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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE OCTOBER 3, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 40 |
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"Low performing" schools set goals to get their students' test scores up Of Johnston County's 45 public schools, 14 are classified as "low performing" by State of North Carolina standards. Smithfield Middle School and all three of our local elementary schools are in that category this year: South Smithfield, West Smithfield, and Wilson's Mills. As required by the state, each of the 14 schools has prepared an "Improvement Plan" for the current school year. The Johnston County Board of Education received those plans during special sessions held over the past couple of weeks. READ MORE about those plans in this edition's School Board Report> OBSERVATIONS: Superintendent favors school-grading change> |
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14th HOBART AWARD FOR VOLUNTARY COMMUNITY SERVICE GOES TO SMITHFIELD'S SUSAN LASSITER
Presented annually through an endowment set up by Mrs. Hobart's husband John through the Johnston County Community Foundation, the award allows the winner to designate a charitable organization for a $1,500 donation from the Hobart endowment. Mrs. Lassiter has chosen My Kid's Club as this year's recipient --- specifically, the club's new after-school program at South Smithfield Elementary School. READ MORE about Ms. Lassiter's award on the FEATURE PAGE> |
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Town Council
renames new section Booker
Dairy Road's name will remain in place
from a new intersection with the widened
road southward to North Bright Leaf. A
short, curved section of the current
roadway that will be cut off at each end
from the new alignments will be renamed
"Old Booker Dairy Road." READ
MORE about that and other items
addressed by the Town Council> LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENDASJohnston County Board of Commissioners 10:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. Monday, October 7 Johnston County Courthouse, 207 E. Market Street, Smithfield • At the morning session, the board will discuss options to replace the county's solid-waste decal system and get an update on Medicaid "transformation." • At the evening session, the board will hold public hearings on six rezoning cases --- three in Cleveland Township, two in Bentonville Township, one in Clayton Township. View the full agendas for both sessions> Johnston County Board of Education Tuesday, October 8 Closed session at 2:00 p.m. Open session at 4:00 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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  141 E. Market St. • 919-934-0553 • allen@wilkinswellons.com |
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CNA JANICE GADDIS ENDS 41 YEARS OF SERVING FOLKS AT SMITHFIELD MANOR NURSING & REHAB
"This is an incredible feat that she has rendered 41 years of continuous, quality care at one facility," said Nathan Arnn, Smithfield Manor's administrator. "Her career and life have touched countless lies during this span of time." "It's not just the number of years she served, but how she served," said Mr. Arnn, who noted that Ms. Gaddis has been known "for her caring spirit always accompanied with a smile, her tireless efforts of providing excellent care, and her gentle spirit of kindness to all she came in contact with, including residents, their families, and staff." She was honored at a retirement reception on September 20. |
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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: AN "INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL" hosted by St. Ann Catholic Church is set for this Saturday (October 5) on the church grounds beside US 70 Business northwest of Smithfield. Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. without admission charge, the festival features foods from 19 nations, international music and dance, games for all ages, and a silent auction. To learn more, visit www.internationalfoodfestival.net. JOHNSTON REGIONAL AIRPORT'S "SKYFEST" --- an "open house" featuring aerial demonstrations, a "kids zone," outdoor concert, and "beer garden" --- is set for Saturday, October 12. The airport is located northwest of Smithfield off US 70 Business. Admission to the event will be free of charge. For more information, visit www.skyfestnc.com. AN "ELITE" HIGH-SCHOOL CHORUS will perform at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Smithfield on Saturday, October 12 at 7 p.m. Colla Voce, an audition-only chorus from Wake County's Holly Springs High School, has been invited to perform at Westminster Abbey and other venues in Great Britain. There's no admission charge for the concert here, but donations will be accepted for the upcoming trip. St. Paul's Music Director John Drymon, organist, will accompany the chorus. AUTHOR EMILY WALLACE will present her new book --- Road Sides: An Illustrated Companion to Driving and Dining in the American South --- at a public reception on Sunday, October 20 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Frank Creech Art Gallery at Johnston Community College. Ms. Wallace is a native of Smithfield. SMITHFIELD KIWANIS PANCAKE SUPPER is set for Tuesday, October 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Centenary United Methodist Church. Tickets are $7, dine in or take out. Proceeds benefit the Kiwanis Club's community-service projects. THE 15th ANNUAL HISTORICAL GHOST WALK hosted by the Johnston County Heritage Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 24 in Smithfield's Riverside Cemetery. Admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for students in grades K-12. Tickets are not sold in advance. Guided tours are offered first-come, first served, starting at the corner of South Second and Church streets. A list of October events for kids on SPORTS & RECREATION>
Director of Marketing Ashby Brame holds Destination Marketing awards presented by the N.C. Travel Industry Association to the Johnston County Visitors Bureau: • Platinum Award - Convention Marketing for custom maps created for attendees of meetings and special events held here. • Platinum Award - Group Marketing for materials related to Johnston County's 301 Endless Yard Sale. • Gold Award - Community Relations for the bureau's annual report that featured individual reports for the towns of Benson, Clayton, Kenly, Selma, and Smithfield. Standing with Ms. Brame at the presentation is Mark Shore, director of tourism marketing with VisitNC, the state's official tourism agency. The Johnston County Visitors Bureau has received more than 50 such awards over the past 15 years. Find out more on the bureau's website> |
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Johnston Health to combine with REX; expanded services expected to follow The governing boards of UNC REX Healthcare (based in Raleigh) and Johnston Health (Smithfield and Clayton) have approved a "non-binding Letter of Intent to combine operations via a Joint Operating Agreement."  "A more
formal partnership is expected to be finalized
in the coming months," reads a news release
issued last Friday. "The tentative agreement
calls for a long-term commitment to opening
new medical facilities in Johnston County,
expanding clinical services and more."Johnston Health CEO Chuck Elliott recently announced his retirement, effective December 31. A successor has not been named. Johnston Health, including the former Johnston Memorial Hospital and a new facility at Clayton, has been affiliated with UNC Health Care since 2014. UNC REX operates a large hospital in Raleigh as well as smaller facilities in Apex, Cary, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, and Wakefield. In addition, UNC Health Care includes UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and others in Goldsboro, Kinston, Rocky Mount, Jacksonville, Siler City, Eden, Lenoir, and Hendersonville plus the UNC Physicians Network. 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. DONNIE GLENN ADAMS, 58 - died September 30 CLIFFORD DELAINE DAVIS, 79 - died September 28 SANDRA PADGETT PARKER, 75 - died September 27 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS 1920s home of Smithfield High School Here's a colorized postcard of the brand-new Smithfield High School building on Rose Street that was opened in 1922. Some of us who came along many years later remember this as the elementary-school building. That's because it housed the high school (as well as elementary classrooms) for just four years. Smithfield's population growth prompted renovation of the original Turlington Graded School building on Third Street to accommodate the high school after 1926. Even so, the Rose Street building continued to serve as a campus "centerpiece" as it contained the school's auditorium. Sadly, that building was ruined by a massive fire in October 1976. (Postcard from Johnston County Heritage
Center archives)
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"INSIDE" PAGES IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION SPORTS & RECREATION: October events for kids> OBSERVATIONS: A new way to grade schools?> School board receives Improvement Plans> Town Council's monthly meeting of Oct. 1> WANT TO VIEW PREVIOUS EDITIONS? Visit our archives |
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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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