Board
of Elections votes 4-0
to deny challenge
Marshburn's name will remain on school-board
ballot
After
three hours of testimony
and deliberation, the
Johnston County Board of
Elections voted 4-0 on
Wednesday to deny Ronald
Johnson's challenge of
David Marshburn's
eligibility to run for a
Clayton district seat on
the Board of Education.
Mr.
Johnson, who is seeking
re-election to a third
four-year term on the
school board, is being
challenged in the March 5
Primary Election by Mr.
Marshburn and two other
candidates. Mr. Marshburn
(shown in screenshot
from county's YouTube
telecast) was
previously registered with
the Board of Elections as
a resident of Smithfield's
North Third Street where
he operates his business
as a private investigator.
He made arrangements to
move his residence to a
rented dwelling on
Robertson Street in
Clayton the same week he
filed as a candidate for
school board.
Attorney
Allen Tew, representing
Mr. Johnson (in
screenshot from
Wednesday's telecast),
sought instead to
establish Mr. Marshburn's
"domicile" as a house he
owns on Twin Acres Road
south of Clayton where his
wife resides and where he
directs his mail to be
delivered. That property
lies in District 5 where a
seat is not up for
election until 2026 under
the county's new residency
district requirement for
school-board candidates.
Attorney Jack O'Hale,
representing Mr.
Marshburn, contended his
client had confirmed his
new place of residence in
Clayton not only by
changing his voter
registration but also by
applying for a new
motor-vehicle license with
the Robertson Street
address and signing up as
a Town of Clayton
utilities customer.
Complicating the matter
was a water-system break
in Mr. Marshburn's newly
leased dwelling that
caused considerable damage
delaying his occupancy
there. Mr. Marshburn said
he spent about $4,100 of
his own money repairing
the damage since his lease
agreement holds him
responsible for
maintenance.
He was asked at
Wednesday's hearing why he
and his wife reside in
separate quarters. She has
"a medical condition,"
which he identified as
Crohn's disease, "that
keeps us from each other,"
he said.
Mr. Tew presented evidence
in the form of audio
recordings of Mr.
Marshburn's Facebook
podcasts that showed the
candidate's motive for
changing his residence was
to oppose Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Marshburn countered by
saying he wanted to
represent the Clayton area
on the school board
because that's where he
grew up and went to school
and where his mother had
taught. "Clayton is
home... Clayton is what I
know," he said. "I feel
Clayton has been
neglected" by the school
board, he added.
Even so, members of the
Board of Elections,
Deborah Hooker especially,
were skeptical about Mr.
Marshburn's commitment to
make Clayton his new
"permanent" residence
since the Twin Acres
property outside of town
has been held by his
family for several
generations. They also
questioned his commitment
to keeping the Robertson
Street residence since his
lease there is what
Attorney Tew called "a
30-day rollover lease"
that can be easily
canceled.
But Ms. Hooker and the
others came around to
rejecting Mr. Johnson's
challenge after John
Shallcross, presiding as
the board's chairman in
this case, said there's no
law requiring a person to
reside at new address for
any length of time in
order to qualify as a
candidate for the Board of
Education.
Since "there's no length
of residence requirement,
then poof ": what Mr.
Marshburn did was
permissible, Ms. Hooker
concluded. Joining her and
Mr. Shallcross in the 4-0
vote were board members
Shirley Bell and Deborah
Zink. (The board's normal
chairman, attorney Gordon
Woodruff, recused himself
from participating in the
case because he's employed
as counsel for the
Johnston County Board of
Education.)
The other two candidates
for the District 7 seat on
the school board are Jeff Sullivan of
Wedgewood Place, Clayton
and Sam Solmonson of
Lynn Drive, Clayton.
The four will compete in
the March 5 Primary with
the top two advancing to
November's General
Election. Even with
residency districts, board
members continue to be
elected without political
party affiliation by
voters countywide.
WATCH
Wednesday's hearing in
its entirety on the
county's YouTube
channel>
BUSINESS
SPOTLIGHT
Long-standing CPA firm is now
Edwards, Jackson et al
Tyler
Edwards (right)
is the new partner with
Lee Jackson (left)
at a 54-year-old
Smithfield-based
accounting firm that has
been renamed Edwards,
Jackson & Associates.
Stepping aside are former
partners Grover Dees and
Gene Jackson, who together
opened the business in
1970. Mr. Edwards joined
the firm six years ago.
Mr. Jackson (Gene's son)
joined the business in
1989.
Another
record set in student
enrollment at JCC
Story
from Johnston
Community College
Johnston
Community College achieved
record-breaking enrollment
for the second semester in a
row. JCC enrolled 4,766
degree-seeking students as
of the second day of the
spring semester. That is
more than any spring
semester in the college’s
history and a 12.4% increase
from last spring.
The college’s full-time
equivalent (FTE) number was
1,738 – the highest it has
ever been in a spring
semester. In North Carolina,
community colleges are
currently funded based on
total FTE.
Applications were also up 20
percent from last spring.
More than 840 students
entered JCC for the first
time this semester. The
college also had
record-breaking enrollment
in the fall semester.
Hundreds of recent
high-school graduates are
attending JCC tuition-free,
thanks to the JoCo
Commissioners Promise, which
offers last-dollar funding
that federal and state aid
does not cover. To learn
more, visit www.johnstoncc.edu>
Johnston Community College announces
Smithfield-Selma High's team competes
on "Brain Game"
Coached
by Laurie Farmer, the SSS
team competed against a
team from Chatham County's
Jordan-Matthews High
School in a taping of
their episode of the
weekly game show on
WRAL-TV this past
Saturday. But you'll have
to wait till it's shown on
Channel 5 at 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, January 27 to
see how they did. Pictured
with host Mark Roberts are
team members Elijah
Matthews, Henry
Heinzerling, Abi Adeshina,
and Carter McLain. WRAL's
"Brain Game" has been on
the air since January
1997. More photos
from Saturday's taping on
the SSS Facebook page>
"Trusted by families since 1977"
Chamber
of Commerce names new
officers for 2024
Lamar
Armstrong III (right)
is the new chair of the
Triangle East Chamber of
Commerce Board of
Directors. An attorney
with the Armstrong Law
Firm of Smithfield, he was
recently recognized as a
Board Certified Specialist
in Appellate Practice by
the N.C. State Bar. READ a news
release about that honor
on the Chamber's
website>
Other Chamber officers for
2024:
• Brandon Barker of KS
Bank, workforce
development chair.
• Heather Driver of
CopyPro Inc., member
services chair and
chair-elect of the board.
• Mark McDonnell,
AdVenture Development,
past board chair.
• Maureen McGuiness,
Chamber president &
CEO.
• John Scovill, retired
accountant, treasurer.
• Kelly Wallace, Chamber
vice president and chief
operating officer.
• Stephen Wensman, Town of
Smithfield planning
director serving as the
Chamber's economic
development chair.
Other members of the Board
of Directors:
David Allen, Johnston
County Public Schools; Lee
Byrd, KS Bank; Bryan
Chadwick, Town of Archer
Lodge administrator; Jodi
Cobb, Big Boys Truckstop;
Pam Harrell, Johnston
Community College; Dave
Henderson, 2 Dog Digital;
Ron Hester, Barbetta LLC;
Jeff Holt, mayor, Town of
Pine Level; Jill Homan,
Javelin 19; Caleb Johnson,
JD Beam; Jana Jones, First
Citizens Bank of
Smithfield; Michael King,
Town of Princeton
administrator; Karen
Mills, Partnership for
Children of Johnston
County; Scott Nunn, Novo
Nordisk Pharmaceutical
Industries; Jaime Pearce,
UNC Health Johnston;
Chandler Pernell, Call
Pernell, Inc.; Tyler
Queen, Town of Micro;
Adele Walker, Real Broker
LLC; Nikki Wall, Town of
Selma; Alicia Whitehurst,
Hampton Inn by Hilton;
Harry Wilson, Southern Oak
Nursery & Supply Co.;
Leighanna Worley, Town of
Wilson's Mills
administrator.
The Triangle East Chamber,
formerly the
Smithfield-Selma Chamber
of Commerce, was expanded
in scope several years ago
to include the towns of
Princeton, Pine Level,
Kenly, Micro, Wilson's
Mills, Archer Lodge, and
unincorporated Cleveland
Township.
It's
time for the Chamber's
annual award nominations
The
Triangle East Chamber is
now accepting nominations
for its 2023 Legacy Awards
– for Citizen of the Year,
Lifetime Achievement,
Small Business Person of
the Year, and Emerging
Leader. Here's the
link for
submitting
nominations>
FOR
SALE: home & lots
overlooking South
Smithfield pond
313
W. Wilson St.
Traditional
brick residence with 5
bedrooms & 5 baths
(2 primary suites),
including 3
lots totaling
more than an acre (one
of the lots is
vacant): $699,000
(MLS# 2509894)
SUSAN LASSITER, Broker, Fonville Morisey
Realty
919-669-9235
WHAT'S COMING UP
School board's monthly meeting
postponed till this
evening
The
threat of severe weather
on Tuesday prompted the
Johnston County Board of
Education to postpone its
regular monthly meeting
until 4 p.m. today
(Thursday).
It will be
live-streamed on the
schools' YouTube
channel>
Here's the
agenda if you want to
follow along>
Town Council puts off its monthly
meeting till January
23
The
threat of severe weather
prompted cancellation of
Tuesday's scheduled
monthly meeting of the
Smithfield Town Council.
Town Manager Mike Scott
said most of the business
on the agenda will be
taken up at a previously
scheduled extra session on
Tuesday, January 23 –
including a public hearing
on a proposed 222-lot
subdivision east of
Buffalo Road near Holland
Drive.
Martin Luther King government &
banking holiday Monday
That
includes offices and
services of federal,
state, and local
governments as well as
banks and public schools.
Post offices will also be
closed, with normal
weekday mail deliveries
suspended.
County
Commissioners will meet
Tuesday instead of
Monday
Because
of Monday's MLK holiday,
the Johnston County Board
of Commissioners has moved
its normal third-Monday
session to 6 p.m. next
Tuesday (Feb. 16) at the
Courthouse. VIEW the
agenda once it's posted
on the county's
website>
Narcan
training session for
public postponed till
February
Tuesday's
weather threat also forced
postponement of the
Johnston County Opioid
Task Force training
session till Wednesday,
February 7. More details
posted here>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Public
accessibility at board
meetings is limited
And
that applies to meetings
of the Johnston County
Board of Commissioners as
well as the Johnston
County Board of Education.
The reason? Both meet in
relatively small rooms
with only a handful of
seats for citizens who
wish to attend.
It's so cramped at
meetings of the school
board that rules for
admission are routinely
posted along with public
notices regarding agendas:
Due to fire code and room capacity in the Simpson Building, a maximum of 25 members of the public will be permitted to enter the Board of Education building with a ticket. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 4:00 PM outside of the Simpson Building. Citizens will be required to go through a security screening prior to entering the building.
Once the meeting capacity has been reached, no additional members of the public will be permitted to enter the building.
Thanks in large part to COVID restrictions a couple of years ago, all regular sessions of the Board of Education as well as the County Commissioners are now live-streamed (and archived) on YouTube. The three of us media folks who cover these meetings on a consistent basis have been relying on that for our access to the proceedings over the past few years.
But the live-streaming is not without issues of its own. Last week's evening session of the County Commissioners was broadcast with the audio inoperable for most of the session. We had to rely on the board clerk's brief summary of the proceedings posted later in the week to see what transpired.
Back to the core of the access problem: These boards need larger meeting rooms – much larger. The Smithfield Town Council, meanwhile, meets in what amounts to an auditorium at Town Hall which is way bigger than the rooms for the two governing boards dealing with matters affecting the 230,000-plus residents of Johnston County.
Both county boards have recently discussed prospects for expanding their agencies' administrative facilities. Providing public meeting spaces needs to be a priority in planning whatever structures are to be built or renovated.
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