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| PUBLISHED ONLINE FEBRUARY 6, 2020 • VOL. 2, NO. 6 | |||
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Stories and photos by Wingate Lassiter unless otherwise noted (click highlighted link to e-mail the editor) |
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| SCHOOL FUNDING ASSURED County Commissioners approve $950,000 monthly to cover school budget shortfall Johnston's County Commissioners have agreed to appropriate $950,000 a month, February through May, along with a yet-to-be-determined amount in June to enable the county's Board of Education to finish the 2019-20 fiscal year without having to lay off teachers or make other spending cuts related to the classroom. That commitment of roughly $5 million is the result of negotiations over the past several weeks involving County Commissioner Jeff Carver, County Manager Rick Hester, and school board members, especially former board chair Mike Wooten. That amount is less than a shortfall approaching $8.9 million identified in November by Interim Superintendent of Schools Jim Causby, who warned that a severe funding shortage could result in the layoffs of perhaps 480 school employees this spring. (Superintendent Causby abruptly resigned last month; Ben Williams of the school system's Central Office staff was appointed by the school board to take his place.) During their monthly meeting Monday morning, the County Commissioners approved a recommendation from the county manager to release the extra $950,000 a month to the schools through May, with a year-end appropriation in June to be based on actual expenses still uncovered. Commissioner Larry Wood's motion for approval included an added provision that "an audit (of school finances) be done to (this) board's satisfaction... at our expense" --- independent of any follow-up audit to be ordered by the Board of Education. The only dissenting vote came from Commissioners' Chairman Ted Godwin, who said yet another audit would be "a waste of money." MORE from Monday's morning & evening sessions of the County Commissioners> Who's to blame for school funding mess? Former school board chair Kay Carroll and present chair Todd Sutton traded barbs this past week over what's behind the current funding crisis that both agree has been building up over the past 10 years. Here are their unedited statements: FROM KAY CARROLL, a candidate for school board in this year's election> FROM TODD SUTTON, recently named chair of the Board of Education> |
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 919-934-0153 www.CallPernell.com |
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 SSS introduces
its new head football coach, coming here
from Fayetteville Deron Donald met the "Spartan family" during a news conference Friday afternoon in the auditorium at Smithfield-Selma High School. He takes over a program that hasn't won many games over the past decade. READ MORE> Johnston County Board of Education's monthly meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 11 Meeting begins with closed session at 4 p.m.; open session begins at 5:00 in the Evander S. Simpson Building, 2320 U.S. 70 Business East, Smithfield. The agenda was not available before the Sun's "press time" on Thursday; this link will lead you to it once it's posted online> One big item likely to be discussed is approval of a final 2019-20 budget for Johnston County Public Schools now that the County Commissioners have provided extra county funding to finish the fiscal year. |
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 The vacant Heilig-Meyers Furniture store and former K-Mart next door in West Smithfield are examples of structures to be maintained "in a way that does not exhibit Evidence of Vacancy" under new rules taking effect June 1. Smithfield Council adopts tighter rules on dilapidated buildings and tire storage With a one-two punch in a fight against blight, the Smithfield Town Council adopted two new ordinances at Tuesday night's monthly meeting: • One to require owners of vacant commercial buildings to keep them in good repair. • The other to require tire dealers to keep used or scrapped tires out of sight. The new Commercial Building Maintenance and Appearance Regulations will require owners of vacant buildings to register such properties with the town no later than 90 days after they are vacated. Then, both the exteriors of the structures and their yards "shall be maintained in a way that does not exhibit Evidence of Vacancy." Failure to do so will be punishable by a civil penalty of $50 per day. The council agreed to postpone the effective date of those rules till June 1 to give affected property owners time to make preparations for corrective actions. How many existing structures will be affected by the new rules? "Less than 20, we think," said Town Manager Mike Scott. Town Attorney Bob Spence Jr. said Smithfield's ordinance is modeled after laws in effect elsewhere in North Carolina. "Without an ordinance you can only regulate for public-health nuisances," he said. Buildings that are simply dilapidated don't necessarily meet that standard. The new ordinance on Outdoor Storage of Used and Scrap Tires requires those items to be "screened from public view," stored on racks or "neatly stacked" no higher than 10 feet, or kept "in a roll-off front-load dumpster" or stored in a metal container or small trailer that's covered. Outdoor storage areas for tires must be screened by an "opaque durable fence or wall" 6-8 feet high, and tire-storage dumpsters and containers must be screened on three sides by a fence, wall, or "solid vegetative buffer." That ordinance takes effect immediately, and there will be "no grandfathering" that would exempt existing businesses from the new rules, emphasized Planning Director Stephen Wensman. Both ordinances were approved by unanimous vote of council members present. MORE from Tuesday's meeting of the Smithfield Town Council> |
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Forum for school board candidates Feb. 19; questions must be submitted in advance The Junior Women's League of Smithfield will host a forum for the 16 candidates running for the Johnston County Board of Education on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the Johnston County Agricultural Center off NC Highway 210 west of Smithfield. A question-and-answer session from 7 to 8 p.m. will be followed by a "meet and greet" reception afterwards. Questions from the public must be submitted by Monday, Feb. 17 using this link> According to the League's rules for the forum, questions may not be directed to a specific candidate, and each question must be stated clearly and address one topic. The forum's facilitator will select questions to be asked the candidates after considering time constraints and eliminating repetitive ones. Co-sponsoring the forum with the Junior Women's League are the Johnston County Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce, Country Superstars 102.3, and the Smithfield Weekly Sun. Candidates for four (4) school-board seats up for election this year: Kelly O'Hanlon-Peedin, Hawks Nest Circle, Smithfield Melynda Slay, Durwood Drive, Raleigh Lyn Andrews, Afton Lane, Smithfield Teresa M. Grant, Crestwood Court, Garner (incumbent) Kay Carroll, South Lakeside Drive, Four Oaks Kenon Crumble, Sugarfield Lane, Clayton Ava Atkinson Gaines, Second Avenue, Smithfield Mark Lane, Yelverton Grove Road, Smithfield Chuck Williams, Neuse Ridge Drive, Clayton Ronald Johnson, Westminster Drive, Clayton (incumbent) Carolyn Cash, Collinsworth Drive, Clayton Rick Mercier, Fireweed Place, Clayton Michelle Antoine, Plaza De Luke Square, Clayton Terry Tippett, Simon Road, Middlesex Mike Wooten, Cedar Springs Drive, Princeton (incumbent) Yvonne Marlowe, Aleah Court, Clayton NOTE: The top eight (8) vote-getters in the March 3 nonpartisan primary will be on the ballot for the General Election next November. Early voting Feb. 13-29 for March 3 primary The Johnston County Board of Elections will offer early voting for the March 3 Primary Election every day but Sundays starting next Thursday, Feb. 13 and continuing through Saturday, Feb. 29. In Smithfield, early voting will take place inside the First Baptist Church Ministry Center at 125 S. Fourth Street (that's the former Smithfield Herald building). The hours for voting are 8 a.m. to 7:30 Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. View the complete list of early-voting sites on the Board of Elections website> View sample ballots for the Primary on the Board of Elections website> |
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Sami's Pizza joins Downtown's food scene
at 312 East Market Street in Downtown Smithfield. It's open seven days a week: 10:30 a.m. till 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10:30 till 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The phone number is 919-300-1243. Sami's other location is on JR Road near the interchange of I-95 and US 70 at Selma. WHAT'S COMING UP? NEW ART EXHIBIT AT THE FRANK CREECH GALLERY Opening reception today (Thursday) from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the STEAM Building at Johnston Community College (rain date Sunday, 3-4:30). Featured artists are Sue Avera and Michelle Fields-Laughinghouse. Free of admission charge, the Frank Creech Gallery's regular public hours are 10 to 3 Saturdays and 1 to 5 Sundays. CUPID'S CRAFT & VENDOR FAIR AT SSS Saturday (Feb. 8) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the gymnasium at Smithfield-Selma High School. A fund-raiser for the school's Denmark Student Exchange Program, the fair will include a variety of items for sale: home decor, jewelry, clothes and accessories, beauty products, cooking supplies, decals, and other unique gift items. Admission for shoppers will be free of charge. UNC "CLEF HANGERS" COMING TO FIRST BAPTIST Wednesday (Feb. 12) at 6:30 p.m. The "Clef Hangers" are an "a cappella" men's group from UNC-Chapel Hill that has "traveled much of the world," according to Lee Colbert, pastor of Smithfield's First Baptist Church on South Fourth Street. Admission to the concert will be free of charge. WRITERS GROUP HOSTS "CHRISTIAN SELF-HELP" AUTHOR Thursday, Feb. 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield. Guest speaker will be Deborah Dunn, described as "a traditionally published author of Christian self-help books with Simon and Schuster." She has also published two historical mysteries based on the Lost Colony and Jamestown. She will talk about how she came to write (and paint) --- "and a bit about the process." The monthly meeting is open to the public without admission charge. BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM: "RE-EXAMINING RACISM IN JOHNSTON" Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room of the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield. The Johnston County Heritage Center's Black History Month program is open to the public without admission charge. |
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DEATHS & FUNERALS Each week we post links to obituaries about persons who have died during the past week. We monitor the websites of local funeral homes to compile our list, and we welcome links provided by readers to obituaries of persons with Smithfield connections who have died outside our immediate area.... CHARLES WAYNE FUTRELL, 64 - died Feb. 4 NELL WOOD LEE, 88 - died Feb. 4 MARGARET LASSITER, 93 - died Feb. 2 ROSA MAE SANDERS, 94 - died Feb. 2 BILLIE CAROL HAYES STEVENS, 77 - died Jan. 31 DAVID RAY BEASLEY, 53 - died Jan. 29 PEGGY ANN WEAVER KNOX, 79 - died Jan. 29 DANIEL RAY McGEE, 64 - died Jan. 29 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  When Downtown hosted the Smithfield Tobacco Market Speaking of dilapidated buildings, this undated photograph shows what was once Dixie Tobacco Warehouse No. 2 on the north side of Market Street near the river. After repairs years later, these structures housed Riverside Warehouse and several retail shops until they were destroyed by a massive fire in 1982. Today this is the site of a modern office building and adjacent medical clinics. (Photo from the Joe & Warren Grimes collection in the archives of the Johnston County Heritage Center) |
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