SMITHFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL READY FOR A NEW YEAR

Back to school Monday for Johnston students
Calendar continues to have a shortened fall semester

Monday is the first day of classes in Johnston County's traditional public schools – the earliest opening day allowed in August by a state law in effect since 2004. As a result, Johnston County has chosen to shorten the first semester by a couple of weeks in order to have mid-term exams completed before Christmas holidays.

Wake County is among the state's school systems that operate under an old calendar model that extends the first semester well into January. A number of other systems are defying state law by starting school earlier in August.

Meanwhile, Johnston's Early College and Career & Technical Leadership academies for high-school students are hosted by Johnston Community College, which began its fall semester August 11. Neuse Charter School and American Leadership Academy Johnston also started classes earlier this month.

According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, Johnston County Public Schools (JCPS) enrolled 37,079 students this past year. ALA Johnston enrolled 2,037 while Neuse Charter reported 870. Johnston Charter Academy at Clayton enrolled 722 in grades K-8 (it has no high school).

Starting next week, remember to watch out for the yellow buses carrying precious cargoes!
(JCPS Facebook photo)


Check out the JCPS "Back to School Basics" web site with lots of useful links>


 

Social Services
campaign runs through August

The Johnston County Department of Social Services is collecting supplies for needy children at its headquarters in Smithfield at 714 North Street – weekdays from
8 a.m. till 5 p.m.

Requested items: backpacks ("new, durable, unfilled" for all grade levels), spiral notebooks and loose-leaf paper, composition books, sticky notes, No. 2 pencils, pens (blue, black, and red ink), colored pencils and crayons, highlighters, markers, dry-erase markers (black preferred),  binders (1-inch and 5-inch) with dividers, two-pocket folders (with prongs), pencil pouches, scissors (for kids of all ages), glue sticks (no bottles), erasers, pencil sharpeners, wired headphones, gallon and sandwich bags, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer, facial tissues.
 

JCC sets yet another student-enrollment record

Johnston Community College enrolled 7,000 degree-seeking students at the start of the fall term. That’s the highest first-day curriculum enrollment in the college’s history.

As of the first morning of classes last week, credit-bearing enrollment was up 8% compared to last year, while full-time equivalent enrollment was up 16%. This semester marks JCC’s first academic session operating primarily in an eight-week course format.

Since 2021, the college’s curriculum enrollment has increased by roughly 65%.
To support that growth, JCC has made significant investments in technology, infrastructure, and organizational improvements.

Enrollment increases since 2021 have generated an estimated $42 million in additional state support, the college reports. The County of Johnston, meanwhile, has increased its annual support of JCC's operations to $14,659,564 this fiscal year – an increase of $9.3 million above last year's appropriation.
 

 

     Business disputes • Injuries • Family Law • Appeals   

Here's the latest layout for the baseball stadium to be constructed on acreage abutting Smithfield Community Park behind Smithfield-Selma High School.

Town Council votes 4-3 to begin site preparation

The Smithfield Town Council got the word Tuesday evening from Interim Town Manager Kim Pickett: New cost estimates for completion of a stadium for the former Wilson Tobs baseball team add up to $10,772,752 for this year's Phase I and another $5,525,999 for Phase II – a total of $16,298,751.

The "guaranteed maximum price" was set at $6 million when the council approved a contract with Muter Construction of Zebulon last November. But that was done before the site of the stadium was moved twice – first from a portion of the town's Community Park beside Buffalo Road to the American Legion's former baseball field off North Bright Leaf Boulevard, finally to a portion of 58 acres of woodland recently donated to the town behind Smithfield-Selma High School.

Clearing and grading is to begin immediately after the council voted 4-3 Tuesday to begin site preparation despite the revised cost estimates. Voting against proceeding with the work were council members Travis Scott, Doris Wallace, and Gettys Cohen. Voting to move ahead were Sloan Stevens, John Dunn, and Steve Rabil. Mayor Andy Moore broke the tie with an affirmative vote in the absence of Councilor Roger Wood, who is recovering from major surgery.

The initial $6-million budget for the stadium's construction identified sources of funding that included a $2-million contribution from the County of Johnston and a $500,000 grant from the county's Tourism Authority. The balance was to come from several town accounts (reported in the Weekly Sun of November 20, 2025).

The council learned Tuesday that the N.C. General Assembly's budget recently adopted includes $1 million in state funding for the stadium. To reach the new Phase I construction budget of $10,772,752, Interim Town Manager Kim Pickett recommends taking $3,272,752 from the town's General Fund unassigned reserve account (presently containing just over $22.7 million) and requesting another $500,000 from the Tourism Authority. She also said naming rights for the stadium, to be announced next month, could bring in another $1 million or so.

K.J. Stancil of Raleigh-based Eagle Eye Consulting – employed by the town as its governmental lobbyist – told the council he will seek additional stadium grants from the state's Legislature.

Councilor Scott was most outspoken against proceeding with the stadium. "There are other projects in town that impact economic development without the risk," he argued. "This is a want, not a need – and the town has a lot of other needs."

Councilor Stevens defended investing in the stadium. "It's a lot of money, but we're a healthy town, sitting on a lot of money," he said, referring to the town's reserve fund. "This is long-term thinking," he added. "This is going to outlive all of us."

Manager Pickett urged the council to authorize clearing and grading right away since the town has contracted with the Tobs baseball franchise to have the stadium ready for play by next spring.

Later, during the meeting's "Citizens Comments" segment, several residents objected to the stadium's construction, mostly over concerns about its rising cost. "What is the amount that ends up being too much?" asked Brent Renfrow of nearby Eden Drive.

Phase I of construction will include the playing field, grandstand, an unpaved parking lot, and what's labeled as a "secondary entrance" from existing parking lots behind the high school. Phase II will include permanent restrooms, a new main entrance from Buffalo Road, and paving of the parking lot and remainder of the concourse.

The Tobs compete in the summertime Coastal Plains League for college baseball players but had to forego this season after the City of Wilson canceled its lease of an old ballpark used by the team for many years. Meanwhile, the city has opened a new ballpark for professional baseball's Carolina Mudcats.

Electrical-service expansion northward to cost $1,117,874
The Town Council awarded a $795,250 contract to Power Grid Services, an Alabama-based company, to extend the town's Kellie Drive electrical circuit to serve new subdivisions being built along Buffalo Road. Utilities Director Ted Credle said $600,000 had been budgeted for the project, which will cost $1,177,874 when engineering and materials are added. He recommended taking the remaining $577,874 from Electric Fund reserves. The council gave its unanimous approval.

Most council members forego travel reimbursements
Councilors Cohen and Wallace wondered why they were "singled out" in a report on travel expenses presented Tuesday. Manager Pickett explained that they are the only council members who have filed for reimbursements since the first of the year for attending out-of-town gatherings of public officials. Mayor Moore, for one, said he has attended several meetings without requesting reimbursements for expenses he has incurred. The report shows Ms. Wallace has filed for reimbursements totaling $2,849.95 and Dr. Cohen $1,358.75 so far this year.

Town, county contribute to repaving church's parking lot
The council approved an expenditure of $2,543.75 to reimburse First Baptist Church for one-third of the cost of repaving its parking lot off South Third Street which is made available for public use. Manager Pickett said the church also asked the county to pay a third of the cost yet the County Commissioners on Monday approved reimbursing the church for half the total expense of $7,631.25.

Planning Board, Appearance Commission appointments
The council approved the following first-term appointments:
• Kellie B. Youngblood of Lee-Youngblood Road to the town's Planning Board as an extraterritorial representative.
• Amy Plant-Perdue of Church Street to the town's Appearance Commission.
Currently, the town has vacancies on the Appearance Commission, the Planning Board, the Board of Adjustment, and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.
 

SMITHFIELD'S CLUB SPIN MIXES MUSIC AND EXERCISE
Owners Ti Ana and Brandon Gorham have opened a new indoor cycling studio at 259 Venture Drive, Suite D, in Smithfield. Club Spin offers high-energy cycling classes for riders of all fitness levels, combining music and instructor-led workouts that allow participants to ride at their own pace. For more information, visit the website clubspin.studio> (Announcement & photo from Town of Smithfield)
 

County Commissioners tweak proposed UDO
Left unsettled: distance between farms, subdivisions

As promised, Johnston's County Commissioners spent their entire third-Monday morning session seeking consensus on contentious issues raised during recent public presentations of the county's new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).

Commissioners appeared to agree on several of the proposed rules but left others to be resolved after the public has had time to respond to the latest revisions.

The No. 1 issue left unsettled Monday is the distance required between existing farm operations and new residential subdivisions.

Commissioner Bill Stovall said a 75-foot buffer "got the most votes" in public surveys on the matter. He noted that the county's recently adopted Land Use Plan calls for 150 feet while the "development community" wants 35 feet as currently proposed in the UDO draft. "Farm interests," he said, would accept 75 feet "as a compromise."

Commissioner Mike Rose of the Princeton area said farmers in his district told him over the weekend that 35 feet "is a number they could live with" although they don't like the concept of "one size fits all." He suggested different setbacks depending on the type of farming operation – one measure for livestock, another for cropland.

Unable to reach consensus, commissioners agreed to leave the 35-foot rule in place for now – to get more information about what other counties are doing, and more feedback from Johnston County's citizenry.

On other issues, the commissioners agreed to:
• Leave out all proposed subdivision restrictions on keeping of animals, retail sales of produce, and greenhouses.
• Keep "gross acreage" rather than "net acreage" when calculating allowable housing density for proposed developments. (Gross acreage includes such things as wetlands, public rights-of-way, and conservation easements where structures are prohibited. Net acreage is land "available and suitable" for development.)
• Keep proposed land-use rules separate for lightly developed "Rural Crossroads" commercial districts and more intensely developed "Regional Mixed-Use" centers.
• Keep in place minimum lot sizes of 30,000 square feet in Agricultural-Residential zoning districts and 40,000 square feet in "environmentally sensitive" areas.
• Remove proposed rules on electric and barbed-wire fences in subdivisions.

Commissioners expressed reservations about allowing the county's administrative staff rather than the Planning Board to review preliminary plats for smaller subdivisions; and they weren't sure about the appropriate distance between vape shops and schools, day-care centers, parks, playgrounds, and churches. County Attorney Jennifer Slusser said the county's Health Department favors 1,000-foot buffers in those cases.

The planning staff is charged with posting UDO changes addressed at Monday's session on the county's website. Here's where to find that once it's done>

County's mass-gathering ordinance left unchanged

In response to public objections voiced during a public hearing earlier this month, commissioners agreed during Monday's evening session to forego immediate changes to the county's mass-gathering ordinance.

A key provision in revisions proposed by the county's legal staff would have reduced from 4,000 to 2,500 the attendance threshold for obtaining a county permit for events other than regularly scheduled outdoor activities (a state permit is required for gatherings of 5,000 and more).

The proposed change was prompted by an Hispanic event on property near Princeton last October that alarmed nearby residents and passersby.

Commissioners decided Monday to wait and see if this was an uncommon incident before changing the rules. Assistant County Attorney Marie Coats said there's no standard rule among surrounding counties when it comes to regulating mass gatherings according to crowd size. She reported that some counties, including Harnett, require permits for gatherings of 500 and more while others have procedures she described as "vague."
 

Langstons saluted for NC's 100th conservation easement

A recent program at Johnston's Agricultural Center celebrated a land-conservation easement granted by the Langston family for their Swift Creek Road farm. It's the 100th such agreement to preserve farmland with funding from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Honored members of the family included: (left to right) in front – William Langston, Janet Langston, Ken Langston, Ben Youngblood; in back – Trenton Langston, Meg Langston, Brian Langston, Ben Youngblood II, Evan Davis, and Brian Loadholt (Photo from County of Johnston)

READ the full story posted online by the county's Public Information Office>
 

 HOME FOR SALE IN SOUTH SMITHFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD 

        AT 714 CHESTNUT DRIVE
2-story Tudor with 3,056 square feet,
3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2-car garage, lovely landscaped yard. Plenty of room and storage. Hardwood floors, 9-ft. ceilings, large kitchen, custom-designed window treatments, huge primary bedroom suite, above-ground pool, formal living & dining rooms, big family room: $475,000 MLS# 10178130 (ShowSpaces Photography)

$5,000 allowance for buyer's closing costs

  SUSAN LASSITER • Long & Foster Real Estate • 919-669-9235

 WHAT'S COMING UP 

SSS football season opens at South Johnston Friday
The first home game for Smithfield-Selma High's Spartans follows on August 28 versus West Johnston High. Meanwhile, interscholastic play has already begun for SSS in several other sports: boys soccer, girls volleyball, girls tennis, girls golf, and co-ed cross country. VIEW Smithfield-Selma High's all-sports calendar>

Downtown's "Signature Fresh Market" open Saturday
It's the Downtown Development Corporation's twice-monthly farmers market, set up in what's now labeled as "Town Hall Park" beside the Smithfield Town Hall at the corner of Market and Fourth streets – from 8 a.m. till noon this Saturday.

Town Council meets on Tuesday following Labor Day
The Smithfield Town Council's next regularly scheduled meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1. The agenda should be posted next week on the town's website>
Johnston's County Commissioners aren't scheduled to meet again until Tuesday, Sept. 8 because of the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 7. The agenda should be ready in time for the Weekly Sun's next edition on Thursday, Sept. 3.
 

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

 A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR 

A couple of nicely refreshed community places

The new "pocket park" at the corner of Market and Third streets was officially opened last week as "Market Street Commons," a name chosen from nominations submitted by the public.

Tyreka Horton (shown here), a West Smithfield resident, provided the winning entry.

Designed by Smithfield landscape architect Clayton Narron, the park beside the Public Library offers "a safe, welcoming place where families could gather, kids could play, and people could simply enjoy being downtown," notes a Facebook post from the Downtown Smithfield Development office.

Most of the funding came from the County of Johnston ($100,000), the Town of Smithfield ($50,000), and the Johnston County Visitors Bureau ($50,000). The Down-to-Earth Garden Club made a contribution for blooming plants.

Speaking of plants, Town Councilor Doris Wallace (shown above) has spearheaded a project to rejuvenate the Fifth Street Community Garden after it was uprooted by the remaking of Spring Branch through the town's property between Fifth and Sixth streets that was acquired some years ago as a result of a federal grant to remove houses along the stream that had been subject to flooding after heavy rains.

Maintenance of the Community Garden is largely a volunteer effort, Ms. Wallace pointed out. Anyone is welcome to "share the harvest," reads a sign on the premises. "Pick what you need, leave some for your neighbors, and help keep our garden thriving throughout the season."
 

MISS A PREVIOUS EDITION?
You'll find it in the Weekly Sun archives>