Plastic fencing required for erosion control
was evidence visible
this week that
construction has begun
on a townhouse project
the Smithfield Town
Council assumed it had
stopped earlier this
month.
W.
Smithfield townhouse
project proceeds after
all
The
Town of Smithfield
approved the plan for
Whitley Townes, a 68-unit
townhouse development, two
years ago with a deadline
of April 17 this year for
construction to begin.
When its developer asked
for a deadline extension
earlier this month, the
Town Council unanimously
voted to deny it, citing a
recent change in the
town's zoning rules that
no longer allows
townhouses in a B-3
business zone.
The Whitney Townes tract
is adjacent to the vacant
Heilig Meyers and K-mart
store buildings on West
Market Street (US 70
Business).
Just before last week's
deadline, the developer
began clearing the site
and erected an
erosion-control fence
there. As a result,
Smithfield's Planning
Director Stephen Wensman
confirmed this week that
the activity is
"sufficient" to allow
construction of the
project to proceed.
A visit to the site on
Wednesday found results of
that activity (pictured
above) but no other
work in progress. Also,
next door was evidence
that renovations have
begun on the vacant store
buildings, but no one was
at work there either.
The council was told
earlier this month that
plans call for
construction of a new
commercial structure in
the parking lot of the
former Heilig Meyers and
K-mart buildings, which
may be converted into
storage facilities.
Trucks
exit the Amazon site by
pulling onto westbound
US 70 Business across
from the Finley Landing
residential subdivision
that's presently under
construction.
County
commissioner berates
Amazon on trucking
Bill
Stovall used his time
during the "board
comments" portion of
Monday's meeting of
Johnston's County
Commissioners to voice
frustrations about the
behavior of truckers
working the Amazon
distribution center in
West Smithfield.
He specifically targeted
truckers operating with a
"non-domicile" commercial
driver's license "fully
supported by the American
Truckers Association"
which he said has brought
"hundreds of thousands of
non-vetted individuals"
from other countries to
work as truckers here. "A
majority of these people
cannot read, speak, or
understand English, much
less comprehend road
signs," Mr. Stovall
asserted.
He said a report in The
Wall Street Journal
called Amazon "the worst
offender" in bringing in
these drivers, and he
cited a recent hit-and-run
incident here where a
trucker – "an Hispanic who
was here illegally" –
pulled out of the West
Smithfield Amazon facility
and killed a motorcyclist
on US 70 Business.
Mr. Stovall said he has
received complaints about
near-misses there as well
as blockages along the
highway caused by truckers
lined up "for hours on
end" to get into the
Amazon site. "I myself
have personally
experienced this," he
continued, recalling an
incident when a trucker
pulled out in front of him
as he was returning from a
commissioners' meeting to
his residence at Clayton.
"He never stopped," Mr.
Stovall said, and "ran me
off into the median."
"I would like to think, as
much as we did to bring
Amazon here and the
incentives we gave to
them, they would partner
with us to resolve some of
these issues," Mr. Stovall
concluded. "I just put
that out there for
consideration by this
board."
Meanwhile, Town of
Smithfield officials
recently talked with
Amazon about diverting
truck traffic away from
residential streets.
Apparently that has
resulted in the requested
route changes, town
officials told citizens at
a recent budget forum.
Conservancy
buys 93 acres beside the
Neuse at Selma
Leigh
Ann Hammerbacher, a
stewardship director with
the Triangle Land
Conservancy, reported to
the County Commissioners
Monday that TLC has
purchased 93 acres on the
east side of the Neuse
River at Selma with plans
to develop public trails
and a "nature preserve
center" there.
She credited the County of
Johnston as well as the
N.C. Land and Water Trust
Fund for underwriting the
purchase. Ms. Hammerbacher
thanked commissioners for
appropriating $1,945,000
over the past three years
to help TLC preserve
undeveloped properties
with both acquisitions and
easements.
Based on the amount of
state excise tax paid when
the purchase was recorded
with the Register of
Deeds, TLC paid $1.5
million for the Selma
Township acreage.
Wilson's
Mills gets a county
grant to construct a dog
park
Commissioners
approved a grant of
$32,808 from the county's
Open Space Fund to help
the Town of Wilson's Mills
construct a dog park at
its new community park on
Powhatan Road. It's a
$67,000 project, the board
was told, with the town
paying the balance beyond
the grant. The county's
Open Space Fund is built
up by payments from
real-estate developers in
lieu of providing parks
within their subdivisions.
FOR
SALE AT 806 FIRST
STREET IN SOUTH
SMITHFIELD
Lovely
Williamsburg-style 
custom-built
home on large landscaped
lot. 4 bedrooms, 4 full
baths, 2-car garage, brick
exterior, big back deck
with hot tub. 3,640 square
feet plus bonus room.
Asking price: $589,900
MLS#10086983
(Photo by ShowSpaces
Photography)
SUSAN
LASSITER • FONVILLE
MORISEY REALTY •
919-669-9235
Four
more inducted into JCPS
Athletic Hall of Fame
This
year's inductees into the
Johnston County Public
Schools Athletic Hall of
Fame are former Smithfield
residents John Jacobs and
Johnnie Stott (both
deceased), Nathan Alford
Jr. of Benson, and Rooster
Narron of Corinth-Holders.
John Jacobs
was an All-State football
player at Smithfield-Selma
High School when the team
advanced to the Eastern
state 4-A finals in 1985,
and won a scholarship to
play football at
UNC-Chapel Hill. He was a
social studies teacher who
coached football,
basketball, and baseball
for nine years at
Princeton High School and
seven years at Cleveland
High until he lost his
battle with cancer in 2017
at age 49.
Johnnie
Stott grew up
in Wilson and played
baseball at UNC-Chapel
Hill when the team in 1960
advanced for the first
time to the College World
Series. A pitcher, he
played professional
baseball in the Minnesota
Twins organization until
an arm injury ended his
career in 1962, when he
joined the football and
baseball coaching staffs
at Rocky Mount High School
which won state
championships in both
sports. He moved to
Smithfield in 1966 to work
at Burlington Industries
and then served as
Johnston County Tax
Administrator for 19 years
while coaching many youth
baseball teams and working
as an umpire along the
way. He was said to be the
winningest coach in the
history of Johnston
County's American Legion
baseball team. He died in
1994 at age 54.
READ MORE
about those two, Mr.
Alford, and Mr. Narron
on the JCPS website>
Downtown
welcomes in-home
health-care provider
Story
& photo from Heidi
Gilmond, DSDC executive
director
The
Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation
welcomes a new face to both
our business community and
our board: Natasha
Armstrong, MHA, BSN, RN,
owner and founder
of 1st Choice Homecare
& Infusion Service Inc.
Located at 502-A East
Market Street, 1st Choice is
more than just a health-care
provider. It’s a destination
for wellness, IV
hydration, weight
management, and personalized
care services.
As part of her commitment to
the community, Natasha and
1st Choice will participate
in the upcoming Ham
& Yam Festival with a
booth on Johnston
Street between Front and 2nd
Streets, where they’ll be
serving as the official
First Aid Station for
the event.
To get in touch with Natasha
or learn more about her
services, you can contact
her directly by phone at
919-238-3551, website at www.jocohomecare.com,
or e-mail natasha@jocohomecare.com.
WHAT'S COMING UP
South Smithfield School hosts
"International Night"
Friday
It's
an annual event at the
school, which invites the
public to its "Journey
Around the World"
featuring cuisine from
different regions
including Argentinian,
Mediterranean, Caribbean,
and others (as well as our
own American). Eight food
trucks will be on site 5-8
p.m. Friday. The school is
located at 201 West
Sanders Street.
Earth Day Litter Pick-Up at Smthfield
parks this Saturday
The
Town of Smithfield invites
any and all volunteers to
help clean up its parks
and neighboring properties
from 9 to 11 a.m. this
Saturday. Starting points
are the Sarah Yard
Community Center on Lee
Street beside
Smith-Collins Park, the
Bob Wallace Jaycee Kiddie
Park on South Second
Street, and Smithfield
Community Park off Durwood
Stephenson Parkway.
Hazardous household waste collection
at Livestock Arena
The
County of Johnston will
receive the hazardous
materials free of charge
from 8 a.m. till 1 p.m.
this Saturday at the
Johnston County Livestock
Arena adjacent to the
county's landfill off NC
210 west of Smithfield.
Gardening classes for adults and kids
start this Saturday
The
Public Library of Johnston
County and Smithfield is
collaborating with
Cooperative Extension's
Master Gardener volunteers
for a series of lectures,
workshops, and children's
programs starting this
Saturday at the Library in
Downtown Smithfield.
Classes for adults are
scheduled from 10 a.m.
until noon on six
Saturdays about a month
apart through September.
Classes for children of
all ages are scheduled
from 10 a.m. till noon on
a mixture of Saturdays and
Fridays through October.
Schedules and more details
on the
Public Library's
website>
School
board to adopt proposed
budget next Wednesday
The
Johnston County Board of Education will meet in special session at 3 p.m. Wednesday "to review and approve the Superintendent’s budget request" for the new fiscal year that starts July 1. Once adopted, the proposed school budget will be submitted to the County Commissioners for consideration as they move toward adoption of the 2025-26 county budget in June.
Business
Disputes • Injuries •
Family Law • Appeals
Strong in results.
Strong in experience.
Strong in integrity.
armstronglawyers.com
• 919-934-1575
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L.
Lamar
Armstrong Jr. |
Marcia
Armstrong |
L.
Lamar
Armstrong III |
Eason
Armstrong
Keeney |
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM
THE EDITOR
Local
governments alarmed
about "terrible bill"
County
Commissioners' Chairman
Butch Lawter called it "a
very bad bill";
Commissioner Ted Godwin
went further and called it
"a terrible bill" –
introduced in the current
session of the N.C.
General Assembly as House Bill
765, "An Act to
Reform Local Government
Development Regulations."
County Attorney Jennifer
Slusser was asked for her
assessment near the end of
Monday evening's meeting
of commissioners. She said
the proposed legislation
prompts "some significant
concerns" by "severely
limiting" local
governments' authority for
making land-use decisions.
"It requires unfunded
mandates, it's overly
broad and vague, it
hampers the democratic
process, and it, frankly,
encourages litigation and
provides additional
liabilities for counties,"
Ms. Slusser said.
Reporting unanimous
opposition to the bill
among leaders of
Johnston's local
governments, Chairman
Lawter said: "Rarely do I
see something where all 11
towns in our county
coalesce around an issue –
all on the same side – so
quickly."
Ms. Slusser said she would
draft a letter of
opposition to House Bill
765 right away to be sent
by the county to
Johnston's state
legislators and their
leaders.
It appears to be yet
another example of our
General Assembly's moving
away from "local control"
which once was politically
sacrosanct. Add this
latest proposal to the
list of transgressions,
which includes our
legislative leadership's
persistent refusal to
allow "calendar
flexibility" for
public-school systems
throughout the state.
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