Kelly
Daughtry withdraws from
race for Congress
A week after the
start of early voting for
the May 14 Second Primary,
Smithfield attorney Kelly
Daughtry announced on
Facebook last Thursday that
she has withdrawn from a
two-candidate runoff to
choose the Republican
Party’s nominee for North
Carolina's 13th District
seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
"In light of President Trump's endorsement of
Brad Knott for the
Congressional seat in
District 13, it has
become clear that a
pathway to victory is no
longer feasible,” Ms.
Daughtry stated. "Brad
Knott will be the
Republican nominee on May
14th. I extend my
congratulations to him and
wish him well. Brad has my
full endorsement, and I
want him to know that I am
here to support him, not
to oppose him."
Ms. Daughtry finished first and Mr. Knott
second among 14
Republican candidates who
competed in the March 5
Primary Election. He called
for the runoff election
because she fell just short
of capturing the required
30% of total votes cast to
avoid the Second Primary.
Her name remains on the
ballot for next Tuesday's
election, so it’s possible,
although unlikely, she could
still win the
nomination.
The Republican nominee,
presumably Mr. Knott, will
face Democrat Frank Pierce
in November’s General
Election. The only Democrat
to file for the 13th
District seat, Mr. Pierce is
a resident of Raleigh who
operates a landscaping
business. The district’s
current Congressman,
Democrat Wiley Nickel, first
won election two years ago
but decided not to run again
after the N.C. General
Assembly redrew district
boundaries to favor
Republican candidates for
the seat.
Ms. Daughtry’s
withdrawal leaves just two
contested races before
Johnston County voters
registered Republican or
Unaffiliated who are
eligible to take part in
Tuesday’s Second Primary:
• For N.C.
Lieutenant Governor – Jim
O’Neill vs. Hal Weatherman.
• For N.C.
Auditor – Dave Boliek vs.
Jack Clark.
Tuesday’s winners will face
Democratic candidates in
November’s General Election.
What campaign financial reports
reveal
Reports filed with the Federal
Election Commission
by candidates for
Congress show Ms.
Daughtry had spent twice
as much money as Mr.
Knott January 1 through
April 24, when the
latest report was due:
$3,845,495 vs.
$1,642,657.
Mr. Knott reported
campaign contributions
totaling $1,056,114
while Ms. Daughtry
reported contributions
of $166,727 since
January 1. The report
shows that Ms. Daughtry
had loaned her campaign
$4.3 million while Mr.
Knott had loaned his
campaign $680,000.
Business
Disputes • Injuries •
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Commissioners
fill vacancy with
GOP nominee
Bill Stovall won
a two-candidate race in the
March 5 Primary Election to
earn the Republican Party’s
nomination for the
District 6 seat on the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners that’s up for
election in November.
On Monday the board
appointed him to fill the
vacancy left by the recent
death of Commissioner Tony
Braswell.
Mr. Stovall is primed to win
November’s election to a
full four-term since there’s
not a Democratic Party
candidate for the seat. His
appointment is for the
months remaining in Mr.
Brawell’s term, which was
due to end this December.
Pictured as he took the
oath of office from Judge
Joy Jones following the
commissioners’ Monday morning
session, Mr. Stovall is a
retired civil engineer who
worked as a supervisor in
two departments of State
Government: Corrections and
Public Safety. He’s a
resident of Wilson’s Mills
Township, which makes up
part of a newly drawn
residency district for
election of commissioners
that also includes the
northern half of Smithfield,
the towns of Selma and Pine
Level, and a portion of
Cleveland Township. Here’s map of
the new districts put in
place last October>
County asks state to name bridge for
Tony Braswell
At Monday’s
evening session, the
County Commissioners
adopted a resolution
asking the N.C. Department
of Transportation to name
the Peedin Road
Extension's bridge over US
70 near Pine Level in
memory of Mr. Braswell,
who died March 9 in the
midst of his 18th year of
service as a county
commissioner (he had
decided not to seek
re-election this year).
Board Chairman Butch
Lawter said NCDOT staff
“are all receptive” to
approving the proposed
naming.
JCCollege leaders make case for
$85-million bond issue
President
Vern Lindquist, backed
by a delegation of students
and trustees from Johnston
Community College, asked
commissioners Monday morning
to authorize a county bond
referendum in November’s
General Election to pay for
a medical campus at Clayton
and upgrades to the Public
Safety training program at
JCC’s Smithfield campus.
Without those additions, Dr.
Linguist told the board, JCC
stands to lose more and more
students to programs offered
by nearby Wake
Technical Community College.
As things now stand, JCC is
projected to lose 1,200
students each year to Wake
Tech, he noted. That means a
loss of $5 million annually
in state allocations for
JCC’s programs, he added.
CEO Tommy Williams of UNC
Health Johnston joined the
delegation to emphasize the
importance of expanding
JCC’s training of nurses and
other health professionals –
a need he described as
“critical.” UNC hospitals at
Smithfield and Clayton are
“at capacity all the time,”
even with 188 staff
vacancies, he noted.
Meanwhile, UNC Health
Johnston has applied for
another 24 beds at its two
hospitals that will require
another 68 employees, Mr.
Williams told commissioners.
The two facilities are
currently licensed by the
state for a total of 200
beds.
JCC Trustees Chair
Lyn Austin said the
college traditionally gets
about 10% of proposed county
bond issues. But this time
JCC needs more than that,
she said.
The $85-million issue
requested by the college
would amount to 23% of what
could go before voters this
year if commissioners also
approve a $285-million
issue recently requested
by Johnston County
Public Schools. County
Manager told the Weekly
Sun commissioners
will likely decide next
month whether to call for
votes on bond-issue amounts
requested this
spring by the college
and the public schools.
Commissioners OK 3 new jobs in
response to growth
Approved without
discussion as part of
Monday morning’s
Consent Agenda,
commissioners
authorized the
immediate filling of three
new positions that had
been under consideration
for the coming year’s
budget: an assistant fire
marshal, an administrative
assistant in the Fire
Marshal’s Office, and
another code-enforcement
officer in the Inspections
Department.
A memo accompanying the
request for the new jobs
cited recent increases in
commercial construction
permits and large
industrial projects
“already in progress” that
require more fire-code
inspections and
construction-plan reviews.
The county’s 2024-25
fiscal year starts July 1.
Commissioners on Monday
scheduled a public hearing
on the new year’s budget
at their June 3 meeting,
followed by sessions to
finalize the budget on
June 10 and June 17.
County Manager Hester
plans to unveil his
recommended budget in
another week or so.
Manufacturer
with plans to hire
500 lured to Selma
Crystal Window
& Door Systems,
Ltd. of Flushing, N.Y.
(in the Queens borough of
New York City) announced
plans last week to invest
$93 million and employ 500
workers in a new
manufacturing plant on 43
acres at Selma’s Eastfield
Crossing, a massive
land-development project
east of the intersection of
I-95 and U.S. 70 with plans
for industrial, retail, and
residential components.
Both the County of Johnston
and the Town of Selma last
Thursday approved incentive
grants in the form of
property-tax rebates to the
company once it invests at
least $57.9 million in
facilities and employs at
least 206 permanent
full-time workers. The
rebates will amount to 70%
of taxes paid on the plant’s
“personal property” (mostly
production equipment) over
seven years. After that, the
company will pay the county
and town their full
assessments of yearly
property taxes.
The State of North Carolina
is providing a $4.2-million
Job Development Incentive
Grant payable over 12 years
as an additional incentive
to land the industry.
"The 500
positions Crystal intends to
create at its advanced
manufacturing facility in
Selma will include frame
assemblers, machine
operators, warehouse
workers, quality engineers,
management staff, and
others,” announced the
Johnston County Economic
Development Office. "New
jobs come with annual
salaries averaging $56,000."
Founded in 1990,
Crystal Window & Door
Systems makes
energy-efficient vinyl and
aluminum windows and doors
for residences, office
buildings, hotels,
hospitals, and other
buildings. The company
operates plants in
California, Illinois, New
York, Missouri, and
Pennsylvania. Its products
are sold in 40 states.
Already under
construction at AdVenture
Development’s Eastfield
Crossing is a
shopping center including
stores for Target, Hobby
Lobby, Old Navy,
Marshall's, Ross, and
other national
brands. Based in
Selma, AdVenture purchased
and
refurbished Smithfield’s
Pine Needle Square
shopping center several
years ago. (Drone photo
from Johnston County
Economic Development
Office)
"Trusted
by families since
1977"
840
S. Bright Leaf Blvd.
• 919-934-7164
• www.carrollpharmacy.com
SHINGLES
& RSV
SHOTS DAILY – NO
APPOINTMENT NEEDED
Town
Council backtracks to OK
7-lot subdivision
The
Smithfield Town Council
last month turned down a
developer's plan for a
small residential
subdivision at the
intersection of NC 210 and
Galilee Road because it
was incompatible with the
town's Comprehensive Plan
which had envisioned
commercial or
institutional uses of the
4.8-acre tract.
After agreeing to
reconsider the matter at
Tuesday night's meeting,
council members heard
testimony from an attorney
representing the developer
that convinced them the
proposed subdivision is
compatible with the town's
plan after all, especially
in light of changing
circumstances.
At last month's public
hearing, Planning Director
Stephen Wensman told the
council his staff was
recommending approval of
the subdivision because of
the absence of county
sewerage there which
likely would be required
for a commercial venture.
Seven residential lots
with septic tanks would be
acceptable, he said.
Attorney Samuel Morris,
representing CMH Homes
(the developer), at this
week's meeting pointed to
a state court's ruling
that compatibility with a
Comprehensive Plan alone
is not required if a
project is in
keeping with
surrounding land uses. The
proposed subdivision,
named Jubilee Creek, is
adjacent to properties
with single-family houses.
The site is also next to
West Smithfield Elementary
School.
The council was reminded
that no opposition to the
plan came forth at last
month’s public hearing on
the plan for Jubilee
Creek.
In the end, the council
gave approval without a
dissenting vote to the
plan after adding two
conditions: that sidewalks
be constructed along both
NC 210 and Galilee Road
and that fencing be
erected between the site
and the school grounds.
Town Attorney Bob Spence
said the council's
decision, in effect,
amends the town's
Comprehensive Plan to show
the new subdivision to be
in compliance.
Decision
on large Buffalo Road
subdivision put off
again
The
council was scheduled to
revisit a more
controversial
subdivision plan at
Tuesday’s meeting but
once again tabled the
matter at the
developer's request. The
proposal, which calls
for a 222-lot
subdivision on 168 acres
adjacent to the existing
Bradford Park
subdivision off Buffalo
Road, drew considerable
public
opposition at a
hearing in January, and
council members
expressed concerns about
proposed lot sizes and
overall density of
dwellings.
Town Manager Mike Scott
said he and Planning
Director Wensman
recently had a
“positive” meeting with
the developer who
told them a revised plan
likely won't be ready to
bring before the council
until July. Adams &
Hodge Engineering is
planning the project;
the site is owned by Guy
and Ross Lampe.
Light
Industrial zoning at
airport approved by 4-3
vote
No
one stepped forward
during Tuesday’s public
hearing on a request to
rezone about 15 acres
across Swift Creek Road
from Johnston Regional
Airport to the town’s
Light Industrial
category. But Councilman
Sloan Stevens voiced
concerns about rezoning
the site without a
specific plan for its
use.
That could be done if
the petitioners,
Harrison Tulloss and
Aaron Grosclose, had
requested conditional
zoning, Town Attorney
Spence noted. Instead,
they sought a rezoning
that would permit a
number of low-impact
industrial uses so they
could market the
property, the council
was told.
Councilmen John Dunn and
Marlon Lee joined Mr.
Stevens in voting to
deny the rezoning while
Councilmen David
Barbour, Steve Rabil,
and Travis Scott voted
in favor. In the absence
of Councilman Roger
Wood, Mayor Andy Moore
broke the tie with an
affirmative vote.
Town’s
electrical system earns
“Platinum” designation
Mayor
Moore presented a plaque
from the American Public
Power Association
designating Smithfield’s
Electric Department
as a Reliable Public
Power Provider
with “Platinum”
status after scoring 95
points out of a possible
100 on an evaluation
that included cost data,
program documentation,
and town policies and
regulations. The
“Platinum” designation
is good for three years,
Public Utilities
Director Ted Credle told
the council.
Town
asked to restore
original street name to
two blocks
Phyllis
Palmer, a former resident
of East Smithfield’s Pine
Acres neighborhood, asked
the council to restore the
original name to a
two-block segment of Oak
Street leading away from
East Market
Street that was
renamed as part of
diverging Dogwood
Street years ago. The
change would affect no
one’s postal address since
no houses front that
section of the street, she
said. The council took no
action on her request,
although Councilman Scott
said it “sounds like a
reasonable request.
Contracts
OK'd for tree study,
other services and
projects
The
council approved several
contracts without
discussion as part of
Tuesday's Consent Agenda:
• Bartlett Tree Experts of
Raleigh will get $8,000 to
conduct a street-tree
inventory that will not
include the Bradford Pears
destined for removal.
• Barnes Cleaning Company
of Clayton will get
$56,278 for one year of
janitorial services at
Town Hall, Operations
Center, Public Works, and
Police Department.
• Biggs Outdoor Services
of Smithfield will get
$56,326 for one year of
grounds maintenance
including NCDOT
rights-of-way, I-95 exits,
town easements and
medians, and the
Operations Center.
• Heat Transfer Solutions
of Benson will get
$6,684 for one year of
HVAC services at
Town Hall,
Operations Center, Water
Plant, Public Works, fire
and police stations,
Hastings House, and Sarah
Yard Center.
• Vision, NC of Raleigh
will get $31,200 for a
water-valve assessment
project funded by a grant
from the N.C. Division of
Environmental Quality.
• Stuckey’s Backhoe
Services will get $119,785
for relocating a water
main as part of an NCDOT
project to reconfigure the
interchange of I-95 and US
70 Business.
Four
recognition weeks for
town employees approved
The
council approved
proclamations read by
Mayor Moore for
overlapping recognition
weeks:
• Public Service
Recognition Week May 5-11,
a national observance
started in 1985.
Smithfield’s proclamation
includes a statement of
appreciation for both
full-time and part-time
employees as well as
volunteers.
• Professional Municipal
Clerks Week May 5-11,
including appreciation
expressed for Smithfield’s
Town Clerk Shannan
Parrish.
• National Police Week May 12-18, observed
nationally since 1962.
“Now, more than ever,”
Smithfield’s
proclamation states, the
community should be
thankful for work “by
our police officers to
both better serve and
instill mutual trust,
camaraderie, and
positive relationships
among our increasingly
diverse population."
• Public Works
Recognition Week May
19-25. It’s the 64th
annual national
observance sponsored by
both American and
Canadian Public Works
associations.
Permits
approved for eight
special events outdoors
The
council approved permits
for:
• Bulldog Bike Night today
(Thursday) 5 till 8 p.m.
at Bulldog's
Harley-Davidson on Outlet
Center Drive.
• Test Ride Days this
Saturday (May 11) noon
till 5 p.m. at Bulldog's
Harley-Davidson.
• Spring Carnival by Inner
Shows, Inc. May 10-26 at
Carolina Premium Outlets.
• May General Membership
Meeting of Johnston County
Building Industry
Association next Tuesday
(May 14) 5:30 till 8 p.m.
at 301 Bridge Street.
• Red Cross Blood Drive
Tuesday, May 21 from noon
till 5 p.m. at Bulldog's
Harley-Davidson.
• Memorial Day Event
Saturday, May 25 from 11
a.m. till 5 p.m. at
Bulldog's Harley-Davidson.
• Father’s Day Cookout
Sunday, June 16 hosted by
Omar McKnight from 9 a.m.
till 9 p.m. at
Smith-Collins Park.
• August General
Membership Meeting of
Johnston County Building
Industry Association
Friday, August 2 from 5:30
till 8 p.m. at 301 Bridge
Street.
WHAT'S COMING
UP
Smithfield-Selma
High “Percussion
Theater” this weekend
It’s
an annual performance by
the SSS band’s Drumline,
and it’s scheduled for
6:30 p.m. today (Thursday)
and Friday and at 1 p.m.
Saturday at the school.
Tickets are $10 and may be
reserved online by visiting
this link>
Town
Council will reconvene
Monday for budget work
The
next in a series of recent
special sessions on the
town's budget for fiscal
2024-25 is set for 6 p.m.
Monday at Town Hall.
Following a public hearing
next month on a proposed
budget yet to be
presented, the council
should adopt the final
budget before the new year
starts July 1.
School
board's regular monthly
meeting next Tuesday
The
Johnston County Board of
Education meets at the
school system's
headquarters on US 70
Business east of
Smithfield. Normally, the
monthly meeting begins at
4 p.m. with a closed
session followed by the
open business session
about an hour later. VIEW the
agenda for Tuesday's
meeting once it's posted
online>
Hospital volunteers thanked for
23,500 hours of
service
That’s how much
time the men and women who
volunteer at UNC Health
Johnston gave of their time
last year – services with a
total value
of $747,300. Five of
them were honored with
special awards at a
recognition luncheon: (left
to right) Don Cody in
Clayton and Carol Clary in
Smithfield, who received the
Sue Archambeault Award for
exemplary volunteerism;
chaplain Franklin Rawls, who
received the Overa S.
Stevens Award for faithful
service; Cecilia Hicks, a
hospice volunteer for more
than 20 years who
received a Lifetime
Achievement Award; and Lynne
Roy, who received the
Hospice Angel Award for
lifting spirits and quietly
touching lives.
(Photo
from UNC Health Johnston)
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Town
still wrestling with
funding for street
repairs
During last
week’s session on budgeting
for the fiscal year ahead,
the Town Council once again
returned to a sore subject:
the shortage of state
funding to repair
Smithfield’s crumbling
streets. As things now
stand, the town’s annual
Powell Bill allocation
covers the resurfacing of
just a dozen or so blocks of
Smithfield’s streets.
Anyone who drives around our
town on a regular basis
knows we’ve got many more
blocks than that in need of
repair – and they’re getting
worse as the years creep by.
Town Manager Mike Scott told
the council last week that
he’s re-arranging the
upcoming year’s budget so
that all of the $398,195
anticipated from the town’s
annual Powell Bill
allocation can be applied to
street resurfacing only,
with items like sidewalk and
curb repairs and drainage
work moved to
other accounts.
That will help. But it’s
nowhere near enough to
fix the sizable chunk
of streets falling
apart beneath our wheels.
Mr. Scott said options
available to the council to
address the issue include
drawing down the town’s
General Fund balance or
holding a bond referendum to
raise millions rather than
thousands of dollars for
widespread street work.
Meanwhile, the town’s
leaders are holding
onto hope that the N.C.
General Assembly will make a
special appropriation for
repaving Outlet Center
Drive, a pothole-infested
thoroughfare beside I-95
that was originally built by
the state but turned over to
the town for maintenance
several years ago. That
project alone would eat
up all of Smithfield’s
annual Powell Bill allowance
and then some – a choice the
Town Council decided not to
make this past year.
Proper street maintenance
may not be uppermost on the
town’s list of needs when
you think about things like
the staffing challenges that
face our police and fire
departments. But those bumpy
streets are something many
of us are dealing with every
day as we make our way
around town to take care
of the business of
life.
At last, faded lane markings are
being addressed
Speaking of
Outlet Center Drive, the
Town of Smithfield this
week repainted the badly
faded lane markings there
even as town officials
await a decision on state
aid to fix the potholes.
Besides that, Town Manager
Mike Scott told the Town
Council Tuesday evening
that NCDOT is moving to
schedule re-striping of
state-maintained US 301
(Bright Leaf Boulevard)
where markings have also
faded.
Bradford Pear trees
beside Second Street at
the Courthouse have been
butchered over the
years in a futile
attempt to keep them clear
of the town’s power
lines.
REFLECTIONS
FROM A READER
An ode to the beloved,
replaceable Bradford
Pear
By RHETT M. SMITH, Smithfield resident
Last
night, as I took advantage
of an opportunity to plop
on the couch and chat with
my wife in the living
room, I looked out the
window and saw my
four-year-old son taking
laps around our backyard
on his bicycle. It made me
happy to see him smiling
outside, imagination
running wild in the
evening light of
spring. It also made
me appreciate some of my
childhood experiences
growing up in Smithfield’s
Eden Woods neighborhood.
One particular outdoor
pleasure for me was the
Bradford Pear tree that
grew in our front yard. I
wonder how many hours I
spent climbing that tree.
The way a Bradford Pear
grows, with its branches
extending laterally before
turning upwards, creates
the dense canopy of a
perfect climbing tree. My
tree was no exception,
with its lowest branches
just within reach of a
young boy and a
ladder-like lattice of
successive branches
reaching high into the
wild blue yonder.
I could find a comfortable
roost to rest on or climb
as high as the roof of my
house. There were
branches low enough to
jump daringly from, and
branches spaced at awkward
distances that seemed
manageable on the way
up but made your
heart race with
trepidation as you tried
to climb back down, unable
to see if the tip of your
toe was an inch above the
next branch, or a foot. I
hope there are many others
like me who have fond
memories of a certain
climbing tree.
For three seasons of the
year, a Bradford Pear tree
brings some wonderful
delights to the ground it
blesses. In spring,
its undeniably beautiful
white flowers are often
the first to bloom in late
February or early March,
joining the daffodils as
the first welcome signs of
spring. In the summer,
their dense canopies make
for wonderful summer shade
trees in our parks and
yards. Finally, its fall
foliage rarely
disappoints.
The circumstances of my
climbing tree have created
a soft spot for the
Bradford Pear in my heart,
but this tree has its
flaws.
First and foremost,
seemingly everyone I have
ever talked to about them
finds the smell of their
blooms repulsive, and I
would be lying if I
disagreed.
Second, that branching
pattern that makes them
such great climbing
trees also makes them
susceptible to splitting
and losing branches.
Lastly, this tree of East
Asian origin is not
native to our North
Carolina landscape and is
considered an invasive
species because of its
prolific growth and
ability to crowd out our
native ecosystems – a
fact the science teacher
in me has a hard time
reconciling.
Hurricane Fran brought an
end to my climbing tree
when I was eight years
old. Now, Smithfield’s
Town Council is
considering replacing the
many Bradford Pears that
line our streets. When I
drive through the tunnels
of foliage and flowers
these trees create, I am
reminded of that euphoric
childhood experience of
climbing my Bradford Pear,
and the thought of losing
that memory marker makes
me sad.
However, most of the
town’s Bradford Pear trees
have indeed become quite
mangled by the constant
pruning they have required
beneath our power lines,
and much of their beauty
has disappeared as a
result.
North Carolina boasts many
beautiful native trees,
like our state flower, the
Dogwood tree, or Redbud
trees, that would grow
much more slowly in their
place. I can accept the
removal of my beloved
Bradford Pears if it means
a meaningful investment in
improving the condition of
the sidewalks beneath them
and at least a one-to-one
replacement of these trees
with some of these equally
beautiful native species.
If they need to go, let’s
make our town better when
they’re gone.
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