Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / Sept. 5, 1990, edition 1 / Page 1
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The News-Journal The Hoke High Bucks defeat Westover 20-14. Photo, page 7. The 2|th Issue of our 82nd year RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA 25 CENTS Wednesday, September 5,1990 Commission assured Tylertown renovations will be corrected Fred Hobbs of Hobbs, Upchurch and Associ ates, promised county commissioners Tuesday morning he would make sure Tylertown renova tions overseen by his company were done right. “Even if 1 have to go out there and do it myself,” he said. The state stopped Hobbs, Upchurch from continuing with the renovation project on 40 homes after a spot inspection turned up poor work. The inspector who had supervised the project, which is paid for with federal Commu nity Development Block Grant funds, has been fired, he said, and the new inspector, Tony Patnode, has a much better working relationship with contractors and local officials. “We didn’t exactly keep the guy around a long time after we determined it was time for him to go on,” he said to explain the lack of some paper- Housf^L work. The change was made, he said, in response to the unsatisfactory rating from state inspectors on the renovation work. But, he said, many complaints levied against his engineering firm were taken out of context or improperly reported. Some complaints were about 11 houses contractors had not gotten to because the project had been halted by the state or because the houses had been left off an initial list, he said. “A lot of the complaints, especially the water logged floors, had to do with the eleven that had not been taken care of,” he said. Those 11 houses were added to the list in an amendment to the grant contract by the commis sioners after a public hearing held in August. Chairman Wyatt Upchurch reminded Hobbs (See COUNTY, page 10) 'll 4 Attorney will probe Supt. Nelson’s actions Outside lawyer hired on Board’s 3-2 vote Pooped All the fun at the House of Raeford’s Employee Appre ciation Day held on Labor Day seems to have taken its toll on this youngster. In the background, the Rose Hill Chorus performs for employees. The day of games, rides, food and music was held at Armory Park. Hoke Literacy Council marks its accomplishments You can read this, but many can’t. The Hoke Reading/Litcracy Council is hoping to reduce the numberof illiterate adults, and is celebrating its accom plishments this weekend with “Literacy Sunday.” The event will also eap off “Dollars for Literacy Week,” a fundraising event that the Council hopes will generate $2,000. Volunteers have been ap proaching local citizens and businesses seeking donations, and Council Direc tor Barbara Buie says reaction so far has been encouraging. On Sunday, the Council will rec ognize its Supporter of the Year, who this year is State Rep. Danny DeVane, andits still-unnamed Student of the Year and Tutor of the Year. The awards will be presented during Literacy Sunday at First Baptist Church. Speaker for the 3 p.m. event will be Raz Autry, former superintendent of Hoke Schools. Autry says he will stick to this year’s national theme of “Literacy: Gateway to the Future,” and talk about “the situation we’re in and why we’re in it.” He says that, after research, he places blame for high illiteracy on manufactur ers. “They’ve said you really don’t need to be educated, and as machinery got more and more complicated, they found they need more education,” Autry says. He says he will also talk about so lutions, which he believes will take the involvement of industry and committed teachers. And he will talk about his personal knowledgeof education. “My father had a second grade education,” Autry says. “So 1 know about how important educa tion is.” In Hoke County, more than 3,000 adults have less than eight years of schooling. It has been estimated that nearly a third of Hoke adults are func tionally illiterate. oke County's Board of Fxiucation has hired a lawyer to look into Su perintendent Bob Nelson's handling of school business. After an executive session at the end of its August 14 meeting, the board voted three to two to hire George Rogister, a Raleigh lawyer spe cializing in school board matters, for "communi cation, policy and other personnel matters." Bill Cameron, Shirley Gibson and Charlotte Kelly voted to hire Rogister. John D. McAllister and Chairman Bobby Wright voted against. The board then voted three to one to record in Nelson's personnel file that the board discussed communication, personnel and policy. Cameron, Gibson and Kelly voted to record the information, Wright voted against and McAllister abstained. The "communication" matter referred to in the motion is an incident in which Nelson allegedly changed architectural plans for the new East Hoke Middle School site without board ap proval. Gibson said Nelson did not properly inform the board of the move, nor did he prop erly seek the board's approval of the revamped plan. Before the School Board bought the land, there was an agreement with the owner to fill in a ditch running across the site. When grading began, Gibson discovered the ditch was still there. "Bob Nelson said, well, we're not going to cover the ditch," she said. "I think he overstepped his bounds when he did that," she said. "It may be in the best inter ests, but if it's in the best interests, why wasn't it taken care of in the first place?" Nelson yesterday agreed he and school de signer Boney Architects decided not to fill in the ditch immediately. "The architect and I made a decision that the board felt they should have been involved in," he said. Gibson said she was contacted one afternoon to approve the plans that same day. "They called me at 3:30 in the afternoon and said they need a decision by 4 o'clock," she said. ”I think he overstepped his hounds ..."—Gibson "One board member has been trying for a year to get Mr. Rogister to come down Itere."— Nelson Nelson said he probably should have sought approval for the change in a more timely manner. He did not seem very surprised at the board's action. "One board member has been trying for a year to get Mr. Rogister to come down here," he said. Contractors have since graded the site so a swale, a very shallow and wide ditch, drains the campus. Nelson admitted the board has never approved that change in the original plans. And Gibson has not been satisfied with the swale solution to campus drainage. She said (See SCHOOLS, page 3) D.R. Huff Jr. dies Time to give: 1 week left With one week lefL here are those who donated $25 or more last week to the John K. McNeill clock campaign. Those who wish to donate should contact Raeford City Hall at 875-8161. Mrs. Georgiana H. Conoly $25 Suoiher Land Surveying $25 Mr. and Mrs. Otis L. Crowder $25 Steven and Terri Parker, N. Wilkesboro,N.C $25 Stanley and Louise Koonce $25 Hoke County Farm Bureau $100 Chalmers and Bessie Parks $25 Mr, and Mrs. C.J. McNeill Jr. and Kitty $40 Mr. and Mrs. James G. Wood $50 Western Auto Store $50 Dwan U. Turner $50 Missy U. Godfrey $50 Wyatt and Mary Upchurch $50 Tarheel HaUrhery Inc $100 A&P Tea Company $25 Deborah Davis Helms $25 Sears Catalog Merchant $25 Raeford Body Shop $25 Irene Thrower . . .. $25 James G. Wood Jr $50 Harold McDiarmid, Jackson, Miss. $25 Henry 0. and Margaret Langdon ....$25 R.E. and Jesse Neeley $25 J.B. McLeod $30 Mary M. Lament $50 Faye Jordan and Family $25 Ken, Holly, Ben and Leigharme MacDonald $25 C.B. Corporation $25 Henry and Eliza Bullard $25 Other $25 Total $7,335.50 Former long-time Hoke Board of Education member and Hoke Soil and Water Conservation District chairman Denver Ralph Huff Jr. died Saturday at Moore Regional Hospital. Huff, 66, was still active in his hay business at the time of his death, though declining health forced him to cut back on his activities, say friends. The funeral was held Monday at Shiloh Presbyterian Church, where he was a member, by the Rev. Frank Neil and the Rev. Kingser Fitch. Burial was in the church cemetery. Huff, a 1950 graduate of N.C. Sute University, served on the Hoke Board of Education for 23 years, much of the time as chairman. He was an active force (See HUFF, page 3) .-'.X D.R. Huft Jr. Around Town by Sam C. Morris The weather was perfect for the La bor Day holiday in Hoke County. The temperatures were in the 9()s, but the rain held off so everyone could get outside and enjoy tlicmselves. Ttie forecast for the remainder of the week calls for temperatures to be in the 80s during the day and in the 60s at night. If we have any rain it will not come until the weekend. So maybe fall weather will come and stay with us for awhile. * If * If you have been watching the ther mometer on the front page of the paper that keeps up wiili tlie Juhu K. McNeill clock fund, you will notice that it has been growing at a steady pace. 01 course if we are to reach the go^ we must have many more contributions and we need some large donations. During the past week the following people have send checks to me to take to City Hall. They are Steve and Terri Parker of North Wilkesboro, Deborah Davis Helms of Charlotte, Stanley and Louise Koonce and Henry O. and Mar garet Langdon. So keep me going to City Hall by sending your donations to me for the Clock Fund. * * * It is only a week until the Hoke County Turkey Festival begins in Raeford. This issue of the paper has a feature tabloid that gives information and pictures of people, events and other things pertaining to the festival. Tlivic are also many advertisements in this issue of the many merchants, businesses and individuals who are backing this event. So get ready now for several days of putting the Turkey Capitol on the map. Many people have put in many hours to (See AROUND, page 7) Assisting A victim of a Sunday afternoon accident on US 15-501 gets assistance from an unidentified man as one of two cars involved burns in the background. Four people were injured when a car driven by a Durham man collided head on with a car driven by a S.C. man. Highway Patrol Trooper J.C. Boroughs has charged Eric Joseph Pauken with driving while impaired, careless and reckless driving and improper passing. Boroughs says the accident occured when Pauken passed a car on a hill and hit an oncoming car as both drivers headed for a shoulder to avoid the collision. Photo by Tom Squier
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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Sept. 5, 1990, edition 1
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