CORONAVIRUS REPORT

Schools' mask mandate extended another month

And once again Tuesday's vote by the Johnston County Board of Education to do that was 4-3 as it has been every month starting in August.

Board member Lynn Andrews, who's been meeting regularly with County Health Director Marilyn Pearson and others to assess the COVID-19 situation in Johnston, reported that key numbers have gone up since the board's November meeting, including a rise from 4.9% to 8.5% in the rate of coronavirus tests revealing infections.

She also reported that student quarantines in Union County's schools where masks are optional continue to be three to four times the number of quarantines here (Union is a Charlotte suburban county very much like Johnston). Ms. Andrews was joined in support of continuing Johnston's mask mandate by board members Al Byrd, Kay Carroll, and Terri Sessoms.

Mike Wooten, who voted against the mandate along with Board Chairman Todd Sutton and Ronald Johnson, said "the only place you see a large amount of people with masks is schools; nobody's wearing 'em anywhere else" – especially in large retail stores like Wal-Mart and at church, where masks are optional.

Ms. Sessoms countered: "What I believe is the determining factor is the quarantine piece. When they go to Wal-Mart they don't have to be quarantined.... When they go to church, the church doesn't have... to send them home and say you're quarantined. But as a public-school system we operate underneath that mandate of quarantining" required by the state.

Chairman Sutton, expressing empathy for students, said "sitting in here a couple of hours wearing these masks gives me a headache.... My hope is that when we come back here in January this board makes it optional for students and staff."

Mr. Carroll, a pharmacist by profession, said masking and other COVID restrictions wouldn't be necessary "if we could get to 70%" of Johnstonians vaccinated (presently, that number is 51% ). "It's a safe vaccine," he insisted. "Let's stop this virus in its tracks and get back to a normal life."

Assistant Superintendent David Pearce told the board that 289 students have participated in the Test to Stay program that has allowed most of them to remain in school after COVID exposure. Only 11 of those taking that option tested positive and had to be quarantined, he reported.

This morning's report from Johnston County Public Schools
showed 221 active cases among students and staff (up from 116 last week) with 631 students and 52 staff members quarantined (up from 358 students and 27 staff a week ago). As of this morning, North Johnston Middle School had 31 students in quarantine, Four Oaks Elementary and Powhatan Elementary 30 apiece, McGee's Crossroads Middle 29, and Cleveland Elementary 27. Locally, West Smithfield Elementary reported 10, Smithfield-Selma High 8, South Smithfield Elementary 6, Wilson's Mills Elementary 4, and Smithfield Middle 0.

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>

County issues advisory on rental-assistance evictions

Johnston County residents who have applied for Emergency Rental Assistance and have received an eviction notice are urged to call the Emergency Rental Assistance Program helpline at 844-243-7081. By notifying the call center, case managers are able to flag tenant accounts and help expedite the payment process to avoid eviction. The helpline is available Monday- Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

15 local physicians among state's "Top Doctors"

They're included on Business North Carolina magazine's annual list of the state's "Top Doctors" according to their peers:
• Dr. Eric Janis, based in Smithfield with North Carolina Heart & Vascular, is listed along with Dr. Benjamin Atkeson, based in Clayton, under Cardiology.
• Dr. Rodrigo Samodal of UNC Primary Care, Clayton is listed under Family Medicine.
• Dr. Murtaza Parekh of REX Digestive Healthcare, Clayton is listed under Gastroenterology.
• Dr. Octavio Cieza of UNC Specialty Care, Smithfield is listed under Infectious Diseases.
• Dr. Ajmal Gilani of UNC Neurology, Clayton is listed under Neurology.
• Dr. Caroline Lewis, Dr. Jennifer Mury, and Dr. Carlos Bendfeldt of UNC Women's Health, Clayton are listed under Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Dr. Richard Alioto of UNC Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Clayton is listed under Orthopedic Surgery.
 • Dr. Kenneth Johnson of UNC Ear Nose and Throat, Clayton is listed under Otolaryngology.
• Dr. Hasan Baloch of Johnston Health, Smithfield is listed under Psychiatry.
• Dr. Aaron Leininger of UNC Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Clayton is listed under Sports Medicine.
• Dr. Chad Gridley of UNC Specialty Care, Smithfield and Dr. Joseph Allen, based in Clayton, are listed under Urology.

"North Carolina's most respected doctors in 56 specialties are presented in this annual report," the magazine notes. "Those cited were selected by their peers with a goal of saluting the state's leading medical practitioners."

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Plus a large selection of Seasonal Gifts!

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It took a pair of Santas to cover the whole town

Two Santas were required to visit every Smithfield neighborhood last Saturday afternoon, riding atop Fire Department vehicles with police escorts:

Smithfield's Santas strike a cheerful pose just before mounting "sleighs" for their four-hour rides through town. Hmmm. They look familiar, resembling present and former parks and recreation directors we know....
Below are the three-vehicle entourages as they head away from Fire Station One on Fourth Street at 1 p.m., right on schedule:

WHAT'S COMING UP?

Just 3 days left to visit Santa's Workshop Downtown

Reservations are required to visit Santa in his workshop at Town Hall Park off Market Street just west of Fourth Street 4-5 p.m. this Friday, 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, and 4-6 p.m. next Thursday (Dec. 23). Here's the link to sign up>

SSS hosts Winter Percussion Theatre Friday evening

The announcement from the school refers to the annual performance as "legendary" – and it starts at 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium. Tickets are $10 "but they sell out quickly," the announcement advises. Here's how to get tickets>

Astronomically, Winter arrives at 10:59 a.m. next Tuesday

That's the time of the Winter Solstice, when the Earth's axis tilts the Northern Hemisphere its farthest distance away from the Sun. That's why days are at their shortest duration of the year just now and temperatures have been recently falling. Meteorologically speaking, Winter officially began December 1.

Christmas on Saturday nets a five-day holiday weekend

Town of Smithfield offices and services as well as county and state offices will be closed Thursday, Friday, and the following Monday (Dec. 27) for Christmas holidays. The Johnston County Landfill Solid Waste Convenience Centers will be open next Thursday, then closed the next four days before resuming normal operations on Tuesday, Dec. 28. The Town of Smithfield's recycling station at Buffalo and Hospital roads will be open next Wednesday as usual. Christmas Day (Saturday) is the only holiday next week for most banks and the U.S. Postal Service.

DEATHS & FUNERALS

Click on the name to read an obituary, usually posted by the funeral home

MARVIN RAY LANGDON, 78 – died December 15

ALICE RACHEL NARRON TEW PRICE, 73 – died December 14

LOIS GRIFFIN WHITLEY, 98 – died December 11

SARAH ETHELINE McDANIEL YARD, 87 – died December 11

GERALD LEE GODWIN, 92 – died December 10

KATHERINE HONBARRIER GARDNER, 84 – died December 9

MARY J. JACKSON, 87 – died December 7

A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR

"Light Up Smithfield" ought to include the parade

When the town along with the telephone and cable companies put their utility lines underground through the heart of Downtown Smithfield a decade or so ago, down came the tall poles that held high the street lights that illuminated Market Street. In their place are much shorter lampposts that are spaced apart just enough to leave a series of dark spots along Smithfield's main street from the river to Sixth Street.

Motorists racing through town at night likely don't notice it, but folks who line the street for the town's annual Christmas Parade surely do. There was a good-sized crowd at last Thursday's revival of the event after COVID canceled it last year. No doubt most folks enjoyed the show.

But it surely would have been better for spectators and participants alike if Market Street were lit up like it used to be.

An expensive proposition? Probably so. Which leads us to the logical alternative: Move the parade to a Saturday afternoon (or even a Sunday afternoon as was done some years ago) so we can clearly see once again the smiles on the faces of excited children lining the sidewalks and dancing down the street.
 

Birds just passing through?

A flock of bluebirds made a brief stop at the editor's backyard bluebird box earlier this month, taking turns to inspect the habitat inside and out.

Usually it's just one male and one female checking out the place. But this time half a dozen of the infrequently seen visitors came by at once.

Wonder if it was a stopover for parents to show their offspring their childhood homeplace?

They were in and out in less than half an hour, and I didn't see which direction they flew away.

Award-winning holiday decorations, don't you think?