The
ews
J oumal
il happened; it's news
No. 51 Vol. 92
50 cents
Wednesday, March 22, 2000
Visit us at
our new web location
vvww.thenews-/ourna/.com
This week
Out-of-town man
thanks firemen
for saving him
page 1B
Commissioners
travel to D.C.
page 12A
Index
Births...
3B
Calendar...
2B
Classifieds...
8-9B
Deaths...
4A
Editorials...
2A
Legals...
6-7B
Public Record...
4A
Schools...
.. 10-11A
Socials...
3B
TV Listings...
4-5 B
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing Editor
The weather cooled off for
the weekend. Saturday the
wind was from the northeast
and il felt colder than the ther
mometer registered. Last
Thursday and Friday we had
about two inches of rain be
fore the temperatures began
to drop. As I write this column
on Monday morning it is rain
ing again and the forecast is
for it to continue into Tues
day. This will get the ground
wet and it may hinder the pre
paring of fields for crops.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday, calls for the
highs to be in the 60s and 70s
and the lows in the 40s. Spring
arrived Monday so maybe the
weather will become normal
again.
* ♦ 4c ♦ *
If you receive your paper
on Wednesday, don’t forget
that this is the day for Expo
2000. This event will be held
at the National Guard Armory
on Teal Drive from 10:00 am
until 6:30 pm. The Expo is
sponsored by the Raeford-
Hoke Chamber of Commerce.
1 have heard that all the
Expo booths have been pur
chased for the year so get out
and enjoy the exhibits.
ifc * * 4c
There were two deaths re
cently that touched the lives
ofinuii) Hoke County people.
Marian M. Clark died last
week and was buried in the
Racford Cemetery Sunday af
ternoon. There was a large
(See AROUND, page 12A)
Voter registration sparse for election year
By VicroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
Voter registrations in Hoke
County for the upcoming May
primary and presidential elec
tion in November are lagging
behind the response anticipated
by Board of Elections’ officials.
Out of 1,700 voter registration
applications picked up by candi
dates and registration drive vol
unteers, only 51 completed forms
have been returned, says Direc
tor Caroline Shook of Hoke’s
Board of Elections.
“In 1998, I gave out 3,000
forms to register to vote to candi
dates and special requests for
drives,” Shook said. “We got
back 1,200, which is a lot more
that what we’re receiving back
this year,” she said.
“Now, if all those 1,700 appli
cations come back I gave out this
year. I’ll be singing a new tune,”
she said.
Thus far, 283 Hoke residents
have registered this quarter to
(See REGISTRATION, page 6 A)
■ ‘i’ - ■
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Scene at Thursday’s fatal wreck on Red Springs Road. (Photo by Pat Allen Wilson)
■ ’^"6
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Coach assaulted, parent charged by police
Parent arrested on high school campus
By VirroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
A dissatisfied parent, Jerry Goins,
“went to bat” for his son last Wednes
day, reportedly demanding Robert
Lazauskas, a Hoke County High
School assistant baseball coach, give
Goins’ son more playing time on the
field. According to Lazauskas, Goins’
tirade led to the parent trapping the
coach in hisschool office, where Goins
allegedly assaulted him.
Goins, 40, of Fletch McFall Road
near Red Springs, was arrested on
campus by the Raeford Police Depart
ment, charged with assaulting a school
employee and second-degree trespass
ing. School security guards took Goi ns
into custody while Hoke High Princi
pal Dr. Barry Wall called law enforce
ment.
Lazauskas said Goins’ son, an 11 th
grade student and former member of
the junior varsity baseball team, opened
the coach’s office door on Wednesday
morning to confirm Lazauskas was
inside, stepping back so his fathercould
enter.
“Mr. Goins was completely irate
and it was very scary,” Lazauskas said.
“It was a complete surprise to me. The
problem started at the Tuesday night
game when the student’s mother
(Sandra Goins) approached me after
the game,” he said.
“The whole thing stemmed from
the kid’s playing time and she told me
he was quitting and not coming back
to play,” he said.
According to Lazauskas, Mrs. Goins
called him a “liar” and a “racist” be
fore storming off the field. Her son, a
backup endfielder for Hoke High’s
team, is Native American. Lazauskas
said he tried to reason with her, ex
plaining that based on practice, play
ing time was earned by team players.
Lazauskas, said the team is comprised
of many races, including white, black,
Hispanics and Native American. He’s
taught physical education four years
in Hoke, including one year at
Turlington School. Lazauskas said he
never encountered any problems with
parents before.
“The accusations of Mrs. Goins
were completely unjustified and I never
(See COACH ASSAULT, page 7A)
Board considers buying land for industrial park
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
The Hoke-Raeford Economic De
velopment Board touched on the idea
of purchasing land for an industrial
park. Chairman Dooie Leach brought
up the subject at the board’s regularly
scheduled meeting on March 14.
Leach indicated control of land tar
geted for development would mean
the terms of arrangement for a particu
lar prospect could be dictated.
Leach presented a scenario in which
the value of land chosen by a particu
lar industry might go up while the
government was in the process of
getting sewer and other utilities to the
site or a land owner might back out on
the sale, particularly where several
owners are involved. He said control
of the land would “dictate terms of
arrangement foraparticularprospect.”
Board members admitted the in
dustrial park concept could become
complicated.
County Manager Bernice
MePhatter pointed out that the board’s
current policy is what to do if a
known industry is coming to Hoke.
“The policy doesn’t address the in
dustrial park concept,” she said.
MePhatter said she was in agree
ment with the concept and said now is
the time to start talking about a focused
effort. She pointed out, however, “we
are not the only players... If the county
buys, the county would want to control
where the industrial park goes.”
MePhatter also pointed out that some
areas have already been designated as
future sites for industrial parks. The
county’s Land Use Plan, considered a
non-binding map for future growth,
envisions two major industrial park
areas to be developed.
Economic Developer Don Porter
(See INDUSTRIAL PARK, page 6A)
Raeford-Hoke Expo opens today
SMOllLi COfWMTr COUtGt
lol
II
II
Gloria Virgil, left, staffs the Buie’s Funeral Home booth, and
representatives of Sandhills Community Collge prepare for the
opening of the Raeford-Hoke Expo yesterday. The Expo features
local businesses and is open at the new National Guard Armory on
Teal Drive until 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Wreck in rain
kinswoman
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
A Shannon woman died after the car she was
riding in “hydroplaned” and was struck by another
on Red Springs Road during last Thursday’s after
noon downpour.
Jennifer Ann Jones, 22, a resident of Cook Road
in Robeson County, was pronounced dead at the
scene after the passenger side of the 1990 Ford
Mustang she was in was struck by another car.
Jones’ husband, Timothy Jones, 25, the driver of
the Mustang, was thrown through the back window
onto the pavement from the impact. He and the
driver of the other vehicle, Elbert McBryde, 64,
Rochester Lane, Red Springs, were taken to
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.
The accident happened about 1.7 miles south of
(See FATAL WRECK, page 7A)
Deputy shoots
man in standoff
Man recovers, SBl investigates
By VmoRiANA Si mmi rs
Slatf writer
A Hoke County deputy shot a 19-year-oid man
who allegedly fired a 12-guage shotgun at him last
Friday.
Hoke County Sheriff’s Sgt. Pike Nordgren has
been placed on paid administrative leave, a routine
procedure, after shooting Steven Buffington last
Friday morning. A witness reported the shooter was
wildly firing at a family’s home in a threatening
manner, where a small baby and 12-year-old child
resided. After arriving at the home on New Lane
Drive near Red Springs at about 12:25 a.m., depu
ties, who were trying to prevent a a possible domes
tic violence tragedy, were fired upon by the gun
man.
According to Sheriff Jim Davis, Sgt. Nordgren
and Deputy Tonya Erickson were the first officers
on the scene.
“The subject, Steven Buffington, pointed and
fired a shotgun at the officers,” Davis said. “Sgt.
Pike Nordgren returned fire, wounding Mr.
Buffington in the lower groin area.”
Davis has turned the criminal investigation over
to the SBI, ensuring no departmental policies have
been breached. Davis said this is a standard proce
dure any time a law enforcement officer is involved
in a shooting.
Buffington is still recovering satisfactorily at
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, where he
underwent surgery to repair damage caused when
the bullet passed through his front groin, exiting his
buttock area.
While five people hid inside the home, where
Buffington’s ex-girlfriend, Tabitha Michaelis, 22,
and his 16-month-old daughter were residing, grand
(See SHOOTING, page 6A)
-Relay Round-Up
Tun-raising’
for ACS begins
RELAYS
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AMftWflN
Y«.„r
A TBAJM IVINT TO
FIOMT CAMCIR
Relay for Life, a signature
activity for the American Can
cer Society, will be held in
Hoke County for the third time
this year.
The fun, fund-raising, cancer-fighting event,
with a goal of $60,000, is scheduled for April
28-29 at the Hoke County High School stadium
beginning at 6 p.m. and is to conclude 24 hours
later.
In preparation for the glorified walk-a-thon,
teams of walkers are contacting others for dona
tions and holding their own fund-raisers. Each
week. The News-Journal will announce Relay
for Life events and items of interest — as they
unfold — in the “Relay Round-Up” column.
For more information on Relay for Life, call
(See RELAY, page 6A)
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