JOHNSTON COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS
School
board winners: Tippett,
Donovan, Antoine;
school
bonds approved by a
comfortable margin
Duplicating
their finish in the
13-candidate Primary
Election race in May,
the trio of Terry
Tippett, Kevin Donovan,
and Michelle Antoine (pictured
left to right, in
order of votes they
received) will
join Johnston County's
Board of Education as
new members next month.
All three were
candidates endorsed by
Citizen Advocates for
Accountable Government,
which organized protests
this past year against
mask mandates and
alleged teaching of
Critical Race Theory in
Johnston's public
schools.
They'll join Lyn
Andrews, Kay Carroll,
Ronald Johnson, and Mike
Wooten on the school
board. Giving up seats
are Chairman Todd Sutton
and Vice Chair Terri
Sessoms, who chose not
to seek re-election, and
Al Byrd, who fell short
of winning renomination
in the May Primary. As a
result, the
reconstituted board will
elect a new chairman
when it meets
for the first time
in December.
The
$177-million
school-bond issue
on Johnston County's
ballots this fall won
approval from just under
65% of voters: 45,996
said yes, 25,012 said
no. School leaders have
said this is likely the
first of three bond
referendums – the second
in 2024, the third in
2026 – that will be
needed to build new
schools and expand
others to keep pace with
Johnston's projected
growth by the end of the
decade. County officials
have said the
$177-million issue can
be phased in over the
next couple of years
without raising property
taxes.
| Board of Education (3 seats) |
| Terry Tippett |
36,542 |
| Kevin Donovan |
30,380 |
| Michelle Antoine |
29,667 |
| Melissa Bowers |
23,884 |
| Rick Mercier |
22,324 |
| Mark Lane |
22,075 |
| County Commissioner, Dist. 4 |
| April Stephens |
46,765 |
| Evelyn L. Sanders |
26,331 |
| N.C. Senate, District 10 |
| Benton Sawrey |
47,887 |
| Gettys Cohen Jr. |
26,792 |
| N.C. House, District 28 |
| Larry Strickland |
18,769 |
| Wendy Ella May |
7,269 |
| U.S. House, District 13 |
| Bo Hines |
46,021 |
| Wiley Nickel |
28,785 |
| U.S. Senate (statewide seat) |
| Ted Budd |
46,058 |
| Cheri Beasley |
27,739 |
The
table on the right shows
how Johnston
County voted in key
races of local interest
(numbers released by the
Board of Elections on
Wednesday, but not yet
official):
Democrat
Wiley Nickel won
election
to represent the new
13th Congressional
District that
encompasses all of
Johnston County, parts
of Harnett and Wayne
counties, and southern
Wake. His election helps
produce an evenly
divided Tar Heel
delegation in the U.S.
House of Representatives
– seven Democrats and
seven Republicans – for
the first time in two
decades.
While
voters in Johnston,
Harnett, and Wayne gave
Republican Bo Hines
large majorities, almost
62% of Wake County's
votes went to
Mr. Nickel, who won the
district as a whole by
a vote of 140,531
(51.32%) to 133,291.
Republicans
won all local races on
the ballot. That includes
contests for seats in the
N.C. General Assembly:
Benton Sawrey over
Democrat Gettys Cohen Jr.
for Johnston's lone seat
in the N.C. Senate,
incumbent Larry Strickland
over Democrat Wendy Ella
May for
the
District 28 seat in the
N.C. House of
Representatives (covering
Smithfield and most
of Johnston County),
incumbent Donna White
over Democrat Linda
Bennett for the District
26 seat in the N.C. House
(covering Clayton and
Archer Lodge), and Howard
Penny Jr. for the District
53 seat (McGee's
Crossroads area and
westward).
Only
one of four seats on the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners up for
election this fall was
contested: Recently
appointed Republican
Commissioner April
Stephens defeated Democrat
Evelyn L. Sanders for the
District 4 seat
(representing southernmost
portions of the county).
In
a non-partisan race for
Soil and Water
Conservation Supervisor,
John Michael Langdon
out-polled Dewitt Hardee.
Republicans
won all contests for
offices elected
statewide.
For U.S. Senator,
Ted Budd got 1,891,342
votes (50.71%), Democrat
Cheri Beasley 1,755,716.
Republicans Richard Dietz
and Trey Allen won two
races for N.C. Supreme
Court Associate Justice
(giving Republicans a 5-2
majority on the state's
highest court) while Julee
Tate Flood, Donna Stroud,
John M. Tyson, and Michael
J. Stading won four seats
on the N.C. Court of
Appeals.
VISIT the
N.C. Board of Elections
website to find vote
totals for all
contests>
Re-elected
without opposition on
this fall's ballots were
incumbent Superior Court
Judge Tom Lock, newly
elected Superior Court
Judge Paul Holcombe,
District Court Judge Joy
Jones and newly elected
judges Travis Wheeler and
Jason Kimble, District
Attorney Susan Doye,
County Commissioners
Dickie Braswell, Patrick
Harris, and Butch Lawter,
Clerk of Superior Court
Michelle Ball, Register of
Deeds Craig Olive, and
Sheriff Steve Bizzell
(opposed by a write-in
candidate who fell way
short of making it a
contest).
Among incumbents running
without opposition,
Register of Deeds Olive
garnered the highest vote
total – 55,137 – of anyone
on Johnston's ballots.
With absentee,
provisional, and transfer
ballots yet to be counted,
at least 75,718
Johnstonians voted in this
fall's election – 38,859
(51.3%) at early-voting
sites, according to the
county's Board of
Elections. The total
counted so far is 49.8% of
Johnston's 151,952
registered voters. This
fall's showing is well
short of a record turnout
of more than 110,800
Johnston County voters in
the 2020 General Election
– a number that was 77% of
registered voters at the
time.
COMPLETE
Johnston County results
posted on the Board of
Elections website>
Touching
trucks in a
smaller way
The
7th annual Junior Women's
League Touch-A-Truck
fund-raiser last Saturday
was mostly about really
big trucks and other such
stuff. But for some kids,
playing with the miniature
models in a sand pile was
a fun thing, too.
Proceeds from the
event will boost Junior
Women's League
initiatives like
Blessing Boxes and
Peanut Butter Buddies.
"Funds also support
grants for other
Johnston County
non-profits to assist
with the development of
programs benefiting
women and children,"
says the League on its
website. "JWL has
awarded over $135,000 in
Community Impact Grants
since its inception in
January 2016."
Our
signs have changed
with the change in our
seasons.
Call
Pernell.com
to make sure
you're ready
for colder days coming
our way!
County
OKs $138.5 million for
water/sewer projects
In
an effort to stay a step
ahead of Johnston County's
unprecedented real-estate
development and population
growth, the County
Commissioners Monday
approved funding plans for
expansions of its
water-treatment plant and
a new sewage plant already
under construction. Total
projected cost of it all:
$138,538,680.
The breakdown of funding
sources: $19,686,695 from
a state Clean Water loan
at 1.1% interest over 20
years, an allocation of
$34,665,833 from the
county's share of federal
American Rescue Plan Act
funding related to COVID
relief, $2,373,000 from
reserves set aside from
monthly fees paid by the
county's water and sewer
customers, and $780,735
from System Development
Fees paid by residential
subdivision builders.
The Timothy G. Broome
Water Treatment Plant on
the Neuse River at
Wilson's Mills will be
expanded to treat
18-million gallons a day –
up from its current
capacity of 14-million
gallons. T.A. Loving
Company of Goldsboro got
commissioners' approval of
a design-build contract
for that project, budgeted
to cost $7,029,417.
The new 210 Wastewater
Treatment Plant under
construction near the
county's landfill west of
Smithfield will be
enlarged from an initial
capacity of 4-million
gallons per day to
8-million gallons.
Included in that project
is construction of a
sewage "force main" with
pipes 30 inches in
diameter leading to the
new plant. Low-bidder
Sanford Contractors won
approval of a contract to
do that work at a cost of
$17,271,430, bringing the
revised budget for the
sewage plant's expansion
to $129,506,263.
Commissioners
want closing of NC 210
bridge reconsidered
Instead of
approving an easement
agreement to allow the
N.C. Department of
Transportation to move
ahead with replacement of
the NC. 210 bridge over
Middle Creek,
commissioners asked for a
meeting with NCDOT
officials about options
that could keep the bridge
open to traffic.
The board was told that
the replacement as
proposed would require a
10-mile detour for eight
months. Commissioner Ted
Godwin asked if the
project could include a
second parallel bridge for
210's future widening in
response to western
Johnston's growth. That
could be built while the
existing bridge remains in
service; then the older
structure could be
demolished and replaced,
with the second bridge
maintaining traffic flow
through the project's
duration.
Contract
awarded for 2025
countywide real-estate
revaluation
The
board approved staff's
recommendation to employ
Pearson's Appraisal
Services of Wilson and
Richmond, Va. to begin
preparations for the next
countywide revaluation of
real estate for taxation
just two years from this
January. After the last
revaluation was done in
2019, commissioners
decided to shorten the
lapse between revaluations
from eight years to six
this time and then every
four years after that in
an effort to keep pace
with a rapidly changing
real-estate market.
Under the contract
approved Monday, Pearson's
will be paid $22.90 per
parcel for an estimated
110,000 parcels of
property in Johnston
County to be reassessed.
Additional
maintenance position
added for two new
buildings
The
board authorized
Facilities Director Daniel
Clifton to add a 10th
employee to the
maintenance staff of the
county's Building &
Grounds Department to
handle increased workloads
associated with the new
Detention and Public
Safety centers under
construction beside US 70
Business east of
Smithfield.
Mr. Clifton said the
additional expense can be
covered by not immediately
filling a housekeeping
position already in the
current year's county
budget. The Detention
Center is "likely to be
open" in January, with the
Public Safety Center to
follow next July, County
Manager Rick Hester told the
Weekly Sun.
READ the
board clerk's summary of
Monday's morning
session>
READ the
clerk's summary of the
evening session>
HOME
FOR SALE IN SOUTH
SMITHFIELD: 2,427
sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2.5
baths, 2-car garage. 811
Baker Street (MLS#
2478008). Asking price:
$410,000.
SUSAN
LASSITER, Broker
• FONVILLE
MORISEY
REALTY • 919-669-9235
Colorful reminder
for breast-cancer awareness at SSS
Storm
Turner of the
Smithfield-Selma High
School Fire Academy
painted this fire hydrant
on the grounds at SSS to
remind students, staff,
and visitors about the
importance of screening
for breast cancer.
The school's Fire Science
program and Fire Club are
led by Chief Edward Twigg
and currently involve 50
students in a variety of
community projects such as
building fire props for
training, maintaining fire
trucks, and holding
fund-raisers to help meet
the needs of local
firefighting services. (Photo
from SSS)
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Smithfield-Selma shut out 3-0, ending
9-win season
For
the second time in the
last three games of the
season, the Spartans
failed to score, this time
losing 3-0 to Quad County
Conference foe Wilson Hunt
in the first round of the
state 3-A playoffs. Two
months ago SSS defeated
Hunt 21-17 on the
Warriors' home turf. Last
Friday's playoff loss
occurred here at home.
The only score in the game
came with just over six
minutes remaining. The
30-yard field goal that
won it for Hunt followed a
Spartan miscue at the SSS
36-yard when the punter's
knee touched the ground
before the ball took
flight. The SSS kept the
Warriors from advancing
beyond the 15-yard line,
but that was enough to set
up the game-winning score.
The Spartans had an
opportunity to put points
on the board in the second
quarter after moving the
ball downfield to the Hunt
19-yard line, but a
quarterback sack on fourth
down ended the threat.
According to a report in The
Wilson Times, the
Spartans' offense was
limited to just 48 total
yards in the game – 34 on
passes and just 14 net
yards rushing. SSS held
Hunt to 140 total yards.
The loss ends the most
successful season for
Smithfield-Selma in more
than two decades, with a
record of 9-2 this year
following an 8-4 mark last
year. Ironically,
conference foe C.B.
Aycock, which had beaten
SSS by a score of 7-0
three weeks ago, was also
upset for elimination from
the playoffs last Friday.
The two would have faced
off again this Friday if
both had won last week's
games.
| Last
week's football
scores for other
Johnston County
schools |
Clayton (6-5)
10
Millbrook
27 |
Cleveland (11-0)
42
Topsail
14 |
North Johnston (3-8) 12
Nash Central
60 |
Princeton (10-1)
64
Goldsboro
8 |
South Johnston (5-6) 0
Seventy-First
62 |
Results are from Round 1
of N.C.
high-school
playoffs |
Neuse
Charter basketball teams
win opening games
The
Cougars' boys basketball
team opened the season
with two smashing
victories this week: 84-22
against Southern Wake
Academy at Holly Springs
on Monday and 113-12
against American
Leadership
Academy-Johnston at home
on Tuesday.
Senior Sire Holmes scored
33 points Monday and 19
Tuesday to lead the Neuse
Charter attack. Senior
Philip Sullivan scored 16
Monday and 25 Tuesday,
junior Jayvin Bradley 13
Monday and 15 Tuesday.
Senior Donollyn Tyrell
contributed 21 points in
Tuesday's runaway.
The girls basketball team
also opened the season
with wins: 36-13 over
Southern Wake Academy on
Monday and 50-11 over
ALA-Johnston on Tuesday.
Sophomore Cayley Cochran
led the Cougars with 9
points Monday and 20
Tuesday; senior Lyndsy
Parrish added 7 Monday and
9 Tuesday.
The
Johnston County
Courthouse was lit up
for Operation Green
Light this week in
advance of Veterans Day
– in keeping with a
national initiative of
the National Association
of Counties to "raise
awareness about the
unique challenges faced
by many veterans" of the
nation's armed forces.
(County of Johnston
photo)
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Veterans Day observance returning to
SSS; fireworks axed
Friday is
Veterans Day – observed
every year on November 11,
the date the Armistice was
signed in 1918 to end the
"Great War" (World War I).
The day will be marked
again this year by the 11
a.m. commemoration at
Smithfield-Selma High
School, hosted by Johnston
County Public Schools. The
Town of Smithfield had
planned its own
celebration with fireworks
Friday evening at
Community Park but decided
Wednesday to cancel it
because of the threat of
severe weather associated
with Tropical Storm
Nicole.
Kiwanis Pancake Supper at Centenary
Church this evening
The
Smithfield Kiwanis Club's
Pancake Supper – dating
back three-quarters of a
century – will be offered
from 5 to 8 p.m. today
(Thursday) at Centenary
United Methodist Church.
Cost for either eating in
or taking out a plate is
$8, with the proceeds
benefiting the club's
community-service
projects.
Neuse Little Theatre offers a "farce"
– opening this Friday
"Boeing
Boeing" is the troupe's
173rd production in its
48th year, with shows this
weekend and next at The
Hut beside the river in
Smithfield. Here are the
details:
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
MARY LOU
ABDALLA ATTAYEK, 93
– died November 8
SHERYL
ELIZABETH WELLS HORGER,
74 – died November 6
MARY JO
LANGDON (CONNIE) PEARCE,
81 – died November 6
LILIAN RAE
BLACKMAN, 5 – died
November 4
LINDA SUE
HALES, 75 – died
November 3
JAMES
RAEFORD MASSEY SR., 86
– died November 3
META GRAY
THOMPSON HAYES, 66 –
died November 2
RICHARD
LOUIS WILLIAMS, 88 –
died November 2
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Looks
like this technology is
slowing folks down...
We're seeing more and more
of these devices at work
in cities and towns in an
effort to slow down
speeding motorists,
especially in residential
neighborhoods like this
one on Smithfield's North
Second Street. The
flashing signs free police
officers from
time-consuming stake-outs
along troublesome
roadways, and they're "on
duty" 24/7.
North Second is an
especially busy
neighborhood street,
serving as the principal
route from West Smithfield
to destinations north of
Downtown. Not only are the
residents there having to
put up with speeders
during busy daylight
hours; they're also being
disturbed by noisy
vehicles at night, so the
Town Council was told last
week. Putting a stop to
that may take more than
automated signage.
Speaking of motorists
racing through
neighborhoods, whatever
happened to the idea of
placing speed bumps or
humps on streets in West
Smithfield (and elsewhere
throughout town) to slow
folks down?
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