The
ews
Journal
it happened, it*s news ta
No.3VoL97
50t
Wednesday, April 7,2004
State says no immediate money for Hoke
Board of Education says Manning ruling shows they’re on right track
Bv VlCIOKIAN \ SUMMI RS
Staff writer
State educators at the Department of
Public Instruction have indicated they
will not infuse more low wealth dollars
into the Hoke School System for at-risk
Health
board fires
Womble
By Vktoriana
SUMMl.RS
Staff writer
The Hoke Health
j Btiard without ex
planation fired Don
I Womble, the boards
part-time consul
tant, and former Hoke health director.
Some county officials said privately
it appeared Womble was attempting
to undermine interim health director
Cynthia Oxendine’s management of the
Health Department. Blaming Womble,
t hey said a bio-terrorism plan t hat brought
$75.()()() to the county was in danger of
bei ng wit hdrawn because Womble a 1 leg-
edly never submitted a required plan to
the state. I le was to complete it before
he retired in November 2003, but did
not advise Oxendine it was still pending,
according to the county officials.
{See WOMBLE, page 8A)
students even though a Wake superior
anirt judge has ordered them to do.
In response, 1 loke educators said they
would not give up fighting to receive
more additional funding for at-risk
students. Judge Howard Manning has
not responded yet to DPI oflicials who
are apparently disregarding his ruling
to provide more funding. A quarterly
progress report on I loke schools by DPI
i s what el idled t he rece nt eva I uat ion f rom
Manning.
DPI officials already announced they
plan to ask the General As.sembly to
budget $22 million next year, earmark
ing it for educating students with low
achievement and those residing in im
poverished counties. I loke educators say
that will still leave a massive deficiency
in educational funding for counties with
fewer resources.
In the interim, a decision is pending
in the N.C. Supreme Court on an appeal
filed by the state after Hoke County
Schools won a lawsuit seeking more
low wealth money for its disadvantaged
children. Hoke has waged a Id-year
{See STA TE RESPONSE, page HA)
\
Don Womble
Hoke musician Smith MeInnis, right, plays with Alasdair Fraser, considered the best fiddler in Scotland, and Natalie Haas. See the story on page 4A.
^'J
Stoney Brook racers
come from all over
poj'c 7'A
Tylertown probe
continues
10A
Smart Start audit
show progress
y>,tnc i0,\
^
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 5-6B
Deaths 9A
Editorials 2-3A
Engagements 3B
Legals 4B
Religion 5 A
StKials 2-3B
Sports 6-7 A
Weddings 3B
April Fools apologies.. 11A
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www.thenews-journal.com
Vote on rezoning land near Camp Rockfish postponed
Commissioners also sign with Time Warner for cable TV service to east Hoke
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke's board of commissioners post
poned a controversial decision on rezon
ing a nine-acre tract of land near Camp
Rockfish on Davis Bridge Road from
residential to highway commercial. The
board will again take up the matter its first
meeting in May.
A Dollar General Store is curicntly
under construct ion in the area. It will front
Davis Bridge Road next to a dirt road that
serves as t he eiit ra nee to Rock fish Ould(K)r
Center, a spiritual retreat known as Camp
Rockfish. However, numerous people are
against a rezoning request for property
situated behind the future Dollar General,
saying it would encroach on the camp.
Commissioner Jean Powell, supported
by Commi.ssioners James Leach and Bill
Cameron, said she was struck by the two
different views expres.sed on the rezoning
request. Commi.ssion Chairman Bobby
Wright wanted to evaluated both side.s,
but was concerned it would open up “a
can of worm.s" to rezone commercially
on a dirt road.
However, Commissioner Charles V.
Daniels pointed out that property owner
I lector Davis, who requested the rezoning,
had offered to previously sell the property
tothe United Methodist Church forCamp
Rockfish. The offer was declined, Davis
told Daniels.
“Mr. Davis has been paying taxes all
these years on this property,” Daniels said
in defense of Davis's request.
Raeford attorney Gina Sutherland rep-
{See REZONING, page HA)
Young driver leads police on 3-county chase, then wrecks
By Pap Ai.i.tN Wiisun
Editor
Call it bad luck or being in the wrong
place at t he wrong t i me, but t he end resu It is
(hat a young I loke man wrecked the vehicle
lie was driving and is in police custody
after leading law officers on a chase in
three counties Friday afternoon.
Wagram Police Officer George Britt
was attempting to stop another vehicle
in Scotland County when he first spied
Christopher Tant s vehicle. “He saw my
(blue) lights and thought I was after him,”
Britt said. “1 le pas.sed the car 1 was after at
a high rate of speed, and 1 followed."
Driving a 1989 Chevrolet S-IO pickup,
Tant drove into Hoke County on Hdin-
boiough Road then south onto Hilltop
Road.
It was shades of “Thelma and Louise”
asTant neared the Robeson County line on
South Hilltop because the Hoke Sheriff's
officers had set up a licen.se check .station.
Because Britt knew about the checkpoint,
he radioed ahead, and I loke officers laid
down spike strips. Just 30 minutes after the
roadblock was set up, Tant’s pickup went
speeding through.
{See CHASE, page 9A)
News
ew.s-1 Journal
1
Christopher Tant wrecked this vehicle near the Campbell’s plant near Maxton.
Courthouse break-in a mystery
By Ki-.n MacDonald
General Manager
Yes, the stories about the tower going
up downtown, and Pinehurst annexing
Five Points and the horse park were April
Fool’s jokes. And yes, ou r website was a Iso
upside down Wedne.sday afternoon and
Thursday for the same reason. If you’re
new to t h is a rea, be adv ised to put up you r
guard toward the end of March. You can
be sure we will suspend the principles of
journalistic integrity and good taste in
honor of what is only slightlv short of a
religious holiday.
My favorite story coming out of reac
tion to this year’s jokes is that a resident
of Five Points, who has some land for
sale out there, quickly decided to raise
the price of the land because it was now
in Pinehurst. Srrtiy to disappoint.
I'm also sorry to report everything else
in the paper was more or less the truth,
and we’re stuck with it.*>
{See OTHER STUEE, page 6A)
By Pat Ai.li-.n Wilson
Editor
Hoke County Courthouse employees
discovered the courthouse had been
broken into when they reported for work
Tuesday morning. So far, Raeford police
have no suspects.
Chief Kevin Locklear said entry was
made after a downstairs window was
broken sometime after midnight. A thief
or thieves then made their way upstairs
and broke another window for access
to offices where arurt rcarrds are kept.
He said this morning the only thing de
termined missing was “just a bunch of
loose change. So far, at this point, that
is all we can tell.”
Detective Greg Thomas said the
perpetrator or perpetrators did a lot of
damage inside the building — broken
glassandtorn-updesks. The damage was
believed to have been done when entry
was made, not the result of vandalism,
according to the chief. “They just went
through stuff on the desk,” he said.
An attempt to break into the court
vault was also made. “You could see pry
marks on the vault,” Locklear said.
Clerks are goi ngover 1 i les to determ i ne
if any are missing.
{See COURTHOUSE, page 3A)