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LOUISBURG -- Tuesday night's primary election set up fall battles for three county commission seats, while Joe Biden carried Franklin County and the state based on unofficial results.
Results become official with the March 13 canvass.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County health officials are relying on history to prepare for a new threat.
The swine flu captured the world's attention in 2008.
The H1N1 pandemic took its place in 2009.

LOUISBURG -- Every day seems to bring a bit more information about the corona virus, more accurately known as COVID-19, that has now touched at least a dozen states in this country and is expected to spread across the country, leaving public officials scrambling to figure out what their response should be.
"We are in uncharted territory," said Franklin County Schools Superintendent Rhonda Schuhler this week when asked about how local schools are planning to react.

YOUNGSVILLE -- Youngsville and Wake Forest staffs have agreed to a legal solution to prevent what could have been a month-long zoning wild west in the town's outskirts.
And Franklin County is working to craft a long-term fix after an apparent miscommunication.

LAKE ROYALE -- Investigators were still trying to determine the cause of fire that torched a home in this gated community.
Bunn firefighters responded to the blaze at 100 Fawn Cove at about 4:35 p.m. on Feb. 27, finding the home fully engulfed.
One person suffered from a bit of smoke inhalation, fire officials said, but no other injuries were reported.

YOUNGSVILLE -- The State Department of Transportation installed a left-turn light at the intersection of Cross and Main streets -- part of an ongoing effort to improve traffic flow through town.
Almost without fail, traffic through the heart of town has been a subject of discussion by town officials, staff and the public for the past few years.

Bunn coach Parker Haake

Students at Franklin County's Early College High School could have a new building to call home soon -- and at minimal cost to county taxpayers.
Preliminary conversations have been going on for some time about replacing the aging and increasingly inadequate ECHS modular-style building that the school has about outgrown. That building is adjacent to the Franklin campus of VGCC on NC 56 West, Louisburg.

Look, I know how how some ideas can sound CRAZY at the time.
I'm sure that back in the 1950s, when bankers, builders and other leaders looked out at wooded areas and open fields between Durham and Raleigh and said -- this looks like a great place to put some state-of-the-art businesses and industry -- they were met with blank stares or, worse, laughter.

LOUISBURG -- In the veteran estimation of head coach Blake Herring, the Louisburg College Hurricanes are poised to make a serious run toward supremacy in the Region X baseball standings.
And it won't take long for Herring to find out where his team stands among the league's elite.

KINSTON -- During just about every game this season, there was a point when Bunn High School's girls basketball team had three freshmen on the court at the same time.
Despite their relative youth and inexperience, the Ladycats were still strong in 2019-20 under Coach Matt Keith, going 14-11 overall and 8-4 in the Northern Carolina Conference.

BUNN -- No matter where his coaching career takes him, Ty Howle will always have a soft spot for Happy Valley.
That's understandable because Howle, a former football star at Bunn High School, excelled for four seasons at Penn State University and eventually became a starting offensive lineman -- and All-Big Ten Academic standout.

DANVILLE, VA. -- For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the Methodist men's basketball team is USA South Athletic Conference champions, after defeating Huntingdon, 79-73, in the league's postseason tournament championship final last Saturday evening on the campus of Averett University.
Former Louisburg High School and Vance-Granville Community College standout Calvin Manley is a senior for the Monarchs and played a huge role in the championship quest.

LOUISBURG -- Following another successful weekend, the Louisburg College Lady Hurricanes are continuing to climb up the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Pool.
The Lady Hurricanes are now ranked sixth overall, which matches the highest number in school history.

BUNN -- For Bunn High School wrestling coach Parker Haake, there was only one blemish during an otherwise amazing 2019-20 mat campaign.
The Wildcats won the Northern Carolina Conference team crown for the second straight year, and sent two performers to the Class 2-A State Championships in Greensboro -- Jeremy Cope and Scottie Spencer.

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- Listed are Tuesday's results for the fourth round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's State Basketball Playoffs:

LOUISBURG -- The Louisburg College men's basketball defeated visiting Patrick Henry Community College on Monday by a 104-79 margin in the first round of the Region X Tournament at the Taylor Center on the LC campus.
The first half was even for most of the 20 minutes: 9-10 (16:00); 17-17 (12:00); 24-24 (8:00). By halftime Patrick Henry was able to gain a 2 point advantage.

Louisburg College's Dylan Benton tries unsuccessfully to avoid a tag attempt at home plate during Sunday's home doubleheader versus Cuyahoga Community College.

Former Bunn High School star Ty Howle went on to play center at Penn State University -- and is now returning to campus an an offensive analyst.

Former Bunn High School star Stephanie Williams is back for her junior season as a member of the North Carolina A&T State University softball squad. Williams has started in all 16 of the Aggies' games and is .293 with five doubles and six RBI. Her slugging percentage of .415 is a team best.

Full-time undergraduate students at N. C. State University are placed on the Dean's List upon meeting one of the following two qualifications: earning a semester average of 3.5 or better on 12 to 14 credit hours of coursework (for which grade points are earned) or earning a 3.25 or better on 15 or more credit hours of coursework (for which grade points are earned).

Kerr Vance Academy recently released their second quarter and first semester honor roll and headmaster list.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Commissioners is slated to meet soon to begin budget talks.
Already, county management and department heads have been working on the county's 2020-21 spending plan.
The March 12 session will allow commissioners to provide direction.

FRANKLINTON -- A group is hoping Franklinton is ripe for a small screen makeover.
And, even if it's not, residents who entered Franklinton into HGTV's Hometown Takeover contest hope the improvements they've suggested take root right here at home.

NEW BERN -- A Franklin County man was sentenced last week in federal court to spend more than 13 years in prison on gun and drug trafficking charges.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office began investigating Michael Jermaine Jackson's drug trafficking activities in September 2018.
According to informants, Jackson was selling heroin from his Wiley Road home in Spring Hope.

February was National Teen Dating Violence Month.
Parents may not believe teen dating violence is an issue but according to loveisrespect.org, one in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Detra Hunt, (left), youth and adolescent services project coordinator for Safe Space, and Maria Renteral, immigrant services project coordinator, are helping teenagers deal with the constant threat of dating violence.

The Franklin County Hunting Dog Association celebrated its second year in existence recently at the Louisburg Moose Lodge just east of Louisburg.
The Association received high marks from those in attendance and from the speakers.
The association is doing what it promised it would do, standing up for the ethical and humane treatment of hunting dogs and the hunting dog sport, organizers said.

LOUISBURG -- Authorities are looking for a suspect who escaped police custody.
According to Youngsville Police Chief Greg Whitley, during the early morning hours of March 1, an officer stopped Antwoine Alston for suspicion of impairment and, ultimately, arrested him for driving while impaired.

LOUISBURG -- A Mars Hill man is slated to appear in court next month after being arrested on drug trafficking charges.
Members of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office's Special Operations Group conducted a traffic stop on Feb. 4, resulting in the arrest of Peter John Dever and the seizure of 85 grams of ecstasy and 802 grams of marijuana.