JOHNSTON
GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
MONDAY
August 29 is
the earliest date North
Carolina's traditional
public schools are allowed
to open this year under a
state law requiring the
first day to be the Monday
closest to August 26. The
N.C. Department of Public
Instruction is projecting
enrollment in Johnston's
schools to reach 38,000
students this year. Last
year's 10th-day enrollment
was 37,593.
Because of the
later-than-usual opening,
the fall semester will
extend beyond the
Christmas holidays until
January 27. The last day
of the 2022-23 term is
June 8.
With
time running out, staff
vacancies exceed 300
The
school system's Central
Office reported mid-week
113.5 "school based
certified vacancies" –
which includes teacher and
administrator positions –
and 200 "school based
classified vacancies" –
which includes teacher
assistants, cafeteria
workers, custodians, bus
drivers, and other
"support staff."
Johnston's schools are
currently allotted 2,812
certified and 1,159
classified positions.
Entering the third school
year since the onset of
COVID, Johnston's schools
will return to the
traditional policy of
charging for students'
meals based on a
household's ability to
pay. All meals have been
served free of charge over
the past two years under
federal COVID-relief
measures.
The new year begins with
continuation of the
mask-optional policy for
staff and students that
the Board of Education
adopted last February
following six months when
masks were required in
classrooms and on school
buses.
VIEW the
full year's calendar for
students attending
Johnston's public
schools>
Principals
of Smithfield-area
schools
The
only newcomer to this
group is Dondi Pate at
Wilson's Mills Elementary:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
David
Allen
Smithfield-Selma
High School |
LaShunda
Faison
Smithfield
Middle |
Susan
Jones
South
Smithfield
Elementary |
Darrick
McNeill
West
Smithfield
Elementary |
Dondi
Pate
Wilson's
Mills
Elementary |
When
the daily school bells
ring
Smithfield-Selma
High: 7:15 a.m. tardy
bell, 2:15 p.m. dismissal.
Smithfield Middle: 8:05
a.m. tardy bell, 3:15 p.m.
dismissal.
Elementary schools: 8:55
a.m. tardy bell; 3:55 p.m.
dismissal.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
SSS continues reversal with big win
vs. Princeton
Making a
statement that last year's
winning season was no
fluke, the Spartans of
Smithfield-Selma High
School looked dominant in
subduing perennial
football power Princeton
last Friday night by a
score of 35-21 – a
surprising reversal of
last year's match-up that
produced a 42-21 victory
for the Bulldogs.
Princeton took a 7-0 lead
in the first quarter but
SSS bounced back with
three touchdowns before
halftime, capped off by a
65-yard run by junior
Isaiah Dawson just before
intermission for a 20-7
advantage.
The Bulldogs came back in
the third quarter with a
TD to make it 20-14 but
the Spartans put the game
away in the fourth quarter
with with a 67-yard
touchdown drive followed
by senior linebacker
Jalill Howell's 34-yard
fumble return to make it
35-14. A third Bulldog TD
cut the lead to 35-21 but
it was too little, too
late as the Spartans'
running game kept the ball
away from the visitors
through much of the final
quarter.
Sophomore Devyn Grant led
the SSS running attack
with a total of 126 yards
rushing, including one
touchdown. Senior Gerard
Sanders Jr. racked up 96
yards and a touchdown.
Dawson accounted for 81
total yards and two TDs.
On defense, senior Jaylen
Stancil made 12 solo
tackles, senior Michael
Thompson Jr. had 11, and
Devyn Grant had 10.
The Spartans host another
team of Bulldogs at 7 p.m.
this Friday when Nash
Central High visits
Charles Tucker Stadium.
SSS beat Nash Central last
year 42-13, the first of
eight wins in a 12-game
season for the Spartans.
Nash Central beat
Southeast Halifax
52-24 last Friday night.
How other Johnston County teams fared
on opening night
South Johnston 31
Western Harnett 7 |
Cleveland 55
Cary 12 |
Greensboro Grimsley 42
Clayton 14 |
West Johnston 28
Harnett Central 13 |
Corinth Holders 39
Franklinton 20 |
North Johnston 38
Farmville Central 6 |
Neuse Charter School's teams are off
to a winning start
The
girls volleyball team lost
the season's opener at
East Wake Academy last
week but has since won
four straight matches,
defeating Princeton High
once and Wayne County's
C.B. Aycock High twice.
Next up is a match at
Franklin Academy today
(Thursday).
The boys soccer squad won
the season's home opener
against Southside
Christian School of
Clayton last week by a
score of 6-0. Play
continues today (Thursday)
when the Cougars travel to
Roxboro Community School.
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Democrats
produce nominee for
commissioner
Evelyn L.
Sanders of Pleasant
Grove Township is the
Johnston County
Democratic Party's
nominee for the District
4 seat on the county's
Board of Commissioners.
Her name will be on the
ballot for the November
General Election along
with the name of
Republican April
Stephens of Elevation
Township who was
appointed to the board
in April following
Commissioner Larry
Wood's resignation when
he moved outside the
county.
The commissioners were
required to appoint a
successor to Mr. Wood
from the ranks of the
Republican Party;
therefore, leaders of
the Democratic Party
were entitled to nominee
a candidate of their own
for the seat that
represents a district
that extends from the
Benson area to McGee's
Crossroads. Those
nominations could not be
filled by May's Primary
Election since Mr. Wood
resigned after ballots
were printed.
Ms. Sanders is CEO of
Southeastern Healthcare
of North Carolina, Inc.,
a home-care agency based
in Raleigh that serves
elderly and disabled
adults in several nearby
counties, including
Johnston.
Here's the
latest information
about November's
General Election from
the Johnston County
Board of Education,
including the complete
list of candidates
whose names will be on
Johnston's ballots>
Crackdown
coming on Downtown
parking violations
The
Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation
(DSDC) has asked the
town's Police Department
to launch a campaign to
enforce violations like
this (one of half a dozen
observed during a spot
check along Market Street
Wednesday morning) as well
as violations of the
two-hour limit for
on-street parking and the
25-mph speed limit.
"The DSDC has
observed a significant
increase in vehicles
parking on the sidewalk,
which we attribute to a
combination of the
speeds traveled on
Market Street, the
narrow parking spaces,
and the increasing size
of many vehicles," reads
a statement issued by
the organization's board
of directors. "Having
vehicles on the
sidewalk, an area meant
for pedestrians, creates
safety concerns for
downtown users.
Additionally, both the
Town and the DSDC have
made significant
financial investments to
upgrade the sidewalks
and streetscape, and
parking on the sidewalks
is compromising the work
that has been done....
"Despite the two-hour
limit that exists for
on-street parking in the
downtown core, extended
parking remains an
issue. When DSDC staff
completed an analysis
earlier this year over
the course of a
three-week period, they
found that there was an
average of more than 24
vehicles each day parked
in a space in excess of
that limit, with as many
as 17 vehicles parked in
one location for at
least six hours on one
day.
"As it is important for
the on-street parking to
turn over in order to
make parking more
convenient for downtown
visitors, the DSDC
encourages downtown
business owners, people
who work downtown, and
people who are making
extended visits to park
in one of the nine free
public parking lots
located within two
blocks of the
intersection of Third
and Market streets (a
map of these lots is
available under the
Parking section at DowntownSmithfield.com)."
Police Chief Keith
Powell told the Sun this
week that his department
"will conduct the
enforcement as manpower
allows" starting in
mid-September. "This will
give everyone time to be
aware of the upcoming
enforcement actions," he
said.
The Town Council earlier
this month approved a
revised schedule of fines
that raises the fee for
most parking violations
from $10 to $25.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
River
Rat Regatta will try
again to make its run
Saturday
The
cardboard-boat race on the
Neuse River from the Town
Commons boat ramp to the
Market Street bridge is
set to start at 5 p.m.
Last-minute entries may
sign up from 3 to 4:30
p.m. The race was
postponed two weeks ago
because of high water on
the river following heavy
rainfall upstream. For
more information, contact
the Smithfield Parks &
Recreation Department at
919-934-2148.
Smithfield
Town Council will hold
an extra session Tuesday
The
meeting will begin at 6:30
p.m. at Town Hall for a
discussion of three
matters:
• New rules on commercial
building maintenance and
garbage, trash, and
refuse.
• "Park in lieu" fees
related to new residential
developments.
• Stormwater funding
options.
VIEW details
attached to the agenda
including the proposed
ordinance changes>
"Trusted
Elections Tour" coming
to Smithfield Wednesday
The
N.C. Network for Fair,
Safe, and Secure Elections
is hosting a series of 15
"town hall" meetings,
one in each Congressional
district and a virtual
event for those unable to
attend in person.
Smithfield
will get the event next
Wednesday (Aug. 31) from
6:30 to 8 p.m. at the
Johnston County
Courthouse. The panelists:
Mitch Kokai, senior
political analyst at the
John Locke Foundation;
Brad Reaves, cybersecurity
expert from N.C. State
University;
Leigh Anne Price, Johnston
County elections director;
Gordon Woodruff,
Democratic member, and John
Shallcross Jr., Republican
member, of the Johnston
County Board of Elections;
and Pressly M. Millen and
Phil Strach, N.C.
election-law experts.
For more information,
visit www.NCTrustedElections.com.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
LLOYD LAMUEL
STRICKLAND, 97 –
died August 21
TALMADGE
GLEN MASSENGILL SR., 88
– died August 18
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
A
setback for school
board's claims of
transparency
Johnston's
County Commissioners held
a retreat last spring on
the campus of Campbell
University in neighboring
Harnett County. It went
for two days and was
live-streamed on the
county's YouTube as all
the commissioners'
meetings since the onset
of COVID.
Johnston's Board of
Education followed suit
with a retreat of its own
on Wednesday of last week
on the Campbell campus.
But we don't know how long
it lasted because it was
NOT live-streamed and
we've yet to see a report,
or a video, of what
transpired.
Public notice of the
school board's retreat was
posted the previous
Friday, and it came too
late for publishing in the
Weekly Sun for
you, our readers, to know
about it. And this
reporter chose not to
attend the 8 a.m. session
in person as preparations
for last week's edition of
this publication couldn't
be put on hold.
Besides convenience,
another good thing about
those YouTube broadcasts
of meetings is that
they're archived for
viewing later at a time of
one's choosing. But in
this case, apparently that
isn't going to happen.
Despite recent good-faith
efforts to shine more
light on its
deliberations, the Board
of Education still has a
hill to climb toward full
public trust in its
handling of school
matters.
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|
Mr. Johnson
spoke defiantly against
the board's action,
calling it "a witch hunt"
based on hearsay. "I don't
have any recordings," he
declared. "You're not
going to produce any
recordings." And he said
the student-assignment
incident "did not happen."