JOHNSTON COUNTY
HAS 202,675 RESIDENTS
The latest U.S. Census estimate for Johnston County is 202,675 residents as of July 1, 2018. That's a gain of almost 34,000 since the 2010 Census, putting Johnston's 20% increase among the highest rates of growth among North Carolina's counties.

SMITHFIELD'S CENSUS
ESTIMATE: 12,669
The latest population estimate for the town of Smithfield is 12,669. That's a gain of 1,703 residents since the 2010 Census. Clayton, meanwhile, continues to grow at an accelerated rate: 22,850 as of July 1, 2018 --- up from 16,116 in 2010, a gain of almost 42 percent. Selma's estimated 2018 population is 6,913 --- up from 6,073 in 2010. View more Census data about Smithfield, Selma, Johnston County, and North Carolina as a whole>

FOR LOCAL NEWS UPDATED DAILY, check out the JoCo Report (a.k.a. "Johnston County Report).

 LOCAL OBITUARIES
Links to funeral homes posting obituaries online:
Parrish & Underwood
Sanders Funeral Home
Walter Sanders F.H.

WEATHER DATA
Temperature and conditions at Johnston Regional Airport

Regional radar from weather.com

Neuse River depth at Smithfield from National Weather Service (current readings, predicted levels, historical high marks)

Review all sorts of historical weather statistics for Smithfield>

ALMANAC
View today's times of sunrise, sunset (plus moonrise, moonset) from the Farmers Almanac>

Next full moon:
April 7 @ 10:35 p.m.

 SUMMER arrives:
June 20 @ 5:44 p.m.

OFFICIAL TIME
Set your clock according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology>






SELMA'S "NEW" CIVIC CENTER
What was built as a Depression Era WPA project in the late 1930s has been transformed into the new and greatly improved Selma Civic Center. Located on North Webb Street, the cavernous structure was used as a community building and gymnasium for Selma High School until it was turned over to the American Legion. In later years it was leased for commercial purposes. The Town of Selma purchased it in early 2016 for $60,000 and a subsequent fund-raising campaign produced more than $300,000 for its renovation.

TRACKING OUR LOCAL GOVERNING BOARDS

JOHNSTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Agendas for upcoming meetings
Highlights of recent board meetings
Minutes of board meetings
  BUDGET for FY 2019-20

JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Meeting agendas and minutes
  BUDGET for FY 2019-20
Annual budgets going back several years

SMITHFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
Meeting agendas and minutes
  BUDGET for FY 2019-20

SELMA TOWN COUNCIL
Meeting agendas and minutes
  BUDGET for 2019-20
JOBLESS RATE ROSE
TO 3.7% IN JANUARY
 Johnston County's rate of unemployment rose from 3.1% in December to 3.7% in January. The N.C. Department of Commerce estimates that 96,940 Johnstonians held jobs in January --- up from 95,832 in December --- while the number seeking jobs increased from 3,090 to 3,749. Get more news and stats from NCDC>

RETAIL SALES DOWN
17.8% IN 4th QUARTER
According to the N.C. Dept. of Revenue, taxable retail sales of $552.7 million in Johnston County October through December were down 17.8% from more than $562.7 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2018.
Get more reports from NCDR>

JOHNSTON STILL NO. 4
IN CASH FROM CROPS
Local farmers produced crops worth $115.7 million in 2018 --- down from $140.3 million in 2017. But we still rank 4th among the state's 100 counties, according to the latest statistics posted by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We still rank 3rd in flue-cured tobacco, and we're 5th in sweet potatoes (down from 4th place in 2017). On the upside, Johnston's farmers earned $170 million from hogs and pigs in 2018 --- a number on the rise that ranks us 13th in the state in that category.
Here's the latest report for all of the state's counties>

MORE ECONOMIC DATA
ABOUT JOHNSTON CO.
Visit the website of the county's Economic Development Office>

AMTRAK STOPS HERE Here's information about passenger trains that serve Selma Union Station>

THINGS TO SEE & DO
Check out this rundown of upcoming cultural events – compiled by the Johnston County Visitors Bureau.

SMITHFIELD-SELMA MAP
Open an interactive Google map of our area>
a Hometown Heritage site:
updated 3-22-2020
E-mail the editor:
Wingate Lassiter