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LOUISBURG -- After last week, it appeared that the ball was in Franklin County's court. Now, it looks like the matter is back firmly in the hands of Franklinton officials.
Franklinton commissioners approved an asset purchase agreement during their Nov. 18 meeting and sent the document to county commissioners for final approval.

FRANKLINTON -- There were times that a staging area at Novozymes looked like an alien landing party -- complete with blob-like figures in green suits plodding around.
Turns out it was a hazardous materials training exercise that called upon about half a dozen first responding units to assess their response to an emergency and coordinate rescue efforts.
And, like first contact between man and alien, communication was the key.

LOUISBURG -- While the "local foods" movement has swept the nation, a Louisburg business has managed to put a slightly different, down home spin on the concept.
Instead of "farm to fork," Moss Foods is focused on creating local jobs, bringing customers to Franklin County from a broad region and working to keep both quality and service in the grocery business formula. Those efforts are being recognized by the town of Louisburg as part of its economic development effort.

Louisburg legend Al Bolton

This is probably a terrible thing to ask while most of our readers are thinking about Turkey Day's main course and which side dishes not only go with the traditional dinner but also provide the fuel for a mega-shopping trip on Friday.
But it's an important request -- and that's especially true if you ever drive U.S. 401 between Louisburg and Raleigh. And who doesn't, even if they hate that road?

Don't look now but Turkey Day is just about upon us!
In just a day -- or perhaps already in some homes where cooks have begun to 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.

Just when I thought I was out.
They pull me back in.
Sure, that's a familiar line from The Godfather III that is oft-quoted.
And, yes, it comes from the lesser of the movies from the trilogy.
But, it is so appropriate to me, now.

It's probably just a function of my advanced age, but it seems like 2014 is flying by.
It is Thanksgiving again; a time when Americans traditionally pause to give thanks for the good things and people in their lives.
Below is a brief list of people Franklin County has to be thankful for this year.

Have you ever stood in the pouring rain to experience just the wonder of it? Have you felt its natural power and beauty? To many, this may come as an odd or even strange question.
Most today seeing someone doing this would probably say, "Look, he or she is not even smart enough to get in out of the rain." They may laugh a bit judging, never taking the time to really see the person or the rain. They see only what they want to see.

It can be difficult to express the important points of a highway for those of us not in the transportation business.
To help with that, these points were developed by Gary Faulkner, a retired DOT traffic engineer from Franklin County, who has been a driving force behind local efforts to improve U.S. 401 in Franklin County.
He is presenting them to help focus on the highway's importance -- and is making them available to anyone who wants to use them in their responses to the state.

FRANKLINTON --James Franklin Bell IV, 26, died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 in Dudley. Funeral services were held Saturday, Nov. 22, at Kinches Chapel Christian Church, Franklinton, with the Rev. Jeanette Pender officiating. Interment followed in the church cemetery.

LOUISBURG - Funeral services for Kenneth "Yak" Perry, 49, who died Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m. at Concord Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the Haywood Baptist Church cemetery.

FRANKLINTON-Lavern Griffin Stott, 82, died Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014. Funeral services were held Monday, Nov. 24, at Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, Franklinton. Burial followed at Fairview Cemetery, Franklinton.

LOUISBURG --Funeral services for Magnora "Mag" LeMay, 66, who died Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, were held Saturday, Nov. 15, at Westminister Evangelistic Church 2, with the Rev. Clarence LeMay officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery.

TARBORO - Taming Tarboro's traditional T-formation offense proved to be too tall of a task for the Louisburg Warriors in last Friday night's second-round matchup of the Class 1-AA State Football Playoffs.
LHS was competitive with the Vikings for the opening half, but things disintegrated quickly for the Warriors during a five-minute span to open the third stanza.

LOUISBURG -- Eleven Louisburg College standouts have earned accolades on the All-Northeast Conference Football Team for the 2014 season.
LC linebacker Bruce Walker and placekicker Matt Paul were First-Team selections, while wide receiver David Miller and defensive tackle Anthony Orr made the Second Team.

ELIZABETH CITY -- For the second time in five years, a trip to Elizabeth City didn't prove to be a profitable one for the Bunn Wildcats in the Class 2-AA State Playoffs.
Last Friday night, the Wildcats saw their campaign come to a close with a 45-6 setback to the homestanding Northeastern Eagles in Pasquotank County.

BUNN -- Daniel Boone -- and others -- once helped blaze a trail through the Cumberland Gap, a portion of the Appalachian Mountains that separates Kentucky and Tennessee.
Boone widened the road between the states to form The Wilderness Road, which opened up the region -- and eventually far beyond -- to settlement.

CHAPEL HILL -- Here are the first-round results and second-round pairings for the Class 2-AA and Class 1-AA State Football Playoffs.

GREENSBORO -- Franklin County native Gregory Clifton proved to be a quick next-level learner this season for the Greensboro College football squad.
Clifton, a freshman wide receiver, has been selected as the Division III USA South Athletic Conference Offensive Rookie of the Year.

KENLY -- Despite being only 15 years old, Brayton Haws has already experienced a lifetime of racing accomplishments -- but none were bigger than his recent victory at the Autumn Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park.
Haws, a sophomore at Franklinton High School, took the lead for good on the 161st lap and went on to claim the $10,000 top-prize paycheck as part of the NASCAR Whelen Series.

WINCHESTER, VA. -- The North Carolina Wesleyan College Battling Bishop men's basketball team handed host Shenandoah University a 75-65 loss last Saturday afternoon in the final game of the 2014 South Region Challenge.
Wesleyan's victory came on the heels of a 59-56 loss to Hampden-Sydney on Friday, leaving the Bishops with a 2-1 overall mark.

HENDERSON -- Vance-Granville Community College women's volleyball player Kara Reese of Henderson has been selected to the All-Region First Team by coaches in National Junior College Athletic Association Region X, Division III.
She is the first student-athlete in the history of the VGCC volleyball program to be so honored.
VGCC Volleyball Coach Christopher Young and Director of Athletics & Student Activities Jasmine Hightower formally presented Reese with her award during halftime of the Vanguards men's basketball game on Nov. 12.

Louisburg's Ron Roberson dives on a loose football during the Warriors' road contest last Friday against Tarboro in the second round of the Class 1-AA State Football Playoffs.

Tarboro fullback Markese Clapp (right) breaks free en route to a touchdown during last Friday's playoff game against the Louisburg Warriors.

MIRACLE LEAGUE DODGERS

MIRACLE LEAGUE CARDINALS

MIRACLE LEAGUE ANGELS

Bunn's Parker Brantley (front, second from left) signs a letter-of-intent to continue her fast-pitch softball career at Lincoln Memorial University, which is located in Harrogate, Tennessee.

Kathryn Anne Thomas and Michael Scott Guthrie were united in marriage on Saturday, Oct, 4, 2014 at 5 p.m. at the home of the bride's parents in Louisburg.
The ceremony was officiated by the Rev. Alan Koeneke.
The bride is the daughter of Randall and Debra Thomas.

Using the pseudonym "Jake Rattler," a correspondent of The Franklin Times in 1899 published an account of bustling activity in Pilot, a village in southern Franklin County.
He explained why the community originally had been known as Loafers Crossing and how enterprising men were transforming it.

CHRISTMAS CONCERTS. The Northeast Piedmont Chorale Christmas Concert -- Joy, Joy, Joy - A Christmas Concert -- is so nice, they're doing it twice. The first concert will be held at Franklinton Baptist Church in downtown Franklinton on Friday, Dec. 5. On Saturday, Dec. 6, the concert will be held at First Baptist Church of Henderson. The Chorale's Christmas concerts this year feature Bach's Cantata BMV 142, "Unto Us a Child is Born."

Nash Community College Advertising and Graphic Design students designed the 25th Annual NCC Foundation Golf Classic T-shirt. The students (shown here left to right are Will Lewis, NCC Foundation Executive Director Pat Daniels, Melissa Cooke, Xavier Moody, NCC President Dr. Bill Carver, Judie Taylor, NCC advertising and graphic design instructor Natasha Neal, Anna Inscoe, Desiree Dolbery, Rashaun Moore, Matt Unruh and Anna Bindrim.

HENDERSON -- Vance-Granville Community College's Board of Trustees brought on board a new member received the results of the latest faculty and staff drive to benefit the VGCC Endowment Fund.
Dwight M. Frazier of Henderson, chief executive officer of Carolina Country Snacks, Inc., and Country Snacks Manufacturing, Inc., was sworn in by Ninth Judicial District Court Judge J. Henry Banks of Henderson.

ANGELS AMONG US. The Franklin County Department of Social Services has set up its Angel Tree again, giving people a chance to help families make the best of the Christmas season.

Judge Carolyn Jennings Yancey has received a 2014 Women of Justice Award for Public Service.
According to the North Carolina Lawyers Weekly article, the Women of Justice Awards recognize women across the state of North Carolina who have demonstrated leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice and accomplishment in improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession.

LOUISBURG -- A Franklin County Schools bus driver was placed on administrative leave after being charged with drinking and driving on duty.
According to school officials, Barbara Brodie Thorne arrived in a bus at Terrell Lane Middle School with students on board the morning of Nov. 20 when an assistant principal smelled an odor of alcohol and suspected she was under the influence.

CARTED. Early College students, from left, Ashley Rushing, Trey Brown, and Marissa Clark help drum up donations.

MAKING IT COUNT. Susan Hale, left, and Pat Tharrington help recount ballots last Thursday during a statewide recount for the N.C. Supreme Court battle between Cheri Beasley and Mike Robinson. The Franklin County recount produced one less vote for Beasley, said county Elections Director Lisa Goswick. She said the miscount was the result of a mailed-in absentee ballot that was manually entered into the system in error.

LOUISBURG -- Police are looking for a suspect in an armed robbery at a local eatery.
Officers responded to the Waffle House on Bickett Boulevard at about 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 20 after employees reported a robbery.
According to the report by Officer T.W. Lincoln, a suspect, believed to be a man, entered the restaurant with a semi-automatic pistol and demanded money.

The General Assembly is looking for a few good teens and legislators, including Sen. Chad Barefoot, are sending out an open invitation to high school students who might be interested in serving in the Student Page Program.
Every legislative session, the North Carolina General Assembly opens its doors to high school students from across the state to participate in the House and Senate Page Programs.

LIGHTEN UP. Louisburg Electric Department worker Paul "Pearl" Jones sets up a Christmas season snowflake along Bickett Boulevard. Town employees set up banners and lights through town in time for the holidays. The pink hat is a leftover from Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

LOUISBURG -- A Louisburg man with a history of charges regarding assaults on women is slated to be in court next month.
Sheriff's deputies arrested Devon A. Whaley on Nov. 11, charging him with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and breaking and entering.
He was placed in jail in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

WASHINGTON -- The president of a local biofuels industry leader hopes that the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to delay a ruling on regulations that determine how much biofuels end up in the nation's fuel supply provides time for a better solution.
Novozymes President Adam Monroe said, initially, plans appeared to backtrack from President Obama's goal to rely more on biofuels.