Release
of that $7.9-million
appropriation from
Johnston's County
Commissioners last
week cleared the way
for the county's Board of
Education this week to put
a chunk of that new money
to work for an
increase in supplements
paid to Johnston's school
teachers – raising their
extra pay a percentage
point across the board: to
11.5% of state-paid
salaries for
beginning teachers, up to
14.5% for
classroom veterans.
School leaders are hoping
the higher pay will help
reduce a
larger-than-usual number
of vacant teaching
positions as the 2021-22
school term unfolds. Chief
of Human Resources Brian
Vetrano told the
school board Tuesday that
Johnston currently has
about 90 teaching
vacancies – almost double
the number at this point
over the past couple of
years.
"Not only are we faced
with challenges of the
pandemic (and) a global
shortage of employees,"
Mr. Vetrano said, but "we
are a growing school
system." With more than
38,000 students currently
enrolled, Johnston is
now the state's
seventh largest school
system, he noted.
In his employment update
to the board, Mr. Vetrano
said Johnston this week
had 78 vacancies for
teacher assistants, 46 for
custodians, and 32 for
cafeteria workers – even
though the system is
offering higher pay and
other incentives for
support staff.
Making things even tougher
is an increase in
resignations and
retirements. That number,
for all categories of
school jobs, is up to 691
just now, Mr. Vetrano
reported. Last year the
number as the school year
began was 553.
In recommending the
board's approval of an
increase in local pay
supplements for teachers,
Chief of Finance Stephen
Britt pointed out that
this action is "an
increase on top of an
increase" – that is,
if the N.C. General
Assembly and the Governor
agree on a new state
budget that raises base
pay for all of North
Carolina's teachers.
School
masks
retained; "Test to
Stay" plan added
Following
a repeat of last month's
4-3 vote to
continue mandatory
wearing of face masks by
students and staff
in Johnston's public
schools, the county's
Board of Education voted
7-0 on Tuesday to
accept a new plan offered
by the state that will
enable COVID-exposed
students to avoid 10-day
quarantines if their
parents allow testing that
shows them clear of
infection.
That second vote couldn't
have come without the
first since eligibility
for the state's "Test to
Stay" program is being
offered to school systems
that make face masks
mandatory rather than
optional.
Voting to retain
Johnston's face-mask
requirement for at least
another month were board
members Lyn Andrews, Al
Byrd, Kay Carroll, and
Terri Sessoms. Voting once
again to make masks
optional were Ronald
Johnson, Todd Sutton, and
Mike Wooten.
Assistant Superintendent
David Pearce told the
board that Test to Stay
could be in place here
before the end of October.
The tests will be
administered by school
staff free of charge, and
they will be "rapid tests"
done with "a slight nasal
swab" producing results in
just 10 minutes, he noted.
Dr. Pearce said the number
of students in quarantine
could have been reduced
from 366 (as of
Tuesday) to 62 "or
fewer" if Test to Stay
were already in place.
CORONAVIRUS REPORT
Johnston hospitalizations still
below recent peak
The
number of Johnstonians
hospitalized by COVID
didn't change much this
past week but
it does include two
persons under 18 years of
age, reports the county's
Health Department.
No one under age 24 is
among the 330 Johnstonians
who have perished from
COVID over the past 19
months. Of that total, 249
were at least 65 years of
age.
Institutional outbreaks
continue to include small
numbers infected at
several rehab and nursing
centers while the
Johnston County Jail
reports 123 inmates and 6
staff carrying COVID
infections earlier this
week.
This
week's report from
the school system (posted Thursday
morning) shows 73
active cases among
students and staff (down
from 110 last week) with
326 students and 16 staff
members quarantined (502
students and 22
staff were
quarantined a week ago).
Schools with the most
students in quarantine
(Thursday morning):
Polenta Elementary
22 (39 last week),
West View Elementary 22,
West Smithfield
Elementary 19, River
Dell Elementary 18.
VIEW the
school system's COVID
dashboard with data for
all schools>
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 |
31,443
(31,010) |
330
(326) |
39
(40) |
98,398: 47%*
(97,217: 46%) |
| NORTH CAROLINA |
1,439,958
(1,417,203) |
17,330
(16,945) |
2,277
(2,586) |
5,682,740: 54%*
(5,627,084: 54%*) |
| UNITED STATES |
44,685,145
(44,060,356) |
719,551
(707,797) |
|
187,937,559: 57%*
(186,385,751: 57%) |
| WORLDWIDE |
239,290,763
(236,612,988) |
4,876,749
(4,830,359) |
|
6,557,069,776
total doses given |
* Percentage of total population (all
ages)
Data provided by: County
of Johnston at
5:10 p.m. October
12
N.C.
Department of
Health and Human
Services at
11:55 a.m. October
13
Johns
Hopkins
University at
8:21 a.m. October
14 |
Bicyclists
were heading for the Tar
Heel coast
This
was the scene on Downtown
Smithfield's Third Street
first thing Friday morning
as hundreds of bicyclists
headed out of town on the
sixth day of their
seven-day trek from
the mountain town of
Sparta to North Topsail
Beach. Friday's
destination was Wallace.
Smithfield Community Park
was their base Thursday
night. It's an annual
event organized by North
Carolina Amateur Sports.
SSS upends conference foe West
Johnston, 33-21
It was another
upset victory by the
football Spartans in a game
delayed by threatening
weather to Monday night at
Charles Tucker Stadium here.
The win raises
Smithfield-Selma High's
record for the
season to 4-3 overall,
2-2 in Quad County 3-A
Conference games.
Highlighted by
a 72-yard touchdown run by
Clevonte Watson and a
62-yard TD pass and run from
Dashawn McCullough to
Daniel Dawson, the
Spartans gained 438
yards during Monday's game:
291 rushing, 147
passing. Brandon Perry ran
for three of the Spartan's
five touchdowns.
Next up is Friday's
intra-conference contest at
Southern Wayne High School
near Dudley. The
Saints are 1-5 overall,
0-2 in conference play.
MORE about SSS
football on
the MaxPreps
website>
Spartans' soccer team
producing a
winning season
SSS
started the week with a
3-1 victory over James B.
Hunt High on Monday
followed
by Wednesday's 2-1
loss to Fike High
(undefeated in league
play). The Spartans
overwhelmed South Johnston
10-1 in a match played
last week.
SSS is 10-6-1 overall,
6-4 in conference
play. Leading scorers so
far this season are
seniors Jesus Vazquez with
16 goals and Adrian
Garcia with 12.
MORE about
SSS soccer on the
MaxPreps website>
919-934-0153 www.CallPernell.com
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
New Downtown "pampering"
shop's Grand
Opening Friday
Huckleberry &
Co. owners Adriana Peedin
and Ashley Gurley stand at
the entrance to their new
shop, located on the Fourth
Street side of the former
Roses' building. Downtown
Smithfield Development
Corporation says the
business is "for all your
pampering needs: facials,
waxing, lash extensions,
event makeup, and much
more." Its Grand Opening
will be celebrated from 5 to
9 p.m. Friday. (DSDC
Facebook photo)
County
Commissioners to
consider development
incentive
The
highlight of the agenda
for Monday's 6 p.m.
meeting of the Johnston
County Board of
Commissioners is
a public hearing on a
proposed "economic
development incentive
grant" to an unnamed
company that "proposes to
develop, build, and equip
a Class A Office Complex
in the Clayton area" that
will "create no fewer than
100 new, permanent
full-time jobs." Monday's
meeting will be held
in the Commissioners
Meeting Room at the
Courthouse.
VIEW the
complete agenda posted
on the county's
website>
Land
Use Committee seeks
public input next
Thursday
A drop-in forum to
give the public an
opportunity to
share ideas and
concerns about a pending
re-write of the County of
Johnston's Comprehensive
Land Use Plan is set
for 4-7 p.m. next Thursday
(October 21) in the
auditorium of the
Agricultural Center at 2736
NC 210 west of Smithfield.
It will be hosted by a
steering committee charged
with the crafting of a
new plan to be submitted to
the County Commissioners.
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
CARL WALLACE
SPRAGINS, 71 –
died October 11
MARGARET
STANLEY LEE, 93 –
died October 10
FRANCES
STEVENS HALL, 94 –
died October 9
HUGO MARK
AUMEN, 65 –
died October 8
(MARY)
LOUISE BROWN CREECH, 95 –
died October 7
FOR
SALE: HIGHLY VISIBLE
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Former
Jewel Box store on its own
lot at 1699 East
Booker Dairy Road,
Smithfield with more than
30 parking spaces. Price
reduced to $569,000.
SUSAN
LASSITER
Fonville
Morisey Realty
•
919-669-9235
• LassiterSusan@aol.com
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
What's
the fallout from
Johnston's handling of
CRT?
Following
last week's
unanimous vote by the
County Commissioners to
release school funding now
that Johnston County
Public Schools has a
policy directed against an
educational concept known
as Critical Race Theory,
Commissioner Ted Godwin
summed up the board's
position with a personal
anecdote:
"When I was in seventh
grade here in Johnston
County, our teacher read
to us every day after
lunch. She read to us
Uncle Tom's Cabin,
the whole book, and it
(had) a profound effect on
us. We understood the
history of what had gone
on and the terrible
aspects of it (slavery). I
think everybody understood
how wrong and how
difficult and bad it was.
"I hope we're teaching our
kids now, today, the same
things. I just hope we're
not teaching – I think
that was the reason for
this whole discussion –
we're not teaching 'em
that my grandson is
responsible for those
actions. That was the crux
of it. I hope we teach the
history as it happened,
bad and good."
Hard to take issue with
Mr. Godwin's statements.
Even so, the handling of
the CRT controversy here
has been the proverbial
"making a mountain out of
a mole hill." Is there a
cadre of history teachers
chomping at the
bit to teach Johnston
County school
children to hold personal
guilt for the enslavement
of African-Americans a
century and a half ago? I
don't think so.
If anything, the CRT
controversy should
strengthen our resolve to
make the teaching of
American history a
complete and honest
assessment of our nation's
quest for "a more perfect
union." In Mr. Godwin's
words: "as it
happened, good and bad."
That surely ought
to include lessons in
how racism has tarnished
American history.
Let's hope the schools'
new policy won't run the
best and brightest
teachers out of
Johnston's classrooms, or
discourage them from
coming here to begin with.
The wording in that policy
makes
things dicey for
conscientious history
teachers tasked with
educating our youth.
In case you
missed reading it last
week, here's another
link to that policy>
If
you're not a subscriber and
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Weekly Sun is
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