Military Briefs
November 12,2003
THE NEWS-JOURNAL
Raerord, N.C.
3A
McGougan is
in Navy basic
Terrell Lamond McGougan, a
1999 graduate of 1 loke Cou nty H igh
School, recently began U.S. Naval
basic training in Great Lakes, Illi
nois.
McGougan is the son of Mae
McGougan and Leroy Smith, both
of Lumber Bridge.
Terrell McGougan
Raeford woman receives spouse-of-year award
Diane Richardson cited for commitment^ 'willingness to help where needed'
D’Annunzio talks about
Paraclete company
The KiwanisClubof Raeford met
for its weekly meeting on November
6 at the Raeford Civic Center.
Reports were given on Terrific
Kids, Santa’s house, soccer tram, and
a new club in the Carolina’s district.
Congratulations were extended to
Ki wanian John Jordan on his re-elec-
' tion to the city council.
Margaret Crumpler was respon
sible for the program. She called on
her husband, Kemp Crumpler, to in
troduce Tim D’Annunzio. Tim re
sides in Raeford and is the founder
and president (h is w i fe serves as CEO)
of Paraclete Armor & Equipment, a
manufacture plant in Saint Pauls. 11 is
firm specializes in the design and
production of products for military
and sport parachute markets. The
company has grown from 180 em
ployees to near 400. lie doesn't ex
pect employment to exceed 499. The
high rate of unemployment and the
availability of space have benefited
his business greatly.
Hisfirm manufactures many prod
ucts that are used by the military. For
demonstration, he brought a Releas
able Assault Vest (RAV). Using this
vest, he showed the many features
which have been incorporated into
making it a very practical use of
equipment. It is made of Mil. Spec,
material and bomb proof production
and will provide years of reliable
service. This vest is equipped with a
Spec-Ops Plate that has the ability to
take six hits of 7.62x54 and two hits
of the 7.62x39AP. It weights ap-
Tim D’Annunzio
Kiwanis
Komer
Harold Gillis
proximately 60 pounds and is capable
of breaking apart in seconds in a body
of water. If this were not possible,one
could very easily drown.
Questions were directed to him
from many perspectives— from con
tracts, deliver, test procedures, train
ing, and how his firm deals with
growth. The military is the primary
source of their products and they do
not sell to the general public.
The club appreciated Tim’s pro
gram.
Somewhat like the 82nd Airborne,
Chellie Diane Richardson jumps in
with both feet.
Richardson’s willingness to help
where needed and commitment to the
community recently earned her the
Virginia Holcombe Memorial War
rant Officer Spouseof the Year Award.
CW4 I lenry Richardson Jr., presi
dent of the Bragg Silver Chapter of
the United States Army Warrant Of
ficers Association, nominated his wife
for the award, which was instituted in
1989.
"What she likes most is helping
people,” her husband wrote.
Mrs. Richardson has been a volun
teer with the Hoke County Rescue-
Squad for seven years and is a first
responder. She is certified in search
and rescue, can operate the jaws of
life, and drives the rescue vehicles
and ambulances. She is "on call” for a
24-hour period each week and forone
weekend each month. She also serves
as the squad's secretary and is an
assistant team leader.
As the wife of the Bragg Silver
Chapter of the USAWOA, she is ei
ther directly or indirectly involved
with every activity the chapter par
ticipates in, her husband wrote.
Among her activities, Mrs.
Richardson, who goes by Diane,
helped decorate the VA Hospital's
Christmas tree in Fayetteville and
shopped and prepared the 2002 lun
cheon which the Bragg Silver Chap
ter gives annually to more than 1(X)
disabled veterans ;ind hospital staff.
Mrs. Richardson is active in fund
raising for the chapter and helped
them raise money to send "care pack
ages” to troops deployed to the Mid
east through a motorcycle event called
Ride for Freedom. Last year the event
raised money to send out 20 squad-
size care packages that included food,
magazines, card games electronic
hand held games, board games and
footballs. This year more packages
are going overseas.
Other fund-raising activities in
clude selling hot dogs, drinks, chips
and such at Pope Air Force Base’s
Green Ramp. Paratroopers buy the
items prior to jumps and once, when a
jump was called off due to weather
conditions, she took the items to each
M P gate at Fort Bragg, Pope AFT and
Simmons Army Airfield and served
the soldiers standing guard.
“You can’t imagine the look on a
soldier’s or airman’s face when you
get out of a truck and van and say,
‘Hey, we are with the Bragg Silver
Chapter of the United States Warrant
Officers Association and we’re here
to serve you brunch. ’’’Mr. Richardson
wrote.
Mrs. Richardson also helped spon
sor the Eagle Challenge GolfTourna-
ment, a major fund-raiser for the Bragg
Silver Chapter.
"She has been sellless in every
thing she has done to support the
Bragg Silver Chapter,” her husband
wrote. Many of her activities are
"transparent to its members,” he
added.
Mrs. Richardson’s remarkable vol
unteer activities are done in addition
to her full-time employment at
FIrstI lealth Moore Regional 1 lospital
in pre-admissions. She prepares medi
cal charts for incoming surgical pa-
tientsandthat includesdrawingblood
and runningEKGs for patients sched
uled for surgery.
Mrs. Richardson is the mother of a
19-year-old son Bryan. She is step
mother to Trey, also 19, and also has
a 17-year-old stepdaughter.
I he Virginia Holcombe Memorial
Award is given annually to a
USAWOA spouse who has distin
guished herself or himself by "self
less dedication ’ to the warrant officer
association and the Army Warrant
Officer Corps.
Mrs. Holcombe was a strong ad
vocate of spouses' auxiliaries in ev
ery assignment location, and she
worked behind the scenes to mentor
warrant offer spouses and to organize
and lead chapter auxiliaries to greater
involvement in community activities.
Remembered for her “wise and pa
tient counsel,” she was the matriarch
of the Arizona Chapter’s auxiliary
until her death in 1988.
Diane Richardson receives the Spouse of the Year award from CW5
Franklin Meeks, president, and CW4 (Ret.) Roy Valiant, vice presi
dent, of the United States Army Warrant Officer Association.
Jail threat
the event of a fire.
"Inadequate staffing, coupled with
seriously crowded conditions, has
grave implications beyond the risk of
escapes from, or violence within the
jail.”
The NCPLS monitors conditions
of jails, ensuring the safety, health,
welfare, and humane treatmentofpris
oners throughout the state. I lamden
urged Hoke officials to find satisfac
tory solutions to problems that cur
rently exist at Hoke’s jtiil.
“Jail and detention inspection re
ports show that the problems and de
ficiencies weobservedduringour tour
are serious and long-standing,”
Hamden wrote.
Improvements
Commission Vice Chairman
Charles V. Daniels said he had been
unaware of restrictions on population
at the Hoke jail.
He said until the legal organiza
tion contacted the county he had no
idea a consent order was signed by the
county with NCPLS in 1993 to pre
vent litigation.
"Even before this officiiil visit
occurred by them, county commis
sioners had already approved a Char
lotte-based firm to conduct a jail as
sessment analysis for $22,500,"
Daniels said. "This study was con
tracted based on Sheriff Peterkin’s
recommendation.
"We want to cooperate with the
organization, but in a way I think it is
unfair. Our board was already ad-
dressingchallengessuch as installing
a security cage in the annex for jai lers.
“I was not previously aware of
(Continued from page I A),
limitations on the number of in
mates being housed.”
Due to understaffing, last month
Peterkin requested the board to ap
prove hiring four additional jailers to
adequately staff the facility. The board
postponed a decision, but requested a
jail study commission formed by lo
cal leaders to immediately address
concerns about overcrowding and
understaffing. Peterkin, Captain
Sparks, chief jailer; Commissioner
Jean Powell, assigned liaison with the
Sheriff’s Office and the board; and
Commissioner Bill Cameron are
among those on the committee.
Powell, the retired district attor
ney for Hoke and Scotland counties,
said her board had already publicly
committed to improve conditions at
Hoke’s jail.
"Prior to the jailbreak, the com
missioners decided to do this study, "
Powell said. "Based on projections
for the future and what options we
have, we are studying the staffing and
the (detention) building itself.”
Problems
Ohcrdi.screpanciesallegedly found
by the NCPLS were problems that
required immediate "remedial” ac
tion.
"We received complaints about
acts of violence that seem to be com
mon in the jail,” Hamden wrote. "It
appears that detainees have some
times taken control of entire areas of
the jail through physical intimidation
and threats of violence against other
inmates.
"Indeed, we heard a number of
reports that inmates have been per-
USDA food distributed Saturday
Mt. Elim Baptist Church will dis
tribute boxes of U.S.Dept. Agricul
ture food to eligible persons on Satur
day, November 15 at 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Eligible persons include any house
hold considered low income.
Those households receiving food
for the first time will be required to
complete an application. Households
with applications on file will need ID
confirmation.
For new applications, the head of
each eligible household is required to
complete and submit an application
with proof of income. Applications
may be picked up and filled out on
site.
Mt. Elim is located at 921 Wilson
Road.
mitted to physically abuse and domi
nate other detainees," he said.
"This type of conduct is a direct
result of inadequate supervision and
an inability to adequately monitor
activities within the cellblocks and
the annex.”
The group also determined that
Hoke officials are in violation of the
consent order that is still in place.
NCPl^ previously sued the county to
remedy overcrowded conditions at
the jail. Litigation was avoided when
the county agreed to keep the inmate
population at or below the limit of
approximately 71 inmates. The legal
services group estimated the county's
liability for non-compliance during
the past year could reach in excess of
$ 1.2million ifa lawsuit istlled. Hoke’s
inmate population has exceeded ca
pacity by more than 46 percent, a
violation of the consent order, ac
cording to them.
If the county does not comply with
the existing consent order, a fine of
$100 per day per inmate could be
assessed to the county.
Action
Last week, Peterkin transferred
nine prisoners to an out-of-county
facility in order to reduce crowding.
Eight other inmates were released af
ter being provided with bond reduc
tions by the court. Following the re
cent jailbreak and subsequent recap
ture, kidnapping suspect Hector Noel
Mojarro f rausto and robbery suspect
Christopher Damien Handon were
transferred to a newer facility at the
Cumberland County Detention Cen
ter.
“We are also requesting a written,
daily head count of all inmates in our
jail,” Commission Chairman Bobby
Wright said. “It helps up to keep track
of our jail population.”
The NCPLS has also offered ad
vice to the county on meeting state
regulations.
‘Sheriff Peterkin’s desire to rec
tify deficiencies and to meet his re
sponsibilities, his initiative in con
tacting this office, and our experience
in working with responsible officials
in Hoke County are indicative that
existing problems at the jail and is-
suesofnon-compliance with the Con
sent Ordercan be remedied on a coop
erative basis,” Hamden said. “Such
an approach will allow limited re
sources to be directed to amelioration
of the problems rather than the costs
of litigation.”
However, the legal services agency
indicatedtheoperationof Hoke jail is
ultimately a responsibility shared by
Peterkin and county commission
ers.
Martin
(Continued from page 2A)
place of residence, by taxing the
resources of the entire state and
spending resulting revenue to serve
the needs of all the people.”
The immediate result of the
state’s takeover of county roads was
that North Carolina had more miles
of state-financed roads than any
other state in the country. It main
tained that position for almost 60
years. Today we are second only to
Texas.
North Carolina’s attention to its
local roads may explain why it failed
to grab its share of funding for the
federal interstate highway system.
During the 1940’s,when the federal
government asked North Carolina
to prepare a plat^ I'oi 'its fwcrsiate
highways, the state responded with
a very conservative and unimagina
tive proposal. It did not want to
divert its resources away from its
responsibility to build and maintain
local roads.
As a result, under the original
1947 plan North Carolina received
only "708 miles of interstate high
ways, just two more mi les than South
Carolina.
Other nearby states Virginia
(with 911 miles), Tennessee (1,052
miles) and Georgia (1,141 miles)
were far ahead of us.
Turner acknowledges that more
highways are not the only answer
to the state’s transportation needs.
He urges more funding for alterna
tives like mass transit and passen
ger rail connections to more North
Carolina cities.
Ironically, in 1915,the year that
Turner’s story begins. North Caro
lina had a transit system that would
sound like a dream come true for
today’s planners of transportation
alternatives. In that year, the state’s
passenger rail system served 1500
different communities, each with
its own rail station.
Maybe, the 1915state-wide pas
senger rail system sounds idyllic.
9m‘ ec one can readT'UTnei^srbook
without understanding how critical
its road transportation system has
been to North Carolina's transfor
mation from the poverty of 1915 to
the prosperity of today.
D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV's
North Carolina Bookwatch, which
airs Sundays at 5 p. m. This week’s
(November 16) repeat program fea
tures Greensboro science fiction
writer Orson Scott Card, who will
discuss his new book. Shadow Pup
pets.
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