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PUBLISHED ONLINE
JULY 17,
2025
• VOL. 7,
NO. 29
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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.
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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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Business
Disputes • Injuries
• Family Law •
Appeals
Strong
in results. Strong
in experience.
Strong in integrity.
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>
GREAT SELECTION OF GIFTS, CARDS,
JEWELRY &
OTHER UNIQUE
ITEMS
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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