The
ews
J ournal
If it happened, it's news to us
50t
No.45Vol.99
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, January 26 2005
Three years later, still no western Hoke paik
DOT slow to fulfill promise to build park on land set aside as preserve
pledged as a future site for a five-acre
county park at no cost to Hoke taxpay
ers, according to N.C. Department of
Transportation officials.
Three years later, Hoke officials are
concerned that promise has never been
fulfilled even though The Nature Con-
By VicTORiANA Summers
Staff writer
In January 2002, the2,500acre Callo
way tract was dedicated in western Hoke
as a nature preserve for the endangered
red cockaded woodpecker. It was also
Water for growth
may present crisis
Hropects aren’t good for grant
to fund water for eastern growth
servancy, conservation manager of the
land, has urged the DOT to complete
the park as planned. The park, the first
that would exist in western Hoke, is
supposed to include rustic picnic areas
and restrooms. Extending beyond the
boundaries of the park, which would
be surrounded by long leaf pines, DOT
officials said Hoke families could enjoy
recreational opportunities such as hiking,
bird watching, and horseback riding on
existing trails.
This concession was requested by
Hoke commissioners to compensate for
the potential loss of $25 million in direct
and indirect tax revenue after develop
ment was banned on the preserve, remov
ing it from the tax rolls in 2001.
Although a request to rake the pine
straw from the pi nes for profit to the coun-
(See PARK, page 7A)
By VicroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
Hoke commissioners were
flooded with some bad news
from Lumberton engineer Lacey
Koonce in his update on the
proposed phase 5 of the Hoke
regional water system. The
county may not be eligible to
receive any grant funds from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
to construct the $9.9 million
project, according to Koonce.
“I am disappointed because
this is a negative picture,”
Koonce said on Monday evening
at the commissioners’ meeting.
it w
Teen loves ropin’
andridin’
page IB
Stewart is Wachovia
Principal pick
pagelB
McLauchlin House
100 year celebration
planned
page 3 A
Hoke High
holds town meetings
page4A
Index
Anniversaries
3B
Classifieds
7-8B
Deaths
8A
Editorials
2A
Legals
4-6B
Public Record
8A
Religion
5A
Schools
2B
Socials
3B
Sports
6A
Weddings
3B
We’re on the web at
www.thenews-journaI.com
“You are still short on water
supply for what it will take for
your growth in the next five to
10 years.
‘Withoutadding more lines, it
would still take about $3.4 mil
lion for increasing the supply and
treatment and about $ 1.4 mi llion
for more storage tanks.”
Hoke’s utility department and
contracts with the Public Works
Commission in Fayetteville are
already enabling the county to
supply water to 90 percent of
its residents. With plans for ad
ditional wells, tanks and some
new lines,Jhe project would
increase the water capacity to the
remaining lO^rcent of county
residents using private wells,
and it would also enhance
the water pressure as more
subdivisions are constructed,
according to Koonce.
Hoke’s first three phases for
regional water projects were
paid by grants, but phase 4
is still being repaid after a
loan was previously obtained.
Koonce warned that postpon
ing phase 5 might cut back
the capability for growth in
the Rockfish area. However,
Koonce said, it is more finan
cially feasible for the county to
supply its own waterratherthan
purchasing it elsewhere.
West Gate, a planned com
munity of750 homes on Lind
say and Adcock roads, is one
(See WATER, page 3A)
Jean Powell shows the site for her dream cabin in the pines she hopes to build some day.
Some landowners want to keep green space
By selling development rights they hope to keep land, and keep it unspoiled
By VicTORiANA Summers
Staff writer
Some landowners in northern
Hoke County treasure the natural
state of their land, and are seeking
ways to protect it without selling
off parcels for subdivisions or
commercial enterprises. They are
willing participants in protect
ing Hoke’s natural resources on
their own land, partnering with
conservation groups.
Julian Johnson III,afarmer and
northern Hoke landowner, and
his wife, Margaret Johnson, are
some of the pioneers in conserva
tion efforts currently underway in
Hoke. For the first time in Hoke’s
history, Johnson sold a conserva
tion easement on 540 acres of his
land to The Nature Conservancy
last year, but the land is not tax
exempt from the county. Johnson
perceives his choice as a win-win
situation for his fami ly, which still
owns the land^ and the county,
which benefits from tax revenue.
The Johnsons’ land borders the
Fort Bragg reservation and Rock-
fish Creek.
Jean Powell, retired Hoke dis
trict attorney and current county
commissioner, is a landowner
with property also bordering the
Fort Bragg reservation and Rock-
fish Creek. Her land adjoins the
Johnsons’ property. Powell also
willingly sold conservation rights
on the 146 acres of land she owns
to The Nature Conservancy. Her
property remains on the tax rolls
in Hoke, but she has agreed to nof
develop her land.
Johnsons’ concept
Johnson said the advantage tc
him is that the land will remain in
his family inanatural state for gen
erations to come, but they would
continue to reside on the land,
benefit from timbering, improve
(See UNSPOILED, page 7A)
Purchase of Upchurch land protects wildlife, Bragg
By VICTORIANA Summers
Staff writer
In an ambitious land acquisi
tion, the N.C. Wildlife Resources
Commission has applied for
grants from the Clean Water Man
agement Trust Fund to acquire
938 acres of Hoke land.
Planning to protect the “integ
rity” of mil itary training missions
with a buffer and to improve
land use quality, the Wildlife
Commission would form a larger
conservation corridor around
Fort Bragg’s southern perimeter,
according to Wib Owen, section
chief for NCWRC in Raleigh.
Located just off June Johnson
Road in northern Hoke, the vast
Upchurch property near the
Raeford airport is the site of the
preservation effort. Owen said
the Wildlife Commission is seek
ing $2.3 million to finalize the
transaction.
“We hope to receive $723,350
from Clean Water, and the re
mainder of the funds are being
sought through a grant from the
Natural Heritage Trust Fund,”
Owen said. ‘The Nature Conser
vancy already owns 89 acres of
the Upchurch property. However,
they are not permitted to apply
for conservation funds from the
Natural Heritage becau.se they are
not a state agency.
“So the N.C. Wildlife agency
is applying for it instead, partner
ing to manage the land with The
Nature Conservancy.”
Raeford businessman Gene
Carter, proprietor of Upchurch
Milling Co., a land-holding firm,
confirmed the sale is pending. Ac
cording to the terais, the Wildlife
Commission has been granted a
purchase option for the property,
averaging a price of $2,475 per
acre.
“This project rises to the top
as one of our priorities,” Owen
.said. “We actually have a pretty
aggressive land acquisition pro
gram statewide right now.”
Bordering the military base
for two-and-a-half miles, the
Upchurch tract of land remains
(See LAND, page 4A)
le iTews
News
4 Joumal
Other stuff
By Ken MacDonald
Publisher
years
Next month, my truck will be
old.
We’ve been through a lot together: toting
children around town to get ice cream, driv
ing to varied sailing destinations, exploring
distant camping venues pretending we had
four wheel drive.
It’s one of those extended cab compact
models with the two small - or should I say
too small - seats in the back. When 1 first
bought the truck, my two children fit nicely
back there, which allowed us and twoof their
friends to go fishing or to movies.
True, it is only a four-cylinder, which
means don’t turn the air conditioner on
unless your seatbelt is good and tight, and
don't even think about passing anybody
unless they’re Amish.
But overall she has been a good friend,
hard worker and trusty companion.
(See OTHER STUFF, page 7A)
Two arrested in murder of woman
believed also betrayed and robbed
By VICTORIANA Summers
Staff writer
Barely one week after a west Hoke
mother, April Michelle Pate, was fatally
shot in what was suspected to “not be a
random crime,” detectives from the Hoke
Sheriffs Office charged two suspects in
connection with her murder, according to
Sheriff Hubert Peterkin.
“Within minutes after the home
invasion, we were investigating events
around her shooting,” Peterkin said.
n
Kelvin Ray Smith Tony Locklear
‘It was not baffling to us because we
(See TWO ARRESTED, page 4A) :