The
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No. 11 Vol. 93
50 cents
Wednesday, june 14, 2000
Visit us at
our new web location
www.thenews-journal.com
This week
Match For
200 march for Jesus
page 4A
Sheriff seeks half a
million dollar
increase in budget
page 5A
Moratorium on
new cemeteries
lifted
page 4A
Index
Calendar 6B
Classifieds 8-1 OB
Deaths 4A
Editorials 2A
Engagements.. .3B
Legals 6-7B
Public Record 4A
Schools 7-8A
Socials 3-4B
TV Listings 4-5B
Weddings 3B
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing Editor
The rain stopped and the
hot weather has come. The
temperatures for the past sev
eral days have been in the 90s
and the lows at night have
been around 70. With the hot
weather it didn’t take long for
the rain we had last week to
dry up. According to the fore
cast we could have rain about
every day for the remainder of
the week. The rainfall so far
this year is way behind nor
mal.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday, cal Is for the
highs to be in the 90s and the
lows in the 70s. Let’s hope
that we get the rain that is in
the forecast.
« )tc ♦
I have been getting calls
over the past week about the
house on N. Stewart St. Most
of the information was from
people who had heard some
thing about the house from
other people. 1 am still trying
to run down this information
and 1 hope that 1 can get the
correct information to pass on
to the present owner.
One person whocalled was
Mrs. Roger Dixon and she
stated that they lived there in
the early 194()s. McLauchlin
Company owned the house
and they paid $25 per month
rent. Kathleen said that it was
hard to pay that much rent at
that time.
If anyone else has informa
tion about the house, please
let me know.
(See AROUND, page lOA)
City offers County gift of old hotel
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
The City of Raeford is offering Hoke
County a downtown solution for a new
office complex: the old Raeford Hotel.
“Due to our rapport with county offi
cials and our desire to see Hoke County
grow and downtown Raeford revitalized,
we are offering to donate the Raeford
Hotel to the county,” said Raeford City
Manager Mike McNeill yesterday. “We
believe if they accept our proposal to use
this historic hotel, or rebuild to use it for
county offices, they will find a lot of
community support and spirit behind
them,” he said.
The offer comes after more than 700
citizens signed a petition to protest build
ing a new county administrative facility
on West Palmer Road on June 5. Hoke
County Commissioners permanently
shelved plans to move forward with the
(See HOTEL, page lOA)
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Officers target
drug dealers in
pre-dawn raid
L4J[££J
The budget book stretched to five inches in
depth (left), when Hoke Commissioners met
for a budget workshop on Monday night, says
Commissioner Charles V. Daniels. Above,
new Hoke School Superintendent Mitch Tyler
hunches down to crunch some budget num
bers together.
1-
^ J
Debate over budget continues
Commissioner says tax increase is inevitable if requests honored
BY Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke Commissioners listened to
requests and complaints from de
partment heads and county employ
ees on Monday night, delaying any
commitment on a budget during the
two hour meeting. However, the
majority of supervisors thanked
County Manager Bernice McPhatter
for a sound budget, asking only if a
cost of living adjustment could be re
considered for employees.
Commissioners directed Mc
Phatter to advise what a three percent
COLA of salaries would represent in
terms of total expense for next year.
At the next budget session (June 19,
at 6 p.m.) commissioners will dis
cuss final requests prior to a public
hearing that will held at 7:30 p.m. to
pass the budget.
With the recommended budget
weighing in at $19.6 million. Com
missioner Charles V. Daniels said
after the budget session the numbers
won’t accommodate a\\ the extras
sought by department supervisors
without a tax increase.
Daniels said commissioners won’t
be “rubber-stamping” the budget this
year.
“We’re taking a serious look at
everything,” Daniels said. “I can add
two plus two and the numbers won’t
add up for this budget,” he said.
Daniels said the public and news
(See BUDGET, page 9A)
By Victoriana
Summers
Staff writer
Operation
“Blue Thun
der” started this
morning at
sunrise across
Hoke County
to arrest 13 al
leged drug
dealers —
those accused
of selling crack
cocaine and One of the accused brought in this
marijuana on morning
the streets of
local neighborhoods. A drug task force combined the
resources of the Hoke Sheriff’s Department, Raeford
Police Department and the State Bureau of Investiga
tion to serve warrants in early morning raids. It was the
first drug bust of 2000 to apprehend people reported
pushing drugs on the streets, says Sheriff lim Davis.
Davis said Blue Thunder took a lot of planning and
execution in order to minimize the risk of danger, when
arresting drug suspects.
“We ’ve developed a solid working relationship with
other law enforcement agencies,” Davis said. “This
operation will definitely make an impact, because we
need to get these types of individuals off the streets,” he
said.
“We also want to let our community know law
enforcement is serious about eradicating drugs, be-
(See BUST, page lOA)
Shopping (xnter will be Hoke’s largest retailer ever
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hampton Development of
Greenville, South Carolina is
planning a major shopping cen
ter in northeast Hoke County at
the corner of Way side Drive and
mile from the Cumberland
County border and eight miles
from Raeford. Based on a recom
mendation from The Planning
Board, Hoke commissioners
unanimously granted a condi
tional use permit last week to
Hampton to develop the land.
way commercial.
“Let it come, let it come to
Hoke County,” said Hoke Com
mission Chairman James Leach
regarding the mall.
Situated on a 39-acre tract in a
pie-shaped configuration, the
proposed multi-million dollar
next to an existing BP service-
convenience store. The future
shopping area is nearby to a num
ber of subdivisions and recre
ational facilities, including the
upscale Bayonet at Puppy Creek,
Farrington at Lake Williams,
Woodberry, Carolina Place and
U.S. 401 approximately one-half which was already zoned high- shopping mall will be located McDougald Downs.
According to Hoke Planner
Linda Revels, the design con
cept for the commercial enter
prise includes a total of 300,000
square feet of space, with 205,000
square feet being utilized for the
largest retail store, which will be
reportedly leased by a national
(See SHOPPING, page 6A)
Former deputy’s allegations unfounded, SBI says
Staff writer
District Attorney Jean Powell
announced on Tuesday the SBI
will no longer pursue separate
accusations of assault by former
Hoke County Sheriff’s Deputy
Cindy Byrd. Byrd said she re
signed on April 4, but Sheriff
Jim Davis said she was fired.
unable to meet the standards re
quired by his deputies.
“The outcome is as we ex
pected and it was without merit,”
Davis said. “We were able to
support the SBI in their investi
gation,” he said.
“Our staff continued perform
ing admirably and I think the
public now sees it was all created
by Mrs. Byrd as a way to try and
stain our department,” Davis said.
Byrd who resides in
Fayetteville, previously alleged
a deputy assaulted her while she
was on duty in retaliation for
allegations she made against an
other deputy. Byrd accused the
other deputy of sexual harass-
ment,claiminghe communicated
threats when she notified her su
pervisor of his alleged actions.
In a separate, confidential al
legation, Powell said Byrd raised
an issue that alleged Hoke depu
ties were improperly handling
weapons placed in inventory at
the Sheriff’s Department, after
the guns were seized during ar
rests. According to Byrd, she al
leged the weapons were being
removed for personal use by the
deputies.
“None of the sexual harass
ment allegations or the allega
tions about seized weapons were
substantiated,” Powell said.
“Cindy Byrd refused to cooper
ate with the SBI in pursuing the
(See UNFOUNDED, page 6A)
Hoke’s oldest resident dies at 111
Adults graduate high school
Dr. John Dempsey, president of Sandhills Community College addresses a crowd at the Hoke Library stage
during a commencement exercise Monday for adults who graduated high school through the college.
Twenty-five people formed the Class of 2000.
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
Nancy Ray, whose life
was marked by hard work
and devotion to family and
church, passed away peace
fully at age 111 in Autumn
Care Rest Home at about 5
p.m. Tuesday, June 6.
Ray’s family members
learned shortly before her
birthday last year that the
lifetime resident of Rock-
fish had cancer. Ray would
have been 112 on Septem
ber 11.
“She lived a good, long
life,” Grace Kelton says
about her great aunt.
Born in 1988 to parents
who had once been slaves,
Ray was the next-to-last
daughter of 12 children — six girls,
that many boys.
(See RAY, page 5A)
’'ll
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Nancy Ray at a recent birthday.