The
ews
Journal
The 41st issue of our 84th year
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Wednesday, January 20,1993
Rockfish-Hoke completion date now estimated to be April 1
Hoke School officials hope they won’t be
fooled April 1. That’s the tentative deadline for
completion of the Rockfish-Hoke Elementary
School.
Assistant Superintendent Don Steed said
setbacks ranging from bad weather to steel
construction plagued the project, but construction
is moving right along.
“The two major setbacks were steel erection
and the weather. We’ve had some terrible
weather,’’ he said. “I think over 60 percent of the
problem has been weather.”
Weather caused problems, he said, but work
manship hasn’t.
“I think the quality of work is superb, even
though it’s taking longer than we originally
anticipated. We’ve had no problem with any of
the prime contractors. We’re very pleased with
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Workers prepare a bridge for concrete on a new section of US 401 where widening is in progress.
401 widening still on schedule
Construction to widen High
way 401 between Raeford and
Fayetteville is still on schedule
according to officials.
Buck Clark, an engineer for tlic
Division of Highways, says widen
ing to four lanes of the first section
— from Seventy-first High School
to Waysidc Rd. — should be com
pleted in December.
The remainder should be com
pleted in 1994.
Woman shot,
fleeing in car
A 17-year old Raeford girl was
taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical
Center Monday afternoon after be
ing shot, deputies said, by her boy
friend.
The girl, Stephanie McCain of
Iris Street was released from CFVMC
Monday evening and reported in fair
condition.
According to Hoke Sheriff’s
Deputy S.C. Todd, McCain argued
with her boyfriend in Queenmore,
who then allegedly shot her through
the back windshield of her car. The
girl drove to the Robbins Heights
area.
Tcxld said she was shot with a .25
caliber automatic weapon in the back
(See CRIME, page 3)
Ratley Construction and Owen Smith Architects,
the firm which oversees the project.”
As of Friday, Steed said the last portion of the
school was enclosed with windows, and contrac
tors hope to turn the heat on sometime this week.
Steed said once the heat is turned on, the
project will progress more quickly.
“It’ll dry out the entire structure, and then they
can start hanging light fixtures, painting and
doing ceiling work.”
Then rooms can take on the more “scholarly”
look as workers hang chalkboards and interior
doors.
He said he anticipates crews will complete
about 85 percent of the building by this week
before turning on the heat.
Once most of the interior construction is
(See ROCKHSH-HOKE, page 8)
Hoke studies joining
regional jail facility
Sheriff says proposal too costly
T he Hoke Board of Commissioners will
look into joining a regional jail center
to form the third such center in N.C.
According to a tentative list of options for the
County to address the grow'ing need for jail
space, an independent assessment firm recom
mended for Hoke to join with Stanley, Rich
mond, Anson and Montgomery counties in
constructing the facility.
Howard Geisler of GSA, LTD. in Cary, the
research firm which studied Hoke’s jail, said
regional jail facilities already exist in the state
and in Virginia, where the state government
provides counties with financial incentives to join
a regional system.
“The idea is a facility designed for a given
group of counties designed to meet their specific
needs,” he said.
The Hoke jail currently has bed space for
approximately 28 inmates, he said. According to
Schwarcbher, the jail is overcapacity with 62
people.
Geisler said GSA numbers were conservative,
but he said Hoke would still need at least 45 beds
in the jail by 1997, and projects a need for 116
beds 10 to 20 years from now.
He also predicted a need to expand the size of
the jail from its current 4,500 square feet to at
least 27,0(X) square feet as soon as possible and to
44,0(X) square feet in the next 20 years.
“In square footage, the jail is very inadequate,”
Geisler said.
County officials agree the county needs more
jail space, but did not decide what to do about the
overpopulated facility.
Sheriff Wayne Byrd and Chief Jailer Alex
Schwarcbher long complained of overcrowding
in the Hoke jail, but both said the GSA estimates
of the county’s future needs falls short of reality.
Byrd and Schwarcbher said they were not
contacted to provide accurate information for the
study.
Geisler said a new jail could accommodate 10-
year jail population projections at the price of
about $3 million to $4 million.
“The options tend to be to build a new jail, not
add on to the existing facility,” Geisler said.
But where to put that new jail remains a ques
tion.
Byrd and Schwarcbher said if the county joins
with others to build a regional facility the costs
for the county would increase while administra
tive control would decrease for Hoke.
Both also mentioned the possibility of needing
more space than would be provided in that type
of contractual arrangement.
GSA officials told the commissioners under
the proposed concept, Hoke and all counties
involved would take part in the administration of
the facility. Another concern mentioned by Byrd
is transponation costs of prisoners, which he said
would be absorbed by the district facility.
“There would be no other cost than the per
diem costs,” GSA representatives said.
The group said Hoke and the other proposed
(See COUNTY, page 5)
Hoke Schools may attain
full accreditation next year
Hoke schools may gain full accreditation if
scores continue to rise as in this year’s Report
Card, issued by the Depanment of Public Instruc
tion. But the system must make up for lost
ground to avoid losing it’s partially accredited
status. Superintendent Dr. Bill Harrison said.
School systems must meet at least 75 percent
of criteria set by the state for full accreditation.
This year Hoke met approximately 63 percent of
the 34 standards.
Harrison said school officials looked to meet
75 percent of the accreditation standards over a
three-year period.
“My hope was that we would increase the
V
number of standards met by 10 percent this year,”
Harrison said. But the system surpassed that goal
with a 15 percent increase in standards met,
leaving only 12 more percent before receiving
full accreditation. And Harrison thinks Hoke can
get off the partially accredited list next year.
“If we can get 12 percent next year, we’ll be
fully accredited. We’re closer, we exceeded our
goals this year and our goals are realistic.”
Although Hoke’s overall scores remain below
state averages this year, the system made substan-
titd gains in the four core subject areas, according
to the report.
(See SCHOOLS, page 4)
Around Town
ERT-
A Raeford woman was shot in the neck while driving this car Monday afternoon.
By Sam C. Morris
The rain and cloudy wcathercamc
to an end last Wednesday aftemtx)n.
The sun came out and many people
were blinded when it first broke
through the clouds. I didn ’i hear from
anyone to say if this was a record
without the sun shining, but I did get
a call from Mary Peele last Thursday
night and she stated that since the
day afterThanksgiving we have had
one full day of sunshine. Of course
we had sunshine for parts of a day,
but only one since Thanksgiving.
Maybe a record was set.
The past few days have had high
temperatures in the 40s and 50s and
the lows at night have been in the low
30s. On Sunday and Monday inom-
ings. there was a big frost and the
windows of cars had a nice coat of
ice on them.
The forecast calls for tempera
tures Wednesday and Thursday to
have highs in the 40s and the lows
will be in the 30s and low 40s. On
Friday and Saturday we will .see the
highs in the 50s and the lows in the
30s and low 40s. There is a chance of
rain fhursday night and Friday morn
ing.
*****
We have finally been a few days
without the llag flying at Crumpler’s
Funeral Home. I can’t remember as
many deaths as we had from just
before Christmas until a week ago.
(Sec AROUND, page 12)