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LuLong Ogburn (center) stands with the winner of the 1951 Miss America Pageant and another finalist in this photo from a Johnston County Heritage Center collection.

LuLong was perhaps our most famous celebrity

Notwithstanding Ava Gardner, who actually grew up in the Brogden School community seven miles east of town, LuLong Ogburn Medlin was very likely the best-known native of Smithfield among 20th Century North Carolinians after she came oh-so-close to winning the Miss America title in 1951.

She passed away Saturday as she approached her 93rd birthday (May 31).

After winning the Miss North Carolina pageant in July 1951, in Septemer she was second runner-up in the Miss America pageant. Her celebrity status resulted from those achievements, and from then on she became known simply as "LuLong" in newspaper headlines here at home and elsewhere across the state.

Some years ago she donated a large scrapbook of newspaper clippings and other memorabilia to the Johnston County Heritage Center, which also maintains archives of The Smithfield Herald that contains photos of her achievements both before and after her Miss America adventure. Some of those on today's FEATURE PAGE>

READ LuLong's obituary (memorial service and reception this afternoon)>
 

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School board votes 5-2 against partisan elections

The Johnston County Board of Education at Tuesday's monthly meeting rejected a request from Johnston's Republican Party to require future candidates for the board to be listed on ballots as either Democrat or Republican. Presently, school-board elections are non-partisan.

Board member Terry Tippett offered a resolution in support of the change. Michelle Antoine seconded his motion. The other five board members voted against it.

Kay Carroll, the only registered Democrat on the current board, was first to speak up against the proposal: "I would think any kind of change in the way we elect school-board candidates ought to come from the public, not from a political party."

April Lee, who's registered with the Board of Elections as "Unaffiliated" with either political party, pointed out that under a partisan plan she and others registered as independents would have to get "thousands of signatures" on petitions to get on the ballot. "We are here to represent the interests of children, and that should be separate from the interests of a political party," she declared.

Ms. Antoine said "having a partisan school-board race would hopefully end some of the contention on this board," and she asserted that "people are five times less likely to vote in a non-partisan race."

"I don't think it would calm any kind of waters," Mr. Carroll countered. "There's just one Democrat sitting on this board and the contention has been amongst the Republicans, so I don't buy that argument."

Added Ms. Lee: "I don't want our board beholden to a political party."

"The parties are already involved in this race," responded Ms. Antoine, who insisted "there is no party that's going to suppress somebody or make it hard for them." Regarding the change to partisan elections, "the public needs to know where you stand, and that's what this does," she asserted.

"If our country is already divided, why would we want to further that divide on this board?" Ms. Lee asked. "Let us not mirror the division in this country."

Mr. Tippett said partisan elections "would guarantee a Democrat would be on the ballot in every election, and that can't be guaranteed now."

Mr. Carroll wrapped up the debate with a statement that non-partisan races "force the voting public to look at who is running and what are they saying, how do they compare with what my beliefs are, and make the decision based on those things rather than having a D or an R (beside a candidate's name) and somebody handing you a card saying these are who you vote for."

Board Chair Lyn Andrews along with Kevin Donovan and Jeff Sullivan joined Mr. Carroll and Ms. Lee in voting against Mr. Tippett's motion.

Enactment of county-specific legislation by the N.C. General Assembly is required to make changes in how local elections are conducted.

New curriculum materials for the next five years

The board unanimously approved contracts totaling more than $8.7 million over the next five years for new curriculum materials for teaching science and English at all grade levels. Anna Kuykendal, the school system's chief academic officer, said the vendors chosen received "consistently top scores from teachers."

Contracts for science total $3,408,220. Discovery Education, a national provider of digital content and tools for teaching, will provide materials for grades K-8 at a cost of $1,939,472. McGraw Hill, a long-standing provider of digital and print learning materials, will support high-school courses in biology, earth science, and chemistry for $1,420,540. PEER Physics will provide high-school materials costing $48,208.

Contracts for ELA (English and Language Arts) add up to $5,357,594. HMH, a descendant of publishers Houghton Mifflin and Harcourt, will provide reading materials for grades K-5 at a cost of $3,058,772 and literature materials for grades 6-8 for $1,001,152. Savvas Learning Company will provide high-school course materials at a cost of $1,297,670.

"We owe a great deal to our (county) commissioners to pay for this," remarked Board Chair Andrews. "A lot of school districts don't have this" for their staffs and students, she added. Ms. Kuykendal touted the materials being purchased as "a teacher-retention tool."

Smithfield Middle added to "capped schools" list

The board approved a revised list of "capped schools" for the 2025-26 school year. New to the list are Smithfield Middle School, McGee's Crossroads Middle, and West Johnston High. Remaining on the list for another year are Smithfield-Selma High and Wilson's Mills Elementary along with 14 others throughout the county.

Schools that do not have at least 61 available seats are put on the "Exceeding Capacity" list that makes them off-limits for student reassignments.
 

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Traffic safety tops citizens' worries at town forums

Only a handful of citizens took advantage of two "Government In-Touch" forums this past week hosted by the Town of Smithfield. At both last Thursday's get-together in West Smithfield and Tuesday's gathering in South Smithfield, many of the concerns voiced by residents revolved around disrespectful motorists.

West Smithfield residents at last Thursday's forum had lots to say about speeding, primarily along "cut through" streets like Britt and Whitley Drive. Also unnerving, said several, are 18-wheelers using those streets as a short cut from Wilson's Mills Road to US 70 Business West.

"Can we make Britt Street a toll road?" blurted out one resident, in jest.

While that's not an option, other suggested measures included stop signs and speed bumps, or "humps." Those measures will require traffic studies and can't be put into place overnight, the group was told.

In the meantime, Police Chief Pete Hedrick said he will order his officers to step up speed-enforcement efforts in West Smithfield. That's more do-able now that his department is fully staffed, he noted.

The chief also told the gathering that the town is seeking a grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Program to employ two additional officers who would concentrate on traffic issues.

Another suggestion heard during Thursday's forum: a campaign to educate residents about town ordinances that prohibit large items like discarded appliances and furniture and junk cars from being stored indefinitely in yards.

Planning Director Stephen Wensman said the town has recently employed a full-time code-enforcement officer who can address those issues more forcefully.

Councilman David Barbour, elected to represent the West Smithfield district, once again stressed his priority to add sidewalks to major streets. A project now in the planning stages will add a paved "multi-use trail" beside Market Street from the river bridge to the intersection at McDonald's, but he wants to see more than that. "I worry every time I see someone walking down Wilson's Mills Road," he said.

Parks and Recreation Director Gary Johnson talked about plans for a new park on land the town has purchased on the south side of NC 210. Soccer fields will come first, he said, while future plans include a splash park and perhaps a skate park. Grants continue to be sought for the park's full development, he noted.

Town Manager Mike Scott said the town has secured almost $17 million over the past five years for various projects. Added Mayor Andy Moore: "We have probably applied for more grants in the last five to seven years than in the past 30 years."

Citizens who came out for Tuesday's forum at South Smithfield School voiced complaints about "people flying down First Street" in their vehicles. "I'm surprised how much traffic these back streets carry," observed Chief Hedrick, referring to South Second as well as First Street.

Again, he promised stepped-up patrolling by his officers to discourage speeding. "I take it seriously," the chief said. "It's a quality-of-life thing."

Some goods news, reported one resident, is the recent absence of Amazon trucks using South Smithfield's streets. Councilman Sloan Stevens, who represents the district, said Amazon has been contacted about the practice and apparently a request to re-route the trucks is being heeded.

Another complaint heard Tuesday concerned litter. "We're seeing a lot more," said one. The group was told about a town-wide clean-up event for volunteers to collect trash in parks and along streets and streams on Saturday, April 26.

The last of four "Government In-Touch" forums is scheduled for 6 p.m. today (Thursday) at the Smithfield Recreation & Aquatics Center.
 

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County got more than 5,700 revaluation appeals

Johnston County's Tax Administrator Jocelyn Andrews reported to the County Commissioners Monday that 34% of 5,731 informal appeals of recent real-estate revaluations resulted in downward adjustments. "We also had some that had an increase in value," she added.

Beyond that, 183 formal appeals had been filed with the Tax Office by the first of this week, Ms. Andrews reported. Many of those will be resolved by the county's Board of Equalization and Review during hearings which began this week.

The deadline for filing formal appeals is 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 – the last day the board is scheduled to hold hearings, Ms. Andrews noted. Appeals may be filed online, by mail, or by visits to the Tax Office inside the Courthouse.

Also on Monday, commissioners reappointed Keith R. Langdon and Jeffrey C. Lee to new terms on the Board of Equalization and Review. Other members are Joe David Austin, David L. Grady, Jennie Harless, and Joseph Warta. There's currently one vacancy on that board, which includes representatives from each of the seven residency districts for members of Johnston's Board of County Commissioners.

MORE INFORMATION about the county's revaluation process is posted online>

JCATS ridership growing, QuickRide especially

Josh Jensen, executive director of Community & Senior Services of Johnston County, reported to commissioners Monday that ridership in the agency's transit services under the umbrella of JCATS is on pace to break the 130,000-mark this year. That's up from 99,000 riders in 2023, he noted.

The agency's QuickRide on-demand "micro-transit" service in the Smithfield-Selma area drew about 13,000 riders during the first two months of 2025, he reported.

JCATS ("jay cats") is the acronym for Johnston County Area Transit System.

A half-dozen proclamations for observances

The County Commissioners adopted resolutions Monday proclaiming the following observations during April and May:
• Public Health Week – week of April 7.
• National Telecommunicators Week – April 13-19.
• Line Worker Appreciation Day – April 18.
• Child Abuse Prevention Month – April.
• Mental Health Awareness Month – May.
• Older Americans Month – May.
 

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 WHAT'S COMING UP 
Listed here are public events open free of charge:

Easter Egg Hunt at Community Park SUNDAY afternoon

The Smithfield Parks & Recreation Department will host a "free entry for all" Easter Egg Hunt for ages 3-12 at 3 p.m. this Sunday at Community Park off Durwood Stephenson Parkway. The event includes an appearance by the Easter Bunny, bounce houses, and "other activities" for the youngsters.

Town Council gets plan for old hotel's remodeling Tuesday

The Smithfield Planning Department has endorsed it, and now it's going before the Town Council during its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall. Noviomagus LLC of Durham wants the site of the former Hotel Gabriel Johnston on South Fourth Street rezoned to allow the vacant building to be revamped for apartments. That's one of two public hearings scheduled Tuesday. The other concerns preliminary-plat approval of a 20-lot single-family subdivision on 21 acres on Swift Creek Road just north of Cleveland Road. VIEW the complete agenda for Tuesday's meeting>
 

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 A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR 

Hooray for the postmark "Wilson's Mills N.C."

First, the little town that wasn't even incorporated a while back got a big jolt when the Johnston County Board of Education decided to resurrect the name "Wilson's Mills High School" for a large new campus now under construction there.

Now, Wilson's Mills has achieved another important milestone that recognizes its rediscovered identity: a postmark by the U.S. Postal Service.

Wilson's Mills has long hosted its own post office, but it only provide P.O. boxes without home-delivery service. As a result, such deliveries have been carried out as rural routes of either the Smithfield or Clayton post offices. While that will continue with no change in ZIP codes, the postmark will read "Wilson's Mills N.C."

Wish the Postal Service would do the same thing for other parts of Johnston County. Archer Lodge is now an incorporated municipality but doesn't even have a post office, so its addresses are mostly "Clayton N.C." even though it's well beyond that town's corporate limits.

Same thing goes for unincorporated Flowers Plantation east of Clayton, and for the intensely developed commercial and residential explosion around the intersection of I-40 and what used to be N.C. 42. Could that area not carry a "Cleveland Township" postmark? (Cleveland is an incorporated small town west of Salisbury.)

And there's the up-and-coming suburban community around McGee's Crossroads. Many of the addresses in that area carry Benson postmarks; others are associated with Angier, which lies in neighboring Harnett County.

What's frustrating to me is a common practice by regional news media to identify these suburban Johnston County places as "in Clayton" or "in Benson" or somewhere else that doesn't recognize their separation from those towns.

That could all be fixed if the Postal Service would follow its "Wilson's Mills N.C." precedent.
 

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