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LOUISBURG -- The long-awaited athletic complex for Louisburg High School is on track for a summer construction start -- but one big "if" remains.
Yet if that project is on track, another -- a seemingly small renovation project at Youngsville Elementary School -- has hit a snag.
The Louisburg High project, which includes a new football stadium, track and other amenities, is out for bids after a May 8 pre-bid conference with contractors.

LOUISBURG -- Town residents won't see a property tax increase in the new fiscal year in the proposed budget being considered, but the cost of water may go up for some and the cost of owning vehicles will increase, although the amount of that increase has not yet been determined.
The Louisburg Town Council met in a late afternoon session on Tuesday to comb through the proposed budget presented by Town Administrator Jonathan Franklin and his staff.

LOUISBURG -- County staff and officials, along with parks and recreation advocates, marked the soft opening of a new county park with a ribbon cutting on Monday.
A grand opening is slated for later in the year.
Monday's festivities, though, marked the first official opening of the park -- complete with a fishing pond and other amenities -- to the public.

LOUISBURG -- Crosscreek Charter will break ground next week, starting the clock on plans to move into a new school facility.
According to the school, the campus construction loan was finalized in April and work on the 20-acre site on East River Road will start soon.
When completed, the site will be home to 360 students, all on one campus.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Commissioners approved a budget that increases town revenues and expenses from last year, provides more pay and resources for employees and raises some fees.
The budget also lowers the tax rate by half a cent.

LOUISBURG -- A town employee is the winner of the North Carolina Rural Water Association's 2019 Al Deratt Award for Excellence in Wastewater.
The award was to be presented late Wednesday to Jimmy Ellington, a Louisburg employee for more than 25 years, who currently manages the town's Water Reclamation Plant which is underging a multi-million dollar renovation project that he is overseeing.

Neil Dixon and his son, Wells (a future Reds fan)

I suppose we should all be celebrating the opening of a new park after nearly a decade of planning, pontificating and endless delay.
But, first, take a look at the photo of one of the park signs just to the right -- and see if you see the same issue that jumped out at me the first time I saw the sign.
At the end of this column, I'll tell you what I saw -- and you can decide if you agree.

The pomp and circumstance has already begun.
And, it continues later this week.
Vance-Granville Community College, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, got the graduation ball going last week when about 500 students graduated from the two-year college with various associates degrees.

Dear editor: I notice when you delve into national politics your comments are consistently negative concerning the current administration, for example, President Trump, Vice President Pence and most recently Attorney General William Barr.

LOUISBURG--Betty Ann Chase Boerner, 81, of Lake Royale died Friday, May 10, 2019. The family will hold a private service.

NORFOLK, VA-- Funeral services for Lucy Mae Perry, 72, who died Sunday, May 12, 2019, will be held today, Thursday, May 16, at 12 p.m. in the Richardson Funeral Home Chapel in Louisburg. Burial will follow in the Perry family cemetery.

NASHVILLE--Funeral services for Zollie "Jim" Richardson, 83, who died Saturday, May 11, 2019, will be held Saturday, May 18, at 1 p.m. at Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hollister, with Pastor Robert Hedgepeth officiating. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery in Nashville.

BUNN -- Despite a myriad of individual and team successes over the past decade, one emphatic achievement has eluded the Bunn High School baseball program.
That would be a deep run in the state playoffs -- something the Wildcats hadn't done since the Bennie Franklin/Jimmy Tanner Era of the mid-2000s.
But that drought was ended Tuesday as the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight of the Class 2-A State Playoffs with a 2-0 third-round victory at Ledford near Thomasville.

LOUISBURG -- Erica Wammock's humble, reserved personality doesn't necessarily lend itself to confident guarantees -- though her coaching record at Louisburg High School could warrant such swagger.
Bold predictions, however, have never been Wammock's style, though she switched things up a bit before her LHS softball squad hosted Rosewood on Tuesday in the third round of the Class 1-A State Softball Playoffs.

BURLINGTON -- Turning a disappointing negative into a euphoric positive was the chief goal of the Louisburg College Lady Hurricanes heading into last week's Region X Softball Tournament.
One week earlier, LC had dropped three straight games at rival Pitt Community College with the league's regular season crown at stake.

FRANKLINTON -- Franklinton High School continues to answer the challenge of moving up to the Class 3-A level in track and field.
Last Saturday, FHS hosted the annual Class 3-A East Regional Championships, with the top-four finishers in each event advancing to this Friday's state meet in Greensboro.

LOUISBURG -- Kaylee Saunders' successful repeat as the Female Athlete of the Year was one of many highlights of Louisburg High School's Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony, which was held Monday at the LHS Auditorium.
Saunders, a senior who has starred in volleyball, softball and basketball for the Warriors, was joined on the podium by Male Athlete of the Year Drequan Dickerson.

BURLINGTON -- Five Louisburg College standouts have earned spots on the annual All-Region X Softball Team for the 2019 campaign.
Making the first team from LC were a trio of freshmen -- second baseman Sarah Hilton, outfielder Mason Hedgecock and third baseman Haleigh Joyner.
Louisburg's second-team picks were sophomore pitcher Mary Anna Clement and freshman first baseman LeeAnn Nobles.

WICHITA, KS. -- Jake Agnos tossed seven shutout innings, while Alec Burleson drove in four runs helping No. 8 East Carolina University to a 6-1 baseball win over homestanding Wichita State last Friday night at Eck Stadium in Kansas.
With the win, the Pirates clinched the American Athletic Conference regular season title and improved to 38-11 overall (17-2 AAC) and the Shockers dropped to 22-27 (6-13 AAC).

Louisburg College's Brittany Williams looks over a pitch for the Lady Hurricanes during last Friday's action at the annual Region X Softball Tournament in Burlington.

Bunn High School catcher Jackson Anderson prepares to tag out a Dixon baserunner during last Friday's playoff matchup on the BHS campus.

Marc Callahan, bass-baritone, and pianist Clara Yang will present selections of French songs as well as works of Zhou Long and Georges Bizet at Cherry Hill on Sunday, May 19.
The two musicians, both assistant professors in the music department at UNC-Chapel Hill, have collaborated to bring an afternoon of lyrical compositions to the 3 p.m. performance.

ANNUAL GOOD FRIDAY KUBOTA EVENT. Hundreds of people attended the Louisburg Tractor & Truck Kubota Field day event. The turnout was great, even with the rain and storms in the area. They had plenty of food, prizes and great deals. Above: Helping customers with door prize registration is McKenzie Wilkes (at left) and Arianna Egan.

ANNUAL GOOD FRIDAY KUBOTA EVENT. Hundreds of people attended the Louisburg Tractor & Truck Kubota Field day event. The turnout was great, even with the rain and storms in the area. They had plenty of food, prizes and great deals. Above: Kenley Woodlief, age 2 1/2, enjoys a ride on a toy tractor.

Franklin County Schools has selected Curtis Hayes to serve as the district's Director of Communications.
The position oversees communications for the district, including website content and design, social media campaigns and posts, crisis communications operations and planning, as well as the development of feature stories and news to highlight the people and events of the district's 16 schools.

A service award that's unique to Franklin County will honor the memory of three local people, each of whom made a difference in the community.
The Elizabeth May Service Award has been created in the name of a woman who unselfishly served the community for many years in a variety of capacities.
The award has been created by a foundation that also honors the memory of two other local people, Kay Foy (Culbertson) Robertson, who died June 6, 2011 as the result of an equestrian accident, and local businessman Willie Briggs Robertson, who died in December of 2017 at the age of 90.

LOUISBURG -- N.C. State football coach Dave Doeren will deliver the keynote address as more than 100 Louisburg College students take part in commencement exercises on Friday, May 17.
The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. in the Jones Performing Arts Center (JPAC).

RALEIGH -- Last week, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that 19 counties would receive almost $10 million to bolster Internet access.
Franklin County was not one of them.
That wasn't for a lack of effort, county leaders said.
The Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology program provides matching grants to help communities improve broadband service.

LOUISBURG -- Police arrested a Louisburg man in a stabbing case.
According to authorities, officers responded to a disturbance call in the 600 block of Kenmore Avenue just before 3:30 a.m. on May 12 to find a 36-year-old man at the corner of Kenmore Avenue and Edgerton Place bleeding.

Franklin County Farm Bureau recently added another location in Franklin County, at 680 U.S. 1, Youngsville. Ribbon cuttings were held by the Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and the Youngsville Area Business Association.