Developers of the East
River Subdivision off
Buffalo Road in Smithfield
have built a network of
paved pedestrian trails
that wrap around the
residences and extend onto
a shelf overlooking the
Neuse. Could some of this
become part of a
Smithfield connection to
the Neuse River Trail that
presently runs from Falls
Lake to Clayton?
Johnston's
estimated population
rises to 234,778
Johnston
is no longer "the fastest
growing county in North
Carolina," as the county's
promoters frequently
claim. That distinction
belongs to coastal
Brunswick County,
according to 2022
population estimates
just released by the U.S.
Census Bureau.
| ESTIMATED
POPULATIONS as
of July 1,
2022 |
| County |
New total |
2-yr.change |
%change |
| Wake |
1,175,021 |
+45,628 |
+4.0% |
| Mecklenburg |
1,145,392 |
+29,866 |
+2.7% |
| Johnston |
234,778 |
+18,787 |
+8.7% |
| Brunswick |
153,064 |
+16,370 |
+12.0% |
| Currituck |
31,015 |
+2,912 |
+10.4% |
| Pender |
65,737 |
+5,529 |
+9.2% |
|
Based
on percentages of growth
from the official census
of 2020 through July 1 of
last year, Johnston ranks
fourth among the state's
100 counties behind
Brunswick, Pender, and
Currituck – all three at
or near the state's
beaches.
Based on two-year jumps in
numbers of new residents,
Johnston ranks third –
behind Wake County
(Raleigh) and Mecklenburg
(Charlotte) – as shown in
the table above, which
includes the three coastal
counties that outranked
Johnston in percentage
gains. (Of those three,
only Brunswick comes close
to Johnston in numbers of
new residents added from
2020 to 2022.)
Neighboring Franklin
County is in a tie with
Johnston for recent
percentage growth, yet its
8.7% gain is based on an
increase of 5,961
residents, producing a new
total of 74,539 – less
than a third of Johnston's
2022 estimated population
of 234,778. Much of
Franklin's growth, like
Johnston's, is fueled by
its proximity to Wake
County and Raleigh.
Louisburg (shown on
the map) is
Franklin's county seat and
largest town; Clayton is
Johnston's largest town.
Map by The News & Observer
highlights counties by
percentage of population
increases:
Smithfield
Police and Fire keeping up
with growth?
Does
the Town of Smithfield
have the staffing and
equipment its Police and
Fire departments need to
protect public safety as
residential growth heads
our way?
That was an underlying
question that lingered
throughout Tuesday
evening's third in an
ongoing series of Town
Council budget work
sessions.
Interim Chief of Police
J.F. Grady made several
requests related to
personnel recruitment and
retention: one additional
patrol officer, laptop
computers for each and
every officer, and a
covered gazebo with tables
outside police
headquarters where
officers on break can "get
outside and enjoy the
fresh air."
Currently, the Police
Department has six
patrol-officer vacancies,
Chief Grady noted. All
told, the department is
budgeted for 41 positions.
(Two slots funded by
three-year grants
specifically for
traffic-safety officers
will be gone after June
30.)
Town Manager Mike Scott
said last year's 15% hike
in police salaries (along
with an expanded take-home
policy regarding patrol
vehicles) has helped with
recruitment and retention.
"It looks like we're
heading in the right
direction," he told the
council, reporting that
only one officer has left
the department during the
past year to work for
another municipality in
the region.
"Our crime numbers now are
less than they were 10
years ago," Manager Scott
added, "so we must be
doing something right."
Fire Chief Michael Brown
painted a more alarming
picture in asking for six
additional firefighter
positions in the fiscal
year ahead. Actually, he
said he wanted to ask for
12 but figured the
$400,000 expense for six
new positions would be
more acceptable to a
council aiming to avoid
increasing the town's
property-tax rate.
The Fire Department, he
reported, answered 2,888
calls for help in 2022 –
up from 2,531 the year
before – including calls
for medical assistance as
well as firefighting
emergencies. A fourth of
last year's calls were
"overlapping," he said –
meaning firemen in those
instances had to respond
to more than one call at
the same time.
As Smithfield grows,
"we've got to have more
people," Chief Brown
declared. "We're
struggling with (getting
and keeping) volunteers,"
he said. And "we're
struggling with (hiring)
part-timers."
The Fire
Department is currently
authorized for 22
full-time positions, and
that hasn't changed since
Fire Station No. 2 (pictured)
opened in West Smithfield
in 2017, the chief noted.
He also asked the council
to budget $900,000 to
replace one of the
department's aging fire
engines. That money may
not be needed in the year
ahead since orders for
those trucks could be
backlogged as long as
three years, he said. "The
sooner the better" for
putting in an order, the
chief advised. "Prices
aren't getting any
better."
Another request from the
fire chief is $22,400 for
a "strategic plan" to
guide the department in
preparing for whatever
growth is headed
Smithfield's way.
The Town Council will
continue its budget
deliberations during a
special meeting called for
7 p.m. next Monday at Town
Hall. A new town budget
must be adopted by July 1,
the start of the 2023-24
fiscal year.
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School
board gets report on
vaping by students
Electronic
cigarettes are "readily
available to our young
people," Chief Academic
Officer Nicholas King told
the Johnston County Board
of Education at its
monthly meeting Tuesday.
"We've had about 500
incidents" involving
tobacco and vaping
reported to school staff
this year, he said, "and I
promise you that number is
woefully under-reported."
Vapes are "most commonly
disposables," he said, and
85% are flavored to taste
like bubblegum and other
foodstuffs "not intended
for an adult."
Dr. King
showed the board pictures
of electronic cigarette
devices disguised as flash
drives, key fobs, and
writing pens. "Vapes do
not smell like
cigarettes," he said, "and
they're designed so any
scent is quickly
dissipated."
"Most of the vaping
companies are now owned by
major cigarette
companies," Dr. King said,
and they're "giving the
impression that (vapes)
are harmless." Research
shows otherwise, he added.
Amanda Allen, the school
system's director of
social and emotional
learning, said a voluntary
survey of Johnston's
high-school students
produced 359 anonymous
responses about vaping,
with 55% saying they "feel
it's an issue." Reasons
given for vaping among
students included
addiction to smoking,
trying to "fit in" with
peers, and coping with
anxieties.
Dr. Allen said current
efforts to educate
students and their parents
about the dangers of
vaping include pilot
projects at three schools
(which she did not name)
using educational
materials entitled
"Vaping: Know the Truth"
and "Catch My Breath." She
said a Youth Tobacco Forum
is being planned for May
in coordination with a
Johnston Substance Use
Prevention Coalition.
Educational efforts are
also being pursued with
the Johnston County Public
Health Department, she
added.
Board member Kevin Donovan
said vapes are not only a
source of nicotine but
even more dangerous as
carriers of THC and
fentanyl, which he termed
"the biggest issue we're
facing."
Board Chair Lyn Andrews
asked for warnings about
vaping to be distributed
to "every student and
every parent" at the start
of the school year.
Johnston
schools give up $674,000
for EC transfers
Included
in the board's approval of
this month's amendment to
school system's budget is
a $674,000 reversion to
the state because of
"headcount transfers" of
Exceptional Children (EC)
from Johnston's public
schools to either
Johnston's charter schools
or schools outside the
county. "They pull back
money we never did get in
the first place,"
explained Chief of Finance
Stephen Britt. He was
referring to the fact that
the state limits its
per-pupil aid for EC
students to 13% of a
school system's total
enrollment, and Johnston's
public schools every year
serve a higher EC
percentage than that.
"This year (the EC
reversion) was
exceptionally large
because of the new charter
school," Mr. Britt noted –
an apparent reference to
the American Leadership
Academy Johnston that
opened here last fall.
Construction
management contracts for
3 bond projects
The
board approved contracts
with three firms for
construction management of
three schools about to be
built with funds coming
from the county bond issue
approved by voters last
fall. Barnhill Contracting
of Rocky Mount won the
contract for a new high
school at Wilson's Mills
that includes a fee of
3.25% of construction
cost, a pre-construction
fee of $360,000, plus
$3,557,979 for staffing,
field office, insurance,
and other "general
conditions." Balfour
Beatty, an international
company with a Raleigh
office, won the contract
for a new elementary
school on Cleveland Road
with fees and costs of
3.5%, $160,000, and
$1,308,727. Wimco
Corporation of Washington,
N.C. won the contract for
an addition to Cooper
Academy (elementary
school) in Clayton with
fees and costs of 4%,
$125,000, and $997,492.
Additional
funding OK'd for
temporary nutrition
workers
The
school board agreed to
appropriate $249,000 to
extend a contract with
Mitchell Temporary
Services of Smithfield to
provide cafeteria workers
in Johnston's schools.
Assistant Superintendent
David Pearce said the
system currently has 52
vacant cafeteria
positions. Asked what
steps are being taken to
fill those jobs with
permanent staff, Dr.
Pearce said a solution
could come with a broader
plan in the making to
address the schools'
bus-driver shortage.
New
website vendor will
bring changes in public
services
The
board approved a one-year
contract with a new vendor
for website services.
Apptegy of Little Rock,
Arkansas will build a new
website, including a
mobile app, and develop a
new two-way online
"communication tool"
serving families of
students and the public at
large at a cost of
$305,750. Director of
Communication Caitlin Furr
said the new services
would be "rolling out in
August" – before the start
of the 2023-24 school
year.
Federal
ESSER funds spent on
lots of computers and
such
The
board approved spending
$4.9 million of federal
ESSER funding to purchase
400 "interactive panels"
on mobile stands for
classroom teachers, 360
desktop computers and
monitors for Career and
Technical Education labs
in middle and high
schools, and 1,400
computer charging carts
for elementary and
middle-school students.
ESSER is short for the
Elementary and Secondary
School Emergency Relief
Fund, initially authorized
by Congress in March 2020
in response to the
coronavirus pandemic.
JCCollege
Foundation names Interim
Director
Joy Callahan
has been named Interim
Executive Director of the
Johnston Community College
Foundation.
"We
are delighted to have Joy
join us again until we name
a permanent executive
director of the foundation,"
said JCC President Vern
Lindquist. "Her community
connections and expertise
will help JCC continue to
grow with Johnston County."
Since
her retirement, Ms. Callahan
has operated her own
consulting company, Callahan
Connections, which has been
collaborating with the
Johnston County Economic
Development Office and JCC
on numerous projects.
Meanwhile,
Twyla Casey Wells, a former
executive director of the
JCC Foundation who was named
the college's vice president
of advancement and community
relations in December 2019,
has retired after more than
two decades working in
various positions at JCC,
including public information
officer and grants director.
"We
are grateful to Dr. Twyla
Wells for her long service
to the college and the
foundation and wish her the
best in her retirement,”
said President Lindquist.
SHERRON
ROOFING AND SHEETMETAL
INC.
Call
TOM SHERRON to learn
how his crew can help
you!
919-631-2695
(cell)
919-934-1160
(office)
105,040
Johnstonians employed;
jobless rate 3.2%
Johnston
County's unemployment
eased downward from 3.3%
in January to 3.2% in
February as the number of
Johnstonians employed rose
from 104,564 to 105,040 –
yet another all-time high
– while the number looking
for work dropped from
3,621 to 3,476, according
to the latest monthly
report from the N.C.
Department of
Commerce. The state
and national rate for
February was the same, at
3.6%.
HIGH
SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Smithfield-Selma
soccer girls win 4-2 in
overtime
The
SSS girls' soccer team
improved its Quad County
3-A Conference record to
3-4 and its overall record
to 5-7 with a 4-2 overtime
win at home against East
Wake on Tuesday. Senior
Emily Stuckey scored two
goals for the Spartans
while sophomore Ava
Cummings and freshman Jana
Olaya scored one goal
apiece.
The boys' baseball team is
0-7 in conference play,
2-11 overall, following
Tuesday's 11-1 defeat at
East Wake. The girls'
softball team is 0-7 in
conference games, 0-15
overall, following
Tuesday's 29-1 loss at
East Wake.
The Spartan boys' tennis
squad is 2-9 in conference
matches, 4-10 overall,
following a 9-0 loss at
home against South
Johnston on Monday.
Neuse
Charter soccer girls
second in conference
play
The
girls' soccer team is in
second place with a 5-1
record in Carolina 1-A
Conference matches
following last Thursday's
7-0 win at home against
North Duplin (no stats
posted on MaxPreps).
The team's overall record
is 7-3.
The Cougar boys' baseball
team is 1-4 in conference
games, 2-8 overall,
following last Thursday's
12-1 loss at home against
North Duplin.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Native
Johnstonian will discuss
his memoir about success
Wayman Britt
will hold a "community
conversation" about his
newly released book – Fulfilling
the Dream: My Path to
Leadership and Finding
Purpose Through Serving
Others – at 10 a.m.
this Saturday at the
Johnston County Museum in
Downtown Smithfield. Hosted
by the Johnston County
Heritage Commission, the
event will be moderated by
Town Councilman Marlon Lee.
Mr. Britt's memoir documents
his childhood and adolescent
years at Johnston's Short
Journey School and Cleveland
High School and his early
adult life when he led
Michigan's Flint Northern
High School basketball team
to two state championships
before captaining the
University of Michigan team
to an NCAA championship run
in 1976.
After graduation from
college and a stint in the
NBA, he held several
management positions at the
world’s largest office
furniture manufacturer –
Steelcase, Inc. – and at
Michigan National Bank for
nearly three decades.
He entered public service in
2004 as assistant
administrator of Kent
County, Michigan where he
was appointed county
administrator and controller
in 2017, serving until he
retired in 2021. He is
founder and president Wayman
Britt Enterprises, which is
"dedicated to growing
leaders."
The Johnston County Museum
is located in the former
Roses Department Store
building at 329 E. Market
Street. For more
information, call
919-938-5912.
Register
of Deeds Shred Event
this Saturday at SSS
Register
of Deeds Craig Olive will
conduct his annual Shred
Event from 9 a.m. till noon
this Saturday in the
Smithfield-Selma High School
parking lot. "These events
provide our citizens a free
way to dispose of personal
and sensitive information to
protect your identity," Mr.
Olive explained. "In order
to better serve the
community, we are limiting
the number of items to three
boxes/trash bags per
vehicle."
Family
Science Discovery Day at
JCCollege Saturday
Johnston
Community College will
host Family Science
Discovery Day from 10 a.m.
till 1 p.m. this Saturday
in the Health Science
Building. The event will
include activities and
exhibits designed to
stimulate science
discovery and exploration
for all ages. The event is
free, and no registration
is required.
County
Commissioners will
consider recreation
grants
Johnston's
County Commissioners will
get a recommended list of
Open Space grants to be
awarded by the county to
projects within each of
Johnston's high-school
districts when they meet
at 6 p.m. Monday at the
Courthouse. Included on
that list are allocations
totaling $32,273 to help
the Town of Smithfield pay
for refurbished Pickleball
courts. Also on Monday's
agenda is presentation of
a Long Term Water Supply
Plan and a resolution in
support of a bill in the
N.C. General Assembly that
would give Johnston's
commissioners authority to
adjust boundaries of
residency districts for
election of board members.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Monday's meeting of the
commissioners>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ROBERTA
HOLLOMAN BROWN, 77 –
died April 7
NICOLE
(NICKY) PADGETT-NELSON,
50 – died March 31
BETTY JEAN
FORD THOMPSON, 74 –
died March 30
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
How
far will the state go to
favor charter schools?
The
Johnston County Board of
Education appears poised
to join a growing list of
public-school districts
across the state in
opposing "Charter School
Omnibus" legislation under
consideration by the N.C.
General Assembly. At
Tuesday's board meeting,
Mike Wooten called it "a
detriment to public-school
funding." Michelle
Antoine, who chairs the
board's Legislative
Committee, said "charter
schools deserve funding,
but not the public
schools' funding."
Here's what they're
talking about:
• The bill before the N.C.
House of Representatives
would authorize counties
to provide capital funds
to charter schools, which
currently have to find
construction dollars on
their own (apparently no
problem for Johnston
County's charters). "This
is problematic because
counties are currently
unable to meet their
statutory obligation of
providing (public schools)
with sufficient capital
funding," says the N.C.
School Boards Association.
"With a backlog of more
than $13 billion statewide
statewide, this provision
makes no sense when
counties don't have enough
resources as it is."
• The bill would require
school districts to share
with charter schools a
percentage of 11 sources
of supplemental revenues,
including federal
reimbursements, sales-tax
refunds, gifts and grants,
interest income, even Fund
Balance surpluses while
charter schools are exempt
from such sharing.
Meanwhile, the state
continues to fall short in
paying the bills for
mandated services it
requires of public
schools. We were reminded
of that again this week
when the school board saw
another example of how the
state's arbitrary cap on
aid for the education of
Exceptional Students
forces counties to pick up
the slack to make sure
these children get the
help they need.
All the while, we continue
hear about North
Carolina's rising
reputation as a "business
friendly" state as the
General Assembly pursues
even more corporate tax
cuts at the expense of
public education.
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