Lawn chairs start showing up every Wednesday morning beginning the week of Fourth of July at Franklin's Bandstand Park. Folks show up with the sunrise to mark out their spot on the lawn. All day more chairs show up and if you drive by in the afternoon you notice a sea of colorful seats but hardly anyone around except for Jeff Corbett and his crew setting up sound and lights in the bandstand.

It isn't until around dinner time that folks start parking their derrieres in this seats to get ready for a full night of spectacular voices singing songs from Disney classic to country standards, a gospel tune or too and often Sinatra tune's are done in 

It is Taste of Talent time! 

But the show begins long before then... in fact it starts now. The release of the audition packets for hopeful contestants is now available. The showcase of twelve vocalists draws hundreds of spectators each week and offers prize money for those who make the finals over a month later. It is one of the premiere evenst of the Franklin Fine Arts Council and is free to the public. 

The competition is open to individual soloists aged 16 and older. Audition packets are available by going online to www.franklinpa.gov/events or calling 814-437-1922, ext. 1123 or emailing rbeith@franklinpa.gov. Packets and the $25 registration fee should be submitted by May 16. 
​
The dates for this year's competition will be Wednesdays, June 29, July 6, 13, 20 and 27 at beginning at 7 p.m.  Then the day sifts to Saturday, August 5 for the semi-finals also at 7 p.m.
The finals will be held the next dayat 4 p.m. Sunday, August 7 immediately following the Taste of Franklin festival. 

According to the Franklin Fine Arts council the winner of the month long competition will receive $1,000 thanks to a sponsorship by Franklin-Oil Region Credit Union. Prize monies totaling $200 ($100 cash and $100 in Franklin Retail gift certificate) will be awarded to the other three semi-finalists. 

Whatever the day held for others, whatever it held for angels and whatever the numbers mean, at Valley Grove it was a great excuse for fun. So that is worth taking note of the calendar event for sure.

This whole week is being called a palindrome week where each date reads the same forward and backwards. What a great way to teach a word many adults don't even know when it so well illustrated so it can really sink in. (Maybe the kids can teach it to their parents so they won't confuse palindrome with metronome like the photographer often does.)

​Tuesday's palindrome just happened to be all twos. What fun.

Sidenote: One little girl made my day today. She said photo in perhaps the most adorable way, I thought she might be British but forgot to ask. She asked, if I heard her right, "Can I buy a Fo-toe?"
And then, if that wasn't enough she came cack to ask me if I saw her jump (fo-toe above near the top of this story). I told her I did, I took her picture and she did great.
A few seconds later she came back to show me a scratch on her hand. I asked, "Oh you got scratched, are you ok," I thought maybe she was asking me for help even though it was a real superficial scratch. She said she got it at home but couldn't remember how. Then she asked the greatest thing ever - "Do you want to take a picture of it so you can remember it later?"

Why yes, yes I do,!" Kids are great reminders that life is way more fun than we make it out to be with all our series nonsense. 

Sidenote two: See what I'm doing here? I really wish I thought to ask if I could go back to the classroom to make my own hat since it is my birthday. That would've been a fun thing to do.

With the "feels-like" temperature having around three degrees, Two Mile Run County Park manager Luke Kauffman said he hadn't planned on jumping in the water this year. But when he saw how many people came out he changed his mind. The annual Polar Plunge fundraiser for the park drew one of its biggest crowds yet despite the chill in the air.

In his pre-plunge instruction, Kauffman asked folks to walk, not run and listen to their bodies. Safety folks were on hand and the Oil City Fire Department scuba rescue team was in the water to be sure everyone was safe.

Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce director Jodi Baker Lewis, a huge supporter for the event, got in about to her knees, said "nope," then turned around and walked back out. "Whoever said that 'when the air is cold the water will feel warmer' lied," said Central Elementary School gym teacher CP Mooney who went all in. 

The teeth chattering echoed across the frozen pond.

The county commissioners supported the event too. Sam Breene said it wasn't too bad until he realized his shoes were beginning to turn to ice. "There was definitely the warning signs of frostbite going on," he said while changing his shoes in a car. He later admitted he was ok as he sampled hot soup in the park's warm Nature Lodge. Breene said since he told the newspaper he would do it he had no choice and his late mom Marty Breene, a well-known local political figure, would think he was nuts.

Chip Abramovic, who has also recently rode a bull, seemed to take his first plunge in stride.  He donned a pair of patriotic American flag shorts and went full-in. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," he said as he stood around gathering his things on the beach. Abramovic said there was a significant amount of county employees at the event, so they took a group picture.

Mike Dulaney, the commissioner who supported the event fully clothed and from the shore, jokingly said "one of us has to have a brain." He asked Kauffman at what temperature does an event like this get cancelled, Dulaney said the bar is set around the 0 mark. "We're at three degrees," Delaney said with little shoulder shrug.

All three commissioners were happy to support the event, especially since they survived.

Flooding and ice are causing closures and dangerous spots along our roadways in the region. High winds are also wreaking havoc with the warning signs blowing over and snow being pushed onto plowed roadways. 

Motorists are being urged to use extreme caution and be on the look out for and obey warning signs. A road closed sign, means just what it says, the is road closed not for your inconvenience but for your safety.

Attempts to circumvent these signs can cost motorist hefty fines, especially when the vehicle gets stuck in the high water requiring assistance. This also creates dangerous situations for rescue workers. And if that is not enough to keep one from trying to go through high water, bear in mind, you don't know if the roadway is even intact underneath the water. The cost to your vehicle added on to the fines adds up to a worse day than just going around.

​Motorists can check www.511PA.com for the latest updates on flood-related closures and restrictions. 
Or use google maps or similar gps that are up-dated with road closures and can find safe roads to travel on.

Also be aware of spots where the snow gets blown back onto the road causing surprise hazardous road conditions. (As a visual reporter who has to brave these conditions when necessary to inform the public I can tell you these spots get pretty hairy at times and extremely nerve rockingly dangerous.)

Below are the latest road closures in the area from PennDOT.
​

Was this a STEM-based experiment of kinetic reaction?

No, it was the culmination of a fun week-and-a-half long "Randon Act of Kindness" food drive that involved the entire school. 

The brainchild of life-skills teacher Chelsea Hanna, the school created the challenge to see what classroom could bring in the most boxes of cereal.

The prize was a big-time incentive - a donut party.

​And the whole school, for their excitement and participation, will get a movie day, said principal K.C. Miller.

​Brooke Proctor's third-grade won the coveted donut party by bringing in 108 boxes.

Once all the students got into position the domino effect was set in motion. As the boxes fell cheers echoed in the hall. The sound of the kids having fun really struck Miller. "It is great to hear the kids like that, we haven't heard that in a while," he said, in reference to all the difficulties since the pandemic hit. "It is great we can do this again."

After the box drop, everyone pitched in to collect up all the boxes. They stacked them near the entrance of the school. "When [Hanna] asked me if we could do this, I really didn't think it would be to this scale," Miller said.
​
The 222 students collected 796 boxes

"It is just awesome," said Hanna.

The doctor harped on government and media influences that have painted him to be a whacko. He asked how many people still read the New York Times citing it as a pawn in the establishment game. Dr. Oz, who claims to not take any PAC money, asked the crowd "Why is Washington getting it wrong... do you think they are getting it wrong?"  

Oh hell yes... big time," someone in the crowd said as many of the attendees nodded or said similar things. "Oh big time," Oz replied.

Commissioner Sam Breene got the town hall meeting going with an introduction. The doctor then took over. Oz is very comfortable in front of a crowd, the long-time t.v. doctor boasted about his many Emmy's and other accolades. He then went straight into his long-standing fight with the establishment.

He pleaded with the crowd to not "be a mushroom, in the dark, in the manure."  He then spoke about his many battles with what he called organized medicine and big pharma. "I have scars to prove I have fought these battle," speaking about bad press and what he called pressure from the establishment.
He spoke at great length about healthy eating  and being wary of processed foods or overly pesticide- riddled fruits and vegetables. He claimed these were coming from oversees where U.S. standards are not maintained.

​He had broad claims about immigration issues and questioned President Biden's policy on the border. "Washington has different values than you and me," he told the largely Republican crowd.

He spent a little time on how he has been berated on his stance on alternative views regarding the controversial drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin. "I'm not claiming that [they] work," he said, but he wants further studies that he claims the powers that be are prohibiting.

He also suggested that the debt we have with China is something we don't need to pay back.

Oz spent a fair amount of his time explaining how he has been misunderstood and wrongfully accused as being dangerous and spreading false information. He denies this.

He then credited the local Republicans for supporting him. "You are taking a risk," he said. "Sam [Breene] is brave. All of you are brave, we have been silenced for too long."

He then called on everyone to spread the word. "All I ask is you tell others," he said

Oz certainly believes he is fighting an uphill battle in his bid for the U.S. Senate. "We can't be the land of the free, if we can't be the home of the brave, I'm asking you this now, because the country needs to be brave."

​He is hoping to reach Republicans for sure with his message, but he wants to also find those moderate democrats and independents. "We've tried plan B and it didn't work.... it is time to go back to plan A," he said invoking the core values that started this nation.

The Franklin girls softball players demonstrated much of those same attributes the boys basketball team did - great team work and gritty determination.
​Their outstanding pitcher battled through a late season line drive to the leg that made her mom wince from all the way up on top of the hill outside the fence.

In her discomfort she provided athletic trainer Becky Barnes with a laugh because she was more concerned that she hadn't shaved her legs than she was with the pain and swelling. That laugh and the team's deep run in the playoffs was certainly team of the year material. 

​They too were very fun to watch.

Franklin's baseball team was also, at times, quite a team. Their star pitcher, when on, was almost unhittable.

The team played like baseball was fun and not like it was work. They too enjoyed a chance to play on the road in the playoffs. However, it was one moment early in the season that stood out to us.

After the death of a player from neighboring Rocky Grove, a kid many of the Franklin players either played with or against in little league, they took a moment. The team stood in silence before their next game to honor that player, the players family and the community. Because it was the right thing to do even though no one from Rocky Grove even knew they were doing it.

​That was a class act and a fun thing for us to witness. Being a great team isn't just how you play the game, it is about how you respect the game, it's players and all the families involved.

In the fall, we at Eight & 322 admittedly got caught not paying attention. We truly didn't know what was happening quietly on the volleyball court at Rocky Grove. When we saw them play in a Franklin tournament  a little light bulb went off making us look at what they were doing. They appeared to play solid in that tournament so we looked up their standings.

They were undefeated! Wait... what?

So we chomped on some crow and sought the help of a very knowledgeable friend who truly knows volleyball to help us have a look at this team. Lisa Renwick came on board to provide some know-how and also noted this as a team to watch.
​
When we started our process of thinking about which team we wanted to highlight in this article, it was this team that first came to mind. A team that has been built from scratch over time by a determined coach with a love for his players. It took a few years but this team was two wins against West Middlesex away from winning the region. They were incredibly fun to watch and they showed poise and sticktoitiveness to win match after match. They still have a little way to go to compete in District 10 with the tough Crawford County teams and a talented West Middlesex who nearly went on to win the district.

Another team that caught us off-guard was the Cochranton Cardinal football team. In 2020 they didn't win a single game. Their coach quit last minute and frankly it looked as though the team was set-up for another zero and something season in 2021.
What no one guessed was the zero would be in the loss column. We admit we overlooked them as we covered Franklin and Oil City even though both those teams struggled all season.

What was happening just up route 322 a spell apparently was something for the history books. And we are sorry we missed most of it. Covering their final game in Saegertown showed us just how good this team under first year head coach Mike Feleppa really was. (By the way Feleppa should have been named coach of the year - this was the most incredible of stories you'll ever find.) This team fell short of a district title on a firgid night, but man, they were fun to watch.

Perhaps the most unexpected team on our list is the Franklin Knight's football team. How could a team that only won one game be considered for team of the year?

Franklin football hasn't had a winning record in a very long time. So how do they keep getting kids to come out?

That is where this team this year rose top the top in our thoughts. Coach Matt Turk invited Eight & 322 into the locker room to get to see some of the stories inside the story. He talked about this team as his family. He introduced us to a 125 pound kid who gives his all in practice and on the sidelines of games. His nickname is "Bug" and he sacrificed for his team in anyway he could to help. A chin strap was needed, "take mine," he'd say. He loves being a Franklin Knight.

​One senior, Austin Beatty, suffered broken vertebrae over the summer in an accident but he wasn't about to miss being on this team. Hoping to be a team leader and help future players understand the meaning of the Franklin Knight family, he led by grit and determination.

That is why the coach calls his team - family. It takes a lot of guts to play for a team with not much of a chance to win. Each week they end up on the losing end. Each week they show right back up to practice on Monday ready to prepare for the next game.

We can't say this team was fun to watch per se, but they were fun to get to know and hopefully witness the beginning of a growing program. They were proud to be a part of the legacy of being a Franklin Knight. That says something.

A team sport that doesn't always get much attention because it focusses so much on individuals is cross-country. Rocky Grove is a very fine cross country team and won districts once again and competed in Hershey doing quite well.

This team could easily be considered the team of the year. Eating chocolate bars on a between raindrops day in Titusville is normally enough.

​If you appreciate local storytelling like this or other stories on this website please consider becoming a sponsor/advertiser by emailing us at 8and322@gmail.com for details. #supportlocaljournalism

The multi-year project to redo Route 8 will continue with work now extending from the four lanes north of Polk Cutoff where the work on the four lanes ended last year to route 62 just north of the airport. Work is expected to begin this spring and continue through 2023.

The plans display to introduce the project is online only. On the link you will find a digital handout, digital plans, and an online comment form. The link will be available until March 1 for comments. This period is your time to provide input to the project. ​Those unable to access the information online may give feedback by contacting PennDOT Project Manager Matthew W. Hetrick, P.E., at mhetrick@pa.gov, or 814-678-7386.

​The project includes milling and repaving of the existing asphalt, drainage work, guiderail, signing and pavement markings. The traffic signal at the Pone Lane intersection will be replaced and a left arrow will be added for traffic turning from Route 8 southbound onto Pone Lane. A flashing beacon will be installed at the Polk Cutoff intersection.

During construction, traffic will be controlled by single lane closures and flaggers.

Any input from the public is welcomed.

Gavin, a former Oil City super, has a history with Franklin having filled in at the same interim position for approximately three months prior to the hiring of Loucks in 2020.

​Following the meeting, Loucks said he was excited about moving back home but thought he did some good things here. "We got good at online learning." Loucks' started his tenure after students were sent home due to Governor Tom Wolf's COVID mitigation policies. "He started with empty classrooms," Backer said.

​"I fell in love with Franklin." he said after Monday's meeting. He also said he didn't intend for the school board to find out about his new job the way they did. "I wanted to tell the board face-to-face," he said, blaming the speed of the internet. A screen shot of the Altoona Mirror's print edition circulated among community members last Thursday, a copy of which made it to Backer early in the morning. Backer knew nothing of Loucks accepting of a new position until reading that article. Backer said late Thursday night that she wished she would've found out differently.

Under his contract he is supposed to give a 90-days notice unless a shorter time is otherwise agreed upon. Loucks gave the board his formal letter of resignation on Friday, which means he could have stayed as long as May 11. Instead, the board OK'd his resignation to begin right away. "It's been rough," Backer said of the last few days.

Backer said the board will enlist the help of the Pennsylvania School Board Association in the search for Franklin's next superintendent. Loucks had come from a recommendation from this board. "He said all the right things," Backer said of Loucks' interview two years ago.

Monday the board voted to move forward. "We are going to get someone here now that is good for the district and good for the kids," Backer emphasized.

Lt. Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman visited the Venango County Democrats Saturday on a whirlwind tour of some northwestern Pennsylvania counties.

"You're the real superstars here, you're the ones who get it done day in and day out. You're the ones who might lose friends," he said, acknowledging it is tough being a Democrat in Venango County. "I know this is a red county." He noted seeing the pro-Trump and "(Expletive) Biden" signs in front yards all over during his journey Saturday in Clarion, McKean, Warren and Venango counties. He also visited Bulter County after his stop in Venango.

​Dressed in athletic shorts and a hooded sweatshirt, Fetterman thanked the 45 people at the dinner meeting for their interest in his campaign. "Every vote counts. My story started because of one single vote," he said telling the story of how he won by only one vote in his first primary race for mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania in 2005. "I know whose vote it was," he said with a laugh assuring the crowd that he did vote for himself. But the politician known for wearing mostly black attire credits a constituent  who took time off work to vote as the reason that he won.

Fetterman stressed the need to raise the minimum wage and poked a few jabs Sen. Pat Toomey, who voted against the federal infrastructure bill but appeared at several places where the money is being awarded. 

​As he met with the county Democrats, he took time to listen to concerns about nursing shortages and education. He also took time to take several pictures with those in attendance.

He told the crowd that he will fight to raise the minimum wage, expand healthcare, support unions and focus on more American manufacturing, women's rights and things he called core values. "I don't know if you would call them Democrat [only issues], but I would call them the right [issues.]" he said. "I'm just someone who believes in what fairness is and what fairness looks like."

Fetterman was accompanied by his "Valentine", wife Gisele, who gladly offered a few jokes at his expense  contributing to the laid-back atmosphere. 

The lieutenant governor is hoping to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey. Fetterman unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for the same seat in 2016, when he was a relative unknown across the state. He was a four-term mayor in Braddock, where he oversaw the cities revitalization. He has been lieutenant governor since 2019 under Gov. Tom Wolf.

The May primary election is May 17.

​Below is a list of all the current candidates with a link to their bios, website or stories done on them.

Editor's note: A minor one day change to Loucks' final day was corrected below.

Franklin superintendent Mark. Loucks officially submitted his letter of recognition  to the Franklin School Board president Sabrina Backer and vice-president Andy Boland early afternoon Friday. This paves the way for the board to put the item on Monday's meeting agenda and begin the process of hiring his replacement.

Loucks' contract with Franklin states he must give 90 days notice unless shorter time frame is agreed upon, Backer said. 90 days brings Loukes contract to May 11. According to an Altoona Mirror article yesterday "[Loucks] will start a 2.5-month transition period as [Claysburg-Kimmell] superintendent-elect, effective May 2, according to board documents."

Backer said Loucks has not asked for a shorter term at this time.

He was about half way through his four-year contract with Franklin,  which was not set to expire until June 30, 2024. Loucks previously served as the superintendent of the Forbes Road School District, an elementary school principal in the Claysburg-Kimmel School District among other positions he's held in education.

The board will meet on Monday at 7 pm in the Franklin High School library.

Loucks has not responded to Eight &322's request for a comment as yet. 

Read yesterday's story about Loucks' surprising decision leave and how the school board found out here. 

Nearly five years has passed since Emily Bookwalter's twin sister Jessica died after a long battle with a brain tumor. Thursday, on their birthday, Central Elementary School celebrated in a caring way towards others.

Back in December, Emily put out a request on social media for folks to start collecting their aluminum pop can tabs.

She wanted to do something for other families who are suffering through the pains of living with illness like her twin sister and family endured.

The Ronald McDonald House in Pittsburgh helps give families a place to stay as their loved one is in the hospital. The house collects aluminum pop tabs they then recycle for money to help provide this service.

Emily's post through her mom Michelle's profile on Facebook was noticed by her teachers at school. The twins were in the first-grade there when Jessica died. Emily is now an honor roll student in the sixth grade.

The school held a contest to make the charitable function a little more fun. The winner was to receive an ice cream float party. And the students and staff took it seriously.

"This is crazy, one kid brought in a 50-pound dog food bag full of them," Emily said waiting for the school-wide assembly to begin. The assembly celebrated their accomplishment and showed off the bag after bag of these shiny tabs.

Emily and Jessica's parents, Michelle and Chris Bookwalter said they will take the tabs to Pittsburgh soon.

"I was blown away by the number of tabs collected," teacher Shawn Hawke said at the assembly. "Each tab means something." She then read class by class how much was collected. From one pound all the way up to 97 pounds, the entire school collected nearly 500 pounds.

Principle Gary Canfora told the kids, "you did a wonderful job helping other families."

Michelle Bookwalter said it is really overwhelming the support she and her family has received.

The school sang "Happy Birthday" to Emily and Jessica at the end of the assembly and Hawke reminded Emily that "Central Elementary was behind you 100 percent of the way" in her goal to collect as many tabs as she could.

Some parents and teachers also asked area businesses to collect the tabs.

​The Bookwalters said they aren't done and anyone who wants to continue collecting the tabs can do so. Hawke said they can contact her at the school and she'll make sure the tabs get to them.

The Ronald McDonald House website states that approximately 1,128 tabs equal one pound. Each pound then equals between 40 to 50 cents. So Central collected over half-million tabs. The tabs will bring between $200-300 for something that would otherwise be tossed away or recycled for no money. This will assist families who could use a little help in a very trying time, just like the Bookwalters nearly five years ago.

Franklin School board president Sabrina Backer was in a meeting this morning when she received a text - a screenshot of a newspaper article from the middle of the state.

The Altoona Mirror front page story focused on the hiring of a new superintendent in the Claysburg-Kimmel school district. The name was a familiar one to Backer because it was Mark Loucks, the current superintendent of the Franklin Area School District.

This was news to Backer - as well as her  colleagues.

​"Every board member I talked with today was shocked," said Backer.

According to the Mirror article, published today (February 10) "Loucks said that he is looking forward to becoming a part of Claysburg again." They then quoted him saying "You never visit Claysburg, you become part of Claysburg." 

Backer said she talked with Loucks this morning and he confirmed the article's authenticity. She asked him for a formal letter of resignation and followed up with an email request. As of early evening, she had not received the letter.

Backer said the school board cannot proceed with looking for a replacement without the letter. She hopes to have the resignation in hand before the end of business Friday so the board can put the matter on the agenda for Monday's meeting.

Loucks became Franklin's super in March 2020, right when the pandemic forced school shutdowns across the state. Backer said when Louck's was hired there were three finalists for the position.

She said the board will have to decide whether to seek out their own candidate replacement or if they will work through the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for search assistance. She said the Franklin board wants to get the process going as soon as possible because it can take time to find a superintendent.

For now they await the resignation letter and are processing the unexpected news. "I wish the way we found out wasn't from an article in the Altoona Mirror," Backer said.

After it was published, retired long-time sports editor for The Derrick, Penny Weichel, seemed to get a kick out of it. She made the following post on her great website about local sports route8rivalry.com with a fun reflection about sports, photographic and cultural history.

game. Weichel sees the importance of recognizing all the components that make up why youth sports is important beyondd just a game.

​Thank you Penny. We enjoy taking note of and documenting all life in the community of high youth sports and it is fun for us when people take notice and share.

​And thank you Alex and the Rocky Grove basketball team for sharing this fun with us. Maybe coach will even join in on the final selfie?

Story and photographs by Sydney Herdle

​A group of therapy dogs are helping make the “ruff” times better for area kids through a new reading program at the Franklin Public Library.
 
The Paws 4 A Cause program kicked off Saturday morning as part of the Franklin on Ice festival. A trio of dogs and their owners visited the library’s children’s section to visit with young readers, including Karen Dahle with Tally, Amanda Reisinger with Abbey and Joanna McElhattan with Gus.
 
​McElhattan said the Paws 4 A Cause folks are happy to be back holding therapy dog sessions. Although the dogs and their handlers normally stop by schools, universities, nursing homes and other community events they have been hampered because of the COVID pandemic.
 
​Recently they were able to help at local UPMC children’s COVID-19 vaccine clinics and now resumed the library children's reading program.
    
More sessions of the program are planned at the library: Wednesday afternoons on February 9, 23 and March 9 from 5 to 6 p.m. and Saturday mornings on February 19 and March 5 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
​
​Franklin Public Library children’s coordinator Tracy Hilton said any kids who come to all six programs will receive a certificate and a prize.
 
To learn more about the program, visit pawsvenango.com or oilregionlibraries.org.   
 
The reading program is among the items included on the Eight & 322 Events Calendar, where readers can check out a variety of events happening throughout the region.

Franklin's Fountain Park has turned into an ice sculpture garden once again as Franklin on Ice kicked- off Saturday. Traditionally the sculptures remain up for a week or so, but are monitored everyday. Those that become unstable are toppled.

Visitors to the park are asked to remain on the walkways and be careful of the footing and snows melt and refreeze. Event coordinator Ronnie Beith said she believes this is the most snow they have had to contend with for Franklin on Ice.

Hundreds of visitors to the downtown park this weekend brought business to the downtown with several businesses experiencing a very busy weekend. "It was a good day, busy the whole time," said Joshua Knopp, who was helping cook and prepare meals at Coffee In Between this weekend.

The Franklin Rotary Club and the Barrow-Civic Theatre will present the 5th annual Celebration of Talent beginning tonight (February 5) at 7:30 p.m.

The event will be emceed by 2021 Taste of Talent co-champion Scott Gressley. 12 talented individuals will perform hoping for one of the five top-prizes including a $500 cash first prize.

Below are photographs from Friday's rehearsal run through of the songs , blocking and lighting.

View even more photographs of each performer at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p18623650

Kaylee Beck

Ashlynne Cornmesser

Reji Exley

Ethan Culp

Kayla Christine

Tim Craver

Jacob Hoffman

Wild Will Ion

Janice Irwin

Mandy Williams "TheHoopBear"

Julia Riggs

Reilly Martin

View more photographs of each performer at https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p18623650
But more importantly check them out tonight at 7:30 p.m.

​For a full story on the event Saturday that we did earlier this week on Eight & 322.

And don't forget to hashtag #franklinonice with the photos you want to share.