A
Memorial Day walk
through Flags for Heroes
A
couple takes advantage of
Monday morning's peaceful
beauty to walk among the
American flags posted by
the Rotary clubs of
Johnston County along the
trail on hospital grounds
beside Hospital Road.
Rotary's Flags for Heroes
project was started during
the coronavirus pandemic
to honor front-line
health-care workers, then
expanded to honor the
fallen on Memorial Day.
Meanwhile, at Monday's
observance inside the
Courthouse, Retired U.S.
Army Master Sergeant Brad
Palmer reminded the
gathering that "there are
plenty of veterans in this
county that need us" upon
their return from military
conflicts around the
world. County Commissioner
Ted Godwin read a
proclamation noting that
249 Johnstonians have
perished in battle since
the start of World War I a
century ago. VIEW the
entire 30-minute program
archived on the
county's YouTube
channel>
Smithfield's
Town Council gets one
new member
The
mayor and four councilmen
who won election May 17
were sworn into office
during a special
ceremonial session of the
Town Council Tuesday
evening. Pictured (left
to right) is the
newly constituted
governing board:
• Marlon Lee, beginning
his third term as East
Smithfield's
representative.
• Sloan Stevens,
beginning his first term
as South Smithfield's
representative.
• Travis Scott, beginning
his third term as North
Smithfield's
representative.
• Mayor Andy Moore, who
was won re-election every
other year since 2015.
• John Dunn, an at-large
representative chosen
Tuesday to remain Mayor
Pro Tem.
• David Barbour, beginning
his second term as West
Smithfield's
representative.
• Roger Wood, an at-large
representative midway
through his second term.
• Steve Rabil, an at-large
representative midway
through his second term.
Smithfield's
estimated population
climbs to 11,630
That's
up 3% from the official
2020 count of 11,292,
according to 2021
estimates for cities and
towns released last week
by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The latest estimate for
Johnston County is 226,504
– an increase of 4.9%
above the 2020 total. The
population for North
Carolina as a whole rose
1.1% from 2020 to 2021 and
is now estimated to be
10,551,162.
Neighborly
rejuvenation
of an old neighborhood
That's
what Kay Kennedy has done
along the streets near her
home on Smithfield's
Riverside Drive. She has
purchased and fixed up,
for rent or sale, about 20
old dwellings that were
showing their age and in
need of some major repairs
– and upgrades.
You'll find
her story
on this week's FEATURE
PAGE>
HOME
FOR SALE
4-bedroom
brick ranch on half-acre
landscaped lot at 707
Crescent Drive in South
Smithfield – with an
office, all appliances,
stair lifts, wired
workshop, 2-car carport,
greenhouse. 2,936 square
feet: $399,000
(MLS#2444987)
LAND
FOR SALE
2.4-acre vacant lot at
1558 W. Market Street
(US 70 Business) in West
Smithfield. Mostly level
with 323-foot road
frontage. Less than 3
miles from Johnston
Regional Airport, about
5 miles from I-95: $525,000
(MLS#2447472)
SUSAN
LASSITER, Broker •
FONVILLE MORISEY
REALTY • 919-669-9235
Number
of Johnstonians employed
up to 103,245 in April
That's
an increase of 967 from
the estimate for March,
producing a jobless rate
of 3.0% for April – down
from 3.1% a month earlier.
The N.C. Department of
Commerce's monthly report
shows 3,186 Johnstonians
filing for unemployment
insurance in April – down
from 3,236 in March.
Johnston's jobless rate in
April a year ago was 4.3%.
May's rainfall hit the average, yet
total for year still
lags
May
produced 4.23 inches of
rain recorded by Cornell
Cox's Backyard Weather
Station in South
Smithfield. That brings
our year-to-date total to
15.56 inches – an amount
below the five-month
average of 18.78 inches
for our area, according to
U.S. Climate Data.
Coincidentally, the
average for May here is
4.23 inches – the same
number recorded by Mr.
Cox's rain gauge this past
month.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
SSS High's graduation ceremony this
Friday evening
Smithfield-Selma
High School will celebrate
the graduation of 255
seniors at 6 p.m. Friday
at Charles Tucker Stadium.
That includes some
students who completed
high school in December
but chose to walk with the
spring semester's
graduates, SSS Principal
David Allen told the Sun.
Adding 25 students who got
their diplomas in
December, SSS will
graduate 280 this year, he
noted. Friday's
ceremony will be
live-streamed>
Firemen will distribute free smoke
alarms this Saturday
As
part of a grant program
sponsored by the N.C. Fire
Marshal's office, the
Smithfield Fire Department
is offering a limited
supply of free smoke
alarms to homeowners.
Homeowners whose smoke
alarms are not
functioning, are past
their life span, or who
have no alarms are
encouraged to contact the
Fire Department at 919-934-2468
to schedule a visit on
"Smoke Alarm Saturday"
this weekend.
County
Commissioners will meet
three times on Monday
Johnston's
Board of Commissioners
will conduct a public
hearing on County Manager
Rick Hester's proposed
2022-23 budget during
Monday's morning session,
which begins at 10 a.m. at
the Courthouse. VIEW the
proposed budget in
detail>
Also on the morning's
agenda is an update on
GoTriangle's commuter-rail
study.
VIEW the
complete agenda for the
10 a.m. session>
At 2 p.m. Monday
commissioners will convene
in the Selma Civic Center
for a public hearing on an
economic-development
incentive grant for an
unidentified "agribusiness
manufacturing facility in
Selma."
During their regularly
scheduled 6 p.m. session,
commissioners will hold
public hearings on four
land-use rezoning
requests: two in Cleveland
Township, one in Pleasant
Grove Township, and one in
O'Neals Township.
VIEW the
complete agenda for the
6 p.m. session>
Town
Council to consider
another large project
Tuesday
The
Smithfield Town Council
will conduct a public
hearing on rezoning for
another large residential
development during its
regular monthly meeting at
7 p.m. Tuesday at Town
Hall. NRP Ventures LLC
plans to develop 491 acres
on Mallard Road between US
70 Business East and
Brogden Road with 490
single-family lots, 691
townhouse lots, a 564-unit
three-story "multifamily
development," and a
similar 260-unit
four-story component.
Another rezoning request
to be considered Tuesday
seeks Light Industrial
zoning for 42 acres on the
northeast side of Barbour
Road's intersection with
US 70 Business West. On
the evening's "Consent
Agenda" are a proposal to
pay off remaining debts on
the Recreation and
Aquatics Center and
awarding of a contract for
a renovation study of the
old American Legion Hut on
Front Street presently
leased by the Neuse Little
Theatre.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday's council
session>
Music for the Lunch Bunch series
returns next week
The
Johnston County Arts
Council's Music for the
Lunch Bunch series returns
for another season next
Wednesday (June 8) when a
troupe from the Neuse
Little Theatre presents
the first installment,
followed by pianist Dexter
Ruffin on June 15,
vocalist, pianist, and
violinist Carmen Parker on
June 22, vocalist Bruce
Johnson and organist Kelly
Garris on June 29,
pianists Kwan Yi and Jared
Yoakem on July 13, pianist
Dara Edwards on July 20,
and pianist Jonathan Levin
on July 27. All
performances will be held
at Smithfield's First
Presbyterian Church and
will begin at 12:15 p.m.
and last about 30 minutes.
These front-yard signs
are endorsements you
can trust in all
seasons.
CallPernell.com
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
LINA M.
SANDERS-JOHNSON, 85
– died May 31
JOSEPH
WESLEY CHAMPION, 80
– died May 28
ELIAS OWEN
PHILLIPS, 88 – died
May 27
AUDREY
BARNES CREECH, 91 –
died May 26
DESSIE MARIE
HAGANS McNEIL, 79 –
died May 21
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Seeking
assurances that "it
can't happen here"
I
was relieved to learn that
the administration of
Johnston County's public
schools sent out a message
to parents in the wake of
that massacre in a Texas
elementary school,
reassuring them that "in
addition to our regularly
assigned school resource
officers and safety plans
that are in place, we will
have an increased law
enforcement presence and
patrols at all schools."
Those safety measures
include "security
vestibules" recently
installed at all of
Johnston's schools and
procedures in place that
don't allow visitors to
enter school buildings
without on-the-spot
permission.
Thank goodness for those
steps taken, for we've all
learned by now there's no
guarantee "it can't happen
here."
What to do about all these
mass murders at schools,
in churches, and just
about anywhere else?
A logical place to start
is reinstatement of that
1994-2004 Congressional
ban on military assault
weapons in the hands of
anyone other than trained
members of the nation's
armed forces.
But the bigger picture
shows us a nation in
turmoil over political
divisiveness that has
descended into awful
depths of despair, anger,
hatred, and prejudice the
likes of which we haven't
seen in our lifetime. It's
scary, it's
counterproductive, and it
defiles what we've been
taught about our nation's
reason for being.
We reap what we sow, and
right now it's a bitter
harvest.
Let's wrap up this
edition on a positive
note with the
photograph below of Sloan
Stevens taking his oath of
office this week as a
younger generation's
addition to the Smithfield
Town Council. He's
accompanied by his
children, Trey and
Natalie, and his wife
Kelsey. Administering the
oath is Resident Superior
Court Judge Tom Locke.
Behind them are Mayor Andy
Moore and Town Clerk
Shannan Parrish. Norman
Rockwell, the iconic
American artist, would've
relished this scene:
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