|
OBSERVATIONS
November 7, 2019 |
 |
 Wingate Lassiter |
Looks like Smithfield has found
itself a unique festival for the fall
I knew about the "Touch-A-Truck" event started three years ago by the Junior Women's League of Smithfield, but I hadn't "checked it out" till last weekend's fourth edition.
Boy, was I surprised at the magnitude of this thing!
It has grown into what looks like a full-fledged festival, with trucks and tractors and kids' play space and food vendors spread over four blocks of Downtown Smithfield.
It's
not as big as our Ham & Yam Festival in the spring.But it's big enough for me to label it our "fall festival" --- and it's unlike anything else I've seen around here.
Its location was advertised as the "200 block of South Third Street." But when I got there Saturday it had spread westward along Johnston Street behind the Courthouse all the way to Second Street and then another block southward. Meanwhile, the 100 block of South Third was filled with "food trucks" --- a staple of today's community street fairs.
Kudos to the Junior Women's League for recruiting quite an assortment of vehicles for the kids to climb upon plus an impressive list of generous commercial sponsors. Each year the League designates a charitable organization as the recipient of the proceeds. This year it's the My Kid's Club.
These are the things that make us proud of our community.
Is that all we can afford for our
teachers?
The N.C. General Assembly has approved average pay raises of 3.9% for school teachers (2% for non-instructional staff) over the next TWO years.
Meanwhile, North Carolina's corporate income-tax rate has been cut to 2.5%, lowest in the nation (although several states have no such tax).
You can do the math.
A DISCLAIMER: Both of my children are public-school teachers, one in neighboring Wake County, the other in Gwinnett County, Georgia (suburban Atlanta). I'm proud that both of them are working on the "front lines" of education --- and I feel the same about all who practice their profession.
By the way, when my daughter started teaching in Georgia a quarter-century ago, that state and ours were roughly equal in teacher compensation. That's not the case these days. Georgia pays better.
THIS WEEK'S FALL COLOR CHAMP
It's these bright-yellow ginkgo trees near the corner of Wellons and South Second streets. Unlike some other varieties, the ginkgos appear to have weathered October's dry and unseasonably warm weather with "flying colors."
Got a comment or a question?
If so, send an e-mail to editor@smithfieldweeklysun.com.
We'll confirm receipt of your correspondence and, if any or all of it is appropriate for publication, we'll ask your permission to print before we "go to press." If we publish your submission, all we will show is your name. Your e-mail address and place of residence will not be shared.
To make verification simpler, please sign up as a subscriber if you haven't already done so, using the online form below:
RETURN TO THE SMITHFIELD WEEKLY SUN FRONT PAGE