ews
Journal
.appened, ifs news
Si
No. 17 Vol. 93
Visit us at
our new web location
www.thenews-journal.com
This week
Turkey Festival
dates are
Sept. 21-23
page 7
H.E.LP. Store
to hand out
ice cream
page 7
Task Force plans
Klealth Fair
page 4
50 cents
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
Index
Births 11
Calendar 11
Classifieds 18-20
Deaths 5
Editorials 2
Engagements 13
Legals 16-17
Religion 12
School 16-20
Socials 13
TV Listings 14-15
Weddings 13
Around Town
Contributing Editor
The hot weather has left us
for a while. The 80-degree
temperatures have helped for
the people who have to work
outdoors. We have had rain
for the last few days, but not
like other areas of the state.
Sunday morning when Mary
Alice and 1 went to the Raeford
Presbyterian Church, there
was water about knee deep at
the corner of Edinborough
Avenue and Magnolia Street.
It had rained so hard for a
few minutes that the storm
drain could not take the water
fast enough. It didn’t cause
any damage.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday, calls for the
highs to be in the low 9()s or
high 8()s. The lows for the
period will be in the low 70sor
high 60s. As usual this time of
year there could be thunder
showers about any day.
iK * ’k
Mary Alice and I went down
to Raz’s peach orchard last
week and ate ice cream under
the oak tree. There was a nice
breeze and it was an enjoyable
time. 1 asked Raz about his
peach crop and he stated that
the warm weather had ripened
the peaches faster this year
than before. He said the vari
eties of peaches that he was
now picking would be gone
by the end of this week. It will
be about five days from the
end of this week before the
next variety will be ready to
pick. There will still be plenty
of ice cream!
ifin ^ if
Last week Robin
Thompkins left an envelope
on my desk from Ann Webb,
a former employee of The
News-Journal. In the envelope
was an obituary of Mrs. Ruth
(See AROUND, page 5)
Blue Springs seeks partnership
%
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Executive Director Christina
Davis McCoy of Blue Springs-
Hoke County Community De
velopment Corporation appealed
to Hoke County Commissioners
on Monday night, seeking the
first partnership with Hoke to
undertake a special project that
wou Id glean a $5(),0(K) state grant.
McCoy hopes to lead Blue
Springs in its efforts to focus on
improved housing conditions for
the low wealth and disadvan
taged people residing in Hoke.
County commissioners voted
to consider McCoy’s request,
only after guidelines have been
established, and the matter was
tabled until further study could
be completed. McCoy will meet
with County Attorney Neil
Yarborough, Commission Chai r-
man James A. Leach and County
Manager Bernice MePhatter to
iron out details before a final
approval is garnered from com
missioners.
Funded by the N.C. Depart-
(See BLUE SPRINGS, page 9)
Christina Davis McCoy seeks
cooperation from commission
ers in obtaining grant monies to
reduce poverty.
Dr.WaU
leaves for
Lenoir
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke County High School
Principal Dr. Barry Wall resigned
last week to accept an adminis
trative post in Lenoir County.
Wall would have been entering
his third year as principal at Hoke
High in August.
Wall was hired as director of
work-force development in
Lenoir’s school system, a posi
tion that elevates him into a cen
tral office format. He has signed
a contract in Lenoir and began
his newjoblastTuesday. Wall is
supervising Lenoir’s teachers
involved in the student voca
tional program.
Wall is remembered by former
Hoke School superintendent Don
(See WALL, page 10)
Hoke Men
unity event
^ A. AJr
- St
Carnival
Jacie and Michael joined “Snoopy" for an alligator ride at
the carnival at Lafayette Ford over the weekend. Young
sters and the young-at-heart braved rain and thunder
storms to attend the event. (Photos contributed by Cary
A. Wilson)
gets response Fawn Tcscued by The Haven dies
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
The promise of holding the
first Hoke County 200 Men Fel
lowship has inspired a wide
spread response from local
people, says Hubert A. Peterkin,
program chairman for the event.
Scheduled for August 20 at 5
p.m., the all-male spiritual cru
sade will celebrate an evening of
brotherhood at Freedom Chapel
A.M.E. Zion Church in Raeford,
the official sponsor.
Citizens, civic, elected and
(See HOKE MEN, page 10)
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Linden Spear is mourning
what she considers the senseless
deathof a two-week-old fawn she
rescued, and then saved by emer
gency surgery at Animal Hospi
tal of Fayetteville several weeks
ago.
According to officials at the bilitation facility with 40 other
N.C. Wildlife Resources Com
mission, “Bambi,” as the deer
was christened by Spear, died in
Caswell County last week after
being placed in a wildlife reha-
fawns.
“1 am heartsick,” Spear said,
breaking down in tears when she
heard the news. “The wildlife
(See FA WN, page 9)
Bronze Star is in his hands after 55 years
Brother's efforts pay off
Fifty-five years after having
been authorized to receive the
Bronze Star Medal, World War
II Staff Sergeant William H.
r
“Bill” Nelson finally has the
medal in his possession. Nelson
is the oldest brother of Dr. Bob
Nelson, retired superintendent of
the Hoke County Schools, who
resides in Raeford.
A lifelong resident of
Mooresville who is retired from
the U.S. Postal Service and
owner-operator of Nelson Nurs
ery, Bill Nelson was inducted
into the U.S. Army along with a
group of 49 other Iredell County
men at the end of July, 1942.
Following his induction. Nelson
was away from home and family
for more than three years with
out a stateside furlough.
Nelson was trained as a cryp
tographic technician at Chanute
Field in Rantoul, Illinois, prior to
his being shipped overseas to
Orsan, Algeria, North Africa.
From there he was flown to Bari,
Italy, with the task of establish
ing a cryptographic code room
where he and other technicians
would code and decode messages*-
that would direct U.S. Army Air
Force air attacks against German
targets, including the famed
Ploesti oil fields that fueled the
Luftwaffe.
By coincidence, the flight to
Bari occurred on Nelson’s 21st
birthday. He had breakfast in
North Africa, lunch in Sicily
where the C-47 “Gooney Bird”
transport plane had been forced
to land because of mechanical
problems, and dinner near Bari,
Italy, while under heavy attack
by German bombers.
His birthday meal consisted
(See BRONZE, page 9)
John Butler: still missing after a year
All in the family
Commissioners welcomed a young peer to their Monday night
meeting. Shown are (from left) Chairman James A. Leach, Commis
sioners L.E. McLaughlin jr. (standing) and Cleo Bratcher Jr. with
grandson Broyn Bratcher, and Commissioner Charles Daniels. (Photo
by Victoriana Summers)
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
It will be a year ago this Friday
that John Edward Butler wan
dered away from his home in
eastern Hoke. His family contin
ues to look for him.
Although he is now 53 years
old, Johnny Butler has lived with
hismothersincehc returned from
the Vietnam War minus his lower
leg at age 20. He is mentally ill
and suffers from post traumatic
stress. In the past, the only trips
he made from his mother’s home
on Pittman Grove Church Road
were in the company of family
members, who took him for
medical appointments at the VA
medical center in Fayetteville.
The family believes Butler is
still alive. “Not one of us be
lieves to the contrary,” says sis
ter Linda Owens.
There were numerous reported
sightings of Butler in eastern
Cumberland County and Hope
Mills several days after his dis
appearance, and extensive
searches were conducted. As re
cently as two months ago, aclerk
believes he visited the store where
she works in downtown
Fayetteville. A man who fit his
description went into the store
several times,
four to five
weeks apart,
but has not
been in the
store for
about a
month.
“We don’t
know if that is
John, but that
person needs
to be considered because of com
monalties, similarities,” Owens
says.
The family followed up on the
latest reported sighting by bom-
(See BUTLER, page 7)
johnny Butler,
missing a year.