4 of 5 Smithfield-area schools graded
"D"
The
four are Smithfield-Selma
High, Smithfield Middle,
South Smithfield and West
Smithfield elementary
schools. Wilson's Mills
Elementary, which includes
students from the
residential section of
town known as West
Smithfield, got a "C."
Neuse Charter School,
based in Smithfield with
students residing
throughout Johnston
County, also graded "C."
That was the disappointing
news from the state's
annual "report card" based
on standardized testing of
students at the end of the
2021-22 academic year. The
good news is that Johnston
County raised the number
of schools earning letter
grades of A, B, or C from
30 to 37 this past year
while reducing the number
of "Low Performing
Schools" as defined by the
state from 14 to five.
Among those five are
Smithfield-Selma High,
South Smithfield
Elementary, and West
Smithfield Elementary; the
other two are West Clayton
Elementary and the Virtual
Academy, Johnston's
alternative online school.
Smithfield Middle,
although graded "D,"
avoided the Low Performing
label because its test
scores exceeded defined
expectations for
improvement this past
year. The other local "D"
schools did not reach that
goal.
A dozen of Johnston
County's 48 schools got
"B" grades: Corinth
Holders High, Archer Lodge
Middle, Cleveland Middle,
the Innovation Academy at
South Campus, Riverwood
Middle, Cleveland
Elementary, Dixon Road
Elementary, Powhatan
Elementary, River Dell
Elementary, Riverwood
Elementary, Thanksgiving
Elementary, and Johnston
Charter Academy at
Clayton.
The only "A" grades went
to two programs operating
with limited enrollments
outside of traditional
campus settings: the
Career & Technical
Leadership Academy and the
Early College Academy,
both hosted by Johnston
Community College.
Johnston's school leaders
staged a news conference
last Thursday afternoon to
celebrate high points in
the state's report
released earlier in the
day. Following that event,
the school system issued a
statement with this
explanation for
improvements at many of
the county's schools:
"The
district has implemented
research based Core
Curriculums in reading and
math and the use of
on-going instructional
walkthroughs with feedback
and coaching. JCPS is
monitoring student
progress across skills and
grade-level standards
through use of common
benchmark assessments to
inform and adjust
instruction, and is using
a differentiated plan of
support across the
district aligned to meet
the specific needs of each
school."
With the latest test
results, Johnston's public schools as a whole are now ranked 41st in the state. That's up from 59th last year and 83rd the year before.
VIEW the
state's report for all of
Johnston's schools>
Here's
how schools in the
Smithfield area stacked up
against schools in all of
Johnston County and the
entire state:
SELECTED
SCHOOLS |
School
Performance
Grade / Score * |
Grade-Level
Proficiency
2021-22 |
Grade-Level
Proficiency
2020-21 |
| South Smithfield Elementary |
D / 46 |
37.2% |
28.2% |
| West Smithfield Elementary |
D / 43 |
33.3% |
17.9% |
| Wilson's Mills Elementary |
C / 59 |
48.8% |
27.4% |
| Smithfield Middle |
D / 48 |
39.7% |
30.0% |
| Smithfield-Selma High |
D / 53 |
30.5% |
31.4% |
| Neuse Charter School |
C / 62 |
59.6% |
57.1% |
| All of Johnston County |
n/a |
53.3% |
42.7% |
| All of North Carolina |
n/a |
51.4% |
45.4% |
*
Since
2013-14,
student
performance
data have been
used to assign
letter grades
to public
schools as
required by
N.C. General
Statute
115C-83.15.
The grades are
based on each
school’s
achievement
score (weight
of 80%) and
each school’s
student
academic
growth (weight
of 20%). The
total school
performance
score is
converted to a
100-point
scale and then
used to
determine a
school
performance
grade:
A:
85-100; B:
70-84;
C:
55-69;
D: 40-54;
F:
less than 40.
|
|
Another
Thanksgiving school site
to be purchased
The
County Commissioners this
week approved the school
system's requested
purchase of 130 acres
adjacent to Thanksgiving
Elementary School for $3
million. Apparently it's
to be the site of a new
middle school serving the
fast-growing Flowers
Crossroads area east of
Clayton. Commissioners
were told the site may
also accommodate future
parks and recreation
facilities open to the
public. Owners of the land
being purchased are
the Raymond Earp Family
Trust and Mary E. Moore
Worley, who sold the 39-acre
site for the new elementary
school two years ago.
Two
industries granted
incentives to expand
Novo
Nordisk at Clayton and
Becton Dickinson at Four
Oaks will get property-tax
rebates if they meet
capital-investment targets
for projects expanding
production facilities and
adding new jobs.
The Johnston County Board
of Commissioners Tuesday
evening approved an
agreement with Novo
Nordisk for return of a
sizeable portion of county
taxes paid on property
valuations added by
renovations and expansions
over a 12-year period: 90%
returned the first five
years, 80% in the next
three, 70% in the next
two, 60% in the 11th year,
and 50% in the 12th. After
that, the company would
pay annual taxes without
rebates.
What makes that incentive
agreement unique is a lack
of specifics about what
the company will do.
Commissioners were told
that the capital
investments would total
"millions of dollars" and
create "hundreds of
high-wage, good jobs."
Those investments would
have to be made by the end
of 2031 for Novo Nordisk
to qualify for the full
incentive package.
The company – said to be
the world's largest
producer of insulin used
to combat diabetes –
currently employs more
than 1,700 workers at
Clayton as a result of
eight expansion projects
over its 30 years in
operation here.
Becton,
Dickinson & Company
(BD) – "a global leader in
medical devices" – will
get tax rebates from both
the County of Johnston and
the Town of Four Oaks for
constructing a new
facility beside its
existing distribution
center in Four Oaks
Business Park off I-95
east of town.
At a joint meeting of the
County Commissioners and
the Four Oaks Town Council
Tuesday afternoon, an
agreement was approved for
refunds of 90% declining
to 50% of county and town
property taxes paid over
seven years on capital
investment of at least $20
million that will add at
least 20 new jobs paying
at least $75,000.
BD has been operation at
Four Oaks since 2010 and
currently employs about
300. The company expects
the new facility to be in
service by the end of
2024.
County
earmarks first receipt
of Opioid Settlement
funds
The
County of Johnston is
scheduled to receive
$8,055,921 over eight
years from the national
Opioid Litigation
Settlement with four major
drug companies. Johnston's
County Commissioners on
Tuesday approved a budget
for spending the first
year's allocation of
$309,505.
Dr. Marilyn Pearson, the
county's director of
public health, reported to
the board that Johnston
recorded 44 illicit drug
deaths in 2020, up from 25
in 2010 and 29 in 2015.
"Our goal is zero," she
declared.
Of the county's initial
settlement money, a big
chunk – $105,000 – will be
used to purchase 5,000
doses of Naloxone for
persons at risk of drug
overdoses, most of that to
be distributed by the
county's fire departments
and emergency medical
stations as well as the
Health Department.
Other expenditures will
cover detoxification
treatments,
recovery-support services,
early-intervention
programs, and employment
of a part-time coordinator
for "collaborative
strategic planning" among
agencies dealing with drug
addiction.
Johnstonians
asked to turn on green
lights for military
veterans
Starting
in October and continuing
through Veterans Day
November 11, residences
and businesses will be
encouraged to burn those
lights "to honor the
service and sacrifice of
our men and women in
uniform." In support of a
nationwide campaign called
Operation Green Light,
commissioners adopted a
resolution which notes
"that 44-72 percent of
service members experience
high levels of stress
during transition from
military to civilian life"
and "are at high risk of
suicide during their first
year after military
service."
Firefighters
Week begins Sunday on
anniversary of 9/11
attacks
The
commissioners adopted a
resolution supporting that
observance at the request
of Johnston County Fire
Marshal Ryan Parker. Other
proclamations approved
Tuesday are for the N.C.
Department of
Transportation's 34th
annual Fall Litter Sweep
September 10-24 and for
Child Passenger Safety
Week September 18-24,
which includes National
Seat Check Saturday on the
24th.
VIEW the
board clerk's highlights
of all matters taken up
at Monday's sessions>
Health Department offering latest Pfizer COVID booster shots
The
Johnston County Public
Health Department has
received its first
shipment of Pfizer
bivalent booster vaccines
and is now providing those
immunizations on a walk-in
basis free of charge 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays,
till 6 p.m. Tuesdays.
The Pfizer bivalent
booster is approved for
persons 12 and older and
may be received two months
after completing a primary
vaccine series or any
booster dose, regardless
of the brand of vaccine
received in the past.
The
bivalent boosters are
formulated to protect
against the most recently
circulating COVID-19
variant.
For more information visit
www.JohnstonNC.com/COVID19 or
call the Health Department
at 919-989-5200.
Town
Council permits a second
five-story hotel
It
will be constructed next
door to the five-story
Hampton Inn on a
cul-de-sac just south of
Market Street beside I-95.
The new Home2 Suites
hotel, like its neighbor,
will exceed Smithfield's
40-foot height limit for
buildings and therefore
required the Town
Council's approval for an
exception to the rule.
The hotel to be built will
reach 70 feet in height,
according to its permit
application. The Hampton
Inn is slightly shorter.
Both are operated as
different brands of the
Hilton hotel chain. A Tru
hotel already under
construction nearby is
also part of the Hilton
family.
The Town Council approved
the requested special-use
permit without dissent at
Tuesday's regular monthly
meeting. No objections
were heard from the public
during a hearing prior to
the council's vote.
Hearing
postponed on incentives
for industrial "spec"
building
Al
Neyer, a commercial
real-estate firm operating
in several states, has
requested property-tax
rebates from both the town
and the county for
construction of an
industrial "spec"
(speculative) building for
"a future lessor" at the
intersection of Brogden
and Wal-Pat roads beside
I-95. A public hearing on
the request was scheduled
for Tuesday's Town Council
meeting but was postponed
till next month at the
petitioner's request. (A
similar hearing scheduled
before the County
Commissioners this week
was also put off till
October.)
A second public hearing on
Tuesday's council agenda
resulted in the closing of
Circle Drive, a short
street linking Bright Leaf
Boulevard and South
Seventh Street. Walter
Sanders Funeral and
Cremation Services had
asked for closure of the
seldom-used driveway
adjacent to its property.
Hearing no objections, the
council OK'd the request.
Library,
Planning, Historic
Properties appointments
made
The
council reappointed Terri
Lee to a second term as
one of Smithfield's
representatives on the
Public Library's Board of
Trustees and Debbie Howard
to a second term on the
town's Planning Board.
Elizabeth Anne Temple was
appointed as a new member
of the town's Historic
Properties Commission.
At the start of Tuesday's
meeting, Mayor Andy Moore
presented a proclamation
of appreciation to Stephen
(Steve) Upton upon his
retirement from the town's
Planning Board after 15
years of service. He was
the board's chairman until
recently and continues to
serve on the town's Board
of Adjustment.
Council
issues permits for
several upcoming special
events
The
list includes the
following:
• B.U.D.S. Foundation
Fallen Riders Fundraiser
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this
Saturday (September 10) at
Bulldog Harley Davidson on
Outlet Center Drive.
(B.U.D.S. stands for
Bikers United to Defend
Driving Safely).
• St. Paul's Episcopal
Church picnic 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. this Sunday
(September 11) on Church
Street closed to vehicular
traffic between South
Second and Front streets.
• Family Days Fall Fest
Super Carnival by Inner
Shows, Inc. September
15-25 at Carolina Premium
Outlets.
• JoCo Praise in the Park
by Keanna Howell 1-5 p.m.
Saturday, September 17 at
Smith-Collins Park.
• Community Outreach Event
by Compass Community
Church 4-6 p.m. Saturday,
September 17 in the Rotary
Shelter at Community Park.
• JoCo Works Career Expo
by the Triangle East
Economic Development
Foundation 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. October 13-14 at
Johnston Community
College.
"Trusted
by families since
1977"
840
S. Bright Leaf
Blvd. • 919-934-7164
• www.carrollpharmacy.com
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Smithfield-Selma shuts out North
Johnston, 42-0
The
Spartans remain undefeated
after their first three
games with a 42-0 win over
North Johnston High last
Thursday. SSS scored six
touchdowns with a balanced
attack that produced 180
yards rushing, 178 yards
passing.
Senior quarterback John
Renfrow completed 10 of 13
passes thrown, two of
those for touchdowns.
Senior Gerard Sanders Jr.
led the rushers with 91
yards on 11 carries,
including two touchdown
runs. Seniors Joshua
Hightower and Jaylen
Stancil led the defense
with 12 tackles apiece.
The Spartans have a bye
this week, returning to
action Friday, Sept. 16 at
South Johnston in the
first of seven Quad County
3-A Conference games.
Last week's football scores for other
Johnston County schools
(team's
record for the season to
date in parenthesis)
|
Cleveland (3-0)
34
D.H. Conley
23
|
Clayton (1-2)
41
Wakefield
7 |
Corinth Holders (1-2) 0
Northern Nash
61 |
South Johnston (2-1) 23
Southern
Lee
17 |
West Johnston (2-1) 10
Gray's Creek
21 |
Princeton (2-1)
45
Rosewood
32 |
Other
Spartan teams struggling
to get victories
The
SSS boys soccer team has a
record of 0-5-2 after a
2-2 tie at home Tuesday
against St. Pauls High.
Quad County 3-A Conference
play opens next Monday for
the Spartans at South
Johnston.
The girls volleyball team
has won three of its first
eight matches but has lost
its first three conference
contests, most recently
against Wilson's Fike High
on Tuesday. The girls
tennis team remains
winless after nine
matches.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
SSS-based
robotics team hosting
chalk-drawing contest
Team 6004, f(x) Robotics from Smithfield-Selma High School will host a "FoxChalk" event this Saturday from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. Downtown. Portions of sidewalks along South Third and Market streets will be sectioned off for the chalk-drawing competition. The event will support a project to build "assistive technology with robots" to help children with dexterity limitations in local elementary schools. Besides the competition, activities including face painting, games, vendors, live music, and a dunk tank will be offered without admission charge.
9/11
Remembrance Ceremony
this Saturday afternoon
The
Town of Smithfield is
hosting the event from 4
to 6 p.m. at the Community
Garden on South Fifth
Street to honor our first
responders. Activities
include a 9/11
commemorative-plate
auction, face painting,
and free hot dogs. Event
sponsors are
Stevens Sausage, Barbecue
Provision Company, Grace and
Truth Leadership
Organization, Rotary E-Club
of District 7710, Angelique
Legget d.b.a. Ms. Lynn's
Attic, and Mark Lane.
9/11
commemoration at SSS
High School Monday
morning
Smithfield-Selma
High School will hold a 9/11
commemoration ceremony at
7:30 a.m. Monday. The
ceremony is expected to end
by 8:45 am, and will be held
in the bus parking lot (in
the event of
adverse weather, the
secondary location will be
the gym). Guest
speaker will retired U.S.
Navy Master Chief Petty
Officer Deschamps.
School
board's monthly meeting
scheduled Tuesday
The
monthly meeting usually
opens at 4 p.m. with a
closed session immediately
followed by the open
business session. The
board meets in the Evander
S. Simpson Building on US
70 Business east of I-95.
VIEW the
agenda here once it's
posted>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ELIZABETH
ANN HINNANT WARD, 75 –
died September 6
ROY WILLIAM
(POPS) ROLAND SR., 78 –
died September 5
LINDA THORNE
BARBOUR, 70 – died
September 2
KATHIE ANN
SUPER, 68 – died
September 2
Here's an example of how the Neuse River
Trail in Wake County
avoids conflicts with
highways – shown in a
photo taken by the
editor several years ago
at Mial Plantation Road
between Clayton and
Garner.
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Recommended
route is not a "Neuse
River Trail"
The
County Commissioners
received a consulting
firm's Neuse River Trail
Feasibility Report this
week that prefers a
routing of a proposed
Clayton-to-Smithfield
greenway connection almost
entirely removed from the
banks of the river.
Details in the report show
why that option could not
be considered part of the
present-day Neuse River
Trail some of us
bicyclists have been
enjoying in recent years
between Clayton and Falls
Lake at Raleigh.
The report's preferred
routing runs beside
Buffalo Road leading away
from Smithfield, follows
the river just a bit
before running alongside
US 70 (soon-to-be
Interstate 42) toward
Wilson's Mills, then
Powhatan Road and Glen
Laurel Road into Clayton.
Along that course are six
"major" and 23 "minor"
crossings of highways and
roads plus three crossings
of the North Carolina
Railroad.
What makes the Neuse River
Trail above Clayton into
Raleigh so special is not
just the scenic beauty of
the riverside woods but also
the safety of a biking and
walking trail completely
free of conflicts with
menacing motor vehicles. (By
following the riverbank it
ducks beneath numerous
highway bridges that span
the Neuse.)
Apparently the consultant's
recommended routing away
from the river could be
built much quicker and
cheaper than what many of us
would like to see. The
report includes engineers'
estimates that show a "River
Route" could cost as much as
$50 million to construct,
and that price tag doesn't
cover right-of-way
acquisitions and easements.
Another big issue,
apparently, is the
reluctance if not refusal of
some riverside property
owners to give up a portion
of their land for a public
greenway.
But it would still cost
millions to build a bicycle
and pedestrian roadway
beside some of our region's
busiest highways that are
destined to become more and
more congested as Johnston's
residential growth continues
to explode. And how many
private driveways would such
a trail have to cross along
the way?
Adrian O'Neal – the county's
experienced parks,
greenways, and open-space
coordinator – presented a
more optimistic view of
things in a follow-up
statement to the Weekly
Sun after Tuesday's
presentation to
commissioners:
"The road-based route is the
route that will be fastest
to build. I think we will
end up with a mesh of routes
that will provide different
experiences for everyone.
The one closest to the river
is just going to take a
little more time and
finesse," he wrote.
I hope he's right.
VIEW the Neuse
River Trail Feasibility
Study including maps and
cost estimates>
Subscribers
to this edition: 1,397
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
Rewind
through the Weekly Sun's
archives
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
