The stream above South Fifth Street that used
to be lined with
cinder-block walls is
undergoing quite a
transformation as its
banks are remade into
natural-like slopes.
While the excavating is
going on, the blue pipe
lying on the ground is
carrying most of the
creek's flow temporarily
around the work site.
Spring
Branch reconfiguration
project has begun
After
more than two years since
the Town Council approved
the construction contract,
work has begun to remake a
one-block section of
Spring Branch between
South Fifth and Sixth
streets. The $200,500
contract with KCI
Technologies of Raleigh is
covered by a $100,000
state Environmental
Enhancement Grant and a
$100,500 appropriation from
the town's General Fund
surplus.
While the project has
required removal of several
large trees, the Community
Garden spot on the south
side of the stream remains
intact.
The north side of the stream
beside Church Street once
flanked the rear yards of
several residences, which
were removed with federal
buy-out money some years ago
as part of a
flood-mitigation program.
The town took title to those
properties and thereby has
clearance to build a park
there.
Here's
a rendering of how the
new park could look once
amenities including a
greenway trail are added
in a subsequent
construction phase
(Church Street is shown
on the right in this
viewing looking westward
from Sixth Street):
Two
wrecks on the same day
interrupted power
Not
one, but two motor-vehicle
mishaps interrupted
electric-power service in
and around Smithfield late
last week.
The trouble began Thursday
afternoon when a crash at
the intersection of Hospital
Road and Turner Drive near
the hospital knocked out
power along nearby North
Bright Leaf Boulevard as
well as the Outlet Center to
the east. Town of Smithfield
workers restored service
within several hours of that
mishap.
Then, around 6 p.m. last
Thursday, a vehicle –
"likely a dump truck with
its box or bed in the
upright position" – took
down wires suspending a
traffic signal at the
intersection of U.S. 70
Business and Swift Creek
Road near Johnston Regional
Airport, reported the N.C.
Department of
Transportation. Technicians
worked through the night to
get signals back in service
on Friday. Customers of Duke
Energy in that area also
lost power for a while.
Driver-license
appointments won't be
required after noon
Beginning Monday (May 1),
customer service at
all N.C. Division of
Motor Vehicles
driver-license offices
will be provided on a
walk-in basis after
noon. Appointments
will only be available
in the mornings
through the 11 a.m.
hour and can be booked
at skiptheline.ncdot.gov.
Even with this change,
walk-in customers may
still get service
before noon if there's
time between scheduled
appointments or if a
customer does not
appear for an
appointment.
Town
Council gets schools'
annual grant requests
In
recent years, the Town of
Smithfield has included in
its annual budget grants of
at least $1,000 to schools
within the town's
jurisdiction. That practice
will continue with the new
budget currently under
consideration by the Town
Council, which received
funding requests from
schools during the fifth in
a series of budget sessions
Monday.
Three of seven local schools
applying for grants asked
for increases; the others
asked for the same amounts
they received this past
year.
Neuse Charter School
wants an increase from the
past year's $1,000 to $5,000
in the year ahead to buy new
uniforms for its athletic
teams. "The Town of
Smithfield has been an
amazing partner to our
athletic program, providing
fields and other support for
many years," Neuse Charter's
application states. "We
would love to be able to say
that the Town of Smithfield
allowed for new uniforms
that the school cannot
afford to buy on our own."
The Innovation
Academy at South Campus,
which labels itself "The
Laboratory School of
Johnston County Public
Schools," seeks an increase
from $1,000 to $3,000 "to
bring First Lego and
Robotics to our campus" to
meet a rising interest among
students in engineering and
also to help teachers pay
for classroom materials
they're now buying "out of
pocket," states the
academy's application.
The Career &
Technical Leadership
Academy, operated
by the county's public
schools at Johnston
Community College, wants an
increase from $1,000 to
$1,500 for "prom, graduation
supplies, and other social
activities and events."
Schools asking for the same
amounts they received this
past year include:
• Smithfield-Selma
High – $2,000 "to
honor teachers with a staff
gift."
• West Smithfield
Elementary –
$2,000 for student supplies
and "incentive prizes."
• South Smithfield
Elementary –
$1,000 for "staff
appreciation and morale
boosters" as well as extra
classroom supplies.
• Smithfield Middle
School – $1,000
for "materials,
instructional supplies, and
celebration items."
The Town Council made no
decisions on those requests
at Monday's session but did
ask staff to reach out to
leaders of the school
system's Early College
Academy to see if they wish
to be added to list of
grants.
Proposed
fee adjustments include 2%
electric-rate hike
The
council at Monday's session
reviewed a proposed schedule
of fees for various town
services that includes a 2%
increase in the town's
electric rates, but
postponed approval until the
budget is finalized later
this spring. Other changes
would adjust some fees for
use of the town's
recreational facilities by
groups and organizations.
VIEW the
entire draft of the town's
new Departmental Fee
Schedule>
JCC
instructor N.C. nursing
"Educator of the Year"
Vicky Allen,
a nursing instructor at Johnston
Community College, has been
named "Educator of the Year"
by the North Carolina
Associate Degree Nursing
Council.
Ms. Allen has more than 40
years of clinical experience
and has taught in community
colleges for more than 15
years. She received her
Master of Science in Nursing
degree from Indiana Wesleyan
University and her Bachelor
of Science in Nursing from
East Carolina University.
"We are extremely happy for
Vicky and very proud as she
is so deserving of this
award," said Jennifer Sugg,
JCC's department chair of
Nursing Education Programs.
"She exemplifies all the
qualities a nurse educator
should possess and always
puts JCC students first."
Dr. Sugg added.
After her retirement from
JCC, Ms. Allen intends to
stay on as a tutor through
the college’s Academic
Skills Services Department.
(Photo from JCC)
Cleveland
High has Johnston's
"Teacher of the Year"
Melissa Pearce, a teacher of English and ethics at Cleveland High School, is Johnston County's "Teacher of the Year" as winner of the 2023 Flame for Learning Award presented by the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce Tuesday evening. Among semi-finalists for the award were Taliltha Crawford, a second-grade teacher at West Smithfield Elementary, and Diana Penuela, a kindergarten teacher at South Smithfield Elementary.
Ms. Pearce will represent Johnston County Public Schools in North Carolina "Teacher of the Year" competition.
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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Neuse Charter soccer girls win 2 more
league matches
Neuse
Charter School's girls
soccer team is 7-2 in
Carolina 1-A Conference
matches (good for 2nd
place) and 10-4 overall
after defeating Rosewood
4-0 last Thursday and
Lakewood 3-1 on Tuesday.
(Individual statistics for
those games have not been
posted on MaxPreps.)
The
Cougar boys baseball team
is 1-8 in conference play
and 2-13 overall after
losses to Rosewood 8-2
last Thursday and 4-3 and
5-2 in a double-header at
Lakewood on Tuesday. In
the first game at
Lakewood, Connor Phillips
led Neuse Charter with two
hits; in the second game,
Jaedyn Teachey had two
hits.
Smithfield-Selma's
girls soccer team shut
out twice
The
SSS girls soccer team lost
9-0 to Wilson Hunt last
Friday and 8-0 at Wilson
Fike on Tuesday. Those
defeats left the Spartans
with a record of 5-6 in the
Quad County 3-A Conference,
8-9 overall.
The SSS boys baseball team
remains winless in
conference play, 2-15
overall after losses of 14-3
to Wilson Hunt last Friday
and 10-0 at Wilson Fike
Tuesday.
The girls softball team is
winless after 19 games this
season following losses of
24-1 to Wilson Hunt last
Friday and 25-2 at Wilson
Fike on Tuesday.
The SSS boys tennis team
finished the regular season
with a conference record of
2-12 and an overall record
of 4-15.
An impressive Earth Day achievement
Posted
on the Town of
Smithfield's Facebook
page is this large
group of volunteers who
picked up trash along
streets and walkways
radiating from
Smith-Collins Park during
last Saturday's statewide
Litter Sweep campaign.
According to the town's
report, almost 100
volunteers turned out at
three locations (the other
two spots were Bob Wallace
Jaycee Kiddie Park and
Smithfield Community
Park).
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Debut of Third Street farmers market
trial run this
Saturday
A
farmers market is
returning to Downtown
Smithfield 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. this Saturday to
start a trial run on the
100 block of South Third
Street that will continue
every other Saturday
through May 27. Two
businesses there – The Oak
City Collection and
Twisted Willow – got the
Town Council's permission
to close the street for
the outdoor market with a
provision that its impact
on nearby businesses be
assessed before
continuation in that
location beyond the three
test runs. Some years ago
a farmers market was
operated in Town Hall Park
beside Market Street.
Meanwhile, a market is
already in operation at
the Wilson Mills community
park on Powhatan Road the
first and third Saturdays
of the month. The
Smithfield market is
scheduled to avoid a
conflict with that.
Ribbon cutting Saturday for E.
Smithfield's new
walking trail
A
ribbon cutting for the Eva
E. Ennis Park and
Smith-Collins Park Walking
Trail will be held at 10
a.m. this Saturday at the
trailhead, which is
located at 535 Martin
Luther King Jr. Drive. The
event will include a
non-competitive "fun walk"
around the 1.27-mile
trail. Snacks and
refreshments will be
provided.
County
Commissioners meet twice
on the first Monday
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will be
asked to adopt the coming
fiscal year's fee schedule
for the Health Department
and revisions to the
county's animal-control
ordinance during its 10
a.m. meeting Monday at the
Courthouse. VIEW the
complete agenda posted
on the county's
website>
A short agenda for the
board's 6 p.m. session
includes just one public
hearing – on a rezoning
request involving 1.57 acres
on Thanksgiving Fire Road in
Wilders Township. VIEW the
complete agenda posted
on the county's
website>
Town
Council to consider
land-use amendments
Tuesday
The
Smithfield Town Council
will conduct three public
hearings at its regular
monthly meeting that
starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday
at Town Hall. The first
concerns a staff request
to update the town's
land-use rules regulating
building heights near
Johnston Regional Airport.
The second hearing
concerns a staff request
to remove government
offices as a permitted use
in the town's industrial
zoning districts. The
third hearing concerns a
staff request for a
landscaping ordinance
amendment to restrict
"severe pruning of
required trees."
Presentation of the Police
Department's "Officer of
the Year" award is also on
Tuesday's agenda.
VIEW the
complete agenda posted
on the town's
website>
Partnership
Park
has new children's
performance stage
The
Partnership for Children of
Johnston County held a
ribbon cutting earlier this
month for the new Gray Wolf
Homes Children’s Stage.
Located at the Partnership
for Children Park next to
Smithfield Community Park,
the stage was added to host
a variety of programs that
promote children’s
imagination and creativity
while increasing access to
free programming for
families. Opened in 2018,
the Partnership Park is a
space where all children can
play together regardless of
ability.
(Partnership for
Children photo)
SHERRON
ROOFING AND SHEETMETAL
Call
TOM SHERRON to learn
how his crew can help
you!
919-631-2695
(cell)
919-934-1160 (office)
CORONAVIRUS
REPORT
Johnston's
schools report just one
student case
And
that was reported at
Smithfield-Selma High
School in a posting
Wednesday afternoon. One
other case was reported
among staff at the
Transportation Building.
VIEW the latest report
from Johnston
County Public
Schools>
The N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services reported
Wednesday that the total
number of COVID cases in
Johnston County since the
pandemic's start in March
2020 is now 76,358 including 507
deaths. During
the past month Johnston
reported 200 new cases and
three more COVID-related
fatalities.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
BRANDON ALAN
McCLAMB, 35 – died
April 25
SELMA WARD
DAVIS, 92 – died
April 23
ROBERT
JOSEPH HOUSE, 58 –
died April 23
MARJORIE
MITCHENER, 91 – died
April 21
LILLIAN DALE
CARRAWAY PARRISH, 91
– died April 19
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Highway
upgrades bring more
growth than relief
Yes,
it's big deal that the
long-needed widening of
I-40 between the Clayton
Bypass and Garner is
finished at last. The
merging of traffic from
two major commuter routes
had created a bottleneck
that got worse and worse
over the years as suburban
Johnston County continued
to grow.
But I'll make the
not-so-bold prediction
that the traffic relief
there will be short-lived
as more and more new
housing sprouts up in the
fields and woods of
western Johnston County.
It doesn't appear likely
that a new Comprehensive
Land Use Plan up for
adoption by Johnston's
County Commissioners is
going to do much to stem
the tide of residential
growth spilling over from
nearby Wake County.
I read a book back in the
early 1970s entitled Superhighway–Superhoax.
One of its main points was
that construction of
expressways followed by
the addition of more lanes
to relieve congestion
inevitably produces
another round of traffic
snarls as the improvements
generate stepped-up
suburban sprawl.
I-40 was opened into
Johnston County from
Raleigh in 1990. The U.S.
Census of 2000 recorded an
unprecedented 50% increase
in Johnston's population
over that 10-year period:
from about 81,300
residents to more than
121,900. Why should things
turn out any different in
years to come?
Smithfield
High School
had one African-American
varsity basketball
player
Joe
Austin, a faithful Weekly
Sun reader who
played basketball at
Smithfield High during its
last season before school
consolidation, corrected
my omission of that fact
in last week's commentary
about racially integrated
boys' b-ball teams in the
late 1960s.
I had overlooked Felix
Allen – No. 55 in this
photo from the 1969 SHS
yearbook – because
he wasn't in the team
picture that was published
in the Shield.
That same year Smithfield
High added its first and
only African-American
player to the girls'
basketball team: Brenda
McCoy, who was in the
starting lineup as a
freshman.
The Red Devils' football
team, meanwhile, had a
handful of
African-American players
in its ranks during the
school's final years.
Vernon King is the only
one pictured in the 1966
yearbook as a member of
the team that played in
the fall of 1965, the
first year of voluntary
integration of Smithfield
High School. None are
shown in team photos the
next two years, but the
final year's team had
three African-American
players.
Athletic teams were truly
integrated after the
opening of
Smithfield-Selma Senior
High School in the fall of
1969.
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