School
board OKs bonuses for
all employees
The
Johnson County Board of
Education approved a
Retention and Recruiting
Plan at Tuesday's monthly
meeting that will pay
bonuses to all full-time
and part-time employees of
Johnston County Public
Schools during the 2023-24
fiscal year that starts
July 1.
The cost "is not
expected to exceed
$7,485,000," said Chief of
Finance Stephen Britt, who
stressed that this is a
one-time expense the school
system can afford and "still
be in a sustainable
position" regarding funds
held in reserve for
unexpected expenditures.
The
plan's recruitment element
will offer bonuses in
three categories:
• $4,000 for new teachers
of Exceptional Children,
secondary math, and
secondary science newly
hired to work at schools
that got a grade of "D" or
"F" from the state this
past year and all schools
in the "Smithfield feeder
pattern."
• $2,500 for all
other new EC, secondary
math, and secondary
science teachers.
• $ 2,000 for all other
newly hired certified
instructional and
certified support staff
who start work between
this July 1 and October 1.
For existing employees,
bonuses will amount to
$3,000 for EC, secondary
math, and secondary
science teachers working
at "D" and "F" schools and
those within the
Smithfield feeder pattern.
All other certified
instructional and support
staff will get $1,500,
while all "permanent"
classified staff will get
$1,000.
All bonuses will be split
into monthly payments and
prorated for partial years
employed.
"No way we would be able
to afford this if it were
(done) yearly," said Mr.
Britt, who noted that the
bonuses approved this week
would come in addition to
any others such as the Low
Performing School Bonus,
Referral Bonus, and
state-funded bonuses yet
to be determined for the
upcoming school year.
MORE news from
Tuesday's Board of
Education meeting
appears below.

Neal
Davis shows off one of
five new vans purchased
for QuickRide, the new
service offered by
JCATS. The
seven-passenger vans are
equipped with mechanical
lifts for wheelchair
riders.
Smithfield-Selma
tested for Uber-like
"microtransit"
QuickRide
is the brand for a new
service being rolled out
by JCATS, the Johnston
County Area Transit
System. It will operate
like Uber, offering
customers an opportunity
to order rides at specific
times to specific places.
As an experimental, or
"pilot," project
underwritten by an
appropriation of $158,339
in the current county
budget, QuickRide service
is limited to the
Smithfield-Selma area from
7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday-Friday at $6 per
trip. Whether it continues
beyond June 30 will likely
depend on a supplemental
appropriation in the
2023-24 county budget to
be adopted by the County
Commissioners this spring.
Its continuation would be
a big step toward
public-transportation
service available to
anyone in Johnston County.
Up to now, JCATS has
mostly served needy
Johnstonians dependent
upon taxpayer-subsidized
rides to reach medical
services, appointments
with helping agencies like
Social Services, Mental
Health, and Vocational
Rehabilitation, and
programs offered at
centers operated by
Community & Senior
Services of Johnston
County, the agency
formerly known as the
Council on Aging that
oversees JCATS.
Chris Johnson, the
county's director of
economic development, is
especially pleased with
the rollout of QuickRide
service. "We get 'dinged' a
lot by (industrial) site
consultants due to the
lack of traditional
public transportation,"
he said in an e-mail to
the Weekly Sun.
"With JCAT's QuickRide
service, this will
soften the blow."
"I am hoping
that area companies
as well as
future companies
will look at this
opportunity and possibly
cover some or all of the
transportation cost
(for) their employees, "
Mr. Johnson said.
Neal Davis, executive
director of Community
& Senior Services,
said the original plan
was to launch QuickRide
last fall, but delayed
delivery of the five
vehicles purchased with
a federal grant put off
service till now. He
acknowledged it will
take time for word to
spread about the
service. QuickRide got
requests for 11 rides
this past Monday,
he reported.
"The Smithfield-Selma zone
will enable us to measure
rider demand and work out
operational details," Mr.
Davis said. "Based on these
results we hope to secure
funding to sustain the
service and possibly expand
it to Clayton and other
urban areas of the county.”
An announcement from JCATS
explains how QuickRide
works:
Much
like Uber, riders can
submit a ride request
using our smartphone app
or call via telephone.
Rides can be scheduled
in advance and the
service is curb to curb.
Riders can also
designate their required
arrival (appointment)
time. QuickRide
technology instantly
pairs the request with
the nearest available
vehicle and notifies the
rider when they’re on
the way. Riders can pay
the $6 fare via credit
card or cash. The fare
covers any trip inside
the service zone.
The QuickRide app for
requesting service can be
downloaded at www.jcats.org.
Ride requests may also be
phoned in to 919-202-5030.
Here's a map of the current
QuickRide service zone:

School
board lets contract for
SSS auxiliary gym
The
Johnston County Board of
Education on Tuesday
approved a $5,629,213
contract with Daniels
& Daniels Construction
of Goldsboro to build an
auxiliary gymnasium at
Smithfield-Selma High
School. It's among the
last batch of projects to
be funded by the
$61-million school-bond
issue authorized by
Johnston County's voters
in 2018.
Brooks Moore, the school
system's chief of
facilities and
construction, said the
project's cost has more
than doubled what was
estimated when the bond
issue was proposed five
years ago. Nationally, he
told the school board,
average building costs
have gone up from $179 per
square foot in 2018 to
$390 today.
The additional gym at SSS
will relieve the school's
dependence on shared
quarters at the Smithfield
Recreation & Aquatics
Center, which is jointly
owned by the Town of
Smithfield and the
county's school system.
Another contract approved
by the Board of Education
Tuesday will completely
replace the tennis courts
at SSS, which Mr. Moore
said "are beyond repair."
RDU Paving of Raleigh will
do that work for $528,610.
Smithfield-Selma High will
get a share of
bleacher-repair work to be
done at several schools
under a $410,000 contract
with Seating Safety
Solutions of Liberty, N.C.
Repairs to indoor
bleachers at SSS will cost
$66,188 while $1,996 will
be spent fixing those
outdoors.
The board approved an
expenditure of $154,652 to
pay half the cost of
replacing two boilers at
the Recreation &
Aquatics Center. The Town
of Smithfield has agreed
to pay the other half to
replace boilers in service
since the SRAC opened in
2009.
Smithfield-Selma
High added to list of
"capped" schools
It's
one of five schools in
Johnston added to the
list, which includes
campuses "that do not have
at least 61 available
seats or more (based on
design capacity)." Schools
classified as "capped"
cannot accept requests for
student transfers. The
others newly added to the
list are MIcro, Princeton,
and Riverwood elementaries
and Swift Creek Middle.
The addition of SSS to the
list leaves just three of
Johnston's eight high
schools with space
available for student
transfers: North Johnston,
Princeton, and West
Johnston.
Cleveland
Road site chosen for a
new elementary school
The
Board of Education
approved the purchase of
20 acres on Cleveland Road
across from Elizabeth
United Methodist Church
for $800,000 from Roberts
& Wellons, Inc. The
elementary school to be
built there will be funded
from the $177-million
county bond issue approved
by Johnston's voters last
November.
To expedite that project,
the board also approved on
Tuesday a $2,520,000
contract with Ratio Design
of Raleigh to draw plans
for the new school, which
Mr. Moore said would be
two stories high.
Also on Tuesday, the
school board gave its
approval to buying 210
acres on the east side of
Wilson's Mills that the
County Commissioners have
also approved as the site
for a new high school as
well as a future middle
school and a recreation
park. Located next to the
Neuse River, the property
is owned by KAT Properties
of Johnston County, LLC.
The purchase price is $4.2
million.
2023-24
calendar adopted with
schools starting August
28
The
Board of Education
approved a calendar for
the upcoming school year
as recommended by a
committee that considered
18 options, yet board
members expressed their
displeasure with leaders
in the N.C. General
Assembly who have ignored
repeated statewide pleas
for "local calendar
flexibility."
The August 28 starting
date for schools is
required by state law
because it's the closest
Monday to August 26.
Johnston's school leaders
want a mid-August opening
so the fall semester could
end before Christmas
without a cut in
instructional days. In the
2023-24 calendar, August
16 will be the first of
eight workdays for
teachers before classes
begin for students. The
last school day for
students next year will be
June 6. VIEW the adopted students' calendar for the
2023-24 school year>
Appointments
to JCC Board, Smithfield
Middle Council
The
board appointed Reid
Williams to fill the
remaining month of a term
on the Johnston Community
College Board of Trustees
vacated by Benton Sawrey
upon his election to the
N.C. Senate. Mr. Williams
is president of the
I-95/I-40 Crossroads of
America Economic
Development Alliance.
Following a recommendation
from Principal LaShunda
Faison, the board
appointed Jenita Rogers
and reappointed Allison
Jones to the Smithfield
Middle School Advisory
Council. Their terms are
for three years. Mrs.
Jones has served on the
council since 2012, the
board was told.
Board
in disagreement on
receiving evidence on
censures
At
the start of Tuesday's
meeting, school-board
member Michelle Antoine
made a motion to add a
slot at the end of the
evening's agenda to allow
Ronald Johnson to present
evidence he claims would
undermine the previous
board's votes to censure
him for violating several
board policies.
Mr. Johnson seconded Ms.
Antoine's motion, but the
other five board members
voted against it.
Vice Chair Terry Tippett
said the board would give
Mr. Johnson a chance to
make his case, but only
under rules of procedure
agreed upon by the board's
attorney and Mr. Johnson's
lawyer – an agreement that
has eluded negotiations
between the two parties
since the request came up
at December's first
meeting of the current
board, which includes
three new members: Kevin
Donovan, Ms. Antoine, and
Mr. Tippett.
The school board censured
Mr. Johnson last August
for secretly recording
closed sessions and for
intervening in a
student-assignment matter.
In October
the board censured him a
third time for sending
inappropriate text
messages about a school
employee during meetings
of the board.

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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
SSS soccer girls shut out South
Johnston 6-0
The
Smithfield-Selma girls'
soccer team has a record
of 3-3 after Tuesday's 6-0
victory over Quad County
3-A Conference rival South
Johnston. Freshman Layla
Jones led the Spartans'
attack with three goals,
freshman Jana Olaya scored
twice, and senior Emily
Stuckey once.
Meanwhile, both the SSS
boys' baseball team and
the girls' softball team
were shut out in games at
South Johnston on Tuesday
– the boys by a score of
16-0, the girls
27-0. The boys' team
is now 2-1, the girls are
winless in their first six
starts.
Neuse
Charter girls' soccer
team shuts out
Goldsboro
The
Neuse Charter girls'
soccer team is 1-2 after
Tuesday's 1-0 victory at
home versus Goldsboro.
The Cougar boys' baseball
team lost to Eastern Wayne
13-1 last Thursday and
18-5 at home versus Mintz
Christian Academy on
Tuesday. Senior Jaedyn
Teachey had two hits for
Neuse Charter at Eastern
Wayne. Senior Blane
Barefoot had two hits and
scored two runs in
Tuesday's contest. The
Cougars are now 1-4.
Library
opens its own "Pantry"
to assist patrons
The Public Library of Johnston County and
Smithfield has set
up a "Community
Pantry" to provide
common essential
goods to its
patrons at no
cost. Items
currently
available include
reading glasses,
earbuds, bar soap,
toothbrush kits,
and feminine
sanitary products.
With donations
from citizens and
local businesses,
the pantry will
expand to include
non-perishable
food items and
baby essentials. A
list of acceptable
donations is
available at the
library in
Downtown
Smithfield. For
more information,
call the library
at 919-934-8146.
The Public
Library's
Community Pantry
was funded in part
by a grant from
the Johnston
County
Unrestricted
Endowment Fund,
which is
administered by
the North Carolina
Community
Foundation.
LATE WINTER
SURPRISE!
As
if waking up Sunday
morning with the arrival
of Daylight Saving Time
wasn't enough to upset our
biological clocks, we also
got an unexpected coating
of sleet, even though the
air temperature was closer
to 40 than the 32 reading
we'd expect for frozen
precipitation. Here's a
shot of sleet building up
on the editor's back porch
beside some Spring-like
pansies in bloom.
Power
outage interrupted
schools' "Showcase" at
JCC
It
occurred last Saturday
afternoon as "Showcase of
Stars" performances by
Johnston County
public-school students were
getting under way in the
auditorium at Johnston
Community College. "We had a
tree branch come down on a
line causing a transformer
to short circuit on Ward
Street," reported
Smithfield's Town Manager
Mike Scott. "We were down
about 30 minutes or so."
Meanwhile, the interrupted
"Showcase" performances have
been rescheduled for this
Saturday afternoon. A
limited number of tickets
may still be available. Here's where
to check on that>

WHAT'S
COMING UP?
First day of Spring scheduled to
arrive next Monday
We
say "scheduled to arrive"
as a cautionary note after
last weekend's surprise
return of Winter after a
warmer-than-usual season.
Spring's equinox, when the
Sun shines directly above
Earth's equator, will
occur at 5:24 p.m. next
Monday. The forecast for
next Tuesday, the first
full day of Spring, calls
for party cloudy skies
with a high of 57 and a
low near freezing. That's
more like Winter than
Spring.
Johnston's
County Commissioners
meet again Monday
It's
the meeting regularly
scheduled for the third
Monday of the month,
coming on the heels of the
county board's Strategic
Planning Retreat at
Campbell University this
week (a report on that in
next Thursday's Weekly
Sun). Principal
item on the agenda for
Monday's 6 p.m. session at
the Courthouse is
continuation of the
board's review of a
proposed update of the
county's Comprehensive
Land Use Plan.
VIEW the
complete agenda for next
Monday's meeting>
High-school students' art exhibit
opens at JCC next week
The
opening reception is set
for next Thursday (March
23) 5:30-7 p.m. in the
Frank Creech Art Gallery
at Johnston Community
College (inside the STEAM
Building at 301 Jaguar
Drive on campus).
Presented by the Johnston
County Arts Council, the
reception will be hosted
by the Down-to-Earth
Garden Club and
Chick-fil-A of Smithfield
(there's no charge for
admission). The students'
artworks will remain on
display 1-5 p.m. Sundays
from March 26 through the
end of April.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
PHYLLIS ANN
GULLIE, 80 – died
March 10

The North Carolina Revelers paid tribute to
Johnston County
musicians of bygone
years during a
performance at Tuesday
evening's Heritage
Center Patrons Gala. The
band's guitarist is
Smithfield's Ned
Attayek. Projected on
the screen is one of
several slides of
pioneering local
musicians – this one of
a "Smithfield Band" from
1926 that included my
father, his brother, and
the legendary Bill Joe
Austin.
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Hail
to the return of our
community auditorium
It's
good to see the Paul A.
Johnston Auditorium at the
Community College back in
service. Closed for
renovations a year or so
before COVID's arrival,
the auditorium came back
to life last weekend with
opening performances of
the Johnston County
Education Foundation's
"Showcase of Stars."
Unfortunately, Saturday
evening's performances had
to be postponed when a
power failure interrupted
the show (those
performances have been
rescheduled for this
weekend). But the lights
were back on for Tuesday's
Big Band tribute by the
North Carolina Revelers, a
professional orchestra
based in the Triangle
A little history: The
thousand-seat auditorium
at Johnston Community
College opened in 1989
following a fund-raising
campaign pushed over the
top by a substantial
donation from
industrialist Paul A.
Johnston, a native of this
county who went on to
big-time success in
business elsewhere (sadly,
Mr. Johnston passed away
in 1985 and missed the
auditorium's opening).
Its completion was a dream
of JCC's President John
Tart, who tapped into a
cadre of Smithfield folks
who were looking for a way
to replace the Smithfield
High School auditorium
destroyed by fire in 1976.
This community, and the
county as a whole,
deserved a suitable place
to showcase its wealth of
talent in the performing
arts.
It was disappointing the
auditorium was out of
commission from 2019 till
now. COVID was the major
reason for that, first
prompting a cancellation
of public events and then
disrupting the supply
chain to block timely
delivering of materials
needed to complete the
renovation.
We're looking forward to a
resumption of performances
like the inaugural
big-name touring shows
that came our way and the
Country Music Showcase
that brought budding young
talent to the stage,
including singers like a
young Clay Aiken who went
on to fame as an American
Idol finalist and Broadway
performer.
Long-time
servant
of Heritage Center
gets a thank-you
I
was glad to see Mary Nell
Lee Ferguson given a
moment in the spotlight at
Tuesday's Heritage Center
gala – in honor of her 26
years as a "charter
member" of the Johnston
County Heritage Commission
that guided the center's
transition from the Public
Library's Johnston County
Room into the former home
office of First Citizens
Bank.
Mary Nell made her
professional mark as a
school principal in Wake
County for 17 years and
then at newly opened
Cleveland Elementary
School from 1992 till
2005. She seized the
opportunity for
appointment to the
Heritage Commission in
1996. After all, it was
her mother, the legendary
Margaret McLemore Lee, who
was the long-time guiding
light of the center's
ever-expanding collection
of local history and
genealogy.
But Mary Nell was passed
over for reappointment to
another term on the
Heritage Commission last
fall by the County
Commissioners – without
explanation. That was
uncalled-for, as other
long-time commission
members continue to be
reappointed.
She surely wasn't ready to
be "put out to pasture."
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