Draft
of county's new Land Use
Plan unveiled
One
goal is channeling
growth closer to
municipalities
Among
key points in the proposal
are recommended policies
to encourage residential
development around
existing municipalities
coupled with 
restrictions
on how much will be
permitted in outlying
rural areas.
Another is to steer
commercial projects to
suburban "activity nodes"
rather than "strip" retail
and office developments
spread throughout the
county.
Yet another is to keep
agriculture "viable" so
farming may "continue to
thrive." Coupled with that
are calls for preserving
Johnston's "rural
character" and protecting
open space to provide more
opportunities for
recreation.
Those ideas reflect
consensus gleaned from
several public forums and
online surveys conducted
in recent months by the
county's Planning
Department with guidance
from a citizens' steering
committee and technical
assistance from Nealon
Planning LLC, a consulting
firm employed by the
county.
Just 27% of Johnstonians
say they're "satisfied"
with the "overall
appearance" of the
county's current round of
real-estate development,
consultants reported at
the most recent forum,
held June 29.
Next steps toward adoption
of a new Land Use Plan are
a review of the draft by
the county's Planning
Board followed by
submission of the document
to the County
Commissioners, who will
have the final say before
it's adopted as county
policy.
VIEW the
plan's draft as it now
stands including a link
to one last public
survey>
This
large pipeline being
installed alongside
Swift Creek Road near
the airport is one of
several such projects
recently authorized in
response to Johnston
County's rapid
residential growth. This
particular line will
carry sewage to the
county's new treatment
plant under construction
near the landfill west
of Smithfield.
Meanwhile, the county is
about to expand its
water-filtration plant
near Wilson's Mills. An
expansion of the Town of
Smithfield's water plant
is already under
construction.
Commissioners
get annual report on
child fatalities in
Johnston
At
Monday's morning session,
Johnston's County
Commissioners received the
annual report from the
county's Child Fatality
Prevention Team. Of 21
deaths investigated in
2021, three were caused by
drowning, two by "unsafe
sleep environments," one
by suicide (a teen), one
by motor-vehicle accident,
and others "attributed to
illnesses in the newborn,
prematurity, or prenatal
conditions."
In response to child
fatalities resulting from
"co-sleeping with parents
or siblings due to lack of
resources or cultural
norms," the Johnston
County Public Health
Department has secured a
grant to purchase
"pack-n-plays" for
low-income families,
reported Kathleen Lanc,
the Prevention Team's
review coordinator who's
also a member of the
county's Board of Health.
Commissioner Tony Braswell
bemoaned what he sees as a
lack of adolescent and
mental-health services and
facilities in this county.
End
of decals for garbage
disposal postponed
another year
Following
a recommendation from
County Manager Rick
Hester, commissioners
voted 5-2 to postpone
expiration of the county's
decal system for
do-it-yourself garbage
disposal beyond next June
30 as had been announced
this past year.
"Since we don't have an
alternative funding method
coupled with the fact we
have a vacancy in our
solid-waste director
position, we felt it was
best to delay things until
further notice," Mr.
Hester explained. "That way,
folks that are buying
12-month decals will know
what's happening."
Commissioners Ted Godwin and
Tony Braswell voted against
the postponement. "I think
it's a disservice to put
this off," declared Mr.
Godwin, who said Johnston
ought to follow what other
counties are doing and no
longer charge the $100
annual fee to drop off
garbage and trash at the
county's "convenience
centers."
READ a summary
of all items addressed
during Monday's morning
session>
Speakers
question status of
commissioner charged
with crime
Three
citizens who addressed the
board during the "Public
Comments" segment of
Monday's evening session
asked why Commissioner
Dickie Braswell has not
been suspended from office
or prompted to resign
following a criminal
charge filed against him
June 29 for taking
indecent liberties with a
minor.
Board members, including
Mr. Braswell, did not
respond to speakers Joe
Preston, Joey Marie, and
Christine Livingston.
Meanwhile, Commissioner
Braswell's name will
remain on November's
ballot for election to a
full four-year term unless
he withdraws by early
August when ballots are
printed. If that happens,
the Johnston County
Republican Party would
nominate a replacement who
would almost assuredly win
election since Mr.
Braswell has no Democratic
opposition.
Mr. Braswell (no relation
to fellow Commissioner
Tony Braswell) was
appointed to the board
last November to replace
Chad Stewart, who gave up
his seat to accept a job
as manager of Johnston's
ABC system.
Portrait
of Judge Addie Rawls
to be hung in the
Courthouse
The
County Commissioners
adopted a resolution
honoring recently retired
District Court Judge Addie
Harris Rawls and
authorized the hanging of
her portrait alongside
those of other
distinguished former
judges inside the main
courtroom of Johnston's
100-year-old Courthouse.
Ms. Rawls served as
District Court judge from
her election in 2002 until
her retirement January 31.
She is the first
African-American woman to
hold the office of
district judge in Johnston
County.
(Screenshot from YouTube
broadcast of
Monday evening's session
of the Board of
Commissioners)
READ a
summary of all items
addressed during
Monday's evening
session>
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Teachers say school-bond issue won't
be enough
County Commissioners set Nov. referendum at
$177 million
Only two citizens, speaking as public-school
teachers, voiced
opinions during
Monday's public
hearing on the
proposed $177-million
county bond issue for
Johnston's schools.
Both of them said the
amount falls short of
what's needed.
"We are woefully
under-funding our
public schools,"
declared April Lee, a
math teacher at Four
Oaks Middle School who
often appears before
the county's governing
boards as president of
Johnston's Association
of Educators.
"Inadequate facilities
and services are going
to lead to more
charter and private
schools," she
predicted.
Jeanie Aday identified
herself as a former
Johnston teacher who
"didn't last very
long" because of "the
resource gap"
besetting the county's
schools. She said her
classroom had 23 desks
for 37 students the
first year she taught,
and said her school
was so overcrowded "it
took 20 minutes to get
out in a fire drill."
Despite their
last-minute pleas,
commissioners voted
6-1 to put a
$177-million bond
issue before
Johnston's voters in
this November's
general election.
Commissioner Fred
Smith cast the lone
vote against Monday's
resolution as he did
on a preliminary bond
resolution adopted in
May when he questioned
the validity of growth
projections for
Johnston's student
population. He argued
that $150 million
would be enough for
immediate
school-facility needs.
Johnston's Board of
Education initially
asked that a
$253.5-million issue
be put on the ballot
this fall, with two
more to follow by the
end of the decade to
meet a list of
anticipated
construction needs
totaling $720 million.
A detailed list of
projects to be funded
with approval of the
initial $177-million
bond issue have yet to
be shared with the
public. Priorities at
this point appear to
be a new high school
in the Wilson's
Mills-Powhatan area
and a new elementary
school in the Swift
Creek area south of
Clayton.
VIEW the Smithfield-Selma High School
Principal's List and
Honor Roll for the
fourth and final
quarter of the
2021-22 school
year>
There's
good reason
you continue to see
this sign in many
yards
around Smithfield.
Call
Pernell.com
and
you'll find out why.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Friday's
Movie in the Park: "A
League of Their Own"
Smithfield's Parks
and Recreation
Department will present
"A League of Their Own"
at sundown Friday at
Community Park as part
of its summertime Movie
in the Park series.
There's no charge for
admission, and you're
invited to bring your
own picnics and lawn
chairs.
Meeting
on county's Regional
Park Plan next Tuesday
The
County of
Johnston's
Parks,
Greenways, and
Open Space
Office will
hold a public
meeting for
its Regional
Park Master
Plan currently
under
development
next Tuesday
(July 26) from
6 to 8 p.m. at
the Greater
Cleveland
Athletic
Association
picnic shelter
located at
8994 Cleveland
Road. For more
information
about the
plan, visit https://www.johnstoncountyregionalpark.org/.
Drone's-eye view of the heart of the original
Cleveland School
community, showing the
former school campus
including its gymnasium
to the left and
ballfields in back where
the county will conduct
next Tuesday's public
meeting on a plan for a
nearby park on recently
acquired acreage.
(County of Johnston
photo)
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
SARA ANN
KEENAN DOVE, 85 –
died July 19
CATHERINE
ELAINE OLIVER WILDER, 49
– died July 19
CLAUDE
THOMAS (TOM) HARRIS, 79
– died July 18
JERRY DEAN
BRASWELL, 66 – died
July 17
RONALD LEE
(PETE) COE JR., 87 –
died July 17
JOYCE BAILEY
KEENE, 79 – died
July 14
IRENE PAGE
SMITH STEVENS, 103 –
died July 13
JOSEPHINE
PILKINGTON GODWIN, 72
– died July 8
LAND
FOR SALE
IN WEST SMITHFIELD
2.4-acre
vacant lot at 1558 W.
Market Street (US 70
Business). 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
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
On
Johnston County's most
pressing public issue
The
"Public Comments" portion
of Monday's evening
session of the County
Commissioners produced a
preview of what's to come
when the board conducts a
yet-to-be-scheduled public
hearing on the county's
new Comprehensive Land Use
Plan currently in "draft"
form.
More and more citizens are
speaking out against
rampant residential
development that threatens
to undermine Johnston's
"rural character." They're
alarmed by mounting
traffic on our roads,
overcrowded public
schools, and declining
agriculture.
The commissioners heard
impassioned pleas from
several of those folks
this week. Jill Parker
expressed fears about a
proposed subdivision
"spitting up" her farm
near Four Oaks that's been
in the family since the
1780s. Jim Wiesner of the
Wilson's Mills area told
commissioners "we're going
backward" by allowing
unchecked subdivision
growth. Christine
Livingstone of McGee's
Crossroads called for "a
moratorium on housing
development for at least
12 months."
Those concerns are
weighing heavily on the
minds of commissioners as
they approach a day of
reckoning on what's to be
included in a revised Land
Use Plan.
"We've often heard it
said, and we've said it in
here: If you're not
growing you're dying,"
said Commissioner Ted
Godwin during Monday's
morning session. "But I've
been thinking about it a
lot lately... and I'm
beginning to rethink that
whole truism....
"If you're not growing
maybe you're getting
smarter, maybe you're
repositioning things,
maybe you're using your
work force better," he
continued. "I'm not sure
that less growth or
stopping growth is going
to mean that we're dying.
Growth to me doesn't
necessarily mean size but
in smarts and how we do
things...."
Growth's bottom line:
"What's it doing to our
quality of life?" Mr.
Godwin asked.
If you've got an opinion,
the county is offering one
last online survey to get
your thoughts (and Friday
may be the last day it's
available). Here's the
link to it>
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