TUESDAY IS MUNICIPAL ELECTION DAY

The polls will be open 6:30 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. Precinct polling places are the same as those used in county and state elections in even-numbered years, except for voters in South Smithfield who will cast their ballots in this year's election at the First Baptist Church Ministry Center (former Herald building beside Johnston Street).

Meanwhile, early voting continues from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. today and Friday and from 8 a.m. till 3 p.m. Saturday at the Board of Elections office on South Second Street near the Courthouse.

NOTE: All voters will be asked to show a photo ID in order to cast ballots.
MORE INSTRUCTIONS for voting on the Board of Elections website>

For backgrounds and statements of candidates in Smithfield's contests for mayor and Town Council, follow this link to last week's FEATURE PAGE>
 

Colorful spookiness on Parker Street is what's trending in Smithfield these days.

HALLOWEEN TURNING OUT TO BE A MULTI-DAY AFFAIR

Door-to-door trick-or-treating by youngsters permitted 5 till 8 p.m. Friday.
Downtown Candy Crawl 3-6 p.m. today and Friday for youngsters trick-or-treating at participating businesses "decked out for Halloween."
Historical Ghost Walk 6-8 p.m. today at Riverside Cemetery. Admission $5 for adults, $3 for teens. First come, first served to start guided tours.
(Parks & Recreation hosted two Halloween events for youngsters last weekend.)
 

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New Clayton High School's cost: $134,381,316

And that's a "guaranteed maximum price" in an agreement approved unanimously by the Johnston County Board of Education during a special session Tuesday afternoon. The agreement is with Barnhill Contracting Company, which presented its design for the new Clayton High School to be built on the campus of the present-day school that will be demolished once the new facility is completed in 2027.

Barnhill, based in Rocky Mount, is currently building the new Wilson's Mills High School under a similar design-build contract that caps the cost of that construction at $99,816,808. Total estimated cost of the Wilson's Mills project is $113.1 million.

The new Clayton High's construction cost is capped at $126,381,316. Added to that is another $8 million for other expenses related to the project.

The agreement approved by the school board must now go before the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, which will decide how the bulk of funding will be raised since it was left out of the county's $120-million school-bond issue approved by voters last year. The funding is likely to come from Limited Obligation Bond financing that requires approval by the N.C. Local Government Commission.

Architect's rendering of a portion of the new Clayton High School:

More renderings of both the interior and exterior of the envisioned Clayton school are posted on the Johnston County Public Schools' website>
 

More five-star ratings for hospital care in Johnston

UNC Health Johnston has earned four five-star ratings from Healthgrades for carotid procedures and treatment of stroke, pancreatitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (Healthgrades is a website that helps consumers find a hospital or doctor.)

This is the second year in a row that UNC Health Johnston, which operates hospitals in Smithfield and Clayton, has received a five-star rating for treatment of stroke.

Every year, Healthgrades evaluates risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for more than 30 common conditions and procedures at approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide to identify the top hospitals in key specialty areas.

Healthgrades’ latest analysis revealed that if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to five-star hospitals during the 2022-24 study period, on average 230,466 lives could have been saved and 156,797 complications could have been avoided.
To view the complete Specialty Awards and Ratings Methodology click here>

Announcement from UNC Health Johnston
 

Police offer free mobile app for public contact

The Smithfield Police Department has launched a new mobile app that makes it easy to connect with police, receive emergency notifications and public-safety alerts, and submit anonymous tips directly from a smartphone. The "app" (short for Internet "application") is available for free download via the Google Play Store or iTunes App Store by searching "Smithfield PD."

The app’s technology enables the public to share anonymous tips with officers and allows police to respond, creating an anonymous two-way conversation. The system removes all identifying information before police see the tips, ensuring complete anonymity for the sender.

Those without a smartphone can still share information by texting keyword SPDNCTIP and their message to 847411. Anonymous web tips can also be submitted on the Police Department’s website>

A WARNING FROM SMITHFIELD POLICE:
In light of the increasing number of reported frauds and scams in our area, we would like to remind citizens that we will never demand payment for outstanding warrants or missed jury duty. No law-enforcement agency will ever demand money for outstanding warrants or missed jury duty. These phone calls are scams, and once payment is sent, it is extremely difficult to retrieve the funds or identify the culprit. If you are being asked to send money and believe you may be being scammed, please feel free to contact our communications non-emergency number at 919-553-6811 to speak with an officer before sending any money.
 

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Near-normal rainfall keeps us above yearly average

October has produced 2.90 inches of rainfall at Cornell Cox's Backyard Weather Station in South Smithfield. That's slightly below the month's normal of 3.21 inches yet lifts the total for 2025 to 44.38 inches – above the average 42.98 inches for Smithfield January through October, according to U.S. Climate Data>
 

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   Realtor Susan Lassiter has what it takes to sell Smithfield  

• Licensed real estate agent since 1992
• Real estate broker since 2001
• Served on Smithfield Town Council for 8 years
• Past president, Smithfield-Selma Chamber of Commerce
• Past president, Downtown Smithfield Development Corp.
• Past president, Johnston County Arts Council
• Past president, Rotary Club of Smithfield
SUSAN LASSITER • Long & Foster Real Estate • 919-669-9235 

Boys & Girls Clubs of Johnston County has received a $5,000 grant from the Johnston County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation. This support comes from the organization's Unrestricted Endowment Fund and the Cara Lee Powell Priest Endowment.

Funds from the grant will bolster the local clubs' efforts to expand programming at sites in Smithfield and Selma.

Kelly Blanchard, the clubs' Director of Resource Development & Community Engagement, said the additional resources will be used to enhance academic support, leadership development, and enrichment activities during non-school months, providing safe, structured, high-quality opportunities for area youth.
 

Amazon volunteers lend
a hand to Boys & Girls Clubs

Meagan Main and Elijah Batts were among volunteers from the Amazon RDU2 Smithfield team who recently volunteered to assist with grounds cleanup and beautification projects.

Volunteers from the company's facility in West Smithfield have committed to continue providing volunteer hours to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Johnston County clubs throughout the year.

(Boys & Girls Club photo)

 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL REPORT 

Last week's results for Johnston County's teams:
(season's records in parenthesis)
CLEVELAND 62 (9-0), SMITHFIELD-SELMA 6 (1-9)
ROANOKE RAPIDS 32, AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY 14 (4-5)
CLAYTON 34, (7-2) GARNER 22
ENLOE 28, CORINTH HOLDERS 22 (4-5)
NORTH JOHNSTON 48 (5-4), NORTH LENOIR 22
JAMES KENAN 49, PRINCETON 14 (5-4)
SOUTH JOHNSTON 41 (6-3), TRITON 0
WEST JOHNSTON 35 (4-5), WESTERN HARNETT 7
For game summaries and schedules, visit JoCoSports.com>

 

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday

It's the season to "Fall back" the hour setting on your timepieces so you'll be on Eastern Standard Time till DST returns March 8. As a result, we'll get earlier sunrises and earlier sundowns – at 6:36 a.m. and 5:17 p.m. Sunday, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. 

 WHAT'S COMING UP 

It's time for another Touch-A-Truck event Downtown

The Junior Women's League of Smithfield will host its 10th annual Touch-A-Truck event for youngsters this Saturday from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m. in Downtown Smithfield (there's a "quiet hour" from 9 till 10). Admission is free, with fees collected to enter a "Little Wheelers Playland" and rides. Proceeds will be used for the League's Blessing Boxes free-food program, scholarships for women, and grants to local non-profits serving women and children.

County Commissioners get schools' request Monday
What appears to be the most consequential matter on the agenda for the regular 10 a.m. meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners at the Courthouse is the school board's request for funding to start construction of the new Clayton High School (story above). VIEW the compete agenda for the morning session>
The agenda for Monday's 6 p.m. meeting includes just one public hearing: on a request for conditional business-use zoning for 6.69 acres in Elevation Township.
VIEW the complete agenda for the evening session>

Election Day pre-empts Town Council meeting next week
In deference to Tuesday's Municipal Election, the Smithfield Town Council isn't scheduled to meet again until Tuesday, November 18. Normally, the council meets on the first and third Tuesdays each month.
 

 DEATHS AND FUNERALS 
Click on the name to read an obituary, usually posted by the funeral home:

Not all of these are Smithfield candidates!

 A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR 

Smithfield incumbents challenged, but how much?

All of the incumbents seeking re-election to the town's municipal offices this year have opposition on Tuesday's ballot, yet apparently lacking are "hot button" issues bringing a sizeable percentage of the town's voters to the polls. 

Based on recent citizens' comments at Town Council meetings and last spring's series of district forums, there's concern out there about Smithfield's accelerated residential growth, speeding motorists, crumbling streets and storm-water flooding, not to mention a sizeable jump in most property owners' taxes resulting from the past year's revaluation of everyone's real estate by the county.

And yet, we've seen little evidence the challengers are stirring up significant discontent with the town's current office-holders.

As a result, we can expect voter turnout in Smithfield to be on the short side.

Wouldn't it be more compelling for voters to take part if these elections included county as well as municipal offices – all free of political party alignments forced upon local candidates by the divisiveness contaminating our state and national elections.

On local issues like the pace and direction of real-estate development, our county commissioners and town council members have much in common as they face thorny land-use decisions. National concerns like health care and tariffs and immigration aren't going to be fixed by our local governments.

Holding municipal and county elections together would certainly boost interest – and voter turnout – in years like this.
 

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