The
ews
Journal
it happened, it's news to
No. 50 Vol. 93
50 cents
Wednesday, March 14, 2001
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www.thenews-journal.com
This week
Storytelling program
back this spring
page 3B
Hoke Tennis team
victory is first
in 10 years
page 7A
Hip Hop artist
raps about truth
page 1B
Index 1
Births
3B
Calendar
2B
Classifieds
.11-12B
Deaths
3A
Editorials
2A
Legals
6-8B
Public Record
4A
Social News
3B
Sports
7A
TV Listings
4-5B
Around Town
4411
m
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing Editor
The weather for the past
week has followed the same
pattern as in previous weeks.
We have warm days and then
we will have cold days. One
day last week the wind was
like the “Lion of March.” We
still can’t get the rain that is
needed. I guess we should be
thankful that we haven’t had
the heavy snow and tornadoes
that have been in other parts of
the nation. Monday morning
the weather reports said there
were hailstorms in some of
the southern states. As I write
this Monday morning it is
cloudy and we could get some
rain.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday calls for the
highs Wednesday and Thurs
day to be in the 60s and the
lows in the 40s or 50s. Friday
and Saturday the highs will be
in the 70s or 60s and the lows
in the 40s. There is a chance of
rain on Thursday and Friday.
*****
I received the following let
ter last week and 1 thought it
would be of interest to many
readers of this column.
“Dear Sam, my mother and
sisters join me in sending ap
preciation for your column in
The News-Journal. Through
it we keep up with the people
we knew when we lived in
Raeford.
“Mother (Sadie McLean) is
now living at Sardis Nursing
Home, 5151 Sardis Road,
(See AROUND, page 8A)
Budget crisis forces county cutbacks
Hiring freeze, overtime ban blamed partly on loss of $254,000 from state
By VicroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
The economic squeeze is on
after County Manager Bernice
McPhatter presented commis
sioners with a plan on Monday
night paring Hoke’s budget by
at least $250,000 to avoid a
“domino-affect” of diminished
services. Otherwise, McPhatter
estimated the county could expe
rience almost a half-million dol
lar shortfall because of “erod
ing” financial resources on the
state level.
McPhatter says local cutbacks
will compensate for the state
“holding money back because of
deficits.” For Hoke, that totaled
$254,000. The lost revenue re
sulted from declining retail and
manufacturing firms’ sales, and
a Hoke school supplement re
quired of $ 193,000, she added.
“Our only other solution is to
amend the budget with money
from the fund balance to be ap
propriated,” McPhatter told the
board.
However, dipping into the
fund balance was not a favorable
alternative, said Commission
Vice Chairman Bobby Wright
and Commissioner James A.
Leach.
MePhatter’s emergency plan
imposed a hiring freeze, elimi
nated overtime, established a
moratorium on capital outlay
purchases and abolished autho
rizing any purchase orders from
all departments as of yesterday.
However, A1 Schwarcbher,
(See CUTBACKS, page 8A)
J
UJ
I
-V.
Students
in action
J Top: West Hoke
Middle School’s
Winterguard cap
tured first place in
competition re
cently and is shown
performing for the
school’s PTO last
week.
Bottom; 6th grade
students Tiffany
Purcell (left to
right), Carmen
Locklear, and Chris
Graham see a heli
copter from the
inside after it
landed at West
Hoke Middle last
week.
Stories about the
events and others
are on pages 4-6A.
School board eyes
new district lines
Names McLauchlin School principal
By Kristin Guthrie
Staff writer
Anticipating continued growth in the eastern part of the county,
Hoke County Board of Education members last night discussed the
possibilities of redistricting a portion of the county’s middle and
elementary aged students.
The board also made Ginger Johnson principal of McLauchlin
Elementary School. She had been interim principal following the
death of Dr. Jack Burgess in November. Prior to November, Johnson
was assistant principal.
At the outset of the redistricting conversation. Superintendent
Mitch Tyler said, “This is one of those topics you really don’t want
to talk about.” He commented that no one really likes to talk about
changes in their personal schedule, but growth mandates a change in
this case.
According to current district lines, the predicted 2001-02 enroll
ment would place 956 students at East Hoke Middle and 557 at West
Middle. In addition to these students, Tyler said they are expecting
an extra 100 students to pop up as a result of the current growth
taking part in the eastern part of the county.
Because of the growth, Tyler said, “We are maxing out of that
school (East Hoke Middle).” Tyler proposed that the Board take
action to alleviate the overcrowding with the least amount of
interruption. The Board discussed making the new boundary for
East Hoke Middle Rockfish Creek, running from the Cumberland
County line to the Moore County line. Those students to the north
and east of Rockfish Creek would attend East Middle, while those
to the south and west would be in the West Middle district. This
change would affect approximately 244 students currently districted
for East Middle.
If the Board decides at its next meeting to go forth with this
redistricting plan, 712 students would attend East and 801 would go
to West Hoke Middle. Capacity at East is 884, and 812 at West based
on current utilization of space.
Tyler said these lines would still allow some further growth at
East, which he said he believes is inevitable based on growth over the
last several years.
Since the Board was already investigating the possibilities of
redistricting for the middle schools, it also glanced at the possibili
ties for the elementary schools. Board members discussed taking
some 97 students from the Sandy Grove Elementary district and
placing them back in the South Hoke Elementary district, where they
were before the new school was opened. They also discussed adding
(See SCHOOL DISTRICTS, page 7A)
Sandhills Mental Health faces consolidation despite accolades
By VicroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
An area director for the mental health
center that serves Hoke County is ponder
ing a proposed state plan to lump 350,000
clients under one county-operated pro
gram rather than keeping the mental health
services independent. Receiving recent
national accreditation by the Council of
Five Points Horse Park
hosts ‘Horse Trials’
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
St. Patrick’s Day weekend equestrian enthusi
asts from as far away as Canada and England will
view riders galloping cross country, fording
streams from “high ground,” plunging into water
jumps on “low ground,” and leaping over massive
obstacles at the 11 th annual Southern Pines Horse
Trials. Coordinator Lafreda Williams, a Sandhills
Conservancy board member, said the event will
be staged at the new Five Points Horse Park in
western Hoke for the first time.
Befitting this Irish holiday, 280 equestrian en
trants unrivaled as “the best in the world” will be
running in the rye on emerald green race courses
March 16, 17 and 18 at Horace Walters and
Montrose Roads.
(See HORSE TRIALS, page 8A)
Accreditation for Children and Family
Services, Sandhills Center for Mental
Health, Developmental Disabilities, and
Substance Abuse Services was found to
be 98.5 percent compliant in more than 26
of its different programs, and it was as
sessed on 1,100 standards.
Michael Watson, area director for
Sandhills told Hoke commissioners last
month his organization opposed state leg
islation that would take management away
from health professionals and place it in
the hands of one county administration.
He said Hoke would likely not be the
headquarters selected in its region due to
its smaller population. The SandhillsCen-
tercovers21(),000clientsin Moore, Hoke,
Montgomery, Anson and Richmond coun-
ties, employs 325 people and operates on
a $25 million annual budget.
N
Left to right: Credit Union Board members Kemp Grumpier and Betty Joyce Hasty,
County Manager Bernice McPhatter, City Executive Sherry Lucas, Mayor Bob Gentry,
and board members Kay McMillan, Darrin NcNeill and Dr. Bob Nelson.
On Monday,commissionerssupported
Watson’s concerns by signing a resolu
tion seeking that supporters, consumers
and families not be “disenfranchised” in
the decision-making process. However,
the North Carolina Association of County
Commissioners favors the proposal that
would control how local mental health,
developmental disability and substance
(See MENTAL HEALTH, page 7A)
Credit Union
breaks ground
The North Carolina State Em
ployees’ Credit Union broke
ground Tuesday for a 4,800
square foot building in Raeford.
The Raeford branch will move
to Fulton Street and US 401 from
its rented Teal Drive location
where it’s been in operation since
1990.
Sherry Lucas, vice-president
and city executive, said the deci
sion to build conformed to the
Credit Union’s policy, which is
to rent a building until a branch’s
assets reaches $30 million.
Lucas told a crowd gathered
for the ground-breaking she
hoped the building would be open
in late fall.