The
ews
No. 20 Vol. 93
Visit us at
our new web location
www.thenews-journal.com
This week
Robbins Heights
sboots for
community unity
page 1B
Courtney Cox
suits up
with EHMS football
page 5A
Index ■
Births
3B
Calendar
2B
Classifieds
,...8-9B
Deaths
4A
Editorials
2A
Engagements
3B
Legals
....6-7B
Public Record
4A
Religion
6B
Socials
3B
TV Listings
....4-5B
Weddings
3B
Around Town
Contributing Editor
The weather for the past
few (Jays has been nice. The
temperature Monday morn
ing, when 1 got up and out of
bed, was in the low 60s. Sun
day the temperature was in the
70s for most of the day. We
did have a trace of rain Sun
day afternoon, but it wasn’t
enough to register on the rain
gauge. Maybe the rain will
hold off for a few days and the
farmers can get in their to
bacco. Now if the hurricanes
will stay away from North
Carolina, maybe we can get
back to normal weather.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday,callsforthe
highs to be in the 90s and the
lows in the 70s. Maybe there
will be scattered showers but
rain isn’t in the forecast for
every day.
+ * + * *
Last week 1 had an item in
this column about the
Plummer reunion at Parkers
United Methodist Church on
Sunday, August 6.1 listed the
children of the late Mr. and
Mrs. J. H. Plummer. Sunday I
found out that 1 had omitted
oneofthe daughters. Hername
is Eva. Sorry about this, 1
should have taken notes in
stead of trusting my memory.
♦ jK * * >K
Bob Nelson' brought the
following information to the
office Monday morning:
The Centennial Committee
ot the Kaeford United Meth
odist Church is searching tor
(See AROUND, page 7A)
Journal
50 cents
Wednesday, August 16, 2000
Drug-smuggling ring involves Hoke
U.S. Customs, FBI, SBI, Raeford Police round up suspects
in the arrest of more than 25 members of
By Pat Ai lfn Wii son
Staff writer
By Victoriana Summi-.rs
Staff writer
A multi-million dollar drug-smuggling
ring was crushed by a national law en
forcement task force last week, resulting
a network that involved people in Union
and Hoke counties. Considered by some
law agencies as one of the largest illegal
drug operations in the state, several people
were arrested in Hoke; their names are
still being withheld.
Eliseo Enriquez, 40, of 2566 Balfour
Road in Shannon was named in the indict
ment, arrested and taken into federal cus
tody last week. The indictment stated
Enriquez did unlawfully combine, con
spire, confederate and agree with others to
possess with intent to distribute a quantity
of cocaine, a quantity of cocaine base and
a quantity of marijuana.
Keeping their cool
Lorenzo Newman, a first grader at Scurlock
Elementary, keeps cool with watermelon
at a class party. Brandon England, 9, and
Aaron England, 4, sons of Steve and Teresa
England, had ice cream at the H.E.L.P.
store’s appreciation day event Friday. Aaron
turned the table on the photographer with
h'ls own toy camera.
U.S. Attorney MarkT. Calloway of the
western district of North Carolina in Char
lotte announced a federal indictment was
unsealed on August 10 that concluded a
year-long probe code-named “Operation
Knockdown.”
As part of this dragnet, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation conducted a drug
sweep in Hoke la.st Thursday and Friday,
where it suspected a major drug traffick-
(See SMUGGLING, page 7A)
School suit
ruling near
Summary phase
in ‘low wealth’ case
to begin Friday
By VicroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
Former Hoke School Superintendent
Don Steed is predicting a ruling should be
reached in October on the lawsuit claim
ing North Carolina is failing to meet the
basic, sound educational needs of stu
dents in Hoke schools, and some other
poor counties. A hearing that was sched
uled for August 11 in Wake County Supe
rior Court was been postponed until Au
gust 18. Superior Cour' Judge Howard
Manning will hear lawyers argue sum
maries of evidence that were submitted in
June, concerning the trial ihat began last
September.
“The summary ptoec(Jurc is inilliing
out of the ordinary," Steed said.' We "re
just crossing our fingers and certainly
hoping the judge will decide in our fa or,
because it will mean more money," he
said.
“It will also mean more opportunities
for our youngsters to get a better start in
life.”
Rob Tiller, a partner with Parker. Poe.
Adams and Bernstein, in Raleigh, is rep
resenting the school systems involved in
(See SUIT, page 3A)
Firefighters learn lessons from prison fire drill
Hydrants needed, security limits equipment
By Pyt Allen Wilson
Editor
“All this was done for lessons learned,”
Hoke County Emergency Services Coor
dinator and Fire Marshal AI Schwarcbher
told firefighters and other safety and emer
gency personnel at a briefing following a
fire drill at Hoke Correctional Institution
Wednesday evening.
One of those lessons was that water
might be a problem in a real fire. “Water
and water resupply,” Schwarcbher said,
“because of inadequate water supply at
the institution itself — mainly fire hy
drants.”
There is one fire hydrant for the entire
medium custody prison facility, located
at McCain in western Hoke, and it is not
operational, Schwarcbher said.
A blockage has existed in the pipe
leading to the hydrant for at least 12 years,
said a firefighter at the bi iefing held at the
prison facility.
In his after-action report,
Schwarcbher is “strongly”
recommending two fire hy
drants be added to the sys
tem and that the prison have
all three hydrants opera
tional.
Prison Supervisor
Cordellia Clark agreed. “1
understand that we need to
get our water system up
graded,” she said at the brief
ing.
Another lesson learned
was that security built into
the prison system limited fire
and other emergency ve
hicles’ access to the facility.
Gates were locked and en
trances were not wide
enough for some of the larger
(See LESSONS, page 8A)
'V* ■
Firefighters relax as a drill winds down at McCain’s Hoke Correctional Institution.
Emergency health workers pay
tribute to one of their own
Carolyn Diane
Tatum Ellisor’s
duties as a para
medic took her in
an ambulance to
An ambulance in mourning took the body of Carolyn Ellisor to Raeford Cemetery
Friday.
to, and said goodbye to her.
More than 50 rescue vehicles, ambu
lances and fire trucks from acro.ss the
state were in the funeral procession that
followed the ambulance, draped in black
assist people in bunting, as it left Crumpler Funeral Home,
emergency The ambulance passed down Main
Street, continuing on Central Avenue to
Raeford Cemetery, where Ellisor was bur
ied after an emotional graveside service.
A flank of law enforcement officers
_ congregated across from the burial site,
Carolyn Ellisor her last ride in an observing as Ellisor’s fellow paramedics
ambulance served as pall bearers, and removed her
which served as a hearse as family mem- coffin from the ambulance. Alloral wreath
bers, co-workers and friends paid tribute (See TRIBUTE, page lOA)
health situations
throughout the
county.
Friday after
noon, she took