FRONT PAGE

LOUISBURG -- Mixed drinks could be on the menu this fall.
Next month, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners are slated to consider whether or not to hold a special alcoholic beverage election in November.
If commissioners call for a special election, and if voters vote in the affirmative, it would permit ABC stores in unincorporated areas and allow establishments to sell mixed beverages -- as long as other benchmarks are met.

BUNN -- The Class of 2026, said Bunn High Principal Tyler Morris, is full of champions, both on the field of play and in the classroom -- earning state championships, honors in the classroom and plenty of scholarships.
But, it's not their accolades that make him most proud, he told the more than 200 graduates who filled the Bunn High School gym on June 11.
"... While all these victories are impressive, what makes me proudest is not what you've won, but how you've won," Morris said.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg Magnet High School Valedictorian Luke Sheldon compared life to a mountain hike:
Checkpoints and milestones are important, he said, but never as important as your guide -- Jesus Christ.
"Life is like climbing a mountain ... as soon as we are born, we start climbing; we start at the bottom and make our way up," he told his fellow graduates, the 136 students making up LMHS class of 2026 during their June 10 commencement exercises inside the Louisburg College auditorium.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton High salutatorian Catherine Hantla said she knows what you think about Generation Z:
You think they're lazy, screen obsessed and entitled.
Before nearly 200 Franklinton High School students walked across the stage set up in the school's gym on June 12, she urged her classmates to challenge that misconception, while acknowledging that they're already chipping away at the stereotype.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved two new towers designed to bolster cell phone coverage.
Verizon plans to build the towers, one on N.C. 39 between Louisburg and Bunn, the other on Strickland Road, south of N.C. 98 and west of Floyd Road.
One of the conditions is that the county would be able to co-locate EMS equipment, free of charge.
Only the proposed tower on N.C. 39 and Dick Baker Road drew opposition during the special called meeting on Monday night, as nearby resident Amy Mason -- who said she represented 18 homeowners -- said the 245-foot tower would negatively impact neighbors.

Carleceller Cooke performed National Anthem during Relay for Life