Here’s
what you need to
know if you’re
planning to vote
Johnston
County’s precinct polling
places will be open 6:30
a.m. till 7:30 p.m. on
Tuesday. Meanwhile, early
voting will continue till 3
p.m. this Saturday at the
First Baptist Church
Ministry Center in
Smithfield (8 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. weekdays).
To verify your
polling place on Tuesday,
the N.C. Board of
Elections can show you>
You must be registered in
advance to vote next
Tuesday, but you may
register and cast your
ballot with a single visit
to one of the early-voting
sites. All voters will
be required to present a
photo ID. It’s
too late at this point to
request an absentee ballot
for voting by mail.
Voters
registered as Republicans
or Democrats will be
restricted to voting only
in their respective
party’s primary.
Unaffiliated voters may
cast ballots in the
primary of their choice,
but not both.
Here’s
the sample ballot for
Smithfield-area Republican
voters>
Here’s
the sample ballot for
Smithfield-area Democratic
voters>
VISIT
the JoCo Board of Elections
website for additional
information>
Congressional
candidates file
fund-raising reports
Based on amounts
of money they've raised, six
candidates appear to be the
principal contenders in a
14-candidate Republican
Primary race for the
reconfigured 13th
Congressional District's
seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives. (Just one
Democrat filed for the seat,
so there's no Primary
contest there.)
Here, in order
of total amounts raised
through mid-February, are
the latest numbers filed by
the leading candidates with
the Federal
Election Commission:
Kelly
Daughtry – $2,146,546
including $2,050,000 loaned
by the candidate plus
contributions of $96,546
(including $10,132 from the
candidate).
Fred Von
Canon –
$1,996,205 including
$1,890,000 loaned by the
candidate plus contributions
of $106,205.
Brad Knott – $736,110
including contributions of
$486,110 (the most reported
so far by any of the
candidates) plus $250,000
loaned by the candidate.
Josh
McConkey – $484,952
including contributions of
$234,952 and $250,000 loaned
by the candidate.
Devan
Barbour IV – $197,286
including contributions of
$177,286 plus $20,000 loaned
by the candidate.
Kenny Xu – $160,463
from contributions; no
loans.
Just two of the
remaining eight candidates –
Matt Shoemaker and
David Dixon – had filed
reports by last week’s
Pre-Primary deadline, both
listing total contributions
through mid-February far
behind the others.
Under North
Carolina election law, the
first-place finisher who
gets at least 30% of total
votes cast in Tuesday's
Primary is the Republican
nominee. If none of the
candidates reaches the 30%
mark, Tuesday's runner-up
may call for a runoff versus
the first-place finisher in
a Second Primary, which
would be held May 14.
Forum
held for Republican
commissioner candidates
Johnston
County Young Republicans
hosted a forum at the
Courthouse last week for
Republican Party
candidates seeking three
seats on the Johnston
County Board of
Commissioners. Five of the
seven candidates took
part, and an archived
video of the event is now
available
for viewing online>
Three
Republican Primary
contests for county
commissioner:
NOTE:
Voters countywide may
choose among candidates
in all the races.
DISTRICT 1 seat
Bennett Jones
of Hill Row Lane, Clayton
is director of the North
Carolina Teaching Fellows
program. He's a former
principal of Clayton High
School.
Michelle Pace
Davis of
Buffalo Road, Clayton is a
farmer associated with
Pace Family Farms in the
Archer Lodge community.
Harold De Lancey
of Peach Blossom Court,
Clayton is a retired New
York City police officer.
DISTRICT 2 seat
Ted G. Godwin
of Hawkins Road, Selma is
a retired banker seeking
re-election to a fourth
four-year term as a county
commissioner.
Caleb Johnson
of Lowell Mill Road, Selma
works in marketing for
Beam General Contractors
of Raleigh.
DISTRICT 6 seat
Bill Stovall
of Little Creek Church
Road, Clayton is a retired
engineer who held
supervisory positions with
two N.C. departments:
Corrections and Public
Safety.
Tim Little
of Evans Road, Princeton is
a civil engineer presently
serving on the Johnston
County Planning Board.
NOTE:
No Democrats filed as
candidates for county
commissioner. Republican
incumbent Commissioner
April Stephens filed her
candidacy without
opposition.
Two
nonpartisan Primary
contests for school
board:
NOTE:
Voters countywide may
choose among candidates
in all the races.
DISTRICT 4 seat
Emily Burke
of Kasey Dee Circle,
Garner. She lists her
occupation as speech
language pathologist.
April Lee
of Coaster Court, Angier
is a teacher at the
Harnett County Early
College in Dunn who
previously worked as a
classroom teacher in
Johnston County.
Tasa McGowan
of Glenbrook Court,
Garner. She lists her
occupation as secretary
and substitute teacher.
Ken Ramey
of David Circle, Angier is
a professor at Wake
Technical Community
College (Wake Tech).
David Spain
of Wyndham Drive, Garner
is a sales representative
for the national
pharmaceutical company
Merck.
Telia Y. Virgin
of Willowcroft Court,
Garner is a social worker
at the Fayetteville VA
Medical Center.
DISTRICT 7 seat
Ronald Johnson
of Westminster Drive,
Clayton is employed by
Blue Line Aviation at
Johnston Regional Airport.
He's seeking re-election
to a third four-year term.
David Marshburn
of Robertson Street,
Clayton is self-employed
as a private investigator
based in Smithfield.
Sam Solmonson
of Lynn Drive, Clayton.
He's a network engineer
with North American
Partners in Anesthesia.
Jeff Sullivan
of Wedgewood Place,
Clayton is a retiree who
teaches driver's education
for Johnston County Public
Schools.
NOTE:
The top two finishers in
each race will compete
in November's General
Election. There's no
primary election needed
for two other seats on
the school board since
only two candidates
filed in each of those
contests.
Baseball’s Amby Foote is in coach’s Hall of
Fame
George
Whitfield of Goldsboro is
widely known for
his many years of coaching
young men to be
successful in sports,
baseball especially.
In 1973 he
established his own Hall of
Fame to honor North Carolina
coaches and athletes at
various levels of
competition – many of them
well-known, others admired
only by their players and
peers.
Smithfield’s Amby
Foote was added to Coach
Whitfield’s roll of honor
last month – recognized
for his accomplishments as a
professional baseball
player, as a coach of young
athletes in baseball as well
as basketball, and his years
of leadership and
service as an umpire
and referee.
• Here’s what
was read about Amby at the
Hall of Fame banquet held
January 12 at Wayne
Community College in
Goldsboro>
• On today’s FEATURE
PAGE is Gary
Ridout’s recent
interview with Amby
sharing his recollections
and observations
about a life-long
love affair with
sports>
Business
Disputes • Injuries •
Family Law • Appeals
Strong
in results. Strong in
experience. Strong in
integrity.
armstronglawyers.com •
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SSS
staffer celebrated for
"Leading
with the Heart"
Tarsha
McNeil has been honored as
this year’s “Leading with
the Heart” award recipient
at Smithfield-Selma High
School.
Inspired by Mike
Krzykewski’s book by the
same name, the award –
presented annually to
someone employed at each of
Johnston’s public schools –
"recognizes those staff members throughout the school system that demonstrate leadership, compassion, and heart on a daily basis,” notes
the announcement of this
year’s recipients by
Johnston County Public
Schools.
SSS Principal Crystal
Gregory posted
congratulations to Mrs.
McNeil on the school’s
Facebook page, calling her
“a dedicated professional
with an upbeat and
positive attitude” who is
“a role model for us all
both in and out of the
classroom.”
Principal Gregory said
Mrs. McNeil works
closely with the SSS
International
Baccalaureate
program and beginning
teachers especially. “She
has guided our newest
teachers through countless
struggles and cheered them
through their successes,”
said Ms. Gregory.
“If there is an event
happening at school, you
can pretty much guarantee
that Mrs. McNeil is either
present or found a way to
support it during the
planning processes,” the
principal noted. “She
embodies the heart of our
school.”
“Leading with the Heart”
recipients at the other
schools within the SSS
attendance district
include the following:
• Selma
Elementary – Carla
Stillings.
• Selma Middle
– Erica McFarland.
• Smithfield
Middle – Kay Boyd.
• South
Smithfield Elementary
– Roxana Alzate
Angel.
• West
Smithfield Elementary
– Reem Tabet.
• Wilson's Mills
Elementary – Michelle
Ransom.
Painting
portraits
of Black History
Youngsters
in the My Kid’s Club
after-school program at
South Smithfield Elementary
School are shown “painting
people of history” during a
Black History Month project
under the direction of
artist Percilla Williams.
Among famous
African-Americans chosen by
the children for their
artwork were George
Washington Carver, Michael
Jackson, Muhammad Ali,
Charles Drew, Mae Jamison,
and others. My Kid’s Club
board members Shirley Cohen
and Elwanda Farrow offered
their assistance along with
friends from Alpha Kappa
Sorority's Psi Sigma Omega
Chapter, reports a
Facebook post along
with this photo about the
exercise.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Town
to conduct “free
chlorine burnout” during
March
The Town of
Smithfield will conduct the
annual “free chlorine
burnout” of its water
distribution system starting
at 8 a.m. this Friday (March
1) and continuing till the
end of the month. "During
this time
customers MAY notice
discoloration or a change in
taste and smell of their
water,” the town advises.
"Customers who experience
this are advised to flush
their plumbing fixtures and
water lines throughout their
homes thoroughly. If any
water quality issues are
experienced, please be
assured that the water is
still safe and there is no
need to boil water or take
any other precautions.” For
more information, contact
the Smithfield Water
Filtration Plant during
regular business hours at
919-934-2661.
County Commissioners will get
farmland update
Monday
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners
will get an update on
farmland preservation
at its 10 a.m. session
next Monday at the
Courthouse.
The board will hold
hearings on four
land-use rezoning
cases followed by an
update on the county's
solid-waste service at
the 6 p.m. session.
VIEW
the agenda for the
10 a.m. session>
VIEW
the agenda for the 6
p.m. session>
Town
Council to consider
alcohol sales at Ham
& Yam
The Smithfield
Town Council, during its
first-Tuesday monthly
meeting at 7 p.m. at Town
Hall, will receive a request
from the Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation to
modify the town’s permit for
the annual Ham & Yam
Festival to allow sales of
alcoholic beverages. Also on
the agenda is discussion of
a proposed electric-rate
increase of 6% later this
year. Reconsideration of a
conditional rezoning request
for a 222-lot project
adjacent to the Bradford
Park subdivision is on
Tuesday’s agenda with a
request from developers to
postpone that discussion
until the council’s April 2
meeting.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday’s council
session>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Entertaining
way to learn some local
black history
Last Thursday
evening's "Black History
Bowl Quiz" staged by the
Johnston County Heritage
Commission was a
light-hearted affair, yet
historically informative
nonetheless. A team of three
respectable local men
outscored a team of three
respectable local women by a
single point to “win” the
competition. But no matter:
It was the audience that
came out on top as we either
learned, or re-learned, some
notable accomplishments of
African-Americans here at
home and around the world.
Here are some of the
questions of local interest
that were posed during the
“quiz” (answers shown
below):
(1) Who is the stand-out
track-and-field athlete from
Clayton who participated in
the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo?
(2) Who is the Selma native
who excelled in basketball
and football at SSS High and
now has a scholarship named
in his honor?
(3) Who was the first
African-American on record
to be elected to public
office in Johnston County as
a Smithfield town
commissioner in 1872?
(4) Who was the first
African-American elected to
serve on the Clayton Town
Council – from 1983 till
1991?
(5) What are the two oldest
black churches still active
in Johnston County?
(6) Who was the long-time
Johnston community
leader who served with
the famous Tuskegee Airmen
during World War II?
(7) Who was the Johnston
County educator whose
“firsts” included first
black president of a Kiwanis
Club in the Carolinas and
the first black person named
“Citizen of the Year” by the
Smithfield-Selma Chamber of
Commerce?
(8) Who was Johnston
County’s first
African-American physician
who set up practice here in
1916 and served the
community for almost 50
years?
Finally, who were the
winners of what may turn out
to be the first annual
“Black History Quiz Bowl”
hosted by the Heritage
Commission?
Here they are: Antoan
Whidbee, Dr. Gettys Cohen,
and Craig James....
The
runners-up: Tiana
Galloway, Tina Ray, and
retired Judge Addie H.
Rawls….
Answers to the
questions above:
(1) Kendra (Keni)
Harrison; (2) Reginald
(Reggie) Juan Carmichael;
(3) Smith Brooks; (4)
Nathaniel Sanders; (5) First
Missionary Baptist Church of
Smithfield and Bentonville
Disciples Church (both
founded in 1866);
(6) Hernando Palmer; (7)
Quinton King (Q.K.)
Wall; (8) Dr. Charles
W. Furlonge.
A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
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