The ews Journal Tf-i No. 10 Vol. 93 Visit us at our new web location www.tbenews-journal.com This week 50 cents Wednesday, June 7, 2000 f Confederate soldier's monument is moved page 1B Habitat For Humanity again breaks ground page 6A Index Births 4B Business/Farm 8B Calendar 5B Classifieds 10-1 IB Deaths 4A Editorials 2A Engagements 4B Legals 8-9B Public Record 4A Religion 5-6B Schools 2,12B Socials 3-4B TV Listings 7-8B Around Town A.- it o E—^ - >« li f.'ii - G « »> « .Hal lEljM: By Sam C. Morris Contributing Editor Many people that I talked with Sunday and Monday were happy about the rain. As I write this column Monday morning we have had about an inch of rain in Raeford over the weekend. It is still cloudy and the forecast cal Is for show ers this afternoon and Tues day. So far there haven’t been any power failures in Raeford or trees blown down. It has happened in other parts of the state. We should be thankful. The forecast for the remain der of the week, Wednesday through Saturday, cal Is for the high Wednesday to be in the 70s and the low in the 50s. Thursday highs will be in the 80s and the low in the 60s. Friday and Saturday the highs will be in the 90s and the lows in the 60s. There isn’t any rain in the forecast. ♦ * * ♦ * Last week I had an item about the death of veterans in 1999. Since then Tom Squier, Hoke County Veterans Ser vice Officer, has been told of the deaths of two additional vets. They are Paul Saunders and Leonard Dunn. If anyone has been missed, call me or Tom Squier. Tom also told me that The Veterans Office on East Elwood Avenue was a drop off point for aluminum cans. The funds from the sale of these cans will go to the Habi tat for Humanity organization of Racford/lloke County. t ♦ ♦ * ♦ (See AROUND, page 9A) Commission kills plan to build offices BY ViriORIANA SlIMMlIRS Staff writer The new $2.5 million Hoke County Administrative Facility is history. Hoke Commissioners voted Monday night to cease construction and will not enter into an “installment purchase contract” for the project on West Palmer Road. After the board nixed the building, it received an ovation from more than 150 citizens op posed to the office complex moving out of downtown Raeford. Commissioner L.E. McLaughlin led the move initially to delay it after the public hearing, then amended his intent to “deny completely” the county office project. McLaughlin, backed by Com missioner Cleo Bratcher Jr. and a decid ing vote from Commissioner Charles V. Daniels, who previously voted in favor of the complex, carried the majority vote to cancel the building plans. (See OFFICES, page 11 A) I ' 51 T’ n M * Hoke High School Class of 2000 graduates Friday Despite heat in the 90s, 238 Hoke High School seniors walked across a stage (top) erected on the school’s football field Friday evening and re ceived diplomas. The ceremony included short speeches from school principal Dr. Barry Wall; the class’s Vale dictorian, Jason Hop;, Salutatorian, Rebecca Tatum; and class president, Todd Galberth. The school’s band played “Pomp and Circumstance” as seniors marched onto the field (left). 2 Hoke teens die in Robeson wreck Two boys remain hospitalized, one in critical condition By ViCTORiANA Summers Staff writer Residents of a Robeson County neighborhood where a fatal crash tKCurred attempted to help the five teenagers who were involved in the accident Thurs day afternoon. Two died and two others are still hospitalized, one in critical condition. Alex Brent Williams, a 16- year-old Hoke High junior, of 126 Hickman Court, and Nico Marshall, 16, of 116 Hickman Court, who attended Hoke High until November 1999, both died at the scene. One passenger, Hoke High junior football player David Tho mas, of Overton Road, remains Valley Medical Center, and 17- in critical condition at Cape Fear (See WRECK, page HA) Scene of a Robeson County accident which killed two Hoke High students last week. (Photo by Pat Allen Wilson) Mystery still surrounds Holmes’ death, preliminary report indicates drowning The preliminary results of an autopsy on Michael Angelo Holmes, the 33-ycar-old Vass Road man whose brxiy was found in a pond off June Johnson Road, indicate he died of drowning. His wrecked car was found the evening of Saturday, May 20, about 6(K) yards from the pond; the body was found by campers six days later. Dr. Karen Chancellor of the state Medical Examiner’s office said the final results of the au topsy will not be made available to the pubi ic for 60 days, and she could not release information on Holmes’ time of death. SBI Special Agent Janie Pinkston said yesterday she had spoken with the medical exam- inerand more testsare beingcon- ducted. Holmes’ body was partially in the water when found. Pinkston said it has not been determined yet if his body was found at the same place in which Holmes had entered the water. “It’s my understanding no one who found him touched him or moved him” prior to the (See MYSTERY, page lOA) Council okays Raeford budget By Kristin Guthrie Staff writer Raeford City Council mem bers voted Monday night to ac cept the 2()()()/2()01 budget with no tax increases, hikes on water and sewer rates or any other sig nificant fee increasesfor services the City offers. The tax rate will remain at $.47 per $100 valua tion, while still providing a 3.5 percent cost-of-living increase for all employees. In an unrelated item of busi ness, the councilmen gave per mission to City Manager Mike McNeill and City Attorney Wil liam Fields to negotiate a con tract with A«&R Railroad. A&R Railroad has agreed to give the city the right away on a section of railroad property in exchange (See CITY BUDGET, page 9A) Hospice GolfTournament drop-in Skydivers from Raeford Skydiving dropped in at the annual Hospice GolfTournament Friday at Bayonet Golf Course. The tournament was the course’s largest ever, attracting approximately 180 golfers. Winners were Tony thacker, Lenn Taylor, Glen Bangs and Harry Sanders. In second place were Dooie Leach, Don Porter, Bill Smith and Charles Crowder. County pares budget to eliminate increase Employee COLA increases nixed By Vk'ioriana Summers Staff writer Hoke Commissioners sent a concise message to taxpayers on Monday night, eliminating any worry about taxes being in creased when the new budget officially begins July I. The rec ommended budget is approxi mately $19.6 million, an esti mated increase of nearly $4.4 million above the past year’s budget. Taxes are proposed to remain the same at 74 cents per $100 property valuation. “The board Itas decided not to raise any taxes,” Commission Cliairman James Leach said. “This board has stated there will not be a tax increase in that (2000- 2001) budget,” Leach repeated. Leach’s promise was a pre lude to a preliminary budget pre sentation by County Manager Bernice MePhatter, regarding expenditures targeted for the next (See COUNTY, page lOA) I t % 4. Democrat head Charlotte Kelly, front, reads a prepared statement calling for party unity. Democratic party head calls for unity, cites ‘divisive tactics’ Unaffiliated candidates are vying in the general election for the offices of county commis sioner and register of deeds. Kelly staled, “This is a ploy that took shape duringthe highly contested and racially divisive Hoke County sheriff’s race of 1998. While the offices sought are dif ferent and the races of the unaf- filiatcd challengers are different, the ploy is still the same.” Evidence of the racial divi sion was obvious at the Hoke Demwratic convention held in Apri I which was attended by only six whitc.s. Kelly announced a unification rally scheduled for August 26 at East Hoke Middle School. Democratic primary winners statewide are scheduled to at tend as well as the N.C. Demo cratic Party leadership. There was no question and answer session following the press conference which look place on the courthouse steps at 12:30 p.m. I’riday. By Pat Allen Wilson Editor Charlotte Kelly, chairperson of the Hoke County Democrats, called for party unity in the county at a press conference held last week. “I want to .strongly encourage Hoke County Democrats to re main loyal to the party and elect Democrats on the local, state and national level in the fall,” Kelly said in a prepared statement. “It is important that we show unity. Where there is unity, there is strength,” she said. Kelly said she does not en courage switching parlies pur posely to divide the community. “If we are Democrats, let us be Democrats and remain united.” A release announcing the press conference — attended by repre sentatives of two Hoke publica tions—stated that divisive tactics have been employed in the county’s politics “which threaten successful elections in the fall.”

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view