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PUBLISHED
ONLINE AUGUST 8, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 32
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"National Night Out": Smithfield sytle
Community policing officer Victor DeNoble is
apprehended by a member of the Smithfield Police
Department's K9 Unit during a demonstration at Tuesday
evening's "National Night Out" event at Johnston
Community College. Officer DeNoble was chief organizer
of local activities linked to a nationwide observance
started some years ago to improve relations between
police officers and the neighborhoods they serve. This
is the second year the Smithfield PD has hosted a
local event, both times under Officer DeNoble's
direction. More
photos on the FEATURE PAGE>
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County takes steps toward replacement
of sewage-treatment plant at Smithfield
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners on Monday
modified a special-use permit that clears the way for
construction of a new sewage-treatment plant on higher
ground to replace the county's 56-year-old plant on
the Neuse River below Smithfield.
Built by the Town of Smithfield in 1963, the current
plant was sold to the county in 1977 when it became a
treatment facility serving Clayton, Selma, Pine Level,
and Four Oaks as well as Smithfield. It was put out of
commission for a week three years ago by river
flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew.
The permit approved Monday by commissioners will allow
construction of a new plant on part of a 624-acre
tract owned by the county beside Highway 210 west of
town. That's the property that encompasses the
county's solid-waste landfill, livestock arena, and
other facilities.
During a public hearing on changes to the county's
landfill permit, Donald Norris of County Home Road
said seven residents who live within 1,500 feet of the
sewage-plant site are fearful of unpleasant odors.
"It's going to destroy all of us," he exclaimed.
Chandra Farmer, the county's director of public
utilities, assured Mr. Norris and commissioners that
the new plant's process "should minimize odors." If
there is a problem, she added, "there are additional
odor-control measures we could implement."
Commissioners unanimously approved modifications to
the special-use permit reducing setback requirements
for the county's landfill from 800 feet to 300 feet.
County Attorney Jennifer Slusser explained that the
original permit intended to require the 800-foot
setback only from Highway 210 but left unclear what's
required along other boundaries of the county's
property. The 300-foot rule will allow for continued
expansion of the landfill operation as well as room
for the sewage plant.
Ms. Farmer told the Sun that the plant is currently
"under design," with construction expected to begin in
the summer of 2020.
Here's what Johnston County's Wastewater Treatment
Plant on the Neuse River below Smithfield
looked like after floodwaters hit a record-high level
in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.
This aerial photo was included with an update on sewer
services presented to the County Commissioners on
Monday.
READ
MORE from Monday's meetings of the County
Commissioners>
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Dr. Woodrow Batten leaves us after
68 years of practicing medicine here
 He officially retired two years ago at
age 95, having practiced medicine in Smithfield for an
incredible 68 years. He gave up his earthly existence
last Friday, at age 97.
Dr. Woodrow Batten grew up on a family farm between
Selma and Micro but was called to practice medicine.
After completing his medical training, he and his
wife, Mary Gordon, had just moved to Asheville in 1949
when he was persuaded to return home to Johnston
County to help establish a new hospital in Smithfield.
It opened two years later as Johnston Memorial
Hospital.
In 2006, at age 84, Dr. Batten closed his private
practice but continued to see patients at Smithfield
Manor nursing center and assist at the hospital until
he retired in 2017.
On the 50th anniversary of his coming to Smithfield to
practice medicine --- in 1999 --- feature writer Julia
McCullers interviewed Dr. Batten and produced a
lengthy story for The Smithfield Herald that
covered his life's story up to that time.
Here it is again as a reproduction
of her typewritten manuscript>
A service to celebrate Dr. Batten's life is planned
for Sunday afternoon, August 25.
A link to his obituary appears under DEATHS
& FUNERALS below....
Johnston Health's CEO to retire Dec. 31
 From Suzette
Rodriguez, Johnston Health
Johnston
Health Chief Executive Officer Chuck Elliott has
announced that he will retire at the end of the
year. He has
served as the top administrator for Johnston
County’s health-care system for the past 10 years.
"It’s
been an honor to work with our board, employees,
and leadership team," Mr. Elliott said. "Together,
we’ve grown and adapted to tremendous change in
our industry. I’m so proud of our financial
standing and our dedication to improving quality,
patient satisfaction, and access to health care in
Johnston County. With UNC Health Care as our
partner, we are well-positioned for continued
growth and success."
UNC Health Care
will work with the board at Johnston Health and
others to find the right person to lead the
hospital into the future. UNC Health Care plans to
start a national search and expects to have a new
CEO in place when Mr. Elliott retires.
"We’d like to
thank Chuck for his dedication to Johnston Health
and its patients and staff," said Chris Ellington,
president of UNC Health Care Network Hospitals.
"Under Chuck’s leadership, Johnston Health
expanded by opening its Clayton campus and
hospital, improved its ranking in a number of
quality surveys, and added many new services that
have enhanced care for residents of Johnston
County and surrounding communities for generations
to come."
Eric Janis, M.D., chairman of the
Johnston Health Board of Directors, said Elliott led
the organization during a period of tremendous
growth, including the hospital’s largest-ever
capital expansion and a partnership with UNC Health
Care.
"Under his leadership, we’ve
become a health-care system whose excellence is
recognized nationally by organizations such as
Healthgrades, Leapfrog, and, most recently, U.S.
News & World Report," he added. "We’re going to
miss him."
Mr.
Elliott said he and his wife, Deb, are looking
forward to the next stage of their lives. Sometime
next year, they plan to move from Smithfield to
their coastal home in South Carolina.
NOTE:
In addition to the hospital at Clayton,
Johnston Health operates what was formerly
Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield. UNC
Health Care is owned by the State of North
Carolina and is based on the campus of
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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 Johnston
Community College
makes a national "Best 10" list
SmartAsset, a company based in
New York that provides "personal finance advice on the
web," has ranked Johnston Community College as No. 10
on its annual list of "Best Community Colleges in
America."
The company compared data from 796 community colleges
across the nation using three metrics: graduation and
transfer rate, cost of tuition and fees, and
student-to-faculty ratio. Data came from the
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
(IPEDS), for the 2017-18 academic year.
Six of the "Best 10" community colleges on
SmartAsset's latest list are located in North
Carolina: Pamlico Community College ranks 2nd, Catawba
Valley CC 3rd, Blue Ridge CC 5th, McDowell Technical
CC 6th, Coastal Carolina CC 9th, and Johnston
Community College 10th.
SmartAsset's report has this to say about JCC: "It is
relatively affordable, ranking 184th overall for
in-state tuition and fees ($2,657 for full-time
students completing two semesters of coursework). The
graduation and transfer rate is 56% and ranks 108th
out of the 796 schools in our entire study." JCC's
student-to-faculty ratio is 10-to-1, according to the
report.
Read more about the
report and the work of SmartAsset>
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LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AGENDAS
Smithfield Town Council
7:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 13
Town Hall, 350 E. Market Street, Smithfield
Among items on the agenda:
• Public hearing on Frank Lee's request for a
special-use permit to allow a greenhouse for hemp
production inside an existing 70,739-square-foot
warehouse on the east side of South Bright Leaf
Boulevard across from Holding Street. The site is
presently zoned for highway business (B-3).
• A resolution requesting the CSX railroad to
maintain ditches and stormwater infrastructure within
the company's right-of-way.
• Discussion on the naming
of the Booker Dairy Road extension currently
under construction on a route parallel to the north of
existing Booker Dairy Road, which will continue on its
present course to US 301.
View the full agenda with
supporting documents>
Johnston
County Board of Education
Tuesday, August 13
Open business session at 4:00 p.m.
Public comment session at 6:00 p.m.
Evander S.
Simpson Building, 2320 U.S. 70 Business
East, Smithfield
The agenda was not published by the Sun's
"press time" on Thursday;
this
link will lead you to it once it's
posted online>
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WHAT'S
COMING UP?
A rundown of upcoming civic
and cultural opportunities in our community
that we've been told about or seen publicized
elsewhere:
MUSIC
FOR THE LUNCH
BUNCH SERIES continues
next Wednesday
(August 14) at 12:15
p.m. at Benson
Baptist Church (instead
of Smithfield's
First Presbyterian
Church) with a
performance by
organist Todd
Johnson, tenor Will
Massengill, and
soprano Donna
Stephenson. View
the full series
schedule>
DOWNTOWN
SMITHFIELD "RHYTHM
& BREWS" monthly
outdoor concert
series continues on
Friday, August 16
from 7:00 till 9:30
p.m. on South Third
Street with a band
called Street
Revival. Jim Quick
& Coastline is
rescheduled for
Thursday, August 29
(postponed from July
because of the
weather).
"BIRDS, BEES, BUTTERFILES," a
symposium on "Growing a Pollinator Garden,"
will be hosted by Johnston County
Extension's Master Gardener volunteers on
Saturday, September 14 from 8:30 a.m. till
4:00 p.m. at the Johnston County
Agricultural Center. For more information,
e-mail jocomastergardeners@gmail.com;
to register, visit jocomgbbb.com.
SRAC to host blood drive August 14
 The
Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center will host a
community blood drive with the American Red Cross next
Wednesday (August 14) from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the
SRAC's banquet room.
To make an appointment to donate blood, call
1-800-733-2767 (RED-CROSS) or sign up online at redcrossblood.org
with sponsor code "Smithfield."
SSS hosting soccer, football exhibitions
A couple of soccer matches for
former Spartan players this Saturday; a football
"jamboree" featuring 17 high-school teams next
Wednesday.
Details
on the SPORTS & RECREATION page>
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DEATHS & FUNERALS
Each week we'll post links to obituaries about persons
who have died during the past week. We'll monitor the
websites of local funeral homes to compile our list,
and we welcome links provided by readers to obituaries
of persons with Smithfield connections who have died
outside our immediate area.
CHARLES EDWARD (ED) CARTER, 86
- died August 6
LUCY WATKINS
THARRINGTON, 80 - died August 5
JIMMY WAYNE LEE, 68 - died
August 5
JOHN
CARSON LANGSTON, 81 - died
August 4
LUCILLE HOWELL PEARCE HINNANT,
90 - died August 3
ROBERT LEE STAFFORD SR., 84
- died August 3
JANIE POLLARD GLOVER,
79 - died August 2
DR. WOODROW
BATTEN, 97 - died August 2
FONCY KAY BENNETT, 63 - died July 27
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS
These four men were leaders of the Mental Health
Association at both local and state levels
when the Johnston County Mental Health Center was
established on the campus of Johnston Memorial
Hospital in the 1970s: (from left) pharmacist
Jimmy Creech, Dr. Woodrow Batten, Agricultural
Extension agent Hernando Palmer, and oil-business
owner M.W. (Mokie) Stancil. All four were
residents of Smithfield at the time. With Dr.
Batten's passing this past week, Mr. Stancil is
the only surviving member of this ground-breaking
group.
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For more
information about our community, check out
our online "newspaper parent" via the link shown
below. This website is a handy "portal" to
important sources of current information about
Smithfield and Johnston County.
 Here's what you'll find there:
• Local weather data, current
& past
• Monthly jobs reports
• Quarterly retail-sales reports
• Official population estimates
• Agricultural statistics
• Local government links
• Things to see and do
www.smithfieldselmasun.com
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