'TIS THE SEASON FOR BEGINNERS' BASKETBALL...
What
better way for parents
(and grandparents) to
spend a cold Saturday
morning in early January
than watching little boys
play basketball in the
warmth of the Recreation
& Aquatics Center.
This particular league is
for beginners 7-8 years of
age. That's why the goals
are lower and coaches are
allowed on the floor to
instruct their players.
They do keep score, but
who cares what it is so
long as the youngsters –
and their fans – are
having fun. (Facebook
photo posted by Catherine
Brady)
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
School
masks still on as case
numbers spike
Once again,
the Johnston County Board
of Education voted 4-3
this week to continue the
mask mandate for school
students and staff another
month. That was no
surprise as COVID case
numbers are much higher
than they were a month
ago.
Even so, board members
expressed interest in
exploring ways to ease
in-school mask restrictions
– an idea put forth by
Ronald Johnson, one of three
board members along with
Chairman Todd
Sutton and Mike
Wooten who have
consistently voted against
mandatory masking. Mr.
Johnson said it was a matter
of "protocols and procedures
versus practicality and
reality," noting that public
schools are the only places
strictly enforcing rules on
masks.
Terri Sessoms – one of
four board members voting to
continue mask wearing along
with Lyn Andrews, Al Byrd,
and Kay Carroll – blamed the
state's Department of Health
and Human Services for
mandates on masks and
quarantines Johnston's
school board is bound to
follow. "Flexibility is not
in our heads right now," she
said.
Mr. Carroll, a
pharmacist, said the
issue goes beyond masks: "If
we can get enough people
vaccinated, then the virus
doesn't have a place to go."
The state's mid-week report
shows that 52% of
Johnston's population is
fully vaccinated. For all of
North Carolina the rate
is 59%; across the
nation it's 63%.
This morning's
report from Johnston
County Public Schools showed
494 active cases among
students and staff (twice as
many as last week's
254) with 1,527
students and 159 staff
members quarantined
(552 students
and 115 staff were
quarantined a week ago).
READ the
school system's revised
policy on student and
staff quarantines>
Schools with the most
students in quarantine:
Selma Elementary 68,
Riverwood Elementary 62,
Princeton Middle/High 57,
Princeton Elementary and
Meadow with 55 apiece, Four
Oaks Elementary 52,
Cleveland Elementary 50.
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 |
41,207
(37,745) |
375
(368) |
53
(43) |
107,823: 52%*
(107,307) |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
1,930,710
(1,763,614) |
19,763
(19,542) |
4,098
(3,099) |
6,212,320: 59%*
(6,183,267) |
| UNITED STATES |
63,205,421
(57,762,144) |
844,565
(832,148) |
|
208,182,657: 63%*
(206,797,799) |
| WORLDWIDE |
317,389,048
(298,040,180) |
5,515,446
(5,467,613) |
|
9,546,363,932
total doses given |
* Percentage of total population (all
ages)
Data provided by: County
of Johnston at
5:05 p.m. January
11
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
11:55 a.m. January
12
Johns
Hopkins
University at
9:21 a.m. January
13 |
School
staffs change jobs to
keep buses rolling
School
Board Chairman Todd Sutton
announced at Tuesday's
meeting that Johnston
County Public Schools so
far have avoided shutdowns
of school-bus service as
experienced elsewhere
across the state. "We have
been able to cover the
transportation needs of
our students," he
declared.
That has been accomplished
by employees at all levels
stepping up to drive buses
– school principals
included, the board was
told.
Despite those efforts, the
board heard from several
citizens at Tuesday's
meeting complaining about
poor
communication with
parents about delayed
buses in recent weeks.
Kevin Donovan, a parent,
suggested a "standard
notification policy" to
make sure parents are
fully informed about
busing issues.
Assistant Superintendent
David Pearce said
Johnston's schools are
seeing 30-40 absences a
day in transportation
staffing because
of COVID. He said
other employees are doing
"a miraculous job" filling
in for those unable to
work.
Meanwhile, the board's
approval Tuesday of 17 new
hires of "classified"
employees included 10
with "bus driver" added to
their primary duties as
teacher assistants,
custodians, cafeteria and
clerical workers.
With
state funding secured,
schools' budget adopted
Halfway
through the current fiscal
year that began last July
1, Johnston County Public
Schools (JCPS) at last
have a completed budget.
The missing piece of the
puzzle fell into place
this past month when the
state confirmed Johnston's
allocation for the year
based on school
appropriations belatedly
approved by the N.C.
Assembly in
November coupled with
this year's projected
enrollment in Johnston's
schools.
Stephen Britt, JCPS chief
financial officer, told
the county's school board
Tuesday that Johnston's
enrollment is up about
1,200 students over last
year, and that's 683 more
students than what the
state had projected.
As a result, Johnston may
be getting additional
state funding for 2021-22,
he said. (JCPS enrollment
on the 10th day of the
current school year was
reported at 37,411.)
The budget approved by the
board this week for
operating
expenses includes
state appropriations of
$253,539,777, county
appropriations of
$80,227,090, and federal
allocations of
$127,542,341. In addition,
another $22,762,688 in
local funding is budgeted
for capital outlay,
including money from the
bond issue approved by
Johnston's voters in 2018.
Budget
details are posted on
the JCPS website>
Board
members to work on
upcoming school-bond
vote
Chairman
Sutton appointed Kay
Carroll as chairman along
with Lyn
Andrews and Mike
Wooten to work as a
committee collaborating
with Johnston's County
Commissioners on details
of an upcoming school-bond
issue, which could go
before the county's voters
as early as
this November.
Dropout
report shows slippage
during year of COVID
The board learned that high-school dropouts from
Johnston's public
schools last year
totaled 236 – up
from the previous year's
127 yet not far off the
218 reported for the
year before that.
Smithfield-Selma High
had 51 dropouts
last year – up from 26
the previous year yet
down from 59 reported
two years ago.
Of last year's total
countywide, by race 93
were Hispanic, 86 white,
and 38 black.
Amanda Allen, the school
system's director of
student services, noted
that 67 of last year's
dropouts have
re-enrolled, including
25 who attended summer
school.
The four scholarship contenders: (left
to right) Leyla
Anthony, Kyra Worth, Mia
Calloway, and Michelle
Chen. (Story & photo
from Smithfield-Selma High
School)
SSS
IB students
semi-finalists for major
scholarships
Four
Smithfield-Selma High School
students are all
semi-finalists for the "Big
6" scholarships and much
more. They have each worked
very hard in the
International Baccalaureate
Diploma Program at
Smithfield-Selma High to
earn top grades, explore
creative avenues, and serve
the community.
Leyla
Anthony is an
aspiring fashion designer.
She is a semi-finalist for
the N.C. A&T
Cheatham White Scholarship,
which is a full-ride
scholarship. She also
received the Meredith Impact
Scholarship, which offers
$23,000 annually if she
decides to attend. Leyla has
been accepted into High
Point University, UNC-
Greensboro, Meredith, and
A&T. Leyla is submitting
her art portfolio to Drexel
University, Moore College of
Art and Design, and Parsons
School of Design.
Kyra
Worth is
an aspiring social worker.
She is a semi-finalist for
the Park Scholarship,
which offers a full ride
to N.C. State as
well as money for
international travel,
support systems, and
special housing. She has
been accepted to N.C.
State, UNC-Charlotte, and
UNC-Greensboro.
Mia Calloway is
an aspiring
lawyer who will major
in sociology. She is a
semi-finalist for the N.C.
A&T Cheatham White
Scholarship and the
UNC-Charlotte Levine
Scholarship. She has been
accepted to Hofstra
University with the
Chancellor's Scholarship
worth $32,000 annually,
Pace University with the
Presidential Scholarship
worth
$28,000 annually, and
to N.C. A&T,
UNC-Charlotte, and
Appalachian State.
Michelle Chen is
an aspiring clinical
manager working to
eliminate ethical dilemmas
for patients from
marginalized backgrounds.
She is a semi-finalist for
the UNC Morehead-Cain
Scholarship. Shortly after
receiving this
recognition, Michelle
received notice that she
was accepted by early
decision into the
University of
Pennsylvania, one of the
nation's Ivy League
schools. She is one of 7%
of students accepted into
Penn's prestigious
Wharton School of
Business. While Michelle
will no longer continue in
the Morehead-Cain process
since she is bound to
attend Penn, she remains a
semi-finalist for the
National Coca-Cola
Scholarship, as it is not
a university-specific
scholarship. In addition
to Penn, Michelle has been
accepted to Clemson,
Wingate, and Arizona State
University. Additionally,
Michelle was chosen as the
Johnston County
Presidential Scholar
representative.
The "Big 6" are full-ride
scholarships at six North
Carolina institutions:
Morehead-Cain at
UNC-Chapel Hill, Park at
N.C. State, Levine at
UNC-Charlotte, Belk &
Bryan at Davidson College,
and Cheatham-White at N.C.
A&T and N.C. Central.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Monday
is Martin Luther King
holiday for all public
services
The
full federal holiday
is also observed by the
State of North Carolina
and its county and
municipal governments as
well as Johnston's public
schools – every year on
the third Monday in
January (the late Dr.
King's birthday is
actually January 15). By
an act of Congress, MLK
Day has been observed as a
federal holiday since
1986, and by all 50 states
since 2000.
County
Commissioners to meet
Tuesday because of
holiday
Because
of the MLK holiday,
Johnston's Board of County
Commissioners has
postponed its regular
third-Monday session till
next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at
the Courthouse. On the
agenda is a resolution
asking the state to
"accelerate" an
Interstate-standard upgrade
to US 70 at Princeton to
address "severe flooding"
as well as a recent spike
in motor-vehicle accidents
(Johnston's Board of
Education adopted the
resolution at its monthly
meeting this week). The
complete agenda for
Tuesday's Board of
Commissioners meeting is posted on
the county's website>
Smithfield
Council begins budget
planning next Tuesday
The
council has scheduled a
special session for 6:30
p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall
to consider how to
spend federal
American Rescue Plan funds
allotted the town and to
begin discussions about
the town's 2022-23 budget
to be adopted by July 1.
Public
meeting on town's
Pedestrian Plan next
Thursday
The
second in a series of
public meetings on a
Pedestrian Plan in the
making by the Town of
Smithfield is scheduled
for 6-7 p.m. next Thursday
(Jan. 20) at Town Hall.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
SERGIO
SAMANO-ESPINOZA, 65 –
died January 10
PEARLINA
SMITH JACKSON, 95 –
died January 6
GEORGIA
LEWIS LANGLEY, 102 –
died January 5
There's
good reason
you've
seen this sign
in many yards
around
Smithfield
lately....
www.CallPernell.com
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
How
hot was it last month?
For USA, a new record
An
Associated Press story
published this week said
last month was the hottest
December on record for the
contiguous United States,
averaging 39.3 degrees
– 6.7
degrees above the
month's average over the
past 127 years for which
national records have been
compiled.
That report
reinforces Cornell
Cox's observation published
here last week that
December's spell of
unusually warm days was "a
period of weather unlike any
I've observed in my eight
decades' memory."
Sun reader Bob Dixon
recalled another warm
December, pointing to
records for Raleigh-Durham
showing a run over 22 days
starting in mid-month 1984
when temperatures for 15
days registered "right at 70
degrees or better."
No
matter. The AP's report,
published Tuesday, began
with this statement:
"The United States
staggered through a steady
onslaught of deadly
billion-dollar weather and
climate disasters in an
extra-hot 2021, while the
nation’s greenhouse gas
emissions last year jumped
6%" – following a
COVID-induced pause
in pollution.
"What
was dismaying was that
emissions bounced back even
faster than the economy as a
whole,” observed Kate
Larsen, co-author of
an emissions
report compiled by the
Rhodium Group, an
independent research firm.
Why aren't more of us
alarmed about the long-term
prognosis for our wasteful
ways?
I-95's
traffic
is illuminated by
the setting sun at
Brogden Road shortly
after 5 o'clock this
past Monday – minutes
before the sun went
down at 5:19,
according to the Old
Farmer's Almanac.
Monday's sunrise
came at 7:22, putting
the day's length at nine
hours, 56 minutes
– 11 minutes longer
than the season's
shortest days last
month.
To get
today's sunrise and
sunset for Smithfield,
follow this link>
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WEEKLY SUN
