The
ews
Journal
The 48th issue of our 84th year
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Wednesday, March 10,1993
Parents petition with 210 names asks board to protect students
Ann HjirHin cm/t ic . n.! «.
Ann Hardin said her 18-year-old boy was walking
to class at Hoke High School recently when another
student stuck a gun to his chest.
The other boy was suspended, but Hardin fears he
may try revenge for being reported.
So with a 210-signature-sm)ng petition in hand,
Hardin asked the Hoke Board of Education to provide
more protection during school hours.
“I do want to see security in the school before
something happens,” .she told The News-Journal
Friday. “1 just hope he doesn’t have any more prob
lems for the rest of the year.”
Hardin said .school officials told her Hoke High’s
problems pale beside other systems, but she said the
problems with weapons in school still exists to an
alarming degree.
“I’m a volunteeron campus and 1 sec,” she said. “It
is bad out there and they just don’t want you to know
it. Hardin said she, like other parents, hesitated to
take a,stand on weapons in .school until an incident
happened to her child.
Now .she hopes to unite parents in an effort to keep
schools sale.
Notxidy wants to go to the trouble and get in
volved until it’s your child,’* she said. “1 don’t want to
see us get into the problems other schools have.”
Another parent, who would only go by the name
“Betty” said her learning disabled daughter was
attacked several times by other students at one Hoke
school, and that the teacher did nothing.
The mother also said her daughter was stabbed
with pencils, and she had to remove lead from her
child’s legs.
Hardin made many suggestions to the Board,
including fencing in the campus, providing full-time
(See PETITION, page 14)
w
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A child wanders in the midst of five handcuffed men arrested on drug charges, and the Hoke deputies who arrested them Friday in the South HoKe
area. The child was handed over to family members after the raid.
Five arrested as deputies raid home, club
Thirteen officers from the Hoke Sheriff s
Department, along with Cumberland County
Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) officers,
descended on a drug operation in Antioch
Friday.
Around 4:30 p.m., officers moved in on a
trailer owned by Leveme Dial and a club
owned by Elisha Dial. In a relatively short
time, officers were confiscating from the
mobile home drugs, weapons, moonshine and
stolen property in an on-going investigation
of Hoke crime.
Det. Greg Beard with the Hoke Sheriffs
Department said officials had received lips
indicating that stolen property and drugs wgre
in the club and armed persons were awaitirig
law enforcement officers on Friday. Deputies
found neither.
“The majority of the operation was in the
trailer, but it was flowing into the club,”
(See RAID, page 9)
Year-round school gets enough interest to fly
So far more than 180 parents said “yes” to
year-round school in Hoke County.
As of Monday, school officials reported 189
applications for the newly-approved year-round
program, scheduled to kick-off this July at
Upchurch Elementary School. Of those, 52
applications came from Upchurch students.
Superintendent Bill Harrison said applica
tions poured in from all over the county, and
they keep coming with two weeks left to apply.
Last month the school board unanimously
approved a school-within-a-school program at
Upchurch, and carved a new school attendance
district from Rockfish-Hoke and ScurlcKk
elementary districts. South Hoke’s principal.
Hank Richards, won the new principalship for
the innovative program.
During the two-week intercessions, one
week of remedial tutoring will be offered free
of charge while enrichment classes will be
offered for a $50 fee.
In a recent survey, 415 families replied they
were “definitely interested” in registering their
children for the year-round program, and 71
teachers said they were interested in teaching at
the school.
The school board gave Upchurch parents the
first oppttrtunity to apply to the program, then
others were eligible. Parents outside Upchurch
attendance lines must provide their own truns-
portation for their children.
One Upchurch parent, Karen Boahn, said she
would sign up her daughter for tlic year-round
program no matter where they lived.
“It’s better for her, and you don’t lose lUj
much during the summer,” she said of the
scattered terms. “I’d still sign her up for year-
round, even if we lived out of the (Upchurch)
(Sec YEAR-ROUND, page 14)
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
The rain that was predicted for last
week came in Wednesday afternoon and
before it ended Thursday we had over an
inch and a half. Since the ground was
wet it ran off in a hurry. Many places in
the stale had flooded streets and some
entire housing developments were af
fected. 1 didn’t read of anyone losing
their life during the heavy rains.
We have had some cold weather this
winter and many mornings have brought
forth heavy frosts. But so far it has been
mild compared to some winters we have
had. The temperatures Sunday and Mon
day were near the 70-degrec mark dur
ing the daytime hours. The lows were in
the low 40s.
The forecast calls for the highs
Wednesday through Saturday to be in
the 50s and the lows for this lime period
will be in Ific ''Os. No free7ing temiK'ra-
turcs are forecast. Therf is a chance of
rain Friday night and into Saturday morn
ing.
« * * *
If you talk to Raz Autry and other
peach growers, they would tell you that
they would like to sec cool weather until
the second week in April. If the peach
blossoms will hold back until then, they
will have a chance to survive tliis year.
Last year the warm weather in March
caused the trees to bloom and the late
cold snap desu-oyed about 90 percent of
the crop. Let’s all hope we have peaches
this year!
* * *
1 attended two more graveside ser
vices this past week. On Saturday Mary
Alice and I wentto Wadcsboro to attend
the service for Louis H. Foglcman’s
mother. Louis is publisher of The News-
Journal and lives in Fayetteville. His
mother was ‘JO years of age.
(See AROUND, page 16)
Ross given 30 days to pay
off debts or lose radio station
The Rev. James Ross and sup
porters anxiously wailed in the WHIL
offices last Wednesday as an attor
ney began foreclosure proceedings
on Hoke’s only radio station.
The court will give Ross 30 days
to pay back defaulted debts or per
manently shut the dtxirs on the sta
tion.
Proceedings against 1400 AM
station came after Ross and hisorga-
nization. Gospel Tabernacle Enter
prises, Inc. amassed over $93,000 in
debts.
Ross told The News-Jounial he
has no plans for a last-minute rescue
of the doomed gospel station and
refused to comment on how long he
will stav in the area
Confiscated equipment from the
F our hundred
address issues
during forum
I n what organizers described as one of the largest forums of
its kind in North Carolina, 400 Hoke citizens cited schools,
jobs and infrastructure as key issues facing Hoke.
The citizens turned out to help leaders construct a plan for the
area’s future.
“You are here to give us the internal environment of your
county,” Pembroke State University’s Dr. Bruce Mattox said.
Community leaders enlisted the help of Mattox and his staff to
develop a strategic plan for Hoke’s growth.
Participants separated into seven groups at East Hoke Middle
School and brainstormed to compose a list of positives and nega
tives of the county.
Uncontrolled growth topped the list of concerns, with lack of
mass transit, too much crime, problems in schools, lack of recre
ational opportunities and lack of shopping rounding out the list.
Groups unanimously noted Hoke’s friendly character and small
town flavor as major pluses.
‘T think everybody agrees Hoke County’s ready for change,
ready for economic development,” Mattox said. “Most groups
recognize the opportunity to cooperate with other counties for
regional solutions,” he said. “There’s a great concern for people
and the quality of life.”
Many expressed specific concerns in the individual meetings,
and some residents complained about the format of the meetings.
“I w'as disappointed,” Ruth Green said. “It wasn’t what I thought
it was going to be. I was expecting to ask and answer questions. I
felt it was sort of haphazard.”
Green and her husband said they came because they wanted to
discuss how they feel western Hoke Countians receive fewer
services than other areas.
“In western Hoke County, nothing is ever done. There’s no
water, no cable,” she said.
Western resident Dorothy Monroe said she also wanted to see
the west acknowledged as a viable area by local leaders.
“I just wanted to find out what they were going to do to get the
county to work more together,” Marie Fowler said. “If we all work
together we can clean the county up.”
Resident Jennifer Imperial said the level of interest impressed
her. “It’s pretty much what I was expecting,” she said of the
sessions.
Jim Dougherty, chief planner with the North Carolina Depart
ment of Natural Resources and Community Development
Fayetteville office, said turnout was encouraging. “This is the
largest (forum) I’ve seen. We usually have about 100 people. I
(See FORUM, page 8)
i
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station is slated for the auction block
on March 13looffsctan$8,(K)0 debt
to William Coleman Jr. in 1991.
Sgt. David Smith with ihe Hoke
Sheriff’s Department said a station
employee went off the air so depu
ties could remove equipment from
the site on Central Avenue.
Then Smitli said Ross borrowed
equipment from friends to pump life
into the station after temporary per
mission from forecloscrs to stay on
the air.
Where Ross and his followers will
go remains a question to officials.
Ross told The News-Journal in a
September interview he woultj move
to a church in Georgia and eventu-
allv start aT V ministrx there \t
(Sec ROSS, page 8)
Vicki Jones oilers ideas in a small group session at Monday's public forum.