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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE JULY 16, 2020 • VOL. 2,
NO. 36 |
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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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| School board postpones its decision on re-opening of Johnston's schools Almost 1,500 viewers --- many more than usual --- logged onto the school system's Facebook page Tuesday afternoon to see how the Johnston County Board of Education would craft the re-opening of public schools under Governor Roy Cooper's latest anti-coronavirus guidelines. They didn't get the final answer. Instead, they learned that the school board is looking at three options following the Governor's rules allowing a blend of limited in-school instruction and remote learning at home: (1) Students would rotate school attendance in three groups, each with one week in class followed by two weeks at home. (2) Students would rotate in two groups in class every week, with one group attending on Monday and Tuesday, the other on Thursday and Friday (leaving Wednesday open for cleaning and sanitizing). (3) Students would rotate in two groups, each group attending school five days every other week. When will the board make its decision? Chairman Todd Sutton said at the close of Tuesday's session that a special meeting of the board is likely to be called for Thursday, July 30 --- if not sooner. North Carolina's public schools are scheduled to open August 17. READ MORE about the school board's deliberations at Tuesday's session> The Governor's rules for school re-opening mandate that everyone --- staff and students of all ages --- must wear a face covering. He said the state would provide school systems with five washable cloth masks for each student enrolled. READ the official state announcement with details of the school re-opening rules> CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Cases top 2,200 --- up 354
in the past week,
yet hospitalizations have been declining Here's the County of Johnston's coronavirus report as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday: • 2,216 cases --- up 354 from 1,862 a week ago. • 38 deaths --- four more in the past week. • 22 hospitalized --- down from 29 last week; 578 at home. • 1,579 presumed recovered --- up from 1,233 last week. • 1,166 female cases; 1,050 males. • Cases by age: 333 ages 0-17 (up 52 from last week); 268 18-24 (up 40 this week); 999 25-49 (up 189); 396 50-64 (up 44); 220 age 65+ (up 29). • Cases by race: 1,295 white, 279 black, 383 other, 259 unknown (not reported). • Cases by ethnicity: 1,137 Hispanic, 806 non-Hispanic, 273 unknown. The county reports the following institutional outbreaks in the Smithfield area: • Barbour Court Nursing & Rehab --- 3 staff members residing in Johnston. • Providence Assisted Living --- 8 current and/or former residents, 3 staff residing in Johnston, 2 staff residing elsewhere, 1 death. • Smithfield Manor Nursing & Rehab --- 2 staff residing in Johnston. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reports Johnston's rate of positive coronavirus tests remains at 13% while the statewide rate is down to 8%.
 COVID-19 testing at Tee's Chapel Church More than 200 persons took advantage of free drive-thru testing last Friday morning outside Tee's Chapel Free Will Baptist Church on Brogden Road east of Smithfield, reports Dr. Marilyn Pearson, Johnston County's director of public health. She said at least 275 persons took advantage of Tuesday morning's weekly drive-thru testing at the Health Department's parking lot. That opportunity continues through July. Here's the lineup of testing now going on in Johnston County> |
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 "IF IT'S REALLY CLEAN,
IT'S PARRISH CLEAN!" 919-934-5898 www.parrishclean.com |
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More than 300 Smithfield employers have gotten Paycheck Protection Program funds The U.S. Small Business Administration last week released the names of businesses and organizations that received loans from the first round of federal aid to employers under the coronavirus-relief Paycheck Protection Program. A total of 317 employers with Smithfield ZIP code addresses got funding in the form of loans approved by banks and other financial institutions. Of those, four got more than $1 million, nine got at least $350,000, and 24 got at least $150,000. The list includes two non-profit organizations: Johnston-Harnett-Lee Community (the regional anti-poverty agency) in the $1 million-to-$2 million category and the Public Library of Johnston County of Smithfield in the $150,000-$350,000 group. The rest of the local recipients are business enterprises. The names of 280 local employers receiving less than $150,000 were not disclosed. Here's the Smithfield-area list of loans above $150,000 that includes names of employers, jobs protected in each case, and lenders> Paycheck Protection Program loans will be fully forgiven --- in effect, making them outright grants --- if at least 60% is used for payroll and the balance is spent on mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. Otherwise, loans carry an interest rate of 1% and must be repaid within five years. The SBA is accepting applications for a second round of loans through August 8. LEARN MORE about it on the SBA program's website> |
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 Town's oldest oak tree is talking again!  In 1982 the Year-Round Garden Club and
the Smithfield Appearance Commission joined forces to
produce what became known as "Oakie the Talking Tree"
along the unpaved Neuse River Nature Trail, predecessor
of today's Greenway.A metal pole containing a tape recording was set up in front of the large oak, which stands as a venerable landmark on the river bank near the boat ramp. During Smithfield's Bicentennial Celebration in 1977, the Black Oak was identified as perhaps the town's oldest tree, dating back to the town's founding and perhaps many years before. The original device --- modeled after similar gadgets at Clemmons Educational State Forest near Clayton, fell into disrepair over the years, often a victim of vandalism that discouraged the town from continually fixing it. But now "Oakie" is back in service again, and it's better than ever. Inside a newly installed metal pole is a digital playback device that's solar-powered. And it provides not one, but two stories about Smithfield history that has taken place in the vicinity over the past two and a half centuries. It was the town's Appearance Commission that recently sparked renewed interest in restoring "Oakie," and the Smithfield Parks & Recreation Department under the leadership of Gary Johnson (pictured above) made it happen. The original narrative --- much of it inspired by the writings of the late Dr. W.G. Wilson Jr. who lived in the house on the bluff overlooking the tree --- was expanded with help from Todd Johnson, director of the Johnston County Heritage Center. The device itself --- including the recordings --- was produced by Digital Audio Technologies of Whitefish, Montana at a cost to the town of $1,510. Parks & Recreation staff installed it after removing the old device. And there are elephants in the Greenway trees!  Riddle: Why do you never see elephants in
trees?Answer: Because they're so good at hiding. That children's joke inspired Parks & Recreation Director Gary Johnson to come up with the idea of placing 25 small ceramic elephants in trees overhanging Smithfield's three-mile-long Buffalo Creek Greenway. Fashioned by staff at the Recreation & Aquatics Center, the elephants are out of reach so they can't be removed --- only observed, if you can find them. Mr. Johnson said Greenway explorers are challenged to find all 25 and post their achievement on the department's Facebook page> Here's a hint to get you started: One of the elephants can be found not far from the Greenway's southern terminus beside the Girl Scout Hut off South Second Street. |
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WHAT'S COMING UP? MUSIC FOR THE LUNCH BUNCH WON'T BE INTERRUPTED In spite of coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings (especially indoors), the Johnston County Arts Council will keep its string of consecutive, summertime performances by local musicians going with the 36th annual series presented online. The first performance took place on Wednesday of this week. The remaining schedule: July 22 --- Halle Adams, Ava Grace Jernigan, Donna Johnson, Todd Johnson, William Massengill, and Stephen Pfeiffer; July 29 --- Ella Ann Holding; August 5 --- Dara Edwards and Todd Johnson; August 12 --- Mary D. Williams; and August 19 --- Jonathan Levin. Performances will be live-streamed on the Arts Council's Facebook page> |
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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.... BARBARA PILKINGTON TEMPLE, 71 - died July 14 CHARLIE O'NEIL INGRAM JR., 56 - died July 12 JOICE ANN JOHNSON, 70 - died July 3 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  WHO REMEMBERS THE "FCX" STORES? Farmers Cooperative Exchange was the name of the farmer-owned agricultural supply business, shown here at its Market Street location in Downtown Smithfield in the 1960s. Johnston's FCX store moved into new quarters on the Truck Lane (today's Bright Leaf Boulevard) in 1979 and was absorbed by Virginia-based Southern States Cooperative Incorporated in 1986, and the Smithfield store was subsequently moved into a facility on US 301 just south of Holt Lake. (Photo from the Johnston County Heritage Center) |
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LINKS TO MORE PAGES IN THIS EDITION SCHOOL BOARD SESSION Rewind with our archives |
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For more information about our community, check out my 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 government website links • Local weather data, current & past • Neuse River levels & forecasts • Official time & Farmer's Almanac • Monthly unemployment reports • Quarterly retail-sales reports • Official population estimates • Agricultural statistics • Things to see and do www.smithfieldselmasun.com |
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