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Riverside Smithfield Hospital hosts beam-signing ceremony
Riverside Health held a ceremony on June 13 to commemorate the final structural beam placement in the construction of the new Riverside Smithfield Hospital. The event provided an opportunity for Riverside team members, leaders and community members to mark the occasion by signing the final steel beam before its final installation. Guests were provided the […]
IW Planning Commission urges ‘no’ on Old Stage Highway solar farm
A month after opposing two solar farms, Isle of Wight County’s Planning Commission recommended rejection of a third. The commission voted unanimously on June 25 to urge county supervisors to deny a permit for the project. Denver-based Pivot Energy subsidiary Elk Development LLC landowners William Pennie Jr. and Teresa Crocker have applied for a conditional […]
Essay contest winner meets her idol
Olivia Johnston, who’s essay on 2005 Governor’s School for the Arts graduate-turned-Broadway star Adrienne Warren won this year’s Smithfield Times Black History Month essay contest in February, recently met her idol through GSA. Johnston, now a rising senior at Smithfield High School and GSA, had chosen Warren in response to this year’s essay prompt asking […]
Sidewalk extension can proceed with or without Luter money, county says
Isle of Wight County expects to break ground this summer on a sidewalk extension from the 400 block of Main Street to Westside Elementary, regardless of whether Smithfield’s Town Council votes to accept a $6 million donation from former Smithfield Foods Chairman Joseph Luter III. The donation, according to Smithfield Mayor Steve Bowman, would fund […]
IWCS seeks quotes for new school board attorney
Isle of Wight County Schools is soliciting quotes for a new school board attorney. Firms have until 3 p.m. on July 24 to submit sealed bids to Board Clerk Jessica Whitlow detailing their qualifications to provide legal services to the board. The window for proposals opened on June 24, 11 days after the School Board […]
Surry School Board surveys public on superintendent qualifications
Surry County’s School Board is soliciting community input on qualifications for the division’s next superintendent. The School Board, on June 13, launched a survey accessible online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SurrySearch2024, which can also be found on the division’s website homepage. Hard copies are also available at the school board administration office and each school. The board will […]
Rusted Root relocates to Windsor
After eight months in Rushmere, The Rusted Root has relocated to Windsor. The pastry and sandwich shop that opened in November in an outbuilding next to the former Barlow’s Country Store off Old Stage Highway cited “issues with our building manager” in a June 6 post on the business’s Facebook page. Andrew White, who owns […]
The mayor went to Florida; the town got $6 million – what we know
Four weeks ago, after an invitation relayed by a mutual friend, Smithfield Mayor Steve Bowman flew to Palm Beach, Florida, for a three-day stay at former Smithfield Foods Chairman Joseph Luter III’s residence. Two weeks after Bowman’s return, $6 million of Luter’s money had been deposited in the town’s bank account. According to the town’s […]
Smithfield Dolphins hold first meet
The Smithfield Dolphins swim team held its first meet on June 15 at 9 a.m. at the Marlin Pool in Chesapeake. The coaches for the Smithfield Dolphins are Tonya Blount and Kati Seward. The score for this meet was Marlins 430 to Smithfield 148. The places for the events are follows: Girls age 6 and […]
State approves ODU as Isle Marine Trades lab school partner
Virginia’s Board of Education voted unanimously on June 21 to approve Old Dominion University’s application to serve as the fiscal agent for the Isle Marine Trades Academy, a shipbuilding-focused lab school at Paul D. Camp Community College’s Smithfield campus. The state’s 2022-24 biennial budget, which allocated $100 million in startup funds through June 30, had […]
Garrison Drive near Windsor to close for bridge work
Beginning June 25, Virginia Department of Transportation crews will close a portion of Garrison Drive, also known as Route 646, to replace the bridge over Burnt Mills Swamp near Windsor. The road will be closed from its intersection with Tar Road, also known as Route 645, to Cut Thru Road, also known as Route 638, […]
Juneteenth in Smithfield
Smithfield hosted Juneteenth celebrations along Main Street to mark the June 19 state and federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the date when African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned the Civil War had ended and the Emancipation Proclamation had made them free two years earlier. The festivities began […]
Smithfield Foods denies diversity hiring is ‘targeting white males,’ as Trump-aligned law firm claims
A law firm founded by ex-Trump administration officials is asking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate Smithfield Foods, alleging that the world’s largest pork producer’s efforts to hire a diverse workforce discriminate against white males. America First Legal – founded in 2021 by Stephen Miller, an ex-adviser […]
VDH warns of weekend heat wave
It’s going to be hot this weekend. The Virginia Department of Health is warning of a prolonged heat wave that’s expected to reach Hampton Roads starting Friday. According to the National Weather Service, air temperatures are forecast to reach 98ºF by Sunday, June 23, with a heat index of 105ºF. During 2023, there were 2,656 […]
Missy Cotter Smasal, Hung Cao win U.S House, Senate primaries
Democratic primary voters on June 18 overwhelmingly chose Missy Cotter Smasal, an ex-Navy surface warfare officer, over civil rights attorney Jeremiah “Jake Denton IV as their preferred candidate to challenge U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, in the 2nd Congressional District seat. In a same-day Republican primary, voters overwhelmingly chose Hung Cao, a retired Navy […]
The field is set: Six candidates vie for four Smithfield Town Council seats
Two more Smithfield Town Council candidates filed by the 5 p.m. June 18 deadline to get their names on the November ballot, bringing the count to six vying for four available seats. According to Isle of Wight County Registrar Lisa Betterton, incumbent Raynard Gibbs and first-time candidate Mary Ellen Bebermeyer each turned in nominating petitions […]
Smithfield students take international KidWind honors
Students from Smithfield High School and Smithfield Middle School took home top honors from the World KidWind Challenge, held May 5-8 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Shelby Huffaker and Jacob Miller, both 2024 Smithfield High graduates, and rising seniors Katie Gallahorn and Seneca Register, won best overall “Wind Champion” as team Goon Squad at the international competition […]
Three senators revive ‘skill game’ legalization bill
Three state senators again proposed legalizing so-called “skill games” a month after Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed similar legislation, but ended up not voting on any bills at a reconvened June 18 Senate session. Youngkin vetoed Senate Bill 212, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, in May after the General Assembly voted down a slate […]
Bobby BlackHat set to perform
Peninsula bluesman Bobby BlackHat, a longtime crowd favorite for the Downtown Smithfield Summer Concert Series, will perform at 7 p.m. June 21 on the Main Street Square stage in front of The Smithfield Times office. The retired Coast Guard commander has been playing harmonica for over 46 years and has opened for stars like B.B […]
‘Stay curious’ Smithfield High valedictorian tells 2024 graduates
Mallory Johnson, salutatorian of Smithfield High School’s class of 2024, finds inspiration in a song released decades before she was born. “Slow down, you’re doing fine; you can’t be everything you want to be before your time,” she told her 298 fellow graduates at Smithfield High’s June 14 graduation ceremony at Liberty Live Church in […]
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