Exit
95 interchange
with 70 Business to be
reconfigured
Announcement from N.C. Department of
Transportation
The U.S. 70
Business bridge over
Interstate 95 at
Smithfield's Exit 95
will be reconstructed
into a taller, longer,
and wider structure,
thanks to a
$38.3-million
contract. The two-lane
bridge will be
replaced with a
five-lane bridge with
sidewalk.
In addition, the
on/off ramps will be
reconfigured to meet
modern standards, and
traffic signals will
be installed at the
intersections of the
ramps and U.S. 70
Business. The East
Market Street bridge
averages 14,000
vehicles a day.
The N.C. Department of
Transportation awarded
the contract last week
to Texas-based Zachry
Construction Corp.,
which can begin work
in January and have
until the summer of
2027 to reconstruct
the interchange.
Traffic will be
maintained in its
current two-lane,
two-way pattern
throughout
construction. When
approximately half of
the new bridge is
complete, traffic will
be shifted onto it so
crews can demolish the
present bridge and
finish building out
the new bridge.
Downtown
board fires Executive
Director Edwards
Sarah Edwards,
executive director of
the Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation
(DSDC) for the past 10
years, has been
dismissed by the
non-profit
organization's Board of
Directors.
Troy Brindle, the
board’s president,
announced the move in an
e-mail on Monday, the
Johnstonian News
reported this week. “At
our November board
meeting, the board voted
to replace Sarah as our
executive director
starting in January,” he
wrote, adding that
Downtown Smithfield
businesses, in a survey,
had called for change in
DSDC’s leadership.
Among recently added members of the board is
Town Councilman David
Barbour. “I voted in
favor of the motion to
remove,” he told the
Johnstonian News.
“My decision was based
solely on the lack of
confidence I saw in most
members of the DSDC and
my discussion with other
store owners. I felt it
would be nearly
impossible for Sarah to
be successful given that
lack of confidence in
her.”
Ms.
Edwards was named
executive director in July
2014 after a year as
interim director following
four years as
administrative assistant
to former DSDC director
Chris Johnson, who left
the position to work in
his present position as
the County of Johnston's
economic development
director.
READ more
about the DSDC,
including a list of its
board members>
Town
gets ElectriCities grant
for Downtown lighting
The
Town of Smithfield has been
awarded a $10,000 Downtown
Revitalization Grant from
ElectriCities, the
consortium of North Carolina
municipalities that operate
their own power systems.
A
news release states that "the
Town will use its funding to
improve lighting in three
downtown areas by connecting
parking lots and alleys in the
town center, encouraging
continued foot traffic for
businesses and restaurants."
In
addition, "a portion of
Smithfield’s grant funding
will support down-lighting
for an Ava Gardner mural
painted by North Carolina
artist Jeks" that was added
to an outside wall of the
Ava Gardner Museum on Market
Street last year in
celebration of the 100th
anniversary of the movie
star's birth.
Judge Tom Lock
administers the oath of
office to Smithfield's
re-elected Mayor Andy Moore.
With him are his wife Lydia,
sons Griffin and Hampton,
and his father, James
(Blackie) Moore. Seated
behind them are re-elected
Councilmen Roger Wood, Steve
Rabil, and John Dunn,
awaiting their turns to
begin new terms in office.
(Screenshot from town's archived video
of Tuesday's proceedings>)
Roger
Wood is Smithfield's new
mayor pro tem
Tuesday's
monthly meeting of the
Smithfield Town Council was
a brief one, highlighted by
the swearing-in of recently
re-elected Mayor Andy Moore
and Councilmen John Dunn,
Steve Rabil, and Roger Wood.
Mr. Dunn, who has served as
the council's Mayor Pro Tem
the past four years, made
the motion that Mr. Wood
fill that position for
the next two years, and it
was adopted without dissent.
The mayor pro tem presides
over council sessions and
performs other ceremonial
duties for the town in the
absence of the mayor.
Mr.
Wood as well as Mr. Dunn
and Mr. Rabil are
beginning their third
four-year terms on the
Town Council. Mr. Moore is
beginning his fifth
two-year term as mayor.
Restrictions
adopted for land along
altered Spring Branch
The
Town Council postponed
adoption at last month's
meeting over concerns
about a "do not mow" rule
attached to conditions of
a grant for the recent
rebuilding of the stream's
banks between South Fifth
and Sixth streets. Council
members voiced fears of
complaints coming from
nearby residents if areas
adjacent to the stream are
left unkempt.
Even so, the mowing
restriction remains intact
in the document adopted
without discussion as part
of the Consent Agenda at
this week's council session.
Although the document does
not specify bounds for the
"do not mow" zone, Planning
Director Stephen Wensman
told the Weekly Sun
following Tuesday's meeting
that it extends 50 feet on
either side of the stream (a
distance consistent with a
state rule for buffers along
major streams like the Neuse
River).
Mr. Wensman said the
Community Garden on the
south side of Spring Branch
at Fifth Street will not be
affected by the restriction
on mowing, which is in place
as part of the project's
goal of filtering pollutants
in water flowing westward to
the river.
'No
issues' found with water
pressure in West
Smithfield
As
part of his monthly report
to the council's agenda,
Town Manager Mike Scott
writes that "no significant
issues have been identified"
by the town's follow-up of
complaints from residents in
the Bella Square subdivision
off Barbour Road. "The
water-pressure checks
performed have not
identified problems with
water pressure being below
acceptable margins," he
said.
County's
new Social Services
director introduced
Christine
Dowdell started work last
Friday as director of the
Johnston County Department
of Social Services. She
was introduced to the
County Commissioners
Monday by James Coleman,
chairman of the county's
Board of Social Services.
She comes to Johnston
after serving two years as
director of the Forsyth
County Department of
Social Services in
Winston-Salem. Before that
she was director of Chowan
County's department in
northeastern North
Carolina.
Johnston's department
currently has more than
300 employees and has just
taken on more
responsibilities with
expansion of Medicaid in
North Carolina, which also
took effect last Friday.
Asked by commissioners how
that's going so far, Ms.
Dowdell said: "I think
we're doing really well."
She noted that most
applicants for Medicaid's
expanded reach are
registering online. "We've
not had a lot of people in
the lobby," she said,
referring to Social
Services headquarters,
which has limited space
for staff and clients and
is slated for replacement
by a new facility in the
near future.
Ms.
Dowdell earned her
bachelor's degree in
social work at Kean
University in New Jersey
and a master's degree in
clinical social work
from Fordham University.
Her experience includes
roles as an outpatient
therapist, licensed
social worker,
child-welfare supervisor
in Mecklenburg County,
and a social-work
program consultant and
trainer with the N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services.
Ms.
Dowdell has also worked
as a college lecturer,
teaching child
psychology, social work,
and counseling courses
at Bennett College,
Wingate University, and
Johnson C. Smith
College. She helped
establish Forsyth
County's first Quality
Assurance Aging
Conference.
Her annual salary as
Johnston County's
director of social
services is $160,000
(approved in advance by
the commissioners at
their Nov. 6 meeting).
She succeeds Scott
Sabatino, who retired
Sept. 1 after serving
five years as director.
Another
Tax Office leader gets
statewide recognition
Johnston's
Tax Administrator Jocelyn
Andrews reported to the
County Commissioners
Monday that Deputy Tax
Administrator Dennis
Woodward has
been named 2023 "Appraiser
of the Year" by the N.C.
Association of Assessing
Officers.
It's the second statewide
award for Johnston's Tax
Office this year. Last
spring Collections Manager
Cathy Futch was named
"Employee of the Year" by
the N.C. Tax Collectors
Association.
The
County of Johnston's Tax
Office in recent years has
consistently collected
more than 99% of local
property taxes assessed,
placing us at or near the
top among the state's 100
counties.
Contested
appointments settled by
board's balloting
Because
there were more applicants
than positions available,
commissioners voted by
paper ballots to fill
seats on two
county-appointed boards:
Economic
Development Advisory
Board – Edwin
L. Aldridge of Bellini
Drive, Clayton and R.
Steve Hargis of Crantock
Road, Smithfield were
reappointed – from four
candidates for two
at-large positions.
Reappointed without
opposition were Mike
Fleming representing the
Town of Smithfield,
Linwood Parker the Town of
Four Oaks, and O. Hampton
Whittington Jr. the Town
of Benson.
Tourism Authority
– W.E. (Bud) Andrews of
Smithfield was reappointed
along with new members
James H. Jenkins Jr. of
Four Oaks, James A.
Lassiter of Selma, and
Kimberly T. Pickett of
Crocker Road, Smithfield –
from eight candidates for
four seats available.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Tree lighting today, Downtown parade
next Thursday
Lighting
of the Town of
Smithfield's Christmas
tree in the Public Library
courtyard at Market and
Third streets is set for 7
p.m. today (Thursday),
preceded by children's
activities and
entertainment on "Candy
Cane Lane" (100 block of
South Third Street)
starting at 6 p.m. Complete
schedule on Downtown
Smithfield's Facebook
page>
The town's Christmas
Parade is scheduled for 7
p.m. next Thursday (Dec.
14) along Market Street
from Sixth to Second
streets. It's an event
hosted by the Smithfield
Parks & Recreation
Department.
For
a full rundown of Town
of Smithfield Christmas
events, visit this
website>
School
board's monthly meeting
next Tuesday evening
The
Johnston County Board of
Education meets at the
Evander S. Simpson
Building on US 70 Business
east of Smithfield. The
monthly meeting begins at
4 p.m. with a closed
session followed by the
open business session
around 5 p.m.
VIEW the
agenda once it's posted
on the school system's
website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
One
Dollar Tree store isn't
enough for Smithfield?
I just
realized that Smithfield
now has not one, but two
Dollar Tree stores – the
newer one (shown on
the right) in the
former Eckerds building on
the eastern edge of
Downtown, the older one in
the former Winn-Dixie
store in Centre Pointe
Plaza to the north.
Actually, there's a third
store here that's part of
the national Dollar Tree
chain: the Family Dollar
store on South Bright Leaf
Boulevard. Headquartered
in Tidewater Virginia,
Dollar Tree acquired
Charlotte-based Family
Dollar in 2015 and
recently announced that
some of those stores
"could close, move, or
rebrand under the Dollar
Tree name," according to Business
North Carolina's
daily newswire, which
notes that the two brands
together have about 16,600
stores nationwide.
Then there's Dollar
General, a separate
corporation based in
Tennessee that has about
19,400 stores in the U.S.
and Mexico; and it, too,
has two stores in
Smithfield: a fairly new
one across the river on
West Market Street and an
older one in the former
A&P store at Brogden
Road and Bright Leaf
Boulevard.
Wonder how many of the
Dollar Tree and Dollar
General stores will be
operating around here a
decade or so from now?
Today's corporate retail
scene often looks like
"here today, gone
tomorrow."
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