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              PUBLISHED ONLINE JULY 17, 2025  •  VOL. 7, NO. 29             
Content produced by WINGATE LASSITER unless credited otherwise
(Click on highlighted link above to e-mail the editor


DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS PLACE?

It's Downtown Smithfield's Market Street as it appeared in the 1920s – a hundred years ago! This colorized view, made from a black-and-white photograph, looks eastward from Second Street. That's the Tuscarora Inn on the left, directly across the street from the Courthouse (out of sight to the right). Most of the storefronts seen here as well as the hotel are long gone. Vehicular traffic was just starting to build up in those early years of the automobile, but still not menacing enough to keep the lone horseback rider away. (From a Heritage Center postcard collection)
 

No more Smithfield candidates this week

After a flurry of filings to start with, no additional candidates for mayor or Town Council came forward during the past week. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the lineup remained the same as it was this time a week ago:

For Mayor of Smithfield
Andy Moore (incumbent)
For Town Council, District 1 (East Smithfield)
Gettys Cohen Jr. (This is the seat vacated by the recent death of Marlon Lee.)
For Town Council, District 2 (South Smithfield)
Elizabeth Anne Temple, Erin Keller, Sloan Stevens (incumbent)
For Town Council, District 3 (North Smithfield)
Travis Scott (incumbent), Abrilla O. Robinson
For Town Council, District 4 (West Smithfield)
David Barbour (incumbent), Doris Wallace

The deadline for candidates to get on the November ballot is noon this Friday.


Here's the schedule for appointment of interim council member

The Smithfield Town Council on Tuesday approved the process for filling its vacant District 1 seat in the wake of the death of Councilman Marlon Lee:

Applications will be accepted from now through 5 p.m. August 1. The mayor will announce the qualifying candidates at the council's August 5 meeting. A public forum for the candidates is tentatively scheduled for August 12, followed by the council's vote on the appointment at its August 19 meeting.

Whoever is chosen will fill the seat until December 2, when the winner of November's municipal election for that council seat and three others plus the mayor's chair will begin new terms in office. So far, Gettys Cohen Jr. is the only candidate who has filed for election to the District 1 seat.

DOWNLOAD the application form including instructions for submission>



Town Council wrestles with land-use decisions

The Smithfield Town Council spent the better part of Tuesday's three-hour meeting hashing out several unrelated land-use proposals – approving two of them and deferring decisions on two others:

Village on the Neuse – approval granted of the preliminary plat for a 117-lot residential subdivision beside Buffalo Road between Holland Drive and Smithfield Middle School. The vote was 4-1 with Councilman Travis Scott voting no after expressing concerns about storm-water drainage and fencing between the new subdivision and existing dwellings on adjacent Holland Drive. (He also voted against approval in December of the rezoning that allowed the project to advance. Absent from Tuesday's meeting was Councilman David Barbour.)

While the preliminary plat approved this week was based on the initial plan approved in December, the council added a new requirement that the developers "work with staff and the homeowners" to erect a fence behind the Holland Drive residences.

Responding to nearby residents' concerns about increased traffic, Planning Director Wensman reported that the N.C. Department of Transportation plans to add turning lanes on Buffalo Road at Holland Drive as well as a separate entrance into the new subdivision, which will have streets connected to Holland Drive.

Defending the developers' plan, attorney Jason Wenzel pointed out that the new subdivision's lots would be 8,000 square feet – twice the size of lots in the new East River subdivision farther north on Buffalo Road.


Stadler Station – approval granted for a change in the town's Unified Development Ordinance to increase the permissible height of buildings in B-3 business districts from 40 feet to 50 – a change requested by developers to accommodate a previously approved 168-unit apartment complex to be built off Components Drive behind Carolina Premium Outlets. The vote on that change was also 4-1, with Councilman Roger Wood dissenting.

Mr. Wood apparently agreed with Planning Board Chairman Mark Lane who told the council that members of his board were "all for the project" under consideration but didn't support raising the height limit for all potential buildings in B-3 zones. That ought to be determined "case by case," he said.

Speaking for the developers, attorney James Todd said the 40-foot limit would have required a flat roof for seven three-story apartment buildings being planned rather than pitched roofs as recommended by architects. He said flat roofs "would add over a million dollars" to the project's construction cost.

Planning Director Wensman told the council the town's staff "fully supports" raising the height limit to 50 feet "for economic development purposes" – in anticipation of a continued upsurge in interest among investors in apartment buildings here.


Clarius Park – decision postponed on a Chicago-based developer's request for Light Industrial zoning for almost 76 undeveloped acres beside US 70 Business West across from St. Ann Catholic Church.

Planning Director Wensman told the council his staff supports the change from residential to industrial zoning for the site since it's located close to existing industrial properties including the site of Studio TK, a manufacturer of office furniture.

But a group of residents in a nearby subdivision to the north objected. Mark Cooper said he and his neighbors chose to live there as "an area of peace and quiet." A trucking operation "is not a quiet little place," he said.

Speaking for the developers, Craig Dannegger said the proposed project would include a 30-feet landscaped buffer next to the subdivision and would keep stands of trees intact where practical, but he consented in the end to suspend Tuesday's hearing till next month to give developers and residents time to get together and discuss the proposal in more detail.

The acreage in question lies outside Smithfield's corporate limits yet within the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), which extends two miles beyond the town's borders. 


Mallard Crossing – hearing postponed till next month on the developer's request for a reduction in the number of housing units previously approved by the council for a subdivision covering 491 acres on both sides of Mallard Road between US 70 Business East and Brogden Road. The revised plan would reduce from 2,005 to 1,327 the number of units to be built. The revised total calls for 873 single-family houses and 454 townhouses.

 

Town manager's update on infrastructure works

Here are highlights from Town Manager Mike Scott's report this week to the Town Council (it's a regular addition to published meeting agendas):

• Removal of the "inlay brick" between sidewalks and curbs along Market Street in the heart of Downtown will resume next week. The old brick will be replaced by stamped concrete.

• Repaving of Outlet Center Drive will be complete with the installation of "traffic loops" within the next 10 days. The project is expected to come in about $1,500 under budget. (The contract with S.T. Wooten amounted to $875,511.)

• Repaving of South Third Street is scheduled to begin later this month. (Daniels Inc. will be paid $241,955 for that work.)

• Construction of a major sewer-line outfall extension in West Smithfield is scheduled to begin next week. (Of the project's total cost of $4.3 million, $2.7 million is funded by a federal Economic Development Administration grant.)

 






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Employment here remains above 124,000

After a record total of 124,452 in March followed by 124,446 in April, the number of Johnstonians holding jobs declined slightly in May to 124,049, producing a monthly unemployment rate of 3.1%, according to the latest report from the N.C. Department of Commerce. Johnston's jobless rate was 2.8% in April, 3.0% in May 2024. The statewide rate for May of this year was 3.6% while the national rate was 4.2%.
VIEW the state's May 2025 report covering all of North Carolina's counties>

 



Smithfield is observing Independent Retailer Month

Mayor Andy Moore read a proclamation at Tuesday's Town Council meeting denoting Smithfield's participation in the national observance of Independent Retailer Month in July. The proclamation states that "local independent retailers help preserve the uniqueness of the communities we call home and give us a sense of place" and that "the health of our economy... depends on our support of businesses owned by our friends and neighbors." The non-profit Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation requested the proclamation. READ more about this month's observance on the DSDC Facebook page> 
 


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 WHAT'S COMING UP 

Salvation Army offering "Christmas in July" free services
The "Resource Fair" continues from 10 a.m. till noon this Friday at the Smithfield headquarters at 306 North Bright Leaf Boulevard. The event offers free food, free hairstyles and haircuts, facials and manicures; and "Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be coming to town!"

"The People's Free Market" at Smith-Collins Park Saturday
Presented by Down Home North Carolina, a citizens' advocacy organization, the event featuring local minority-owned businesses is billed as "a chance to connect with neighbors and grassroots organizations, share what you can, and take what you need – no money involved." It will continue from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

County Commissioners will meet two times this Monday
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners will hold two meetings Monday:
At the 10 a.m. session, the board will conduct a public hearing on a Water & Wastewater System Development Fee Study. Other items on the agenda include expenditure of Opioid Settlement funds, an update on the county's plans for next year's "America250NC" celebration, and a discussion about a 4-H shooting site.
VIEW the complete agenda for the 10 a.m. session>
At the 6 p.m. session, the board will receive the "Final Report" on a master plan for new county office facilities, including a proposal for a new home for the Department of Social Services. Also scheduled are updates on water-supply options, the county's transportation plan, and revisions to the county's Unified Development Ordinance. VIEW the complete agenda for the 6 p.m. session>


NAACP supply drive to benefit Smithfield Rescue Mission
The Johnston County Branch will begin the drive at 6 p.m. next Thursday (July 24) at the Johnston-Lee-Harnett Community Action headquarters on East Massey Street. "We're collecting essential household items including cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and more to help individuals maintain a safe, healthy, and dignified living environment," notes the NAACP. Materials will be received through July 31. For more information, e-mail natasia.mclean@gmail.com>
 



  DEATHS AND FUNERALS  

Click on the name to read an obituary, usually posted by the funeral home:

JERRY WAYNE NICHOLS, 71 – died July 14

ANN BAILEY STALLINGS, 87 – died July 14

TERESA ANN HUGHES, 60 – died July 8

 



 A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR 

Health-care employment is booming in our region

And those of us aging "baby boomers" are a big reason for it. A visit to a medical clinic these days, for whatever reason, usually leads one into a large waiting room filled with all sorts of people; and the parking lots outside are packed with vehicles as far as one can see.

The Raleigh-Durham economy, to the casual observer, seems to be dominated by health-care services, including several of the nation's largest hospitals and related outpatient clinics.

And look at Smithfield, where the growth of medical services has been astounding over the past couple of decades. That has provided hundreds and hundreds of new jobs here, making up for a jolting loss of major manufacturing employers over the past half century.

The N.C. Department of Commerce every 10 years issues its projections for new employment opportunities across the state. Here are highlights of the latest report, issued in 2022:

North Carolina is projected to add more than 509,500 new jobs between 2022 and 2032. Health Care and Social Assistance, the state’s largest industry by employment, is projected to add 101,500 new jobs by 2032. Manufacturing industry is expected to see a slow growth with slightly over 16,000 jobs in the next 10 years. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting is the only industry sector projected to lose jobs, although very marginally.

The Johnston County Economic Development Office on its website provides these local job numbers from several years back: 7,768 retail-trade employees, 7,796 in manufacturing, 6,812 in health care and "social assistance," 5,199 in educational services. Johnston's recent population growth no doubt has lifted those numbers even higher, especially for health care.

Meanwhile, all is not well in rural communities to the east of us where folks are facing the closing down of their hospitals because of expected cuts to Medicaid funding on top of declining numbers of primary-care providers.

Various organizations including government and non-profits are out there trying to stem that receding tide. For the sake of our less fortunate neighbors, we pray for the success of those efforts.

BELOW: UNC Health Johnston stock photo of its Smithfield hospital on the site of what was originally Johnston Memorial Hospital.



 



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