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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE JANUARY 14, 2021 • VOL. 3,
NO. 2 |
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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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 It didn't take long for folks lining up at West Johnston High School Tuesday morning to exhaust the 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine dispensed by the Health Department. (Screen capture from the county's Facebook page) CORONAVIRUS
REPORT
Hospitalizations at highest number yet; vaccination opportunities are increasing The Johnston County Public Health Department reports 976 new cases over the past week. The number of Johnstonians hospitalized for COVID-19 has climbed to 85, the highest total since the pandemic arrived 10 months ago. The good news is that vaccines are finally getting out to the public at large, starting with anyone over age 75. Johnston's Health Department conducted its first drive-thru vaccination clinic on Tuesday at West Johnston High School and a second clinic this morning (Thursday) at North Johnston High School. Supplies were limited to first-come, first-served. UNC Health began offering vaccines to older adults on Monday at several clinics that required appointments (no walk-ins or drive-ups). "We expect those appointments will fill up quickly, but we will post more (opportunities) as they become available --- based mostly on the supply of vaccine that we receive," UNC Health's Suzette Rodriguez told the Sun. Anyone 75 and older is asked to check with YourShot.org. for the latest information about the UNC Health vaccination clinics. To get the most up-to-date information on your phone about the Health Department's vaccination opportunities, text "COVIDJOCO" to 888777. VIEW the Health Department's latest list of vaccination sites> The county's mid-week report shows 2,506 active COVID-19 cases here: 2,421 recovering at home plus 85 in hospitals. That total is down 340 from a week ago. At the same time, 8 more coronavirus-related deaths were recorded here this past week, bringing total fatalities among Johnstonians since last March to 131. Current outbreaks at Smithfield's nursing and rehabilitation centers: Barbour Court --- 107 current/former residents, 57 staff members, 7 deaths. Smithfield Manor --- 113 current/former residents, 45 staff members, 10 deaths. The Landings ---22 current/former residents, 10 staff members, 4 deaths. VIEW the current list of COVID-19 testing sites in all of Johnston County>
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK SHUTS DOWN JOHNSTON'S COURTS Resident Superior Court Judge Tom Lock and newly appointed Chief District Court Judge Paul Holcombe canceled all criminal and civil court sessions in Johnston County this week after Clerk of Court Michelle Ball reported on Monday that her office "may be experiencing a cluster of COVID-19 cases," according to a memorandum issued by Judge Lock. "We will decide about next week's courts later this week," he said. While the main Clerk of Court office in the newer section of the Courthouse was closed by the threat, the clerk's estates and special proceedings division remained open inside the old part of the Courthouse. |
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A divided school board orders return of all grades to classrooms next month The Johnston County Board of Education voted 4-3 Tuesday night to return students in grades K-12 to school classrooms February 1 in two alternating groupings, or "cohorts," that will attend two days a week. Three of the seven members of the board preferred keeping all students at home with "virtual learning" through the end of the current grading period in mid-March. But four members insisted on returning students in all grades to classrooms as soon as logistics for staffing and transportation can be worked out --- a task school administrators said couldn't be finished before the first of February. It came down to a question of safeguarding the health of staff and students versus getting back to face-to-face learning in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. And it was not the first time the school board has been divided over that choice. READ MORE about the debate and other matters before the board on Tuesday> SCHOOL SYSTEM'S DAILY CORONAVIRUS REPORT Posted on Wednesday (Jan. 12): STUDENT DATA: 35 active cases among students (14 a week ago); 317 active quarantines (180 a week ago) including 17 at Smithfield-Selma High School, 4 at Smithfield Middle School, 7 at West Smithfield Elementary, none at South Smithfield Elementary. STAFF DATA: 69 active cases among employees (46 a week ago); 131 active quarantines (115 a week ago) including 3 at Smithfield Middle School, 4 at West Smithfield Elementary, none at South Smithfield Elementary, none at Smithfield-Selma High School. VIEW more details, updated weekdays, on the schools' COVID-19 Dashboard> |
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Local airport's economic impact measured
Johnston Regional Airport's economic impact is included in a new report from the N.C. Division of Aviation: "What Aviation Means to Our Economy." This year's report is based on an analysis of data from 2019 that says "North Carolina's public airports annually contribute $61 billion to the state's economy, supporting 373,000 jobs that generate $15 billion in personal income and $2.5 billion in state and local tax revenues." According to the report, the County of Johnston's airport supports 860 jobs producing $40,530,000 in personal annual income and generates $5,888,000 in state and local taxes each year. "Economic output" attributed to Johnston Regional is $121,330,000. Opened in 1978 and expanded several times since then, Johnston's airport --- designated as "JNX" --- is located four miles northwest of Downtown Smithfield just off US 70 Business on Swift Creek Road . Register of Deeds reports a record year
Johnston
County Register of Deeds Craig Olive reports revenue
collected by the office rose to $6,334,512.97 in 2020,
up from $5,276,118 in 2019 --- an increase of 20.1%. Mr.
Olive said the office saw a large increase in the
number of marriage licenses issued: 1,439 in 2020, up
from 1,176 in 2019 --- an increase of 25.3%. Numbers
of births and deaths show mixed results: 1,697 births
and 1,491 deaths in 2020, compared to 1,770 births and
1,365 deaths in 2019. Mr. Olive said another major increase for 2020 was the number of documents recorded electronically, amounting to 81% --- the largest percentage recorded by the office since it began electronic recordings in 2007.
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WHAT'S
COMING UP?
COMMISSIONERS
BEGIN
MID-MONTH
MEETINGS NEXT
WEEK |
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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.... BEULAH FRANCES MANGUM SANDERS, 85 - died January 12 MARVIN (MARK) GLENN HILL JR., 50 - died January 10 HENRY BERKET BUTTS, 72 - died January 9 MICHAEL WAYNE WARD, 67 - died January 9 LARRY ELWOOD PARKER SR., 78 - died January 9 BOBBY HOLMES, 76 - died January 8 MARY JEAN BRITT, 85 - died January 7 ROBERT JACKSON TOOLE, 76 - died January 5 SANDRA LORRAINE BRINKLEY JONES, 57 - died January 5 BETTY CAROL JONES McFATTER GRICE, 84 - died December 16 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  A THOROUGHLY MODERN INN IN THE MID-20th CENTURY From the UNC Library's digital archives comes this postcard view of Smithfield's Trot Motel, built beside US 301 North (today's Bright Leaf Boulevard) when that highway was the primary tourist route between New York and Florida before I-95 came along in 1960. Adding to the landmark was the neon "trotting horse" sign advertising "free TV" along with air conditioning, which became a necessity for travelers and residents alike in hot and humid Eastern North Carolina. The Knott family operated the business for many years, succeeded by the Dussaults in the mid-1970s not long after the opening of Pine Needle Square Shopping Center across the street. The motel was closed 20 years ago and demolished in late 2001. |
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LINKS TO MORE PAGES IN THIS EDITION OBSERVATIONS Rewind with our archives |
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For more information
about our community, check out my online
"newspaper parent" via the link shown below. This
website is a handy portal to important sources of
current information about Smithfield and Johnston
County.
 Here's
what you'll find there:• Local government website links • Local weather data, current & past • Neuse River levels & forecasts • Official time & Farmer's Almanac • Monthly unemployment reports • Quarterly retail-sales reports • Official population estimates • Agricultural statistics • Things to see and do www.smithfieldselmasun.com |
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