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| PUBLISHED ONLINE APRIL 10, 2020 • VOL. 2, NO. 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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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| Coronavirus
in Johnston jumps to 80 cases, including 17 in hospitals, 4 reported deaths The N.C. Department of Health & Human Services reported this morning (Friday) that Johnston County's coronavirus case count has reached 80. Confirmation of 11 additional cases of COVID-19 linked to residents and staff at Springbrook Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Clayton was a key factor in the largest weekly increase in Johnston County's coronavirus cases reported so far --- from 25 last Friday to 80 today. The county's Public Information Office issued the following data as of 5:45 p.m. Thursday, including heretofore undisclosed information about ages and races of Johnstonians infected with the coronavirus: • 77 confirmed cases; 17 hospitalized, 4 deaths, all of persons age 65 and older. • 56% of cases female; 44% male --- a shift from an even split in earlier reports. • Cases by age: no males, 4 females ages 18-24; nine males, 12 females 25-49; 12 males, 12 females 50-64; 13 males, 15 females ages 65 and above. • Cases by race: 38 whites, 25 blacks, 13 "unknown," and one "other." Here are the coronavirus numbers for Johnston and neighboring Wake County as well as all of North Carolina, the nation, and the world --- along with links to a couple of reporting agencies where the latest updates may be viewed:
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GOVERNOR ISSUES NEW RULES FOR RETAILERS Announced Thursday afternoon to take effect at 5 p.m. Monday (April 13), Governor Roy Cooper's latest order requires retail and grocery stores to limit the number of their shoppers to 20% of the building's fire capacity, mark 6-foot distances in checkout lines, and perform frequent cleaning. Some stores have already put those measures into effect. Even so, because of the Governor's Monday deadline we'll likely see large crowds at those places this weekend, despite the risk of infection. Some commentary about that on the OBSERVATIONS page> JOHNSTON HEALTH HAS ROOM FOR "ESSENTIAL" CHILD CARE Johnston Health's Early Learning Center in the Medical Mall at Smithfield has "plenty of space" for children up to age 12 whose working parents are in need of day-care assistance during the coronavirus crisis. "And during the COVID-19 crisis, the state is offering assistance to those essential workers who meet certain income eligibility requirements," said Johnston Health's Suzette Rodriguez in an e-mail to the Sun. "The staff can help employees fill out applications for this program." she advised. For more information, interested persons are asked to call 919-938-7578 between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday (closed today for the Good Friday holiday). PARTNERSHIP ASKING FOR CHILD-CARE SUPPLIES The Partnership for Children of Johnston County will be collecting donations of child-care supplies from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday (April 13) at its headquarters at 1406-A South Pollock Street in Selma (US. 301 just north of the US 70 intersection). "We have all had our struggles finding toilet paper and cleaning supplies," said the Partnership's Christina Peterson. "Imagine a small business attempting to purchase supplies for up to 75 children each day." Whatever is collected Monday will be distributed to local child-care centers. Questions about the drive should be directed to kmills@pfcjc.org or 919-975-2524. |
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EASTER 2020 . . . to be celebrated remotely by
Smithfield churches
 Smithfield's
First Presbyterian Church dressed for Easter.
Prohibited from gatherings of more than 10 persons, Smithfield's houses of worship will be mostly empty this Easter Sunday. But services will go on as scheduled at churches that have installed technology to live-stream their normal proceedings over the Internet. Here are links to churches live-streaming their services that we know about: Centenary United Methodist> First Baptist (South Fourth Street)> First Free Will Baptist> First Presbyterian> St. Ann Catholic> St. Paul's Episopcal> Smithfield's First Christian Church announced on its Facebook page this week plans for an 11 a.m. Easter Parking Lot Worship in the teachers' lot at South Smithfield Elementary School next door to the church --- making sure vehicles are at least six feet apart and folks stay in their cars. |
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As many as 2,000 Johnston students may lack access to Internet service During its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Johnston County Board of Education learned that 1,500 to 2,000 students throughout the county may lack access to Internet service essential for "at-home learning" during the coronavirus crisis. An estimated 750 of them are high-school students, reported Dolores Gill, the school system's chief of operations and communication. She said her staff is working through the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to employ a vendor that can set up WiFi hotspots in areas of Johnston lacking reliable Internet service. One method for doing that, Ms. Gill said, is to install WiFi devices on school buses to make the service portable. "We will begin our focus with the high schools," Ms. Gill told the board. She said the school system has distributed 8,227 devices to students who lack computers like Chromebook or tablets like iPad that connect to the Internet.  Johnston County's public schools
enroll about 37,400 students in grades K-12.Teachers have been putting together "supplemental learning activities" for students since the end of March, Deputy Superintendent Paul Coates told the board. The goal, she said, is to have online instruction up and running in full force on Monday, April 20 --- at the start of the week following what was set aside as "Spring Break" in the 2019-20 school calendar. All of North Carolina's public schools, including Johnston's, have been closed for three weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak. Governor Roy Cooper's current order keeps them closed through May 15. READ about actions taken by Johnston's school board at Tuesday's meeting> |
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With social distancing, Town Council conducts monthly meeting at Town Hall Three members of the Smithfield Town Council volunteered to be absent from Tuesday night's monthly meeting, Mayor Andy Moore announced. That way, no more than 10 persons were inside the Council Chambers throughout the session: the mayor and four of seven councilmen (enough for a quorum) plus the town manager, town clerk, planning director, town attorney, and the town's communications specialist who was managing the broadcast. And they kept their distance from one another: at least six feet apart. Without any public hearings on the agenda and just one business item requiring discussion, the meeting didn't last as long as usual --- just an hour and 15 minutes. It was live-streamed over the town's YouTube channel, but had fewer than 20 viewers at any one time. READ MORE about what took place at Tuesday's council session> |
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 AN ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE BY SOCIAL SERVICES Silvery windmills fill much of the yard at the Johnston County Department of Social Services Complex in Smithfield --- placed there to draw the public's attention to Child Abuse Prevention Month. "All children deserve to have safe, stable, nurturing, and healthy homes and communities that foster their well-being," declares a proclamation adopted Monday by the County Commissioners. The proclamation, for the month of April, "calls upon all citizens, community agencies, faith groups, medical facilities, elected officials, and businesses to increase their participation in our efforts to support families, thereby preventing child abuse and strengthening the communities in which we live." |
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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.... LUTHER RILEY MASSENGILL, 78 - died April 6 EMALINE CREECH PHILLIPS BURGESS, 91 - died April 5 CLEVELAND ARCHIBALD, 91 - died April 4 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  BOY SCOUT HUT WAS "BUILT IN A DAY" ...according to stories in The Smithfield Herald in the spring of 1940. Still standing though vacant, the structure today finds itself squeezed between a widened North Front Street and the steep riverbank just south of the Town Commons parking lot that extends to the boat ramp. Notice how many vehicles were parked there when this picture was taken late Thursday morning. That's an indicator of how many folks are taking advantage of the Neuse Riverwalk / Buffalo Creek Greenway, which remains open for walking, jogging, and biking despite the coronavirus pandemic. |
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LINKS TO ADDITIONAL PAGES IN THIS EDITION |
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