAC) hung the first quilt block of the Quilt Trails of the Tar River. In one year, the trail had more than 30 blocks in Franklin and surrounding counties.
FCAC announced this week it has renamed the Quilt Trails of the Tar River to Quilt Trails of the Tar and Roanoke Rivers.
The trail has reached beyond the central counties of Franklin, Granville, and Vance counties to include Wake, Martin and Pitt, with contracts for more than 60 quilt blocks.

Kenneth and Dorothy Hale of Castalia celebrated their 50h Wedding Anniversary with family and friends on July 2 at Corinth Baptist Church in Nashville. They were married on July 5, 1966 in Louisburg. They have two daughters, Cindy Hale and Lisa Creecy and husband Brett; and two grand-furbabies, Jackson and Rocky.

It's that time of year when the school bus lights are flashing and the bells will be ringing.
It's back to school time. New students, new teachers and lots of excitement. Let the school day begin with the most important meal of the day Breakfast.
Before students begin their day of learning and adventure be sure to provide them with a nutritious breakfast that provides foods from the dairy, fruit, grain and protein food groups.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton High School's mission was twofold during last Saturday's action at the annual Wade Halford and Lane Meyer Memorial Boys Soccer Jamboree at the FHS Football Field.
The most important order of business for FHS was to honor the memory of Halford, a former Red Ram who passed away in 2011.
Halford was one of the early cornerstones of what was then a new boys soccer program at Franklinton under then-coach Deran Coe.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton High School's 2016 cross country season will begin on Aug. 16 with an appearance at the Tiger Challenge 3-K Kickoff in Hope Mills.
Franklinton's complete XC ledger is as follows:

LOUISBURG - Mary Kay Whetsell Harmon, 71, of Louisburg, died Wednesday night.

LOUISBURG - Jeanette Murray Leonard, 78, of Louisburg, died Sunday afternoon.

LOUISBURG- Robert Damion May, infant son of Joey Brown and Austin May, died Friday.

CENTERVILLE - Johnny Briley Newell Sr., 69, of Centerville, died Friday, August 5, 2016, at his home. He was born on February 24, 1947 to the late Hazel Briley and Norman Newell. Johnny was also preceded in death by his first wife, Peggy Newell; a son, Johnny Newell Jr.; and a brother, Fletcher Newell.

HENDERSON - Ruth Thompson Ayscue, 92, of the Vicksboro Community, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016 at her home. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, Aug. 10, at 11 a.m., at Sulphur Springs Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Seth Miller, Rev. Ralph McGowan, and Rev. Steve Loftis. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

WHITAKERS - Funeral services for Burnette Anistead, 65, who died Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, will be held Wednesday, Aug. 10, at 1 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Hollister, with the Rev. Andrew West officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Gracie A. Williams, 66, died Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016.  Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at Rocky Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Louisburg.

LOUISBURG - William H. Roberson, 87, of Louisburg, N.C. died Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at his home. Funeral will be held in Rocky Mount, Pineview Cemetery (with military rites), at a later time to be announced.

LOUISBURG -- More than 90 days after county staff said jail renovations would be completed, the project has yet to wrap. The latest delay puts the $3.6 million project at least nine months behind its scheduled completion.
And water still ponds on the roof, a bit.
Back in February and March, sheriff's office staff lamented a number of lingering issues related to the multi-million dollar jail renovation project, including a still leaky roof, drainage issues, a door monitoring system that didn't always signify which security doors were open or closed, high resolution cameras and monitors that still broadcast in low resolution, and the major holdup, an exhaust system that had to be built and installed.

LOUISBURG -- Those who challenged North Carolina's voters ID law claimed victory last week when an appeals court struck the law down.
Franklin County's Rosanell Eaton, who has been the face of that challenge for three years now, hopes the ruling clears the way for more voters to participate in this fall's presidential election.
The law, as it was written, eliminated same-day registration, out-of-precinct voting, and pre-registration, required voters to show photo ID and reduced the amount of time for early voting.

LOUISBURG -- Internet sweepstakes cafes, which drew the ire of the General Assembly and were shuttered by state law enforcement agents earlier this year are back.
Within the past two weeks, the town of Louisburg has issued business licenses to operators of two cafes, one located on Bickett Boulevard and another located across from town hall.

A track loader and several dump trucks made short work of the former Shell gasoline station in downtown Louisburg this week, the first step in addressing one of downtown's shortcomings, a lack of parking. The town is planning to create a landscaped parking lot on this site, which is across from the post office. Work is expected to be completed in about 90 days. The town received a $50,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and a $29,000 USDA loan for 30 years at 2.75 percent interest for this project.

LOUISBURG -- It seems that Franklin County isn't the only government agency dealing with mold/mildew issues.
As Franklin County School System workers began preparing for the return of students at the Early College High School on Aug. 9, they got an unwelcome surprise.
What has been described as "green mildew" has been found growing in at least three classrooms in the eight-classroom school which is adjacent to the Vance Granville Community College campus just west of Louisburg.