Overhead drone shot
from the Town of
Smithfield shows the
Town Commons
amphitheater below Front
Street as its
reconstruction nears
completion.
Amphitheater
to be ready by the eve
of Ham & Yam
That's
the word from the Town of
Smithfield, which
announced this week that a
ribbon cutting followed by
a free concert is
scheduled for 7 p.m.
Friday, May 5 – the
evening before the town's
annual Ham & Yam
Festival on Saturday, May
6.
Initially constructed in
1987 as a project of the
Smithfield Kiwanis Club,
the amphitheater has a
rebuilt stage with new
roof, new seating anchored
by concrete and brickwork,
compliant accessibility
for the handicapped, and
improved drainage.
The work was planned by
the McAdams Co. and
carried out by Balfour
Beatty Construction, both
of Raleigh, funded by a
state grant of $989,500
authorized by the 2021
N.C. General Assembly.
A local band named Bad
Decisions will play for
the May 5 concert. The
entertainment lineup for
Ham & Yam is to be
posted on the
festival's website>
A view from Front
Street on Wednesday of
the amphitheater's
reconstruction:
Parks
and recreation on
the grow in
Smithfield
The
Town Council got ample
evidence of that during
Monday evening's fourth in
a series of work sessions
on the coming year's
budget as Parks and
Recreation Director Gary
Johnson presented his
requests for funding.
Participation in all
sports and other
activities outdoors in the
town's parks and inside
the Smithfield Recreation
& Aquatics Center
(SRAC) is up substantially
coming out of the
coronavirus pandemic, he
reported. "The most
baseball (and softball)
teams I've seen," he said,
"and T-ball numbers are
way up."
The town's recreation
facilities are hosting 60
to 75 practices or games
each week involving teams
from schools as well as
the department's youth
leagues, Mr. Johnson told
the council. New
facilities like the splash
pad and the new walking
trail at Eva Ennis Park
are bringing out even more
people, he noted. "We have
parks and amenities a town
our size normally doesn't
have," he said.
Because of the recent
growth in participation,
Mr. Johnson has submitted
a budget request for three
additional maintenance
positions, but he told the
council Monday he would
settle for just one along
with more funding for
part-time employees.
What's needed most, he
indicated, is an increase
in starting pay for
part-timers from $10 now
to $12 an hour and
eventually to $13.50 to
keep up with what local
fast-food restaurants are
offering. "We've got good
staff," he said, "just not
enough right now."
The director's major
capital requests include
$75,000 to repair railings
and replace the roof of
the former Legion Hut
(leased from the town by
the Neuse Little Theatre)
and $44,275 for
soccer-field bleachers and
drainage work as well as
playground repairs and
brickwork at Community
Park. Another $87,900 is
sought for pool-deck
resurfacing, pool-heater
replacements, and
splash-pool resurfacing in
the SRAC (which is
maintained jointly by the
town and the county's
school system).
Town's
Pickleball project gets
a grant from the county
The
Town of Smithfield will
receive $30,000 from the
County Johnston's Open
Space Grant program
following Monday's
approval by the County
Commissioners of grants to
municipal and non-profit
recreation programs.
Smithfield's grant will
fund half the estimated
cost of refurbishing some
of the Community Park's
tennis courts as
Pickleball courts. The
county's grants were
distributed by high-school
districts based on fees in
lieu of parks collected
from residential
developers.
Town
exhausts inventory of
residential garbage
"cans"
"We're
out of trash cans right
now," Public Works
Director Lawrence Davis
told the Town Council
during Monday's budget
session.
Not only that, but the new
models literally "stink,"
exclaimed Mayor Andy
Moore, who said he has
heard complaints from
residents about it. He
wondered if it were
"something in the plastic"
used in making the
containers.
The good news, Mr.
Lawrence noted, is that
the supplier of the
containers can deliver new
orders within about three
weeks. That's important
since a number of new
houses are expected to
finished in Smithfield in
the months just ahead.
As a result of that
growth, Mr. Lawrence's
budget request includes an
additional
refuse-collection truck at
a cost of $300,000 as well
increased funding for
part-time workers to help
with mowing of street
rights-of-way, cemeteries,
and other public areas,
especially during the
summer growing season.
The Public Works director
is also asking for several
large pieces of equipment
for patching cracked
streets and cleaning out
storm drains.
Regarding street
surfacing, the budget as
it now stands anticipates
no increase in the town's
allotment of state Powell
Bill funds of about
$300,000, but Town Manager
Scott said it "could be
another $50,000" this
coming year. The town is
responsible for
maintaining just over 62
miles of streets within
its boundaries.
The Town Council will
continue its budget
deliberations during a
session scheduled for 7
p.m. Monday at Town Hall.
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>
The rectangular swaths outlined in red show
areas of the county that
have been reclassified
as "Rural Living" rather
than "Agricultural" in
the latest revision to
the proposed
Comprehensive Land Use
Plan. The light-green
areas are
"Agricultural." (The
areas in gray show
municipal zoning
jurisdictions outside
the county's control.)
Land uses: "Agricultural" or "Rural
Living"?
Commissioners differ on
terminology in
proposed plan
County
Commissioner Fred Smith
kicked off Monday's
discussion on the latest
draft of a Johnston County
Comprehensive Land Use
Plan by calling for
elimination of
"Agricultural" as one of
the "Future Land Use
Placetypes" shown on maps
included in the document.
His argument was that the
"Agricultural" label would
discourage if not impede
farmers from selling their
lands to developers "to
cash in their life's
work." He proposed
replacing the
"Agricultural" label with
"Rural Living," a
designation being assigned
to farming communities
where future suburban
development looks most
likely.
Mr. Smith was joined by
Dickie Braswell in support
of that proposal, but the
other five board members –
Tony Braswell, Ted Godwin,
Patrick Harris, Butch
Lawter, and April Stephens
– voted to keep the
"Agricultural" designation
in the plan, mostly for
areas southeast of I-95
but also for areas
northwest of Kenly and
west of Four Oaks.
Board members had
previously agreed to
reclassify five areas (shown
by the red rectangles on
the map above) from
"Agricultural" to "Rural
Living."
Preservation of farmland
is one of the principal
goals in the proposed
Comprehensive Land Use
Plan – a response to
feedback from citizens at
public forums and through
surveys that preceded the
plan's drafting.
Despite the debate over
labels, Planning Director
Braston Newton reminded
the board that zoning
categories assigned to
particular parcels – not
the future-use placetypes
on countywide maps – is
what will determine where
growth occurs.
Commissioners adjourned
Monday's session without
setting a date for a
public hearing required
before the new plan can be
adopted. Chairman Lawter
said earlier this month
that a May 15 date for the
hearing is likely.
Apparently that's in limbo
as the county's planning
staff and consultants
consider editorial changes
in the plan's draft in
light of Monday's
discussion about land-use
placetypes.
Board
seeks authority to
redraw commissioner
districts
The
County Commissioners
adopted a resolution
asking the N.C. General
Assembly to approve
legislation giving the
board authority to redraw
boundaries of residential
districts in use since
1992 for guaranteeing
election of board members
from different sections of
the county.
Commissioner Smith pointed
out dramatic changes in
distribution of population
and registered voters over
the past 30 years.
District 1, which covers
northern Johnston, has
gone "from the smallest by
far to the largest by far"
in numbers of registered
voters, he noted – from
3,467 to 33,025 over the
past 30 years. (The
map shows present-day
populations of the seven
districts along with
numbers of registered
voters then and now.)
As a result, numbers of
residents represented by
each commissioner vary
widely – from almost
53,000 in District 1 to
less than 19,000 in
neighboring District 2.
Adjusting the boundaries
would eliminate such gaps.
Even though each of
Johnston's seven
commissioners must reside
in separate districts,
they are elected by voters
countywide. If the General
Assembly grants the
redistricting authority to
Johnston's board, the
changes would not affect
the commissioners' current
terms, which are
staggered. Board members
Fred Smith (District 1),
Ted Godwin (District 2),
April Stephens (District
4), and Tony Braswell
(District 6) hold terms
that expire in December
2024. Commissioners Dickie
Braswell (District 3),
Patrick Harris (District 5
), and Butch Lawter
(District 7) hold terms
expiring in 2026.
State Senator Benton
Sawrey introduced the bill
to authorize Johnston's
redistricting at the
request of the County
Commissioners.
Teacher
advocates want $350
classroom-supply
allowance
Commissioners
heard a plea from
representatives of an
advocacy organization
named Down Home North
Carolina to appropriate
sufficient funding to give
each and every teacher in
Johnston's public schools
$350 to spend on classroom
supplies.
Teachers are "overworked,
underpaid" and "often lack
resources," declared Erica
Hall, one of several to
speak before
Commissioners' Chairman
Butch Lawter cut them off.
"We value our teachers,"
he said, but "this should
be directed to the school
board." The commissioners
don't dictate line items
in the schools' budget, he
said.
Down Home North Carolina
is a relatively new
organization advocating
for concerns of working
families in the state's
small towns and rural
communities, according to
its website, which
shows local chapters
active in eight counties
including Johnston.
Salvation
Army
majors retire
after 32 years
Majors
Karen and David Craddock
have retired after 32
years of service with the
Salvation Army. They spent
the past four years at the
Army's Smithfield base and
will be settling in Texas.
The local Board of
Advisors honored them at a
recent ceremony. Permanent
successors to the
Craddocks have not yet
been named.
(Photo from Lynn
Harloe, member, Board of
Advisors)
Chamber
announces award
winners a month early
The
Triangle East Chamber of
Commerce will present its
annual awards for
community service at a
reception and dinner on
May 25. It announced most
of the winners this past
week, including these
residents of Smithfield:
• Citizen of the Year: Chandler
Pernell.
• Small Business Person of
the Year: Jamie
Stanley of
Hinson's Printing.
• Lifetime Achievement
Award: Hank
Daniels.
Yet to be announced is
winner of the Chamber's
Emerging Leader Award.
More details
about the event are
included in the
Chamber's news
release>
Johnston
robotics team finishes
2nd in the state
Johnston
County's Team 6004 f(x)
Robotics was one of 40
that competed for the
North Carolina State
Championship April 1-2 as
a result of its success at
district events held in
Asheville and Raleigh.
Smithfield-Selma High
students make up most of
the team's roster.
Pictured (left to
right): first row –
Loftin Agbayani (Le Soleil
Academy), Elle Stephenson
(SSS), Jordan Nixon (SSS),
Ava Cummings (SSS); second
row – Jordan Andujar
(SSS), Jordan Watts (Neuse
Charter School), Aynsleigh
Agbayani (Le Soleil
Academy), Bronwyn Agbayani
(Le Soleil Academy),
Camryn Lovette (SSS),
Connor Flannery (SSS),
Katie Bass (SSS); third
row: Becca King (SSS),
Joseph Evans (SSS),
Sebastian Garrett (SSS),
Abbie Wilson (SSS), Kasey
Silfee (SSS); fourth row –
Eli Spottswood (SSS), Madi
Wallace (Liberty
University Online
Academy), Sherelle
McDaniel (SSS), Carter
Clever (SSS), Jayden
Thompson (SSS), Kohlbie
Stevens (SSS), Kayden
Evans (SSS). (SSS
photo)
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Smithfield-Selma's soccer girls win
two shutouts
The
Spartan girls' soccer team
chalked up two shutout
wins this past week,
beating Quad County 3-A
Conference foes East Wake
7-0 on Monday and South
Johnston 9-0 on Tuesday.
That raises the team's
conference record to 5-4
and the season's record to
8-7. In Monday's match,
Dayeli Ajanel and Emily
Stuckey scored two goals
apiece while Ava Cummings,
Dahlia Siquina, and Blondy
Martinez each scored one.
Emily Stuckey scored six
goals in Tuesday's match
while Dahlia Siquina and
Jana Olaya each scored
one.
The SSS boys' baseball
team remains winless in
conference play after a
13-5 loss at East Wake
last Thursday and a 15-3
loss at home versus South
Johnston on Tuesday.
Andrew Hartman, Dawson
Gardner, and Vincent
Belcher had two hits
apiece for SSS in
Thursday's game. Connor
O'Brien had the only hit
for the Spartans on
Tuesday. SSS is 0-9 in
conference play, 2-13
overall. Meanwhile, the
girls' softball team is
winless after 17 games,
including an 18-0 loss at
home against South
Johnston on Tuesday and a
15-0 loss at East Wake on
Wednesday.
The SSS boys' tennis team is
4-13 overall, 2-11 in
conference matches after
losses at home versus
Cleveland last Thursday and
C.B. Aycock on Monday.
Neuse
Charter School's soccer
girls win one, lose one
The
Cougar girls' soccer team
is 5-2 in Carolina 1-A
Conference play, 8-4
overall, after a 2-0 win
at Howard last Thursday
and a 4-3 loss at Hobbton
on Tuesday.
The boys' baseball team is
1-5 in conference games,
2-10 overall after a 19-4
defeat at East Wake
Academy last Thursday and
a 11-5 loss at Hobbton on
Tuesday. Jaedyn Teachey
and Blane Barefoort had
two hits apiece in
Thursday's game.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Smithfield's part in Saturday's
statewide Litter Sweep
The Town of
Smithfield will hold its
annual Spring Litter Sweep
from 9:30 till 11:30
Saturday morning. It's open
to any and all volunteers at
three starting points:
• Sarah
Yard Community Center on
East Lee Street.
• Bob
Wallace Jaycee Kiddie
Park off
South Second.
• Smithfield
Community Park
off M. Durwood
Stephenson Parkway.
The event is held in
conjunction a
statewide Litter Sweep
conducted by the N.C.
Department of
Transportation. Like
NDDOT's
Adopt-A-Highway
program, the Town of
Smithfield has its own
Adopt-A-Street effort.
Details
on the town's
website>
Johnston's
"Teacher of the Year" to
be named Tuesday
The
announcement will come at
the Triangle East Chamber
of Commerce's Flame for
Learning Award Celebration
next Tuesday evening. For
more information about
that event, which costs
$30 to attend, visit this
page on the Chamber's
website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
WILLIAM
(DWIGHT) ROWE, 80 –
died April 18
THELMA JEAN
MAYNARD, 80 – died
April 17
Wayman
Britt (left) and Marlon
Lee are two men who grew
up in the Smithfield
area and went on to play
college basketball. They
shared the speaker's
table at a gathering of
family, friends, and
admirers at the Johnston
County Museum last
Saturday where Mr. Britt
talked about his
recently published
autobiography. He was
the first (and only)
African-American to play
varsity basketball at
the original Cleveland
High School in the late
1960s. Mr. Lee, a
Smithfield town
councilman, played ball
at desegregated
Smithfield-Selma High
two decades later.
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
An
historical footnote on
desegregation of schools
Basketball
was my game. I was in the
starting lineup during
three seasons at
Smithfield High School in
the early 1960s when our
schools were racially
segregated. So I was
personally attracted to
Wayman Britt's story about
growing up on a farm near
Wilson's Mills and joining
the Cleveland High
basketball team as a
freshman starter in the
1968-69 season, the
school's last before
consolidation that
produced full-fledged
racial integration.
My senior season in
1964-65 turned out to be
the last before a handful
of African-Americans
integrated Smithfield High
the following school year.
But the Red Devils never
had an integrated varsity
basketball team – boys or
girls – before the school
graduated its last class
of seniors in 1969.
Neighboring Selma High
School, meanwhile, added
two African-Americans to
its boys' basketball team
for the season of
1967-1968 – Donald Bryant
and Kenneth Revels – and
had four such players
during that school's final
season in 1968-69.
All that went away in the
fall of 1969 with the
opening of
Smithfield-Selma High and
South Johnston High that
completed the integration
of Johnston County's
schools.
The late Walton Parker
told me a story at the
barber shop some years ago
about the nucleus of his
all-white basketball team
at Smithfield High going
over to the gym at the
all-black school across
town on Saturdays to
scrimmage some of its
players. "We ran with them
pretty good," he told me.
That didn't surprise me,
for Walton's team was one
of Coach Jack Temple's
best in the late 1950s.
How I wish we could have
had integrated schools
with integrated athletic
teams during my growing-up
years. It was only as an
adult playing in a men's
recreational league here
that I got to play ball
with African-Americans who
became friends.
Racial segregation was a
regrettable arrangement of
American history that
deprived us of personal
relationships bringing
enrichment to life. I'm
thankful things were
different for my children
who grew up here in
desegregated public
schools.
Subscribers
to this edition: 1,432
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
Rewind
through the Weekly Sun's
archives
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
