Candidates
resume filing for May 17
election
With
altered maps for
Congressional and state
legislative districts
upheld by the N.C. Supreme
Court this week following
challenges to previously
adopted versions,
candidates for offices up
for election across North
Carolina this year were
able to resume filing this
morning (Thursday).
As a result, the
rescheduled May 17 Primary
Election is on, including
postponed nonpartisan
contests for Smithfield's
mayor and four seats on
the Town Council.
Before the legal
challenges of statewide
electoral maps, a number
of candidates filed in
early December before the
filing period was
suspended. Among local
races subject to the May
Primary and November
General elections are
three seats on the
Johnston County Board of
Education as well as three
seats on the Johnston
County Board of
Commissioners.
CHECK the
Board of Elections
website for daily
updates on who has filed
so far>
Face masks are now optional inside Johnston
County's public schools,
but they're still
required at Johnston
Community College until
March 7 when "we will
move to masks optional,"
JCC's President David
Johnson e-mailed the Sun
on Wednesday. He added:
"I'm ready to get rid of
them!"
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
Johnston's
vaccination status vs.
our neighbors
Now
that face masks in public
places are mostly off in
Johnston County,
let's take a look at how
we're doing with COVID-19
vaccinations.
The good news is that 88%
of Johnstonians age 65 and
older have been
"fully vaccinated" with two
doses of Moderna or Pfizer
vaccines or a single dose of
the more potent Johnson
& Johnson vaccine.
Incredibly, 100% of
Wake County's seniors
have been fully vaccinated,
according to the N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services. Falling
short of that mark,
neighboring Wayne County
reports 77% of seniors fully
vaccinated, Harnett and
Sampson 79%. Percentages for
other nearby counties are
closer to Johnston's 88%:
Nash 90%, Franklin 87%, and
Wilson 84%.
For residents age 12 and
older who have been fully
vaccinated, Johnston's
61% trails Wake's
81% and Nash's 65%, with
Franklin and Wilson at 60%,
Sampson at 59%, Wayne at
56%, Harnett at 50%.
This morning's
report from Johnston
County Public Schools
– our first recorded look at
the numbers since mask
wearing in schools became
optional this week – showed
26 active cases among
students and 7 among school
staff, down from a total of
60 last week. Today's report
shows just one active case
among students and staff at
two local schools:
Smithfield Middle and West
Smithfield Elementary. The
highest number at any one
school in Johnston currently
is 5 at Corinth Holders
High.
The schools' COVID dashboard
no longer shows numbers for
quarantines since they're
required only for infected
students and staff from now
on.
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 |
55,314
( 54,556) |
430
(423) |
23
(29) |
111,219: 53%**
[48,958] |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
2,574,867
(2,549,339) |
22,390
(21,968) |
2,123
(2,872) |
6,377,316: 61%**
[3,083,715] |
| UNITED STATES |
78,731,240
(78,173,320) |
941,909
(928,519) |
|
215,129,430: 66%** |
| WORLDWIDE |
430,197,972
(418,235,287) |
5,920,434
(5,853,246) |
|
10,441,003,490
total doses |
* 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
5:13 p.m. February
22
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
12:15 p.m.
February 23
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:21 a.m. February
24 |
Commissioner
Larry Wood of Benson
resigns
A surprise
announcement came from
Larry Wood at the end of
Monday night's meeting of
the Johnston County Board
of Commissioners: "With
mixed emotions, I'd just
like to inform the public
and this board that as of
February 28 I plan on
resigning, reason being my
residence is going to
change counties." He did
not elaborate.
Mr. Wood, a resident of
Benson, represents
Johnston's southernmost
district, which stretches
from McGee's Crossroads to
Meadow Township. The
remaining commissioners
will appoint a successor
to serve the rest of his
current term, which
expires in late 2024. Mr.
Wood has been serving
since his election to the
board in 2016 (re-elected
in 2020).
Paula Woodard, Clerk to
the Board of
Commissioners, is
accepting applications for
the vacancy from residents
of Mr. Wood's district who
are registered
Republicans. Applications
may be e-mailed through
March 11 to paula.woodard@johnstonnc.com.
Last fall the board filled
another vacancy when its
chairman, Chad Stewart,
resigned to accept a
position as manager of
Johnston's Alcoholic
Beverage Control system.
Dickie Braswell was
appointed to take his
seat, which is up for
election this year.
Grant
being sought for a
trails and greenways
plan
Commissioners
agreed at Monday's session
to seek a $120,000 grant
from the state to pay most
of the cost of developing
a plan for trails and
greenways throughout
Johnston. Adrian O'Neal,
the county's recreation
coordinator, said a local
match of $7,500 will be
required to secure the
grant.
Dr.
Charles Williams
appointed to Board of
Health
Commissioners
appointed Dr. Charles
Williams of Clayton till a
vacant physician's seat on
the Johnston County Board
of Health. VIEW the
board's current
roster>
"State
of the County" report
presented with a video
Commissioners'
Chairman Butch Lawter
delivered the annual State
of the County Address by a
means of a pre-recorded
video with film clips of
County Government
highlights of 2021 along
with plans for the year
ahead. Produced by the
county's Public
Information Office, the
video lasts less than five
minutes. WATCH IT
HERE>
One
of the projects cited in
Chairman Lawter's report
is the new Detention
Center and Public Safety
Center campus under
construction on US 70
Business east of
Smithfield. Related to
that is a current study
of options for moving
other county departments
into expanded quarters
once the Johnston County
Jail along with the
Sheriff's Department and
9-1-1 Communications are
moved out of the
Courthouse.
Most popular first names for 2021's
newborns?
The Top 10
names for newborn girls
and boys recorded by the
Johnston County Register
of Deeds in 2021:
For girls –
Olivia (11); Riley &
Sophia (8); Ava &
Camilla (7); Emma,
Isabella & Naomi (6);
Amelia & Caroline (5).
For boys
– Liam & Lucas (13);
Wyatt (10); Waylon (9);
Ian, Jackson & Mason
(8); Dylan, Mateo &
Maverick (7).
For the year, the office
recorded 1,859 births (945
boys, 914 girls) and 1,781
deaths.
Student leaders at SSS bring home "Spirit
Stick"
Smithfield-Selma
High School students
attended the first annual
Johnston County Student
Council Conference held
earlier this month at
Cleveland High School. The
conference focused on
fund-raising, student
engagement, community
service, school spirit, and
team building. The day
closed with an event where
the SSS Student Government
delegation won the "JoCo
Student Council Spirit
Stick": (left to right) in
front – Storme Harbinson
Wheeler, Laici Deravil,
Michelle Chen; in back
–Ayana Casado, Elsy
Bararmna-Datchah, Carlie
Morris, Emily Stuckey, Abby
Adeshina, Jenny Yang,
Catherine Cepin, Hailey
Stephens, Courtney Lassiter,
Carmen Rodriguez, Savanah
Allen, and Daniel May. (Photo
from SSS)
As
the seasons change,
so do the signs in the
yards
of our satisfied
customers.
www.CallPernell.com
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Smithfield
Council meets today on
budgetary matters
The
special session is set for
6:30 p.m. at Town Hall to
discuss goals for the
upcoming 2022-23 budget
and more immediately
whether to proceed with a
project to expand the
Police Station in the wake
of recent construction
price increases.
Town
Council's regular
monthly session next
Tuesday
The
meeting, on the first day
of March, begins at 7 p.m.
at Town Hall. Heading the
agenda is presentation of
the Police Department's
2021 Officer of the Year
Award. A public hearing
will be held on
preliminary approval of a
134-lot residential
subdivision at the
intersection of Wilson's
Mills Road and Durwood
Stephenson Parkway.
The full
agenda is posted on the
town's website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home:
WANDA LEE
BARBER, 69 – died
February 18
ALVIN
THEODORE LEE, 68 – died
February 16
Black-owned
funeral homes have stood
the test of time
Smithfield's
Walter Sanders Funeral
Home (pictured here)
has been in business since
1949, Sanders Funeral Home
since 1957, and that's
something to celebrate
during Black
History Month.
Gary Ridout's interviews
with the present-day
operators of these
long-time community
servants are on the FEATURE
PAGE>
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
An
update on regional
transportation projects
The
Triangle East Chamber of
Commerce hosted an online
"webinar" this week on
regional transportation
projects impacting
Johnston County. At the
top of that list is
construction of the next
leg of the I-540 beltline
around Raleigh that will
extend that toll road from
Holly Springs to a massive
interchange with I-40 and
U.S. 70, shown below in a
designer's rendering:
The rendering
actually shows what the
interchange, located just
inside Wake County near
the Johnston County line,
will look like once I-540
is completed from here
around Garner to the
existing freeway near
Knightdale (this view is
looking northward).
Dennis Jernigan, deputy
chief engineer with the
N.C. Department of
Transportation, reported
that the phase from Holly
Springs currently being
built is scheduled for
completion two years from
now. (Too bad it's being
built as a toll road –
unlike its toll-free
relative finished some
years ago around the
northern fringes of
Raleigh.)
He also reported that
what's now known as the
Clayton Bypass for U.S. 70
from I-40 to 70 Business
between Clayton and
Smithfield will soon be
officially labeled as
Interstate 42. That's a
designation being sought
for 70 to the east as
construction continues to
replace stoplights with
interchanges at Wilson's
Mills and Princeton.
I
call this discovery an
example of "urban
archaeology"
Speaking of
transportation on a much
smaller scale, I came
across this grass-infested
remnant of a greenway-type
pedestrian and bicycle way
while walking the the
Buffalo Creek Greenway's
"detour" last weekend.
The forgotten strip of
asphalt was put down by
the town along Buffalo
Road beside Talton Park
and the Public Works yard
back in the 1970s, I
recall, by the
administration of Mayor
Bob Wallace and Town
Manager Hubie Talton. It
was an attempt to lure the
NCDOT into building a
"bike path" out to what
was the brand-new
Smithfield Junior High
School (today's middle
school).
The state didn't follow
through with that idea,
citing right-of-way
restrictions along Buffalo
Road. But something even
better took its place when
the town got a grant to
construct the Buffalo
Creek Greenway trail that
links the Town Commons
park Downtown to Community
Park adjacent to
Smithfield-Selma High and
just across the road from
Smithfield Middle School.
That "detour" I followed,
by the way, is in place to
get pedestrians and
cyclists around the
Smithfield Water Plant
complex, which is
temporarily closed to such
traffic because of a major
construction project
there.
I relish discovering these
remnants of "urban
archaeology," especially
when they're related to
stuff I remember from my
younger days.
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