 |
|
| PUBLISHED
ONLINE OCTOBER 17, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 42 |
|
|
|
 Decorating for
Halloween gets bigger Finally! We got some bona fide rainfall After a month without measurable precipitation, it rained! According to official readings at JNX, we got 1.45 inches last Sunday evening and another 1.45 inches on Wednesday of this week to complement our seasonable temperatures. Beautiful! |
|
|
|
|
 Campaign signs
outside the Board of Elections office on South
Second Street. Not all the signs are for
Smithfield candidates. That's because the
elections office here is the only place in
Johnston County where early voting is
administered.
Municipal Election Day is almost upon us On Tuesday, Nov. 5 voters in all of Smithfield will elect three "at large" members of the Town Council. Four men are running for the seats: incumbent councilmen John Dunn and Steve Rabil alongside Jim Snyder and Roger Wood. The Sun will publish their backgrounds and platforms in next week's edition. One-stop early voting is going on now at the Johnston County Board of Elections office at 205 South Second Street in Smithfield. "One-stop" means you can register to vote if you're not already registered and then cast your ballot immediately. The hours for that are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. The last day for one-stop voting is Friday, Nov. 1. If you want to vote by absentee ballot, the last day to request a ballot is also Friday, Nov. 1. To be counted, an absentee ballot must be returned to the Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. To locate where you will vote Nov. 5, visit the Board of Elections website> |
|
|
|
|
Register of Deeds revenue +56% in 5 years Here's another indicator of Johnston County's growth and development: Register of Deeds Craig Olive reports that revenue collected by his office is up 56% from five years ago.  "Much
of this increase is credited to the healthy economy
that the county is experiencing as well as the rapid
growth occurring in our county." he said. "People are
moving to our county every day and they are buying
homes, getting married, starting families, and
starting businesses" --- all of that activity
producing revenues in the Register of Deeds Office.That revenue topped $5 million during the fiscal year that ended June 30. That's more than double the $2.3 million collected in 2013-14. What's more, Mr. Olive reports that last month saw the largest number of marriage licenses issued in Johnston County's history --- a total of 151 in September. "I fully expect to issue over 1,200 marriage licenses in 2019," he said. A relatively new service of the Register of Deeds Office is its designation as a Passport Acceptance Agency. Mr. Olive said his office has collected $361,900 from that service since it started here in June 2014. Johnston County's current population, by the way, is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 202,675 (as of July 1, 2018). That's almost 34,000 more than the number recorded by the 2010 Census --- an increase of 20%. MORE local data from the U.S. Census on OBSERVATIONS>
More
than 6,000 attend "Skyfest"
at JNX |
|
|
|
|
15th annual Ghost Walk will bring out five historical characters next Thursday Story from Johnston County Heritage Center
The event, sponsored in
part by the Johnston County Visitors
Bureau and the Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation, will begin at
6:30 p.m. at the corner of Church and
Second streets beside St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church. This year’s line-up
includes: "This is a fun
educational event for all ages that a lot
of people look forward to," said event
chairman Matt Dean. "It’s a great way for
families to learn about interesting people
who are part of the Johnston County
story." Visitors will be given
guided tours through the cemetery where
they will meet each ghost character. The
tour concludes with refreshments at the
historic Hastings House, where Confederate
generals were headquartered at the end of
the Civil War. Admission charge is $5
for adults and $3 for students (free for
children under age 6), payable at the
event. No advance tickets will be sold. For further information,
call the Heritage Center at 919-934-2836,
or visit the Center online at www.jcheritagecenter.org or www.facebook.com/jocoheritage.
|
|
| WHAT ELSE IS
COMING UP? A rundown of upcoming civic and cultural events in our community that we've been told about or seen publicized elsewhere: CRAFT AND VENDOR FAIR --- "Home for Three Holidays" --- at Smithfield-Selma High School this Saturday (Oct. 19), 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. Proceeds will support Denmark trip for SSS students. COMMUNITY GARDEN'S HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL this Saturday (Oct. 19), 7 to 10 p.m. at the Fifth Street Community Garden. Pumpkin carving, costume contests, face painting, hay rides, free food.  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 this
Sunday (Oct.
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 next Tuesday, (Oct. 22) from 5 to 8 p.m. at Centenary United Methodist Church. Tickets are $7, dine in or take out. Proceeds will benefit the Kiwanis Club's community-service projects. WEST SMITHFIELD SCHOOL'S FALL FESTIVAL is set for Saturday, Oct. 26 at the elementary school on Galilee Road just off NC 210 west of Smithfield. Bounce houses, face painting, games ($5 for wristbands), photo booth, food. |
|
|
|
|
 Coach Norvell Lee
to be inductedinto state's athletic Hall of Fame Smithfield native Norvell Lee, who passed away in 1997 after a long and successful career as a high-school and collegiate basketball coach, will be inducted into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Hall of Fame later this year. READ MORE on the SPORTS & RECREATION PAGE> 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. SIMON ROSS LITTLE SR., 83 - died October 14 E. MILLARD JOHNSON, 88 - died October 12 LOUELLA LASSITER THOMPSON, 87 - died October 10 JOE LYNWOOD SURLES, 77 - died October 9 ODES GRAHAM ROSE, 87 - died October 9 |
|
 |
|
THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS Ava Gardner with family at the In
& Out in 1968
During one
of Ava's visits to Smithfield --- this one in
December 1968 --- photographer Reuben Johnson
was invited to the In & Out grill to take
pictures of Ava with relatives and friends. In
this shot with the movie star, holding a
cigarette in the middle, are (left to right)
Jack Gardner's wife Rose, Johnnie Grimes, Ava's
sister Inez Grimes, sister Elsie Mae Creech, and
brother Jack, who owned the In & Out at that
time. Ava usually stayed in Jack's home when she
came to town.
(Photo from Johnston County Heritage
Center archives)
|
|
|
"INSIDE" PAGES IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION FEATURE PAGE: "Skyfest" photos> SPORTS & RECREATION: High School Scoreboard> OBSERVATIONS: "Exceptional" children underfunded 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 www.smithfieldselmasun.com |
Photo
courtesy of Neal Davis
Five
characters from Johnston County’s past
will be "brought back to life" next
Thursday, October 24 during the Johnston
County Heritage Center’s 15th
annual Ghost Walk in Smithfield’s
Riverside Cemetery.
|
|
|
|