The
ews
No. 26 Vol. 93
Visit us at
our new web location
www.thenews-journal.com
This week
Festival photos
page 1B
False alarm over
water closes
turkey plant a day
page 5A
SBI: insufficient
evidence to say
death was murder
page 6A
Index
Births 2B
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 10-11B
Deaths 6A
Editorials 2-4A
^ Legals 8-9B
Public Record 6A
Religion 4B
Schools SB
Socials 3B
Sports 9A
TV Listings 6-7B
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing Editor
The weather for the past
week has brought plenty of
rain to the county. There were
different amounts of rain in
the county. Some people that I
talked with said that they had
six inches and others said five
inches. According to my rain
gauge there was over four
inches of rain at my house.
We didn’t have the flooding
like we did several weeks ago
because it was raining for
many hours. We can be thank
ful that there wasn’t any strong
wind with the rain. I haven’t
heard of any destruction, such
as down trees or roofs being
blown off. Maybe we will es
cape the bad storms and hurri
canes this year.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday, calls for the
highs to be in the 70s, and the
lowsinthe 50s. Itwillbe cooler
and no rain is in the forecast.
4c 4c ^ *
The turkey festival went on
even with the rain. It was nice
Thursday afternoon for the
parade and the units moved
down Main Street in clocklike
fashion. Saturday the booths
on Main Street were in place
and many people visited the
booths, when the rain would
let up.
The concert Saturday night
went on as scheduled. Of
course I could hear the music
at my house, but it didn’t in
terrupt my sleep. I still won
der why the lights were left on
all night at Armory Park.They
(See AROUND, page 4A)
Journal
it happened; it's news to
50 cents
Wednesday, September 27, 2000
Davis sends county concerns to Reno
Complains to US attorney general of county mismanagement
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Sheriff Jim Davis says $106,000 in
federal grant monies “earmarked” for the
sheriff’s department were allegedly mis
managed by the county. Davis alleged the
majority of those funds may have been
“supplanted” by the county’s finance of
fice, or used by county officials without
his “knowledge and approval.”
Davis addressed his concerns during a
press conference last Friday. He said
Hoke’s finance office sought reimburse
ment for equipment, submitting cost re
ports to the Governor’s Crime Commis
sion in November 1999.
“Where is the money?” Davis said. “I
have not purchased one thingof thisequip-
ment designated from this grant.”
Davis said he has contacted U.S. Attor
ney General Janet Reno and state Attor
ney General Mike Easley, sending them
copies of letters related to his concerns.
According to Davis, funding was sup
posed to be used for purchasing items
such as weapons and supplies. Instead, he
said monies were allegedly diverted by
the county for “expenditures unrelated”
(See SHERIFF, page 9A)
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Clockwise from top: Kids eat as they watch entertainment at the library stage; a child gets a taste of the
weather; the turkey on parade.
'What rain?'
Festival declared a success
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
It didn’t rain on our parade
Thursday, but there was enough
rain the following two days to
cause some turkey festival events
to be canceled and to thin out
festival crowds.
“I still think it was a good
festival,” said Jackie Lynch, ex
ecutive director of the lb"" An
nual N.C. Turkey Festival held
here Thursday through Saturday.
Thursday, dubbed “poult
day,” dawned with cloudy skies
but the rain held off until all events
planned especially for the young
sters were over at about noon.
Weather for the late Thursday
afternoon parade was nice, but
many of Friday’s outdoor events
were rained out. This did not
include the turkey cooking con
test, which was held under a lent.
Folks anxious to have their
festival fun seemed to make up
for it by a record-breaking atten
dance at the Stuffin and Stompin
dinner that also featured boot
scootin’ and karaoke.
Early Saturday vendors put
together their booths in rain for
the street fair. “The vendors.who
did set up had a good day from
what 1 could find out,” Lynch
said. “The volunteers all showed
up, even in the rain. They were
great.”
Vendors paid $45 for their
booth areas on Main Street, and
some elected to forfeit the money.
Bob Rochelle of Swansboro
said he and his wife got up at
3:30 and drove through rain to
get to Raeford then put up their
tent in a driving rain. “We kinda
(See FESTIVAL, page IIA)
Governor Hunt sends commendation
to Children’s Developmental Center
BY Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Director Shelley Daniels and
the staff of Children’s Develop
mental Center in Raeford were
recently recognized by Gov. Jim
Hunt for their efforts in promot
ing the development and well
being of children. Daniels was
“surprised” by Hunt’s personal
interest, saying it all began with
a letter from pleased parents.
Lacy and Adrienne Graham
mailed a letter to the governor’s
office to tell him about the ex
traordinary progress their three-
year-old son, Tyler Graham,
achieved while at the local cen
ter. According to Daniels, the
Grahams told Hunt their son ad
vanced to a level comparable to
his three-year-old peers.
“He made such improvement
here that he was no longer eli
gible to attend,” Daniels said.
“The Grahams placed him in an
other center, but they said he
missed us so much. We found a
place in our regular daycare pro
gram for him.
“Now, Tyler, who was previ
ously developmentally delayed,
is with other children who are
age-appropriate.”
In his letter. Hunt said he was
“impressed” by the high quality
of staff teaching and standards
used at the Raeford daycare and
preschool.
“Lacy and Adrienne Graham
told me of the wonderful and
caring work you and your staff
perform daily at the Children’s
(See HUNT, page I2A)
Stepson, stepfather arrested in separate rape incidents
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
A rape of a 32-year-old
woman at gunpoint that occurred
early Sunday morning was fol
lowed by the successful capture
of the two suspects the same day,
says Major Thomas Carlton of
the Hoke Sheriff’s Department.
The victim was asleep when two
teenagers, Eugene Bullard and
Gary McLean, allegedly broke
into her Harmony Heights home
between 4:30 and 6 a.m. One of
the teens reportedly raped her.
In an unrelated incident last
Friday, McLean’s stepfather,
Michael Bethea, was arrested by
sheriff’s Detective R. Melendez.
Bethea is suspected of the statu
tory rape of his 14-year-old step
daughter. It is undetermined if
McLean is the brother of the girl.
Melendez said. According to
Melendez, Bethea’s alleged
sexual assault of his stepdaugh
ter occurred from September 1 to
September 30, 1999.
McLean, Bullard and Bethea
remain in the Hoke Jail.
Bullard, 16, of Victoria Drive
in Parklon, and McLean, 16, of
Red Springs Road, Red Springs,
were both charged with first-de-
(See RAPES, page 4A)
Rich in history, the former Mildouson School was destroyed by fire
early Monday morning. (Photo by Cary A. Wilson)
Mildouson school
goes up in flames
By P \t Allen Wilson
Editor
Rubble is.all that is left of the
historic Mildouson School after
an early morning fire swept
through the building Monday.
A passer-by called the Emer
gency 911 number at 4:44 a.m.
reporting smoke and tongues of
flames coming out of the roof of
the building.
The school, owned by Gearnes
and Madeline Jones of Shannon,
had been leased by a church. The
New Faith Ministries, since Oc
tober of 1999.
Because the burning of a
church was involved, Hoke
County Fire Marshal A1
Schwarcbher called in the Arson
Task Force of Wilmington, the
FBI from Charlotte and the SBI
of Fayetteville. Those agencies
quickly determined the cause of
the fire to be accidental. “Prob
ably electrical,” Schwarcbher
said. It is thought flames began
in the ceiling.
No one was in the church at
the time it caught on fire and no
injuries were reported, accord
ing to Schwarchber.
The former school’s location
isinafarmfieldat 154Mildouson
School Road near where the high
way intersects with North Old
Wire Road in the Dundarrach
community. The red brick build
ing was built in the early 1920s.
Firefighting units responded
from Stonewall, Hillcrest, City
of Raeford, Rockfish, Puppy
Creek, North Raeford, South
Antioch. Firefighters from Lum
ber Bridge assisted.
Also assisting were
FirstHealth EMS-Hoke, Hoke
Rescue and the Hoke County
Sheriff’s Department.
School is rich
in history
In the Gold Hill section
of southeastern Hoke
County at the intersection
of SR 1453 and SR 1105
there was an old school
building that dated back to
soon after the Civil War,
and unsurprisingly was
known as “Gold Hill”
school.
In a nearby neighbor
hood, located on what be
came the Upchurch farm,
was another small school
that burned. This school
was rebuilt with three rooms
in the village of Arabia,
about 2.5 miles northeast
of Gold Hill and about 1.5
miles northeast of
Dundarrach. There for a
number of years the school
was successful under the
leadership of D. Scott Poole
and W. L. Caddell. Again
(See HISTORY, page 1 lA)
J
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Lumber Bridge firemen arrive to fight the fire at the old school.