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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE JULY 30, 2020 • VOL. 2,
NO. 38 |
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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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Johnston jobless rate down to 6.9% in June The N.C. Department of Commerce reported this week that Johnston County's unemployment rate dropped from a high of 11% in May to 6.9% in June, apparently a result of the re-opening of many businesses following the coronavirus shutdown in March. The statewide rate for June was 7.9%. The June report estimates that 6,401 Johnstonians out of a labor force of 92,519 were unemployed. The state reported an estimated 10,167 Johnstonians were out of work in May. Johnston's jobless rate was 4.0% in June 2019. VIEW the state's June report for all of North Carolina's counties> |
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CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 2,844 cases in Johnston
--- up 354 this week
Here's the County of Johnston's report as of 5:00 p.m. Wednesday: • 2,844 cases, 44 deaths, 29 hospitalized (up from 20 a week ago), 530 at home, 2,241 presumed recovered. • 1,517 female cases; 1,327 males. • Cases by age: 454 ages 0-17 (385 last week); 358 18-24 (308 last week); 1,209 25-49 (1,088); 527 50-64 (457); 296 age 65+ (252). • Cases by race: 1,630 white, 359 black, 405 other (450 not known). • Cases by ethnicity: 1,364 Hispanic, 1,068 non-Hispanic (412 not known). Health Department's current list of test sites and testing events>
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| Neuse Charter School will let students in all grades return if parents so choose Given a choice, 65% of the parents of Neuse Charter School's 965 students have elected to send their children to classes on campus when the school re-opens, in stages, starting in mid-August. The other 35% have chosen virtual learning at home for their children.  The "Healthy Back to School 2020
Re-opening Plan" was accepted by Neuse Charter's Board
of Directors during a meeting held online Tuesday
evening. It was presented by Neuse Charter's
Superintendent Melissa Edwards and key members of her
administrative staff.Neuse Charter is allowed by the state to re-open August 10 --- a week earlier than traditional public schools. All of the school's students will begin the semester with online instruction. Then, the students so permitted will return to campus in stages: grades 9-12 starting August 17, grades K-2 starting August 31, grades 3-5 September 8, and grades 6-8 September 21. Even then, they'll return in two separate groupings two days each week: Monday-Tuesday for some, Thursday-Friday for others. And they'll be required to keep up with online instruction the three days they're kept at home. All students, whether learning at school or at home, will receive the same lessons each day from their teachers, administrators assured board members Tuesday. And all students will be graded on assignments due at the end of each week. A big factor enabling Neuse Charter to re-open to all students whose parents allow it is the school's operation without the need for buses to bring children to campus. Learn more about Neuse Charter on the school's website> Meanwhile, the re-opening plan for Johnston County's 45 traditional public schools calls for all students to start the semester August 17 with virtual learning at home. On September 8, all K-5 students whose parents permit it will return to campuses in two groupings alternating attendance for two days every week. All students in grades 6-12 are restricted to remote learning for the time being. At last report, more than 9,200 parents of Johnston's public-school students of all ages have elected to keep their children at home through the first semester. Johnston County's public schools expect to enroll well over 37,000 students this fall. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) with answers about the re-opening plan for Johnston County Public Schools are posted on the school system's website>  Unused since mid-March, and being overtaken by weeds, is this playground at South Smithfield Elementary School, which won't receive students again until September 8. Coronavirus funding for schools massive yet restricted --- see OBSERVATIONS> |
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 ANYTIME'S A GOOD TIME TO SEND ROSES! www.hanksflorist.com
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 The East River Subdivision beside Buffalo Road near the Neuse is already moving into a second phase of construction and sales. Smithfield is experiencing a long-awaited return of residential construction projects
Construction of 40 units in the East River Subdivision on Buffalo Road is almost complete and many of the units have been sold and occupied. A second phase of 32 houses is under construction. The full "build out" of East River will include 281 units. Others in the works within Smithfield's extraterritorial jurisdiction include Kamden Ranch with 25 units to start with --- at the intersection of Cleveland and Swift Creek roads. On the drawing board are Twin Creeks near West Smithfield School with 62 units in Phase 1 and Twin Oaks off Yelverton Grove Road --- a 20-lot twin-unit development. Meanwhile, in residential South Smithfield --- which saw a new-housing boom in the late 1960s and '70s, primarily because of the short-lived Sylvania TV plant --- an 8-lot project is taking shape along Second Street across from Civitan Field and the dog park. And there's a new two-story house going up on a cul-de-sac on South Smithfield's western fringe --- a rarity over the past quarter of a century --- and a smaller new house in an old neighborhood on North Fourth Street. Affordability? Low interest rates? Relief from suburban congestion? The answer is likely all of the above. Register of Deeds reports an upsurge in transactions Johnston County Register of Deeds Craig Olive reported this week that his office has seen an increase in real-estate documents and marriage licenses filed over the past four-plus months, compared to last year's filings. That's despite the coronavirus pandemic that has stymied many business activities. From the first of March through most of July, 18,096 real-estate transactions were recorded --- up from 15,113 a year earlier, Mr. Olive reported. At the same time, the number of marriage licenses issued increased from 452 to 479. Those numbers have produced an additional $73,871.60 in revenue during the period --- from $1,869,954.36 a year ago to $1,943,825.96 March 1-July 22 this year. Mr. Olive said 82% of recent transactions were filed electronically via the Internet. For more information, visit the Register of Deeds website> |
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New Great American Outdoors Act likely to boost local parks and greenway projects When Adrian O'Neal --- Johnston County's parks, greenways, and open space coordinator --- appeared before the County Commissioners earlier this month to get a resolution in support of the proposed Great American Outdoors Act, he knew how important this piece of federal legislation could be for local projects. "This would be a great thing for this county," Mr. O'Neal told the board, which adopted a resolution of support by unanimous vote. Last week Congress gave its final approval to the legislation by substantial vote margins in both the House and the Senate. President Trump has pledged to sign it. The measure provides $9.5 billion over the next five years to address a backlog of deferred maintenance needs in national parks and other public lands, and it guarantees $900 million annually in grants for state and local parks and recreation projects through the 55-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund. "It could be touted as the most important open-space legislation of this generation," Mr. O'Neal said of the Conservation Fund provisions in an e-mail response to the Sun this week. Funding to back up the new legislation will come from federal royalties collected for offshore oil and gas drilling.
"The grants can equal up to $500,000 in matching funds per year," he noted. "This will allow us to leverage county funding and other grant funding to double the size and scope of our potential projects," he said, adding that Land and Water Conservation grants "can only be used for outdoor recreation opportunities." "This funding matches well with (state) Parks and Recreation Trust Funds grants, (NC) DOT non-federal grants, and land donations and bargain sales," Mr. O'Neal noted. "We hope that through cooperative efforts of local communities, state agencies, the county, and grant funding such as this, the system of greenways and pedestrian and bike trails throughout Johnston County will flourish," he concluded. The legislation won approval in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 73-25 with both of North Carolina's senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, voting yea. The U.S. House of Representatives approved it 310-107. Johnston County's representative in the House, David Rouzer, voted no. |
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 Colorized postcard from 1926 shows the newly opened Johnston County Hospital (today's Social Services headquarters). Notes Heritage Center Director Todd Johnson: "According to blueprints in our archives, the 'Colored Ward' was separate and unequal, with three rooms in the back accessed through a back door, and no waiting room or dining room for blacks." Heritage Commission plans online round-table discussion next week on racism in health care The
Johnston
County Heritage Commission’s Black History Committee
will present a virtual round-table discussion on
racism in health care at 7 p.m. next Thursday (August
6). "The Right to Live: Re-examining Racism" will be
accessible online through the Heritage Center's Facebook page> Panelists
will
include: Georgia Anthony, director of Project Access;
Dr. Gettys Cohen, a retired dentist who's chairman of
the Johnston County NAACP chapter; Dr. Eugene Maynard,
medical director of Benson Health and chairman of the
Johnston County Board of Health; Fred Nelson, Benson's
town manager who's a former administrator with RHA
Health Service; and Dr. Marilyn Pearson, director of
the Johnston County Health Department. Twyla Casey
Wells, vice president of advancement and community
relations at Johnston Community College, will serve as
moderator. Audience
members
can weigh in and ask questions remotely during the
Facebook live feed. Future online sessions will deal
with racism in criminal justice (September 10) and in
education (October 8). |
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 JOHNSTON HEALTH INTRODUCES A QUARTERLY REPORT Story from Suzette Rodriguez, Johnston Health The story of how the hospital is navigating the health crisis is the focus of the inaugural issue of a new quarterly report called Connect. Every three months, the publication will highlight patients, employees, and partnerships, and include updates on services, capital projects, and the work of the Johnston Health Foundation. In addition, hospital contributors will offer healthful tips, links to resources, and other useful info. Connect is making its debut this week. Many households across the county will receive it in the mail. It’s also available online for those who would like to subscribe (at no charge) by clicking on the advertisement above. |
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LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AGENDAS
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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.... JOYCE INGRAM SANDERS, 86 - died July 28 SHIRLEY DUPREE COOR, 98 - died July 27 JUANITA SHEARIN McELROY, 92 - died July 23 ERNEST SYLVESTER (CUTTY) AVERY, 71 - died July 22 NORWOOD (WOODY) JONES JR., 63 - died July 12 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  THE BRAND-NEW GRANTHAM HOUSE, c. 1902 Smithfield enjoyed a boom in prominent new houses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries --- in newly developed neighborhoods like "Brooklyn," anchored by the handsome residence of Nuit B. Grantham at the corner of South Fourth and Woodall streets pictured here. Yes, that's where the town installed the recently restored Grantham Pump House not long after the Grantham residence was finished. The site has remained vacant since the house was destroyed by fire over a quarter of a century ago. (Photo from the Johnston County Heritage Center) |
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LINK TO AN ADDITIONAL PAGE IN THIS EDITION OBSERVATIONS 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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