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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 • VOL.
2, NO. 46 |
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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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| Yet another modification anticipated in Johnston schools' re-opening plan Exactly what that will look like will be revealed during a special meeting of the Johnston County Board of Education at 6 p.m. today (Thursday). Public attendance at the meeting will not be permitted because of COVID-19 restrictions. Internet live-streaming of the session will be available on the school system's YouTube channel>
Last week Governor Roy Cooper relaxed restrictions on how many elementary-school students could occupy a single classroom, thereby giving local school boards the option of bringing back all K-5 students October 5 (unless their parents choose to keep them at home with remote learning online). The Governor's latest order on schools did not ease stricter limits on how many students can occupy classrooms at middle and high schools across the state. CORONAVIRUS REPORT
Number of Johnston cases
still active
going down; school-related cases rising Here's the County of Johnston's official report as of 5:25 p.m. Wednesday: • 4,430 cases, 56 deaths, 16 hospitalized + 420 at home for a total of 436 active cases --- down from 468 a week ago, 3,938 presumed recovered. • 2,346 female cases; 2,084 male. • Cases by age: 659 ages 0-17 (643 last week); 644 18-24 (620 last week); 1,843 25-49 (1,768 last week); 832 50-64 (791 last week); 452 age 65+ (435). • Cases by race: 2,528 white, 574 black, 661 other (667 not known). • Cases by ethnicity: 1,825 Hispanic, 1,970 non-Hispanic (635 not known). JOHNSTON COUNTY SCHOOLS' INFECTION REPORT Confirmed active cases among employees as of Monday of this week: 15 (up from 7 last week) --- 6 at elementary schools, 4 at high schools, 4 at middle schools,1 at the Central Office. Employees quarantined: 114 (up from 65 last week) --- 63 from elementary schools, 24 from high schools, 7 from middle schools, 20 from the Central Office. CURRENT INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS • Smithfield Manor Nursing & Rehab --- 3 current or former residents, 8 staff. • Springbrook Rehab & Nursing Center --- 7 current or former residents, 11 staff. • Johnston County Jail --- 3 inmates, 16 staff. • Johnston Correctional Institution --- 15 current or former residents. VIEW the current list of test sites and testing events in Johnston County>
STATE OFFERS AN EXPOSURE NOTIFICATION APP The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services this week launched a COVID-19 Exposure Notification app called "SlowCOVIDNC" that will alert users who may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. The department says "it is completely anonymous and does not collect, store, or share personal information or location data." READ the full announcement that includes links for downloading the app> |
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 Free carriage rides have returned to Downtown Smithfield on the third Friday of the month. First to take a ride last Friday was a couple visiting from South Carolina, pulled by "Andre" driven by Jamie Massey, who's been providing this service for more than a decade. Downtown is taking dining to the street with Friday's launch of "Third StrEATery" With an acceptable plan in place following Town Council legal concerns voiced earlier this month, the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation plans to launch a series of outdoor dining events on South Third Street this Friday. Dubbed "Third StrEATery" by Downtown Director Sarah Edwards, the event will allow folks to take out meals from nearby restaurants and sit at 14 tables to be positioned well apart along the 100 block of South Third. No more than 50 diners at one time will be allowed seating from 5 p.m. until 9:30.  To add some spice to the event,
jazz guitarist Charles Newkirk will entertain the
guests, "playing everything from Sam Cooke and Smokey
Robinson to Michael Jackson, The Police, Rihanna, and
Bruno Mars," Ms. Edwards said in her announcement.Additional dates for Third StrEATery are October 9 and 23. "If the first one is a success, we may add more," Ms. Edwards said. When she presented the idea before the Town Council on September 1, officials raised concerns about violating Governor Roy Cooper's orders on mass gatherings and instructed Ms. Edwards to work out acceptable details with Planning Director Stephen Wensman. As a result, diners will be asked to wear masks except when they're eating, practice social distancing, and use "touchless, automatic" hand-sanitizing stations that will be provided. Tables and chairs will be sanitized between groups of diners. The rules further state that "alcohol must be kept on the sidewalk within the area specified by the restaurant from which you purchased it" and "leashed dogs are welcome" provided diners "pick up after them." |
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 Opened in the fall of 1970 and expanded several times since then, the Town of Smithfield Walter Filtration Plant fronts Second Street just beyond North Street. Smithfield Council votes 5-2 to continue moving forward on water-plant expansion A delegation of citizens --- mostly from the historic North Smithfield neighborhood --- attended Tuesday evening's special session of the Town Council to express their opposition to proposed expansion of the town's water plant. They held flyers that urged councilmen to "Vote NO" on a resolution to renew the town's application for a low-interest state loan for the project. Pam Lampe, who resides on North Second Street next door to the water-plant site, said Smithfield doesn't need additional capacity at the plant because "the town's expected future rate of growth... is low," according to the town's loan application to the N.C. Local Government Commission. Another nearby neighbor, Emma Gemmell, said the expansion project "is to sell water to the county" rather than meet the needs of Smithfield's residents. Town Manager Mike Scott followed with a PowerPoint presentation showing the economics behind the proposed plant expansion. First of all, he reported, Smithfield's residential water bill for a typical customer using 4,000 gallons a month is currently $27.89 --- lower than comparable bills for customers of the Town of Selma ($32.53), the County of Johnston (34.60), and the Town of Clayton ($42.52). Yet Smithfield's current rate plan, he said, is sufficient to finance a $12-million loan for the plant's expansion (1.82% interest over 20 years). Furthermore, he emphasized, "we're seeing a lot of growth here" that will require additional treatment capacity at the water plant --- including a "build out" of the East River Subdivision well under way on Buffalo Road and two new hotels opening soon. In addition, he noted, the town has a contractual obligation to sell water to the County of Johnston through 2027, which could require up to 3.5-million gallons daily of the current water plant's usable capacity of 5.6-million gallons, which is 90% of the plant's rated capacity of 6.2-million gallons (a margin required by the state). Mr. Scott acknowledged that the town could "buy back" the county's allocation if need be, but warned that the existing plant could still fall short of future capacity requirements related to Smithfield's growth. The plan currently under consideration would increase the plant's rated capacity to 8.3-million gallons. The requested $12,050,000 loan from the state would cover most of the project's total estimated cost of $16.7 million, which includes engineering fees, an additional water tank, and a 5% contingency fund. The difference would come through budgeted revenues from water customers. Following the manager's presentation, the council voted 5-2 to advance the state loan application, with David Barbour, John Dunn, Steve Rabil, David Stevens, and Roger Wood voting yes, Marlon Lee and Travis Scott voting no. Councilman Scott said his main concern is "the risk we're taking for Smithfield to help others" (referring to the county's water customers). He pointed out that the loan application "clearly states" that an increase in the town's property taxes could be "necessary to cover the debt" of the plant's expansion if costs exceed revenues. He urged staff to renegotiate the town's water-delivery contract with the county, and he asked staff to approach the Local Government Commission about the possibility of reducing the state's loan to cover maintenance issues without expanding the water plant. The council's approval of the loan application on Tuesday doesn't settle the issue. That will come when the council faces awarding of construction contracts for the project. Town Manager Scott told the Sun he anticipates the council will be asked to make that decision before the end of the year. |
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Smithfield-Selma High wins recognition for support of students with disabilities Smithfield-Selma High School is one of four in North Carolina being recognized as "Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools" receiving "National Banner" status for "inclusive sports and activities for students with and without intellectual disabilities."  During the 2019-20 school year,
SSS "Unified pairs" of students participated in
basketball, volleyball, cheer, flag football, and soccer
along with a physical-education class "dedicated to
teaching collaboration skills as students from all
backgrounds worked together to practice healthy living,"
according to a news release from Smithfield-Selma High.SSS Unified students also took part in several leadership activities, with one team raising more than $1,000 for Special Olympics North Carolina through a "Polar Plunge" event. In addition, SSS students and staff were featured in a "Dance4Inclusion" video posted on social-media sites. The other N.C. schools awarded National Banner recognition by Special Olympics this year are Ledford (between High Point and Winston-Salem), West Davidson, and West Stokes high schools.  Director
of Social and EmotionalLearning is "Educator of the Year" Amanda H. Allen, Executive Director of Social and Emotional Learning for Johnston County Public Schools, is the Alice Aycock Poe Center's North Carolina "Educator of the Year." The Poe Center --- a Raleigh-based nonprofit promoting health education --- provided a couple of reasons for Dr. Allen's award: "This school year (2019-20) she teamed up with local counseling agencies, Hope Services, and Easterseals to provide counseling services to students who may not have been able to access these services outside of school hours." Furthermore, Dr. Allen collaborated with the Poe Center "to implement a human-trafficking curriculum" in Johnston County's schools "to better educate students on human-trafficking prevention and awareness" and also "planned and hosted Human Trafficking awareness training for school staff." Responded Dr. Allen: "This brings attention to the great strides we've made over the past 18 months to bring attention to human trafficking and ways in which this global crisis can be mitigated.... I'm extremely fortunate to work with dedicated people in our school system and within our community to serve our students." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as "modern-day slavery" that "involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. LEARN MORE about it on Homeland Security's website> |
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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.... DAVID EARL LOFTON, 86 - died September 22 MICHAEL GLEN MATTHEWS, 38 - died September 21 DAVID FRANKLIN (FRANK) OLIVE, 80 - died September 21 HAROLD EDWARD WEBSTER, 79 - died September 20 DAN BINGHAM, 76 - died September 20 VIRGINIA (BUNNY) POLLOCK PRICE, 67 - died September 19 TERESA BUTLER CARTER, 61 - died September 19 CAROLYN ANN ABBOTT STEARNS, 70 - died September 19 ANNE MARIE HOLMES, 71 - died September 19 LINDA EDWARDS BRANNAN, 76 - died September 17 JAMES ALFRED (STEM) BUIE, 98 - died September 17 AVERY MAX GARDNER, 59 - died September 16 CONNIE JEAN PHILLIPS, 65 - died September 16 WALTER JONES HUNTLEY III, 85 - died July 15 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  A NEW DOWNTOWN SHOPPING CENTER IN THE 1960s Market Plaza was the name of the new shopping center between Fifth and Sixth streets on property that once housed one of Downtown Smithfield's numerous tobacco-auction warehouses. Two icons of the mid-century local retail scene were the Winn-Dixie grocery store and Efird's department store, both no longer with us. Smithfield Pharmacy, later Clow Drug, was another local business located there that's no longer with us. (Photo from the Johnston County Heritage Center) |
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