PUBLISHED ONLINE SEPTEMBER 5, 2019   •   VOL. 1, NO. 36

Stories and photos by Wingate Lassiter
unless otherwise noted

2018-19 SCHOOL REPORT CARDS
from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction
Grading by Performance Score: A 85-100; B 70-84; C 55-69; D 40-54; F 0-39
Smithfield-Selma High
 C
 55
Smithfield Middle
 D
 49
South Smithfield Elementary
 D
 42
West Smithfield Elementary
 D
 41
Wilson's Mills Elementary
 D
 53
Neuse Charter School
 C 69
Performance Score is based on a "weighted model"
of 80% achievement and 20% growth.

Here's a summary of results for Johnston County Public Schools>

Here's the link to the statewide report>

Jim Causby is already on the job

as interim superintendent of schools


He was Johnston's superintendent of schools from January 1994 through December 2003. Now he's back to serve out the 2019-20 school year in the wake of Superintendent Ross Renfrow's sudden "retirement" last week.

"The Johnston County Board of Education feels that (Jim) Causby's experience and commitment to education will allow for a smooth transition in leadership," board chairman Mike Wooten said in a statement released by the school system.

"It feels great," Dr. Causby stated. "It is unusual for a former superintendent to be asked to return to a school system, and I deeply appreciate the confidence in me expressed by the Board of Education."

"This is truly almost like going home," he continued. "I served 10 wonderful years in Johnston County as superintendent and still have many dear friends here and have many staff members that I hired when I was superintendent. Johnston County is truly a unique place that has placed the education and welfare of its youth as a number one priority."

Semi-retired till this week, Dr. Causby has been working in recent years as an education and marketing consultant. Before he came to Johnston County 25 years ago, he served as superintendent in two Western N.C. counties: Swain and Polk. After leaving Johnston, he served as executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators and the N.C. School Superintendents Association. He maintains his residence in Asheville.

"My primary goal will be to restore staff and public confidence in the Johnston County Public Schools," Dr. Causby stated. "There is a strong need to quickly make some final decisions on the Clayton High School principal situation, and I will give the investigation an in-depth look and make a decision on the appropriate path forward as quickly as possible."

He was referring to last month's abrupt transfer by Superintendent Renfrow of Clayton High's popular principal, Bennett Jones, in the midst of an apparently unresolved investigation into grade fixing at the school. Dr. Renfrow's retirement was announced following a closed session of the school board on Tuesday, August 27. Dr. Causby's employment as interim superintendent was also announced then.


Johnston County Board of Education
meets in open session at 4 p.m. next Tuesday, September 10
in the Evander S. Simpson Building, 2320 U.S. 70 Business East, Smithfield.
The agenda was not available by the Sun's "press time" on Thursday;
this link will lead you to it once it's posted online>



JCATS: a transit service "for everyone"

Kim Rojas and Ronnie Padgett stand with one of the 31 buses and vans operated by JCATS: the Johnston County Area Transit System. It's a publicly financed service under auspices of Community & Senior Services of Johnston County that carries persons unable to provide their own transportation to medical appointments, jobs and classes, even everyday chores like shopping.

It's free of charge to Johnstonians 60 years and older, but younger folks can take advantage of the service by paying a one-way fee of $5 (Medicaid pays the bill for patients it covers). JCATS logs more than 90,000 trips annually Monday-Friday (and on Saturdays for dialysis patients).

Ms. Rojas is transportation operations manager for JCATS; Mr. Padgett is fleet supervisor. Neal Davis, executive director of Community & Senior Services, appeared before the County Commissioners this week to request matching funds for a larger Operations & Maintenance Facility for JCATS at its headquarters in Selma.

READ MORE in our report from Tuesday's meeting of the county board>


"IF IT'S
REALLY CLEAN,
 IT'S PARRISH
 CLEAN!"
 
19-934-5898
www.parrishclean.com



Leaders taking part in last week's "State of the Region" luncheon were: (left to right) Jeff Navarro and Eric Brownlee, chair-elect and chair of the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce; Twyla Wells of Johnston Community College; Ted Godwin, chairman of the County Commissioners; Cheryl Oliver, mayor of Selma; Brian Vetrano of Johnston County Schools; Andy Moore, mayor of Smithfield; Jim Uzzle, mayor of Wilson's Mills; Bonnie Williamson, mayor of Kenly; Don Rains, mayor of Princeton; and Mike Mancuso, Chamber president.

Triangle East presents "State of the Region"


An annual event featuring reports from leaders of local government, this year's "State of the Region" luncheon was presented last Thursday by the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce. It's held each year in a spacious meeting room inside the Sysco plant at Selma.

Among highlights served up to a "sold out" audience of more than 170:

• WILSON'S MILLS IS "THE GROWING PLACE"

• SMITHFIELD HOME SALES ON THE UPSWING

• SELMA "DONE WOKE UP," SAYS MAYOR

READ MORE about those reports and others>


 141 E. Market St. • 919-934-0553 • allen@wilkinswellons.com

Town annexes large subdivision

Hearing no opposition from the public, the Smithfield Town Council this week approved annexation of the envisioned 281-lot East River Subdivision along Buffalo Road just north of Durwood Stephenson Highway.

READ MORE in our report from Tuesday's Town Council meeting>


Tourism Authority's capital grants
will boost several Smithfield projects

The Johnston County Tourism Authority approved capital grants totaling $209,000 at its August meeting last week. Included are several projects in Smithfield:

Historic Smithfield Foundation, $25,000 to help restore what's believed to be the only Freedmen's Schoolhouse still standing in North Carolina. Located at 308 North Fourth Street, it was built in 1868-69 as a school for freed slaves and used as a school for African-Americans until 1912.

Johnston Community College, $16,500 for a new "fire curtain" in the Paul A. Johnston Auditorium currently under renovation.

Smithfield Parks & Recreation, $15,000 to help pay for a picnic shelter near the Town Commons boat ramp.

Ava Gardner Museum, $10,000 to help pay for digitizing collections and completing a "finding aid" for more than 10,000 items in storage.

Johnston County Heritage Center, $10,000 to get every archival item in a specially treated box or folder for preservation.

Other grants approved by the Tourism Authority last week:
• $50,000 to help the Town of Kenly demolish the last remnants of the old Kenly School to make way for a new community building.
• $37,500 to help enlarge the Town of Princeton's community building.
• $35,000 to complete Clayton Rugby Association fields at Wilson's Mills Park.
• $10,000 to help the Tobacco Farm Life Museum at Kenly employ an archivist and purchase conservation supplies.

 
7th Street Marketplace & The Chicken Barn
  Market Street (US 70 Business) at 7th Street, Downtown Smithfield

WHAT'S COMING UP?
 A rundown of upcoming civic and cultural events in our community
that we've been told about or seen publicized elsewhere:

JOHNSTON COUNTY WRITERS GROUP will begin meeting the second Thursday of every month, starting September 12, at the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield from 6 till 7:45 p.m. Guest author at September's meeting will be Wanda Robinson Lee, author of an autobiography entitled God's Voices: Choices That Led My Journey. These monthly sessions are open to the public free of charge. For more information, e-mail jocowriters@gmail.com.

SMITHFIELD NATIVE EMILY WALLACE will introduce her new book entitled "Road Sides" on Tuesday, October 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Frank Creech Art Gallery at Johnston Community College. The Johnston County Arts Council is hosting the event. Learn more about Emily and her book at http://eewallace.com/about. For more information about the event, e-mail info@jcartscouncil.org.

 
212 E. Church Street  •  919-934-1121  •  johns@johnscovil.com

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.

BARBARA JEAN ANDREWS, 71 - died September 4

LINWOOD MARK HIGGINS, 73 - died September 3

DORIS LINDA McSWANE-HARRIS, 70 - died September 1

BILLIE CHEEK CRETINI, 93 - died September 1

JEFFREY LEE CROCKER, 52 - died August 29

MILLARD WOODROW (WOODY) PULLEY, 51 - died August 29

THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS


Here is the Johnston County portion of the 1930 edition of the official North Carolina highway map.

We had only three numbered highways at the time: NC 10 between Raleigh and Goldsboro; NC 22 from Kenly to Benson; and NC 23 from Zebulon to Newton Grove.

As you can see, NC 10 was getting a new designation as US 70 while NC 22 was becoming US 217 (later US 301). The black lines on the map indicate these were paved  federal highways.

NC 23, meanwhile, was unpaved north of Selma and had a gravel surface but no pavement south of Smithfield. Later, the southern portion would become US 701 but the northern segment didn't get a federal designation and later became NC 39. 

The N.C. Department of Transportation recently posted its new 2019-20 highway map online along with links to earlier maps including this one.

Visit this NCDOT web page to view maps from 1922, 1930, 1940, 1951, 1960, 1970, 1979-80, and 1990-91 as well as the new 2019-20 map >

"Trusted by families since 1977"
  919-934-7164   www.carrollpharmacy.com


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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