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No. 25 Vol. 95
Raeford & Hoke Couwtv w.c,
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
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Remembrance and honor
Woodmen ofthe World Lodge 118 presented a program, In Honor and Remembrance, September 11 atthe Raeford-Hoke
Museum and gave an American flag to the museum committee. More than 50 gathered for the event.
Elections Board
dismisses protests
Sheriff’s sister files appeal with state
By VicroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
The Hoke Board of Elections unani
mously dismissed two protests alleging
a “wave” of elections violations in the
September 10 primary election. In the
well-attended preliminary hearing held
yesterday, the board found no substan
tial proof or “probable cause” existed to
warrant a formal hearing regarding the
allegations of Christina Davis-McCoy,
sister of Sheriff Jim Davis, and Demo
crat observer Thelma Bishop.
An official appeal has been filed by
Davis-McCoy that will be heard by the
State Board of Elections in Raleigh at 1
p.m. today.
In her five-page complaint, Davis-
McCoy spoke of alleged voting impro
prieties that included one of her “coma
tose” relatives voting on an absentee
ballot even though ‘incapacitated.” She
alleged the buying of senior citizens’
votes may have occurred, voter intimi
dation and other civil rights violations.
One of Davis-McCoy’s chief “atro
ciously offensive” concerns focused on
accusations against Onnie Dudley, an
African American and Hoke Elections
Board officer. She alleged Dudley car
ried out campaigning and politicking for
another sheriff’s candidate, conflicting
(See PROTEST, page 8A)
Hoke’s top stories'
are on the web
www.thenews-journal.com
This Week
Turkey cooking contest
part of festival events
page IB
Gainey Road accident
kills Hoke man
{)age 4A
Museum to have
Family Room
page 6A
Index
Births 2B
Calendar 3B
Classifieds 5-6B
Deaths 4A
Editorials 2-3A
Engagements 2B
Legals 3-4B
Public Record 4A
Religion 11A
Schools.. 3B,6B,7A
Socials 2B
Sports 8A
Thousands expected for Turkey Festival
Thursday parade on Main Street kicks off
North Carolina’s premier poultry event
k
The N.C. Turkey at last year’s parade.
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
We started on a roll Friday the 13th
when the Bucks won the Turkey Bowl.
Then it just gets bigger and better as the
week goes by,” Tom Squier, president
elect, says enthusiastically about the 18th
Annual N.C. Turkey Festival.
Planners of this year’s turkey festival
expect approximately 20-30,000 visitors
again this year.
The annual parade, to begin at 5:30
p.m. (rain or shine) Thursday, September
19, will feature 90 entries, according to
Jackie Lynch, executive director of the
festival. She says about 120 arts and crafts
booths and educational stands will be set
up.”
On the Friday, turkey meals will be
served at the traditional Stuffin & Stompin
event. But the big day will be Saturday,
September 21, when Raeford’s Main
Street will be filled with vendors of food
and arts and crafts plus information booths
and medic and military static displays;
dancing, music and other entertainment
will take place on two stages; Civil War
Band of Oz will perform at the Beach Concert Saturday night
history will be reenacted in the field be
hind The Depot; dogs will be paraded and
judged in McLauchlin Park; cars and
motorcycles will be displayed and judged
on the North Main median; children will
be involved in activities from a climbing
wall and petting zoo to pony and minia
ture train rides, and learning how to fish;
cooks will compete in a statewide turkey
cooking contest; and golf and horseshoes
tournaments will take place.
There is more. In addition to the Tur
key Bowl, held this past Friday, a bridge
tournament took place last night, and the
fun walk will be Wednesday night. A 5K
road race begins early Saturday morning,
and opening ceremonies start at 9 a.m.
Saturday.
Saturday’s events will conclude with
the beach concert at Armory Park featur
ing Band of Oz. And on Sunday, the festi
val will end on a spiritual note with a
gospel sing at the library stage.
(See FESTIVAL, page lOA)
Commissioners to limit, lock up county creiiit cards
To reduce chance for abuse, number of cards available to employees reduced from 17 to 2
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke commissioners decided unani
mously Monday evening to enforce new,
stringent regulations regarding the use of
county credit cards. None of the 13 credit
cards designated for particular depart
ment heads or four of the five commis
sioners’ cards will be renewed.
“Well, you can have me taken off the
list,” said Commission Chairman Tony
Hunt, who did not win his reelection bid.
Commissioner Charles V. Daniels
urged the board to “delete” the whole list
until spending policies were rewritten.
However, the board agreed to retain only
two credit cards for general use.
The new charge cards will be locked up
in the county’s safe. Only County Man
ager Mike Wood may grant approval for
using the cards, and commissioners will
be entitled to monitor the cards’ usage.
The policy switch occurred after em
bezzlement indictments were handed
down against former county manager
Bernice MePhatter recently. The indict
ments were followed by an announce
ment by District Attorney Kristy M. New
ton that 14 people in county government
had “excessively” misused Hoke’s credit
cards. Those 14 names have yet to be
released by commissioners.
Commissioner Cleo Bratcher Jr., who
declined ever having a credit card issued
in his name, recommended last Novem
ber that other board members turn in their
charge cards.
In January, the board ordered all credit
cards returned to county offices for safe
keeping. After questions arose during a
special audit about entertainment and
other charges by some county employ
ees, potential abusers were required to
submit justification for some of the ex
penses that were charged.
Names of the individual card holders
included; Hunt, Daniels, Commission
Vice Chairman James Leach and Com
missioner Robert Wright. Other employ
ees in possession of county credit cards
were Holly Shemenski, GIS/Mappingsu
pervisor; Jennie Gibson, tax assessor;
Dennis Baxley, maintenance director; Don
Russell, solid waste director; Mike
McNeill, purchasing agent, Don Womble,
health director. Sheriff Jim Davis; Al
Schwarcbher, fire marshal; Mike Dean,
utilities director; Dennis Bowen, senior
services director; Linda Revels, clerk to
the board; Robert Mercer, Social Services
director; and Shirley Rush, finance direc
tor, who was also indicted by the Grand
Jury.
Assistant Finance Director Scott
Edwards had asked the board for guid
ance. In order to avoid the potential, of
(See CREDIT CARDS, page 9A)
Hoke Elections Board certifies primary
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
The Hoke Board of Elections certi
fied the primary election last Thurs
day, announcing there were nochanges
in the state results or any local races
for sheriff, clerk or court, or commis
sioners. Final tallies indicated 5,944
citizens voted, representing 32.45 per
cent of the registered voters, said
Caroline Shook, director of Hoke’s
Elections Board.
“Our board canvassed the returns
last Thursday on the approved sched
ule provided to us by the State Board
of Elections,” Shook said. “The large
tally sheets were satisfactorily re
checked from the polls.
“The results from each precinct were
originally tabulated by the precinct
officials, and they were consistent with
our count.”
Inspecting the voting tapes for ab
sentee and one-stop voting, the board
added in 66 provisional ballots to the
totals. That did not affect the outcome
of any races. Brovisional votes were
utilized for citizens who may have
been unsure of their voting status on
primary election day.
“The provisional votes were veri
fied,” Shook said. “We approved 66
out of 100 that were turned in.
“1 am very grateful for everyone’s
participation in this primary.”
Shook said she appreciated the vot
ers’ response, but would like to see
more people come to the polls for the
November election. The 2002 primary
surpassed the 1998 race. Only 4,079
people voted in the 1998 primary, rep
resenting 28 percent of the registered
voters, she said.
Shook reported two protests con
cerning the election have been filed;
both were discussed in a hearing yes
terday with the elections board. Voters
Christina Davis-McCoy and Thelma
Bishop had complaints of election ir
regularities, Shook said.
Final vote totals for Hoke included:
Sheriff
In the sheriff’s race. Democrat
Hubert Peterkin, a Fayetteville Police
detective and African American, won
with 2,890 votes over Sheriff Jim
Davis, also an African American, who
received 1,802 votes. Peterkin formerly
served as chief deputy-major under
Davis, who was the first African
American sheriff to ever be elected in
(See CERTIFIED, page 9A)
No one wants credit for controversial
flyer distribted at polls during election
Staff writer
Some voters expressed concern and a
few candidates criticized a political flyer
distributed at some polls on election
day. It endorsed certain local and na
tional Democratic candidates such as
incumbent Hoke Sheriff Jim Davis, who
lost in the primary, and U.S. senatorial
candidate Dan Blue, who led votes in
Hoke.
Use of the pamphlet was condemned
by A.K. “Dooie” Leach, chairman of
the Democratic Party. “It is the most
outrageous characterization,” Leach
said. “It depicts racial discord that I do
not think exists in Hoke County.”
So far, no one has come forth to take
credit for publishing the leaflet.
The flyer includes drawings of a bark
ing dog on a chain, a lynching of an
African American male, and tombstones
in a cemetery on the front. The caption,
“Not voting is wrong! We’ve paid for
the right!” was accompanied by an illus
tration of an African American man
placing his vote in the ballot box.
The flyer also stated, “Until we gain
the ballot and place proper public offi
cials in office, this condition (of second-
class citizenship) will continue.
“Necessity will draw us toward the
power inherent in the creative use of
politics.”
The flyer alleged the slate of candi
dates was endorsed by the Hardee’s
Breakfast Buddies, a group that frequents
(See FLYER, page 8A)