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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE MARCH 25, 2021 • VOL. 3,
NO. 12 |
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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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 Finch
and cardinal shared the bounty of the editor's
backyard feeder last Saturday.
FIRST DAY OF SPRING NOT EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED It started out chilly, then got cloudy, and ended with sprinkles of rain --- not one of those glorious sunny and warm days we associate with this season of the year. But no matter: Spring officially arrived last Saturday, and the weather this week has been slowly moving closer to "seasonal." Making things even brighter is the news that our public schools will be fully open after their Spring Break (story below).... MORE PHOTOS from Spring's first day in Smithfield on the FEATURE PAGE> Johnston's schools to welcome students four days a week in all grades April 12 Superintendent Eric Bracy and his staff recommended it; the county's Board of Education approved it by unanimous vote at a brief meeting Monday evening. Both staff and board agreed on the full re-opening in light of downward trends in coronavirus cases plus the vaccination of school teachers and other employees that will have most of them fully inoculated by the middle of next month. Students in all grades who choose not to continue with remote online learning will return to classes in schools four days a week, reverting to virtual instruction at home on Wednesdays to allow "deep cleaning" of school buildings and buses and time for teachers and administrators to work with students who may be lagging behind in their classwork. Recently revised federal and state guidelines on COVID-19 have cleared the way for a full re-opening of schools. Students in all grades no longer have to be kept six feet apart in classrooms; the new standard is three feet. And students may share seats in buses --- a change from a previous rule of one student per seat. Remaining in place is a mandate that all students and staff will wear face coverings in classrooms and on buses. And seating charts will still be required for "contact tracing" if COVID-19 infections are detected among students and staff. Monday, April 12 was chosen for the full return since that's the first day after Johnston's Spring Break holidays following Easter Sunday. Meanwhile, students who choose to do so may remain on remote learning at home indefinitely, although they will be able to return to school classrooms at any time within five days of requesting that change. CORONAVIRUS
REPORT
Case numbers are falling on all fronts The number of new cases reported weekly in Johnston County continues to decline: 254 this past week, down from almost 400 weekly a month ago and more than 800 weekly in early February. The total since the first case was reported here 12 months ago is approaching 19,000, including 206 deaths. The County of Johnston reported 722 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon: 701 recovering at home and 21 in hospitals. That's down from 790 cases a week ago. Johnston County Public Schools reported 30 active cases among students (46 a week ago) and 5 among employees (4 a week ago) as of late Wednesday afternoon. The number of active quarantines among students had decreased from 620 last week to 425, while the number of active quarantines among school employees had dropped from 61 to 41. VIEW real-time updates on the schools' COVID-19 Dashboard> 37,865 Johnstonians have been partially vaccinated since mid-December, while 21,974 have been fully vaccinated, according to Wednesday's daily report from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Add to that "partially vaccinated" total 2,000 first doses offered at Wednesday's drive-through clinic at North Johnston High School. VISIT this state web page for a directory of upcoming vaccination opportunities>
VIEW the current list of COVID-19 testing sites throughout Johnston County> |
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 "Trusted by families since 1977" 840 S. Bright Leaf Blvd. • 919-934-7164 • www.carrollpharmacy.com |
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Johnston's employment total continues to rise; local industries adding workers The latest monthly report from the N.C. Department of Commerce shows that the number of employed Johnstonians continues to recover from losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In January, that number rose to 94,653 --- up from 92,605 in December. As a result, Johnston's jobless rate in January was 5.2% --- down slightly from December's adjusted rate of 5.4% The statewide rate for January was 6.0%. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit us last March, the state reported more than 98,000 Johnstonians were employed. Meanwhile, several local industries are currently hiring more workers, reports Chris Johnson of the county's Economic Development Office. That includes AAF/Flanders, Airflow, and Global Skyware --- "over a hundred jobs total," he noted. VIEW the state's latest Civilian Labor Force Estimates for all 100 counties> Retail sales up 12.67% through end of 2020 Johnston County's retail sales continued to climb at surprisingly high levels through the end of 2020 in spite of the pandemic. N.C. Department of Commerce monthly reports for the year's fourth quarter (October-December) showed an increase of 12.67% over the same period a year earlier (before the pandemic took hold). Fourth-quarter sales in Johnston totaled $622,786,542 --- up from the previous year's $552,730,370 for the three-month period. Not only does that demonstrate remarkable resiliency for local retailers as a whole; it also bodes well for our county and municipal governments, which had budgeted reductions rather than increases in sales-tax revenue because of the pandemic. VIEW the state's monthly retail-sales reports for all 100 counties> Home sales up 15.9% since last March According to The Shackleford Report --- using data from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service --- 5,942 single-family residences were sold throughout Johnston County from last March through this February, while the average sales price rose 7.3% to $253,865 from $236,689 a year ago. Even more impressive is a 30% increase in sales volume during the fourth quarter of 2020 when compared to data from the fourth quarter of 2019. More recently, last month's sales volume was 27.1% higher than what was recorded in February 2020. VIEW the complete March report from Shackleford for Johnston County> |
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 SMITHFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL'S "BOOK BATTLERS" This team finished second in the annual Johnston County Public Schools "Battle of the Books" competition for middle-school students. They read from a list of books selected by the North Carolina Library Media Association and competed by answering questions based upon details from those books. Coached by Allison Beadle and Stephanie Worley, this year's Smithfield Middle team included Justin Artrip, Hayden Cauthorne, Edson Soto Callejas, Johanna Flores, Isabela Macedo, Olivia Macedo, Alanna Massey, Devin Napier, Zoey Pampuch, Ariana Rivera, and Landon Welch. (Photo from the Smithfield Middle School website) |
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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FOOTBALL: CLEVELAND 56, SMITHFIELD-SELMA 7  SSS is 2-2 after last
Friday's home loss to undefeated Cleveland High
School. The Rams held the Spartans to just 24 yards
rushing while Cleveland's Omarion Hampton ran for 152
yards. The only SSS touchdown came on a pass from
George Brewer to Clevonte Watson.Brewer completed 15 of 19 passing attempts for a total of 89 yards. Cleveland's Skyler Locklear completed 11 of 14 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Next up for the Spartans is another Greater Neuse 3-A Conference game at South Johnston High this Friday. The Trojans (1-3) lost to West Johnston 39-34 last Friday. GIRLS SOCCER: SSS WINLESS AFTER 3 MATCHES The Spartan girls are 0-3 after Tuesday's loss at Triton High by a score of 3-0. VIEW the upcoming Smithfield-Selma schedule for all spring sports> BOYS SOCCER: NEUSE CHARTER'S SEASON ENDS  The Cougars lost last
Friday's 1-A playoff game versus Franklin Academy of
Wake Forest by a score of 5-0, ending Neuse Charter's
season with a 7-5-1 record.GIRLS SOCCER: FIRST LOSS AFTER THREE WINS The Neuse Charter team is 3-1 after a 2-0 victory over Princeton High on Tuesday and a 3-2 defeat at Hobbton High on Wednesday. Freshman Delaney Harris scored both Cougar goals Tuesday (individual stats not reported for Wednesday's match). VIEW the upcoming Neuse Charter schedule for all spring sports> |
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WHAT'S COMING UP? A LOCAL WRITING CONTEST, AND IT'S FOR ADULTS The Johnston County Writers Group invites adults to submit their best works for judging in its first Spring Writing Contest. Acceptable genres are Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Poetry, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Christian Inspirational, and Children. Genres not acceptable are Erotica and Horror. Entrants may submit up to three works in any acceptable genre at no cost, but there will be no financial awards given. The contest opens next Tuesday (March 30). The entry deadline is April 30. Entries will be limited to the first 75 e-mailed to Dot La Motta at justadotintime@yahoo.com. For complete contest instructions, follow this link>  FLAGS FOR HEROES RETURNING IN JUNE The Rotary Club of Central Johnston County is joining forces with Rotarians in the Clayton-Cleveland area for a second annual Flags for Heroes project that will place American flags around the ponds next to Johnston Health hospitals in Smithfield and Clayton June 12-20, the week of national Flag Day. It's to be a tribute to health-care workers, first responders, and members of the U.S. Armed Forces who "have mobilized to fend off COVID-19" during the past year. Last year 500 flags were displayed; this year's goal is 1,000. The clubs are welcoming businesses and individuals who wish to sponsor the project. If you're interested, contact John Temple, the project's co-chair, at 984-400-1090 or e-mail JoCoFFH@gmail.com. |
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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.... BETTY DODGE BAUCOM, 81 - died March 23 SAMUEL LORMAN GEORGE, 75 - died March 23 SHERMAN SMITH JR., 78 - died March 23 CHARLES FRANKLIN (TRIP) BARRY III, 66 - died March 22 RACHEL PEEDIN JOHNSON, 98 - died March 22 MAE ELIZABETH COOK CARPENTER, 79 - died March 21 CHERYL (CHAE) DENISE LEWIS, 47 - died March 21 JIMMY ROGERS FLOWERS, 90 - died March 20 JIMMIE KIRKLAND GRIFFIN, 75 - died March 18 AMY KAREN CUDDINGTON MITCHELL, 56 - died March 17 |
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THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS  SMITHFIELD'S FIRST HOSPITAL --- IN THE 1920s Originally a boarding house operated by Mrs. N.G. Myatt, this sizeable structure at the southeast corner of North Second and Bridge streets was converted into Smithfield's first hospital in 1920, replaced in 1930 by a new hospital building on Hancock Street (still in use today as part of the Johnston County Department of Social Services "campus"). The Myatt House, meanwhile, served as a residence for the George McFadyen family until it was demolished to make way for a parking lot beside the local branch of Four Oaks Bank (today's United Community Bank). (Photo from the Johnston County Heritage Center) |
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LINKS TO MORE PAGES IN THIS EDITION OBSERVATIONS |
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DID YOU MISS A PREVIOUS EDITION? Rewind with our archives LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION? Up-to-data Johnston County data along with useful community links are on the Smithfield-Selma Sun website> |
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