Reborn Cyber Cafe graduates first class (12/28/2011)
SMITHFIELD - Holly Johnson has had plenty of fast-food jobs over the years. But she has higher ambitions for her food-service career than making hamburgers.

College Arboretum won Edy's contest through online voting (11/13/2011)
SMITHFIELD - A mouse click, it turns out, can make a difference. For proof, just look to the rows of fruit trees planted Tuesday at the Johnston Community College Arboretum.

New library at JCC offers space and technology (09/18/2011)
SMITHFIELD -- Johnston Community College, which has seen rising enrollment amid tight budgets in the recession, has a new crown jewel: an $8.2 million library.

Longtime administrator retires from college (08/17/2011)
After almost three decades of leading continuing-education programs at two community colleges, Talbert Myers is slowing down.

CC Times Newsmakers (08/15/2011)
At Johnston Community College in North Carolina, James Narron and Haywood Watson have been reappointed to four-year terms on the board of trustees.

JCC retools machining program (08/07/2011)
Johnston Community College is re-energizing its program in computer-integrated machining technology.

Johnston Community College in national competition to win fruit orchard (07/21/2011)
You can help feed the homeless in Johnston County with the click of a mouse.

College salutes outstanding teacher (07/19/2011)
Jessica Rieger thrives on student success. So it's no surprise that her passion for helping others achieve is one reason she's been named the 2011 recipient of the Earl C. and Doris F. Helms Excellence in Teaching Endowment at Johnston Community College.

Summer camps offer learning - and fun (06/26/2011)
Fifteen-year-old Isaac Johnson wasn't thrilled when his parents made him enroll in a summer camp at Johnston Community College.

Johnston Community College announces 2011 graduates (06/01/2011)
Johnston Community College celebrated its 2011 graduates with commencement ceremonies at 3 p.m. on May 15 and 7 p.m. on May 16 in the Paul A. Johnston Auditorium on the main campus.

Arboretum planting rows for the hungry (04/13/2011)
SMITHFIELD - Folks at the Johnston Community College Arboretum don't need much of an excuse to get their hands dirty.

JCC honors Garner student (04/10/2011)
Rusty Mitchiner just can't get enough of college. At 41, Mitchiner is juggling a 30-hour academic schedule at Johnston Community College - classes in Spanish interpreting, heating and air conditioning technology, and his prerequisites for nursing.

JCC nursing students train for emergencies (04/04/2011)
Nursing students at Johnston Community College are better prepared for emergencies thanks to recent disaster preparedness training.

Talecris Biotherapeutics is JCC's top business partner (02/23/2011)
Talecris Biotherapeutics is the 2010 recipient of the Johnston Community College Business and Industry Partner of the Year award.

JCC enrolllment climbs again (02/01/2011)
The Johnston Community College campus is more crowded this spring.

College unveils Frank Creech Art Gallery (01/11/2011)
The campus where Frank Creech spent some two decades teaching painting, drawing, sculpture and photography is now home to an art gallery in his memory.

Community College Times Grants News Digest (12/08/2010)

JCC celebrates its sixth International Festival (12/01/2010)
Johnston Community College celebrated its sixth International Festival on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The event was held in conjunction with International Education Week which is recognized nationwide Nov. 15-19.

Club hopes to erase hate (12/01/2010)
A new club at Johnston Community College hopes to end prejudices based on gender, race, religious belief and sexual preference.

Jaguars have their eyes set higher (11/10/2010)
Perhaps the third time, or more precisely, the third year is the charm. At least Johnston Community College men’s basketball coach Roderick Ford believes so as the Jaguars launch the third season in the program’s history.

Honors & Awards (10/04/2010)
Jocleen McCall didn’t grow up aspiring to be a college religion instructor, but today she can’t imagine another career. McCall’s passion for teaching and dedication to her students is why she is Johnston Community College’s 2010 Instructor of the Year.

Training center offers new chances (09/01/2010)
CLAYTON - Although she has a master's degree already, Virginia Curtis is back in school. Last spring, as layoffs threatened teaching jobs in Wake County, Curtis, 67, left Garner High School, where she taught science. Figuring her teaching prospects would be no better this fall, she decided to take a new path.

Enrollment at community colleges soaring (08/16/2010)
A machine shop doubles as a classroom at Johnston Community College. The college is using every space it has to teach 4,100 students this term; that's about 400 more students than during the fall semester last year.

This Week's Newsmakers (08/16/2010)
Michael Cross is the new vice president of finance and administration at Johnston Community College in North Carolina.

Performing arts centers feel the squeeze (07/28/2010)
Like most industries, the performing arts have felt the effects of the tough economy. Performing arts centers on community college campuses—which are coping with decreased revenues and program cuts—are no exception. The challenges facing two-year college centers concern performing arts advocates, who recognize that the venues and events play unique roles in the communities that the colleges’ serve.

College library will be high-tech and green (06/23/2010)
SMITHFIELD - The red metal skeleton at Johnston Community College will become a new campus hub and the meeting point of digital data streams. It's not just a library, college officials say, but a leap forward in the school's campaign to expand its reach with telecommunications.

Former Eaton workers share graduation stage (05/26/2010)
SMITHFIELD - When Eaton Corp. closed its Selma plant more than two years ago, it seemed like the end of the line for a group of workers who had come to call each other family.

This week's newsmakers (05/24/2010)
Donald Reichard is the first former president of Johnston Community College (JCC) in North Carolina to receive emeritus status.

Four grandmothers graduate from Johnston Community College (05/17/2010)
Smithfield, N.C. — When the Eaton Corporation in Selma closed three years ago, hundreds of workers had to find new jobs. Many of those suddenly out of work were 50-plus grandmothers with only a high school education.

Community College offering a quick path to work (04/28/2010)
A community college program, bolstered by federal money, is putting students back in the work pool in just a few months.

Community college vice president retires (04/14/2010)
After three decades of planning and balancing community college budgets, Herman Kight is calling it a career. Capping 36 years in the state's community college system, Kight retired April 1 as vice president of administrative services at Johnston Community College.

McCune is JCC's winner of academic award (04/14/2010)
Ten years ago, Joshua McCune didn't put much stock in getting a college education. Today, he can't imagine his future without one. "Education has become such an awesome experience in my life," said McCune, 27. "I thirst now for education."

People Spotlight Dee Dee Daughtry, Johnston Community College (04/09/2010)
Having spent her entire career in higher education administration, Dee Dee Daughtry has turned the page on another chapter in her chosen profession. Now, as vice president of curriculum instruction at Johnston Community College, Daughtry is charged with the overall supervision of the school’s programs and program budgets and the implementation of new programs.

JCC leader aims high (04/07/2010)
Dr. David Johnson began his tenure at Johnston Community College just as tightening budgets and booming enrollment challenged community colleges across the country.

Grant news digest (03/05/2010)
Robeson Community College (RCC) and Johnston Community College (JCC) have received grants from the Golden Leaf Foundation. RCC will use its $500,000 grant to renovate its manufacturing facilities and to buy equipment for workforce training. JCC will use its $200,000 grant to start developing a virtual hospital on campus by buying simulation equipment.

More health care, pharma firms establish facilities in town (02/26/2010)
As the pharmaceutical and health care industries go, so too does the town of Clayton.

Enrollment climbs again (02/02/2010)
A tough job market continues to swell the student ranks of Johnston Community College. Last week, spring-semester enrollment stood at 3,995 students, a 21-percent jump over last spring and a rare increase over the fall semester.

Trucking company is family affair (02/02/2010)
Trucking is all in the family for Joe Jones, wife Wendy and their three sons, Carlton, Jonathan and Jeremy.

College gets boost from Novo Nordisk (02/02/2010)
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. recently made a significant gift to the Johnston Community College Foundation in support of business and industry training.

New college teams continue to grow (02/02/2010)
Two teams on the way up, but in differing fashions, locked horns last Wednesday night in Southeastern Baptist Seminary's Cannon Gymnasium. While the final score read Wake Tech 88, Johnston Community College 68, the final score did not indicate how far both programs have come in such a short time.

College unveils Frank Creech Art Gallery (01/11/2010)
The campus where Frank Creech spent some two decades teaching painting, drawing, sculpture and photography is now home to an art gallery in his memory.

Zaxby's owner shares success with JCC (12/23/2009)
Michael Smith says he wouldn't have succeeded in life without the help of others. So the Zaxby's restaurant owner says it's only fitting that he share some of his success so that others might have opportunities to pursue their dreams.

Doll maker to lead fair village (11/18/2009)
Her hands move quickly, tying the corn husks together with string until they begin to resemble a woman in a dress. During the N.C. State Fair, Pam Earp of Johnston County demonstrates her craft -- making corn-husk dolls for 12 hours a day in the Village of Yesteryear. It's hard work, and it's also her annual vacation. "It's very therapeutic," Earp says.

Talecris Expanding in Clayton, Creating 259 Jobs (11/13/2009)
Hundreds of jobs are on their way to a county hard hit by the recession. Talecris Biotherapeutics announced its Clayton plant in Johnston County beat out another location for an expansion. The expansion is a $268 million investment that will create 259 jobs over 7 years. Currently, about 1,800 hundred people work for Talecris in Johnston County.

Early education program feels budget pinch (11/11/2009)
Budget cuts have taken a toll on North Carolina’s More at Four Program, which is designed to provide an education to at-risk 4-year-olds, program officials said.

BioWork/North Carolina Now (10/14/2009)

Community colleges balance costs, students (09/28/2009)
Enrollment is up and funding is down, but Johnston Community College is meeting students' needs.

Inauguration Day (09/16/2009)
SMITHFIELD - Johnston Community College officially welcomed its third president on Friday. The inauguration drew about 300 people, including delegates from other schools, local politicians and both former presidents of the college.

Johnston Community College celebrates 40 years (09/11/2009)
Johnston Community College is celebrating 40 years this weekend by opening their campus to the public. And college leaders also installed the school’s third president Friday.

Many Unemployed Turning To Truck Driving (08/21/2009)
After months of searching for work in their fields and unemployment benefits on the verge of ending, many of America’s unemployed these days are going back to school in the hopes of learning a new trade.

State Cuts Funding For Johnston Trucking School (08/13/2009)
The state cut funding for a popular truck driver training program at Johnston Community College. The program will lose from $200,000 to $350,000 this fiscal year, according to JCC officials.

College plans for more cuts (08/12/2009)
State budget cuts will likely hurt high school students looking for a leg up and people looking to become truckers. The state budget, which cleared the General Assembly last week, takes at least $1.2 million from Johnston Community College. Through the Huskins program, JCC has offered college-credit courses to local high school students. But that program is losing $1 million this year, or almost all of its funding. “That will pretty much eliminate the program,” said Traci Ashley, JCC’s media-relations and public-information officer.

Huskins funding could get cut (07/22/2009)
The state might cut funding that allows hundreds of high school students in Johnston and Wake counties to take some community-college classes for free.

Johnston Community College President Upbeat, Despite Budget Crunch (07/16/2009)
The new president of Johnston Community College has spent his first two weeks on the job maintaining calm over an uncertain budget. Dr. David Johnson said Thursday that the challenge for faculty and staff is meeting the needs of more students - at least 500 more than last year - with less money.

JCC leader takes office (07/15/2009)
Dr. David Johnson stepped in as Johnston Community College’s third president on July 1. He brings with him a tenacious energy and a philosophy of lifelong education.

'Thank you, Big Kahuna' (07/08/2009)
It was 1970. Don Reichard’s college days were coming to an end, and the military draft was inching closer and closer to his number. “I had full expectations that I was going to graduate and go to Vietnam,” he said. But it wasn’t to be.

Raleigh native takes charge of Johnston Community College (07/01/2009)
Dr. David Johnson changed careers 15 years ago, but his belief system remained the same. It’s a path that took him from divinity school to leadership roles at community colleges in Virginia to his current role as president of Johnston Community College.

Stimulus Money Puts Johnston County Teens To Work (06/30/2009)
Develle Sanders, 21 got his first job this summer, filing and making copies at Johnston Community College. "I figured, why not? It's a summer job and I can use it," Sanders said. He is one of about 200 young people in Johnston County who are working at local companies this summer and being paid with federal stimulus money.

Enrollment soars at Johnston GED program (06/03/2009)
For the first time ever, Johnston Community College's GED, or General Education Development, program has had to put students on a waiting list. More than 700 people have taken the exam to get into the program since January, said JCC's Director of Basic Skills Pamela Earp. That's about a 75 percent increase, she added.

Johnston Community College names new president (05/27/2009)
Smithfield, N.C. — Johnston Community College on Wednesday named David Johnson as the college’s third president. Johnson succeeds Donald L. Reichard, who is retiring after 10 years heading the college. A provost at Southside Virginia Community College in Keysville, Va., Johnson will assume his new duties on July 1.

Final two JCC candidates attend forums (05/20/2009)

Two more JCC candidates attend forum (05/13/2009)
Tim Brewer is a former forestry teacher SMITHFIELD — Dr. Tim Brewer didn’t start his education career in a classroom. He started so far outside one, in fact, that he was in the woods.

Enrollment on the rise in college's 'BioWork' program (05/13/2009)
JOHNSTON COUNTY — Last December, Brian Stevens was laid off from Caterpillar after 17 years on the production floor. But two weeks later, he was already training for a job in a growing Johnston County labor staple: biotherapeutics.

Grants News (05/11/2009)
Johnston Community College (JCC) in North Carolina received a $30,000 Project Skill Up grant to help local workers affected by changes in the tobacco industry.

Presidential hopeful uses humor in bid to lead JCC (05/06/2009)
Students, faculty and citizens quizzed a potential new leader for Johnston Community College last week. Dr. Michael Helmick, one of five finalists for JCC president, spoke last Thursday at the first of five public forums for the hopefuls...

Fund-raising challenges in a down economy (04/10/2009)
As public funds become more unreliable in the current economy, fund raising is becoming even more critical for community colleges. The challenge of a increasing student enrollments coupled with declining resources has two-year institutions re-evaluating and stepping up their fund-raising efforts. Johnston Community College (JCC) in North Carolina revised its fund-raising program a little more than a year ago... (full story on page 9)

College Helping Displaced Workers (04/09/2009)
When the Eaton Corporation closed its Selma plant in 2007, it left workers like Eleanor Peedin of Pine Level and Laura Benton of Selma devastated. "We didn't know what we were going to do because a lot of us were on up in age," said 54-year-old Peedin. But she and Benton enrolled in the medical office administration program at Johnston Community College that year...

Success in tough times? (04/08/2009)
An unsteady economy has left many local businesses anxious for guidance and support. Last week, about 25 people showed up for “Business Success in Tough Times,” a seminar offered by Johnston Community College’s Small Business Center. “I think everyone’s interested in just knowing what’s ahead of them, what the pitfalls are,” said Rosa Andrews, head of the Small Business Center...

Trucking School’s Enrollment Up (03/26/2009)
People from all backgrounds are turning to trucking, according to Paul Jump, Director of the North Carolina Truck Driver Training School at Johnston Community College. "We get anywhere from professional people to just general laborers to teenagers just out of high school. We have had lawyers, we've had pilots," he said. Enrollment is up by about 10 percent this year...

College narrows search (03/25/2009)
Johnston Community College will announce the finalists in its search for a new president next week. A screening committee of 20 narrowed a field of 76 applicants to 12 semifinalists. Next week, it will turn over its top six choices to the school’s board of trustees, which will choose the next president...

College Launching New Health Care Class (03/25/2009)
As the economy has deteriorated, interest in working in stable fields, such as health care, has grown, said Johnston Community College (JCC) officials. That's why JCC's Workforce Development Center plans to launch a new class called "Pathways to Health Care." It will give students a realistic view of the health care industry...

Lt. Governor Walter Dalton Visits Johnston Community College (02/18/2009)
Lt. Governor Walter Dalton visited Johnston Community College in Smithfield Wednesday. "The community colleges are absolutely critical to get through this tough economic time," he told a crowd at the Black Business and Health Expo at JCC. Dalton praised the college for...

JCC witnesses record spring enrollment (01/26/2009)
Johnston Community College has seen a 9-percent enrollment surge this spring, the highest in the school's 40-year history. JCC enrolled nearly 300 more students for the spring semester for a total student body of 3,167. Enrollment is also up in many continuing education programs...

310 pound Feral Pig Harvested in Johnston County (01/23/2009)
The coldest few days in years in Johnston County equaled success for several hunters participating in a feral pig hunt at the Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center (Howell Woods) in Four Oaks. During the cold snap hunters from Johnston County, the piedmont and coastal areas of North Carolina and a few from as far north as New York State braved the weather for a chance to harvest a Johnston County feral pig.

Johnston Community College Hears From The Community (12/03/2008)
Johnston Community College held a forum Wednesday afternoon to hear from the public about who should be the college's next president. The current president, Dr. Donald Reichard, will retire in July. A handful of community members told the board...

Higher gas prices fuel interest in motorcycle riding (07/02/2008)
As fuel prices keep climbing, people are steering towards something smaller and more open. Motorcycle safety classes are filling up, as folks opt to roll on two wheels – rather than four. “I think if more people rode motorcycles, scooters ...

Art gallery pays tribute to legendary Frank Creech (01/31/2001)
The campus where Frank Creech spent some two decades teaching his students the fundamentals of painting, drawing, sculpture and photography is now home to an art gallery in his memory.