Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / Feb. 10, 1993, edition 1 / Page 1
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The ews J ournal The 44th issue of our 84th year RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA 25 CENTS Wednesday, February 10,1993 Commissioners change personnel policy in emergency meeting In an empTP’pnrv MnnHav the \4/>T oiirYV»i^« *i ««. • “*i i In an emergency session Monday, the Hoke Board of Commissioners changed county person nel policy to dilute the hiring power of the county manager. The session was apparently prompted by the hiring of a new economic development director. The reason for the meeting seemed unclear to some board members; Chairman L.E. McLaughlin opened the session saying, “there are some misgivings about some things.” “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the hiring and procedure practices for the county,” McLaughlin told the board. McLaughlin said diverse interests and different philosophies “create friction” among the board, and the members needed to find a “common ground.’ llie source of friction initially centered on a personnel decision, from one member’s standpoint. Vice-chairman Riley Jordan said he had some very serious doubts” about how the new eco nomic developer, Dorothy Meacher, was hired. According to county hiring and firing policy, the county manager may hire or fire at his discre tion, without board approval. Barry Reed, in conjunction with Raeford City Manager Tom Phillips, hired Meacher, of Robeson County, to serve in the 75 percent county-25 percent city- sponsored position. “I personally feel I’ve been left out of things,” Jordan said. “I feel I’ve purposefully been passed (See COMMISSION, page 10) House, cars destroyed Firemen are silhouetted against the lights of a fire truck (top) at house fire on Dockery Street last week. One fireman was hurt and a house and two cars (bottom) were destroyed in this Thursday night fire in north Raeford. Johnny Baker, North Raeford Fire De partment chief, said fireman Tim Hair suffered a first degree bum while fightingthefire.Bakersaida bystander pulled on a fire hose, which knocked a downed power line onto Hair’s leg. The live wire glanced off h is leg but burned him enoughthat he requiredtreatment at a doctor’s office. Baker says the cause of the 10 p.m. fire is undetermined. West Hoke, Tylertown and Hillcrest depart ments assisted along with Hoke Rescue Squad. School Board okays year-round school It may be the biggest leap in the county’s educational history. Hoke School Board members voted unanimously last night to use Upchurch Elementary to house the newly approved year-round school program set to begin in J uly. Hank Richards, principal at South Hoke Elementary, will be its principal. The approval for the new school- within-a-school program followed the re-drawing of attendance lines for Scurlock, Rockfish-Hoke and Upchurch elementary schools. Parents of students in the Upchurch Elementary attendance lines will be given first notice, and they can opt to send their children to the traditional pro gram or participate in year-round educa tion with all uansportation provided. Parents outside of Upchurch’s atten dance lines will receive notice in three weeks and must agree to provide their own transportation for their chiltlren. Harrison told the board of die sur- Citizens to discuss issues at March forum You’ll be hearing a lot about Hoke County’s direction in the next few weeks. Organizers of a grassroots planningprocess—known as strate gic planning — are preparing for a giant public forum March 8. The steering committee of the planning group, which met Monday night and is now armed with a $17,250 grant from the Rural Eco nomic Development Center, is hop ing to attract several hundred people to East Hoke Middle School for the forum. Those who attend will be asked to break into small groups to discuss key issues affecting Hoke County. The forum is the first step in de termining what Hoke can do for it self to improve it citizens’ way of life. It’s intended to give everyone in Hoke County a chance to air their views and gel their help in determin ing Hoke’s direction. The planning process, expected to take nine or 10 months, is intended to produce a seriesof low-cost, high- impact recommendations that acom- mittee will charged with implemeni- ing. The process will get help from several regional and state agencies, including Pembroke Stale’s Office of Rural Economic Development, which will help ensure the recom mendations are acted on. Legislative Breakfast is Saturday Hoke will honor its legislative leaders Saturday with the annual Legislative Appreciation Break fast. The event will be held this year at the Wagon Wheel begin ning at 8 a.m. Congressman Bill Hefner, state senators Aaron Plyler and Rich ard Conder, state representatives Frances Cummings, Ron Sutton and Danny DeVane — all Demo crats — are expected to attend. Tickets arc $5 for Chamber of Commerce members and $6.50 for non-members. Tickets must be purchased in advance (by Fri day morning) from the Depot or any Chamber board member. Water bond issue passes Light turnout reported I n one of the lowest voter turnouts in Hoke history, 465 voters said “yes” to issuing over $3 million in water bonds. 'Die public approval allows county officials to begin Phase II of the Hoke water system. A scant 5.7 percent of registered Hoke voters turned out yester day to vote in what Elections director Caroline Shook said is one of the smallest turnouts in recent memory. Puppy Creek showed the largest turnout, with 81 in support and four opposed to the bond referendum. Buchan and McCain voters showed the greatest opposition, gamering 15 “no’s” in each district. A total of only 91 voters thought the next phase in the water system a bad idea. The water bond issue will allow the county to provide water to virtually all geographic areas in the county and “fill in some gaps to make Phase 1 better,” County Manager Barry Reed said. Now residents in the western pan of the county can expect water service in the near future as reniative ptans inctude xhe takeover of the McCain water system and treatment facility, and the addition of a new tank and well in Arabia and an additional well in the airport area. Reed said last year that the McCain take over would remove county dependence on the city water system as a backup and delay the need to sink additional wells. “The Arabia well and tank will stabilize the water system and break that reliance to them,” Reed said. “It would be more like backing each other up.” Beyond providing a city backup, the expanded system could bring on about 1,200 to 1,300 new customers in Bowmore, Quewhiffle and McCain, holding rates down for current users and keeping up the current level of service. (See BONDS, page 7) New economic developer hired veys sent to parents to measure interest, 415 families replied they were “defi nitely interested” in sending their chil dren to a year-round program while 71 teachers said they were interested in moving to the year-round program next year. (See YEAR-ROUND, page 6) Landfill’s life at end Closing in only weeks Hoke County officials must scramble to find a new home for old trash as the landfill nears capacity and a March closing date. Raeford City Manager Tom Phillips said the city-owned landfill nears capacity daily as even the “lailditch,” or space in between stor age cells, reaches maximum capac ity. The cells which are the primary storage areas of garbage arc already full and the taildilch, the only re maining space, is halfway there. “We’re now filling the taildilch,” Phillips said. “When we arrive at the (See LANDFILL, page 6) County Manager Barry Reed can finally take a breather — at least in one role. Last Thursday, he and Raeford City Manager Tom Phillips hired an economic devel opment director. Reed, who served as the eco nomic developer when Pauick Zimmer left last April, said he’s kx)king forward to retiring that hat. Since Zimmer’s spring resigna tion, Phillips said he and Reed held two rounds of screenings before finding Dorothy Meacher of Lumbenon to fill the void. “We went through one screen ing back in the late fall and it was unproductive,” Phillips said. “So we went back and re-advertised. We probably had about 20 to 25 applicants for the position. She brings a lot of experience to the position and a lot of regional experience.” The Taber City native is a married mother of two who will be relocating to Hoke County. Meacher’s daughter is a chemist in Wilson and her son is newly (See ECONOMIC, page 9) Around Town By Sam C. Morris It seems that the weather patple have a hard time when it comes to predicting rain. I was listening last week and a reporter said that we wouldn’t have any rain for five days. It rained early Satur day morning and it rained again Mon day. I hope they forget about snow! The wind Sunday made it feel colder than the ihcnnometer showed. On Mon day and Tuesday the readings were in the 50s and the lows in the 30s. The forecast calls for the high on Wednesday to be in the 50s and the low in the 30s. On Thursday and Friday we will sec highs in the high 50s and lows in the 40s. On Saturday the high will be in the 40s and the low in the 20s. There is a chance of rain on Thursday and early Friday morning. * * * ♦ ♦ Don’t forget that the Raeford-Hokc Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast wdl be Saturday at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant The time is 8 a.m. and the price of the tickets is $5.00 for Chamber members and $6.50 for non- members. All the lawmakers from the district who are from Hoke County will be in attendance, which is three representa tives and three senators. Of course, you will be able to shake hands with many of the local politicians. 1 have heard that some people who may be candidates in the future will also be in attendance. So go by the Chamber office (the depot) and purchase a ticket * V « * * This column is being written before die people of the county go to the polls to vote in the Water Bond Referendum. 1 hope that the bond issue passes because I think that it will be in the best interest of the citizens of the county. If predic (See AROUND, page 16)
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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Feb. 10, 1993, edition 1
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