South Smithfield is now an "IB World
School"
The
Johnston County Board of
Education acknowledged the
achievement during its
monthly meeting Tuesday.
The designation of South
Smithfield Elementary
School as an
"International
Baccalaureate World
School" completes the
prestigious academic
certification for all
grade levels within the
Smithfield school
district.
Smithfield-Selma High
School's IB program has
been offered to qualifying
students since 2013.
Smithfield Middle School
joined the program in
2022.
South
Smithfield's Principal
Chad McLamb and its IB
coordinator, Amanda
Jackson, brought the good
news to the school board (shown
in this YouTube
screenshot from
Tuesday's meeting).
Principal McLamb called
affiliation with IB "a
huge accomplishment"
resulting from "our school
culture" where
"everyone has a story and
it is our goal to hear
that story."
A memo attached to
Tuesday's board agenda
notes that the school
began its IB candidacy for
a Primary Years Program in
2019. "After a very
thorough application
process," states the memo,
"IB sent a visiting team
to conduct a two-day site
visit, during which IB
staff interviewed
teachers, instructional
leaders, students, and
parents" to gather
evidence leading to IB
certification.
School Board Chair Lyn
Andrews praised the
effort. "The whole
atmosphere of that school
has changed," she said
(Mr. McLamb is in his
second year as principal).
Board member Kevin Donovan
added that newcomers to
the area "are enjoying
that school more than any
other place where they
have been."
International
Baccalaureate –
founded in 1968 in Geneva,
Switzerland – states on
its website that its
academic focus "develops
lifelong learners who
thrive and make a
difference." A description
of IB's Primary Years
Program says "it develops
caring and culturally
aware children... to
become active participants
in their own learning."
"The biggest thing is
giving our students a
voice" in what's going on
at South Smithfield, IB
Coordinator Jackson told
the school board this
week.
Mr. McLamb invited board
members to come tour the
school, adding that the
students, not the
principal, would conduct
the tours. "They love
those leadership
opportunities," he said.
The principal concluded
his remarks with "Fins
up!" – a shout-out
inspired by the student
body's moniker as
"Dolphins."
Finance
chief expects schools to
break even this year
Presenting
a budget update to the
Board of Education on
Tuesday, Stephen Britt
said "the end result" at
the conclusion of fiscal
year 2024-25 June 30 "is
we will likely be around
the break-even point in
current expense" for
school operations.
Johnston's school system
has finished its recent
years with a fund balance.
Two factors will make that
difficult to achieve this
year, Mr. Britt told the
board:
• Teacher
vacancies are
down from 325 at the end
of 2023 and 374 in 2022 to
170 this past December.
That will reduce budgeted
"vacancy savings" by $4.2
million.
• Student
enrollment in
Johnston County Public
Schools is up 138 while
enrollment in charter
schools attended by
Johnston students is up
218 (including 108 in
virtual charters). The
enrollment increase will
bring an additional
$920,766 allotment from
the state, yet $449,818
will come out of the
Johnston schools'
operating budget for the
additional charter-school
students.
Mr. Britt said "ESSER is
gone" (federal
COVID-relief funding no
longer available) but the
good news is that $1.9
million of that money
wasn't needed as expected
for ESSER-funded
construction projects.
That, along with items
like reduced expenses for
substitutes because of
fewer teacher vacancies
and deferral of some
technology purchases till
next year should enable
the school system to end
the year without dipping
into its reserve fund, the
finance chief predicted.
West
Smithfield items:
annexation, advisory
appointments
The
board voted without
dissent to request
"voluntary annexation" of
the elementary school's
campus on Galilee Road
into the corporate limits
of the Town of Smithfield.
That will enable the town
to take under its wing
employment of an SRO at
the school, freeing up
funding for the school
system to assign such an
officer elsewhere. (SRO
stands for School Resource
Officer – personnel
employed by either the
Sheriff's Department or
municipal police
departments such as
Smithfield's). The
annexation request will go
to the Smithfield Town
Council for its
concurrence.
The school board appointed
three parents to the West
Smithfield School Advisory
Council: Monica
Villafranca, Marjorie
Ramirez, and Lizbeth Hoyas
Montes. Recommended for
appointment by the
school's principal and
present council members,
they will serve three-year
terms.
Board
member Ronald Johnson's
trial continues this
week
Re-elected
in November to a third
four-year term on
Johnston's Board of
Education, he is on trial
before a jury in Johnston
Superior Court on a felony
charge of extortion and
misdemeanor charges of
obstruction of justice and
willful failure to
discharge his duties as a
school-board member. Most
of the incidents leading
to the charges occurred in
2022. A Johnston County
Grand Jury indicted Mr.
Johnson in April 2023.
The News &
Observer has
assigned a reporter to
cover the case. Here are
links to the newspaper's
stories filed through
today's edition:
•
Report on
Wednesday's testimony>
* Report on
Tuesday's testimony>
* Report on
Monday's testimony>
* Report on last
Friday's testimony>
*
Report on
last Thusday's
testimony>
Business
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Keeney |
Airport's
new director is "Top
Gun" – for real!
David
(Dave) Harris talks about
it with modesty, and yet
he's proud of his
distinction as "the
longest running fully
qualified instructor" in
the Navy's elite school
for fighter-jet pilots
made famous by the "Top
Gun" movies.
Given that responsibility
during a total of eight of
his 20 years in military
service, Mr. Harris
fulfilled what he calls
"my passion for teaching
and coaching."
He began work as director
of Johnston Regional
Airport January 1,
succeeding Phil Lanier,
who stepped down last fall
to care for his aging
parents.
"Phil did a phenomenal
job," Mr. Harris said. One
product of Mr. Lanier's
eight years on the job
here is Johnston
Regional's current
standing as the fourth
busiest airport in North
Carolina – that's right,
the fourth busiest – right
behind the much larger
commercial airports at
Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte,
and Greensboro.
That ranking is based on
volume of 
operations
by aircraft flying in and
out of airports. Johnston
Regional – its official
designation is "JNX"
– has seen a surge in its
number since Blue Line
Aviation activated its
pilot-training center in
2022.
Mr. Harris grew up in
Virginia Beach – next door
to Norfolk, the nation's
largest base for the U.S.
Navy – and became
fascinated with its
aviation component.
Besides his stints as a
Top Gun instructor, he
piloted fighter jets
during deployments to hot
spots in the Persian Gulf
War as well as conflicts
in Bosnia, Somalia, and
Afghanistan.
Retiring from the Navy, he
and his wife (who grew up
in North Carolina's
"Little Washington")
looked at numerous places
to settle and chose
Johnston County, where
they purchased acreage off
NC 210 west of Smithfield
and developed the Lake
Magnolia subdivision where
they reside. Then he
helped launch a consulting
business named 2 Circle
Incorporated, which
advises the military on
aviation training. (The
term "2 circle" refers to
a maneuver used in
aircraft "dogfights.")
"We had over 200, mostly
former pilots," involved
in the enterprise, said
Mr. Harris, who sold his
interest in the business
to his partners this past
year – about the time the
JNX job opened up. He
believes his aviation
business experience fits
with the upcoming phase of
the airport's development,
focused on attracting
additional
corporate-related
activity.
"We're a reliever airport
for RDU," Mr. Harris
noted. As a result, "the
Federal Government is
pushing more money our
way." One project
currently in the works is
securing approval for a
fully-staffed control
tower. Another is
construction of large
hangars to accommodate
corporate aircraft bigger
than the individually
owned smaller planes that
fueled establishment of
the county-owned airport
in 1978.
At the same time, JNX
won't be turning away from
its roots. The airport
presently has more than
100 hangars leased for
smaller planes, with plans
in place for adding
another 20, Mr. Harris
noted.
Meanwhile, a new structure
next door to JNX
headquarters and its
terminal is nearing
completion. It will house
corporate tenants as well
as space for the Johnston
County Economic
Development Office, which
is presently located in a
corner of the terminal
building.
An airport-based "public
safety" facility is also
envisioned, Mr. Harris
said. That would be a
joint venture of the N.C.
Department of
Transportation (NCDOT) and
the County of Johnston, he
noted.
Reflecting on the famous
movies about Top Gun
training, Mr. Harris said
actor Tom Cruz was heavily
engaged with instructors
as well as consultants
about technical aspects of
the two films' production.
And now the whole world is
well aware of the the
Navy's heralded training
program.
Johnston Regional Airport
is likely to benefit from
its new ties to the Top
Gun family.
This photo from the
Johnston County Economic
Development Office shows
three corporate-level
jets which recently
landed at JNX. Chris
Johnson, the office's
director, said such
planes transport not
only executives of
companies with Johnston
County operations but
also numerous suppliers
that do business with
them.
State
assesses airport's
impact on the local
economy
A
report just released by
NCDOT's Division of
Aviation provides these
numbers on the economic
impact of Johnston
Regional Airport:
• 1,385
jobs supported.
• $111,240,000
in annual personal income
from those jobs.
• $20,919,000
state and local taxes
collected annually.
• $317,760,000
in total "economic output"
measured.
JNX is one of 62 "general
aviation" airports covered
by the state's report; 10
others like RDU are
classified as "commercial
service" airports.
READ the
state's latest biennial
airport report in its
entirety>
Johnston
County's monetary gift
for Helene relief
Sheriff
Steve Bizzell (left)
along with Chief Deputy
Bengie Garris (second
from right)
delivered a check for
$50,000 last week to
Samaritan's Purse for the
charitable organization's
Hurricane Helene relief
work in Western North
Carolina. Accepting the
ceremonial check are (from
left) Samaritan's
Purse president Franklin
Graham, his
raised-in-Smithfield wife
Jane Austin Cunningham,
and their son Edward, the
organization's chief
operating officer. The
money was donated by
Johnstonians who also
contributed 16
tractor-trailer loads of
food and other goods to
flood victims shortly
after the storm's
devastation in September.
(Photo from County of
Johnston)
2.4
acres for sale at 1558
W. Market St.
in West
Smithfield
Located
across from Rose Manor
Shopping Center close to
intersection with M.
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Parkway. Just west of
Downtown Smithfield. Zoned
B-3 (Highway Business).
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WHAT'S COMING
UP
County
Commissioners meet
Tuesday because of
holiday
The
regularly scheduled
third-Monday session of
the Johnston County Board
of Commissioners has been
moved to 6 p.m. Tuesday at
the Courthouse since
Monday is the Martin
Luther King holiday
for all levels of
government. Among items on
the agenda is approval of
a contract for designing
runway upgrades at
Johnston Regional Airport.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday's meeting>
Town
Council faces more
subdivision hearings
Tuesday
Among
several public hearings
scheduled during Tuesday's
bi-monthly meeting of the
Smithfield Town Council
are requests for approval
of preliminary plans for
117 single-family
residential lots on 138.63
acres on the east side of
Buffalo Road next to the
Bradford Park subdivision
and a 627-unit subdivision
including single-family
houses, townhouses, and
apartments on the east
side of Booker Dairy Road
extending beyond Durwood
Stephenson Parkway.
Rezonings for both
projects have previously
been approved by the
council. Tuesday's meeting
begins at 7 p.m. at Town
Hall. VIEW the
complete agenda>
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Downtown
Smithfield's striking
new mural on a wall of
the former Roses
building.
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
You could call this report "A Tale of
Two Towns"
Selma
has gotten some "good
press" lately, generated
by its downtown business
owners and operators
who've organized
themselves under the label
"Activate Selma." They've
got a catchy slogan: "We
don't complain. We take
action!"
The group gets together
every week, and they've
got a "press agent" in the
person of Cindy Brookshire
who e-mails weekly news
and announcements about
Selma's activities to
anyone who's interested.
That kind of effort paid
off big time with a
feature story in the
January edition of Our
State magazine,
which is all about
"Celebrating North
Carolina."
Meanwhile, I chose to be
among the handful of
residents who attended
last Thursday evening's
"strategic planning" forum
hosted by leaders of the
Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation.
Unlike Selma's gatherings,
missing from this one were
most of Downtown's
merchants.
Several of the folks who
did come were relatively
new residents who live
within walking distance of
Downtown's attractions,
which include a variety of
places to eat and drink, a
"throwback" movie theater,
a brand-new amphitheater
for professional
entertainers beside an
older playhouse for
locally produced shows, a
couple of unique
historical museums, a
nicely equipped Public
Library, and a paved
pedestrian and cycling
trail along the Neuse
River.
One of the complaints I
heard at last week's
get-together is that many
folks don't know about all
that. Plus, social-media
rants tend to be negative
regarding what's going on
(or not going on) here.
Following Selma's example,
that can be turned around
in short order.
Heidi Gilmond took charge
as Downtown Development's
executive director last
July. At last week's
forum, she and members of
the DSDC board shared
ideas for projects to make
things better. At the top
of the list is what to do
about the relentless
Market Street traffic that
splits Downtown apart.
Suggestions coming out of
a study regarding that
issue should go before the
Town Council soon, we were
told.
To enhance the appearance
of Smithfield's central
business district are
plans for more murals on
walls of buildings and a
park-like makeover
wrapping around the front
of the library building at
Market and Third.
Ms. Gilmond also announced
plans for a new event
coming up in March:
"Celebrate Smithfield,"
which will spotlight the
community's international
cultural diversity.
There's a perception that
merchants are pulling out
of our downtown, said some
of last week's forum
participants. But that's
negated by the roster of
businesses that have been
around for a while,
especially the current
cast of restaurants that
survived the disruptive
COVID pandemic.
Words of encouragement for
Downtown Smithfield's
future came from three
Town Government officials
in attendance: Mayor Andy
Moore, Councilman Sloan
Stevens, and Town Manager
Mike Scott (an ex officio
member of the DSDC board).
All three assured the
gathering that the town's
leaders very much want to
see Downtown thrive and
will do whatever they can
to support businesses
already here and recruit
others that can bring
fresh elements to the mix.
"A Tale of Two Towns"?
That story is yet to be
written, and it need not
turn out to be a narrative
about one place that's
good and another that's
bad.
VIEW
postings about upcoming
Downtown Smithfield
events on Facebook>
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to this edition: 1,581
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