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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE DECEMBER 19, 2019 •
VOL. 1, NO. 51 |
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 WHAT CHRISTMAS IS
ALL ABOUT
Mary and Joseph, portrayed by Parker Watson and Wyatt Langston, share the spotlight with the baby Jesus in this "live nativity" on the grounds of Smithfield's First Baptist Church this past Sunday evening. Below are shepherds Will and Paige Barnes with animals that make the scene truly "live." 
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| Kay Carroll files for Board of
Education; incumbent Peggy Smith bows out of race
The Smithfield pharmacist previously served 16 years on the board, from 1992 till 2008. Meanwhile, current board member Peggy Smith announced this week that she would not seek re-election to a fourth four-year term. Of the other three incumbents whose seats are up this year, Teresa Grant has filed for re-election while Ronald Johnson and Mike Wooten have yet to file. Five other candidates in the non-partisan race are Kelly O'Hanlon-Peedin, Melynda Slay, Lyn Andrews, Kenon Crumble, and Ava Atkinson Gaines --- bringing the number of filers so far to seven. If more than 10 candidates sign up, they will compete in a Primary Election March 3. Otherwise, all of the filers will be on the ballot for the General Election next November. A PRIMARY CONTEST FOR STATE SENATE SEAT Republican State Representative Lisa Stone Barnes of Spring Hope has entered the race for the District 10 seat in the N.C. Senate, assuring a GOP Primary in March since Republican Patrick Harris of Smithfield previously filed for the office. Revised Senate District 10 encompasses Smithfield and northern portions of Johnston County as well as all of Nash County. Democrat Allen Wellons of Smithfield has also field for the seat. TWO MORE CANDIDATES FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER Justin David King of Peach Blossom Court, Clayton --- a Democrat --- has filed for the District 1 seat on the County Board of Commissioners presently held by Jeff Carver, who said he would not seek re-election. Two Republicans --- Fred J. Smith Jr. and Michelle Pace Davis --- have also filed. Mike Powell of Cleveland Road, Smithfield is the third Republican to file for the District 6 commissioner seat now held by Tony Braswell, who has filed for re-election. Lee Jackson has also filed for that seat. FILING FOR OFFICES CLOSES AT NOON THIS FRIDAY Here's a rundown of local filings through 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 Lisa Stone Barnes (R), Spring Hope District 10 --- Brent Jackson (*) (R), Autryville Vernon R. Moore (D), Warsaw District 12 --- Jim Burgin (*) (R), Angier John Kirkman (D), Sanford 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) --- WITHDRAWN District 10 --- John Bell (*) (R), Goldsboro District Court Judge: Seat 4 --- Jason H. Coats (*) (R), Coats Road, Four Oaks Seat 5 --- Resson Faircloth (*) (R), Erwin Seat 6 --- Paul A. Holcombe (*) (R), Windham Way, Clayton Seat 7 --- Terry F. Rose (R), Smithfield Seat 8 --- Jimmy L. Love Jr. (*) (R), Sanford Seat 9 --- Frank Wood (*) (R), Benson Seat 10 --- Mary Howard Wells (*) (R), Prestwick Drive, Clayton Seat 11 --- O. Henry Willis (*) (R), Dunn 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 Justin David King (D), Peach Blossom Court, 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 Mike Powell (R), Cleveland Road, 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 Kay Carroll, Lakeside Drive, Four Oaks Kenon Crumble, Sugarfield Lane, Clayton Ava Atkinson Gaines, Smithfield 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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 The best way, really? Newly erected "wayfinding" sign directs motorists from newly widened Booker Dairy Road near Community Park WEST across Buffalo Road and the Neuse River to reach Downtown, which is actually south of this intersection. Booker Dairy Road Extension, Kellie Drive open up Smithfield's new northern frontier All the new roads and streets in the vicinity of Smithfield-Selma High School and Neuse Charter School are now open --- with new traffic signals turned on.  That
includes the new "Booker Dairy Road Extension" all
the way to Bright Leaf Boulevard (US 301) and a new
street, Kellie Drive (shown here) that runs
from Booker Dairy Road past Neuse Charter through
the woods to Buffalo Road.In addition, both Kellie Drive and rebuilt Booker Dairy Road have sidewalks on both sides. Cost of the 2.1-mile Booker Dairy Road project: $13.2 million. Cost of the half-mile Kellie Drive project: $2.6 million. Both were funded and managed through the N.C. Department of Transportation. The name "Booker Dairy Road" will continue to be used for both the old two-lane portion of the road as well as the reconfigured four-lane section past the schools. The all-new four-lane section to the east will be "Booker Dairy Road Extension." The Town Council adopted those names after first naming the entire four-lane, divided-highway section "Ava Gardner Avenue" --- a split decision that drew objections from relatives of the late film actress. Along with the newly opened roads, "wayfinding" signs ordered by the Town of Smithfield have been installed --- not only beside the new roads but also beside other major thoroughfares leading visitors into Smithfield. They direct motorists to specific points of interest, including the Outlet Center, Community Park, Recreation and Aquatics Center, Buffalo Creek Greenway, Johnston Community College, and others. Cost of that project: $203,631 --- $99,256 from a USDA Rural Development Grant, $75,000 from Smithfield's 2% hotel-occupancy tax, and $29,375 from the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation. READ MORE about the new "wayfinding" signs on the OBSERVATIONS page> |
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  JOHN
P. (JACK)
O'HALE |
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 EMS staff
pictured: (left to right) Lieutenant Sonya
Wallace, Gabby Horan, Elizabeth Gower, Kelly
Dias, Battalion Chief Ted Hardy, Brent Heath,
Matthew Strickland, and Savannah Martin. (County
of Johnston photo)
Johnston's Emergency Medical Services saluted by Heart Association for a 3rd time The County of Johnston's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division has received another "Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Award" for its high-quality treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks. It's the third year in a row the division has received the award from the American Heart Association. EMS Division Chief Dan Gagne said the agency is proud of the honor it has received once more. "This is the result of hard work from our 9-1-1 dispatchers, fire department responders, EMTs and paramedics and achieves our mission to provide excellent care and quality service," he said. |
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 Wells named VP of
advancementand community relations at JCC Twyla Wells, executive director of the Johnston Community College Foundation, has moved into a new position as vice president of advancement and community relations at JCC. She says her "initial focus" will be to develop strategic plans for the Paul A. Johnston Auditorium and Howell Woods, the college's 2,800-acre nature preserve and training grounds in Bentonville Township. The auditorium has been under renovation for the past year and a half and is expected to re-open next summer. "These two facilities are wonderful assets and are unique to a community college campus," Dr. Wells said. "We are fortunate to have these along with the Frank Creech Art Gallery as part of our programming. I am so very excited to work with our citizens to create opportunities to further connect learning, JCC, and our communities." READ MORE about her work on the JCC website> JCC presents its 2019 Teaching Award  Brent Evans has been chosen
by his faculty peers as the 2019 recipient of the Earl
and Dot Helms Excellence in Teaching Award at Johnston
Community College.He is an instructor of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). Mr. Evans started teaching part-time at JCC in 2013 while pursuing a bachelor's degree in business administration at Mount Olive. In 2018 he received a master's degree in the same field. READ MORE about his honor on the JCC website> |
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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:  WINTER SOLSTICE WALK AT THE LABYRINTH at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on South Second Street in Downtown Smithfield, from 4 to 5 p.m. just before sunset this Saturday (Dec. 21), the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official start of winter. Exact time of the Winter Solstice on Saturday is 11:19 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. |
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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. JANET EARLE DAUGHTERY OWENS, 86 - died December 18 LOUISE PENNY SEWELL, 89 - December 17 KATIE MARIE HARRELL GAFFORD, 88 - died December 15 ROBERT HAROLD GORDON, 77 - died December 13 MOSES WARREN (MOKIE) STANCIL, 98 - died December 13 KENNETH EARL SUTTON, 53 - died December 12 ULYSSES WATKINS JR., 95 - died December 11 JOHNSTON HEALTH LIMITS VISITS BECAUSE OF FLU Johnston Health has imposed an age restriction on visitation at its hospitals in Smithfield and Clayton because of "an uptick in the number of influenza and respiratory virus cases among our patients and out in the community." The temporary ban on hospital visits applies to children age 11 and under. |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS County Commissioners
in 1992 with two new members
The election of 1992 produced a seven-member Johnston County Board of Commissioners for the first time. Joining the previous five-member board were Eleanor Creech and Cecil Massengill (on the right). The returning members: (left to right) Dr. Jerry Wood, James Cash, Board Chairman Norman Denning, Dr. John Booker, and Frank Holding. Starting in 1992, commissioners had to come from seven separate residential districts yet still win election in countywide voting. Mrs. Creech was the first woman elected to serve on the county board. (Johnston County Heritage
Center archives)
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SPORTS & RECREATION SRAC holiday hours, high-school basketball scores FEATURE PAGE Some personal memories of Christmases Past OBSERVATIONS "Wayfinding" missteps and Selma's Santa Train 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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