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| PUBLISHED ONLINE MAY 5, 2020 • VOL. 2, NO. 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stories and photos by Wingate Lassiter unless otherwise noted (click highlighted link to e-mail the editor) |
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| CORONAVIRUS
UPDATE: Johnston's case total jumps to 182 as more folks are tested; 16 have died The County of Johnston's latest report shows 182 confirmed coronavirus cases here --- up from 158 last Friday. At the same time, the number of Johnstonians in hospitals has declined --- from 14 on Friday to 11 on Monday --- but the death total rose from 13 to 16 over the weekend. Of Johnston's 184 cases, 70 are associated with residents and staff at a Clayton rehab and nursing center, 13 among residents and staff at Cambridge Place, a rehab facility in Smithfield. Dr. Marilyn Pearson, Johnston County's director of public health, reported to the County Commissioners Monday that the number of cases confirmed here is rising again after leveling off a couple of weeks ago. "I suspect part of that is we're seeing more testing," she said. Johnston recorded the first of three cases involving persons under 18 years of age over the weekend, Dr. Pearson reported. And she pointed out that almost one-third of infected persons here are African-American even though blacks make up just 16% of the county's population. Over the past seven to eight months of the current flu season, Johnston County has recorded just two deaths from influenza, Dr. Pearson noted. Since late March of this year, Johnston has registered 16 coronavirus deaths. Johnston County released the following coronavirus data at 5:00 p.m. Monday: • 182 confirmed cases; 16 deaths, 11 hospitalized, 155 at home. • 65% of cases female (118); 35% male (64 cases). • Cases by age: 3 ages 0-17; 7 18-24; 59 25-49; 45 50-64; 68 age 65 and older. • Cases by race: 118 white, 53 black, 7 "other," and 4 "unknown," STATE ADDS NEW REPORTS BY ZIP CODE The N.C. Department of Health & Human Resources on Friday began reporting numbers of cases and deaths by postal ZIP codes. Latest reports show 10 cases and no deaths for residents of Smithfield 27577, 76 cases with 14 deaths for Clayton 27520 (most from an outbreak at a nursing facility there), 16 cases and no deaths for Clayton 27527, 16 cases with one death for Selma 27576, nine cases and no deaths for Princeton ZIP 27569, and six cases with no deaths for Four Oaks ZIP 27524. View the new click-on map showing cases by ZIP code statewide>
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 The first batch of masks from Smithfield-Selma High were presented to Smithfield police officers on Friday: (left to right) Captain J. Grady, Lieutenant S.S. Jones, Chief Keith Powell with students Kaylee Myer, Rebekah Jenkins, Judah Jenkins and their instructor, Angela Jenkins. (SSS photo) Students making masks for first responders Using 3-D printers in the Engineering Lab at Smithfield-Selma High School, students have volunteered to help produce protective masks for local first responders. "I found a mask that would be easy to print and wear," explained Angela Jenkins, engineering and robotics teacher at SSS. "Masks take about two hours to print all components. I posted the initial stages on my social media page, which caused both the SSS Band Boosters and SSS Robotics Boosters to step forward and volunteer to help print masks. "Once the masks were printed I enlisted the help of SSS students (and) members of the FIRST Robotics Competition team 6004 (see related story below) to assemble and deliver the masks to the Smithfield Police Department." More masks are being produced for the Smithfield Fire Department and a local doctor's office, Ms. Jenkins said. SSS Principal David Allen said he was first approached by State Representative Donna White to see if the school would be interested in helping local first responders by printing 3D masks. "I am very proud of our teachers and students," Mr. Allen said. "The town has previously made investments in our Robotics program and this was a great way to give back." |
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SMITHFIELD-BASED KS BANK HAS HELPED 327 BUSINESSES WITH PAYCHECK PROTECTION LOANS From KS Bank via Triangle East Chamber
of Commerce
KS Bank assisted 327 business customers with funds from the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), established due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirteen KS Bank employees worked extra hours to meet the demands of applying for these loans so our customers could receive the funds for their employees. As a result, 4,020 jobs are impacted with these loans. Approximately $30 million in PPP funding was received by KS Bank business customers which funded an average of 12.29 jobs per loan. The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA (the federal Small Business Administration) will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. KS Bank is a locally owned and operated community bank with nine retail locations in Johnston, Wake, Wilson, and Wayne counties. |
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County Commissioners want Stay-At-Home Order lifted, will await Governor's decision Johnston's County Commissioners made it clear during Monday's monthly meeting that they want Governor Roy Cooper's Stay-At-Home Order lifted sooner rather than later. But they took no action opposing those rules, choosing to wait for the Governor's announcement about what will be in place after May 8 (this Friday). That's when the current order expires. "I've had a lot of comments directed to me" and most "say re-open Johnston County," Chairman Ted Godwin reported to the board. "I think we've all seen enough abuses of the rules out there and that we've weathered some risks," he said. "I'm ready for Johnston County to open back up in a thoughtful and safe manner." "The truth of the matter: It's already open," observed Commissioner Tony Braswell, who has been a persistent critic of rules that allow so-called "big box" retailers to remain open while smaller businesses are shut down. "It's defeated all purposes of anybody staying at home," he said. Commissioner Butch Lawter commended small-business operators. They're "probably the most compliant" regarding the Governor's order, he said. "They're innovative enough to figure out how to make their businesses safe." Commissioner Chad Stewart said he has been "really impressed" by the public's behavior overall. "People are doing the right thing and being cautious,"he said. "Handshakes are probably gone and hand sanitizers are going to be around for a while." During his report at Monday's meeting, Emergency Services Director Kevin Hubbard noted that this is Hurricane Preparedness Week in North Carolina, and expressed concern about what would happen if a hurricane hits us before rules on social distancing and mass gatherings are lifted. For instance, temporary storm shelters at high schools wouldn't be able to accommodate their usual numbers of evacuees, he pointed out. That means plans will have to be made for additional shelter locations, he said. READ MORE coronavirus reports from county officials in a roundup of Monday's proceedings before the county's principal governing board> |
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Photo from Smithfield-Selma High School
SSS-BASED
ROBOTICS TEAM WINS TOP DISTRICT AWARD A team of students calling themselves f(x) Robotics won the top award at a recent district FIRST Robotics Competition --- part of an international series organized by FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Each team designs, builds, and programs a robot using a common set of parts to see which robot is most effective at performing set tasks. Sponsored by Smithfield-Selma High School, the f(x) Robotics team is made up mostly of SSS students: (left to right) in front - Gabe Willis; seated - Rebekah Jenkins, Ethan Carroll (home school), Colby Fletcher, Kaylee Myer, Anna Blackmon, James Atkisson, Georgia Will (Neuse Charter School); standing - Josh Williams, Megan Stoneman, Sebastian Garrett, Judah Jenkins, Sam Lee (Neuse Charter), Joseph Evans, Dante Dextre', Bennett Nascimento (Cleveland High), Martin Volcjak (West Johnston High), Brandon Rice. |
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Story & photo from JCCollege Johnston Community College
has been awarded a $185,994 grant from the Golden
LEAF Foundation to address a significant unmet need
for qualified fabricators in the region. Five area employers have
identified more than 100 existing and 130 new
fabrication positions that currently need to be
filled. The college will establish
a new fabrication program and become a Certified
Education Center through the Fabricators &
Manufacturers Association. This program would allow
the college to provide specialized training for
incumbent workers, add fabrication curriculum into
its existing welding degree program, and offer a
stand-alone certificate option. Also, to help build the
region's future pipeline of welders and fabricators,
the project will host two manufacturing summer camps
for middle and high-school students. Golden LEAF funds will be used for the
purchase and installation of new fabrication
equipment, including software and educator
training, as well as costs associated with the
summer camps. "This is a wonderful
opportunity for our current and future welding
students and exemplifies the outstanding
collaboration we have with our community partners,"
said Joy Callahan, the college's associate vice
president of workforce development and advanced
technologies. Pictured: JCCollege
student Melanie Reyes prepares metal for welding. |
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Johnston Health's Tom Williams named CEO, no longer "interim"  Johnston Health's Board of Directors has
named Tom Williams as its new Chief Executive Officer.
He was named interim CEO last fall to succeed retiring
CEO Chuck Elliott."Tom Williams has done an outstanding job leading Johnston Health during the past few months, especially as we've navigated the coronavirus crisis," said Dr. Eric Janis, chairman of the Johnston Health board. "His leadership skills and passion for excellent care will help strengthen our organization and our community." Mr. Williams is a long-time leader at UNC REX Healthcare in Raleigh, most recently as vice president of ambulatory and support services. In addition to his background in hospital administration, he is a registered respiratory therapist. Since 2014, Johnston Health has operated as a joint venture with UNC Health Care to manage what was formerly Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield and a smaller hospital at Clayton that opened in 2015. Johnston Health receives another "Grade A" for hospital safety here Story from UNC Health
Multiple
UNC Health hospitals received top "A" grades from the
Leapfrog Group on its Spring 2020 patient safety
report card: UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, UNC
REX Healthcare in Raleigh, Johnston Health in
Smithfield, Pardee UNC Health in Hendersonville, and
UNC Lenoir Health in Kinston.
The
Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D, or F grade to all
general hospitals across the country based on their
performance in preventing medical errors, injuries,
accidents, infections, and other harms to patients in
their care. UNC REX
in Raleigh is the only hospital in North Carolina ---
and one of only 32 hospitals nationwide --- to receive
straight As since Leapfrog began grading hospitals for
safety in 2012. To see
each hospital’s full grade details, and to access
patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org. |
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DEATHS & FUNERALS Each week we post links to obituaries about persons who have died during the past week. We 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.... MARY ELIZABETH TOLER ROSE, 99 - died May 1 |
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LINKS TO ADDITIONAL PAGES OBSERVATIONS |
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JCCollege gets
Developed under the guidance of a
national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety
Grade uses up to 28 measures of publicly available
hospital-safety data to assign grades to more than
2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The
Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed
and fully transparent.