Commissioners
OK "full funding" for
schools
$7.9 million released with acceptance of
policy addressing CRT
Johnston's
County Commissioners voted
unanimously this week to
meet the school board's
requested increase in
county funding
for Johnston's public
schools this year.
That funding was withheld
from the county's 2021-22
budget when the
commissioners adopted it
in June as a result
of Commissioner Fred
Smith's insistence that
any increase be contingent
upon the school board's
adoption of a policy
banning the teaching of
Critical Race Theory
(CRT).
In a brief special session
last Friday, the Board of
Education adopted a policy
amendment that
addresses the CRT
issue (without
specifically naming it).
That action was enough to
satisfy Mr. Smith, who
made the motion at
the outset of the
commissioners' Monday
evening session to grant
the school board's request
for $7.9 million in
additional funding. His
motion was quickly
adopted.
"I believe this is the
first time in history, or
in many, many years, that
the school system has been
fully funded" (by the
county), declared School
Board Chairman Todd Sutton
as he thanked
commissioners following
Monday's vote.
"Now, don't let us down,"
responded Commissioners'
Chairman Chad Stewart,
referring to school
leaders' pledge to raise
the academic performance
of Johnston County's
students.
The additional $7.9
million brings the total
county appropriation for
operating Johnston's
schools this fiscal year
to $79.9
million plus another
$2,962,000 for
capital improvements –
both amounts meeting
requests from the
Board of Education.
Among provisions
in the school
board's new policy are
these statements:
"No
person should be judged,
subjected to stereotypes
regardless of negative or
positive, or marginalized
based on race, gender,
religion, preference,
ethnicity, immigration
status, socioeconomic
standing, ability, or any
other identity group. No
person should be limited
by the assumptions of
race, gender, religion,
creed, ethnicity,
preference, immigration
status or identity group
regarding the individual’s
behavior and future
success.
"Racism
causes damage to individuals
and the community. When
racism is present, it
creates a lack of trust and
respect. No student or staff
member shall be subjected to
the notion that racism is a
permanent component of
American life....
"All
people deserve full credit
and recognition for their
struggles and
accomplishments throughout
United States
history. The United
States foundational
documents shall not be
undermined. No employee of
Johnston County Schools
will make any attempt to
discredit the efforts made
by all people using
foundational documents for
reform...."
School board
member Ronald Johnson, who
produced the first draft of
the policy amendment, told
commissioners Monday that
the final version resulted
from a collaborative effort
involving school principals,
law-enforcement officers,
and teachers along
with school board
members and county
commissioners.
Mr.
Smith thanked fellow
commissioners Tony
Braswell, Patrick Harris,
and Larry Wood in
particular for their
involvement in crafting an
acceptable policy.
Dale Lands, leader of a
citizens' group that spoke
out loudest in support of
a policy outlawing CRT in
Johnston's schools,
thanked commissioners for
"getting it across the
finish line." He also
thanked them for
withholding the $7.9
million until the CRT
issue was adequately
addressed by the school
board.
April Lee, a teacher who's
president of Johnston's
Association of
Educators, labeled
the commissioners' funding
delay as "extortion" and
the anti-CRT policy
amendment as "ethically
wrong" because it's
"trying to limit what we
teach."
READ the
accepted policy in full,
with new provisions
shown in red
letters>
Commissioners
split over purchase
price of property
The
controversy arose over an
option to buy about six
acres next to the new
Detention and Public
Safety centers under
construction east of
Smithfield.
READ
about that decision and
other matters before the
board on Monday>
Smithfield's
new place for
recreational drone
flying
Town
Councilman David Barbour
demonstrates flying with
his own device during
Saturday's official
opening of the town's new
drone field in West
Smithfield. In the photo
he appears to be giving
the "stay" command to his
hovering "pet" drone
(upper left), which is
also pictured in the
inset.
MORE
about this unique public
facility on the FEATURE
PAGE>
Two
more West Smithfield
subdivisions approved
Developers
continue to roll out plans
for new housing west of
the river. The Smithfield
Town Council cleared the
way for two more sizable
projects Tuesday, both
with the new conditional
zoning option that
specifies exactly how
properties are to be
developed.
Marin Woods
is the name of a
subdivision in the works
off NC 210 west of Skyland
Drive that was approved
for 49 single-family
dwellings and 94
townhouses. The project
came before the council a
month ago but its
approval was postponed to
give
petitioner StrongRock
Engineering of
Raleigh and the
town's planning staff an
opportunity to satisfy
council members' concerns
about parking, setbacks,
and other items.
"You've done a good job,"
Councilman David Barbour,
who represents the West
Smithfield District, told
a StrongRock
representative on hand for
Tuesday's meeting.
Whitley Townes
is the name of a 70-unit
townhouse development
being planned by J&J
Flowers Finch, Inc.
for a site beside US
70 Business just west of
the vacant Heilig-Meyers
and K-mart store
buildings. It gained
immediate approval Tuesday
after the council saw that
Planning Director Stephen
Wensman and the developer
were already in full
agreement on details of
the project.
Mr. Wensman noted that the
"target price" of the
Whitley Townes units is
$230,000 for a typical
dwelling of about 1,700
square feet.
Rezoning to
allow those two
subdivisions comes on the
heels of last month's
approval of a 669-unit
project across US 70
Business from the Amazon
warehouse under
construction. Floyd
Landing will
encompass 89
single-family dwellings,
220 townhouses, and 360
apartments on almost 200
acres.
Amazon
pay raised to $18
yet still below
county average
That fact came
to light as a result of
Tuesday's modification of a
federal grant application by
the Smithfield Town Council.
Amazon announced the
company-wide hike in
starting pay back in
mid-September.
Town Manager Mike Scott told
the council its application
for a grant to
upgrade West
Smithfield's sewerage will
require a larger local match
because the 500 jobs
Amazon says it will create
here "do not have an average
annual wage that exceeds the
county's."
According to the
county's Economic
Development Office,
Johnston's current
private-sector average wage
amounts to $41,776 a year.
READ
about that and other
matters addressed at
Tuesday's council
session>
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
"We
are doing much better,"
says health director
That
was the word from Dr.
Marilyn Pearson in her
monthly COVID report to
Johnston's County
Commissioners this week.
The county's director of
public health tempered her
remark with the
observation that Johnston
is still seeing "a
lot of deaths" caused by
the coronavirus.
Tuesday's report from the
Health Department showed
326 fatalities since the
pandemic hit home in March
2020. That total included
13 deaths this past week.
Over the past 18 months
247 Johnstonians age 65
and older have perished
from COVID, 56 in the
50-64 age group, 23 ages
24-49, but none under age
24.
Meanwhile, COVID-related
hospitalizations are on a
downward trend, from 65
two weeks ago to 40 this
week.
Vaccinations are another
story. Last
Thursday's drive-thru
vaccination clinic at the
BrightLeaf Flea Market
here drew just 64 shot
takers – a big drop-off
from clinics held by the
Health Department earlier
this year when more than a
thousand lined up each
time to be vaccinated.
Besides the occasional
drive-thru events, the
Health Department offers all
shots at its Smithfield
headquarters 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. Monday through Friday,
till 6 p.m. Tuesdays.
This
week's report from
the school system (posted Thursday
morning)
shows 110 active
cases among students and
staff (up from 90 last week)
with 502 students and
22 staff members
quarantined (a week ago
437 students and 32
staff were
quarantined).
Schools with the most
students in quarantine
(Thursday morning): Polenta
Elementary 39 (19 last
week), Dixon Road Elementary
26, West Clayton
Elementary 25, Pine Level
Elementary 24. Locally,
West Smithfield Elementary
reported 19,
Smithfield-Selma
High, Selma Middle, and
Wilson's Mills Elementary
each with 10, Smithfield
Middle and Selma Elementary
each with 9, and South
Smithfield Elementary
7.
VIEW the
current list of
vaccination clinics in
Johnston County>
VIEW the
current list of testing
sites in Johnston
County>
CORONAVIRUS
weekly
measurements |
Case total
since 3-20
(last week) |
Deaths
since 3-20
(last week) |
Hospital
patients
(last week) |
Fully
vaccinated
(last week) |
| JOHNSTON COUNTY |
31,010
(30,507) |
326
(313) |
40
(45) |
97,217: 46%*
(94,796: 45%) |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
1,417,203
(1,390,489) |
16,945
(16,444) |
2,586
(3,010) |
5,627,084: 54%*
(5,564,973:53%*) |
| UNITED STATES |
44,060,356
(43,356,406) |
707,797
(695,196) |
|
186,385,751: 57%*
(184,335,263: 56%) |
| WORLDWIDE |
236,612,988
(233,378,202) |
4,830,359
(4,776,486) |
|
6,380,731,009
total doses given |
* Percentage of total population (all
ages)
Data provided by: County
of Johnston at
4:35 p.m. October
5
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
11:50 a.m. October
6
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:21 a.m. October
7 |
Rainfall slacked off in September:
just 1.8 inches
Will
September turn out to be
the driest month of 2021?
Just 1.8 inches was
recorded at Cornell Cox's
Backyard Weather Station
in South Smithfield this
past month, bringing the
year-to-date total to
44.59. Smithfield's
average annual rainfall is
just under 48 inches.
One big reason for
September's below-normal
precipitation this year:
no nearby hurricanes!
Football Spartans crush Wilson Fike,
42-14
After
a decade of many more
losses than wins,
Smithfield-Selma High
School's football team is
showing a rejuvenated
competitiveness. The
latest piece of evidence
was Friday night's victory
at Fike High in Wilson.
That was also the
Spartans' first win in the
new Quad County 3A
Conference. SSS is now 1-2
in league games, 3-3
overall.
Friday's victory
featured three
touchdowns in three
minutes for
the Spartans just before
halftime. With Fike
leading 14-7 and driving
for another score, SSS
defenders intercepted not
one, not two, but three
passes on successive Fike
possessions – one returned
65 yards by Isaiah Dawson
for a TD, the other two
setting the stage
for TD runs by
Dashawn McCullough
and Brandon Perry, who
scored two touchdowns
apiece during the game. A
TD pass from McCullough
to Dawson accounted
for the Spartans' other
score.
Up next is a home game at
7 p.m. Friday against
intra-county rival West
Johnston, which is 4-1
after last Friday's 33-20
win over East Wake. A
recap of the Spartans'
season is posted on MaxPreps>
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Monday
is Columbus Day holiday
for some workers
It's
a federal holiday but not
a state or local holiday
for employees of public
agencies. Therefore,
federal agencies including
the Post Office are
closed. Also, most banks
will be closed for
Monday's holiday.
School
board meets Tuesday:
another vote on masks?
A new state law
requires school boards to
vote monthly on whether to
require students and staff
to wear masks or make it
optional. The Johnston
County Board of Education's
regular October session is
scheduled for next Tuesday
at the Simpson Building on
US 70 Business east of
Smithfield, beginning at 5
p.m. The board postponed
last month's mask vote till
September 20 because
one of its members was
absent for its regular
meeting on September 14. The
agenda for next week's
meeting, once it's released,
will be posted
on the schools'
website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
PAUL
SANDERS, 81 –
died October 5
REV.
ELDRIDGE GRAHAM DIXON,
96 – died
October 4
LINA MAE
ALTMAN, 101 –
died September 30
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Overnight,
Smithfield will become a
"bicycle town"
That'll
be the case this evening
(Thursday), when hundreds
of cyclists pedaling from
the mountains to the coast
this week make an
overnight stop at
Smithfield Community Park.
They're taking part in
Cycle North Carolina's
annual trek that started
in Sparta last
Sunday and ends at
North Topsail Beach this
Saturday.
Looking ahead, we have a
good chance to become a
permanent "bicycle town"
when that missing link of
the Neuse River Greenway
Trail is built from
Clayton to Smithfield,
linking us to Raleigh and
a whole bunch of
long-distance bicyclists
sure to head our way on a
regular basis.
Johnston's County
Commissioners have
appropriated a modest
$7,500 to hook us up with
the N.C. Department of
Transportation to identify
a precise route for
that missing link
along the river. Once
that's done, construction
should follow in the
not-too-distant future.
Funding for
that work from state and
federal coffers is a good
bet because the existing
greenways at Smithfield
and Clayton are part of
both the N.C.
Mountains-to-Sea Trail and
the East Coast Greenway
Trail. Neither of those
trails is complete, but
existing bits and
pieces are linked by
street and highway
connections. We've
seen recent evidence of
that effort with the
attachment of East Coast
Greenway markers to sign
posts along Smithfield's
South Second Street (pictured
here).
Whatever happened to that
marketing slogan about
Johnston County: "We've
Got Great Connections"?
These bicycle and hiking
trails hold promise as the
icing on that cake.
If
you're not a subscriber and
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Weekly Sun is
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