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LOUISBURG -- Franklin County management and the sheriff's office are slated to update commissioners and the public on their efforts to improve the animal control shelter next month.
The announcement came during the board's Jan. 21 meeting -- two days after a Franklin County resident essentially accused commissioners and staff of dragging their feet on the matter.

CASTALIA -- An Internet company preparing to bring service to Franklin County could begin serving customers by early summer, county management told a community group this week.
Franklin County approved an agreement with Open Broadband in June whereby the Charlotte-based company would bring its service to the county, focusing primarily on unserved and under-served areas of the county.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Town ABC Board members visited the Youngsville Crossing Shopping Plaza, looking at a potential location for a new ABC store.
About two years ago, the Youngsville ABC Board and the town began in earnest talks about a new ABC store.
The primary option was to buy land adjacent to the current store located at 101 N. College Street.

LOUISBURG -- Four months after commissioners called for its re-activation, and probably more than two years since its last assembling, the Franklin County Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee was slated to meet.
Back in August, former Bunn Rescue Squad member Scott Strickland told commissioners about ongoing issues with the radio system that he feared put emergency first responders in danger.

YOUNGSVILLE -- A cut-through traffic option for motorists will close by the end of February.
During the board's Jan. 9 meeting, Police Chief Greg Whitley, among other traffic-calming suggestions, recommended that the town close Nassau Street to thru traffic at the intersection of N.C. 96.

Bunn HS wrestler Sam Kagarise

It's hard to believe that this is our last edition of January -- and it was a five edition month.
Actually, I'm still trying to figure out how the Christmas holiday season came and went so quickly this year that I almost missed Santa Claus.
Suddenly it's the weekend of the big game -- we're not supposed to call it by its actual name without paying someone -- but anyone who even remotely follows football knows what we're talking about.

Mortality has hit me like a ton of bricks in the past few weeks.
Last week, I watched as my ex-wife and her family laid her grandmother to rest.
And, this past Sunday, I was caught flat footed -- like most everyone else -- when news began to break that famed basketball player Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in California.

Dear editor: I will have to admit that I watched very little of the impeachment hearing. The small portion I watched was boring, repetitious and painful. The overwhelming success was the fact that the House Mangers squeezed about a two-hour presentation into twenty-four hours. You must enjoy listening to yourself to achieve this.

LOUISBURG--Funeral services for Zollie "Zeke" Gupton, 75, who died Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, will be held Saturday, Feb.1, at 1 p.m. at Jones Chapel Baptist Church in Louisburg, with Pastor Hosie Starr officiating.

BUNN -- Unlike some of his more boisterous, self-assured peers in the sport, Sam Kagarise has taken a more reserved tact toward success during his prolific wrestling career at Bunn High School.
Kagarise isn't a big talker, and he isn't one to bring attention to himself.

ROCKY MOUNT -- Frankinton continues to make an upward move in the Big East Conference boys basketball standings.
Now, the next step is to finish off some games with victories instead of tough losses -- an intangible that was evident Tuesday during the Red Rams' road outing against potential powerhouse Rocky Mount.

GREENVILLE -- Last weekend provided a down time for some teams between the Big East Conference's dual and individual championships -- but not the Franklinton Red Rams.
While some of their peers took the weekend off, the Red Rams were in action last Saturday at the Greenville Rose Rampant Duals in Pitt County.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton entered the season as one of the favorites for a top spot in the Big East Conference girls basketball standings.
But midway through the league schedule, the Lady Rams don't find themselves among the Big East's elite.
Instead, they will need a strong finish simply to qualify for the Class 3-A State Playoffs -- something that appeared to be a certainty heading into the campaign for Coach Matthew Hockaday's veteran squad.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton entered the season as one of the favorites for a top spot in the Big East Conference girls basketball standings.
But midway through the league schedule, the Lady Rams don't find themselves among the Big East's elite.
Instead, they will need a strong finish simply to qualify for the Class 3-A State Playoffs -- something that appeared to be a certainty heading into the campaign for Coach Matthew Hockaday's veteran squad.

LOUISBURG -- The fourth quarter was the difference as Louisburg High School delivered a key 55-48 victory over rival Bunn in Northern Carolina Conference boys basketball action at historic Taylor Center on the campus of Louisburg College. Bunn led 37-35 going into the final, but Louisburg went to a zone defense to start the frame -- and the move paid immediate dividends.

WILSON -- Franklinton High School will make its annual appearance at the annual Brittany Girls Soccer Showcase, which will be held March 13 and 14 at Gillette Park in Wilson.
The Lady Rams, under the direction fo head coach Jared Miller, will play March 14 at 4 p.m. versus Pitt County South Central on Field Seven.

LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College men's basketball defeated Catawba Valley Community College at Roger Taylor Arena this weekend 92-81 in Region X action.
The Hurricanes got off to a good start early leading 12-8 after 4 minutes, but by halftime Catawba Valley had taken the lead 40-36.
"Catawba Valley raced the ball down the floor and made everybody do their job in transition, and that set the tone for a good college basketball game," said LC Coach Bryan Bagwell. "Coach Garmroth's teams always play physical and make you do your work early around the rim."

Franklinton High School's Jackson Lusk (left) clamps down on a hold against a Havelock wrestler during last Saturday's action at the Greenville Rose Rampant Duals.

Prescription medications are a necessity for many people. The American Academy of Family Physicians says that, each week, four out of five adults in the United States will use prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs and/or various supplements. Approximately one-third of adults take five or more medications at the same time.

Joyce Cooke (left) and Elizabeth Shipmon all dressed up at the Barn Dinner Theatre.

Santa Yarborough snaps a photo with Barbara Peten during a Christmas party at the Louisburg Senior Center.

Senior Games is a holistic approach to keeping the body, mind and spirit fit while enjoying the company of friends, family, spectators and volunteers.
The opening ceremony to kick off this year's event will be Tuesday, March 27, at 9 a.m. in Warren County.

HENDERSON -- Two Franklin County residents, one posthumously, are slated to be recognized for their civic action.
During its Feb. 8 Social Action Luncheon: Preserving Our Legacy ... Preserving Our Democracy, the Oxford-Henderson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will present Bobbie Richardson and Rosanell Eaton with awards for their work.

YOUNGSVILLE -- A Wake Forest man is slated to appear in court next week on charges that he tried to abduct a Franklin County teenager.
According to authorities, two teenage girls were walking in the area of Cureton Drive the evening of Jan. 19 when a man riding a bike tried to get their attention.
The two girls kept going and attempted to get away from the man, later identified as William Richard Mims, 51, of Wake Forest.

LOUISBURG -- The case against a Zebulon-area man remains pending.
Deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff's Offices' Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip, authorities said, and they, along with the State Bureau of Investigation's Computer Crimes Unit began an investigation.

FRANKLINTON -- Sheriff's deputies are looking for a suspect in a non-fatal shooting.
Officers responded to the 100 block of Peach Street the afternoon of Jan. 25 to find a 19-year-old who had wrecked his vehicle. He was also suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies continue to look for a suspect in an armed robbery.
A man reported the afternoon of Jan. 22 that an acquaintance reached out to him to borrow $10.
When the acquaintance arrived at the man's Inglewood Drive home -- which is north of the town of Louisburg -- the suspect had a gun and stole $40.

A Franklin County woman, Tammy Raynor Petrosillo, received international attention recently with this tea towel she purchased from The Radical Tea Towel Company in the United Kingdom. She took the towel to Washington, D.C. as part of the recent women's march and got a photo made in front of the U.S. Capitol. She then posted it on social media and almost immediately it was picked up and reposted on several sites.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton police are looking for a man they allege robbed a sweepstakes cafe.
According to authorities, a man identified as Antoine Carlos Alston was inside the Skillz Internet Café when an attendant left open the door to a cash cage.
Investigators allege Alston walked into the cage, grabbed a bank bag with an undisclosed amount of money and ran from the scene at the Junction Plaza Shopping Center before 10 p.m. on Jan. 25.

Louisburg fire crews and other first responders evacuated the Walgreens at the intersection of Burke and Bickett boulevards just before noon on Wednesday. Workers at the store reported that they smelled gas in the store. Employees and customers were ordered out of the store as firefighters checked the building to determine the source.