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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE DECEMBER 12, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 50 |
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 SANTA CLAUS HAS COME TO TOWN
(HALL)
It's the lighted "action" display beside the Smithfield Town Hall, perhaps unnoticed by many of the motorists who go whizzing by on Market Street. A more realistic rendition of the Jolly Old Elf will be passing that way later this evening at the end of the town's Christmas Parade. It starts at 7 o'clock. Meanwhile, the Grinch was arrested on a charge of "larceny of Christmas" at last Saturday's Stink, Stank, Stunk 5K Run. Photo on SPORTS & RECREATION> |
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Lee Jackson to face Tony Braswell again in GOP Primary for County Commissioner Former County Commissioner Lee Jackson of Smithfield filed this week as a Republican candidate for the seat presently held by Republican Commissioner Tony Braswell, who has filed for re-election. Mr. Jackson was appointed to the county board in late 2017 to fill a vacancy but lost to Mr. Braswell in the November 2018 election to decide who would complete the vacated term. SMITHFIELD'S LYN ANDREWS FILES FOR SCHOOL BOARD Lyn Andrews of Smithfield is the third candidate to file for four at-large seats on the Johnston Count Board of Education up for election in 2020. The others are Kelly O'Hanlon-Peedin of Smithfield and Melynda Slay of Durwood Drive, Raleigh. Teresa Grant this week became the first incumbent to file for re-election to the school board. The others whose seats are up for grabs this time are Ronald Johnson, Peggy Smith, and Mike Wooten. Candidates for the school board compete without political party affiliation. FILING CONTINUES TILL DEC. 20; PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 3 Here's a rundown of local filings by Wednesday of this week (D denotes Democrat, R denotes Republican, asterisk (*) denotes incumbent: N.C. Senate (one seat per district): District 11 --- Allen Wellons (D), Smithfield Patrick Harris (R), Smithfield District 10 --- Brent Jackson (*) (R), Autryville District 12 --- Jim Burgin (*) (R), Angier N.C. House of Representatives (one seat per district): District 26 --- Donna McDowell White (*) (R), Clayton Justin Tate (R), Monarch Trail, Selma District 28 --- Larry C. Strickland (*) (R), Pine Level Timmy Penny (D), Zacks Mill Road, Angier District 10 --- John Bell (*) (R), Goldsboro District Court Judge (Johnston County seats): Seat 4 --- Jason H. Coats (R), Coats Road, Four Oaks Seat 6 --- Paul A. Holcombe (*) (R), Windham Way, Clayton Seat 7 --- Terry F. Rose (R), Smithfield Seat 9 --- Frank Wood (*) (R), Benson County Commissioners (four seats, by residential district, elected countywide): District 1 --- Fred J. Smith Jr. (R), Pritchard Road, Clayton Michelle Pace Davis (R), Buffalo Road, Clayton District 2 --- Ted G. Godwin (*) (R), Hawkins Road, Selma District 4 --- Larry Wood (*) (R), Benson Alan Lamont (D), Everland Parkway, Angier District 6 --- Tony Braswell (*) (R), Gor-An Farm Road, Selma Lee Jackson (R), Smithfield County Board of Education (four seats, at large, non-partisan): Kelly O'Hanlon-Peedin, Hawks Nest Circle, Smithfield Melynda Slay, Durwood Drive, Raleigh Lyn Andrews, Smithfield Teresa M. Grant (*), Crestwood Court, Garner Visit Johnston County Board of Elections website and click "Candidates who have filed" to view the latest list of those seeking local as well as statewide offices> |
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Johnston Health's CEO Chuck Elliott wraps up impressive decade of progress  Chuck Elliott retired this week after
10 years on the job as CEO of Johnston Health's
hospitals in Smithfield and Clayton.He and his wife will soon be moving from Smithfield to a home near Charleston, South Carolina. For a look back over his 43-year career managing hospitals in a number of cities and towns across the country, visit this week's FEATURE PAGE> |
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Todd Sutton new school board chairman
Mr. Sutton --- a resident of Beulah Road, Kenly --- is beginning just his second year in office, having won election to a four-year term on the board in November 2018. Mr. Wooten, whose seat is up for election in 2020, has served as the board's chairman the past two years. The board split its votes for chairman, with Terri Sessoms, Peggy Smith, Tracie Zukowski, and Mr. Wooten supporting Mr. Sutton while Teresa Grant favored Ronald Johnson for the post. (The two candidates cast votes for themselves.) READ MORE reports from Tuesday's meeting of the school board> Superintendent decries "racial and political insensitivity" Superintendent of Schools Jim Causby sent out a public letter this week decrying "recent events that have occurred in our school system regarding racial and political insensitivity." He did not cite any specific incident. The letter follows an incident reported on Monday by Mickey Lamm's JoCo Report that occurred at a basketball game at Smithfield-Selma High School last month. Video sent to Mr. Lamm showed a confrontation between Corinth Holders students holding a Donald Trump banner and a group of Hispanic SSS students. READ the letter from Superintendent Causby on the OBSERVATIONS page> |
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 Five of six
inductees attended Saturday's banquet: (left to
right) Rick Childrey, Renee Sanders-Lawson,
Marlon Lee, Bruce Radford, and Tamara Barbour.
Inductee Craig Price was not present. (Photo
from Teresa McDonald)
Smithfield-Selma High inducts six more graduates into the school's Hall of Fame The Smithfield-Selma High School Hall of Fame gained six more graduates of the school at a banquet held last Saturday evening. It's the second group to be inducted since the school established the honor a year ago. This year's inductees: • Tamara Watson Barbour, Class of 1990, has pursued a career in public education since 1995 and is currently an assistant principal at West Johnston High School. • Rick Childrey, Class of 1973, served the Smithfield-Selma Chamber of Commerce as its CEO for 30 years, retiring in 2016. • Marlon Lee, Class of 1992, is a teacher, basketball coach, and assistant athletic director at Clayton High School. He is also serves on the Smithfield Town Council. • Dr. Craig Price, Class of 1970, was a Morehead Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill who now practices medicine as an ear, nose, and throat specialist in Garner and Raleigh. • Bruce Radford, Class of 1973, made his mark in municipal government management in Troy, Washington, Selma, and Apex, where he retired in 2016. • Dr. Renee Sanders-Lawson, Class of 1978, is a retired educator who held positions serving grades K-12 as well as Higher Education. Last year's inaugural SSS Hall of Fame class included Lyn Andrews (1975), Dr. Rose Gunter Snipes Brown (1972), Tom Lock (1974), Darryl Lynn Lucas (1980), Andy Moore (1989), Tony Nixon (1976), and Mike Wooten (1981). DON'T FORGET TO WATCH "BRAIN GAME" SATURDAY: A team of three SSS students --- Mohamed Mohamed, Jude Reece, and Ashley Hernandez --- won their round of competition on a recently recorded episode of WRAL-TV's "Brain Game" that will be broadcast at 11 a.m. this Saturday. |
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Johnston County earns state recognition as a "Certified Retirement Community" Thanks to the Johnston County Visitors Bureau (JCVB), Johnston County has earned recognition as a "North Carolina Certified Retirement Community." The state's "RetireNC" program encourages retirees and those planning to retire to make their home in North Carolina. With the new designation from VisitNC --- a department of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina --- the JCVB sales team will participate in trade shows to market Johnston County's retirement communities. “We have been working already with the (age) 55+ communities in Clayton, and have built a unique landing page for RetireJoCo with offers a suggested itinerary for retirees to explore our communities as they consider North Carolina as a retirement destination,” said Donna Bailey-Taylor, JCVB's president and CEO. View the Johnston County Visitors Bureau's retirement "landing page"> This is the first year the state's program has become available to counties, and Johnston is the first to be certified, joining the previously certified cities and towns of Eden, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Jamestown/High Point, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Salisbury, Sanford, Tarboro, Washington, and Winterville.  On hand for
the presentation of Johnston's designation:
(left to right) Andre Nabors of VisitNC; Rick
Heilmann, JCVB Marketing Committee chair; Paul
Boucher, Marketing Committee member; Donna
Bailey-Taylor, JCVB president/CEO; and Wit
Tuttell, VisitNC's executive director. (Johnston
County Visitors Bureau photo)
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 7th Street Marketplace & The Chicken Barn |
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A rundown of upcoming civic and cultural events in our community that we've been told about or seen publicized elsewhere:  CHILDREN'S PAGEANT AND LIVE NATIVITY will be presented by the First Baptist Church on South Fourth Street from 5 to 6:30 p.m. this Sunday (Dec. 15). "APPALACHIAN WINTER: A CANTATA FOR CHRISTMAS" will be presented by the Chancel Choir of Smithfield's Centenary United Methodist Church during the 11 a.m. worship service this Sunday (Dec. 15). CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS PARTY at the Sarah Yard Community Center, 909 East Lee Street (beside Smith-Collins Park), 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20. Music, dance, food, crafts. Free admission. WINTER SOLSTICE WALK AT THE LABYRINTH at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on South Second Street in Downtown Smithfield will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. just before sunset on Saturday, Dec. 21 --- the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official start of winter. |
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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. LEE DANIEL (L.D.) DIXON, 88 - died December 8 MARCUS VANN (MARC) JOHNSON, 63 - December 8 GEORGE CARLTON PERNELL, 72 - died December 7 MARY ELOISE STEPHENSON, 88 - died December 6 LINDA TWISDALE RHODES, 71 - died December 6 CATHERINE STEPHENSON COBB, 91 - died December 5 JAMES EDWARD (J.E.) PARKER, 72 - died December 4 BRAXTON HARDEE (BRACK) JOHNSON, 91 - died December 4 WILLIAM NICHOLSON (SONNY) HYND JR., 78 - died December 4 MARY CLAIRE THOMPSON, 67 - died December 4 ADRIAN GORDON HOWELL II, 55 - died December 3 MARY GORDON BATTEN, 96 - died December 3 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS Smithfield's
Christmas Parade --- half a century ago
Folks of all ages are seen lining Market Street in front of Fleming Pharmacy and The Pickwick Pool Room in this 1966 photo published in The Smithfield Herald. (Those businesses were housed in the old Tuscarora Hotel building across from the Courthouse that was demolished in the mid-1970s to make way for the bank building that presently houses Wells Fargo.) The town's parade was held that year on Thursday, December 1 --- just a week after Thanksgiving. Those of us old enough remember that the procession in the Fifties and Sixties followed a figure-eight course, passing through the intersection of Market and Third streets twice as it returned to its point of origin at Smithfield High School. Obviously, the parade wasn't nearly as long then as it is now. (Johnston County Heritage Center archives) |
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"INSIDE" PAGES IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION SPORTS & RECREATION Grinch arrested; Dog Park sheltered FEATURE PAGE Johnston Health CEO's decade of progress OBSERVATIONS Superintendent speaks out against prejudice 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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