Carter
Dale and Gavin Holland dig
in with paddles to nudge
their homemade cardboard
craft to a first-place
finish in the Youth
Division of last
Saturday's River Rat
Regatta. Winning the Adult
Division was a cardboard
vessel named "Sink Outside
the Box," propelled by
Chris Cotrupi and Kaden
Wilson who completed the
run from the Neuse River
boat ramp to the Market
Street bridge in one
minute, 34.3 seconds. The
Youth Division drew half a
dozen entries, of which
four finished without
capsizing or sinking,
while eight of 13 Adult
entries made it to the
finish line. It was the
third time the annual
event has been staged by
the Town of Smithfield's
Parks and Recreation
Department.
Schools
enroll 36,301 students;
more expected
Johnston
County Public Schools
continue to enroll more
students as the first week
of classes progresses.
Schools opened Monday with
an enrollment of 34,583. By
Wednesday the total
was 36,301, up 549 from
last year's Day 3 figure.
The Day 10 total is what's
used by the state for
measuring annual enrollment.
For the 2021-2022 school
year that number was 37,592.
The N.C. Department of
Public Instruction is
projecting Johnston's
enrollment to top 38,000
this year.
Johnston's school
administrators are worried
that enrollment may not
reach the state's
projection. That would
result in a reduction of the
state's funding allotment to
Johnston's public schools.
Of
the 36,301 enrolled as of
Wednesday, the school
system's online Virtual
Academy accounted for 685
students, reports Caitlin
Furr, the system's director
of communication. The
Virtual Academy, based at
Smithfield Middle School,
includes all grades and has
its own mascot – the lynx –
and a logo (shown here).
Johnston County currently
operates 46
public-school campuses
plus affiliated programs
housed at Johnston
Community College and in
administrative facilities
on the former Smithfield
High School grounds now
identified as the county
system's "West Campus."
What about COVID? While
masks are no longer
required in classrooms and
buses, the school system
continues to monitor
outbreaks. Its COVID-19
dashboard is updated
continuously, this morning
(Thursday) reporting 45
active cases among
students and nine among
staff throughout the
county. That includes one
case at Smithfield-Selma
High and one at West
Smithfield Elementary but
none at Smithfield Middle,
South Smithfield
Elementary, and Wilson's
Mills Elementary schools.
Principal
Crystal Gregory (right)
welcomes students to
Monday's opening day of
classes at the
Innovation Academy at
South Campus –
originally opened in the
1950s as an extension of
Smithfield's
African-American high
school in the days
before racial
desegregation and
consolidation, today
operated as a
middle-grades
"laboratory school" that
accepts qualifying
"pioneering" students
from throughout the
county. (Johnston County
Public Schools photo)
School board asks DA to examine
Johnson evidence
The
Weekly Sun this
week received a copy of
the letter along with
attachments sent by Board
of Education Chairman Todd
Sutton last Friday
requesting District
Attorney Susan Doyle to
determine whether
violations of board
policies by Ronald Johnson
constitute criminal
grounds for his removal
from office.
The school board last week
voted 6-1 (with Mr.
Johnson dissenting) to
censure him for violating
a policy barring secret
recordings of board
proceedings and another
prohibiting board members
from intervening in
student assignment
matters. The board does
not have statutory
authorize to remove one of
its own members.
Here's a PDF
containing Chairman
Sutton's letter to the
DA along with evidence
gathered by the board's
attorneys that led to
Mr. Johnson's
censure>
Johnston's
jobless rate dropped
to 3.3% in July
The
number of Johnstonians
employed rose from 102,838
in June to 104,433 in July
while the number filing
for unemployment benefits
fell from 3,928 to 3,546,
according to the latest
report from the N.C.
Department of Commerce.
That reduced the county's
jobless rate from 3.7% in
June to 3.3% in July (the
statewide rate was 3.7%).
Johnston's unemployment
rate in July 2021 was
4.5%.
VIEW
the state's July report
covering all of North
Carolina's counties>
Amazon
delays West Smithfield
start-up till next
spring
That
announcement came this
week from Chris Johnson,
the county's director of
economic development:
"They are fully
committed to the
building and job
creation; however, with
equipment supply issues
and now the recent
slowdown in the economy,
they have pushed back
their opening and job
hiring to sometime
Spring of next
year" he told the Sun.
When Amazon announced
its plans for the West
Smithfield distribution
center in May 2021, the
company pledged to
create 500 jobs and pay
a minimum starting wage
of $15 an hour.
Operations were originally
scheduled to begin by the
end of this year.
Construction of the
facility appears to be
nearing completion.
Fourth
Street beside Town Hall
was temporarily under
water following a
torrential downpour in
June 2019. (Photo
retrieved from Town of
Smithfield Facebook page)
Town
eyes funding mechanism
to stem stormwater
The
Town Council took another
step Tuesday evening
toward an expanded program
to fix Smithfield's
drainage and flooding
problems.
"We have got to take some
action," exclaimed
Councilman Travis Scott.
"We're one rainstorm away
from a potential
disaster."
He made the motion to
adopt a staff-prepared
resolution committing the
town to establish a
"stormwater utility" with
its own "enterprise fund"
that would likely draw its
revenue from either
monthly fees or annual
assessments paid by all
the town's property
owners.
"If we do this, it's got
to cover everybody,"
declared Mayor Andy Moore,
who said public as well as
privately owned properties
should be subject to
whatever fees are charged
for land occupied by
structures and parking
lots and other surfaces
deemed impervious to
rainfall and thereby
producers of stormwater
runoff.
Councilman David Barbour
seconded Mr. Scott's
motion, which was adopted
without dissent.
(Councilmen John Dunn,
Marlon Lee, Steve Rabil,
and Sloan Stevens were
also present Tuesday.
Roger Wood was absent.)
The first step is the
town's application for a
state-administered grant
to pay for a study of
Smithfield's drainage
needs and development of a
plan for action along with
a mechanism for collecting
ongoing revenue from
property owners to pay for
the infrastructure
improvements to be done.
"I think we (will) have a
competitive application,"
Planning Director Stephen
Wensman told the council.
He estimated the study
would cost about $50,000.
This fiscal year the town
has budgeted $157,290 in
its General Fund for
drainage projects – an
amount town officials deem
insufficient to fix what
needs to be fixed.
Other items discussed
during Tuesday's special
session involved proposed
changes to the town's
rules regarding
dilapidated buildings and
unkempt lots and a
proposal to raise fees on
new residential developers
for parks and recreation
projects. Staff will come
back with specific
recommendations on both
items for consideration at
subsequent council
meetings.
HIGH
SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Smithfield-Selma runs over Nash
Central 49-17
Junior
Isaiah Dawson was the star
of last Friday's show,
scoring four of the
Spartans' seven
touchdowns: two
on kickoff returns of 97
and 90 yards,
one on a 48-yard pass
play, and another on a
33-yard run from
scrimmage.
Senior Gerard Sanders Jr.
led the SSS rushing attack
with a total of 127 yards
on 17 carries including
two touchdowns.
Altogether, the Spartan
rushers accounted for 210
yards. Senior John Renfrow
scored the first SSS TD on
a quarterback sneak inside
the 1-yard line. He also
completed five of 13 pass
attempts for a total of 83
yards, including the TD
toss to Dawson.
SSS broke the game open in
the second quarter when
the Spartans scored four
touchdowns, including the
first of Dawson's kickoff
returns, and led 35-3 at
halftime.
Standouts on defense for
SSS were senior Jaylen
Stancil with 14 tackles
and sophomore Danyaeul
McCray with nine.
Next up for the Spartans is a
non-conference contest at
North Johnston High at 7 p.m.
today (Thursday) – ahead of
the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Last week's football scores for other
Johnston County schools:
|
Clayton
0
Wake
Forest
26
|
Cleveland
43
J.H. Rose
28
|
Corinth Holders 35
Southern
Nash 65 |
South Johnston 15
Triton
34 |
West
Johnston
56
Western
Harnett
7 |
Princeton 58
East Duplin 57 |
North Johnston 6
Rosewood
14 |
SSS girls volleyball team 3-3; boys soccer
team is 0-4-1
Smithfield-Selma's
girls volleyball team is
3-3 after Tuesday's loss
at South Johnston in the
Spartans' Quad County 3-A
Conference opener.
The Spartan girls tennis
team is without a win
after its first six
matches.
The SSS boys soccer team
is 0-4-1 following
Tuesday's 6-0 loss to
North Johnston. Two more
non-conference matches are
scheduled before the
Spartans enter conference
action against South
Johnston September 12.
Neuse
Charter's soccer team
4-1; volleyball team
5-2
The
boys soccer team is 4-1
following Monday's loss to
undefeated East Wake
Academy. Previous wins
came against Southside
Christian School of
Clayton, Mintz Christian
Academy of Roseboro,
Roxboro Community School,
and Henderson Collegiate.
All were non-conference
matches.
The girls volleyball team
is 5-2 as a result of
Tuesday's loss to
Perquimans High School.
After a season-opening
loss to East Wake Academy,
the Cougars had won five
straight matches: against
C.B. Aycock High (twice),
Princeton High, South
Johnston High, and
Franklin Academy. Four
more non-conference
matches are scheduled
before Neuse Charter's
Carolina 1-A Conference
opener at North Duplin
High September 13.
There's
good reason
you continue to see
this sign in many
yards
around Smithfield.
Call
Pernell.com
and you'll
find out why.
August
rainfall measured
close to what's normal
Cornell
Cox reports 4.90 inches of
rainfall measured at his
Backyard Weather Station
in South Smithfield during
August, bringing our
year-to-date total to
29.06. Still a ways to go
to reach our annual
average of just under 48
inches with four months
remaining in 2022. Last
year's total at this point
was 42.79.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Town
Council to consider
incentives for a "spec"
building
The
first of three public
hearings on the agenda for
next Tuesday's 7 p.m.
regular monthly meeting at
Town Hall is a request for
property-tax rebates for a
proposed industrial
building at the
intersection of Brogden
and Wal-Pat roads bedside
I-95. Al Neyer, a
commercial real-estate
firm with offices in
several states, wants to
construct a
264,000-square-foot "spec"
(speculative) building
"that it will build to
suit a future lessor." The
firm is asking for a
return of half the
property taxes to be paid
to the town over the first
five years – $71,250
annually for a total of
$356,250. The firm's
investment in the project
is estimated at $25
million, producing 25
jobs.
• A second public hearing
will be held on a request
to close Circle Drive
between South Bright Leaf
Boulevard and Seventh
Street.
• A third hearing will be
conducted on a request
from Wintergreen
Hospitality for a
special-use permit to
allow construction of a
five-story Home2 Suites
hotel beside the Hampton
Inn off East Market Street
near I-95.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday's Town Council
meeting>
County
Commissioners to meet
Tuesday instead of
Monday
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will hold
their regular "first
Monday" sessions next
Tuesday because of
Monday's Labor Day
holiday. That includes
sessions at 10 a.m.
and 6 p.m. – both at
the Courthouse.
VIEW agendas
for the two sessions
once they're posted
online>
Master
Gardeners will host a
symposium September 24
The
Johnston County Extension
Master Gardener Volunteers
are hosting a symposium –
featuring gardening with
natives and exotics and
container gardening by
presenters Bryce Lane and
Tony Avent – on Saturday,
September 24 (8:30-3:30)
at the Johnston County
Agricultural Center on NC
210 west of Smithfield.
For more details and for
registration visit https://johnston.ces.ncsu.edu/symposium.
Jehovah's
Witnesses resuming
door-to-door ministry
Resumption
of the
trademark door-to-door
ministry comes after a
two-and-a-half-year
suspension because of
the coronavirus
pandemic. The resumption
of home visits coincides
with a global campaign
to distribute a new
interactive Bible study
program available in
hundreds of languages at
no cost to recipients.
In the United States, Jehovah's
Witnesses number
more than 1.3 million in
13,000 congregations.
Shown here with
Smithfield congregant
Daisy Marshall (center)
are Stacy Duffield (left)
and Megan Duffield. (Photo
provided by Jehovah's
Witnesses)
DEATHS & FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ETTA (MARIE)
HOOVER SPEARS, 92 –
died August 29
DAVID
RICHARD NORRIS, 79 –
died August 28
BONNIE JEAN
ROMANO, 71 – died
August 28
LINDA
PITTMAN STARLING, 79
– died August 24
PRIME
LA
ND
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
What's
to be done about Market
Street traffic?
Lynn
Johnson's experience is a
common one for folks who
park along Downtown
Smithfield's Market
Street:
"I came out of the
Heritage Center after
volunteering for an hour
and found my rear-view
mirror on the sidewalk,"
she wrote to the Weekly
Sun this past week.
"I’d been clipped by a
truck who did not stop. I
had to pay $500 out of
pocket for the replacement
since it was considered a
‘hit and run’ and that was
the deductible....
"People who know park on
the edge of the curb
because so many have had a
similar experience. We
also turn our mirrors
toward the car. However, a
visitor to Smithfield
doesn’t know this and may
take away negative
memories due to having
their car damaged by a
flying logging truck!" she
noted.
"The issue as I see it is
that Market Street is used
as a short cut by huge
trucks going 50 mph. The
lanes are too narrow for
them and they clip cars
and keep flying.
I’ve never seen one
stopped for speeding."
So how do we fix all that?
Fining motorists $25 for
pulling vehicles onto the
sidewalk might discourage
folks from parking on
Market in the first place
– a sensible step to
prevent broken mirrors. A
more effective measure
would be slowing down the
traffic that whizzes
through town by strictly
enforcing the 25 mph speed
limit and changing the
timing of traffic signals
so motorists can't race
down the street with green
lights in sight as far as
they can see.
The ultimate solution?
Remove all on-street
parking from Market,
coupled with "traffic
calming" measures like
raised or brick crosswalks
at intersections and more
frequent red lights for
thru traffic. With parking
removed, there would be
room for turn lanes with
protective signals in
addition to the four lanes
we've got now.
Meanwhile, there's concern
that the truck traffic
will get even worse once
the Amazon distribution
center opens in West
Smithfield. Market Street
is the direct route from
there to I-95.
It's too bad Downtown
Smithfield's comeback is
impeded by the Market
Street racetrack, and it's
unlikely the road's
designation as a major U.S
highway is going away any
time soon. Still, things
have got change to make
the environment safer for
motorists and pedestrians
alike. And the sooner, the
better.
Speaking of
traffic and pedestrian
safety, here's
a helpful reminder from
Johnston County Emergency
Services of what to do
when approaching stopped
school buses:
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