The ews No. 1 Vol. 94 Visit us on the web www.thenews-journal.com This week Rest home gets facelift^ new management page 1B WHMS Winterguard wins it all page 4A Johnny McKinnon turns 109 page 10 A Index Births 3B Business/Farm 5A Calendar 2B Classifieds 8-9B Deaths 6A Editorials 2-3A Legals 6-7B Public Record 4A Religion 2 A Social News 3B School 10B TV Listings 5-6B Around Town Fr-o’st aWNHIt By Sam C. Morris Contributing Editor Maybe the cold weather has left us. I know that Raz Autry will like this, but he still has to worry about hail. Sunday af ternoon there was hail the size of golf balls in some parts of the state. There was also winds that blew down trees and power lines. Harold Gillis was telling me Monday morning that his power was off for over four hours. Clayton Buoyer said there were trees down in the Thomasfield subdivision. 1 haven’t heard wind make this much noise since the last hurricane. I haven’t had a chance to find out if there was any serious damage to prop erty in the county. The forecast for the remain der of the week, Wednesday through Saturday, calls for the high Wednesday to be in the 60s and the low in the 50s. For the remainder of the week the highs will be in the 70s and 60s and the lows in the 50s and 60s. There is a chance of rain on Wednesday and Thursday. ***** Last week I mentioned two people who sent money for the City of Raeford Museum Fund. Since then 1 have re ceived two more checks, one from James and Dodie Currie and the other from John Reid and Virginia Davis of Oxford. The following letter was with the check from John Reid: “Dear Sam - We supported the Hoke County Library, Hoke County Rescue Squad, (See AROUND, page 5A) J oumal ' If it happened, it's news to us 50 cents Wednesday, April 4, 2001 Deputy shot, men at large for 4 days After pursuing robbery suspects and ramming their car, is shot repeatedly By VicTORiANA Summers Staff writer “Scotland County deputy shot at Park’s Grocery — shots fired —fiveshots;officerdown!”blared across Hoke police scanners around noon last Friday. Inflicted with multiple gunshot wounds from two alleged burglars he chased across the county line, Major Dan Skamperle was re ported in stable condition on Mon day after undergoing surgery. What witnesses said preceded the alarming report was the “cold- Supptcte holt up In houi T, blooded” shooting of Skamperle, accompanied by a frantic air- ground chase and tri-county search for the men who allegedly tried to kill him. A massive four day manhunt was conducted by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and Scot land Sheriffs Office to capture 4 tense days in Hoke ^ a a' .y. Shoot doputy '4, \ Sunroof shoot-out stuns witnesses at country store By Victoriana Summers Staff writer “They were shooting at the deputy from the sunroof of their vehicle as he pursued them down Highway 211 until they pulled off at Park’s Gro cery,” said an eye witness to a macabre Hoke shooting on Friday. “It was almost like something you would watch on TV, but this was real. The deputy did not appear to be firing back at the men from his car because he probably did not want to hurt any innocent people. “If it was not for the deputy being so brave, we could have all been taken hostages or probably Hunt warns planning board to heed correct acreage request By Victoriana Summers Staff writer A request from Hoke’s Plan ning Commission to reduce land parcels from a minimum of 10 acres down to two and one half that would have quadrupled land use was axed by county com missioners on Monday. It was also the consensus of the plan ning commission not to address “road standards” in the proposed text change, said County Plan ner Linda Revels In unanimous opposition, the board denied the request report edly spearheaded by realtor Harold Brock, planning vice chairman, that was approved at the commission’s March meet ing for the second time. In spite of the topic not being announced to the public when the agenda was published. Brock asked the commission to vote on the issue, said Zoning Administrator Donnie Bowen. “1 would hate to think that someone had a hundred acres of Expo goodies From left, Allie Wilson, Dustin Ellis and Chelsea Strickland of Linda’s Child Care examine their pickin’s at the Hoke Expo, held this past Wednesday. The event drew approximately 1, 100. See related story, page 3A. the “armed and dangerous” male suspects described with “bushy hair and messy clothes.” It ended with the pair arrested and placed behind bars on Monday. After the two men surrendered “peacefully” early Monday morning in a wooded area off Pittman Grove Church Road where they were hiding for two days, the SBI charged William Glenn Barefoot and Timothy Lee Jordan with the attempted mur- (See SHOOTING, page 9A) killed at the grocery store. Those two men shot that deputy in cold blood.” At least six witnesses observed suspects later identified by the SBI as William Glenn Barefoot and Timothy Lee Jordan. The pair allegedly at tempted to murder Scotland deputy Major Dan Skamperle, who was chasing them on suspicion of robbery. The law officer was gunned down at Park’s Grocery on Aberdeen Road after he delib erately crashed into the back of the jeep four-wheel drive driven by the men. Two women and four men watched in horror at Park’s country store as the two Fayetteville men (See WITNESSES, page 9A) Dejavu: Board at odds on seat 2nd vote to replace McLaughlin fails By Victoriana Summers Staff writer The chasm widened on Monday night as commissioners re mained at a standstill in their choice of candidates to replace Commissioner L.E. McLaughlin. Former Raeford City councilman Clyde Thomas Jr. and retired school board chairman John D. McAllister continue competing for one seat vacated after McLaughlin died in February. With only 13 days left to decide upon filling the vacant seat of McLaughlin who died of cancer in February, the commissioners admitted they are equally divided in support of Thomas and McAllister. An overflowing assembly room of citizens listened as Commis sion Vice Chairman Bobby Wright brought up the topic of voting on a new commissioner for the second time. A split vote at their March 19 meeting created a stalemate in their positions. “Last time, we had a rather heated discussion about this,” Wright said. “Have any of the commissioners changed their mind?” No one responded to Wright. However, Commissioner James A. Leach asked Charlotte Kelly, Hoke’s Democratic Party chairman, to present her case again. “On March 15 our executive committee met to elect a Democrat to fill the vacancy of Mr. McLaughlin,” Kelly said. “Please accept our recommendation of Clyde A. Thomas, our recommendation.” Leach requested a vote to accept Thomas as McLaughlin’s successor. Leach and Commissioner Tony Hunt supported Thomas. However, Wright and Commissioner Charles V. Daniels opposed him. An echo of Wright and Daniels’ negative response was heard as citizens, who were in support of McAllister, uttered, “No,” in unison. Then Daniels moved to approve McAllister as the new board (See DE JA VU, page lOA) land out near west Hoke and they wanted to sell some tracts, but they would have to sell as much as 10 acres to one person in order to deal with the ordinance,” Brock told the planning com mission last month. “The state has all of a sudden found itself eight million dollars in debt. All of a sudden they are cutting back, and Hoke County is going to be cut back.” According to Brock, the only way for Hoke to pick up the loss (See ACREAGE, page lOA) Raleigh officer accused of child molestation here BY Victoriana Summers Staff writer Two Hoke children are the alleged victims of sexual moles tation, and a Raleigh Police Of ficer has been subsequently charged with the felony crime of taking indecent liberties with children. Thomas Boatman Jr., 41, of Spruce Pine Circle, was arrested last Wednesday for child molestation and later released from Hoke’s Detention Center on a $10,000 secured bond, said Sheriff Jim Davis. Since September 1999, Davis said. Boatman is suspected of allegedly molesting his six and nine-year-old step-granddaugh ters at his Raeford residence. Davis said Boatman appeared to be maintaining dual residency in (See MOLESTED, page lOA) . ^ A resident looks at a downed tree on Barefoot Road in eastern Hoke. Sunday’s winds send trees, power lines crashing By Pat Allen Wilson Editor It would seem nature has played tricks on us for some time now with alternating cold and warm weather. However, warm and cold air got together and managed an April Fool’s Day performance that se'ht a thunderstorm roaring across Hoke County early in the after noon. The storm released lightning, rain, hail and winds that gusted to 53 miles per hour. Trees on power lines were the most serious problem caused by winds, according to Hoke County Emergency Management Coordinator A1 Schwarcbher. Lumbee River EMC, which received the brunt of the damage, received approximately 30 calls during the afternoon. Some area residents retained power while others had their electricity off for hours. Hardest hit by the storm appeared to be a corridor that followed U.S. Highway 401 North east and west, according to Schwarcber. The first 911 call was a response to a two-vehicle accident in western Hoke at the Five Points intersection. The pickup-station wagon collision that occurred just as a tree crashed into a building nearby left injuries. Moments later, a tree crashed into a car being driven on Fulford McMillian Road; the driver was not injured. A downed power line was reported at the Rockfish Rd./Hwy. 401 Business intersection, another vehicle accident with a minor injury (See STORM, page 7A)

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