WINTER'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED
Smithfield
doesn't have, or need, a
groundhog to tell us
whether Spring will come
sooner or later. We've got
daffodils blooming this
week to remind us that
winter's on its way out.
School
board votes 4-3 to hire
a new legal team
Smithfield
attorney Gordon Woodruff
will share duties with the
Raleigh law firm of Poyner
Spruill regarding legal
matters confronting
Johnston County Public
Schools. That decision was
made at Tuesday's monthly
meeting of Johnston's
Board of Education by a
4-3 vote.
The recommendation to
choose those two came from
the board's Legal
Committee, which last week
interviewed
representatives of four
law firms during a session
that included several of
the school system's
department heads.
Committee members Kay
Carroll, Kevin Donovan,
and Terry Tippett
"unanimously recommended"
the choice of Mr. Woodruff
and Poyner Spruill, Mr.
Carroll, the committee's
chairman, reported to the
full board on Tuesday.
But when that
recommendation was put to
a vote, Mr. Donovan joined
Michelle Antoine and
Ronald Johnson in
opposition. Board Chair
Lyn Andrews and Mike
Wooten sided with Mr.
Carroll and Mr. Tippett in
approving the selections.
Before that vote was
taken, Mr. Johnson had
asked that the matter be
tabled until the choice of
Poyner Spruill over the
board's previous legal
advisors at the Raleigh
law firm of Tharrington
Smith could be given
further consideration,
mentioning unspecified
"outstanding liabilities"
regarding the previous
school board's action to
replace Tharrington Smith.
(The board made that
change abruptly without
explanation in October, a
month before three newly
elected members – Ms.
Antoine, Mr. Donovan, and
Mr. Tippett – took office
after winning election.)
Mr. Carroll provided to the
Weekly Sun details
of proposals presented to
the Legal Committee.
Poyner Spruill will
continue to charge what it
currently bills the school
system for its services:
$185 an hour for time
spent by the firm's
partners, $165 for an
associate's time, plus a
$350 monthly retainer and
a $10.75 per hour to cover
administrative expenses:
telephone charges,
photocopying, postage, and
such.
In his proposal, Mr.
Woodruff said he would
charge $180 an hour for
his services and $75 an
hour for work done by a
paralegal. "Routine costs"
like postage and copying
"are included and will not
be billed," although
reimbursements will be
paid for expenses such as
court costs and fees, he
noted.
Mr. Woodruff will handle
local matters including
collection of fines and
forfeitures directed to
public schools by state
law, real-estate
transactions, construction
contracts, and other legal
duties that may be
assigned by the Board of
Education.
The arrangement with
Poyner Spruill and Mr.
Woodruff is similar to how
things were handled before
the resignation of
Smithfield attorney Jimmy
Lawrence in March 2020.
One major difference: An
attorney from Poyner
Spruill will advise the
Board of Education during
its meetings. Mr. Lawrence
held that responsibility
until he was succeeded by
attorneys with Tharrington
Smith, which had been
advising Johnston's
schools on a variety of
matters for many years.
Mr. Carroll said the new
arrangement is "an effort
to keep our legal costs
down."
Mr. Woodruff is no
stranger to Johnston's
school administration. He
served on the Board of
Education in 1988-1994,
the last two years as
chairman. In years past he
served as legal counsel
for Johnston Community
College and is currently
serving as chairman of the
Johnston County Board of
Elections.
Multi-state
firm selected to design
new high school
Following
a staff recommendation
from Construction Chief
Brooks Moore, the school
board employed LS3P
Associates to design a new
high school for a recently
purchased site on the east
side of Wilson's Mills
near the Neuse River. Mr.
Moore said the contract's
basic fee of $4.5 million
is based on 5% of the
school's "anticipated
construction costs" (which
figures to be an estimated
$90 million).
LS3P is an architectural
firm started in
Charleston, S.C. that has
expanded into neighboring
states, including a merger
with Raleigh's Boney
Architects in 2005. Mr.
Moore said LS3P was one of
19 firms that submitted
proposals to design the
new high school. It's the
first project to be funded
by the $177-million bond
issue approved by Johnston
County's voters in
November.
Smithfield-Selma
senior selected for U.S.
Senate program
The Board
of Education congratulated
Jude Reese, a senior at
SSS High School, upon his
selection as one of two
students from North
Carolina and 104
nationwide invited to take
part in the United States
Senate Youth Program.
Caitlin Furr, the school
system's director of
communication, told the
board Jude will be
traveling to Washington,
D.C. next month to shadow
Ted Budd and Thom Tillis,
the state's two senators,
and meet justices of the
U.S. Supreme Court as well
as President Joe Biden.
(Screenshot from
Tuesday's Board of
Education livestream)
Town employees dressed "All in Red"
to promote heart
health
Taking
part in last Friday's
National Wear Red event were
Town Hall staffers (left
to right) Bonnie
Lockridge, Eric McDowell,
Julie Edmonds, Brian Eaves,
Shannan Parrish, Mayor Andy
Moore, Mark Helmer, Pamela
Session, Audrey Mitchell,
Jennifer Aycock, Ashley
Waters, Beth McKeel, and
Town Manager Michael Scott.
Mayor Moore read a
proclamation at Tuesday's
Town Council meeting
promoting the local
awareness and fund-raising
campaign headed by the
Johnston Health Foundation.
It notes that "80% of deaths
from premature heart disease
and stroke could be
prevented by changes in
physical activity, diet,
education, and management of
common medical conditions."
To learn more,
follow this link>
TOWN
COUNCIL REPORT
Rules
amended to allow
"accessory dwelling units"
The
Smithfield Town Council
agreed without dissent at
Tuesday's monthly meeting
to amend the town's
Unified Development
Ordinance to allow
"accessory dwelling units"
in R-20A zoning districts
where residential lots are
at least two acres in
size.
The change was requested
by William R. Andrews for
his homeplace off Short
Journey Road outside the
town's limits but within
its extraterritorial
zoning jurisdiction.
Planning Director Stephen
Wensman told the council
Mr. Andrews wants to
convert a barn beside his
residence into a dwelling
for his daughter.
Approval was given to the
ordinance amendment with
an added restriction that
such dwellings be limited
to no more than 75% of the
size of the primary
residence and not exceed
1,200 square feet. The
accessory dwelling units
(ADUs) must be hooked to
water and electricity
utilities provided through
the main house, and no
more than one such
dwelling may be added to a
residential lot.
Mr. Wensman said ADUs are
being promoted nationwide
in response to concerns
about affordable housing
as well as homelessness,
especially in urban
communities.
Town-owned
acreage in West
Smithfield annexed
Following
a public hearing that drew
no opposition, the council
approved annexation of 16.2
acres of undeveloped
town-owned property between
Barbour Road and Poplar
Creek "for future trail and
utilities." Mr. Wensman said
there are no immediate plans
for developing the site.
Five
appointed to Downtown
and Appearance boards
The
council appointed Jan
Branch and Brittany Lucas
and reapppointed Kay
Kennedy and Katie Smith to
the Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation's
Board of Directors. The
council appointed
Elizabeth Baker as a new
member of both the town's
Appearance Commission and
its Historic Properties
Commission.
WEST
SMITHFIELD LAND FOR SALE
2.4-acre
vacant lot at 1558 W.
Market Street, US 70
Business. Mostly level
ground with 323-foot road
frontage. It's less than 3
miles from Johnston
Regional Airport and about
5 miles from I-95.
Listed at $525,000 (MLS#2447472)
SUSAN
LASSITER, Broker •
FONVILLE MORISEY
REALTY • 919-669-9235
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REPORT
Nursing homes "coping very well"
after COVID's peak
Recent inspections of Johnston County's
nursing and adult-care
homes by members of
the county's Citizens
Advisory Committee
found conditions
"better than
anticipated," the
County Commissioners
were told Monday.
Jimmy
Parker, the
committee's chairman
for 14 years now, said
Johnston's facilities
as a whole appear "to
be coping very well"
as they recover from
the worst of the
coronavirus pandemic
last winter. "However,
staffing at many of
the facilities
continues to be an
issue," he added. (Screenshot
from county's
live-streaming of
Monday's morning
session)
Mr. Parker said
there's a nationwide
"groundswell of
support for staffing
reform" – mainly,
tighter minimum
requirements for
employees – in
response to widespread
reports of inadequate
care for COVID
patients. That will be
"one of our priorities
to take the (N.C.)
General Assembly this
year," he said.
Commissioner Ted
Godwin asked if
tighter staffing
standards would put
some operators out of
business. "At this
point in time we don't
think so," responded
Mr. Parker. "We've
(already) had wage
inflation in this
industry."
He said Johnston
County currently has
32 facilities licensed
for a total of 1,346
beds, 226 of them for
"memory care. Those
numbers include five
skilled-nursing
centers, 11
assisted-living
facilities, and 16
"family care" homes
with six or fewer
residents.
Mr. Parker said he
would soon be
relinquishing his
position as chairman
to another committee
member, Heather
Norman. Johnston's
committee currently
has 14 members and six
vacancies, he noted.
It wasn't mentioned at
Monday's meeting, but
a recent
report from
Medicare.gov
gave "much below
average" marks to
three of Johnston's
nursing homes: Barbour
Court in West
Smithfield,
Springbrook at
Clayton, and Liberty
Commons at Benson.
Meanwhile, Medicare
rated Smithfield Manor
"above average" and
Clayton's Brian Center
"average."
County receives another "clean"
report from auditors
And that's nothing new for Johnston County
Government, which in
recent years has
gotten stellar reviews
from the
Whiteville-based
auditing firm of
Thompson, Price,
Scott, Adams & Co.
"A clean report" with
"no significant audit
findings," said Alan
Thompson in presenting
his summary for fiscal
2021-22 to
commissioners Monday.
Among the report's
highlights:
• General Fund Balance
as of June 30 was
$212,520,203 – up
substantially from
$73,721,039 at the end
of fiscal 2017-18.
• General Fund
expenditures have
increased from $208.6
million in 2017-18 to
almost $277.4 million
this past year while
revenues have jumped
from $221.3 million to
$322.1 million,
including an increase
in property-tax
collections from
$128.2 million to
almost $176.2 million.
• Property-tax
collections have been
stable at or near
99.9% over the past
five years, ranking
Johnston at or near
the top among North
Carolina's 100
counties.
Following Mr.
Thompson's
presentation, County
Finance Director Chad
McLamb announced that
Johnston, for a 10th
consecutive year, has
received a Certificate
of Achievement for
Excellence in
Financial Reporting
from the Government
Finance Officers
Association of the
United States and
Canada. That, he said,
is "a credit to our
staff" of eight county
employees. "They're
the best in the
state," he added.
VIEW the
summary of the
2021-22 county audit
presented to
commissioners>
Blackman's Fire Department battling
manpower shortage
Emergency Services Director Kevin Hubbard has
recommended that the
county's contract with
the Blackman's
Crossroads Fire
Department be
terminated June 30 and
its territory turned
over to the Four Oaks
Fire Department.
Leaders of the
Blackman's department
asked commissioners
Monday to give them
more time to replenish
the depleted ranks of
their volunteer
firefighters to
continue the
department's contract.
Benton Johnson, a
retired chief of the
department who
currently serves as
chairman of its board
of directors, noted
that his father and
three of his uncles
were founding members
of the department that
"was built by our
community and is
deep-rooted in our
culture."
"I'm asking for more
time from the
commissioners to make
sure we can survive
and be a sustainable
volunteer fire
department," he
pleaded. In the
meantime, the Meadow
Fire Department has
been "gracious," he
said, to lend the
services of several
part-time paid
firefighters till the
manpower shortage has
been stabilized.
Commissioners took no
action on his request.
Balloting for Planning, Airport, and
Health board seats
With 11 applicants for five open positions on
the county's Planning
Board, five applicants
for one opening on the
Airport Authority, and
two for one slot on
the Board of Health,
commissioners voted
separately for their
choices by written
ballots following
Monday's morning
session, with the
winners announced at
the start of the day's
evening session. The
results:
• Planning
Board
– A. Brooke
Holmes of Cleveland
Township and William
E. Letchworth of
O'Neals Township were
reappointed; new
members chosen
included Jared Keith
Crenshaw of Cleveland
Township, Jack A.
Sasser II of
Smithfield, and Gary
R. Lovering of Clayton
Township.
• Airport
Authority –
Bobby Kenneth (Ken)
Jones II of Princeton
was the choice for one
open seat. (None of
the applicants were
already serving on
that board.)
• Board of
Health –
Ray Stott of Wilson's
Mills was reappointed
to a contested seat;
Kathleen W. Lane of
Smithfield was newly
appointed as the only
applicant for a seat
reserved for a nurse.
Annual "State of the County" report
presented with video
Commissioners' Chairman Butch Lawter
presented his annual
review of the year
gone by at Monday
morning's session by
means of a short
video. Among the
year's highlights:
approval by Johnston's
voters in November of
a $177-million bond
issue for new schools
followed by
commissioners'
approval of additional
funds to enhance
security measures at
existing schools; a
funding commitment to
launch a
Commissioners' Promise
Program to supplement
state and federal
grants for high-school
students to attend
Johnston Community
College; and
announcements of
various
industrial-development
projects at Selma,
Clayton, Benson,
Smithfield, and Four
Oaks. VIEW the
video on the
county's website>
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>
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Black
History Month events
scheduled in Smithfield
African-American
genealogist Desi
Campbell of
Harnett County will teach
a beginning genealogy
class at the Johnston
County Heritage Center on
Saturday, February 18.
Space is limited, so
reservations are required.
Please register by
clicking on the following
link: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSerR.../viewform>
The Johnston
County Heritage Center
will present its annual
Black History Month
program at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 
23 in the
upstairs meeting room of
the Public Library of
Johnston County and
Smithfield. Franklin
Deese of Marshville, N.C.
will share the inspiring
story of his journey from
inmate to mayor. The
program will also feature
a special tribute to the
late Q.K. Wall by Carolyn
G. Ennis and music by
Georgia Perry Adam. The
program is being sponsored
by Joyce and Cliff
Mitchell in memory of the
late Gerald R. Williams.
Admission will be free of
charge.
Johnston County
NAACP's annual parade
honoring the life and
legacy of the late Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. is
scheduled for 3 p.m.
Saturday, February 25 on
Downtown Smithfield's
Market Street (from Sixth
to Second streets).
"Following the Path of
Greatness" is the theme.
Organizer Doris Wallace
seeks entries from
municipal, county, state,
and federal elected
officials, local
businesses, church groups,
civic organizations, youth
groups, school bands and
clubs, and others who wish
to participate. To
register, visit https://bit.ly/MLKJrParade2023>
Democratic
Women offer Black
History Month program
"Unapologetic
Confidence" will be
presented by Patsy
Robertson about a group of
African-American women who
"fearlessly challenged the
status quo, made a space
for themselves, and earned
the highest honors in
their professions." It
will be offered as an
online presentation at
6:30 p.m. next Thursday,
February 16.
Pre-registration is
required through this
link to the Democratic
Women of Johnston
County>
SSS
Drama Club's "Little
Shop of Horrors" this
weekend
The
Smithfield-Selma High School
Drama Club will present
"Little Shop of
Horrors" in
the SSS Auditorium at 6
p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Tickets are $10. Be advised
that some content in the
play is rated PG-13.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
DOROTHY JEAN
TURNER BUNCH, 75 –
died February 6
EMMA ROLLINS
JOHNSON, 79 – died
February 6
KATHERINE
MOORE JOLLIFF, 73 –
died February 6
CORA BELL
WELLONS WILLIAMS RAY, 91
– died February 6
CARROLL
GEORGE REDMAN, 92 –
died January 26
RONALD JAMES
CIRELLI, 73 – died
January 25
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Another
attempt to fix the
public-school calendar
The
Johnston County Board of
Education this week
adopted a well-crafted
resolution making the case
for "Local Control of
School Calendars" – an
issue that has hounded the
state's Legislature for
almost 20 years now,
without relief.
Here's the problem, as the
board's resolution states
it:
"In 2004 the North
Carolina General Assembly
enacted statutory
provisions and laws
controlling the setting of
school calendars in an
arbitrary manner and
enacted a
'one-size-fits-all'
mandate on how school
calendars are to be set,"
making us one of only two
states dictating to local
systems when the school
year must start – in our
case, no earlier than the
Monday closest to August
26 and end no later than
the Friday closest to June
11.
"The state-mandated late
August start date means
high schools do not
complete the first
semester until mid to late
January (after a couple of
weeks off for Christmas
holidays) or have unequal
semesters" that may be
shortened "by as much as
20 instructional days" (as
Johnston County has done
in recent years, but not
this year).
Furthermore, the board's
resolution points out, the
state's mandated calendar
does not line up with the
calendar for community
colleges that offer many
course options open to
high-school students and
runs out of sync with fall
sports and band programs
that crank up the first of
August – three weeks and
more before school classes
start.
Why the state's mandate to
begin with? Because
coastal tourist interests
want the start of school
delayed to "save our
summers."
The N.C. House of
Representatives has
consistently supported
calendar flexibility in
recent years (and that
includes support from
Johnston County's
representatives), but
legislation to make that
happen continues to be
stalled in the Senate by a
handful of legislators
protecting their home
turfs.
You would think change
would have come in
response to the
educational disruptions
brought on by the
coronavirus pandemic. But
no. The powers-that-be in
the Senate continue to
stick their heads in the
sand. What will it take
for them to see the light?
If politicians truly "put
children first" and
advocate for "local
control" on most other
issues, how can they buck
the chorus of
school-calendar complaints
coming from Johnston and
just about every other
county across the state?
READ the
full resolution adopted
Tuesday by Johnston
County's school
board>
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