JHN – Local news

SMITHFIELD — Plans for a trail in Wilson’s Mills have received a $3.3 million boost. Johnston’s Parks and Open Space Program learned in April that it had received a federal Carbon Reduction Program grant. “Last month, we came before y’all to get permission to put in the grant application,” Parks and Open Space Director Adrian O’Neal told County Commissioners at […]

SELMA — A 53-acre tract in Selma is shovel-ready for industry. The land, near Sysco, is Johnston County’s first Smart Site, meaning it’s certified ready to welcome an industry. “In today’s competitive landscape, the ability to offer shovel-ready sites for development is not just an advantage, it’s almost a necessity,” said Audrey Boone, senior economic developer of industrial projects for […]

SMITHFIELD — In an annual “State of the County” address, the chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners looks back on the year just past. In his address, Butch Lawter, the board’s current chairman, liked what he saw in 2023. “We have made major strides over the past year,” he said in videotaped remarks. For one, Johnston County is […]

SMITHFIELD — Johnston school leaders say they spent no federal COVID-relief dollars on permanent salaries. But they liked what those dollars did buy — tutors, student devices, heating and cooling systems, contracted nurses and custodians, employee bonuses, mental health support, summer learning programs. So the budget school leaders sent to County Commissioners last week seeks to replace those expiring federal […]

SMITHFIELD — A picture of a Johnston County water and sewer authority is starting to emerge. Under the most likely scenario, the county and its towns would continue to own their water and sewer plants. The authority, meanwhile, would run them, using revenue from customers to pay for operations, upkeep and capital projects. But a water and sewer authority won’t […]

SMITHFIELD — Johnston Community College hopes the public will help persuade County Commissioners to place an $85 million bond referendum on the November ballot in Johnston. In a full-page ad in the Johnstonian News on May 1, JCC President Vern Lindquist appealed directly to county residents. “We implore you to rally behind our bond referendum proposal, as it is crucial […]

CLAYTON — And the survey says … much about downtown Clayton. To help draft a downtown master plan, a consultant relied in part on public input. “We did … an online survey that was posted for a little over a month and had spectacular input,” the consultant, Dan Lambert, told the Clayton Planning Board earlier this spring. “We had over […]

CLAYTON — Moxie Pilates & Barre has arrived in downtown to meet the community’s demand for pilates. “We had so many people coming from Clayton to Garner,” said Melissa Hinton, the owner of Moxie Pilates & Barre in Garner and, now, Clayton. “That’s when we were like, ‘How can we better serve these people? How can we better help out […]

BENSON — “Hallelujah Girls,” the Benson Little Theater’s latest production, is a comedy that begins with a death. “ ‘Hallelujah Girls’ is about a group of five friends,” said Clay Boney, the director. “They’re all 50 or older, and they’ve just lost one of their friends.” Then one of them gets an idea. “The main friend, Sugar Lee, has decided […]

SMITHFIELD — The improved Ham & Yam Festival drew a large crowd to downtown on Saturday. For 2024, the festival nearly quadrupled the number of vendors, placing an emphasis on artisans. It added beer to the menu and stretched the event to 7 p.m., giving people more time to attend. “We’ve enjoyed it,” said Angie Rains, 62, of Goldsboro, who […]

SMITHFIELD — Before they can retain teachers, Johnston County’s public schools first have to hire them. The district is moving more quickly there, Maureen Hanahue, the schools’ director of talent acquisition and retention, told the Johnston County Board of Education last month. “One of the things we’re really trying to do is remove some of the barriers on our application […]