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| PUBLISHED
ONLINE APRIL 1, 2021 • VOL. 3,
NO. 13 |
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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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Palm Sunday
evening mass at Saint Ann Catholic Church last
weekend.
Another EASTER under pandemic's cloud It's the second Easter Sunday since the coronavirus pandemic came upon us that Smithfield will not hold its traditional community sunrise service. But unlike last Easter, this time church sanctuaries will be open to worshipers with fewer restrictions on attendance as the pandemic appears to be on the wane. Good Friday is a holiday for most government offices and services. An exception is the U.S. Postal Service, which will operate on its normal schedule. Public schools are closed on Good Friday, and in Johnston County will be closed all of next week for Spring Break. In case you've forgotten why Easter moves around on the calendar, it falls on the first Sunday after the full moon (last Sunday) that follows the Vernal Equinox (which occurred on March 20). |
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CORONAVIRUS
REPORT
The County of Johnston reported 691 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon: 676 recovering at home and just 15 in hospitals. That's down from 722 cases a week ago. The death toll for Johnston reached 209 after three more persons succumbed to COVID-19 this past week. Johnston County Public Schools reported 45 active cases among students (30 a week ago) and 7 among employees (5 a week ago) as of late Wednesday afternoon. The number of active quarantines among students increased from 425 last week to 587 this week; the number of active quarantines among school employees increased from 41 to 54. 42,517 Johnstonians have been partially vaccinated (20.3% of the county's estimated population) since mid-December, while 26,726 have been fully vaccinated (12.8% of the population), according to Wednesday's daily report from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The county's Health Department scheduled a first-shot, drive-thru clinic today (Thursday) at West Johnston High School for persons as young as 16 with one or more high-risk medical conditions as well as "essential workers" not yet vaccinated. It was to open at 8 a.m. and continue until 2,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered. 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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 DAR honorsveterans of Vietnam War In commemoration of National Vietnam War Veterans Day, members of the Smith-Bryan Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution gathered Sunday with Vietnam veterans and their families on the eve of the observance to lay a wreath at a war memorial in front of the Courthouse. March 29 has been designated for the annual observance because that's the date in 1973 the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam and the Hanoi government released the last of its acknowledged U.S. prisoners of war. Pictured with the wreath are Pete Outen, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 990, and Barbara Kirby, regent of the DAR chapter. Nearby is another monument etched with the names of 35 Johnston County warriors who perished in that war. (Photo from Deidre Kraft, Smith-Bryan Chapter) |
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 TOWN'S ELECTRIC OPERATION EARNS SAFETY AWARD The Town of Smithfield's Public Utilities Department received the American Public Power Association's Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2020. Smithfield earned first place in the category for electric systems with less than 15,000 hours of annual worker exposure. Nationwide, 329 utilities that power towns and cities entered the annual competition for awards. Ted Credle is Smithfield's director of public utilities. Pictured (left to right) are employees Rodney Johnson, Glenn Sheets, Luther Peedin, Rob Cruse, T.J. Harper, Hunter Parker, and Jeff Stewart. (Town of Smithfield photo) |
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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FOOTBALL: SOUTH JOHNSTON 46, SMITHFIELD-SELMA 29  The Spartans came close
to upsetting the Trojans' Homecoming, coming from
behind to take a 26-22 lead late in the third quarter
and then cutting a subsequent South Johnston lead to
32-29 with just seven minutes remaining before giving
up two touchdowns for the final score.The loss leaves SSS with a record of 2-3 for the season, 0-3 in Greater Neuse 3-A Conference play with two games to play. Next up for the Spartans is a conference game at Clayton today (Thursday); kickoff at 6:30. The Comets suffered their season's first loss to undefeated Cleveland High 34-27 last Friday. The Spartans' football roster is posted on MaxPreps> SSS GIRLS WINLESS IN SOCCER AND SOFTBALL In girls' sports, the Spartans are 0-4 in soccer competition after Tuesday's loss at West Johnston High by a score of 10-2. The team's roster is posted on MaxPreps> The softball team is 0-2 after defeats by Triton High School 15-0 last Thursday and West Johnston 29-0 on Tuesday. The team's roster is posted on MaxPreps> SPARTAN BOYS TEAM 2-4 IN TENNIS MATCHES After winning their first two matches of the season --- against Triton and Princeton --- the SSS team has lost its last four, all conference matches versus West Johnston, Cleveland, South Johnston on Monday, and Clayton High on Tuesday. The SSS roster is posted on MaxPreps> VIEW the upcoming Smithfield-Selma schedule for all spring sports> NEUSE CHARTER GIRLS 4-1 IN SOCCER  The Cougars are 4-1
after a home victory over Lakewood High School 8-0 on
Monday. Neuse Charter is in third place in the
Carolina 1-A Conference with wins against Princeton
(twice) and North Duplin and a loss to Hobbton. The
Cougars' roster for girls soccer is posted on
MaxPreps>VIEW the upcoming Neuse Charter schedule for all spring sports> |
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 OLE MAN RIVER TAKETH AWAY --- AGAIN Recent high water along with strong currents in the Neuse at Smithfield took another chunk out of the riverbank beside the Greenway --- the third such incident over the past couple of years that will require rebuilding to protect the paved trail. This site is next to a recently repaired bank downstream from the Market Street bridge. Meanwhile, the Town of Smithfield awarded a $96,920 contract in November for rebuilding an eroded bank just north of the bridge that also threatens to undermine the popular pedestrian and bicycling trail. That work has been delayed by persistent flooding since the contract was awarded. GREENWAY TO BE CLOSED NEAR THE WATER PLANT The middle portion of the Buffalo Creek Greenway was scheduled for closing this week as work has begun to expand the town's water plant. The closure will last for the duration of the project, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2022. An earlier construction plan called for relocating the Greenway through that area but it was revised to keep the present location of the trail intact. |
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WHAT'S COMING UP? COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, TOWN COUNCIL MEET NEXT WEEK Since "Easter Monday" is no longer a government holiday, the Johnston County Board of Commissioners will hold its first-Monday sessions as usual, meeting at 10 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. in the Old Superior Courtroom at the Courthouse. Both sessions will be live-streamed on the county's Facebook page> On the morning agenda are updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and the regional commuter-rail study that includes Johnston County. The complete agenda for the 10 a.m. session is posted on the county's website> On the evening agenda are public hearings on three rezoning requests --- in Cleveland, Elevation, and Beulah townships. The complete agenda for the 6 p.m. session is posted on the county's website> The Smithfield Town Council will hold its regularly scheduled first-Tuesday meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Four public hearings are on the agenda: • The town is requesting an amendment to its Unified Development Ordinance to allow for pharmaceutical manufacturing as a permitted use in Light Industrial zoning districts and to allow a maximum building height of 80 therein. • Demarest Company Landscape Architects is requesting conditional business zoning to allow 14 additional residential cabins next to White Swan Barbecue on US 301 South. • Scooter's Coffee, LLC is requesting a special-use permit to construct and operate a drive-thru coffee shop in the Pine Needle Square Shopping Center at the corner of North Bright Leaf Boulevard and Hospital Road. • Developer of the East River Subdivision is requesting a special-use permit to allow construction of 65 townhouses on the east side of Buffalo Road north of M. Durwood Stephenson Parkway. The council will hear updates on the Equity Drive reconstruction project and a proposed recreational vehicle park between the Pine Acres Subdivision and Venture Drive that has been approved following litigation. The council will be asked to approve funding for parking-lot improvements at the Sarah Yard Center and the new Splash Pad at Smith-Collins Park. VIEW the complete agenda for next Tuesday's Town Council meeting>  |
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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.... JANE ROBERTS THOMPSON, 73 - died March 30 CHARLES LINWOOD RADFORD, 64 - died March 28 JULIA TURPIN STOKES ELSEE, 96 - died March 26 RAYMOND (MOOKIE) McDUFFIE JR., 62 - died March 25 |
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NO MORE PAGES IN THIS EDITION (Blame it on the editor's Spring Break.)  Springtime "artistry"? Could be a
high-altitude photo of a desert landscape, perhaps
in the Western U.S.
Or perhaps a painted creation we'd call "modern art." But it's neither, and you've probably guessed correctly that it's pollen, washed along a driveway following a brief shower here Wednesday afternoon. Thank goodness for a little rainfall now and then to put it away till next year. |
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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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