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LOUISBURG -- The Louisburg town council finalized its 2024-25 fiscal year budget during a 20-minute special Tuesday evening meeting although no one spoke during a public hearing on the budget held just prior to the council's discussion. The budget is unchanged from a draft version presented several weeks ago although council members did ponder some possible changes which ultimately were not included.
The town's general fund is balanced at $16,304,532 with about $4.8 million of that in the general fund.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Fire crews were able to knock down a weekend fire and nurse a family pet back to health.
No injuries were reported in the Saturday morning fire as heat indices hovered around the triple digits.
According to authorities, Youngsville fire crews responded to a home in the 100 block of E. Fleming Road to find it engulfed in flames.
The resident was outside cutting grass when the fire began, but a dog was inside, said Youngsville Fire Chief Brian Christmas.

FISHING FUN. Above, father and daughter Alex and Kolbie Alford show off the fish they plucked from the pond during the annual Take A Kid Fishing event hosted by the Northern Sportsman, Chris Edwards.

LOUISBURG -- Sheriff Kevin White said efforts to mitigate the opioid epidemic have gotten off to a successful start.
In the spring of 2018, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners joined a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies, alleging that they were responsible for an opioid epidemic that was killing tens of thousands of people in North Carolina.
When the $26 billion nationwide lawsuit was settled, in 2023, Franklin County received $3.2 million -- over 18 years -- to combat the problem.

YOUNGSVILLE -- The Youngsville Police department put its highest of policies up to scrutiny.
Earlier this month, a Public Safety Risk Management consultant with the N.C. League of Municipalities informed town officials that the department more than passed muster.
The Youngsville Police Department is the first in Franklin County to attain such distinction.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Law enforcement was a heavy topic during the most recent meeting of the town's board of commissioners.
Besides being recognized by the N.C. League of Municipalities for their policies, procedures and actions, the department recognized a new office, witnessed the promotion of two more and feted a department stalwart who earned leadership certification.
First, Mayor Fonzie Flowers swore in Andrew Tietz as the department's newest officer.

Levi Odom, NC Junior Disc Golf Champion, MJ 15 division

We may have mostly missed the much-ballyhooed cicada invasion this year, at least in the Mapleville area, but the sudden heat wave, not so much!
After an absolutely beautiful spring with lots of pretty days and low humidity, summer dropped in like a ton of bricks in the last few days.
Now, I like hot weather about as much as anyone, but it would have been nice of Mother Nature to have given us a little slower conversion from spring into summer instead of just setting the sun to "broil" and leaving it there.

Going back to the spring, at least, developers and builders have criticized Franklin County's water allocation process, calling it ambiguous and detrimental to development.
Offering a solution, they suggested that the county appoint a stakeholder group of commissioners, municipal representatives and members of the Franklin County Home Builders Association who would work to resolve the problem.

Dear editor: This link is to Mill Brook United Methodist Church in Raleigh's Church Bulletin MUMC, https://faithconnector.s3.amazonaws.com/3791/downloads/012524.pdf
In their church's bulletin's Racial Healing Corner on Page 11 is a review of my book "Brown - Skinned Boy."
My book is about my classmate and my experiences during school desegregation in Franklin County during 1966 and 1967.

Louisburg, NC-- Funeral services for Cynthia Annette "Turkey" Tucker, age 64, who died on Monday, June 24, 2024, will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, June 29, from the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg with Rev. Patricia McClean officiating.

RALEIGH, NC--Frank Junior Tant, III, 57, died June 21, 2024 at his home in Raleigh, NC.

Centerville, NC--Jane Smiley Griffin, 83, of Centerville died Friday, June 21, 2024. She was born on September 25, 1940 in Warren County to the late Bernard and Lillian Gibson Smiley. In addition to her parents, Jane was predeceased by her husband, Richard Laverne Griffin; brothers, Theodore "Ted" Smiley, Arthur Smiley, and B. P. Smiley; and a niece.

ROCKY MOUNT -- College student-athletes during the COVID Era were given the option to add a fifth year to their eligibility -- and few area athletes took better advantage of it than North Carolina Wesleyan's Davie Morgan.
A superstar second baseman who prepped at Bunn, Morgan was more than happy to accept the opportunity to return to NCWC for one more campaign this spring as a fifth-year senior.

BUNN -- Emily Winstead has opted to make the most of her final year of college softball eligibility -- and transfer to one of the nation's elite powerhouse programs.
After three successful seasons at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Winstead, a Bunn native who prepped at Rocky Mount Academy, has transferred to the University of Alabama.
The Crimson Tide went 39-20 overall this spring, winning Regional and Super Regional Tournaments to advance to the College World Series, where they posted a 1-2 worksheet.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- At least from an appendage perspective, there couldn't be two more divergent sports than soccer and bowling.
In soccer, touching the ball is not allowed -- unless you are a keeper.
But in bowling, it's all about the hands -- and that's something Geritt Coombs experienced plenty of this past winter as a member of the Barton College bowling team.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Given her vast experience as a track and field runner, Keagan Osika knows all about measuring distances.
And the 60-mile distance she undertook before the 2023-24 school year proved to be quite beneficial to Osika's career as a student-athlete. After one year at Mars Hill College, Osika transferred to Lees-McRae College, which is located one hour northeast from the MHC campus.

ZEBULON -- The homestanding Carolina Mudcats scored all five of their in the fifth inning as they came from behind to beat the Lynchburg Hillcats 5-3 on Tuesday night at Five County Stadium.
Carolina (44-25 overall, 3-1 second half) entered the fifth inning trailing 3-0 but sent 10 men to the plate and scored five times to take the lead off Hillcats reliever Jack Jasiak (L, 5-3).

When it comes to focus and memory, there is no denying the importance of brain health. While several factors influence cognitive function, the foods we eat on a daily basis are a crucial part of keeping our mind sharp. There are many nutrients that can help support brain health-one that is found in fruits and vegetables is anthocyanins. Compared to other commonly consumed fruits, berries are uniquely high in anthocyanins, plant compounds that are responsible for their vibrant blue, red, and purple color.

Jonathan Roberson helps his son, Colton, cast a line into a pond during the Take A Kid Fishing event on June 15.

Eli Faulkner, center, holds onto a catch as he's joined by Silas Faulkner and Willow Leonard for a photo opportunity.

Liam Clark shows off a catch, but it wasn't a fish. He found a snake around the pond.

LOUISBURG -- The State Highway Patrol is investigating two fatal weekend wrecks -- one near the Vance County line and another along one of the county's main thoroughfares.
The first was a head-on collision reported along U.S. 401 near E.F. Cottrell on June 22.
The State Highway Patrol confirmed the wreck resulted in a fatality, however, details were not immediately available.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Two Franklin County women visited the White House last week, taking part in a landmark judicial victory for people with disabilities.
In June 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.