11
candidates file for 3
school-board seats
And
only one of them is an
incumbent: Al Byrd, who
was appointed to
Johnston's Board of
Education a year ago to
fill a vacancy following
Tracie Zukowski's
resignation. Incumbents
Terri Sessoms and Todd
Sutton (the board's
chairman) have not filed
for re-election.
Meanwhile, only four
candidates – including all
three incumbents – have
filed for seats on the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners up for
election this time.
With redistricting settled
for this year's voting
(unless the U.S. Supreme
Court intervenes), we've
got wide-open races
(without incumbents) in
both a revamped U.S. House
of Representatives
district including all of
Johnston with parts of
Harnett, Wake, and Wayne
counties and a new N.C.
Senate district that's all
of Johnston County and
nothing more.
N.C. House redistricting
puts all of Smithfield in
District 28, presently
represented by Larry
Strickland of Pine Level
who has filed for
re-election but has
opposition in the
Republican Primary (South
Smithfield was removed
from Representative Donna
White's district).
VIEW maps of
the new districts for
Congress and the N.C.
General Assembly on the
State Board of Elections
website>
The Town of Smithfield's
election, postponed from
last November because of
delayed Census numbers, so
far has produced contests
for two of four Town
Council seats up for grabs
but no opposition to Mayor
Andy Moore's bid for
another term.
Voting is now scheduled
for Tuesday, May 17 for
both county and state
primary elections as well
as Smithfield's municipal
election. The filing
period for candidates in
all races ends at noon
this Friday.
Filings
through Wednesday for
contested seats in
districts that include
Smithfield:
[D denotes Democrat, R
denotes Republican,
asterisk (*) denotes
incumbent]
Smithfield
Town Council
Townwide voting for
mayor; one-shot voting
within districts
for council members
Mayor – Andy
Moore (*), Cypress Point
District 1 (East
Smithfield) –
Marlon Lee (*), Lemay
Street
District 2 (South
Smithfield) – Sloan
Stevens, Chestnut Drive
Elizabeth Anne Temple,
Chestnut Drive
District 3 (North
Smithfield) – Travis
J. Scott (*), Parkway
Drive
District 4 (West
Smithfield) –
David Barbour (*), Whitley
Drive
Doris Louise Wallace,
Roderick Drive
Johnston
County Board of
Education
countywide voting
for 3 seats without
districts or party
affiliation
Stuart
Ashby Lee, S. Second
Street, Smithfield
Rick Mercier, Fireweed
Place, Clayton
Terry Tippett, Simon Road,
Middlesex (O'Neals
Township)
Joe Preston, Carissa
Drive, Smithfield
Melissa Bowers, Glamorgan
Drive, Clayton
Kevin Donovan, Stevens
Sausage Road, Smithfield
George M. Brewer, Bonnie
Avenue, Smithfield
Jenn Gurley, Castleberry
Road, Clayton
Jennifer Slabaugh, Jacobs
Court, Archer Lodge
Aldostin Byrd (*), P.O.
Box, Clayton
Mark Lane, Yelverton Grove
Road, Smithfield
Johnston County
Board of Commissioners
countywide
voting for 3 seats
filled by residential
districts
District
3 – Richard D. (Dickie)
Braswell (*) (R),
Shoreline Drive, Princeton
District 5 – Patrick
Harris (*) (R), Crescent
Drive, Smithfield
Jyl Burgener (R), Aviary
Court, Clayton (Cleveland
Township)
District 7 – R.S. (Butch)
Lawter (*) (R), P.O. Box,
Clayton
U.S. House of
Representatives,
District 13
Wiley Nickel (D), Raleigh
Nathan Click (D), Raleigh
Denton Lee (D), Killarney
Lane, Clayton
DeVan Barbour IV (R), P.O.
Box, Benson
Chad Slotta (R), Holly
Springs
Kelly Kathleen Daughtry
(R), P.O. Box, Smithfield
Kent Keirsey (R), Chapel
Hill
Bo HInes (R),
Winston-Salem
Jessica Morel (R),
Fayetteville
N.C. Senate,
District 10
Jill Homan (R), Heart Wood
Court, Archer Lodge
Matt Ansley (R), Fawn
Lane, Archer Lodge
Benton Sawrey (R),
Riverglade Drive, Clayton
N.C. House of
Representatives,
District 28
Wendy Ella May (D), P.O.
Box, Micro
Larry C. Strickland (*)
(R), P.O. Box, Pine Level
James Davenport (R),
Harvey Road, Kenly
Superior Court
Judge, District 11B (new
Johnston County seat)
Paul A. Holcombe (R), P.O.
Box, Clayton
Steven Walker (R),
McCormick Drive, Selma
District Court
Judge (Johnston County
seat)
Travis Wheeler (R), P.O.
Box, Smithfield
Charlene B. Nelson (R),
Charleston Drive, Clayton
District Court
Judge (Harnett-Lee seat)
Jason P. Kimble (R),
Lillington
Brian E. Lewis (R),
Sanford
VIEW the
latest list of all
candidates for local and
statewide offices
on the Johnston County
Board of Elections
website>
CORONAVIRUS
REPORT
Face
masks made optional on
school buses
Following
last week's revision of
guidelines from the U.S.
Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), Johnston's
Board of Education voted
5-1 during a short special
session Wednesday to make
wearing of face masks on
school buses optional.
Kay Carroll cast the only
dissenting vote, as he did
when the board decided two
weeks ago to make face
masks optional for
students and staff on
school campuses.
Mr. Carroll said the new CDC
guidelines recommend lifting
of the face-mask mandate on
school buses "in counties of
low to medium transmission"
– and "we're not one of
those areas." He continued,
"Johnston County is still
'high transmission' with a
(COVID-test) positivity
rate, I think, somewhere
(near) 9%." (The state's
mid-week report showed
Johnston with a 14-day rate
of 10%).
Board member Terri Sessoms
asked Assistant
Superintendent David Pearce
if special accommodations
will be made "for drivers or
students who have some type
of immune-compromised
system."
"Yes, we will continue the
work accommodations process
for our employees," he
replied, "and students as
well can go through our
health-care process if they
need accommodations."
Board member Mike Wooten
made the motion to make
masks optional on buses. Al
Byrd seconded the motion,
and they were joined in
voting yes by Lyn Andrews,
Ms. Sessoms, and Board
Chairman Todd Sutton.
(Ronald Johnson was not
present for the meeting,
which was conducted remotely
by teleconference.)
This morning's
report from Johnston
County Public Schools
showed just 17 active cases
among students and 2 among
school staffs, down from a
total of 33 last week. Only
one active case was reported
among students and staff in
our immediate area – at
Smithfield Middle School. No
school anywhere in Johnston
reported more than 2 active
cases this morning.
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 |
55,752
( 55,314) |
434
(430) |
17
(23) |
111,997: 54%**
[49,970] |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
2,592,991
(2,574,867) |
22,671
(22,390) |
1,461
(2,123) |
6,416,941: 61%**
[3,155,913] |
| UNITED STATES |
79,143,885
(78,731,240) |
954,519
(941,909) |
|
215,775,839: 66%** |
| WORLDWIDE |
441,139,258
(430,197,972) |
5,977,162
(5,920,434) |
|
10,548,026,808
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
5:05 p.m. March 1
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
12:05 p.m. March 2
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:21 a.m. March 3 |
Police
station's expansion
boosted by federal aid
Smithfield's
Town Council approved a
$784,572 loan last March
to finance expanding the
Smithfield Police
Department's headquarters
on South Fifth Street.
During a special session
last Thursday, the council
learned that estimated
cost of the project has
ballooned to $1,393,208.
The question, then, was
whether to delay
construction until prices
for building materials
come down or find
additional money to cover
the inflated cost.
Mayor Andy Moore and
Councilman David Barbour
favored a delay. "If
government agrees to
continue to pay these
prices they're not going
to come back down," Mr.
Moore declared. Dr.
Barbour predicted prices
will down in months ahead
as the nation recovers
from the coronavirus
pandemic. "It can't last,"
he said.
The other council members
favored going ahead with
the project despite the
higher cost after Bill
Dreitzler, the town's
consulting engineer,
offered his opinion that
"it isn't going down any
time soon." Councilman
Roger Wood said the Police
Department has needed
larger quarters for some
time now. "With the growth
we're seeing, it's only
going to get worse," he
said. "We can't wait on
these things."
The council voted 5-1 to
proceed, with Mr. Barbour
dissenting (Councilman
Marlon Lee was absent;
Mayor Moore doesn't vote
on such matters unless
there's a tie).
Given three choices for
finding additional money
for the project, the
council was in agreement
to allocate the necessary
$600,000 or so from
Smithfield's $4.3 million
allocation of federal
funds from the American
Rescue Plan Act adopted
last year by Congress for
pandemic relief. The other
choices offered by Town
Manager Mike Scott were to
seek an additional
commercial loan or
appropriate the money from
the town's General Fund
Balance.
Initial financing for the
project is a loan from
United Community Bank at
an interest rate of 2.13%
for 15 years. Construction
will add 3,500 square feet
to the existing police
station's 7,884 square
feet. One of the reasons
Engineer Dreitzler cited
for the project's inflated
cost is a switch from a
"pre-engineered" metal
structure to a
cinder-block building
since delivery of the
metal option is "two years
out" due to widespread
supply and delivery issues
with construction
materials.
Manager Scott said the
police station's expansion
is the second Smithfield
project to be aided by
American Rescue Plan
money. The first was a
$130,000 appropriation to
rebuild a flood-prone
section of Cedar Drive in
the Pine Acres
Subdivision.
SMITHFIELD'S
POLICE
OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Patrol
Officer Alexander Watts (right)
received the Officer of
the Year Award from Police
Chief Keith Powell during
Tuesday's regular monthly
meeting of the Town
Council. Officer Watts, a
former jailer with the
Johnston County Sheriff's
Department, joined
Smithfield's police force
just two years ago but was
the "hand's down" choice
of other officers and
supervisors for this
year's award, Chief Powell
said. "Officer Watts is
always willing to go above
and beyond in the
performance of his
duties," the chief noted.
"He always has a positive
attitude. He is an asset
to the department and the
town."
EXTRA PAY FOR
POLICE OFFICERS FLUENT
IN SPANISH
The council approved a
request from Chief Powell
to offer up to 5% in extra
pay to help recruit
officers fluent in
Spanish. "This is an
effort to bridge the gap
between the Smithfield
Police Department and the
Hispanic Community," the
chief noted. The 2020
Census shows 21.1% of the
town's population of
11,292 is Hispanic, he
pointed out. The
department currently has
six officer vacancies,
according to Chief
Powell's monthly report to
the council.
DOWNTOWN AND
RECREATION APPOINTMENTS
MADE
The council appointed
Stuart Lee, a Smithfield
resident who works as a
regional economic
developer, to the Downtown
Smithfield Development
Corporation's Board of
Directors and Jason Evans,
a Smithfield resident
who's an operations
manager at Novo Nordisk,
to the town's Recreation
Advisory Committee.
TWO SPECIAL EVENTS
AT TWO TOWN PARKS
APPROVED
The council approved Aidan
DeSimone's request to hold
a fund-raiser at
Smithfield Community Park
from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday,
19 and LifeSpring Church's
request to hold a "Spring
Movie Night" at Civitan
Park from 4 to 10 p.m.
Saturday, April 2.
TOWN JOINS
REGIONAL OBSERVANCE OF
"CREEK WEEK"
It was started by the City
of Durham in 2009 and has
since spread to other
local governments in
Eastern and Central North
Carolina, which have
conducted "Big Sweeps" and
other efforts "to clean up
trash in waterways." The
observance is set for
March 12-19. No plans were
mentioned at Tuesday's
meeting for local
activities.
STATE EASES
RESIDENTIAL SEWER-FLOW
REQUIREMENT
Town Manager Mike Scott
reported that the N.C.
Department of
Environmental Quality and
the County of Johnston
have agreed "to a sanitary
sewer reduction for
Smithfield residential
projects" – from 120
gallons to 90 gallons of
capacity required for each
bedroom of newly
constructed dwellings.
Utilities Director Ted
Credle called the change
"a positive thing for our
development."
"Trusted
by families since
1977"
840 S. Bright Leaf
Blvd. • 919-934-7164
• www.carrollpharmacy.com
African-American
health-care pioneers
remembered
The
Johnston County Heritage
Commission's annual Black
History Month program this
year was "Honoring
Johnston County's
African-American Health
Care Professionals, Past
and Present." It was
streamed online last
Thursday evening and is
now archived for viewing on the
Heritage Center's
YouTube channel>
The program
highlighted the services
of the late Dr. Charles W.
Furlonge, the first
African-American physician
allowed to practice at
Johnston Memorial Hospital
when it opened in 1951,
and Lucille Raiford Jones,
a Smithfield native who
advanced to a long career
in nursing in New York
City.
Dr. Furlonge began
practice as Johnston's
first credentialed
African-American physician
in 1912, and in the late
1920s opened a small
hospital in Smithfield
that served the minority
population until the
arrival of Johnston
Memorial.
Nurse Jones was recruited
by Dr. Furlonge to join
the staff at the county's
new hospital but she left
after two years for New
York City "where there
were better jobs with
better pay and more
opportunities for
advancement, in contrast
to the Jim Crow South,"
noted presenter Monique
Austin. Ms. Jones held
several important
positions during 38 years
at NYC's prestigious Mount
Sinai Hospital before
retiring in 1994.
Dr. Marilyn Pearson,
current director of the
Johnston County Public
Health Department and the
first African-American to
hold that position, talked
about the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, which
she said "has been
amplified in part due to
the racial and social
inequalities of our past."
She said
African-Americans make up
16% of Johnston's
population yet most recent
data show the infant
mortality rate for blacks
here is more than two
times that for whites, as
is the rate of deaths due
to diabetes.
"The pandemic did not
create this divide; it
magnified it," she
declared. "These health
disparities exist not
because they have to, but
because we have not
allocated enough of our
resources to eliminate
them."
Dr. Pearson urged citizens
to "stand in the gap and
be the bridge that
connects people to
opportunities for optimal
health." That, she said,
can be done "with the
smallest act – mentoring a
young person; talking with
our community leaders
about our experiences;
advocating for inclusion
in decision-making; or
being there for someone
through a difficult time."
The video concludes with
scrolling of a long list
of African-American
Johnstonians who have
served here and elsewhere
on the front lines of
public health over many
years, including dentists,
pharmacists, physicians,
physician assistants,
podiatrists, registered
nurses, adult day-care
workers, technicians, and
clinical nursing aides.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
County
Commissioners will be
asked for matching
funds to secure a large
school-construction grant
The
board will be asked during
its 10 a.m. session at the
Courthouse to commit more
than $22.5 million in
local matching funds for a
requested state grant of
$150,480,000 for
renovations and additions
at several of Johnston's
public-school campuses.
Included on the list of
projects is expansion of
the auditorium at
Smithfield-Selma High
School. Classroom
additions are proposed at
Cleveland High, Cleveland
Middle, Clayton's Cooper
Academy (elementary),
Benson Elementary, Four
Oaks Elementary,
Corinth-Holders
Elementary, and Princeton
Elementary.
Also
during the morning session,
the board will conduct a
public hearing on an
Economic Development
Incentive Grant for a
"speculative industrial
logistics facility" in
Banner Township (Benson
area). The company's name is
not given in the hearing's
public notice. VIEW the
complete agenda for the 10
a.m. session>
The board will conduct
public hearings on four
land-use rezoning requests
during its 6 p.m. session.
Two of those cases are in
Cleveland Township; two are
in Pleasant Grove Township.
VIEW the
complete agenda for the 6
p.m. session>
Board
of Education's monthly
session next Tuesday
The
school board's regular
March meeting begins at 4
p.m. in the Evander
Simpson Building on US 70
Business east of
Smithfield. Once it's
posted, the agenda may be
read on the
school system's
website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ALMA JOYCE
LASSITER, 76 – died
February 28
DENNIS
O'KEITH TERRY, 65 –
died February 28
FREDERICK
WILLIAM HOYT JR., 85
– died February 27
MATTHEW RAY
WIGGS, 44 – died
February 27
ANN PEELE
EARP, 80 – died
February 26
ALENE HARPER
JOHNSON HOLLAND, 89
– died February 26
CORA ANN
PIPKIN, 84 – died
February 26
SANDRA
BEASLEY CRUZ, 51 –
died February 25
JESUS JR.
JERELL QUINTERO, 3 –
died February 25
TYSON YATES
DOBSON JR., 91 –
died February 23
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Traffic
fatalities increasing
again: Who's to blame?
I
thought one of the
"benefits" of the
coronavirus pandemic was
less traffic congestion
and an accompanying rise
in highway safety as more
folks worked remotely from
home and had fewer places
to go as public activities
were curtailed. But then
we learned this week that
the number of persons
killed in traffic crashes
in North Carolina last
year rose to its highest
level since the early
1970s.
What's going on?!
One theory is that
speeding shot up as
motorists found themselves
freed from the usual
traffic jams, especially
in urban areas like
Raleigh-Durham. No
surprise there. But then
we read that another
factor was a decrease in
seat-belt use, with
43% of North Carolinians
killed in motor-vehicle
wrecks last year unbelted.
I think another big factor
is simply more careless
driving among the
populace. Folks have
gotten into some bad
habits that undermine
safety on the road.
Speeding tops the list, as
drivers have figured out
their likelihood of
getting a speeding ticket
that sticks is practically
nil these days.
My pet peeve is an
apparent defiance out
there about using turn
signals. I know that's not
a likely cause of traffic
fatalities, but it's a bad
habit that makes me wonder
about drivers' attention
to other details related
to safety – and respect
for one's fellow
motorists.
Perhaps the rising
fatality rate is a product
of Americans' aggravation
with rules and regulations
from the COVID pandemic.
Many folks don't like mask
mandates, vaccine
mandates, and other
restrictions put in place
to protect us from
infecting one another.
Given that mindset, why
not flout annoying rules
like speed limits and
seat-belt laws as well?
The bottom line: Defensive
driving, as some of us
were taught, is more
important than ever these
days.
Chamber's
transportation update is
now online
Since
last week's report in this
space from the online
teleconference about
regional transportation
projects, the Triangle
East Chamber of Commerce
has posted the hour-long
session online for viewing
at any time. Besides an
update on highway
construction from NCDOT,
the session included
reports from two Johnston
County transportation
managers: Neal
Davis of
Community & Senior
Services, which operates J-CATS,
and Phil Lanier
of Johnston
Regional Airport.
If you'd like to hear what
they had to say, click this
link>
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
announced by
daffodils blooming this week
below the Belmont neighborhood
sign beside East Market
Street.