The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke Cdunty Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXVI Number 1 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, April 26, 1984
Implementation tied to $2,5 million bond issue
* Committee gives
OK to school plan
A committee of local residents,
who have been studying the needs
of the Hoke County schools since
November, put finishing touches
on a S6.2 million long-range
facilities improvement plan Tues
I day night in preparation for a
public airing of the proposal next
week.
The group's sweeping recom
mendations include the closing of
one school, the gradual replace
ment of another and a restructur
ing of school classes.
Although the plan is tied closely
to the "urgent" passage of a S2.5
million bond issue, there are no
recommendations for raising ad
valorem taxes in the proposal.
Here is what the committee
recommended:
?Expand Upchurch Junior
High School to a sixth through
eighth grade facility with approx
imately 1,200 students. The school
is now just grades seven and eight.
'Establish kindergarten
through fifth grade elementary
schools at West Hoke, South
Hoke, Scurlock and McLauchlin.
All of those facilities are now K-4
schools.
?Close Turlington School as
soon as possible. Classes now held
under the gymnasium floor would
i
Soon to be gone
On a drive through town or the country around
Raeford, one cannot help but see dogwood flowers
at every bend. Sadly, the time of year for dogwood
blooms is almost over. Within two to three more
weeks, it will be another nine months, at least five
of them cold, before this sight unfolds again.
(Photo by Becky Jones)
be eliminated immediately by using
temporary classrooms.
?Add 21 new permanent
classrooms at the elementary
schools to accommodate needed
expansions to K through 5.
?Add about 10 permanent
classrooms to Hoke High School.
Replace the Class IV buildings at
Upchurch with new buildings.
The plan calls for most of the
improvements to be spread over a
10-year period with much of the
work to be done during the
1987-1988 school year.
During that year 19 new
classrooms would be constructed
at Upchurch at a projected cost of
$532,000, 21 classrooms would be
built at the K-5 schools for
5735,000 and 10 classrooms would
be constructed at the high school
for a cost of $227,500.
Those $1.5 million in im
provements could be paid for with
the bond issue.
In the 1989-90 school year,
replacement of the three Category
IV buildings would be started.
That recommendation calls for a
total of 28 classrooms to be replac
ed for around $823,200. The fun
(See SCHOOL PLAN, page 2A)
Robbers hit churches
By Ed Miller
Easter Sunday proved to be a
day of loss for some area church
goers after thieves hit choir rooms
in three of the county's churches
during morning services.
Members of the Raeford United
Methodist Church, the First Bap
tist Church and Antioch
Presbyterian Church suffered
losses after someone went into
choir rooms and removed wallets
and pocketbooks containing
money and credit cards.
There were no exact figures of
the amount of loss at the
Methodist Church, but around $40
was reported to have been taken
from First Baptist.
Antioch was hit the hardest.
There about $120 was believed to
have been taken.
Although all the crimes ap
parently took place in a similar
manner, local authorities are not
commenting on the connection
between the incidents.
Officers from the Hoke County
Sheriff's Department and the
Raeford Police Department are in
vestigating the incidents. No ar
rests were anticipated on Tuesday.
In other crime, Hoke County
Sheriff's reports say that a break
ing and entering and larceny oc
cured at Rt. 3 Raeford last week.
Former Hoke County Commis
sioner Ralph Barnhart reported
that someone had entered a
residence under his care and
removed a water pump, a set of
handles from a sink and damaged
a door.
The total value of the damage
was reported to be around $450.
There are no suspects in the
case, the reports say.
Another breaking and entering
and larceny was reported by
Wyvast Lowery of Raeford.
Lowery reported that his house
had been entered Friday and a
typewriter, stereo, two rod and reel
rigs and a wall plaque had been
taken.
The total value of the stolen
items was around $650.
Sheriff's deputies have the mat
ter under investigation.
Helen Faircloth, of Raeford,
(See CHURCHES, page 11 A)
College study expected by May 15
An architectural feasibility study
or two Raeford buildings being
eyed as possible sites for a satellite
branch of Sandhills Community
College will be completed in the
next two weeks, a Chamber of
Commerce spokesman said Tues
day.
Architects, along with Sandhills
officials, toured the old Bank of
Raeford building and old Raeford
Armory last week, Hoke-Raeford
Chamber of Commerce Director
Earl Fowler said.
Both buildings are being con
sidered as possible locations for
the proposed branch of the college.
Fowler said, noting that the Ar
mory is being looked at "purely"
as a backup for the downtown
bank.
"We're still primarily looking at
the bank building," the chamber
director said.
Fowler and others backing the
school see the college in the Main
Street building as a first step in
revitalizing downtown Raeford.
A completed architectural
feasibility report is expected in the
next two weeks, he added.
Officials are hoping that ar
chitects will determine that the
bank building, which is being given
to the county by United Carolina
Bank (UCB), will be suitable for
the initial school, and that future
expansions might fill other
downtown vacant buildings.
A private grant was provided for
the architectural study, and if
everything goes according to plan a
college branch could be opened in
Raeford by the fall.
Unreported move lands local
woman in county jail
By Ed Miller
A former Raeford resident was
sentenced to six months in jail in
Hoke County District Court last
week after she violated the condi
tions of a probationary term given
earlier for a shoplifting charge.
According to court records, Vic
toria Graham, now of Fayetteville
was originally sentenced to six
months in jail on two counts of
shoplifting.
While serving three years proba
tion, she moved without consulting
Around Town
By Sam Morris
It seems that some weather
system settled over North Carolina
Sunday and Monday. It caused
rain and the temperatures were in
the 40s and 50s for most of the
time. This was not good for the
many people who had a holiday
over the Easter weekend. It even
caused sleet in parts of Virginia
and Washington, D.C. Most of the
country was in better condition
and had a beautiful Easter
weekend.
The forecast is for fair weather
until Friday or Saturday but the
temperatures will be below nor
mal.
? ? ?
Raz Autry appeared at the office
last Thursday and left word that I
wis almost correct on the amount
of peaches that he was expecting
this year.
To put the record straight he has
(See AROUND, page 2A)
her probation officer and was also
arrested again last month and
charged with another shoplifting.
District Court Judge Warren
Pate upheld the original sentence,
records show, and the 31-year-old
woman is to begin serving time at 9
a.m. April 27 in the Hoke County
Jail.
Graham has also been made to
pay about $100 restitution and
court costs, records show.
In another case, John Everett
Davine, of Fayetteville, plead guil
ty to death by vehicle and was
sentenced to three years probation.
According to court records, on
December 10, Davine's car left the
road on the left side and was struck
by an on coming vehicle driven by
Lester David Ray, 54.
Ray, who was driving a 1971
Volkswagen, was pronounced
dead at the scene. Davine and a
passenger in Ray's car were injured
in the accident.
Davine was also fined $500 and
required to pay court costs.
1
Fire leaves trailer total loss
A fire that started around 4 a.m. Tuesday left nothing but a pile of
charred rubble for owner Al McKelthan. According to Hoke County
sheriff's reports, McKelthan and his wife were at work and their
children were at a babysitter's house when the blaze started. No one
was hurt. Hillcrest and North Rat ford fire departments responded to
the fire after being tipped off by a deputy on patrol. When the two sta
tions arrived at the fire, the trailer was totally engulfed, a spokesper
son for the Hillcrest Department said.
In an unrelated case, another
Raeford resident was sentenced to
two years in prison for breaking,
entering and larceny.
Fred Fincher, 42, was sentenced
after pleading guilty to charges of
going into Raeford City Coun
cilman Joe Upchurch's garage and
taking a $180 gas grill.
Fincher was arrested March 5
under a warrant records show.
Another Raeford woman was
also found guilty of shoplifting last
week.
Linda Michelle Johnson plead
not guilty to charges that she
allegedly took cigarettes and
deodorant from the local A&P
store, according to court records.
However, she was found by Pate
to be guilty.
She received a six-month jail
term that was suspended in ex
change for one year probation.
She was also made to pay court
costs and $100 fine.
A Laurinburg man will be serv
Defendant recaptured
after freedom run
By Ed Miller
A routine session in Hoke Coun
ty District Court erupted in chaos
Friday morning after a defendant
bolted from the courtroom and
headed for freedom.
Gary Bease bent over and pulled
away from the grasp of the
sheriff's deputy who was standing
beside him as he appeared before
District Court Judge Warren Pate.
Bease ran from the judge's
bench, leaped over a low wooden
fence that surrounds the front of
the courtroom and headed for the
door, witnesses said.
A spectator in courtroom, Brady
Locklear, jumped from his seat
apparently to try to stop the
escapee, but the effort was to no
avail.
Bease ran down the isle, broke
the glass in the main door and was
on his way out of the building ap
parently before many in the court
room kne* it.
Sheriff's deputy Ronnie Odom
and former deputy Craig Hart
along with detective Ed Harris
gave chase to the escapee.
Cumberland County Deputy
Larry Flinchul cornered the run
ning Bease with his car.
The defendant, who was coming
before the court on malicious in
jury to real property charges, was
recaptured within minutes on Cen
tral Avenue in Raeford in front of
Conoly's Exxon.
According to a spokesman for
the Hoke County Sheriff's Depart
ment, Bease was being arraigned to
drop his charges at the time of the
escape.
An earlier psychiatric evaluation
had determined that the defendant
was not fit to stand trial, the
spokesman said.
Bease is in the Hoke County Jail
awaiting further psychiatric
(See DEFENDENT, page 2A)
ing time in the Hoke County Jail
according to court records.
Jay William Quick, 56, of
Caldonia Road will serve eight
days at the rate of two days per
week-end for three weeks on a
driving while impaired (DW1)
charge.
He started his sentence last
week-end.
Quick, who was arrested last
November 6 also received two
years "special supervised proba
(See DWI, page 2A)
Inside Today
This Hoke County youth
makes it look easy as he sails
effortlessly through the air on
his way to a good leap In the
running broad jump competi
tion held during last Thurs
day's Special Olympics. We
take a look at the games on
page I of Section B In today's
News-Journal.