Next Tuesday is N.C.'s Municipal
Election Day
But you can still vote
early through Saturday
All
who plan to vote in the
Town of Smithfield
election next Tuesday will
cast their ballots at the
First Baptist Church
Ministry Center (through
the back entrance off
Johnston Street between
Fourth and Fifth streets)
between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30
p.m.
Meanwhile, you may vote
before Tuesday at the
Johnston County Board of
Elections office at 205
South Second Street from 8
a.m. till 5 p.m. today and
Friday, 8 a.m. till 3 p.m.
Saturday.
And if you've not yet
registered to vote, you
may do so when you visit
the Board of Elections
office to cast your ballot
under "one-stop voting."
This year's municipal
elections are the first in
North Carolina when voters
must present a photo ID to
cast a ballot.
Background information and
statements from the
candidates in Smithfield's
races for Mayor and Town
Council are repeated on the FEATURE
PAGE>
East River Subdivision
alongside Buffalo Road
continues to add more
single-family houses
like these backing up to
woods along a bluff
above the Neuse River.
Smithfield
is making a new-housing
comeback
Not
since Sylvania arrived on
the scene in the latter
1960s has Smithfield seen
a residential building
boom like we're
experiencing today.
The latest report from the
Town of Smithfield
Planning Department shows
a dozen new subdivisions
in various stages of
development, including
these larger projects:
East River
on both sides of Buffalo
Road just north of Durwood
Stephenson Parkway is
permitted for 293 lots on
55 acres. Single-family
houses and townhouses are
already built and occupied
on most of those lots.
Marin Woods
beside NC 210 west of
Sunset Memorial Park is
permitted for 143 lots on
31.56 acres. Site work has
begun; the subdivision's
build-out is expected in
2025.
Harvest Run,
next door to Marin Woods,
is permitted for 165 lots
on 44.7 acres.
Construction plans have
been approved by the town;
build-out is expected in
2026.
Kamdon Ranch
off Swift Creek Road near
Cleveland Road is
permitted for 110 lots on
97.57 acres. So far, 53
lots have houses built or
under construction, with
completion of the
subdivision expected in
2025.
Elk Creek off
Galilee Road next to West
Smithfield Elementary
School is permitted for 93
lots on 33 acres. A number
of houses are already
finished, with the entire
subdivision scheduled for
completion in 2024.
Franklin
Townes at the
intersection of Wilson's
Mills Road and Durwood
Stephenson Parkway is
permitted for 134
townhouses on 16 acres.
Streets and other
infrastructure (including
a playground) are now in
place, but no structures
have gone up yet.
Completion is expected in
2024, according to the
town's report.
Whitley Townes off
West Market Street at
Whitley Drive is permitted
for 68 townhouse lots on
11.61 acres. Construction
plans have been approved
by the town; completion is
expected in 2024.
Floyd Landing
is the largest new
subdivision currently
under development. It's
permitted for a total of
699 units – 89
single-family houses, 220
townhouses, and 360
apartments – on 199.8
acres across West Market
Street (US 70 Business)
from the Amazon
distribution center.
Land-clearing activity was
recently begun there.
Completion of that
project, to be done in
phases, is anticipated in
2029.
Meanwhile, there's another
sizeable project in the
works: a 217-lot
subdivision envisioned for
139 acres off the east
side of Buffalo Road south
of Smithfield Middle
School. An application for
conditional zoning of that
site for a specific plan
of development has been
filed. It's expected to
come before the Town
Council shortly.
In addition to all that
are a number of new
residences going up here
and there in older
sections of Smithfield –
including an upscale
cluster of houses
overlooking the river at
Bridge and North Front
streets and a row of
single-family units along
South Second Street across
from the town's
little-league baseball
field and dog park:
And let's not overlook
numerous renovation
projects under way
throughout town that are
turning rundown houses
into attractive dwellings
once again – most of them,
it appears, to be offered
as rental properties.
Durwood
Stephenson marks 50
years in business
Real-estate
venture has grown as a
"design-build"
contractor
Durwood Stephenson (left) stands with Jimmy
Boykin,
his "right-hand
man" for more
than 30 years.
|
In
1973, Smithfield's Durwood
Stephenson left what he
called "a really good job"
with Carolina Power &
Light Company to venture
out on his own as a
real-estate agent and
developer. He was a
district manager with
CP&L, buying
rights-of-way and settling
damage claims, but wanted
something more. When he
came home one day to tell
his wife Vickie he had
given up his job to start
his own business, she
didn't object nor seem
upset about his decision:
"I figured you knew what
you were doing," he
recalls her having told
him at the time.
Obviously, her instincts
were on target. Since that
day 50 years ago, M.
Durwood 
Stephenson
& Associates, Inc. has
grown from a company that
initially managed and
built apartments into a
"design-build" firm now
known as Stephenson
General Contractors that
has produced a number of
important commercial and
institutional buildings in
this region and beyond.
In the beginning, he
admitted, "I had my
real-estate license but no
experience in
construction." He credited
David Price, an employee
of West Smithfield's
Strickland Lumber Company,
for helping him choose the
correct materials for his
early building projects,
which included some
single-family houses as
well as apartments. That
led him to hire Mr. Price,
who stayed with the
Stephenson company for 25
years.
Early on, Durwood had
partnered with Lyle
Gardner of Raleigh's North
Hills Inc. to acquire the
first of 18 apartment
complexes scattered around
Eastern Carolina. The
first one was Powell
Square Apartments in West
Smithfield. In recent
years the partners have
sold off many of those
early acquisitions, and
some years ago Durwood
sold the
apartment-management
element of his business.
About 30 years ago,
Durwood began specializing
in construction of
commercial and
institutional structures –
medical clinics
especially. Close to home,
that has included the
Women's Pavilion at
Johnston Memorial Hospital
(today's UNC Health
Johnston) – where his
granddaughter was born,
he's proud to point out –
and an addition to the
Smithfield hospital's
Behavioral Health
Department currently under
construction.
Among
prominent Stephenson
landmarks are Pine Knoll
Manor in West Smithfield
(which he says was a
first-of-its-kind Farmers
Home Administration
project for the elderly),
Smithfield's Town Hall (as
well as town halls at Four
Oaks and Princeton), Neuse
Charter School's
high-school building (pictured),
and the town's Fire
Station No. 2 in West
Smithfield.
VIEW more
Stephenson projects on
the company's
website>
And yet, offered Durwood,
"of all the things I've
done, Hospice House is at
the top." He's referring
to the State Employees
Credit Union Hospice House
operated by UNC Health
Johnston that was built on
the site of Bingham Park
where Durwood played
football and baseball for
the Smithfield High School
Red Devils in the early
1960s.
Actually, he was
negotiating with the Town
of Smithfield to purchase
that property for himself
when banker Sammy Jackson,
chairman of the hospital's
board of trustees at the
time, approached him about
the hospital's desire to
acquire the old park site.
Durwood agreed to let that
happen, then went to work
leading a fund-raising
campaign that brought in
$5 million in six months.
"It was the easiest money
I ever raised," he said.
And to show he wasn't
doing that to feather his
own nest, the Stephenson
company passed up the
opportunity to be the
construction contractor.
Looking over his desktop
filled with neat stacks of
papers during an interview
last week, Durwood
explained: "Most of my
time is spent helping
other people." He
institutionalized that
personal commitment in
1991 with establishment of
the M. Durwood Stephenson
Foundation to help at-risk
youth as well as the
elderly.
He also has found time for
public service over the
years, and is especially
known for his productive
service during Governor
Jim Hunt's years in office
on the state's Board of
Transportation. That work,
along with other
charitable activities, is
the reason behind the
naming of Smithfield's "M.
Durwood Stephenson
Parkway" in his honor
after its completion along
the northern side of town
several years ago.
Presently, Durwood is
serving as executive
director ("a part-time
job," he says) of the
I-42/US 70 Corridor
Commission that's pushing
upgrades to Highway 70
between I-40 and Morehead
City. Current projects
include the
Interstate-ready
interchanges under
construction where 70
crosses Wilson's Mills
Road and Swift Creek Road.
He may be well beyond
normal retirement age, but
obviously, he's not done
yet.
A steel beam to remember for the new
SSS auxiliary gym
Superintendent
of Schools Eric Bracy,
school board members
Kevin Donovan, Lyn
Andrews, and Kay Carroll
alongside County
Commissioners Tony
Braswell and Ted Godwin
add their signatures to
the beam destined for
the "topping out" of the
new auxiliary gymnasium
under construction at
Smithfield-Selma High 
School (shown
at left). It was
part of a celebration
Tuesday afternoon of the
last construction
project to be funded
from the county bond
issue authorized by a
majority of Johnston's
voters in 2018.
Meanwhile, plans are
being finalized for
major construction
projects to be funded
from the bond issue
approved in 2022,
including a new high
school at Wilson's Mills
and a new elementary
school beside Cleveland
Road northwest of
Smithfield.
Annual inspection for Navy's Junior
ROTC unit at SSS
Smithfield-Selma
High School's Navy
Junior Reserve Officer
Training Corps
successfully completed
their annual Area
Manager's Inspection
last week, when 63
cadets were graded on
their
basic knowledge of
the
program, grooming
standards, and uniform
appearance. The unit was
also evaluated on drill
and color-guard
performance as well as
program management in
Operations,
Administration, Supply,
and Communications.
Pictured are members of
the drill team: in front
– Cadet
Lieutenant Commander Juan
Lorenzo; first row – Joel
Brown, Iveth Jimenez,
Zuriah Winters, Jennifer
Valencia, Tiffany Stitt;
second row – Juliana
Chavez, Ashley Hernandez,
Michael Buchanan, Ana
Cano; third row – Kevin
Franco, Aidan Wardle,
Emidio Fonseca, and
Matthew Quintano. (Photo
from SSS)
Johnston's
employment total sets
another record
The
N.C. Department of Commerce
reports that 108,995
Johnstonians held jobs in
September – another all-time
high. At the same time, the
number of unemployed
Johnstonians rose to 3,383 –
an increase of 414 above the
August number. Yet the
county's unemployment rate
declined from 3.4% in August
to 3.0% in September as the
number of employed
Johnstonians rose by 664.
Statewide, the unemployment
rate declined from 3.6% in
August to 3.2% in September,
while the nationwide rate
remained unchanged at 3.8%.
October's
rainfall of 1.08 inches
was below normal
Cornell
Cox's Backyard Weather
Station in South
Smithfield measured just
1.08 inches of rainfall
during the month of
October, bringing our
year-to-date total
to 44.57 inches and
moving us a little bit
closer to our annual
average of 47.75 inches.
According to U.S.
Climate Data,
average rainfall for
October here is 3.04
inches.
WHAT'S COMING UP
8th annual "Touch-A-Truck" Downtown
this Saturday
The
Junior Women's League of
Smithfield is hosting this
unique fund-raising event
from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in
the vicinity of South Third
and Johnston streets that
enables children "to see,
touch, and safely explore
their favorite big trucks
and heavy machinery" and
"meet the personnel who
protect, serve, and build
Johnston County
communities." General
admission is free of charge,
with wristbands available
for $5 to access
inflatables, face painting,
and other activities.
Daylight Saving Time will take its
yearly break this
Sunday
That
means it's time to "fall
back" one hour when you
re-set your timepieces
before bedtime Saturday as
DST gives way to EST
(Eastern Standard Time) at
2 a.m. Sunday. DST will
return March 10 when we'll
"spring forward" for
keeping time.
County
Commissioners face short
first-Monday agendas
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will convene
at 10 a.m. and again at 6
p.m. Monday at the
Courthouse. Agendas for
both sessions are lighter
than usual. VIEW the
agenda for the morning
session>
VIEW
the agenda for the
evening session>
Board
of Education, Town
Council switch Tuesday
meetings
The
Smithfield Town Council
has postponed its regular
first-Tuesday-of-the-month
meeting to November 14
because of next week's
Municipal Election. At the
same time, the Johnston
County Board of Education
has moved its regular
second-Tuesday meeting to
this coming Tuesday
(November 7). The school
board's agenda should be
posted by the end of the
day Friday at this
website>
Salvation Army puts out a call for
red-kettle bell
ringers
"When
we think of Christmas at
The Salvation Army,
we think of the joy of
ringing bells and the hope
it provides for people
throughout the year," says
Lieutenant Christopher
Rawls of the Army's
Smithfield headquarters.
"We need volunteers to
ring the bell so we can
help people in need all
year. You can form a
group, ring with a
partner, or even ask your
church to participate."
Signups may be done online
at registertoring.com.
For more information, call
Lieutenant Rawls at
407-753-6439.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Thoughts
on N.C.'s gerrymandered
redistricting
To
understand what
gerrymandering means, take
a look at the N.C. General
Assembly's newly adopted
map for electing our
state's 14 members of the
N.C. House of
Representatives. Our
district – shown in
green – appears to
be the most convoluted of
them all, putting Johnston
County with separated
snippets of Wake and all
of adjacent Harnett and
Lee counties to the west
and Franklin, Granville,
Person, and Caswell to the
north – mostly
disconnected from us next
to Virginia:
And
why, you may ask, was that
done? For one simple
reason: To undo last
year's election of
Democrat Wiley Nickel, who
won a close race against
Republican Bo Hines in a
Congressional district
that includes all of
Johnston alongside a
goodly portion of
southeastern Wake County
and parts of Harnett and
Wayne.
The map in place for the
voting in 2022 resulted
from a ruling by the N.C.
Supreme Court that
overturned a previously
gerrymandered plan and
created what appeared to
be a much fairer aligning
of districts as it
produced a Congressional
delegation made up of
seven Democrats and seven
Republicans – an outcome
in line with North
Carolina's evenly divided
voting by political party
in recent Presidential
elections.
Political analysts appear
to be in agreement that
the new map in place for
the 2024 election will
produce a delegation of 10
and possibly 11
Republicans and just four
and possibly three
Democrats. That's how
gerrymandering works.
The new map is likely to
stand because the state's
Supreme Court was
"flipped" by last year's
election from a 4-3
Democratic Party majority
to a 5-2 Republican
advantage. The
GOP-controlled General
Assembly figures the newly
constituted high court
wouldn't dare overturn its
handiwork.
And therein lies another
flaw in our state's
current system of
government: partisan
election of judicial
officers, including
Supreme Court justices.
For the sake of checks and
balances on our
government's legislative
and executive branches, we
need non-partisan,
independent thinking by
the judicial branch – at
all levels, including
District Court and
Superior Court judges. It
used to be that way before
the Legislature's yearning
for political control got
in the way of the people's
expectation of fair play.
You can argue that
gerrymandering is OK
because the Democrats used
it when they were in
control of the
Legislature. Yes, but that
doesn't make it the right
thing to do.
Are
we running short of fall
color this year?
We've
seen a great deal of our
leafy tree canopies blown
to the ground during the
past week or so, and most
of those leaves weren't
very colorful to begin
with. Are we destined to
see a less spectacular
November than usual as a
result? We'll see.
(Photo taken on Monday
looking down the street
from the editor's front
yard)
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