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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE OCTOBER 29, 2020 • VOL. 2,
NO. 51 |
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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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 The long lines for early voting at the First Baptist Church Ministry Center were gone this week, clearing the way for quicker voting between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Early voting in North Carolina ends at 3 p.m. this Saturday. Next Tuesday is Election Day. More than half of Johnston's registered voters have already cast their ballots It's destined to be a record-setting election in terms of voter participation. Here are the numbers we've run up through Wednesday: • 75,428 Johnstonians have cast their ballots, either at early-voting sites or by absentee ballots mailed or delivered to the county's Board of Elections. • That's 53% of Johnston's record number of registered voters at 142,255 and still counting as new registrants continue to sign up at "one stop" early-voting sites. • Compare those unfinished numbers to the final total of 86,352 who voted in 2016 --- a turnout of 70.52% of Johnston County's registered voters at the time. VIEW the N.C. Board of Elections statewide voting reports, issued daily> All of that's going amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which has many voters wary of visiting polling places where the COVID-19 infection may spread. The last of several legal challenges to the voting process in North Carolina was resolved on Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-3 not to undo a lawsuit settlement that allows absentee ballots to be counted if received by 5 p.m. November 12 --- nine days after Election Day. The lengthened deadline resulted from concerns about U.S. Postal Service delays. If you haven't voted yet, polls will be open 6:30 a.m. till 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Besides one of the most contentious races for President in American history are potentially game-changing races for U.S. Senator and N.C. Governor, and on the local level a wide-open, nonpartisan contest for four seats on the Johnston County Board of Education that initially drew an unprecedented 16 candidates, reduced to eight on this fall's ballot by the Primary Election last March. Johnston County results for all races will be posted on the County Board of Elections website as soon as they're received from each of Johnston's 36 precincts after the polls close on Tuesday. There's no faster way to get those results. Here's the link to get the county's real-time tabulations> Smithfield is divided into four precincts that provide polling places based on the address of your residence: North Smithfield 1 --- Smithfield Middle School, 1455 Buffalo Road. North Smithfield 2 --- Smithfield Church of God, 1710 West Market Street. East Smithfield --- First Baptist Church Ministry Center, 125 S. Fourth Street. South Smithfield --- South Smithfield Elementary School, 201 W. Sanders Street (NOTE: This is a
change in location from previous elections.)
FIND
your precinct and polling place on the N.C. Board of
Elections website>There's just one difference in the ballots for the Smithfield precincts: Voters in the North and East precincts will choose a representative to the N.C. General Assembly from District 28; voters in the South precinct will choose a state representative from District 26. VIEW complete sample ballots: For North 1-2 & East Smithfield> For South Smithfield> CHECK the OBSERVATIONS page for a quick-reference list of candidates for county and district offices on Tuesday's ballot, plus a rundown of how Johnston County has voted for President since World War II (1948-2016)> CORONAVIRUS REPORT
Johnston
infections up 409 this past week;
• 5,766
cases, 66 deaths, 26
hospitalized + 806 at home for a total ofmore cases in schools as students return Yes, that's a record number of new cases recorded in a single week in Johnston County since the coronavirus pandemic hit home last March. What's worse, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported this week that Johnston County reached an average of 300 active cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days. Neighboring Wake County, meanwhile, has seen 163 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. Here's the County of Johnston's daily report issued at 5:40 p.m. Wednesday: 832 active cases --- up from 591 a week ago --- with 4,868 presumed recovered. • 3,035 female cases; 2,731 male. • Cases by age: 837 ages 0-17 (770 last week); 785 18-24 (737 last week); 2,378 25-49 (2,223 last week); 1,100 50-64 (1,020 last week); 666 age 65+ (607). • Cases by race: 3,380 white, 707 black, 845 other (834 not known). • Cases by ethnicity: 2,192 Hispanic, 2,974 non-Hispanic (600 not known). VIEW the county's latest report in full, including Institutional Outbreaks> 102 CASES REPORTED IN JOHNSTON COUNTY SCHOOLS Here's what was posted at 7:45 a.m. today (Thursday): STUDENT DATA: 64 confirmed cases among 23,096 students who have returned to face-to-face learning at school --- 20 in elementary schools, 13 in middle schools, 31 in high schools (last week's case total: 34 among 18,063 students in school). EMPLOYEE DATA: 38 confirmed cases, 391 quarantined among approximately 5,000 employees including teachers, administrators, and support staff --- 15 cases in elementary schools, 6 in middle schools, 10 in high schools, 7 in Central Office administration (last week's totals: 27 cases, 258 quarantined). Data is updated every weekday on the school system's website
VIEW the current list of COVID-19 test sites and testing events in all of Johnston> DRIVE-THRU CLINIC FOR FLU SHOTS FRIDAY MORNING The Johnston County Public Health Department will offer flu shots, while supplies last, outside its headquarters beside the hospital from 9 a.m. till noon Friday (tomorrow) for adults and children age 12 and older. Pre-registration is required by telephoning 919-209-8310. |
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 A sheriff's deputy protects the exit for school buses leaving Smithfield-Selma High School on Monday, start of the second week of staggered classes back on campus. County's school enrollment, with all grades back on campus, slightly below last year's Johnston County Schools expected enrollment of 36,811 students this week --- 23,096 back on campus either full-time or part-time, 13,715 on remote learning all the time at home. The total is down about 600, or 1.6%, from last year's enrollment of about 37,400. Statewide enrollment in public schools is down about 4%, according to a preliminary report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. Of Johnston's 23,000-plus students who have returned to school, 9,000-10,000 are riding school buses each day, with numbers generally higher for afternoon routes than morning trips, reports Chad Holloman, director of transportation for Johnston County Public Schools. The state's rules are being followed on how many students may ride on each bus, he said. "For elementary (schools), the students may ride as normal, with masks," he explained. For middle and high schoolers, "the students can only sit one per seat," he said. "Therefore, the capacity or occupancy can vary due to the size of the bus." Students in grades 3-5 joined students from all other grades in returning to Johnston's classrooms this week. While elementary students are now back in school five days a week, middle and high-school students are attending two days a week --- one group on Mondays and Tuesdays, another on Thursdays and Fridays. When the older students are not on campus, they are required to continue their studies online at home --- as many other students at all grade levels continue to do full-time as their parents have chosen because of the coronavirus pandemic. My Kid's Club awarded $100,000 from state's Coronavirus Relief Act My Kid's Club is getting a $100,000 grant from the state's Coronavirus Relief Act "to provide temporary remote learning support for working families in our community," announced Alison Gammage, the club's director.  The money, she
said, will be used in several ways:• To hire and train staff for the club's programs at South Smithfield and Selma elementary schools. • To purchase laptops and other devices "to help students participate in virtual classrooms and online learning." • To buy furniture "to facilitate social distancing." • To acquire online and print materials for students "to practice and learn skills they missed when schools were closed" because of the pandemic. • To purchase PPE (personal protective equipment) and cleaning supplies. The $100,000 grant was awarded through a program administered by the N.C. Alliance of YMCAs to help qualifying organizations like My Kid's Club recoup expenses related to remote learning because of the coronavirus pandemic. My Kid's Club is currently accepting applications for all its programs, which include remote-learning support for middle-school students at the club's home base at Selma Elementary School from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and after-school programs from 4 to 6 p.m. at South Smithfield Elementary and 3:45-6:30 at Selma. Applicants are advised to e-mail admin@mykidsclub.org or call 919-351-1559. |
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 Apparently these folks on South Fourth Street aren't sidestepping Halloween v.2020. What about the observance of Halloween in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? Despite COVID-19, the Town of Smithfield won't stop trick-or-treating by youngsters between 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, but does advise folks wary of little ones coming to the door this year to turn off the outdoor lights and ignore the doorbell. "Residents who wish to participate are asked to distribute candies that are either wrapped or bagged instead of handing out individual pieces at a time," the town advises, and "homemade candies and goodies are not recommended." Rather than use a "community bowl" to pass out candy, the town recommends setting goodies on a table "at an appropriate distance away from the door for children to help themselves." The town asks that organizations refrain this year from hosting events like haunted houses, trunk-or-treats, and fall festivals that attract large crowds. |
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 IT'S TIME-CHANGING TIME AGAIN... This Sunday is November 1, which means an end to Daylight Saving Time until its return next March. "Fall Back" is as reminder to turn your timepieces BACK one hour before you retire Saturday night. WHAT'S COMING UP? JOHNSTON'S COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEET NEXT MONDAY AS USUAL; TOWN COUNCIL POSTPONES ITS SESSION BECAUSE OF ELECTION DAY The County Commissioners will convene the first of two sessions Monday (Nov. 2) at 10 a.m. in the Superior Courtroom inside the older portion of the Courthouse. There are limits on how many persons may attend because of COVID-19 guidelines, so the meeting will be live-streamed on the county's Facebook page> Citizens who wish to address the board during "Public Comment" portions of both meetings but have concerns about attending in person may e-mail written comments by 5 p.m. Friday (tomorrow) to the board's clerk: paula.woodard@johnstonnc.com. At the board's 10 a.m. session, commissioners will consider a request from the Town of Smithfield for assistance in funding a Neuse River bank-stabilization project to protect the town's Buffalo Creek Greenway. The project's estimated cost: $100,000. VIEW the morning session's complete agenda> At the 6 p.m. session, also in the Courthouse and also live-streamed, commissioners will hold public hearings on seven land-use rezoning and special-use requests --- in rural Cleveland (3), Elevation, Ingrams (2), and Clayton townships. VIEW the complete agenda with details about those requests> The Smithfield Town Council, which normally meets on the first Tuesday evening of the month, will meet on Tuesday, November 10 to avoid a conflict with Election Day. The agenda for that meeting will be posted next week. VIRTUAL GHOST WALK ONLINE THIS EVENING (THURSDAY) This year's Heritage Center Ghost Walk won't be conducted in person. Instead, you'll have to take part starting at 7 p.m. on the center's YouTube channel. And if you miss it then, you may watch the archived presentation via that same link later on. |
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Johnston's Register of Deeds Office joins N.C. pilot plan for electronic death records
NCDAVE --- the North Carolina Database Application for Vital Events --- is the name of the system that's designed to "streamline the process for creating death records and reduce the time that the decedent's family has to wait to obtain the death certificate," the state agency says. "NCDAVE will replace a manual system that often required the funeral directors to physically drive the death certificate from their office to the doctor's office to the Health Department and, finally, to the Register of Deeds office to obtain the certified copies of the death certificate." Statewide implementation of NCDAVE is anticipated by June 2021, the state says. GET THOSE DISCARDED DOCUMENTS SHREDDED THIS SATURDAY Johnston's Register of Deeds office is hosting a "Public Shred" event from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. this Saturday (Oct. 31) in the IGA parking lot at 721 North Bright Leaf Boulevard in Smithfield. Pointing out that identity theft is "the fastest growing crime in America," Register of Deeds Craig Olive encourages Johnstonians to bring old files, receipts, credit-card offers, bank statements, returned checks, and any other sensitive information they want to discard to Saturday's event. There's no charge for the service. |
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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.... WILLIAM BERNICE JERNIGAN, 66 - died October 26 JANICE L. SUTTON, 63 - died October 24 VINCENTE HERRERA, 64 - died October 23 EVANGELINE GAIL POPE, 80 - died October 22 CLAUDIA MAE GARDNER, 76 - died October 17 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  A JOHNSTON COUNTY COTTON GIN, c.1914 Will D. Tomlinson pilots a mule-drawn buggy outside the cotton gin at his farm on Cleveland Road northwest of Smithfield more than a hundred years ago. The structure shown here is long gone, but other elements of Tanglewood Farm remain intact, and are presently undergoing restoration by new owners who specialize in historic preservation. Their story is on the FEATURE PAGE> (Photo from the Johnston County Heritage Center) |
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LINKS TO MORE PAGES 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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