Smithfield-Selma
High School graduates
306
Student
leader urges
classmates to be proud
of their school
That's
the largest number in
recent years, said
Principal David Allen, who
also announced at Friday's
commencement that more
than $4.6 million in
scholarships and grants
have been awarded to SSS
graduates who plan to
continue their education.
Among
those scholarship winners
is SSS Student Body
President Courtney
Lassiter (right),
who addressed the
graduates with words of
pride about their school's
accomplishments this past
year.
"A false, misplaced
(negative) reputation does
not define us," she said.
"We know the truth of our
school: that it is an
incredible place to learn
and to live" and that "the
vibrant diversity of our
school is a strength,
combining the greatest
cultures, attitudes, and
flavors from all around
the world.
"As Spartans, when have we
let this erroneous
reputation define us? Not
when our football team was
doing the best of any in
the county. Not when our
swim team was breaking
records left and right.
Not when our band was
winning national
championships. Certainly
not when DECA was
representing our school
across the country." (DECA
stands for Distributive
Education Clubs of
America.)
"We students have been
re-writing the narrative
and flipping the
stereotyped script," she
continued. "You're
actively creating a new
reputation for Johnston
County and beyond to see:
one of respect, of
stature, and of success."
Courtney embodies much of
what she was talking
about, having received a
full academic scholarship
to attend Davidson College
– one of only five James
B. Duke Scholar awards
given by the school each
year.
VIEW the
program for Friday's SSS
commencement with a
listing of the
graduates>
Speaking of
scholarships,
Chair Lyn Andrews
announced during Tuesday's
meeting of the county's
Board of Education that
Johnston's 2,939 graduates
this year have been
awarded more than
$43.4 million
in scholarships and
grants.
Part of that total came
from a batch of
scholarships awarded
through the Johnston
County Education
Foundation.
Executive Director Darla
Peedin reports those
awards added up this year
to $79,050, with $13,900
of that going to
Smithfield-Selma High
School graduates. "This
was made possible with the
support of local Johnston
County individuals that set
up scholarships through the
foundation and the Central
Johnston County Rotary
Club," Ms. Peedin noted.
VIEW the SSS
Principal's List and Honor
Roll for the 4th 9-week
grading period>
SSS
soccer field to be named
in honor of Earl Marett
The
Board of Education received
at Tuesday's monthly meeting
a request from staff to name
the soccer field at
Smithfield-Selma High School
in honor of Earl Marett, who
has assisted both the boys
and girls soccer teams for
more than 30 years as an
assistant coach, volunteer,
and advocate. Board policy
requires the request to "lay
on the table" for 60 days
before the request can be
approved.
JCCollege earns high N.C. ranking for
student success
Johnston
Community College reports
it has exceeded statewide
excellence standards in
two categories that
measure student success
across North Carolina’s
community colleges. JCC
ranked second among the
state's 58 colleges in
both First-Year
Progression and in
Transfer Performance.
The
First-Year Progression index
scores are based on the
percentage of first-time
credential-seeking
curriculum students
graduated prior to or
enrolled in post-secondary
education by the subsequent
fall semester.
Transfer Performance index
scores are based on the
percentage of students
transferring to a four-year
university or college during
the fall semester who remain
enrolled in a four-year
institution the subsequent
fall or have graduated.
Johnston
Community College issues
President’s List, Dean’s
List
READ the
full announcement on the
JCC website>
ONE
SURE SIGN THAT SCHOOL'S
OUT FOR THE SUMMER
The
expanded Splash Pad at Eva
Ennis Park was going full
blast during last Saturday's
End of School Celebration
hosted by the Smithfield
Police Department along with
LIfeSpring Church. Now there
are spots for adults to
watch in the shade.
SCOUTS
SET UP HORSESHOE PITS AT
SMITH-COLLINS PARK
Members
of Boy Scout Troop 77 are
shown finishing up their
project. With their leader
Jonathan Gaskins (left) are
Nate Dunn, William Taylor,
Banks Gaskins, and Will
Harris. The work was done as
part of three Eagle Scout
projects in the area. (Photo
from
East Smithfield's Town
Councilman Marlon Lee)
County
budget's adoption is
anticipated next week
No word yet on school funding;
commissioners hear
other requests
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners met for just
an hour Monday evening for
a single purpose: to
consider appropriations in
the upcoming fiscal year's
county budget. The board
heard requests from half a
dozen organizations
seeking county aid but
deferred decisions till
the budget is adopted,
perhaps next week.
Representatives of the
county's Board of
Education did not attend
Monday's session. The
schools have requested
county support totaling
almost $98.5 million in
the year ahead. County
Manager Rick Hester's
proposed budget sets aside
$83 million. A decision on
the final appropriation
may come when
commissioners meet again
at 6 p.m. next Monday.
Meanwhile, commissioners
heard a couple of pleas
for new or increased
funding along with several
requests for renewals at
this week's session.
The Princeton
Little Tar Heel League
for the first time is
seeking $100,000, mostly
to help pay for new
restrooms at its ball
fields just outside the
town limits. President
Scott Creech acknowledged
that his organization was
recently awarded a $53,000
Open Space Grant by the
county, but "septic-tank
issues" have significantly
raised the price of new
restrooms needed to
accommodate the growing
crowds that gather for
baseball, softball,
basketball, and other
sports at the league's
facilities.
Commissioner Tony Braswell
wondered why the Town of
Princeton hasn't helped
fund the organization.
"We've never been in their
budget," Mr. Creech
replied.
Commissioners' Chairman
Butch Lawter wondered how
the county could justify
such aid for the Princeton
program without doing the
same for similar athletic
organizations elsewhere in
Johnston.
Commissioner Dickie
Braswell, who represents
the Princeton area,
started to make a motion
to approve Mr. Creech's
request but backed off
when Chairman Lawter said
all pending requests
should wait till final
adoption of the county's
budget.
The Partnership
for Children
wants the county's
appropriation doubled in
the year ahead – from
$50,000 now to $100,000
then. Suefan Johnson,
chair of the Partnership's
board, said $75,000 of the
new request would go for
the agency's Read to Grow
program, $15,000 for its
N.C. Pre-K component,
$7,500 for its Safe Kids
program, and $2,500 for
family-support services.
The Triangle Land
Conservancy
wants the county to
increase its annual
support from $625,000 this
past year to $820,000.
Leigh Ann Hammerbacher,
one of TLC's directors of
land protection and
stewardship, said the
coming year's
appropriation would
benefit nine proposed
projects and leverage
another $8 million in
grants and donations for
the agency's efforts to
protect natural habitats
and farming.
Harbor,
Johnston's
domestic-violence shelter,
wants the county not only
to continue its basic
$75,000 contribution but
also chip in an extra
$250,000 as it did this
past year. Kay Johnson,
the agency's executive
director, said the
additional money is needed
to hire more staff to meet
an ever-rising caseload.
The Smithfield
Rescue Mission
asked for renewal of
$28,000 in annual aid from
the county, while Special
Olympics asked
for continuation of the
$15,000 donation it has
been receiving.
Water
plant's expansion tops
list of town's loans
Presenting
his final version of the
2023-24 budget at last
week's meeting of the
Smithfield Town Council,
Town Manager Mike Scott
noted that just 3% of the
General Fund budget is set
aside for debt service and
that no new indebtedness
is planned during the
upcoming fiscal year that
begins July 1.
That low percentage of
indebtedness was reached
this past year when the
town dipped into its
healthy General Fund
Balance to pay off the
remaining $2.3 million
owed on 20-year loans
taken out in 2007 and 2008
for construction of the
Recreation & Aquatics
Center.
Mr. Scott provided this
list of project and
equipment loans still on
the town's books:
| Project |
Loan
amount |
Interest
rate |
Terms |
Maturity |
| Water
Plant expansion |
$12,050,000 |
1.100% |
20 yrs. |
05/01/42 |
| Brogden
Rd. electric substation |
$3,432,596 |
1.950% |
12 yrs. |
08/15/27 |
| Smithfield
Crossing streets |
$2,806,400 |
3.750% |
30 yrs. |
07/28/44 |
| Sewer
infiltration & sand
removal |
$1,430,000 |
2.900% |
10 yrs. |
02/24/26 |
| Multiple
water & sewer
projects |
$1,181,500 |
2.060% |
10 yrs. |
10/01/26 |
| Fire
Dept. ladder truck |
$1,126,105 |
3.875% |
20 yrs. |
07/01/39 |
| Police
Dept. expansion |
$784,572 |
2.130% |
15 yrs. |
01/20/36 |
| Fire
truck |
$490,500 |
2.420% |
12 yrs. |
08/16/29 |
| Sanitation
Dept. hook leaf truck |
$199,345 |
2.150% |
5 yrs. |
06/30/25 |
| Knuckleboom
truck |
$160,000 |
3.000% |
5 yrs. |
08/01/27 |
| Dump
truck & SUV |
$88,500 |
3.110% |
5 yrs. |
01/02/24 |
The
Town Council adopted the
2023-24 budget last week.
It leaves the town's
property-tax rate of 57
cents unchanged for
another year while raising
utility rates by modest
amounts: 2% on average for
electricty, 4% for water,
$1 per month for garbage
and trash pickups. READ the
manager's explanation
for those increases>
VIEW the
complete Town of
Smithfield budget for
fiscal 2023-24>
What's
going on at Brogden Road
and I-95?
Site
preparation for a joint
venture of two Raleigh-based
real-estate investment firms
– CBRE and Al Neyer – is
leading toward construction
of a "spec" (speculative)
industrial building for
which an occupant has not
yet been determined.
"We
have seen a lot of
interest in the property
and have pushed it out to
numerous projects at
the state level," reports
Chris Johnston, the
county's director of
economic development.
"Visibility, potential
rail access, location on
an Interstate, and then
the close proximity to
Raleigh makes this
property extremely
attractive."
In
addition to agreements with
both the County of Johnston
and the Town of Smithfield
to refund 50% of property
taxes paid the first five
years on a capital
investment of at least $20
million, the county also
agrees to pay the project's
builders $25,000 a month in
rent up to two years until
the building is leased or
purchased by an industrial
client.
Hospital
volunteers award
health-care scholarships
UNC
Health Johnston’s hospital
volunteers have awarded
scholarships of $1,000
apiece to 11 students
headed into health-care
careers. The volunteers
raised the money through
special fund-raisers and
gift-shop sales.
Scholarship recipients
include (center, left
to right) Diana
McFatter of Garner,
Makenzie Simonson of
Smithfield, Kaitlyn Free
of Four Oaks, Tlejah
Chapman of Benson, Kyle
Mann of Clayton, Leslye
Resendiz-Munoz of
Middlesex, and Hallie
Treadway of Smithfield.
Members of the scholarship
committee are: (from
left) Myrtle Toole,
Wanda Gastiger, Mary
Britt, and Kay Matthews.
Absent from the photo were
scholarship recipients
Samantha Smith of Wilson,
Karli Nichols of
Smithfield, Adriana
Mancia-Duarte of Selma,
and Alania Johnson of
Princeton. (Photo from
UNC Health Johnston)
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Downtown's
Third StrEATery returns
with Rhythm Express
Downtown
Smithfield's "Outside
Dining Room and Live
Entertainment Venue" is
back this Friday
featuring Rhythm Express, a
band whose repertoire
includes Motown, Philly
Soul, Classic R&B,
Beach, Southern Soul,
Blues, Jazz, Classic
Rock, and dance party
music. The event
continues from 6 to 9
p.m along the 100 block
of South Third Street,
closed to vehicular
traffic.
Endless
Yard Sale starts Friday,
continues through
Saturday
The
11th annual 301 Endless
Yard will be in business
this Friday and Saturday,
from 7 a.m. till 5 p.m.
along a 100-mile stretch
of the highway from Weldon
through Johnston County to
Dunn. The mostly impromptu
flea market includes
residents' front yards as
well as set-ups by
businesses and non-profits
wherever spaces are
allowed. So, if must
travel US 301 this
weekend, be alert for
slowing traffic.
3
Lil' Pigs Triathlon will
alter traffic patterns
Saturday a.m.
The
12th annual 3 Little
Pigs Triathlon will
be staged Saturday morning
at the Smithfield
Recreation and Aquatics
Center. During the race –
which includes swim,
bicycle, and running
segments – traffic will be
barred or restricted from
7:30 till 10 a.m. near the
SRAC in the following
ways:
• Durwood
Stephenson Parkway will be
closed from Kellie Drive
to Buffalo Road.
• Eastbound traffic on
Durwood Stephenson Parkway
will only be allowed to
turn right onto Buffalo
Road.
• Coming from Smithfield,
northbound traffic on
Buffalo Road will only be
allowed to turn left onto
Durwood Stephenson
Parkway, with controlled
access permitted if
continuing northward on
Buffalo Road.
• Access to Kellie Drive
from Buffalo Road will be
limited to bicycles only.
Juneteenth
celebration Saturday at
Smith-Collins Park
It
begins at 10:30 a.m. with
a parade from the Johnston
Central High School Alumni
Center on East
Smithfield's Massey Street
to Smith-Collins Park. The
main celebration and
cookout is scheduled to
start at 3 p.m. featuring
"50 Years of Hip Hop" with
DJ Ricky C and DJ Sham
Rock. READ more
about Juneteenth>
County
Commissioners scheduled
to adopt budget Monday
It's
the board's regular
third-Monday-of-the-month
meeting at the Courthouse,
and it's also the target
date for adoption of the
2023-24 county budget. In
fact, the meeting's
official agenda lists
"County Budget Discussion
and Adoption." Also
scheduled is a public
hearing on fire-district
boundary revisions.
VIEW the
meeting's complete
agenda posted on the
county's website>
Summer
Solstice event at St.
Paul's Church on the
21st
The
public is invited free of
charge to a Summer
Solstice Creativity
Retreat at Smithfield's
St. Paul's Episcopal
Church on South Second
Street from 10 a.m. till
noon next Wednesday. The
event will include music
meditation with certified
sound healer Nancy Pitkin,
a labyrinth walk, journal
writing or poetry prompts,
and mandala and rock
painting. The Summer
Solstice will occur at
10:58 a.m. Wednesday.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ROBERT
ALBERT BORSOS, 79 – died
June 12
HELEN JOAN
PEGG, 80 – died June
12
NATHANIEL
BOYD JR., 61 – died
June 5
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
History-making
graduation classes in
the late '60s
Making
plans for his high-school
class reunion, County
Commissioner Ted Godwin
sent me an e-mail pointing
out that his alma mater,
North Johnston High
School, in the late 1960s
had "the largest class in
the history of Johnston
County" (according to a
story inThe Smithfield
Herald in June
1966).
The class of 1966 graduated 146 at North
Johnston, which was
the first of
present-day high
schools to consolidate
during a time of
racial integration.
(From his class of
1967, Ted notes "we've
lot 33 of 137.")
Coincidentally, my senior
class at Smithfield High
School in 1965 held the
previous record with 138
graduates, barely nosing
out the Class of 1966 as
the post-war baby boom
apparently peaked, in
Smithfield at least.
North Johnston continued
to lead the county until
1970, when newly
consolidated
Smithfield-Selma High
produced the "largest in
the history of the
Johnston County school
system" with 352 graduates
(according to the Herald).
South Johnston High had
also opened that year yet
its first graduating class
had 100 fewer than the
number at SSS.
A big reason for the size
of that first class at
Smithfield-Selma was its
attendance district, which
included the northern part
of Johnston that today
makes up the district for
Corinth Holders High
School, the county's
largest thanks to suburban
development in recent
times.
Even so, it's interesting
to note that this year's
total of SSS graduates,
including those who
received diplomas back in
January, is a number
that's very close to the
size of the school's first
class.
Back to the North Johnston
story: That school's first
graduating classes would
have been even larger if
Princeton had been
included as originally
envisioned. In 1968, for
instance, Princeton High
graduated 68 while North
Johnston graduated 143.
The high schools replaced
by consolidated North
Johnston included Kenly,
Glendale, Micro, and Pine
Level. Smithfield-Selma
High, meanwhile, resulted
in the closing of
Smithfield, Selma, and
Wilson's Mills high
schools along two
African-American schools:
Smithfield's Johnston
Central High and Selma's
Richard B. Harrison High
which, by the way, took in
African-American students
from as far away as Kenly
and Princeton since there
were no high schools for
that race of students in
those towns during the era
of school segregation in
the first half of the 20th
Century.
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