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| PUBLISHED ONLINE FEBRUARY 20, 2020 • VOL. 2, NO. 8 | |||
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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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 A "live stream" of Wednesday's forum is archived on WRAL-TV's website> School board candidates address funding, transparency, redistricting, staff diversity More than 150 citizens turned out Wednesday night for the Junior Women's League forum for Board of Education candidates at the Johnston County Agricultural Center. The 13 candidates who took part addressed the people's concerns about county funding for schools, transparency in budgeting and other decision-making, redistricting as a way toward more equity among school districts, employment of a new superintendent, recruitment of more "people of color" to staff Johnston's schools, and better treatment of school "support" personnel. Several candidates took the County Commissioners to task for not providing more money for Johnston's schools in recent years. "Get the money right!" exclaimed Carolyn Cash. "They've been getting rolled by our commissioners," said Rick Mercier, referring to incumbent school board members. Ronald Johnson, one of three incumbents seeking re-election, acknowledged the under-funding. "We can't give raises to people who need raises," he lamented. Meanwhile, the money spent beyond the school board's recent budgets "was no help to low-performing schools," Lyn Andrews asserted. Throughout the evening, the word "transparency" came up time and again as candidates lambasted the sitting school board. "There are still issues that we're blind about," said Mark Lane. "Eliminate the closed-door meetings," advised Kenon Crumble. Several of the candidates expressed support for redistricting not only to relieve overcrowding in some schools but also to gain socio-economic balance in student populations that could boost the standing of low-performing schools. Teresa Grant, another incumbent in the race, said new schools about to be built give the board "some possibilities to shift the (district) lines" --- so long as "community schools" are protected. The candidates appeared to be in agreement on one thing --- that the next superintendent should come from outside Johnston County, not from within the current administration. Hiring a superintendent is "the most important job a school board has, period," declared Chuck Williams, "and we need someone to be here for more than five years" to provide "consistency" in things like curriculum. There was also support expressed by several candidates for recruiting more "people of color" to work as teachers and administrators. Incumbent Mike Wooten said that's one of the school board's goals. For the sake of the students, teachers "need to look like them," he said. Terry Tippett made an impassioned plea for better treatment of school-bus drivers, teacher assistants, custodians, and other "support" personnel. "I stand for every school employee in this county," he said. The other candidates taking part in the forum were Michelle Antoine, Ava Atkinson Gaines, and Melynda Slay. Three of the 16 candidates competing in the non-partisan March 3 Primary Election were absent: Kay Carroll (who informed forum organizers of long-held plans to be traveling on Wednesday), Yvonne Marlowe, and Kelly O'Hanlon-Peedin. Profiles of the candidates appear on a separate page in this edition> What's the status of school board "legal services"? Answers may come at Monday's committee meeting The newly appointed Legal Services Committee of the Johnston County Board of Education will meet in open session at 10 a.m. Monday (Feb. 24) in the school system's headquarters on US 70 Business east of Smithfield. School Board Chair Todd Sutton last week named four board members to the committee after Finance Committee Chair Mike Sutton asked for a study of "legal services" expenses, which he called "a big number" ($360,000 in the schools' budget as it now stands). Board members assigned to the special committee are Teresa Grant, Ronald Johnson, Terri Sessoms, and Peggy Smith. Meanwhile, an inquiry from the Weekly Sun discovered that the school system is currently paying Smithfield attorney Jimmy Lawrence $160 an hour and the Raleigh law firm of Tharrington Smith $210 an hour for a partner, $195 for an associate, and $115 for a paralegal for their services. Tharrington Smith partner Ken Soo sat through the school board's monthly sessions of January 14 and February 11 as a legal advisor in place of Mr. Lawrence, who normally fulfills that role. |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT SALARIES: Who's making more than $100,000 a year? The County of Johnston lists 15 employees with six-figure salaries: • Dr. Marilyn Pearson, physician director of the Health Department, $243,582. • Rick Hester, county manager, $193,906. • Jennifer Slusser, county attorney, $145,139. • Steve Bizzell, sheriff, $134,588. • Chad McLamb, deputy county manager & finance director, $130,673. • Dennis Cooper, technology services director, $125,657. • Chandra Farmer, county engineer, $118,143. • Lu Hickey, human resources director, $112,005. • Scott Sabatino, director of Social Services, $110,988. • Jason Barbour, communications director, $107,739. • Kevin Hubbard, emergency services director, $105,657. • Chris Johnson, economic development director, $102,588. • Donna Bailey-Taylor, director of tourism, $102,115. • Jocelyn Andrews, tax administrator, $102,099. • Dean Barbour, code enforcement director, $101,875 (retired Dec. 31). Johnston County Public Schools presently has 22 making the mark: • Seven administrators in Central Services --- Paula Coates, Dolores Gill, Crystal Roberts, and Brian Vetrano at $117,288 each, Arthur Stanley at $116,148, David Pearce at $107,064, and Clinton Eaves at $101,910. • Fourteen school principals --- Brian Johnson at Corinth Holders High ($113,496), Bennett Jones at Clayton High ($113,187), Kathy Parrish at Four Oaks Elementary ($110,769), Melissa Hubbard at Archer Lodge Middle ($110,733), Jenna Sauls Hair at Cleveland High ($109,308), Kerri Evans at Swift Creek Middle ($108,053), Jarvis Ellis at Princeton High/Middle ($107,658), James Stoke at Cooper Academy ($106,545), Laurie White at Riverwood Elementary ($106,014), Stephen Baker at Selma Middle ($103,091), Kristina Benson at Polenta Elementary ($102,675), Maureen Hanahue at Cleveland Elementary ($100,986), David Allen at Smithfield-Selma High ($100,785), and Sheila Singleton at Career & Technical Leadership Academy ($100,038). • One Certified Teacher --- Carol Redfield at Cleveland High ($100,135). • Vacant is the Superintendent of Schools position, currently held by Interim Superintendent Ben Williams, whose salary in his classification as Central Services administrator remains at $97,607.04 at his request. (Superintendent Ross Renfrow's annual salary was $223,189 prior to his retirement last summer.) The Town of Smithfield has just one employee with a six-figure salary: • Town Manager Mike Scott at $110,011. (The Town of Clayton, meanwhile, lists 10 employees making more than $100,000, led by Town Manager Adam Lindsay's salary of $171,670. No other municipality in Johnston lists a salary above $100,000 at the present time.) Salaries for County of Johnston and Town of Smithfield employees were adjusted upward on July 1, the start of the 2019-20 fiscal year. Salaries for most school-system employees have been stagnant since July 1, 2018 because of the failure by leaders of the state's General Assembly and Governor Roy Cooper to reach an agreement for adoption of a 2019-20 state budget. As a result, most of the current salaries are what was approved with the 2018-19 state budget. The salaries of all employees of Johnston County's local government offices are posted on the JoCo Report's website> |
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Smithfield Police calls, arrests, citations show declines --- for a couple of reasons Smithfield Police Department statistics for 2019 show significant declines in "Calls for Service" and "Arrest Reports" from the previous year --- not necessarily a bad thing --- but big drops also in "Citations Issued" and speeding tickets written. Here are the numbers: • Calls for Service --- 19,676 in 2019, down from 22,332 in 2018. • Arrest Reports --- 1,092, down from 1,301. • Citations Issued --- 1,779, down from 2,738. • Speeding tickets --- 320, down from 899. What's the reason for those declines? "The decrease in citations is a result of being short staffed and officers still taking vacations and being out sick, which causes less time to be proactive," Police Chief Keith Powell told the Sun. At the same time, "the agency has seen a reduction in reported crimes and activities," he noted. "This is in part due to the hard-working and professional officers that work with the Smithfield Police Department."  In a report to the Town
Council earlier this month, the chief said the
department "has three vacant positions at this time."
Meanwhile, "two employees are under contract and will
graduate BLET in April," he reported. (BLET is Basic Law
Enforcement Training.)Police staffing has been an issue in recent months as Smithfield has lost a number of its officers to other departments in the region. The situation prompted Town Manager Mike Scott to asked the council at its January 7 meeting to approve a mid-year pay increase for police positions, but the council has twice postponed making a decision on his request. Other statistics from the end-of-year Police Department report: • Accident Reports --- 922 in 2019, up from 884 in 2018. • Burglaries Reported --- 65 this past year, down from 77. • Drug Charges --- 332, down from 400. • DWI Charges --- 82, down from 94. The department investigated two murders in 2019 (none in 2018), 4 rapes (2 in 2018), 13 robberies (unchanged), 48 assaults (37 in 2018), 387 larcenies (390 in 2018), 15 auto thefts (17 in 2018), and one case of arson (two in 2018). |
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES  New houses going up fast on the north side of town The all-new East River Subdivision off Buffalo Road has popped up overnight, it seems, as 18 dwellings are presently under construction with another 32 awaiting approval from the Town of Smithfield's Planning Department. The "Planned Unit Development" is being built just north of Durwood Stephenson Highway within a "stone's throw" of Smithfield Community Park, the Recreation and Aquatics Center, and three schools: Smithfield Middle, Smithfield-Selma High, and Neuse Charter. Commercial projects under construction in Smithfield: HAMPTON INN --- a five-story hotel at 160 Towne Centre Place south of E. Market Street near Interstate 95's Exit 95. "COLLEGE PLAZA" --- an attached row of storefronts at 1547 E. Market Street across from the entrance to Johnston Community College. AMERICAN PRIDE XPRESS CAR WASH --- at 1203 N. Bright Leaf Boulevard just north of the Booker Dairy Road intersection. "THE WASH HOUSE" --- a laundromat at 1131 N. Bright Leaf Boulevard south of the Booker Dairy Road intersection. These projects, and others awaiting approval, are listed with construction plans on the Town of Smithfield's Planning Department website> |
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 Marching in celebration of Dr. King's legacy The JoCo Majorettes strut down Smithfield's Market Street during last Saturday's Martin Luther King Parade organized by the Johnston County NAACP Chapter. Unlike last year's event when cold and drizzly conditions put a damper on the festivities, this year's parade enjoyed sunny skies that took the sting out of an afternoon with high temperatures in the upper 40s. And this year's parade had an extra ingredient: vehicles carrying political candidates seeking votes in the upcoming March 3 Primary Election. The theme of this year's parade: "Follow His Footsteps... Live the Dream." Parade participants far outnumbered its spectators. WHAT'S COMING UP? NEUSE LITTLE THEATRE PRESENTS "FLUNG," A DRAMA Opening this weekend at the Hut on Front Street by the river, performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Feb. 21-22), 3 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 23), and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-29. MORE about it on the NLT website> BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM ON VOTING RIGHTS & RACISM Postponed because of the weather till next Thursday (Feb. 27) in the second-floor meeting room of the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield. Michael Spencer of Common Cause North Carolina will talk about "The Fight to Vote: Re-examining Racism," followed by questions from the audience. The Johnston County Heritage Center's Black History Month program is open to the public without admission charge. Light refreshments will be served. ANNUAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BANQUET POSTPONED Because of the threat of inclement weather, the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce has postponed its annual banquet that was scheduled for this Friday (Feb. 21). The new date is Thursday, March 19 at the Johnston County Agricultural Center. MORE about it on the Chamber's website> 11th ANNUAL JOHNSTON COUNTY ART & FOOD FESTIVAL Thursday, March 12 at the Johnston County Agricultural Center, 6-8 p.m. The Johnston County Arts Council hosts this annual fund-raiser that features culinary samples from a number of local restaurants as well as a showcase of works for sale by local artists. MORE about it on the Arts Council's website> BATTLE OF BENTONVILLE RE-ENACTMENT AFTER 155 YEARS Saturday & Sunday, March 21-22. Every five years the Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site hosts North Carolina's largest re-enactment event to commemorate the bloodiest battle ever fought on Tar Heel soil --- on March 19-21, 1865 near the end of the Civil War. The event includes many free programs on the grounds but tickets must be purchased for the battle re-enactments on nearby farms. The Friends of Bentonville Battlefield offer this online portal to purchase tickets> |
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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.... JONATHAN LAWRENCE CASEY, 34 - died Feb. 16 JASPER SPRUILL JR., 82 - died Feb. 16 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  The Circle Court: one of two family-owned motels beside US 301 on the north side of town that thrived in the mid-20th Century. Operated by the Schmidts, the Circle Court stood on the east side of the highway, which carried US 70 motorists in addition to 301's before the 1950s. The other overnight stopping place in the vicinity was the Trot Motel, operated by the Knott family. This colorized postcard was recently shared on a Facebook page entitled "You know you're from Smithfield NC if...." Here's the link to it> ANOTHER INSTALLMENT IN "MEMORIES OF
HOLT LAKE" SERIES
Rose Brown shares her stories from the late 1930s and 1940s> |
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OTHER
"INSIDE" PAGES IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION:
WANT TO VIEW
PREVIOUS EDITIONS?SPORTS & RECREATION Visit our archives |
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