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ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
REED WHELESS AND SUMMER PHILLIPS

LHS BOOSTER CLUB
SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
(L to R)
SHELBY CASH
SYDNEY PARRISH
KAYLEE DEMENT

BUNN -- Coaches always consider it a difficult proposition to beat a team three times in one season, regardless of the sport.
Especially when that club happens to be the defending state champion.
Such was the task Bunn's Wildcats faced during last Friday's third-round matchup against South Granville in the Class 2-A State Playoffs.
Bunn had defeated SG twice in the regular season to win the Northern Carolina Conference championship for the fifth consecutive campaign.

BUNN -- Another year, another meeting between long-time softball rivals Bunn and South Granville in the state playoffs.
Bunn roared through the first two rounds of the Class 2-A State Playoffs, winning last Wednesday at home against Dixon (11-0) and last Saturday at South Columbus (9-1).
That set up a rematch against South Granville on Tuesday, but it was pushed back to Wednesday due to poor weather.

BUNN -- Bunn High School will kick off its 2016 varsity football schedule on Aug. 19 with a road game against the Wilson Fike Golden Demons.
Bunn's home opener will be Aug. 26 against Northwest Halifax.
The Wildcats, coached by David Howle, are the defending Class 2-AA East Regional Champion.
Bunn's complete schedule is as follows, with home games listed in CAPS:

LOUISBURG -- Senior standout Breasia Williams will once again represent Louisburg High School at the Class 1-A State Track and Field Championships.
The states will be held this Friday beginning at 10 a.m. at Aggie Stadium on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.
Williams will compete in the shot put and discus. Though she has been successful at the states, Williams has yet to bring home a first-place medal -- something she hopes to change this time around.

Castalia resident Cory Leonard (front, fourth from left) and Louisburg resident Chuck Murray (back, fourth from left) were part of the North Carolina contingent that won the team competition between 18 states at the Academy Sports Outdoors B.A.S.S. National Eastern Regional. The event was held recently on Douglas Lake, which is located in East Tennessee.

FRANKLINTON -- Ricky Person has received plenty of accolades as a highly recruited football player at Franklinton High School -- but he isn't the only Red Ram who is getting some national exposure.
Earlier this spring, a pair of Franklinton standouts were invited to participate in a two-day tryout for the Team USA high school football squad.
Players who make the roster will be part of an All-Star Team that will compete at the end of the regular season for seniors against clubs from other countries.

ZEBULON -- Lynchburg's Yu-Cheng Chang broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh with a solo home run off reliever Carlos Salazar and the Hillcats eventually held on for a 5-4 win against the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday afternoon at Five County Stadium in Class A Carolina League diamond action.
Chang scored three runs and was 1-for-5 in Sunday's game for the Hillcats (24-12).
He reached on an error and scored a run in the first and reached via an error and scored a run again in the fifth.

Alma Burke will be the featured artist at Franklin County Arts Council's Back Galley in their headquarters at 22 S. Main St., Franklinton for an afternoon tea on Saturday, May 21, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Burke will give a short presentation about her art. Her work will be shown and available for purchase through June 9. The public is invited to this free event. Tea and cookies will be served.

With summer's sunny days just around the corner, a lot of us drive past our growing solar farms and get positive vibes about electrical power being silently generated from Ole Sol's rays without burning any fossil fuels and creating pollution.
Given how quickly solar farms are popping up, it's pretty easy to get smug about how smart we are -- and how far ahead we must be.
Well. . .get over it!

The need just continues to grow -- and in our lukewarm economy, children are getting hit hardest of all.
And they are the least capable of responding to and of minimizing the challenges they face.
All that is pretty obvious and it's worth noting that one of Franklin County's premier volunteer efforts -- Happy Camper -- is in need of help.
Happy Camper is the brainchild of Louisburg attorney Charles Davis who created it back in the early 1990s as a way to reach out to children who were in need of a helping hand.

The last time I made a point of what appeared to be a strained relationship between two governing bodies, I was quickly rebuked.
If you remember, some time back, I wrote about a county commissioner meeting where Louisburg Town Councilman Boyd Sturges filled in for his law partner -- Pete Tomlinson -- to serve as the county's legal counsel during the meeting.
I could not help but notice that when Sturges walked in, the normal chatter that takes place just before the start of the meeting abruptly stopped.

When someone threatens you if you do not do what they want, does it anger you? It is one thing to work out differences; it is another to be bullied into submission.
I routinely read accounts of people saying if Mr. Trump is elected President they are going to leave the country, most say they will go to Canada.
I wonder how most Canadians feel about this. If that grass is not greener I guess they will be moving again.

I've been among those complaining about Sen. Richard "Bank Run" Burr collecting his paycheck while refusing to do his job.
That complaint was initially motivated by his refusing to consider President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy.
Now he has taken it one step further by refusing to consider Obama's nominee for the vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Dear editor:
There are those that demand we conduct "intelligent" conversation concerning gender identity and the rights associated with such identity. Yet, some of those demanding such refuse to accept any ideas in conflict with their own and they then proceed to inflict "punishment" for opposing ideas. How is "intelligent" conversation to be had with such behavior?

Twenty-four writers came together at Falls Lake State Park's Rolling View Community Building recently for a day of feeding the muse. This was third retreat sponsored by the Franklin County Arts Council Writers Guild. Each year attendance has grown with writers from across the state attending.
Speaker and award-winning novelist Nancy Peacock opened the retreat with a workshop titled "How to Keep a Writing Practice Going While Still Holding Down a Day (or night) Job."

Mary Elizabeth Costello and Darrell Lewis Fortson III were married April 29 in Zebulon. The officiating minister was Tim Gorton.
The bride is the daughter of Robert and Linda Costello of Zebulon. The groom is the grandson of Eugenia Williams of Raleigh.
The bride was given in marriage by her father, Robert Costello.
Serving as matron of honor was Samantha Lynn Wilson of Zebulon. Bridesmaid was Sarah Joyce Clifton of Zebulon.

Dan and Coleen Pearce celebrated 74 years of marriage in March. Married March 22, 1942, they built their life together using Jesus Christ as their solid rock, making them great role models for their family and friends, according to a family member. They are faithful members to Rock Springs Baptist Church. They have three children: Barbara Gentry, Pat Cash and Danny Pearce; many grandchildren and more great grandchildren and some great great grandchildren."They are the backbone to our family and have taught us what true love really is," granddaughter Sherry Mercer added.

It was a day Polly Mitchell likely remembered for the rest of her life.
On April 11, 1825, William Norwood, who presided over the spring session of the Superior Court of Franklin County, ordered that Polly, a slave belonging to John Mitchell, be freed.
This action reflected not only the court's confidence in Polly's character, but also the love of her husband and the support of prominent men in her neighborhood.

LOUISBURG - Seth Maurice Crudup, 57, died Tuesday, May 17, 2016.  Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at William Toney's Funeral Home Chapel, Zebulon.

FRANKLINTON--Funeral services for John Robert Hawkins, 59, who died Monday, May 16, 2016, will be held Saturday, May 21, at 3 p.m. at Richardson Funeral Home in Louisburg, with the Rev. Billy Williams, officiating. Burial will follow in the Hawkins Chapel Church cemetery.

Sandra Best Lumbert, 75, of Winston-Salem, formerly of Swannanoa, passed away at Forsyth Medical Center surrounded by her sons on Thursday, May 12, 2016.