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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE JANUARY 21, 2021 • VOL. 3,
NO. 3 |
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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 EMPLOYEES OVER AGE 65 GET COVID SHOTS Johnston County Public Schools nurse Kathy Woodard prepares to administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Special Assistant to the Superintendent Carolyn Ennis, among the school system's first employees over age 65 to get one of 40 doses Tuesday provided by the Johnston County Public Health Department. Assistant Superintendent David Pearce said 560 employees in the 50-64 age range have requested the vaccine, and "we want to be able to provide it to them as soon as possible." In all, nearly 2,200 school employees have expressed an interest in getting shots, he said. (Johnston County Public Schools photo) CORONAVIRUS
REPORT
Health Department has vaccinated 2,500 at three drive-thru clinics; a 4th this Friday Right now there are two ways for the public at large to get a coronavirus vaccination: One is to get in line at drive-thru clinics offered by the Johnston County Public Health Department. So far, there have been three. A fourth is scheduled at 10 a.m. this Friday at Johnston Community College when 1,200 doses, perhaps more, will be administered first-come, first-served, according to Dr. Marilyn Pearson, the county's health director. Dr. Pearson told County Commissioners meeting Wednesday evening that 500 doses were administered at the department's first vaccination clinic at West Johnston High School early last week, followed by 800 doses at North Johnston High School last Thursday and 1,200 at Corinth Holders High on Wednesday. She said more than 600 vehicles were in line before 6:30 Wednesday morning to get those shots, and about 500 were turned away when the supply ran out. The other opportunity for Johnstonians to get vaccinated is through UNC Health, which offers a website where folks 65 and older may sign up for an appointment at one of its medical offices. Trouble is, the message you were likely to get if you tried to do that this week was this: "We're sorry, there are no appointments available.... Please check back often as we will add appointments as we receive more vaccines." Anyone 65 and older is asked to check with YourShot.org. for the latest information about the UNC Health vaccination option. Dr. Pearson told commissioners the State of North Carolina this past week allocated 1,200 doses to Johnston's Health Department, which received another 1,300 from UNC Health, which operates hospitals at Smithfield and Clayton. She said vaccines eventually will be offered by pharmacies and physicians' offices, which could schedule appointments for their customers and patients. "If we had a hundred people we could do appointments," Dr. Pearson said, referring to the Health Department's current staff that's already overworked because of the pandemic. HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S CORONAVIRUS REPORT Posted Wednesday (Jan. 20) The county's mid-week report showed 2,070 active COVID-19 cases here: 2,011 recovering at home plus 59 in hospitals. That total is down 436 from a week ago. At the same time, 13 more coronavirus-related deaths were recorded here this past week, bringing total fatalities among Johnstonians since last March to 144. Current outbreaks at Smithfield's nursing and rehabilitation centers are about the same as reported a week ago: Smithfield Manor --- 113 current/former residents, 45 staff members, 13 deaths. Barbour Court --- 107 current/former residents, 57 staff members, 7 deaths. The Landings ---22 current/former residents, 10 staff members, 4 deaths. Classic Care Rest Home --- 9 current/former residents. SCHOOL SYSTEM'S CORONAVIRUS REPORT Posted Wednesday (Jan. 20) STUDENT DATA: 42 active cases among students (35 a week ago); 399 active quarantines (317 a week ago) including 15 at Smithfield-Selma High School, 3 at Smithfield Middle, 6 at West Smithfield Elementary, none at South Smithfield Elementary. STAFF DATA: 30 active cases among employees (69 a week ago); 127 active quarantines (131 a week ago) including 3 at Smithfield-Selma High School, 1 at Smithfield Middle, 3 at West Smithfield Elementary, 2 at South Smithfield Elementary. VIEW more details, updated weekdays, on the schools' COVID-19 Dashboard>
VIEW the current list of COVID-19 testing sites throughout Johnston County> |
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Our state legislators get their assignments as 2021-22 N.C. General Assembly convenes
Lisa Barnes is a member of the N.C. Senate from a district that encompasses all of Smithfield. They got their committee assignments as the N.C. General Assembly convened for its biennial "long session" last week. Representative White, a registered nurse who specializes in care for the aging, will serve as one of several co-chairs of two committees: Health as well as Appropriations, Health and Human Services. She will also serve as a member of the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services. Representative Strickland, a real-estate appraiser and farmer, will serve as one of several co-chairs of the Appropriations Committee and a member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Transportation Planning and Long Term Funding Solutions. He will also serve as one of several co-chairs of the Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission and a member of the Environmental Review Commission and the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee. Senator Barnes, a Nash County resident who recently served in the N.C. House, will serve as a member of four Senate committees: Agriculture, Energy, and Environment; Appropriations on Agriculture, Natural, and Economic Resources; Education/Higher Education; and Health Care. The General Assembly is not in session this week. It will begin its work in earnest when it reconvenes next Wednesday (Jan. 27). For complete information about the Legislature, including maps showing the boundary lines of districts served by its members, visit the official website> |
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CenturyLink is now Lumen. Who knew? The name change was announced four months ago --- in mid-September --- but many of us weren't aware of it until Monday's advisory from the County of Johnston that "Lumen" had experienced an outage interrupting 9-1-1 emergency service for a short while in Smithfield.
"As Lumen Technologies, or simply Lumen, the company will help lead enterprises through the challenges and opportunities of the 4th Industrial Revolution --- a time when smart, connective devices are everwhere," stated the official news release issued September 14, 2020. READ the company's announcement in full about the latest re-branding> Beauty In Me opens in new College Plaza  Irish and John Fajardo have
opened Beauty In Me, a beauty supply boutique for
women that's located in College Plaza, a new business
destination on East Market Street across from the
campus of Johnston Community College.Business hours are 10-7 Monday-Saturday. The telephone number is 919-205-1517. For more information, check out the website at shopbeautyinme.com. (Screenshot from Triangle East Chamber of Commerce virtual ribbon-cutting) |
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SSS boys win first four basketball games; 10 wins in volleyball for Neuse Charter girls The Smithfield-Selma High boys' basketball team has won its first four games in a season getting under way later than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The Spartans
defeated Harnett Central twice --- 59-55 on Wednesday,
January 13 and 75-60 last Friday --- before beating West
Johnston 82-61 Tuesday and Triton 66-59 Wednesday.Spartan senior Dylan Gottuso led the way with 21 points in the game on January 13. He and junior Jalen Hinton scored 17 points apiece in the win last Friday, and the duo scored 14 points apiece in Tuesday's victory. Dylan scored 17 and junior Jaylen White 14 to lead the Spartans in Wednesday's win. The Smithfield-Selma girls, meanwhile, lost their first three games: 59-37 vs. Triton High on January 6; 61-11 vs. Harnett Central January 8; 55-17 vs. Harnett Central last Friday. SSS senior K. Peacock led the way with 19 points in the January 6 game vs. Triton. Here's the link to the SSS schedule for all sports>  NEUSE CHARTER
BOYS 1-3 IN BASKETBALLThe Neuse Charter School boys' basketball team opened its season with a 61-60 win over North Duplin before losing its next three games: 71-28 vs. Princeton January 8; 51-33 vs. Lee Christian January 11; 54-49 vs. Union High last Friday. Scores for games played by the Neuse Charter girls' basketball team have not been reported to MaxPreps, the Weekly Sun's source for high-school contest results. Meanwhile, the Neuse Charter girls' volleyball team finished its season with 10 wins and 4 losses, including two victories in state 1-A playoff contests against Pamlico County and Camden County before a loss to Perquimans last Saturday. Here's the link to the Neuse Charter sports schedule> |
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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.... DONNA MAE BROWN, 63 - died January 20 SHERRILL D. BEASLEY, 82 - died January 18 WESLEY CONWAY BREWER JR., 84 - died January 16 WILLIAM EDWARD STEPHENSON, 68 - died January 14 ALLEN KEITH TEDDER, 47 - died January 13 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  EARLY 20th CENTURY WELCOME SIGN Unlike an infamous "welcome" billboard that stood near this spot at the Neuse River bridge in the late 1960s and early '70s, this classic neon-lighted sign above US 70 (then just two lanes wide) touted Smithfield's standing as a thriving farm town with "progressive cotton & tobacco market(s)." Visible on the left in this photo from the Joe & Warren Grimes Collection (Johnston County Heritage Center) are the Pure Oil gasoline station (today's Little Brown Jug) and Perkins Riverside Warehouse where tobacco was auctioned before a huge fire destroyed it in 1982. |
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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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