The
ews
The 9th issue of our 83rd year
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
Journal
25 CENTS
Wednesday, June 12,1991
Hearing on sherifif
•*
enters seeond week
i*
Pen pals
Students at Scurlock Elementary School last week met
soldiers they wrote to while the soldiers took part in
Desert Storni. More than 20 soldiers from Ft. Bragg took
part in games and classroom work, and dined with the
students.
Plan: mali:e Upchurch
an elementary school
A committee told the School Board last night
the best future use for Upchurch Middle School,
scheduled to be abandoned in August, is as an
elementary school.
“Our first priority is to deal with the over
crowding,” Assistant Superintendent and com
mittee member Lavetta Horton said. She said
even with the addition of a new elementary
school near Rockfish next year, the schools are
pushed to their limits.
The concensus of the committee was to solve
the crowding problem first; therefore, the com
mittee made only the one recommendation, she
said, with the possibility of rethinking the prob
lem if school population figures don’t rise as fast
as predicted.
“A lot of these things are based on projections
Wtlcomej
to
Raefordl
from the state,” committee chairman Dooie
Leach said.
The committee also strongly considered mak
ing Upchurch an alternative school, Horton said.
An alternative school could mean any one of
many things; a place for students with disciplin
ary problems, a high tech magnet school, a center
for gifted and talented students.
“It could be any special segment of the popula
tion,” Horton said.
The committee also recommended the School
Board keep Upchurch’s gym, library and cafete
ria open to public functions.
“They’re really pretty good assets,” Leach
said.
He said the state suggested the board demolish
(See UPCHURCH, page 14)
I ,
.r
V,
Prosecution still presenting case
D istrict Attorney Jean Powell began calling
wimesses last Wednesday to testify in the
petition to remove Alex Norton from his
job as Sheriff of Hoke County.
She continues calling witnesses today in the
trial heard by Superior Court Judge Donald W.
Stephens.
On Wednesday, Stephens dismissed a motion
by the defense to throw the case out on grounds it
is unconstitutional.
The first witness called was the sheriff himself;
County Attorney Duncan McFadyen, who got
permission to sign the petition by unanimous vote
of the county commissioners, started the ques
tioning.
Some wimesses since then have testified
directly about Norton’s actions; several have
testified about circumstances in Hoke County
Jail, which is Norton’s responsibility.
Some witnesses, responding to questions from
Norton’s attorney, Randy Gregory, have upheld
Norton’s character; none have put it down.
The petition, filed May 7 and amended May
30, accu.ses Norton of willful and habitual neglect
and refusal to perform the duties of his office and
of willful misconduct and maladministration in
office.
That language is taken from North Carolina
General Statutes, which specifies reasons a
sheriff may be removed from office by a judge.
The petition alleges Norton:
• failed to properly administer the Hoke
County Jail by failing to adequately protect adult
inmates under the age of 18 from those over 18
by segregating them at night; allowing a man to
be held in jail for five days before charges were
levied against him; and denying attorneys access
to their clients in jail;
• failed to apprehend suspects in a drive-by
shooting by driving in the opposite direction from
that of the cai‘ suspected in the crime;
• told a deputy to commit a felony by altering
court records;
• failed to charge a jail cook with a felony after
a detective told him he had seen the cook, a felon
on probation, in illegal possession of a handgun;
• failed to perform his duty through the timely
sale of a van seized to be sold to satisfy a
Robeson County court judgement;
I
Norton Powell McFadyen
• neglected to send a deputy to investigate a
breaking and entering reported to his department;
• failed to make policies that w'ould require a
prompt response to reports of criminal offenses,
giving priority to those still in progress; and
• broke state law by opening a bank account
with funds from a gun auction.
Sheriff Hubert Stone takes stand
Hubert Stone, sheriff of Robeson County, took
the stand out of order yesterday as a witness
called by the defense to shield Norton’s reputa
tion.
He stood up for Norton’s character and work
ing relations with Robeson County under ques
tioning from Randy Gregory, Norton’s lawyer.
“/ think a felony is a felony. I’m not going to cover
up a felony charge”—Hubert Stone, sheriff of
Robeson County
But he said he would have done things differ
ently from Norton when questioned by the Dis
trict Attorney.
Stone said Norton had done an excellent job in
helping set up the Hoke-Robeson Drug Task
Force, a two-county law enforcement group
dedicated to arresting drug dealers. He said
Norton has “substantial input” on creating the
task force.
The task force has increased the number of
drug arrests in both counties. Stone said.
He said Norton has a good reputation for
honesty and integrity.
He said he empathized with Norton’s pres
sures: “The drug situation’s gotten worse and the
public demands more from law enforcement.”
He said there is nothing unusual about a sheriff
(Continued on page 11)
Shooting wounds three;
! is turned over to FBI
Three people were wounded Wednes
day evening in a shooting that occured
just north of Hoke County’s border with
Fort Bragg.
Sheriffs officials and ambulances
were called to an address on Hobson
Road near its intersection with Plank
Road on the Army reservation.
Sheriffs detectives were unable to
comment in detail as a probe into the
shooting was turned over to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
Drug Task Force
arrests Hoke man
A Hoke County man was arrested by
the Hoke-Robeson Drug Task Force and
charged with growing marijuana.
(See CRIME, page 14)
Around Town
• t •,
^ V-
Fatal accident
A beach trip ended in tragedy midday Sunday when Bobby Wayne Norman,
41, of New London was killed in this accident at West Palmer St. and
Highway 211. Norman was driving this truck home from the beach when it
crossed the center lint of Palmoi St. and struck the mirror of an oncoming
car. Highway Patrol Trooper K.R. Snead Jr. says Norman continued to the
intersection, ran the stop sign, attempted to turn left, and was struck by a
Jeep Cherokee driven by Lorie Dawn Hogan of Pinehurst. Six people were
injured. Snead said seatbelts helped a few of the victims and would have
helped a few others.
By Sam C. Morris
The cool weather last week didn’t
last long enough. Monday and Tuesday
the thermometer was once again reading
over 90 degrees. The humidity is now as
high as it was a couple of weeks ago, so
the heat doesn’t seem as bad. We need
rain badly, but it doesn’t seem to be in
the forecast.
The forecast for the remainder of the
week, Wednesday through Saturday,
calls for the high temperatures to be in
the high 80s and low 90s. The lows for
the period will be in the 60s. We could
have a thunderstorm on Wednesday.
Maybe the summer weather is here to
stay.
* * *
Last week 1 had an item in this col
umn about the addressing of mail and
how it should be addressed for you to be
sure to receive it. After the item ap
peared I received the following post
card.
Dear Mr Morris:
Thank you for your article in The
News-Journal. You’d be surprised at the
number of people who have commented
on your article.
Thanks again,
Margaret Thaggard
1 am glad that people have been going
to the post office to find out about the
new system. If people would give every
one the correct address, then it would
speed up the delivery of our mail.
♦ ♦ ♦
While on the subject of mail, I would
like to comment on something that is
amazj ng to many people of Hoke County.
That is the receiving of cards and books
from organizations that you don’t want
to donate money to or from v. hich you
don ’ t want to purchase cards or boola. If
you ever send money to one of these
organizations, they must give your ad
dress to every other group that uses this
(See AROUND, page 9)