The
ews
I oumal
'If it happened^ it's news to us'
No. 31 Vol. 91
50 cents
Wednesday, November 4,1998
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www.dicksonpre5s.com
Unofficial
Election
Results
8A
•r4f,
Church
Homecoming
Page 1B
Births 4A
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 9-1 OB
Deaths 4A
Editorials 2-3A
Engagements 3B
Legals 8B
Public Record 4A
Religion 6-7A
Socials 3B
Sports 9-1OA
TV listings 6-7B
Weddings 3B
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing Editor
The weather has been nice
for the past week. We have
finally gotten away from the
90 degree temperatures. We
could have used some rain. It
seems that it was about a month
ago since it rained. As I write
this column on Monday after
noon, the weather report im
plies that we could have some
rain tonight or Tuesday morn
ing. 1 hope so.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday, calls for
cooler weather. The highs for
the period will be in the 5()s
and the lows in the 40s or high
30s. There could be some rain
on Thursday.
♦ * ♦ ♦ *
The participants of the
Leadership Hoke will start
work on Thursday. The day is
known as History Day and
they will travel over the county
and be informed at many
places about the history of
Hoke County. The program is
sponsored by the Raeford-
Hoke Chamber of Commerce
and Sandhills Community
College.
Once again I will give the
(See AROUND, page 5A)
Raeford #5
sweeps Davis
into office
1
By Pat Allen Wilson
Staff writer
At 10:30 p.m. last night,
Wayne Gardner was leading Jim
Davis by 344 votes in the race for
sheriff. One precinct, the pre
dominantly black Raeford # 5,
was yet to come in, and, for
Gardner supporters, that was the
killer. At 10:40, the precinct chief
judge arrived and gave the vote
count to an election official. With
eight votes for Gardner and 544
for Davis, the victory went to
Davis.
The final count was Davis,
3,748; Gardner, 3,556. If the un
official vote stands, Davis will
become Hoke County’s first
black sheriff when he takes of
fice on December 4.
Yet to be counted are more
than 200provisional votes.These
are ballots that will be held until
the voters are verified. Elections
officials will begin verification
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Davis won the Democratic
primary in May, defeating in
cumbent Sheriff Wayne Byrd by
(See DA VIS, page 12A)
98 Election Davis wins
Al
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By a margin of approximately 200 votes, jim Davis defeats Wayne Gardner in Hoke County’s most
watched contest.
Judge drops charges against Hicks in Sivak case
By Pat Ai.len Wilson
Staff writer
Because he had been delayed
by accidents on Aberdeen Road,
Sheriff Wayne Byrd almost
missed Superior Court Judge
Jack Thompson’s announcement
in Sanford that Deputy Frank
Hicks, 42, was“justified in using
deadly physical force” when he
shot David Michael Sivak, 32, to
death on Labor Day weekend in
1997. Byrd, who has supported
Hicks and kept him on staff duty
even after he was indicted on
voluntary manslaughter charges
almost a year ago, had not missed
a day of the trial that lasted just
over a week.
The judge ruled first thing
Tuesday morning to dismiss the
charges against Hicks after his
attorneys motioned fordismissal
late Monday. The trial was held
in Lee County after a change of
venue was granted when Hicks’
attorneys said a fair trial could
not be held in Hoke County be
cause of adverse media public
ity.
When the judge’sdecision was
made. Hick’s attorneys, Neil
Yarborough, J. Michael
McGuinness and Randy Gre
gory, patted Hicks on the back
and shook his hand. Hicks’ wife
and mother, sitting behind him,
hugged each other. Byrd received
congratulations from members
of state law enforcement organi
zations that had been following
the proceedings closely.
Sivak’s family sat silently in
the listeners’ area. Only as people
were filing out of the courtroom
did David Sivak’s widow, JoAnn,
shed tears as she hugged his aunt,
Lucille Brooks.
“Dav id was wronged,” JoAnn
Sivak said. “He (Hicks) hasn’t
gotten away from it. We’ll all be
judged someday.”
Sivak’s mother, who had cried
often during proceedings, agreed.
“David wouldn’t hurt anybody.
We know David.”
’’We’re not saying David was
right, but he did nothing to get
killed for,” Brooks said.
At the request of attorneys,
Hicks’ weapon that had been held
as evidence, was returned to him,
Otherevidence wasordered tem-
(See HICKS, page 12A)
t
Locklear, Smith,
Pilkington win
school boarci seats
Jl
\\
Morehead nominees
A dinner honoring the 1998-99 Morehead nominees from Hoke and Moore counties was held last
Wednesday at the Pinehurst Resort Club. Hoke County nominees include Alicia Del Carmen Raymond
(front row, third from left), Saralyn Smith (back row, left) and Aaron Locklear (not pictured). All nominees
were introduced by Morehead and N.C. Merit Awards Selection Committee member Harold Gillis, who
attended the event with his wife, Peggy- Tom Howell and his wife. Selection Committee member Kim
Howell, also attended. The nominees experienced the first round of interviews last Friday and will learn
later this month whether they advanced to the next round. (Knight Chamberlain photo)
From staff reports
Teddy Locklear, Russell
SmithandTom Pilkington edged
Leo Salzer and John Harry in
Tuesday’s election to become
Hoke County’s newest school
board members.
Unofficial results show
Locklear with 2,955 votes. Smith
with 2,346 and Pilkington with
2,056. Salzer tallied 2,025 and
Harry got 777.
In other election results:
• Democrat John Edwards took
Hoke County by an almost 2-1
margin over Republican Lauch
Faircloth, 4,395 to 2,202, enroute
to winning Faircloth’s U.S. Sen
ate seat.
• Democrat Mike Taylor de
feated Republican Robin Hayes
by more than 2,000 votes in Hoke
County, 3,867 to 1,847, but
Hayes won the overall election
to take the 8th Congressional
District seat left vacant by Bill
Hefner.
• The Clean Water and Natu
ral Gas referendums were also
overwhelming winners, clean
water winning 2,645 to 635, and
natural gas winning 2,212 to 910.
Commissioners take next step
toward ecxrnomic development
..
_
By Pat Allen Wilson
Staff writer
Monday night, Hoke commis
sioners took another step toward
economic development in the
county by voting unanimously
to rezone to Highway Commer
cial approximately 140 acres in
the vicinity of U.S. 401 Busi
ness, U.S. 401 By-Pass and Club
Pond Road. The Hoke Planning
Board had recommended ap
proval of the rezoning.
The property, in four tracts,
belongs to Duncan McFadyen
111, Nash Johnson & Sons Farms
(Marvin Johnson, president),
William J. McNeill and Mr. and
Mrs. James R. Riley.
McFadyen, an attorney, spoke
for the landowners. He said his
property is zoned RMH and the
other properties are zoned RA-
20. He said the land is “a prom
ising area for commercial devel
opment.”
No one else spoke either in
favor of or in opposition to the
request.
The land is in one of three
areas approved by commission
ers at an October 19 meeting for
sewer service extension as major
capital projects to encourage in
dustrial and business develop
ment.
The Highway Commercial
zone allows for businesses such
as convenience stores, fast food
restaurants and motels.
In other busines.s, commis
sioners approved a rezoning re
quest from RA-20 to R-15 for a
95-acre tract of land located on
Hobson Road. The Planning
Board had recommended ap
proval of this request.
Firefighters at the scene of a trailer fire that is believed to have been
deliberately started. (Pat Allen Wilson photo)
Arson suspected in trailer fire
setting the fire.
Several neighbors said they
heard an explosion just prior to
the fire in the trailer in Roscoe’s
MHP at the intersection of Blue
Springs and Old Maxton toads
about five m iles south of Raeford.
Owner Roscoe McCollum said
(See FIRE, page I2A)
By Pa I' Ai len Wilson
Staff writer
The owner of a vacant mobile
home that was burned the night
of Octobti 26 is offering a $5,000
reward for information leading
to the arrest and conviction of the
person or persons responsible for