WOW! A SMITHFIELD EXPLOSION!
It
appears to be an Autumn
Leaves Spectacle
surpassing any we've seen
in recent years,
highlighted by the golden
maples decorating numerous
Smithfield yards. The
Sun's editor took a walk
around the southwestern
quadrant of the town last
Sunday afternoon and found
spectacular leaf outbreaks
at every turn.
A photographic
report from that
excursion appears on the
FEATURE PAGE>
Dickie
Braswell is new
county commissioner
By
unanimous vote at Monday's
session, Johnston's County
Commissioners appointed
Richard D. (Dickie)
Braswell of Princeton to
fill the District 3 seat
being vacated at the end
of this month by Chairman
Chad Stewart of Four Oaks.
Mr. Braswell, who lost a
close race against Mr.
Stewart three years ago,
will serve the term's
remaining 12 months and
has already announced his
intention to campaign as a
candidate for commissioner
in next year's election.
The filing period opens
Monday, Dec. 6,
coincidentally the date of
Mr. Braswell's first
meeting as a commissioner.
District 3 encompasses a
wide section of
southeastern Johnston
County stretching
from Four Oaks to
Princeton.
Commissioners Ted Godwin,
Fred Smith, and Larry Wood
served as a committee that
interviewed three
applicants for Mr.
Stewart's seat: Gary Wayne
Lee and Ralph Stewart as
well as Mr. Braswell. They
also consulted with
leaders of Johnston's
Republican Party since Mr.
Stewart had to be replaced
by a registered
Republican.
Commissioner Smith, who
made the appointment
motion, said all three
candidates were "really
quality applicants." He
said the committee
recommended Mr. Braswell
because of his experience
as a real-estate developer
in dealing with
infrastructure, water and
sewer projects especially.
Mr. Stewart will give up
his seat on
the board Nov. 30 to
begin work full-time as
manager of Johnston's
Alcoholic Beverage Control
system. The board will
elect a new chairman at
its Dec. 6 meeting.
County
exercises
$450,000 property-purchase
option
Commissioner
Godwin called it "the
biggest miscarriage and
waste of taxpayers' money"
as he and Commissioner
Wood voted Monday against
completing the purchase
of nearly six acres
next to the new Detention
and Public Safety centers
under construction beside
US 70 Business east of
Smithfield. The other five
commissioners approved the
purchase, to be finalized
no later than next June 1.
Mr. Godwin and Mr. Wood
voted last month
against taking the option
because of the price,
which at $77,000 an
acre is much more than the
$20,000 an acre the county
had paid for adjacent
land.
County Manager Rick Hester
told the Sun after
Monday's meeting that
warehousing for Emergency
Services heads the list of
possible uses for the
additional property.
READ the
board clerk's summary of
all matters handled at
Monday's meeting>
How
legislative
redistricting affects
Johnston
Currently,
Johnston County is
represented in the North
Carolina General
Assembly by three
state senators, none of
whom are Johnston County
residents. After next
year's election, Johnston
will have one state
senator who represents the
entire county and no other
territories.
Meanwhile,
Johnston will continue to
elect members to the N.C.
House of Representatives
from two districts revised
yet still contained within
the county's borders, plus
a third new district
encompassing the
westernmost corner of
Johnston and the eastern
half of Harnett
County.
With addition
of a 14th Congressional
district in North Carolina
resulting from 2020
Census results, Johnston
will be in a newly crafted
district with all of
Sampson and Cumberland
counties, most of Harnett,
and a small portion of
Wayne to the southeast.
That does not include New
Hanover County where
Republican David Rouzer,
Johnston's current
representative in the U.S.
House, now resides.
Those changes were adopted
by the N.C. General
Assembly earlier this
month for state and
federal
legislative redistricting
that's required after each
10-year federal census.
They'll be in place for
2022's primary and general
elections, barring a delay
resulting from lawsuits
challenging the new
boundaries.
Currently, Johnston's
representation in the N.C.
Senate is split among
three districts
represented by Republicans
Lisa Barnes of Nash County
(whose district
encompasses Smithfield),
Brent Jackson
of Sampson County,
and Jim Burgin of Harnett
County.
In
the N.C. House, Johnston
is represented by
Republicans Donna White of
Clayton and Larry
Strickland of Pine Level
from two separate
districts that split
Smithfield in half. Under
the new plan, all of
Smithfield will be within
a single district that
includes Mr. Strickland's
place of residence but not
Ms. White's.
The
filing period for state
and county offices up for
election in 2022 opens at
noon Monday, Dec. 6 and
closes at noon Friday,
Dec. 17.
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
No rush
so far to get children
vaccinated here
The
Johnston County Public
Health Department reports
a total of 321
COVID vaccinations were
given to children
5-11 years old November
4-12, the first week they've
been offered in North
Carolina to that age group.
That's just a fraction of an
estimated 20,000 Johnston
County children ages 5-11.
Meanwhile, the mid-week
report from the N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services shows little
progress in the number of
Johnstonians fully
vaccinated against COVID-19.
The 102,355 Johnstonians in
that group make up 49% of
the county's population.
Statewide, 56% are fully
vaccinated; nationwide,
59.5%.
This week's report from the school
system (posted this morning) showed 114 active
cases among students and
staff (up from
107 last week) with
325 students and 17 staff
members quarantined (294
students and 21
staff quarantined a
week ago). As of this
morning, East Clayton
Elementary reported 74
students quarantined; no
other school in Johnston
had as many as 20. In
the immediate area,
Wilson's Mills Elementary
reported 8,
Smithfield-Selma High and
South Smithfield
Elementary 5 apiece,
Smithfield Middle 4, and
West Smithfield Elementary
none.
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 |
32,859
(32,582) |
352
(350) |
22
(31) |
102,355: 49%*
(101,839) |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
1,510,086
(1,497,677) |
18,514
(18,371) |
1,049
(1,095) |
5,902,781: 56%*
(5,872,003) |
| UNITED STATES |
47,421,879
(46,850,000) |
767,439
(759,000) |
|
195,612,365: 59.5%*
(194,382,921) |
| WORLDWIDE |
255,193,384
(251,605,914) |
5,127,302
(5,076,073) |
|
7,590,215,673
total doses given |
* Percentage of total population (all
ages)
Data provided by: County
of Johnston at
5:35 p.m. November
15
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
12:00 p.m.
November 17
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:22 a.m. November
18 |
Schools'
audit confirms improved
finances
"No
surprise here; this is not
abnormal," said Adam
Scepurek of the auditing
firm Anderson Smith &
Wike referring to a hefty
jump in the cash
position of Johnston
County Public Schools
during the 2020-21 fiscal
year that ended June 30.
"Every district we've
worked with has added fund
balance," he told the
county's Board of
Education last week as he
summarized findings from
the schools' annual
audit.
The biggest reason for
that, he noted,
was the
COVID-19 pandemic,
which brought forth a
flood of federal aid
even as it shut
down schools and produced
huge savings in operating
expenses.
But in Johnston County's
case, there was more: an
extra infusion of cash
from the County
Commissioners at the end
of fiscal
2019-20 followed
by a new
school administration
that got a tighter grip on
the system's finances.
As a result, Johnston's
schools ended
2020-21 with a
General Fund balance of
$23,389,423. That's up
about $13 million from the
previous year and a
dramatic increase from a
dangerously low balance of
about $900,000 two years
ago.
Even so, Director of
Finance Stephen Britt
followed the auditor's
presentation with a
reminder
that Johnston's
school system continues to
rank near the bottom in
North Carolina in terms of
per-pupil expenditures:
111th among the state's
115 school districts, he
said.
It wasn't brought up at
last week's meeting, but
that standing appears
likely to improve with the
County Commissioners'
recent approval of the
school board's funding
request in full for the
current fiscal year.
Smithfield-Selma
High Advisory Council
appointments
The
Board of Education
appointed Latoyta
Green-Baker, Shannon
Macedo, and Rick
Mercier to three-year
terms. (Mr. Mercer
was an unsuccessful
candidate for election to
the school board last
year.) They'll join
holdover council members
Frank Creech (chair),
Van Boothe, Shamona
Foreman, and Kathleen
Stuckey.
Town
pays tribute to a
long-serving pastor
Dr.
CJ Allen is retiring after
30 years as pastor of Mt.
Zion Church of Deliverance
on East Smithfield's
Second Avenue. Make that
"Dr. CJ Allen Avenue"
following approval of the
new name by the Town
Council.
Shown with Dr. Allen at a
surprise presentation at
the church last Sunday is
Councilman Marlon Lee
(left) and the church's
new pastor, Wyatt Ragland.
The Town Council approved
the new name last
week after learning
that residents of two
homes affected by the
change of address had
given their
consent. (Contributed
photo)
SSS
ends season with most
wins since 1995
A
long-time-coming winning
season
for Smithfield-Selma
High School's football
Spartans came to a close
last Friday with a 39-21
loss to Northern Nash in
Round 2 of the state 3-A
playoffs. (The Northern
Knights were the
higher-seeded team with
only one loss this
season.)
Wrote
Principal David Allen in
his weekly message to the
SSS family: "A Spartan
shoutout to our Football
Team who... finished their
season 8-4, the most wins in
a season since 1995. Way to
go Coach Donald (Deron) and
team; we are very
proud! We know this is
not the end, but the
beginning of great things to
come."
REVIEW the
Spartans' landmark season
on the MaxPreps
website>
Meanwhile,
two Johnston County teams
remain undefeated in
advancing to Round 3 of
the playoffs. Cleveland
High, competing in the 4-A
ranks, has a record of
11-0 following last
Friday's 62-20 win over
Wilmington's Laney High;
Princeton, a 2-A
contender, also has a
record of 11-0 after
defeating Kinston High
41-31.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Harbor's
Wine Walk returns to
Downtown this Friday
Yet
another community event
shut out by the COVID
pandemic last year is
coming back to life. It's
the Wine Walk, an annual
fund-raiser to benefit
Harbor, Inc. – Johnston's
non-profit agency
assisting victims of
domestic
violence, sexual
assault, and "women in
transition." Walkers will
begin at the Raymond James
office at 310 Bridge
Street and move at their
own pace to a dozen other
business locations to
sample a variety of wines.
Tickets may
be purchased in advance
online for $25 or at
the event for $30. The
walking starts at 5 p.m.
and continues till 9 p.m.
Friday.
Thanksgiving
next Thursday; school's
out the entire week
This
"air-stuffed" turkey in a
front yard on First Street
might win a prize in the
Thanksgiving Decorating
Contest (if we had
one) because we don't
see many outdoor displays
like this to remind us
of next Thursday's
observance.
And what a holiday it will
be as our public schools
are getting the whole week
off since the Board of
Education added a
couple of "wellness days"
to the usual three-day
break.
Gobble on.
Local
hospitals graded "A" for
patient safety
Once
again, Johnston
Health's hospitals in
Smithfield and Clayton have
received an "A" Leapfrog
Hospital Safety Grade – a
measuring stick updated
twice annually.
"This national distinction
recognizes the
organization's achievement
in protecting patients from
harm and error in the
hospital," reads the
announcement from Johnston
Health.
The Leapfrog Group is an
independent watchdog
organization that grades
hospitals based on more than
30 national performance
measures. "The grading
system is peer-reviewed,
fully transparent, and free
to the public," notes
Johnston Health.
VIEW
Leapfrog's scoring
report for both of
Johnston's hospitals>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
AUDREY
BLEDSOE NORRIS, 89 –
died November 16
DELLA
MAGAREE CREECH, 96 –
died November 15
JANIE MARIE
MEADOWS, 65 –
died November 15
ANTONIO
SALAZAR, 78 –
died November 15
JAMES (JIM)
CECIL HENDERSON JR., 73 –
died November 13
TERESA
RHODES SMITH, 51 –
died November 13
JOHN IRA
LEE, 66 – died
November 12
IRENE CHANCE
BURGESS, 91 –
died November 11
RUTH OLA
PEGRAM DANIEL, 96–
died November 11
ROBERT
POWELL HOLDING III, 69 –
died November 11
BARBARA JEAN
PALIN, 63 –
died November 10
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Redistricting
looks like a stacked
deck – again
The
newly adopted districts
for electing
Congressional representatives
and state legislators make
things simpler
for Johnston County's
voters. We're no longer
chopped up into multiple
N.C. Senate districts, our
Congressional district is
more compact, and
we've still got two
self-contained N.C. House
districts with a small
part of the county paired
in a third House
district with half of
neighboring Harnett.
And yet, the big picture
isn't so pretty.
Gerrymandering is "alive
and well" in North
Carolina as elsewhere
across the land,
and Republican
candidates appear to
be the predominant
beneficiaries since the
GOP controls most of the
nation's state
legislatures, including
ours, which draw the
boundary lines rather than
leaving that task to
fair-minded non-partisans
(public-opinion polls
have shown most Americans
favor that mechanism).
A
nationwide analysis by The
New York Times came
to this not-so-surprising
conclusion this week: "A year
before the polls open in
the 2022 mid-term
elections, Republicans are
already poised to flip at
least five seats in the
closely divided House
thanks to redrawn district
maps that are more
distorted, more
disjointed, and more
gerrymandered than any
since the Voting Rights
Act was passed in 1965."
The situation is
especially disturbing here
in North Carolina. Our
Congressional delegation
is currently split between
eight Republicans and five
Democrats, but initial
reports show next year's
election with the new
districts could change
that to 10 if not 11
Republicans and four and
possibly three Democrats
(we gained a seat in the
U.S. House from 2020
Census results).
That doesn't seem fair in
a so-called "purple" state
where voters are almost
evenly split between
Democratic and Republican
candidates in statewide
election results.
"Our democracy is under
attack" is a warning cry
we've heard often since
last year's contentious
election, and reasons for
that apprehension are
many. None, perhaps, are
as troublesome as the
gerrymandering both
political parties continue
to practice – wherein
legislators get to choose
their voters rather than
the other way around.
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