New
"infill" houses popping
up throughout town
"Urban
infill' is the terminology
for new structures being
built in the midst of
older ones, especially in
long-established
residential neighborhoods.
Smithfield is beginning to
see more of that as we
recover from the
coronavirus pandemic.
Here's a sample of the
most recent construction
of brand-new dwelling
places next door to houses
built at least half a
century ago:
A matching pair on East
Massey Street in the
Belmont neighborhood.
A duplex on Martin
Luther King Jr. Drive
near College Road.
A stand-alone on
Hancock Street in the
North Smithfield
Historic District.
A duplex (already
occupied) across from
the police station on
South Fifth Street.
In addition to new
construction, Smithfield
is also seeing stepped-up
renovation of older
houses. It appears much of
that is being done for the
rising rental market,
which is growing by leaps
and bounds across the
nation just now.
Reports the home-finding
website, RentalSource.com:
"As of January 2023 the
median rental rate in
Johnston County is $1,327
which is $22 (2%) more than
the median of $1,305 for
North Carolina and $232
(15%) less than the median
of $1,559 for the United
States."
A check of other real-estate
websites found current
listings for single-family
rental housing in Smithfield
ranging from $1,200 a month
for a two-bedroom dwelling
to as much as $1,475 for a
three-bedroom house.
HOME
FOR SALE IN SOUTH
SMITHFIELD: 2,427
sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2.5
baths, 2-car garage. 811
Baker Street (MLS#
2478008). SOLD!SUSAN
LASSITER, Broker
• FONVILLE
MORISEY
REALTY • 919-669-9235
SSS senior is winner of Poetry
Out Loud contest
Courtney
Lassiter, a senior in the
International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme at
Smithfield-Selma High
School, is this year's
winner of Johnston County's
Poetry Out Loud competition.
For the event, she memorized
and performed two poems:
“Epitaph” by Katherine
Phillips and “A Song: Lying
is an occupation” by
Laetitia Pilkington.
Courtney is also this year’s
runner-up in original poetry
competition for her poem
“The Handing.” She will
compete in N.C. Poetry Out
Loud competition on February
25. Pictured with her are
SSS teachers Greer Suggs (left)
and Gwendolyn Sullivan. (Photo
from SSS)
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Neuse
Charter boys still
unbeaten in conference
games
The
Cougars' boys basketball
team is 5-0 in Carolinas
1-A Conference play, 18-3
overall, after a 91-63
triumph over Lakewood last
Friday and an 84-33 win at
Union High on Tuesday.
Sire Holmes led Neuse
Charter at Lakewood with
26 points while Blane
Barefoot and Donollyn
Tyrell added 15 apiece and
Jayvin Bradley 12. Holmes
also had 22 points versus
Union, followed by Darian
Murray and Tyrell with 16
apiece, Bradley with 13,
and Jayden Atkinson with
11.
The Cougar girls are 2-3
in conference play, 10-9
overall, after a 40-31
loss at home to Lakewood
last Friday and a 51-49
overtime loss at Union
High on Tuesday. Cayley
Cochran led Neuse Charter
with 22 points against
Lakewood. In the game at
Union, Cochran scored 18
points, Lyndsy Parrish 12.
Smithfield-Selma basketball teams are
still winless
The
SSS boys are 0-16 after
last Friday's loss by a
score of 52-34 at South
Johnston. The girls are
0-13 after Friday's loss
at South Johnston 48-11.
This week's games are at
Hunt High this evening
(Thursday) and at home
against Fike High on
Friday when the SSS
basketball court will be
named in memory of former
coach and athletic
director Carl Spragins.
Love
the Space You're In!
And
to make sure that's
the way it is in your
home...
<Call
Pernell today.
Or visit
callpernell.com>
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
COVID
cases on the rise again
in Johnston County
The N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services
reported this week that the
total number of COVID cases
in Johnston County since the
pandemic's start in March
2020 is now 74,742
including 499
deaths. Over the
past month Johnston has
reported 2,026 new cases.
For North Carolina as a
whole, this week's totals
are 3,412,543 cases
– up 144,042 since December
21 – and 28,040
deaths. Nationwide,
the number of cases since
the pandemic's arrival had
reached 102,035,056
including 1,104,391
deaths as of mid-afternoon
on Wednesday, according to
data updated frequently by
the Coronavirus Resource
Center at Johns Hopkins
University. The
worldwide numbers: 669,128,875
cases and 6,740,545
deaths.
Johnston
County Public Schools
reported Wednesday a total
of 34 cases throughout the
system: 22 among students,
12 among staff. Only two of
this week's cases were
reported at Smithfield-area
schools – both at South
Smithfield Elementary.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ROBERT
STEPHEN (STEVE) BEST, 71
– died January 23
LISA
MACHELLE MANGUM GRIMES,
58 – died January 23
RONALD ALLEN
HARDEE, 92 – died
January 23
ELTON
LASSITER PIERCE, 82
– died January 23
JEAN CONE
STONE, 84 – died
January 22
LEONARD
ODELL (BUD) ARTIS, 74
– died January 20
ANNE HOLMES
WINE, 71 – died
January 20
DIANA FOSTER
MARR HARPER, 75 –
died January 18
ADOLF
KENNETH (KEN) LANDGREN,
94 – died January 18
JULIAN BRIAN
MARSHALL, 53 – died
January 15
JOAN KAYE
STRICKLAND PARKER, 81 –
died November 25
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Facebook
a source of news, but
it's incomplete
Because
most organizations,
especially public
agencies, have turned to
social media to publicize
their doings, the editor
routinely checks their
Facebook pages to see
what's going on. Lots of
nice photographs there.
Names? Not so much.
Even so, you'll see
numerous pickings from
Facebook in the
Weekly Sun as items
of interest to our readers
appear online. Wish we
could share more of that,
but what's lacking more
often than not are the
names of the people
getting recognition.
Yes, we continue to get
"news releases" from
various agencies and
organizations from time to
time. But it seems they
are becoming less
frequent, giving way to
postings on Facebook and
other social-media outlets
that often lack important
details about activities
that have taken place or
are about to happen.
People want, and need,
more information about
what's going on around
them. Those of us involved
in the public media are
committed to doing what we
can to provide it, but we
beg for more help from
those who are in the know.
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