GHOULISH
GREEN POND
The holding
pond in the wetlands beside
Spring Branch below the Bob
Wallace Jaycee Kiddie Park
and the Girl Scout Hut has
gotten a pea-green coating
in recent weeks, apparently
the result of nutrients
draining from nearby higher
ground and overflows from
the creek. And that's the
pond's purpose: to slow down
if not block such pollutants
from flowing directly into
the nearby Neuse River. But
it surely looks like some
mysterious Halloween
concoction, doesn't it?
JOHNSTON
COUNTY ON THE GROW
Building
permits soar; more
inspectors OK'd
The number of
property inspections as well
as building permits issued
by the County of Johnston
has doubled over the past
five years, despite the
coronavirus pandemic. (And
that includes inspections
and permits not only for the
county's suburban and rural
areas but also for all
of Johnston's
municipalities, including
Smithfield, except
for Clayton and Four
Oaks.)
County Manager Rick Hester
made that report during
Monday's meeting of the
County Commissioners.
In response, the board
approved employment of two
more inspectors in addition
to the 19 already on the
job.
Mr. Hester pointed out that
the cost to the county of
hiring two more inspectors
will be covered by fees
collected for the permits
they'll produce.
This past year (fiscal
2020-21) the county
completed 97,822 property
inspections related to
either new construction or
structure renovations and
issued 8,694 building
permits. Five years ago
those numbers were 45,137
and 4,712, and the 2021
totals were significantly
above last year's
74,675 inspections and 7,177
permits.
VIEW a table
showing yearly inspection
and permit totals starting
with 2000>
County approves
tax incentives for
Clayton office project
Commissioners
approved an agreement with
Davis Park Leasing, LLC of
Cary offering property-tax
rebates in return for
construction of at
least 525,000 square
feet of "Class A"
office space near the
interchange of the US 70
Bypass and NC 42 west of
Clayton that will provide
at least 100 new jobs.
Commissioners were told
that salaries of
those to be employed would
average $55,000 – above
Johnston's current average
of about $42,000 – and
that the tax incentives
were key in securing the
project in competition
with surrounding counties.
No objections to the
agreement were voiced
during a public hearing on
the proposal.
County
gets $500,000 grant for
Cleveland park project
Adrian
Branch, the county's
parks, greenways, and
open-space coordinator,
told commissioners the
county will receive a
$500,000 federal grant to
be added to an earlier
state grant of $500,000 to
help offset the cost of a
$1.6-million
purchase of a 70-acre
future park site in
Cleveland Township.
Work is expected to begin
early next year on a
master plan for
development of the
site at the
intersection of Matthews
and Polenta roads.
LEARN MORE
about the county's work
to expand recreation
throughout Johnston>
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
Fewer
hospitalizations making
room for electives
The
number of Johnstonians
hospitalized for
COVID-related treatment
was down to 25 this week –
the lowest
number since mid-July
and well below a peak of
86 reported by the county
on September 7. As a
result, Johnston Health is
moving to re-open its
facilities to elective
surgeries and other
procedures put on hold
back in mid-August because
of limited availability of
inpatient beds.
Also, starting this week,
Johnston Health is
offering monoclonal
antibody therapy for
patients who test positive
for COVID-19 and have mild
symptoms. That service is
available 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. seven days a week.
Appointments may be made
by phoning 919-938-7749.
This week's report from the school
system (posted this
morning)
showed 69 active
cases among students and
staff (down slightly from
73 last week) with
279 students and
11 staff members
quarantined (326 students
and 16
staff were
quarantined a week ago).
Schools with the most
students in quarantine (as
of this morning): McGee's
Crossroads Elementary 23,
West View Elementary 19,
River Dell Elementary 15.
Among schools with the
fewest students in
quarantine, South
Smithfield Elementary
reported just one student
kept at home. West
Smithfield Elementary and
Smithfield Middle each
reported 13,
Smithfield-Selma High 8,
Wilson's Mills Elementary
5.
VIEW the
school system's COVID
dashboard with data for
all schools>
VIEW the
current list of
vaccination clinics in
Johnston County>
VIEW the
current list of testing
sites in Johnston
County>
CORONAVIRUS
weekly
measurements |
Case total
since 3-20
(last week) |
Deaths
since 3-20
(last week) |
Hospital
patients
(last week) |
Fully
vaccinated
(last week) |
| JOHNSTON COUNTY |
31,801
(31,433) |
335
(330) |
25
(39) |
99,678: 48%*
(98,398: 47%) |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
1,457,798
(1,439,958) |
17,640
(17,330) |
1,811
(2,277) |
5,751,445: 55%*
(5,682,740: 54%*) |
| UNITED STATES |
45,220,057
(44,685,145) |
731,271
(719,551) |
|
189,141,481: 58%*
(187,937,559: 57%) |
| WORLDWIDE |
242,163,439
(239,290,763) |
4,924,605
(4,876,749) |
|
6,720,934,702
total doses given |
* Percentage of total population (all
ages)
Data provided by: County
of Johnston at
5:10.m. October 19
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
11:55 a.m. October
20
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:21 a.m. October
21 |
Hospitals
5-star rated for
heart-attack treatments
Johnston
Health, operator of
hospitals at Smithfield
and Clayton, has earned a
5-star rating for
treatment of heart
attacks, according to new
research released by
Healthgrades, a national
medical-care rating
service.
"This
analysis shows that
patients treated at
hospitals receiving a
5-star rating have a lower
risk of mortality and a
lower risk of experiencing
one or more complications
during a hospital stay
than if they were treated
at hospitals receiving a
1-star rating in that
procedure or condition,"
reads the announcement
from Johnston Health.
For the reporting
period 2018-2020,
patients treated for heart
attack in 5-star-rated
hospitals have on
average a 49.6% lower
risk of dying than if they
were treated
in hospitals with
1-star ratings, the
announcement notes.
For its analysis,
Healthgrades evaluated
approximately 45-million
Medicare inpatient records
for nearly 4,500
short-term acute-care
hospitals nationwide to
assess performance in
31 common conditions and
procedures.
Johnston Health is part of
the UNC Health Care
System. Its Smithfield
hospital, owned by the
County of Johnston, was
formerly Johnston Memorial
Hospital.
DSDC
director saluted as an
N.C. "trailblazer"
Sarah
Edwards, the Downtown
Smithfield Development
Corporation's executive
director, is featured in
the current edition of Business
North Carolina magazine
as one of 21
"trailblazers" identified
as "champions of smaller
North Carolina towns."
"Wearing many hats,
Edwards works to recruit
and retain businesses,
improve the downtown's
vibrancy and
pedestrian-friendliness,
plan events and
promotions, and build
broad-based support for
the organization," the
magazine notes.
Over the past couple of
years, it continues, she
"implemented the
#SmithfieldStrong campaign
(on social media), which
resulted in thousands of
dollars in revenue for
downtown businesses, and
developed programs to led
to $28,500 in grants to
help stabilize local
companies during the
(coronavirus) pandemic."
Ms. Edwards has been
DSDC's executive director
since 2013, having joined
the organization in 2009
under Director Chris
Johnson, who presently
heads the County of
Johnston's Economic
Development Office.
SSS
blasts Southern
Wayne 64-0 for
fifth win
The
Spartans are now 5-3
overall, 3-2 in Quad
County 3-A Conference play
following Friday's
blowout, with two games
left in the season (which
could be extended by a
berth in the state
playoffs).
SSS gained 225 yards on
the ground against
Southern Wayne, including
three touchdown runs by
Brandon Perry (102 total
yards rushing) and
one TD apiece by Clevonte
Watson, Deshawn
McCullough, and Jaden
Boone.
Quarterback McCullough
completed 6 of 7 passes
for 159 total yards,
including two for
touchdowns – one to
Isaiah Dawson, the other
to Daniel Dawson. The
Spartans also scored on a
blocked punt by
Michael Thompson.
On defense, Jaylen Stancil
had 8 solo tackles,
Jeremiah Hatley 7, and
Joshua Hightower 6.
Next up for the
Spartans is Friday's
intra-conference contest at
home against Wayne County's
Charles B. Aycock High. The
Golden Falcons won their
first game last Friday,
surprising West Johnston
35-20. (SSS beat West by a
similar score two weeks ago:
33-20.)
MORE about SSS
football on
the MaxPreps
website>
Spartan Regiment a winner in
competition at
Annapolis
Smithfield-Selma
High School's marching
band won first place at
the Regional US Bands
Naval Academy Invitational
last weekend in Maryland.
"The Spartan Regiment is a
young group this year with
only 13 seniors out of 108
students. We are
really proud of their hard
work!" exclaimed SSS
Principal David Allen.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Ghost
Walk returns to
Riverside
Cemetery next
Thursday
Last year's
annual Heritage Center
Ghost Walk was a virtual
event because of the
coronavirus pandemic. This
year it will take place
"live" once again in
Riverside Cemetery,
starting at 6 p.m. October
28. This year's line-up
of Johnstonians
making an
"appearance": Bettie
Morgan Brown, a pioneer
African-American teacher
(portrayed by Crystal
Kimpson
Roberts); Dora
Hood Kirkman, who
witnessed the last
major battle of the Civil
War (portrayed by
Eleanor Wallace Starling,
her great-granddaughter); legendary
19th Century
prankster Eli Olive
(portrayed by Shaun
Braswell); Colin
Hamilton Sr., a
Clayton blacksmith whose
son became a General in
the U.S. Army (portrayed
by Amos Tucker); and
Dr. Charles Furlong,
Johnston County’s only
African-American physician
for much of the
20th Century
(portrayed by Haywood
Watson). Admission
charge is $5 for adults and
$3 for students, payable at
the event, which begins at
the corner of South Second
and Church streets. No
advance tickets will be
sold.
Parks
& Rec's Halloween
events start next
Thursday
Here's
the lineup for activities
planned by the Town of
Smithfield's Parks &
Recreation Department:
• Thursday, Oct.
28 – Egg Haunt,
7 p.m. Community Park
baseball fields.
• Friday, Oct. 29
– Boo Bash, 4-6:30 p.m.,
Sarah Yard Community
Center.
• Saturday, Oct.
30 – Trunk or
Treat, 10:30-12:30,
Community Park.
The Town of Smithfield has
set trick-or-treating
hours for 5-8
p.m. Sunday, Oct.
31.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
BRENDA SUE
PENDER SHEETS, 76 –
died October 18
JESSIE (JET)
BATTEN ATKINSON, 89 –
died October 17
SHERRIE ANN
JACKSON, 66 –
died October 17
SUSAN C.
GARNER, 75 –
died October 16
ARLON GLENN
THOMPSON, 62 –
died October 15
PENELOPE
LYNN BRYANT, 78 –
died October 13
REV. REPSIE
THOMPSON JOHNSON, 91 –
died October 13
The
story of a long-time
Smithfield family
business
Elizabeth
Sawrey's father started
Automotive Parts Company
in 1935; today her son
runs the business.
Her memories about the
company and its evolution
over nine decades are
recounted an interview
with Gary Ridout, who has
been compiling stories of
Holt Lake residents in
recent years and
sharing them with the
Weekly Sun.
Gary's
transcript of the
interview with Ms.
Sawrey, along with
historical
photos, on the
FEATURE PAGE>
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
What's
the future for Johnston
County's towns?
It wasn't really
"news" because it's been
going on ever since I-40
opened into Johnston County
30 years ago. Even so, it's
still an amazing set of
numbers as we observe the
explosive residential growth
going on in Johnston County
just now.
Here's what those numbers
from the 2020 U.S. Census
show us: Of the 47,121
residents added to
Johnston's population over
the past 10 years, 34,069 of
them moved into houses
located in the county's
unincorporated suburban and
rural areas.
And of the 13,052 who moved
into our towns, 10,191
located within the corporate
limits of Clayton. Just 326
residents were added to the
Town of Smithfield from 2010
to 2020, trailing Benson
which added 656, newly
incorporated Archer Lodge
with 505, and Pine Level
with 346.
The flood of new residents
filling up those suburban
lots, mostly in northwestern
Johnston near Wake County,
is a matter of great concern
to the County Commissioners,
who have ordered a revamping
of the county's land-use
regulations to steer more of
that residential to the
towns that are more likely
to provide the
infrastructure to handle the
inevitable growth.
The Town of Smithfield,
especially, appears to be
focused on preparing for
more residents, with current
work under way to expand the
water plant, the police
station, and its parks and
recreational facilities.
The evidence is already
before us that the next
10 years will bring more
than 326 new residents to
town. Well over a thousand
new housing units are
planned for subdivisions
recently approved within
Smithfield's jurisdiction,
many of those near the
Amazon distribution center
under construction.
We'll likely not catch up
with Clayton by the 2030
Census, but it will be
something to see what
Smithfield looks like when
this decade is done.
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