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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE OCTOBER 31, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 44 |
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 Who wrecked Riverside Cemetery's wall? Sometime in the early morning hours of October 16 a vehicle crashed into the rock wall at Riverside Cemetery near the corner of Front and Church streets. The driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle, which was reported stolen by its owner, Town Manager Mike Scott told the Sun. When the wall will be rebuilt is uncertain. "It is difficult to find someone who specializes in such a repair," Mr. Scott said. Meanwhile, who was the hit-and-run driver who caused this mess? Crumbling tombstones is another matter, illustrated on today's FEATURE PAGE> Town Council election next Tuesday; write-in candidate joins four who filed  Doris Wallace, a retired
social worker who resides in West Smithfield, has
joined the race for three seats on the Town Council as
a write-in candidate.The names of four candidates are on the official ballot for next Tuesday's election: incumbent councilmen John Dunn and Steve Rabil along with Jim Snyder and Roger Wood. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. til 7:30 p.m. Voters will cast their ballots at three precinct polling places: East Smithfield --- First Baptist Church Ministry Center at 125 South Fourth Street; North Smithfield --- Church of God, 1710 West Market Street; and South Smithfield --- First Christian Church, 1001 Crescent Drive. (The National Guard Armory is not a polling place for this election.) You can still vote early at the Board of Elections office at 205 South Second Street in Smithfield till 5 p.m. today (Thursday) and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. Ms. Wallace, 71, was employed as a social worker with the County of Los Angeles in California. A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University and Governors State University, she now works as a substitute teacher here. She is president of the Afro-American Caucus, vice president of the local Salvation Army board, a member of Johnston County's Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, and a member of Centenary United Methodist Church. "My goal and main focus is twofold," she said in a statement for the Sun. "First, with the growth in the population of Smithfield, we need to work together to increase and recognize the diversity of our citizenry. As we all know, working together collaboratively we can make a difference in the quality of life for all of Smithfield's citizens. "My second goal is to improve the infrastructure for all the citizens of Smithfield," she continued. "This includes (a) the installation of sidewalks in our neighborhoods which would increase and improve recreation for all, and (b) the upgrading of our aging drainage system (which) will prevent wastewater contaminants from leaking into our water tables. As we all know, the safety of our water is of vital importance to the quality of all life in our city." EDITOR'S NOTE: Last week's Sun included backgrounds and statements of the four men who are running for Town Council seats. Here's a link to that coverage> For more information about the mechanics of Tuesday's election, visit the website of the Johnston County Board of Elections> ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN SIGNS? The editor's take on OBSERVATIONS> |
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 Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday  Eastern
Standard Time returns at 2 a.m. this Sunday (Nov. 3),
which means you should set your time pieces BACK one
hour before you go to sleep Saturday night (remember
the adage: "Spring forward, Fall back"). Daylight
Saving Time will return March 8.Here's the impact of this weekend's change: According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, Saturday's sunrise at 7:36 and sunset at 6:17 will be followed by Sunday's sunrise at 6:37 and sunset at 5:16. Booker Dairy slowdowns this weekend The N.C. Department of Transportation says construction crews will be making preparations starting this Friday evening for the new T-intersection of Booker Dairy Road and the new Ava Gardner Avenue. Drivers will encounter flagging until the revised traffic pattern is completed by Saturday afternoon. If it rains Friday night, the work will be delayed till Saturday evening, with completion Sunday afternoon. NCDOT says completion of the entire project is now expected by December with all four lanes open on what's to be named Ava Gardner Avenue from Buffalo Road to North Bright Leaf Boulevard (US 301) near Walmart. |
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 Halloween "Trunk or Treat" at the park The Parks & Recreation Department welcomed a steady stream of youngsters and parents to Smithfield Community Park last Saturday morning where various organizations and their volunteers handed out candy to the costumed little ones. A reminder of Smithfield's rules for Halloween: Neighborhood trick-or-treating from 5 to 8 p.m. this evening (Oct. 31) for youngsters 12 years of age and younger. |
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 7th Street Marketplace & The Chicken Barn |
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Smithfield in a new N.C. Senate district; new Congressional districts coming soon A panel of state judges has approved new districts for electing members of the N.C. General Assembly in 2020. The Legislature approved the changes last month after those same judges ruled the existing districts unconstitutional because of partisan gerrymandering. The redistricting approved Monday by three Superior Court judges leaves N.C. House districts unchanged for Johnston County, but the new Senate map shifts Smithfield from the 10th District presently represented by State Senator Brent Jackson of Sampson County to the 11th District presently represented by Senator Rick Horner of Nash County. View the old and new maps for Johnston County approved this week> Meanwhile, that same panel of judges this week unanimously ruled that current U.S. Congressional districts for North Carolina are unconstitutional and ordered new boundaries to be drawn immediately. Smithfield is currently split between the 2nd Congressional District represented by George Holding of Raleigh and the 7th District represented by David Rouzer of Wilmington. View the current Congressional districts' map for Johnston County>  Johnston
Community College photo
JCCollege's new "Student Success Center" Pictured is the rebuilt entrance plaza to the John Tart Building, where inside you'll find the new "Student Success Center" occupying much of the space originally taken up by the school's library, which several years ago was relocated to a larger new building elsewhere on campus. The Tart Building also houses the 1,000-seat Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, which is still under renovation and won't be ready for use again before next summer. READ the full story about the Success Center on JCC's website>  Photo from SSS Band's page on
Twitter
SSS finishes first in Capital City Band Expo Smithfield-Selma High School's 116-member "Spartan Regiment" was the Class 3-A winner in the Capital City Band Expo last weekend at Raleigh's Sanderson High School. The band won first place in color guard, effect, and visual competitions and second place in percussion and music. The band is directed by Brian Jones assisted by Leigh Anne Deans, Justin Holmes, and Devian Bagley. |
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 Exit 95 on Interstate 95 --- at Smithfield on US 70 Business --- presently counts eight multi-story hotels with one more under construction. Smithfield's hotel tax produced $278,959 for marketing & projects in fiscal 2018-19 The Johnston County Visitors Bureau's annual report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 shows net revenue from Smithfield's 2% hotel-room tax was $278,959.91 --- up 10.8% from the previous year and 31.5% above revenue in 2015-16. Increased proceeds from the local tax reflects growth in visitors staying overnight here. (Actual numbers aren't available from public reports.) Most of that money is spent on marketing campaigns done by the Visitors Bureau for Smithfield. Revenues not spent on marketing are held in reserve for future tourism-related projects such as the proposed replacement of Smithfield's Town Commons amphitheater with a more permanent structure. Besides the 2% room tax collected for Smithfield and three other towns along I-95 --- Kenly, Selma, and Benson --- the Visitors Bureau gets revenue from a 3% county accommodations tax that's used for marketing Johnston County attractions as a whole. This past year that tax brought in $1,052.304.93 in net revenue --- an increase of 24.2% above the amount for fiscal 2017-18. In its annual report, the Visitors Bureau notes that last year's increase was caused in large part by Hurricane Florence, which brought evacuees here from coastal communities, and the opening of a new Hampton Inn at Benson. Meanwhile, a new Hampton Inn is under construction at Smithfield's Exit 95. It will replace a smaller version presently operating at Selma's Exit 97. VIEW the complete Visitors Bureau Annual Report> |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENDAS
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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. JAMES E. (J.E.) WILSON JR., 93 - died October 29 LIVVIE MERL STANLEY EASON, 80 - died October 28 MILDRED FRANCES (BYRD) OVERBEE, 80 - died October 26 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS A few remaining artifacts from
TV's early years
Not many of
these are still standing atop Smithfield's
rooftops, but there are a few here and there,
like this one attached to a chimney in South
Smithfield. A "status symbol" in the early days
of television more than half a century ago, the
conventional rooftop antenna became outmoded
several years ago when TV stations switched to
HD (High Definition) signal transmissions.
Wonder if the remaining specimens have any
useful purpose?
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 THE
SMITHFIELD KIWANIS CLUBthanks the sponsors of our annual Pancake Supper Kiwanis puts on a Pancake Supper each year in order to raise funds for children-based charities. We support, among others, the Boy Scouts of America, Boys and Girls Home of Lake Waccamaw, Centenary Church Back Pack Buddies, Hospice Grief Camp, Miracle League of Johnston County, Smithfield Area Ministries, Middlesex Children's Home, My Kids Club of Johnston County. We also provide funds for a scholarship at Johnston Community College and are the source of funds for the A.G. and Connie Glenn Scholarship awarded to a senior at Smithfield-Selma High School. We also sponsor the Key Club at Cleveland High School, and they are key contributors to the Pancake Supper as well.
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"INSIDE" PAGES IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING MAPS> FEATURE PAGE: Riverside's forgotten graves> SPORTS & RECREATION: A walk in the Medical Mall> OBSERVATIONS: Political signs in wrong places?> WANT TO VIEW PREVIOUS EDITIONS? Visit our archives |
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JUNIOR
WOMEN'S LEAGUE
"TOUCH A
TRUCK"
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