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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE AUGUST 22, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 34 |
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BACK TO SCHOOL: It all begins anew on Monday The long, hot summer is not quite over. Yet the end of the summer break for Johnston County's schools is upon us. All the county's traditional public schools start the fall semester on Monday, August 26 --- the earliest date allowed under current North Carolina law (Neuse Charter School is an exception: its semester began August 12). The fall semester for traditional schools ends December 20. The spring semester starts January 7 and ends May 29, which is also High School Graduation Day. Here's the link to the school system's various calendars> NOTE: All Smithfield-area schools operate under the "Restart" calendars. Smithfield-Selma High School will begin weekday classes at 7:05 a.m. Under the "4 block" system, class sessions are 90 minutes in length, with the last class of the day ending at 2 p.m. Smithfield Middle School will start classes at 7:50 a.m. The school day will end at 3:15 p.m. South Smithfield, West Smithfield, and Wilson's Mills elementary schools will begin classes at 8:45, with dismissal from school at 4 p.m. Smithfield Middle School has a new principal this year: LaShunda Faison, who served as assistant principal there the past two years. Returning principals are: David Allen at Smithfield-Selma High, beginning his third year as principal. Laura Makey at South Smithfield, in her second year as principal. Sharon Bryant at West Smithfield Elementary, also in her second year. Andrea Jones at Wilson's Mills Elementary, in her fifth year as principal there.
HERE COMES THE BUS! Technology seems to be at the forefront of American life these days, so it's no surprise that one of the new tools available in Johnston County this school year is the Here Comes the Bus "app" --- an online service enabling parents to keep track of a child's school bus in "real time." Here's the link to the school system's web page with details, including how to download the app> FREE MEALS FOR ALL All students attending Smithfield Middle, South Smithfield Elementary, and West Smithfield Elementary will receive free breakfast and lunch meals this year, bypassing the normal process of parents having to qualify their children for free or reduced-price meals based on household income. STAFF DIRECTORIES Johnston County Public Schools maintains websites for each of our schools, and there you can see who their teachers are. You can open a directory of each school's staff by clicking the "CLASSROOMS" link at the top of the main page; then click the name of each person to find out what they're teaching.... Here are the links to the websites of Smithfield-area schools: Smithfield-Selma High School> Smithfield Middle School> South Smithfield Elementary> West Smithfield Elementary> Wilson's Mills Elementary> NOTE: At the bottom of the home page of the Johnston County Public Schools website you'll find a link entitled "select a school" that opens a directory with links to all of Johnston's public schools. |
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 Smithfield-Selma's marching Spartans are shown in action earlier this week as they prepared to perform during Friday night's opening game of the football season. MORE about the band on the FEATURE PAGE> High-school football season already?Play starts two Fridays before Labor Day
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 A new bistro inside the Dupree House Gabriella Connelly (left) and her mother, Barbara Wallen, are co-owners of Chefella's --- a combination restaurant, catering, and event-planning business making a new home inside the historic Dupree House at 709 South Third Street in Smithfield. They started the business three years ago in Clayton and will keep their main office there. The Smithfield location will house a bistro open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 5-9 p.m. Saturday. It's also available for party rentals. Tracy Snyder is the general manager. There's also a day spa and beauty salon on the premises. For more information, visit chefellascateringevents.com> |
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JCC's "Chef Judy" is $10,000 winner on TV's Food Network Read the story on JCC's website> • JCC machining students excel in national SkillsUSA competition Read the story on JCC's website> • JCC awards diplomas to grads of adult high-school programs Read the story on JCC's website> |
 CHEF JUDY CAGE
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Spring Branch wetlands under repair
Damaged by Hurricane Matthew almost three years ago, the wetlands restoration area along Spring Branch below South Second Street is being restored yet again. J.P. Edwards, Inc. is doing the work for the Town of Smithfield at a cost of $235,510. Included in the project is removal of silt from the "forebay," removal of sediment from pipes, restoration of a berm, and construction of a new concrete "weir" in place of an earthen dam built to divert stream flow. Planting of new vegetation will come next. The project's scope required approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The original wetlands-restoration project was done after hurricanes Fran and Floyd topped numerous trees and produced record-setting floods in the late 1990s.
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.
ROBERT BRADLEY (BRAD) TYSON, 40 - died August 18
LINDA LOU ROLLINS MASSENGILL, 73 - died August 18
CLAVON RANDOLPH WHITLEY, 82 - died August 17
JULIAN FUSSELL MARSHALL, 89 - died August 15
EDNA ROCHELLE PENNELL BLEDSOE, 83 - died August 12
MICHAEL EDWARD ANDERSON, 76 - died August 12
DR. WOODROW BATTEN, 97 - died August 2
THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS
Another Downtown Smithfield tobacco warehouse that wasn't visible in last week's 1956 aerial photo of Downtown Smithfield was Dixie Growers No. 2, located on the east side of US 301 (today's Bright Leaf Boulevard) just north of Market Street. In this view (c.1956-57) we also see a Sinclair HC Gasoline sign that stood at a service station operated by John Dail, who years later served as mayor of Smithfield. And that appears to be a State Highway Patrol officer standing near his black-and-silver Ford "cruiser." (Photo from color slides collected by Billy Grimes and recently digitized by Warren Grimes, who shared it on a Facebook page entitled "You know you're from Smithfield if you remember....")
Here's a quick
link to johnstonhealth.org/golf>
"INSIDE" PAGES IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION
Feature: SSS Band prepares for a new season
Sports & Recreation: High-school scoreboard
Observations: School board is inviting mistrust
WANT TO VIEW PREVIOUS EDITIONS?
Visit our archives
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
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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