HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Remembering
the Pilgrims who
started it all
Thanksgiving
yard decorations appear to
be catching on around
here, and mostly revolve
around inflated turkeys
and such, so it's
refreshing to see some
ornamental Pilgrims like
these gracing the yard of
a residence on South
Second Street.
Overshadowed by the edible
star attraction of "Turkey
Day," New England's
Pilgrims deserve a place
of honor for inspiring
what evolved into our
unique national holiday.
County
OKs $9.6 million for
school safety projects
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners on Monday
approved a request from
Johnston's Board of
Education for an
unbudgeted expenditure of
$9,605,831.82 for a
variety of safety and
security devices at all of
the county's public-school
campuses.
The list includes 54
stationary weapons
detection systems at main
entrances to all schools
and 37 portable detection
systems at "strategic
entrances" including those
for bus riders as well as
secondary carpool
drop-offs. Other items to
be installed are "open
door/propped alarms" and
upgrades to existing
security-camera systems.
Of the total amount to be
spent, $1.5 million will
come from the $177-million
bond issue approved
earlier this month by the
county's voters. The
remaining $8.1 million or
so will come from the
county's General Fund
reserves.
When asked about the
usable life of the
equipment to be installed,
Assistant Superintendent
of Schools David Pearce
said most of it is covered
by seven-year warranties.
The devices have "an
expected life" of 17-20
years and with proper
maintenance could last
longer than that, he
added.
Commissioners approved the
school board's request by
unanimous vote.
County
puts up $17.5 million
for manufacturers'
training place
That
amount was requested at
Monday's meeting by
leaders of the I-95 / I-40
Crossroads of America
Economic Development
Alliance who said the
proposed
60,000-square-foot
Advanced Manufacturing
Training Center would go a
long way toward recruiting
high-paying industries to
the region.
The facility will be built
near the interchange of
I-95 and Keen Road at Four
Oaks.
Harold Keen, the
alliance's chairman, said
the N.C. General Assembly
has already appropriated
$12 million for the
$35-million project and is
poised to put up another
$5.5 million to match the
county's 50% contribution.
The alliance's work is
currently underwritten by
the Town of Four Oaks and
the City of Dunn. Asked if
the Town of Benson will
reconsider its decision to
withdraw from the regional
effort, Mr. Keen replied:
"I certainly have hopes
they will come back in."
Commissioners unanimously
approved county funding
for the training center
contingent upon resolution
of the facility's
ownership. Tentatively,
it's to become property of
Johnston Community
College, which will be the
primary occupant.
Architect's rendering
of the Advance
Manufacturing Training
Center to be built near
I-95 at Four Oaks. (From
Johnston County Economic
Development Office)
Commissioners
grant $200,000 for My
Kid's Club operations
Encouraged
by a proposed merger with
Boys and Girls Clubs of
Wake County, County
Commissioners unanimously
approved a donation of
$200,000 to My Kid's Club,
an unaffiliated
organization that serves
about 200 disadvantaged
youngsters, primarily in
Selma but also in
Smithfield.
Lynn Daniels Bowles, the
organization's vice
president who presented
the request at Monday's
meeting, said the county's
donation will help fund
operations as well as an
expansion of services
elsewhere in Johnston. She
said her board of
directors will consider a
proposal in December for
affiliation with Wake's
Boys and Girls Clubs.
When the local service was
started, it was affiliated
with Boys and Girls Clubs
of Wayne County; but that
relationship was later
dissolved and My Kid's
Club was established to
continue serving
youngsters here.
READ the
clerk's summary of
Monday's Board of
Commissioners
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
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
COVID
cases in Johnston
schools down to just 3
That
was the report posted on
the Johnston
County Public Schools
COVID-19 dashboard
Wednesday afternoon – one
case each at Corinth
Holders High School, West
View Elementary, and
Wilson's Mills Elementary.
Two of the cases are among
students, one staff.
Johnston and most of the
state's counties are
currently at "low risk of
illness and strain on the
health-care system" in
regards to COVID-19
infections, according to
the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control.
The N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services
reported this week the
total number of COVID
cases in Johnston County
since the pandemic's start
in March 2020 is 71,668
including 487
deaths. For
North Carolina as a whole,
this week's totals are
3,268,501 cases and 27,347
deaths.
Nationwide, the number of
cases since the pandemic's
arrival had reached
98,486,471 including
1,078,772 deaths as of
Wednesday evening,
according to data compiled
by Johns
Hopkins University.
The worldwide numbers:
639,491,611 cases and
6,625,643 deaths.
Grade
"B" for Smithfield
hospital, "A" for
Clayton's
UNC
Health Johnston's hospital
at Smithfield was graded
"B" in this fall's report
on patient safety from The
Leapfrog Group, an
independent health-care
evaluation agency. The UNC
Health hospital at Clayton
got an "A."
The safety ratings, issued
twice annually, are based
on errors, injuries,
accidents, and infections
affecting patients at
nearly 3,000 hospitals
across the nation. "The
Leapfrog Hospital Safety
Grade uses more than 30
national performance
measures from the Centers
for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, the
Leapfrog Hospital Survey,
and information from other
supplemental data
sources," the agency's
website states.
Over the past four years,
the Smithfield hospital
has gotten an "A" grade
four out of eight times,
two of those coming this
past spring and last fall.
This is the third time in
the past eight grading
periods the Clayton
hospital has gotten an
"A."
VIEW details
about Leapfrog's grading
of Johnston County's two
hospitals>
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
SSS teams open basketball season with
losses
The
Smithfield-Selma High boys
team lost at Cleveland
High Monday by a score of
66-45. Leading the
Spartans were senior Luke
Woodall with 14 points and
junior Elijah Bailey with
10. The Spartan girls were
beaten 64-7 at Cleveland.
Both were non-conference
games.
Neuse
Charter School boys
still undefeated; girls
are 4-1
The
boys basketball team beat
Vance Charter School 75-61
last Thursday to close out
the pre-Thanksgiving
schedule with an
unblemished 5-0 record.
Senior Sire Holmes led the
Cougars with 22 points,
senior Donollyn Tyrell
scored 18, junior Javlyn
Bradley had 15, and senior
Darian Murray 10. The
girls team has a record of
4-1 after last Thursday's
loss to Vance Charter
58-30.
The Cougars return to
action next Tuesday with
non-conference home games
versus Mintz Christian
Academy of Roseboro.
Princeton
advances to Round 4 in
2-A football playoffs
The
Bulldogs extended their
season's record to 12-1
with a 63-55 triumph over
Burlington Cummings last
Friday night. That sets up
a fourth-round showdown
with Wallace-Rose Hill
(11-2) this Friday at
Princeton. The Bulldogs
are the No. 1 seed in the
Eastern bracket of the 2-A
playoffs; Wallace-Rose
Hill is seeded 12th.
JCC
e-sports champ signs
school's first NIL
contract
Taylor
Thimmesh, an
electronic-sports star at
Johnston Community
College, has signed a
licensing contract to
receive compensation for
commercial use of his
Name, Image, and Likeness
(NIL) – a new practice
that won acceptance last
year by the National
Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) and
other collegiate
organizations.
E-sports is also
relatively new, providing
interscholastic
competition in video
games. Taylor is ranked as
an e-sports "Grand
Champion II" by the
international Collegiate
Rocket League. He has
accepted an e-sports
scholarship to attend West
Virginia's Concord
University next year. JCC
launched its e-sports
program in the spring of
2021. (Photo from JCC)
READ the
full story posted online
by Johnston Community
College>
Our
signs have changed
with the change in our
seasons.
Call
Pernell.com
to make sure
you're ready
for wintry days coming
our way!
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Retirement
social for Police Chief
Powell next Wednesday
The
public is invited to come
by and thank Smithfield's
Chief of Police Keith
Powell next Wednesday
afternoon as he closes out
30 years of service to the
town. The event will
continue from 2 till 5
p.m. in the Town Hall
Council Chambers.
Town
of Smithfield's
Christmas schedule is
posted online
First
up is the Christmas
Tree Lighting
next Thursday, with
activities starting at 6
p.m. on "Candy Cane Lane"
(the 100 block of South
Third Street Downtown).
The Stink Stank
Stunk 5K Run and Jingle
Bell Jog
follows at 10 a.m.
Saturday, December 3 at
Smithfield Community Park,
then comes the Christmas
Parade Downtown
on Thursday, December 8.
Deadline for entering this
year's Christmas
Lights Contest
is Saturday, December 10.
Santa's Workshop
will be set up at Town
Hall Park starting Friday
evening, December 2 and
continuing weekends
through December 17 . Carriage
rides will be
offered Downtown on three
successive Fridays:
December 2, 9, and 16. For
details about all those
events, visit SmithfieldChristmas.com>
(Town
of Smithfield Facebook
photo)
If that's not enough, here's a
countywide events
schedule
From
the Johnston County
Visitors Bureau, with
links to details:
Parades and other
celebrations will be held
in Kenly on
the 1st; Benson on
the 2nd; Archer
Lodge, Four
Oaks, and Princeton on
the 3rd; Cleveland and Selma
on the 6th; Clayton and Micro on
the 10th; Pine Level
on the 11th.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
MARGARET
LOUISE WILLIAMS FAISON,
69 – died November
20
DOROTHY MAE
ADAMS MOORE, 81 –
died November 20
JIMMY LEWIS
PEARCE, 67 – died
November 20
JOSEPH SMITH
JR., 85 – died
November 17
JERRY
LANETTE DARROCH TYNDALL,
65 – died November
16
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
High
praise heard for county
board's retiring clerk
Monday
evening's meeting of the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners was the last
one for the board's
retiring clerk, Paula
Woodard. To commemorate
the evening she received a
plaque for "outstanding
service" but more
importantly words of high
praise for her "effective
and efficient" work from
present and former
commissioners.
This
reporter will add a hearty
"amen" to that. She has
been exceptionally prompt
and thorough in responding
to my requests for
follow-up information
after board meetings – a
trait mentioned by more
than one commissioner
during their tributes
spoken at Monday's
session.
Paula is shown receiving a plaque from Board Chairman Butch Lawter in this photo from the county's Facebook page.
Paula began her career with the County of Johnston in March 1994, serving as administrative assistant in the Economic Development Office until she was appointed Clerk to the Board of Commissioners in May 2007.
Recognized by her peers as a top-notch public servant, Paula served as president of the N.C. Association of County Clerks in 2015-16 and was named "Clerk of the Year" by the association in 2017. She achieved the status of Master Municipal Clerk through the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
Deputy Clerk Dana Cuddington will take Paula's place as Clerk to the Board. As one of the commissioners remarked Monday, there's no need to be concerned about the quality of Dana's work because Paula trained her.
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