Coached
by Aaron Bentley, they're
the champions after
Smithfield-Selma High
School's first season of
competition in the new
Quad County 3-A Conference
that includes seven other
schools in Johnston,
Wayne, and Wilson
counties.
At last week's conference
meet, held at the
Goldsboro Family YMCA, the
Spartan girls won eight
gold medals: two by
Francesa CiGiovanni
(200-yard freestyle and
100-yard backstroke), the
others by Megan Denny
(500-yard freestyle),
Teagan Farrell (100-yard
butterfly), Margot Pichor
(200-yard individual
medley), and Emily
Stuckey (100-yard
breaststroke) plus
team wins in the 200-yard
medley and freestyle
relays.
Adding to
Smithfield-Selma's
first-place finish in the
overall meet were silver
medals won by Margot
Pichor (100-yard
freestyle) and Megan Denny
(200-yard freestyle) and a
bronze won by the 400-yard
freestyle relay team.
The other high schools
that compete in the
eight-team conference (in
order of finish behind SSS
in last week's
meet): Hunt, Fike,
West Johnston, South
Johnston, East Wake,
Charles B. Aycock,
and Southern Wayne.
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
Johnston's numbers
heighten cause for alarm
This
past week may have been the
worst one yet in terms of
Johnston County's COVID-19
statistics, with 4,588 new
cases reported, 14
additional fatalities, and
58 hospitalized for
coronavirus treatments,
including 14 in the 25-49
age group, 10 ages 50-64,
and 34 age 65 and
older.
Breaking down the 52,289
coronavirus cases
reported in Johnston County
since March 2020, the
average age of infected
persons is now 36, with
21,022 of total cases in the
25-49 age group, 11,210
age 17 and
under, 9,268 in the
50-64 age group, 5,798 among
those 18-24 years old, and
4,991 age 65 and older.
Of the 397 COVID-related
deaths over the past two
years, 291 occurred among
those age 65 and older, 76
in the 50-64 age bracket, 29
among those 25-49, and just
one among persons under 25
years of age.
The positivity rate from
tests being conducted in
Johnston County remains high
at 35.7% over the state's
latest 14-day reporting
window.
The Johnston County Public
Health Department's mid-week
report of major
institutional outbreaks
includes Smithfield Manor
Nursing & Rehab (29
current and/or former
residents, 37 staff
members), Johnston
Correctional Institution (87
inmates, 1 staff), and the
Johnston County Jail (28
inmates).
This
morning's report from
Johnston County Public
Schools showed
166 active cases among
students and staff (down
from last week's
245) with 506 students
and 57 staff members
quarantined (down from
826 students
and 94 staff a week
ago). Schools
with the most students in
quarantine this week:
Corinth Holders High 26,
Polenta Elementary 24,
Powhatan Elementary 23,
Benson Elementary 22, Archer
Lodge Middle 21, Four Oaks
Elementary 20. All
Smithfield-area schools had
fewer than 10.
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 *
[got
boosters] |
| JOHNSTON COUNTY |
52,289
(47,701) |
397
(383) |
58
(51) |
110,196: 53% **
[46,866]
|
| NORTH CAROLINA |
2,442,891
(2,323,482) |
20,904
(20,440) |
4,725
(5,090) |
6,324,814: 60% **
[2,980,365] |
| UNITED STATES |
75,681,241
(72,910,879) |
894,316
(876,066) |
|
212,130,684: 65% ** |
| WORLDWIDE |
385,511,886
(363,077,471) |
5,703,131
(5,628,549) |
|
10-billion+
doses worldwide |
* 2 doses Moderna or Pfizer vaccines
or 1 dose Johnson
& Johnson
vaccine
** Percentage of
total population
(all ages)
Data provided
by: County
of Johnston at
5:50 p.m. February
1
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
12:00 p.m.
February 2
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:21 a.m. February
3 |
Unemployment
rate down to 2.7% in
December
Johnston
County's unemployment rate
continued downward in
December, dropping from
2.9% in November to 2.7% –
one of the lowest monthly
rates ever recorded. The
N.C. Department of
Commerce estimates that
99,864 Johnstonians out of
a total labor force of
102,678 held jobs in
December, leaving 2,814
unemployed. Johnston's
latest estimated rate was
below the statewide
jobless rate of 3.2% and
well below a peak of 11%
here in the spring of 2020
because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
TOWN SALUTES NEUSE CHARTER'S
VOLLEYBALL TEAM
The Cougar girls of Neuse Charter School went
undefeated in Carolina
1-A Conference play last
fall and advanced to the
state 1-A championship
match en route to a
season record of 26
wins and 3 losses. The
team was honored at the
outset of Tuesday
night's meeting of the
Smithfield Town Council:
(left to right) in front – Cayley
Cochran, Leah Sheppard,
Sydnee Browning, Mayor
Andy Moore, Clare Harris,
Whitley Kate Moore, Lydia
Register, Kylie Long, Head
Coach Jen Cochran; in
back – Assistant
Coach Gail Browning, Leah
Ham, Lyndsy Parrish,
Olivia Sheppard, Olivia
Malzahn, Julia Bridges,
and Harper Flowers.
(Town
of Smithfield photo by
Brian Eaves)
TOWN COUNCIL REPORT
Electric
rates will be "stable"
for another year
Town
Manager Mike Scott
reported to the Smithfield
Town Council at Tuesday's
monthly meeting that
ElectriCities, supplier of
power to the town's
system, apparently will
not raise wholesale rates
this year. "This should
again allow the town's
electric rates to remain
stable," he noted.
According to data recently
compiled by Councilman
Travis Scott, Smithfield
currently has the lowest
residential rates of any
electric utility in
Johnston County. A
customer using 1,250
kilowatt hours a month
pays $128.45 in
Smithfield, $145.98 in
Duke Energy's territories
(including West
Smithfield), $149.57 in
Selma, $163.63 in Benson,
and $164.34 in Clayton.
Town
Plan amendment for
industry adopted by
split vote
The
council approved a change
in the town's
Comprehensive Growth
Management Plan to expand
acreage preferred for
industrial expansion in
West Smithfield. But
approval came with a 4-3
vote after realtor Elaine
Marshall complained that
her clients who own
property in the area had
not been properly informed
about the change.
Even so, a majority
of council members
present gave their
approval after Planning
Director Stephen Wensman
assured them the plan is a
"guiding document" and
that changing the area's
existing residential
zoning would require a
public hearing followed by
council approval of a
particular rezoning
request.
Councilmen David Barbour,
David Stevens, and Roger
Wood voted in favor of
amending the plan while
John Dunn, Steve Rabil,
and Travis Scott voted no.
Mayor Andy Moore cast the
tie-breaking vote in the
absence of Councilman
Marlon Lee.
The revised land-use plan
also calls for an
additional roadway through
the area in question that
would connect US 70
Business with Barbour
Road. Mr. Wensman said the
N.C. Department of
Transportation has "agreed
verbally" to maintain that
road if and when it's
built.
Rules
amended to allow
additional commercial
signage
The
council adopted changes to
town land-use regulations
to allow signs on the
walls of commercial
buildings facing streets,
parking lots, or public
walkways. Those signs may
be as large as 5% of the
total wall space. Another
change increases the
allowable size of signs
designating new
residential developments –
from 16 to 24 square feet.
Planning Director Wensman
said the changes are
"going back to something
we had a long time ago."
Water
& sewer
reserves to match
pending federal grant
Town
Manager Scott recommended
using a portion of federal
ARPA money allotted the town
as the local match for a
pending federal grant that
would cover most of the
$3.8-million
estimated cost of
upgrading West Smithfield's
sewerage. But the council
decided instead to take the
required $1,095,880 out of
the town's water and sewer
reserve account as
previously budgeted. Mr.
Scott had recommended using
ARPA funds instead since the
U.S. Treasury Department
recently amended rules to
allow such expenditures.
ARPA, the American Rescue
Plan Act, was approved by
Congress last year to
replace
local-government revenues
that may have been lost as a
result of the coronavirus
pandemic. The Town of
Smithfield expects to
receive $4,138,286 from
ARPA. The town's water and
sewer reserve account holds
money set aside from
utility-customer revenues to
pay for
infrastructure-improvement
projects.
New
rules limit flying of
drones to West
Smithfield park
The
council adopted a policy
that limits the
recreational flying of
drones on town-owned
properties to a
single location: a newly
opened field behind
Gertrude Johnson Park
beside US 70
Business in West
Smithfield. The policy
restricts use of drones
there to daylight hours
dawn to dusk.
Downtown
Development board gets a
new member
The
council appointed Suzanne
Taylor and reappointed Dr.
Kathleen Coates to the
Board of Directors of the
Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation.
Ms. Taylor is proprietor
of The Oak Leaf Collection
retail shop on South Third
Street Downtown.
A
new appointee to
the town's Appearance
Commission
The
council appointed Kaitlyn
Tarley, a resident of West
Smithfield's Whitley
Drive, to her first term
on the Smithfield
Appearance Commission.
Police
Department gets a new
officer and 4 Dodge SUVs
Dante
Scarboro, who recently
completed Basic Law
Enforcement Training at
Johnston Community
College, was sworn in as
the newest member of the
Smithfield Police
Department, which still
has six vacancies among
its authorized force of 42
officers.
Citizens
urged to "wear red" this
Friday for heart
campaign
Mayor
Moore issued a proclamation
designating February as "All
in Red Month" in Smithfield
and urged all citizens to
dress in something red this
Friday, which is "National
Wear Red Day" to draw
attention to a
health-awareness campaign of
the American Heart
Association.
January's
liquid precipitation
here = 4.87
inches
Cornell
Cox, the Weekly Sun's
designated weather
observer, measured a total
of 4.87 inches of rainfall
for the month at his
South Smithfield Backyard
Weather Station after
factoring in a 4-inch
snowfall on January 21-22.
This past month's
precipitation total was
above normal for January
yet a bit short of the
6.84 inches recorded
during the first month of
2021. Mr. Cox said the
dusting of snow we had
last weekend was "maybe
1/4 inch – or immeasurable."
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
County
Commissioners meet twice
next Monday
The
board's 10 a.m. session at
the Courthouse opens with
monthly updates on
Johnston's COVID-19
situation and the status
of the county's Emergency
Rental Assistance Program.
The board will also
receive the annual audit
report for County
Government for the fiscal
year that ended last June
30. View the
full agenda>
The board's 6 p.m. session
includes public hearings
on five land-use rezoning
cases, including two
petitions for
business zones in
Pleasant Grove Township,
one for business and one
for industrial purposes in
Cleveland Township, and
another for business
zoning in Wilders
Township. View the
evening session's agenda
in detail>
Board
of Education meets at 4
p.m. next Tuesday
The
board's monthly meeting
begins at 4 p.m. with a
closed session immediately
followed by the open
business session. While
public seating is
limited in the
Evander S. Simpson
Building on US 70 Business
east of
Smithfield, the
meeting will be
live-streamed on the
schools' YouTube channel.
The meeting's full agenda,
once it's finalized, will
be posted on the
school system's
website>
"Ask
A Farm(HER)" forum next
Monday evening
It's
a question-and-answer
session featuring Johnston
County female farmers, to
be hosted by the Junior
Women's League of
Smithfield in partnership
with the Johnston County
Farm Bureau's Young Farmer
& Rancher program and
the JoCo Grows Agriculture
Committee. The discussion
is scheduled to start at
6:30 p.m. inside the
Johnston County
Agricultural Center off NC
210 west of town.
Additional information
about the event, including
a list of speakers and a
means to submit questions
in advance, is available on
the Junior Women's
League website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
MARION FIORE
PATRIKIOS, 83 –
died January 27
NICHOLAS
(NICK) HUDSON CARROLL,
32 – died
January 21
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR – AND A
READER
Folks are
tired of COVID, but the
battle still rages
National
reports have been telling
us this week that we may
seen the peak of outbreaks
resulting from the highly
contagious Omicron
variant of COVID-19. And
yet this week's Johnston
County numbers show us
trending in the opposite
direction.
Is it because we continue
to lag in percentage of
Johnstonians who have
gotten the freely given
COVID vaccinations?
Or have too many among us
"dropped their guard" in
the battle to "stay safe"
in the midst of so much
infection here?
On
the national level, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention says COVID-19
this past month took the
lives of more than
twice as many Americans
as the flu has killed
over the past three years
– about 55,000
COVID-related deaths in
January 2022 compared to a
total of 24,000 flu
fatalities in the
U.S. since 2019.
Worldwide, according to the
Coronavirus Resource Center
at Johns Hopkins University,
almost 25-million new COVID
cases were reported this
past week, with the
worldwide death toll from
the pandemic now approaching
900,000.
As the late Yogi Berra would
say: It ain't over till it's
over.
A
reader suggests plastics
for resurfacing streets
TOM
BANKS, a reader who
resides in Smithfield,
writes:
Since moving to
Smithfield, I have
wondered why our highways
and streets seem to
require constant
updates/repairs. Smithfield's
streets are much like me,
old and worn.
One of the major concerns
in the U.S. seems to be
our overabundance of
plastic
products. Supposedly,
they do not disintegrate,
so our landfills are
filled with plastics that
supposedly last almost
forever.
If plastics don't
disintegrate, why aren't
they used in the
construction of
highways/streets instead
of asphalt and
concrete which both
seem to disintegrate
relatively quickly?
Smooth plastic highways
and streets would surely
be more comfortable and
less noisy than concrete;
and if the assertions that
plastic lasts forever are
true, maintenance should
be minimal.
Subscribers to this
edition: 1,339
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
Rewind
through the Weekly Sun's
Archives
