The joining of a young family of refugees from a far-off war with a recently widowed Smithfield resident has turned out to be a blessing for both parties. The Shchurenkos of Ukraine moved in with Warren Grimes in early June – 15 months after Russia's devastating invasion of their homeland and just four months after the unexpected death of Warren's long-time wife, Genie. "I like to cook and I hope you don't mind if I cook a few things," Alina told Warren shortly after their arrival. He readily consented, and
Neal Davis, who recently retired as director of Community and Senior Services of Johnston County yet continues to work with the agency's JCATS transportation program, says the QuickRide "microtransit" service started in March has sufficient funding to operate for another year, at least. That was guaranteed with recent approval of a $394,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Transportation, he said. Johnston's County Commissioners this past year appropriated $158,339 to launch QuickRide, a Uber-like ride-hai
The Johnston County Tourism Authority has approved $150,000 for capital projects in several towns, including $30,000 to help the Town of Smithfield pay for conversion of two tennis courts into six Pickleball courts at Community Park and a $10,000 grant to the Ava Gardner Museum for updating and cataloging its collection of artifacts, textiles, photographs, and documents with the help of a professional archivist. The Tourism Authority's grants are made with proceeds from Johnston County's 3% tax on lodging a