JOHNSTON
COUNTY'S NEW DETENTION
CENTER
received its first prisoners
early Sunday morning, July
30 when 283 inmates were
transported with heavy
security from the Courthouse
jail. The new facility,
located behind the new
Public Safety Center on US
70 Business east of
Smithfield, has room for 469
inmates. Sheriff Steve
Bizzell this week said no
inmates remain in the
Courthouse jail as
renovations there will begin
soon. "We are transporting a
few inmates back to jail for
court daily, but they are
being held temporarily in a
holding cell area behind the
courtrooms for easy access,"
the sheriff noted.
(ABOVE: County of
Johnston photo from a
drone)
VIEW photos
from last month's media
tour of the new Detention
Center>
Town's
new police chief starts
work next week
Pete
Hedrick was introduced to
the Smithfield Town
Council at Tuesday's
monthly meeting. He will
begin his duties as Chief
of Police on Monday.
Town
Manager Mike Scott issued
the following statement:
"While the police chief
search has been a rigorous
and time-consuming
process, we are extremely
fortunate to be able to
hire such a qualified and
great human being to
oversee our Police
Department. I have great
confidence that Chief
Hedrick will bring new
energy and ideas to the
Police Department and will
be a great leader and
mentor for our officers.
This is a great step
forward not only for the
Police Department but for
the entire community."
Mr. Scott, who in his role
as manager was responsible
for hiring Mr. Hedrick, is
a former police chief
himself, having come to
Smithfield in that
capacity in 2009. He was
elevated to town manager
in 2016.
Chief Hedrick comes to
Smithfield from the
Eastern North Carolina
small town of
Robersonville where he has
served as police chief
since 2021. Before that,
he worked for the Lee
County Sheriff’s Office in
Florida, where he retired
after 28 years of service
as a patrol commander
supervising more than 120
deputies.
Mr. Hedrick previously
worked as a
community-oriented
policing officer, canine
deputy, detective, special
operations supervisor,
narcotics supervisor, and
watch commander. He has
received over 45 awards
and commendations during
his years of service,
including twice being
named "Officer of the
Year" by the Florida
Narcotics Officers'
Association.
He holds a Bachelor of
Science degree from Hodges
University in Fort
Meyers, Florida and has
attended classes at both
Western Carolina and N.C.
State universities. A
swearing-in ceremony for
Chief Hedrick and a public
"meet and greet" will be
held in September.
New
police officer sworn in,
leaving 12 vacancies
Jacob
Gibbons, who recently
completed Basic Law
Enforcement Training at
Johnston Community
College, took the oath of
office at Tuesday's
Council session as
Smithfield's newest
policeman. His employment
leaves the Police
Department
with 12 vacancies among 37 authorized
positions.
Two of those vacancies
resulted from the recent
departure of the
department's two
African-American officers
– a situation bemoaned at
Tuesday night's meeting by
Councilman Marlon Lee, who
represents predominantly
African-American East
Smithfield. Even so, he
wished the new chief well
and said he looks forward
to working with him on
policing concerns among
the town's minority
population.
"We lost two
African-American police
officers within the last
week," Mr. Scott told the Sun
on Wednesday. "One was hurt
at work months ago and was
not able to continue to
perform the necessary
physical requirements of a
police officer. The other
took a law-enforcement
position with the county
sheriff's office. So, for
the last few days, we have
not had any African-American
officers."
Yelverton
Grove Road property
rezoned for county
offices
Following
a public hearing that drew
no opposition, the Town
Council approved the
County of Johnston's
request to rezone 49 acres
on both sides of Yelverton
Grove Road just south of
US 70 Business from
residential and business
categories to Office and
Institutional.
The county holds an option
to purchase the site for
future government offices
and other facilities. It's
located across 70 Business
from the county's new
Public Safety and
Detention centers.
Councilman Sloan Stevens
asked how many jobs would
the envisioned complex
pull out of Downtown
Smithfield. County Manager
Rick Hester said that's
not yet known since a plan
for whatever offices will
go there has not been
devised. But he emphasized
that judicial offices and
related services will
likely remain for many
years inside the
Courthouse Downtown.
In response to a question
from Mayor Andy Moore
about the proposed
project's impact on the
town's sewage-treatment
capabilities, Utilities
Director Ted Credle said
existing infrastructure
"can handle it."
Police
station addition
awaiting new fire-alarm
system
The
council approved $30,525
to pay for installation of
a fire-alarm system in the
new wing of Police
Department headquarters
nearing completion plus an
upgrade of the 27-year-old
building's existing system
to comply with current
fire codes. Carolina
Phones and Alarms of
Goldsboro will install the
new system for $21,885
while APR Construction,
contractor for the overall
project, will get an
additional allowance up to
$8,640 to make
alterations, if necessary,
in the older part of the
building to accommodate
the fire-alarm upgrade.
Four-way
stop authorized at
corner of Hood and
Chestnut
The
council approved a second
set of stop signs at the
intersection of Hood
Street and Chestnut Drive
in South Smithfield to
make it a four-way stop.
Interim Police Chief James
Grady submitted the
request in response to
complaints about speeding
in the residential
neighborhood near South
Smithfield Elementary
School.
Lower
speed limits on West
Market Street as well as
NC 210?
The
council was receptive to a
proposal from Planning
Director Stephen Wensman
to extend an existing
35-mph zone on NC 210
further westward past a
couple of new residential
subdivisions under
construction there. At
West Smithfield Councilman
David Barbour's
suggestion, approval of
that change will await
feedback from the N.C.
Department of
Transportation on also
reducing the speed limit
on West Market Street (US
70 Business) from 45 mph
to 35 from its
intersection with 210 to
the Neuse River bridge,
where the speed limit
drops to 25.
New
option for developers
regarding sidewalk
construction?
Planning
Director Wensman asked the
council to consider a new
policy that will give
developers an option of
making a payment to the
town in lieu of installing
required so-called
"sidewalks to nowhere."
Those payments would go
into a fund reserved for
sidewalk improvements
elsewhere in town – much
like a similar program for
park development. Mayor
Moore said he "has
reservations" about taking
developers' money to be
spent elsewhere. Even so,
the council agreed to
allow Mr. Wensman to
develop a more specific
policy on the matter for
consideration later.
Restoration
of health-insurance
benefit for retired
employees?
Town
Manager Mike Scott
presented a recommendation
for restoring an old
health-insurance benefit
for retirees as part of
the town's effort to
recruit and retain
employees, especially
police officers. As things
now stand, town employees
hired before July 2007 are
eligible for the benefit
after at least 20 years of
service. Mr. Scott
proposed a restoration of
the benefit for
public-safety employees to
begin with, provided they
complete at least 25 years
of service. Under his
proposal, the maximum
annual benefit would be a
$10,000 stipend toward the
cost of one's
health-insurance premiums.
Councilman Travis Scott
said such a benefit "would
put Smithfield on the
map." Councilman Stevens
added, "We need to make
this work."
County
Commissioners OK 20-year
land-use plan
Without
further comment or
revision, the Johnston
County Board of
Commissioners adopted a
new Comprehensive Land Use
Plan by unanimous vote
during the board's evening
session on Monday.
Entitled Envision
Johnston 2040, the
new plan is the result of
more than a year's worth
of public forums on top of
input from a citizens'
steering committee, the
county's planning staff, a
team of consultants, and
the commissioners. It
replaces the county's
previous plan that was
adopted in 2009.
Following adoption,
Commissioners' Chairman
Butch Lawter asked staff
to move ahead with
drafting county ordinance
revisions to carry out the
new plan's key goals.
VIEW details
of the new plan as
they're posted on the
county's website>
County
has collected 99.93% of
2022 property taxes due
That
was the monthly report to
commissioners from Jocelyn
Andrews, the county's tax
administrator, who said
just $119,072 remains
uncollected out of
real-estate assessments
totaling $169,229,189 this
past year. "That's
unbelievable," remarked
Commissioner Ted Godwin.
"It's a tribute to your
staff and our taxpayers,"
he told Ms. Andrews.
Johnston in recent years
has ranked among the top
counties in the state in
collection percentages.
The rate for 2021 taxes
collected here was 99.88%.
County's
water-plant expansion to
cost $79.5 million
Commissioners
approved a revised
capital-project budget
totaling $79,541,500 for
expanding capacity of the
Timothy G. Broome Water
Treatment Plant on the
Neuse River at Wilson's
Mills from 14-million to
18-million gallons per
day. Of that total, just
over $73 million will come
from revenue bonds with
the balance from county
reserves set aside for
water and sewer needs
related to Johnston's
growth. T.A. Loving
Company of Goldsboro won
the construction contract
with a Guaranteed Maximum
Price of $73,457,059 (the
balance of the project's
cost includes
water-clarifying equipment
plus financing expenses
and a contingency fund).
Director of Utilities
Chandra Farmer said
construction will start
right away with completion
scheduled by the spring of
2025.
Commissioner
Tony Braswell won't seek
re-election
He
made the announcement at
the end of the board's
Monday morning session
that he will not seek
re-election next year. He
was first elected to the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners in 2004,
served as the board's
chairman in 2014-16, and
is currently finishing up
his fifth four-year term.
Mr. Braswell represents
District 6, which includes
the North Smithfield,
Wilson's Mills, and Pine
Level precincts. He served
as mayor of Pine Level in
1999-2003. The other board
members whose seats are up
for election next year are
Ted Godwin, Fred Smith,
and April Stephens.
Record 106,954 Johnstonians employed
in June
That's
yet another record high,
slightly above May's
106,840. According to the
latest monthly report from
the N.C. Department of
Commerce, the number of
Johnstonians looking for
work rose from 3,522 in May
to 3,677 in June, which
pushed the county's
unemployment rate from 3.2%
to 3.3%. Both the statewide
and nationwide rate for June
was 3.6%.
JCCollege
has a new Chief Academic
Officer
Marc David
is Johnston Community
College’s new Vice
President of instruction
and Chief Academic
Officer. Dr. David comes
to JCC from
Florence-Darlington
Technical College, where
he served as Vice
President of Academic
Affairs and Associate Vice
President of Arts and
Sciences. He received his
Bachelor of Arts degree
from Morehouse College,
his Master of Arts degree
from North Carolina
Central University, and
his Ph.D. from Syracuse
University. He has been
employed with institutions
of higher education for
more than 30 years. Dr.
David is a published
author whose books
include Coming
Full Circle: Memoirs of
a Campus Life Dean and No
Cream in My Coffee (Nook
Press).
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Downtown's
Farmers Market continues
this Saturday
The
next installment of the
bi-monthly Farmers Market
on Downtown's South Third
Street comes this
Saturday, when vendors
will be set up along the
closed street's 100 block
from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m.
Organizers of the event,
staged on the second and
fourth Saturdays of the
month through mid-October,
are the owners of two
Third Street shops: The
Oak City Collection and
The Twisted Willow.
Back-to-School
Giveaway at
Smith-Collins Park
Saturday
The
sixth annual event
continues from noon till 4
p.m., offering free book
bags and other school
supplies to youngsters
plus free food, face
painting, bounce houses,
and free haircuts – all
sponsored by four
businesses: To The Top
Tires & Service,
Milden Pressure Washing,
Sweetie Pies Bakery, and
Keshia's Kitchen.
River
Rat Regatta returns to
the Neuse this Saturday
The
4th edition of Smithfield's
River Rat Regatta – a short
race for homemade cardboard
boats – starts at 5 p.m.
Saturday at the Town Commons
boat ramp on the Neuse River
below North Front Street.
Entries will take off one at
a time to see who's fastest
in reaching the finish line
beneath the nearby Market
Street bridge (here's the
link for registration).
Following the event is a
free concert at the nearby
amphitheater from 6:30 till
9 p.m. by a band called
Ready Set Radio.
County's
Hazardous Waste
Collection Event August
26
The
Johnston County Public
Utilities Department,
the Johnston County
Sheriff's Office, the
N.C. Department of
Agriculture
Cooperative Extension,
and the N.C.
Department of
Agriculture and
Consumer Services
Pesticide Disposal
Assistance Program
will host a Household
Hazardous Waste
Collection Event on
Saturday, August 26
from 8 a.m. till 1
p.m. at the Johnston
County Livestock
Arena, which is
located next to the
county's landfill off
NC 210 west of
Smithfield. This
public service is free
of charge. Staff will
be on site to help
unload hazardous
materials from
participants'
vehicles.
VIEW THE
LIST of what's
acceptable and what's
not>
Next
edition of the
Sun two weeks
away – on August 24
That
will be the last edition
under an abbreviated
summertime schedule.
Following another break
from publishing on August
31 ahead of Labor Day
weekend, the Weekly
Sun is
scheduled to return on
Thursday, September 7.
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
What
are Smithfield's
transportation
priorities?
The
N.C. Department of
Transportation has begun
the process to update its
10-year State
Transportation Improvement
Program, and that includes
seeking the public's
suggested priorities
during the month of
August. If you want to
have your say with that, visit this
page on the NCDOT
website>
Meanwhile, I'd like to see
a Smithfield
Transportation
Improvement Program.
Toward that end, here are
some priorities I'd
submit:
• Traffic-calming
measures on
Downtown's Market Street.
Shortening the time of
green lights for through
traffic would be an
inexpensive place to
start.
• Reduction of
speed limits
from 45 to 35 mph on
Booker Dairy Road and West
Market Street (US 70
Business). There are too
many residential and
commercial turnouts for
Booker Dairy's traffic to
safely move through at 45
mph, and the abrupt jump
from a 45 zone to a 25
zone on West Market at the
river bridge is a major
contributor to the
hazardous speeding through
the heart of Downtown.
• Adding lanes to
East Market Street
from Bright Leaf Boulevard
to Johnston Community
College, including a wider
railroad underpass. I
don't understand why this
project hasn't been pushed
for many years now to
upgrade this prominent
entrance to our community
from I-95 and points east.
• Repaving of
practically every
residential street in
town. They're
in terrible shape and
getting worse as the years
of neglect roll by. State
Powell Bill (gasoline tax)
allocations aren't nearly
enough to meet that need.
Perhaps it'll take a local
bond issue to get the job
done. Either that, or some
major infrastructure
grants from Raleigh and
Washington.
• Installing
speed bumps or
elongated humps to
residential streets where
speeding is rampant. The
formerly state-maintained
streets through West
Smithfield would be a good
place to start. Martin
Luther King Drive past the
Smithfield Housing
Authority's dwellings and
Smith-Collins Park ought
to be another immediate
target.
• More sidewalks
beside major
thoroughfares
like Wilson's Mills Road,
US 70 Business, and Bright
Leaf Boulevard. Actually,
greenway-like asphalt
trails would be even
better to accommodate
bicyclists as well as
pedestrians.
I'm sure that's an
incomplete list. What are
your choices?
Glaring
inequities in what's
getting new asphalt
It
was nice in recent weeks
to drive over smoothly
resurfaced Wilson's Mills
Road and NC 210 in West
Smithfield – projects done
by NCDOT, I presume. But
it reminded me once again
of deteriorating Outlet
Center Drive on the east
side of town which got
transferred from state to
municipal maintenance some
years ago.
Smithfield's Town Council
last year was asked to
allocate practically all
of its annual Powell Bill
allowance from the state
to fix Outlet Center Drive
but chose instead to give
priority to a list of
residential streets that
were crumbling. Didn't the
state build that "service
road" beside I-95 years
ago for industrial and
commercial development
that included the Sylvania
plant? Doesn't seem fair
to dump its upkeep on the
town, especially since
most of its motorists
don't reside here.
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