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FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Residents will be given a chance to weigh in on four newly proposed redistricting maps, two of which would double bunk commissioners Kelli London and Mark Speed.
And, based on a crude map comparison, School Board members Bernard Hall and Elizabeth Keith, who also represent Districts 1 and 3, respectively, could be double bunked in all four of the map drawings.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County's school students will be required to wear masks for at least another month, partly because the overall local vaccination rate of 48 percent is far below the 70 percent goal that health officials say is necessary to break the pandemic.
Other factors also are troubling, including that 32 percent of recent new cases of COVID-19 documented in the county were in those 17 and under.

BUNN -- Town commissioners approved a COVID-19 sick leave policy for all its employees, listened to a pitch to provide liquor by the drink in town, and hatched a plan to, again, rid the town of buzzards.
During the board's September meeting, Town Clerk Pamela Perry presented commissioners with a resolution detailing changes to how town employees could access sick leave related to COVID-19.

Since legendary Franklinton Coach Lester Wilder passed away during the early days of the pandemic, his friends and supporters have been searching for a way to honor and preserve his memory. While getting formal approval from the Franklin County Board of Education Monday night, FHS Principal Russell Holloman unveiled this graphic that is to be painted on the floor of the Franklinton High School gym and paid for by FHS athletic supporters.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton Elementary School can be saved -- including the iconic gym with its wooden barrel vault ceiling -- but it will come at a price and after a couple of years of extreme disruption at the school.
The estimated price tag for three options for renovating the aging school ran from about $43.4 million all the way up to just a bit over $48 million -- although these totals were described as preliminary and likely on the high side.

Volleyball fanatic Landon Hicks

There was some good news, some bad news and, potentially, some life-threatening news in the lead story in last week's edition of The Franklin Times.
The good news is that this long-simmering situation is now officially out in the open where it can be discussed -- and hopefully solved -- if only county officials are willing to do so.

In June of 2018, the town of Franklinton was staring growth in the face.
To put it more bluntly, growth was beaming down on the town and daring it to make a move.
So, they called upon the help of the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center because, as Commissioner Anita Fuller said at the time:

Dear editor:
In response to the well written letter by Mr. Radcliffe. The main concern I have with shutting down the Keystone XL Pipeline is that one person with the stroke of a pen can destroy that many jobs. It is obvious that with increasing demand for petroleum products that the completion of the pipeline would benefit the citizens of the United States.

LOUISBURG, NC - Lloyd Johnson Burnette, 89, of Louisburg, passed away Thursday morning Oct. 7, 2021 at his home.

FRANKLINTON, NC--Macklin Dennis Cheatham, 63, of Franklinton, died October 10, 2021. He was born in Vance County on July 11, 1958 to Rose Marie Hope Cheatham and the late Owen Cheatham.

Paul Leighton Garrison, (Jinx) 75, of Louisburg, NC went to Heaven on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at home with his family present, after a long and courageous battle with Leukemia, Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia.

On October 10, 2021 the world lost a bright light, Robert M. Mills. Robert was born June 16, 1987 in Raleigh, North Carolina to Rodney and Lisa Mills.

BUNN -- Aside from a rare own goal, it's impossible to score in soccer without possessing the ball.
And that's the main reason the Southern Nash Firebirds are currently two games ahead of their nearest competitor in the Big East Conference boys soccer standings.
Southern Nash relies on a relentless possession game -- one that keeps the ball off the feet of opponents for minutes at a time.

LOUISBURG -- Franklinton's message at halftime of Friday's Franklin County football showdown at Louisburg was simple -- 24 minutes to get it right.
During the opening half, the Red Rams had experienced plenty of success at the line of scrimmage, but were plagued by penalties and missed opportunities.
But that was not the case in the second half as FHS was nearly flawless down the stretch en route to registering a 21-6 victory over the Warriors in Big East Conference action at the LHS Football Field.

ROCKY MOUNT -- The 2021 Big East Conference volleyball season continues to defy logic and expectation.
That assessment was reinforced last Thursday as Nash Central hosted Bunn with a share of first place on the line in the ultra-competitive league.
The occasion was an emotional moment for the fired-up Lady Bulldogs, who were celebrating Senior Night.

BUNN -- Southern Nash went to its powerful ground attack to take control last Friday against Bunn -- and then made a pair of rare visits to the air to finish the job.
Tralon Mitchell rushed for four touchdowns in the opening half before Brock Alford teamed up with Jackson Vick on two TD passes as the Firebirds earned a 42-14 road decision at Bunn in a Big East Conference football matchup.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- There will be one change to the Franklin County football schedule this week as Louisburg will now host Roanoke Rapids today at 7 p.m.
The game was originally slated for Friday but has been pushed up and will have plenty of implications in the Big East Conference.
The two other Franklin County matchups will go on as scheduled Friday -- and both will be Big East Conference events.

Bunn's Camryn Rice (left) rises for a block attempt during last Thursday's volleyball victory at Nash Central.

Louisburg High School's Jeremiah Eddie tries to find some running room while being pursued by Franklinton's Travon Sharps during last Friday night's prep football showdown.

Southern Nash High School's Gamliel Mendoza (left) tries to shake the defense of Bunn's Liam Catalan-Escamilla during Monday afternoon's Big East Conference match at the BHS Soccer Complex.

Southern Nash's Raul Nunez (right) elevates to maintain possession against Bunn's Eliu Catalan-Escamilla during Monday afternoon's soccer match.

FRANKLINTON -- Authorities arrested a Franklinton man on gun charges.
Colm William Martin, 24, of Green Hill Road, was charged Oct. 9 with possession of a firearm by a felon, assault by pointing a gun and injury to personal property.
He is next slated to appear in court on Oct. 25

YOUNGSVILLE -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies are looking for suspects in a vehicle break-in.
The incident was reported the afternoon of Oct. 8 in the 100 block of Falls Creek Drive near Youngsville.
It was not clear in the log whether the vehicle was locked, or not.

LOUISBURG -- Early voting begins Thursday for the 2021 municipal elections.
Voters in Bunn, Franklinton, Louisburg, Youngsville and the parts of Wake Forest that creep into Franklin County can begin casting ballots at 8 a.m. today at the new board of elections office, located at 279 S. Bickett Boulevard in Louisburg -- the old Walmart building.

LOUISBURG -- Last week's superior court session included four cases that resulted in someone's death, concluding some and continuing others.
During the case management session that began Oct. 6, Deandre Blacknall pled guilty to felony death by motor vehicle and driving while impaired.
In November 2019, authorities charged Blacknall with felony death by motor vehicle, driving while impaired and reckless driving to endanger following a head-on collision that killed 63-year-old Jimmy Stallings.

LOUISBURG -- Authorities arrested a South Hill, Va., man on gun and drug charges.
Levante Williams, 25, was charged Oct. 8 with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of Schedule II controlled substance.
Williams is next slated to appear in court on Oct. 26.

The first step toward ending "street walking" near Louisburg High School was taken Monday night.
The Board of Education agreed to cost-share the engineering work to eventually construct a sidewalk along Allen Drive, past Louisburg High all the way to the school's new athletic field.