Police arrest
armed robber
See page 8A
Check out DkksonPrt'sv, Inc.
The News-foumaVs
home page at:
http://www. dicksonpress. com
Farming — Hoke's
big business
See page IB
ugh-
five
The
No. 42 Vol. 88
Deputies
make arrest
■ Three men arrested
in robbery of Hispanics
By Nicole Gabriel
Staff writer
H oke County Sheriff’s
Department and
Raeford City Police of
ficials arrested three men in Fay
etteville last Monday for the al
leged robberies of county His
panics.
Twoother men are still at large.
Sheriff detective David New
ton said sheriff deputies arrested
Carlos Garcia, David Rivera and
Hector Felix, all of Fayetteville,
in connection with the robberies
targeting local Hispanics.
In all of the cases, the victims
were robbed at gun point by men
claiming to be Immigration and
Naturalization Service and other
law officials.
Raeford City Police Detective
Mack High said Luis Colon
Lebron and Felix E. Diaz Casas
Luis Colon Lebron
are still at large.
Newton said Garcia faces two
counts of robbery with a danger
ous weapon, one count of first
degree kidnapping, two counts
of impersonating a law enforce
ment officer and four counts of
attempted armed robbery.
Rivera is charged with five
(See INS, page 8A)
liquor by drink
to go to voters
By Nicole Gabriel
Staff writer
Hoke County voters will have
to decide whether they want li
quor by the drink in the county.
The County Board of Com
missioners voted 3 to 2 at last
night’s meeting to add the issue
to the Phase III Water Bond ref
erendum.
Lynn Worley-Davis, who
owns the Old Mill Restaurant
with her husband, proposed the
idea, saying the voters should
make the decision.
Chairman Jean Hodges, who
was absent from last February’s
meeting when the issue of put
ting the sale of mixed beverages
to the voters failed, voted for it
this time.
Commissioners Cleo Bratcher
Jr., and Thomas Howell also
voted for putting the issue on the
ballot, while vice-chairman
James Leach and commissioner
L.E. McLaughlin Jr. voted
against putting it on the ballot.
After Davis proposed the idea,
Leach asked her if the citizens
really supported liquor by the
drink.
Davis started “Citizens For the
Right to Vote For or Against
Liquor By the Drink” last year
after the board backed out of
previous decision to put it on the
ballot. Davis rushed to get a pe
tition with 35 percent of the reg
istered voters, but succeeded in
acquiring 1,900 valid signatures,
she said. She needed 4,000 sig
natures.
Leach asked her then if this
was really what the citizens
wanted.
Howell said he thought the
issues were being confused.
“The issue is, is this board
going to allow the people of the
county to decide for themselves
on the sale of mixed beverages,”
(See COUNTY, page 7A)
ews
Journal
‘If it happened, it’s news to us’
HOKE COUNTY SO CENTS
Wednesday, January 22, 1997
K
('i
Sk
County celebrates
King’s birthday
“When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every
village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will
be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men
and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Prostestants and Catholics
will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spirtual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are
free at last!”’
—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Hoke County residents gathered to celebrate the birthday of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. this week. From a parade in Fayetteville
in freezing cold temperatures to projects of school children and a
banquet held at Hoke County High School, the county marked the
memory of a man who stood for equality for all people.
Above, the Hoke County delegation to the Martin Luther King
Jr. parade bundles up against the cold temperatures to remember
King. Holding posters with King’s picture, the group was enthu
siastic about the parade, despite chilly temperatures. Right, the
Rev. Elle Graham leads the delegation with a lively tune on his
drums.
Nor was the parade the only event in which Hoke residents
participated. School children around the county learned about
King’s philosophies and his struggles. A banquet at Hoke County
High School also commemorated King’s life and the changes he
helped bring about during the Civil Rights Movement.
Photos by Amy Oarkson
•*
7
V
THIS WEEK
Accent IB
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 7B
Deaths 6A
Editorials 2A
Legals 6B
School News...4A
Social News.... 3B
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing editor
The coldest days of winter
came over the weekend. It was in
the teens at night and got up to
about freezing temperaturesdur-
ing the day. The wind was blow
ing and this made the wind chill
factor seem about zero. It warmed
up Monday and the thermometer
registered in the 5()s. I hope that
this is the cold weather for the
year.
The forecast calls for the tem
peratures to rise Wednesday and
Thursday with the highs in the
60s and the lows in the 40s. Fri
day and Saturday a cold front
will come through and the highs
will be in the 50s and the lows in
the 30s. There is a good chance
of rain on Thursday.
♦ ♦ ♦ * ♦
Last Saturday afternoon, 1 was
watching the North Carolina
State - Clemson basketball game
and all of a sudden the television
screen was covered with snow.
The picture would fade in and
out and then snow covered the
screen for a longtime. I went into
another room and I watched the
game on a set that has rabbit ears.
On Monday afternoon, on
(See AROUND, page 7A)
Habitat plans new year start
By Kristin Guthrie
Staff writer
Efforts to establish a local
branch of the nationally recog
nized organization of Habitat
for Humanity are well underway.
After two public meetings, the
group has formed a steeringcom-
mittee.
The steering committee met
last night at Antioch Presbyte
rian Church to discuss some of
their more pressing issues. Be
fore becoming affiliated with the
international organization of
Habitat for Humanity, some lo
cal issues must be resolved.
To begin, the local branch of
Habitat for Humanity had to
come up with an appropriate
name. Last night the steering
committee voted to name the lo
cal branch the Raeford-Hoke
Habitat for Humanity.
The steering committee also
needs to send an official request
to use the Habitat for Humanity
International name. This request
is also in the process of being
completed.
In addition to coming up with
an official name, the steering
committee was also notified that
they needed to submit a housing
assessment form with an esti
mate of the needs in the county.
This information is currently
being processed by Carol
Birckhead, director of the Hoke
County branch of the North Caro-
lina Cooperative Extension Ser
vice.
The steering committee also
needs to work on form ing a board
of directors and five committees
entitled family selection, family
nurture, development, site selec
tion and building. These posi
tions are open to all interested
parties at this time, so if there are
any people who would like to be
nominated to serve they should
(See HABITAT, page 6A)