The
ews
Journal
The 23r(l issue of our 83r(J veor
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Wednesday, September 18,1991
Byrd sworn in as Hoke’s new sheriff
H oke Coutity lias a new shciiff.
County commissioners voted Monday
niglit 3-2 to make Wayne n\rd, one of
five finalists for the job, sheriff.
Commissioner L. E. McLaughlin nominated
Hyrd, Neill McPhatter seconded and Cleo
Bratcher voted for Byrd: Tom Howell voted for
Daniel Brock; Chainnan Wyatt Upchurch voted
against both nominees.
After commissioners narrowed the field
down from 16 applicants, Byrd was selected from
a group that included Daniel Brock, Frank
Cnimpler, Jim Madden and James Robertson.
Byrd told reporters he hoped his apjx)int-
ment would quell bad press Hoke County has
been getting over the removal—for misconduct—
of Sheriff Alex Norton by a Superior Court
judge.
“1 hope we can get down to mtiking some
changes in the department,” Byrd said.
Chief District Court Judge Warren Pate
swore Byrd into office before commissioners and
an audience of about 50 Monday night.
Byrd chose some deputies to swear in the
same night; others were unavailable; still others,
Byrd said, he wanted to talk to first. Byrd swore
more deputies in Tuesday morning.
Byrd said he had expected the swearing in
ceremony to be held Tuesday morning, giving
him more time to gather all the deputies together
and speak wi,.i those he felt he needed to.
At least seven deputies had not been re
sworn by Tuesday afternoon, but Byrd declined
to say which ones. He said last night only one
deputy—Det. Weaver Patterson—definitely will
not return to a job in the department, apparently
by Patterson’s choice. Byrd also said this morn
ing he had not “heard a word” from Jimmy Riley.
Patterson, a captain under Norton who was
shifted to the Hoke-Robeson Drug Task Force,
had applied for the job of sheriff and had failed to
make the final five.
Patterson started his law enforcement career
in 1978 as a Raeford policeman; he joined the
Sheriff’s Department in 1980, moving up through
the ranks to detective in 1984 and chief of detec
tives in 1989.
Sheriff Norton moved Patterson to the Drug
Task Force after firing Det. Jim Curtis, who had
been the department’s representative on the task
force.
Byrd said when he got home last night he
was informed Patterson had asked that officials
come out and get his cruiser. Patterson was in the
building when commissioners made their deci
sion, but never approached Byrd about his job.
Byrd said he had not heard from Patterson until
he called about his equipment.
Jimmy Riley, who was chief deputy under
Norton and was demoted to chief jailer, applied
for the sheriff’s job, but did not make the final
five.
Byrd has made three significant additions to
his staff; Brenda Price, Mike Wood and Alex
Norton.
Byrd swore Norton in as auxiliary deputy
Tuesday morning.
“He offered his services to me last Saturday
for the transition period,” Byrd said. “I told him,
(See SHERIFF, page 6)
Judge blasts commission
for court space problem
Chief District Court Judge Warren Pate blasted
Hoke County commissioners Monday night for
dawdling over plans to build a new courtroom
and court office spaces.
Tlie need for a new courtroom has become a
crisis and the county had no plan to house court
officials when the lease on tlieir building expires
Oct. 8, he said.
“Somebody has dropped the ball here,” Pate
.said.
Commissioners have planned since September
1988 to renovate the Raeford Auto Company
building on Main Street across from the county
courthouse for courtroom and office space.
But soil tests showed the ground on which the
building sat was contaminated with gasoline that
leaked from rusty, underground tanks.
Meanwhile, the courts’ case lo; d has skyrock
eted, Pate said, and District Court catinot be
cancelled when Superior Court is held in the
courthouse’s one courtroom.
He and District Court Judge William
Mcllwain have been using the county commis
sioners’ room in the county offices to hold
District Court when Superior Court is being held
in the courthouse. “We have really Oeen
using it on a very frequent basis since we joined
with Scotland County in this new district,” he
said.
But there are just too many cases for the
commissioners’ room to handle, he said.
“I had a session in the court room, we had 240
cases on the calendar that day,” Pate said.
"Somebody has dropped the ball here”-
Chief District Court Judf^e Warren Pate
“The defendants and witnesses and so forth
were in the street,” he said. “We had to post a
deputy at this door and that door to call out to see
if the defendants were even there.”
In another incident, Pate said he found himself
in a doorway between two men held on murder
charges and four felons; and their friends who
had been talking to them through the locked door.
“There I am sandwiched between these four
men who are friends with these other six danger
ous men with one armed guard.”
He worried that packed crowds in the commis
sioners’ room could get rowdy, even violent, with
no way to control them.
“There is no way for a deputy even to get to a
knife fight if one broke out in the court room.”
“It is just a matter of time before we have an
incident in this courtroom in which someone will
be seriously injured or even killed,” he said.
It’s time, Pate said, for commissioners to hurry
up and do something about court space.
(See SPACE, page 9)
New Hoke Sheriff Wayne Byrd (left) takes the oath of office as Judge Warren Pate presides.
County gets new ag agent
Hoke County got a new agricultural
extension agent Monday night, almost a
year after the last agent moved on to
another job.
John Gary Warren will start working
out of Hoke’s Agricultural Extension
office October 1.
The Hoke County Board of Commis
sioners approved Warren unanimously
at Monday’s meeting.
A graduate of North Carolina State
University with degrees in crop science
and adult education, Warren most re
cently spent three years with the
Nonhrop-King Seed Co., and has 10
years experience in agricultural exten
sion.
He has also worked for a chemical
company.
Warren will answer public questions
on crops, livestock, home planting and
trees, said Hoke Extension DiiectorCarol
Birckhead; Warren’s answers will be
backed up by research alNorth Carolina
State University and North Carolina
Agricultural and Technical State Uni
versity.
“Everybody that checked up on him
said he was really good,” Birckhead
said.
Warren, whose specialty is tobacco,
may also plant demonsuation crops and
perform research.
Warren replaces Willie Feathers tone,
who moved on to another job last Octo
ber, and Richard Wood, whose job was
phased out last summer.
Commissioners pass
law for garbage fees
Commissioners passed a law Mon-
(See AGENT, page 4)
N.C.Turkey Festival
ready for thousands
"Si
This is it. The week thousands will
flock to Raeford for the seventh North
Carolina Turkey Festival.
The city is cleaning roads and trim
ming grass; the weathermen keep pre
dicting perfect weather for Friday and
Saturday; and the Turkey Festival board
of directors has held its last meeting.
A few highlights:
• For the first time in festival history,
a magic show has been scheduled. Ma
gicians David Vanderveer (“the
chainsaw juggler”), Eddy Wade and
Rosie the Magical Clown will delight
the crowd at Raeford’s Armory Park
Friday starting 6 p.m.
Tickets arc $2 in advance (you can
get them at the Chamber of Commerce
office in the old depot on Main Street) or
$3 at the gate.
In the unlikely event of rain, the magic
show will be held at Turlington Middle
School’s auditorium on W. Prospect
Avenue.
• Saturday is the only day postal
officers will be cancelling cards and
letters with the special Turkey Festival
rubber stamp.
Letters cancelled with the special
stamp are already a big hit with col
lectors. Festival board member La wanna
(See FESTIVAL, page 4)
s
Around Town
\
Thp rimith ViPW
Turkey Festival.
I
f iqpr! rlnimptl the Tiir'Pv Bowl the first contest of the N C
South View defeated the Hoke High Bucks 28-3. Un
daunted, Bucks Coach Waller Barnhill says the team is readyingfor its game
Friday against number one-rankea Seventy-first.
By Sam C. Morris
Summer is going out as it came in,
hot. The temperatures over the weekend
and the first of the week were in the 9()s
during the day and the lows at night were
in the 70s. We haven’t had any rain and
many plants and grass need rain. It is
good for the cotton farmers as they pick
their crop.
The forecast calls for it to cool off for
the remainder of the week. The highs for
Wednesday and Thursday will be in the
80s with the lows in the 60s. Friday and
Saturday we will see the mercury drop
into the 70s during the day and the lows
will be in the 5()s. There is a chance of
rain on Wednesday and Friday.
The Turkey Festival is now in
progress with some events starling the
first of the week. The opening ceremo
nies will be Thursday morning and the
parade will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Other events are planned during the re
mainder of the week, but the big day will
be Saturday.
Let’s hope we don’t have any rain.
♦ ♦ ♦
It was 51 years ago this week that the
two National Guard units of Racfonl
wcrecallcd toacliveduly.They were 1st
Bn. Headquarters Battery and Battery
“F’ of the 252nd Coast Artillery. The
(Sec AROUND, page 6)