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Wednesday, September 7,2005
Hoke residents slammed with high gas prices
Attorney general looking into allegations of price gouging aaoss North Carolina
By VicTORiANA Summers
Staff writer
Soaring gas prices struck the
pockets of Hoke residents last
week — reaching nearly $4 per-
gallon—when Hurricane Katrina
seared the coasts of Mississippi
and Louisiana with category four
winds and massive tidal surges
and flooding. Gulf of Mexico oil
refineries were partially disabled
because of the disaster.
Unleashing a panic among
consumers last week, Gov.
Easley’s warning to conserve gas
prompted people to guzzle up
the precious commodity in fear
it would run out. North Carolina
is one of four states where the
highest numbers of complaints
concerning price gouging were
refceived, according to the state
attorney general’s office. Gas
production across the nation was
reduced by approximately 25
percent after the disaster swept
across the New Orleans delta
and directly-impacted Gulfport,
Mississippi.
More than 30 states have signed
an inquiry request to investigate if
global concerns about oil reserves
caused prices to increase across
the nation. State officials plan to
determine if gas station owners
or distributors took advantage of
consumers by fixing gas prices
or engaging in deceptive trade
practices.
“It is wrong to take unfair ad
vantage of consumers in a time
of crisis,” Attorney General Roy
Cooper said. “We want to get to
the bottom of .skyrocketing gas
prices and plan lo examine all
aspects of the industry, from re
fineries and pipel ines to the prices
people pay at the pump.”
Cooper is urging consumerN
who wish to file a complaint with
the state’s consumer protection
division tocall 1-877-NO-SCAM
to receive a complaint form in
the mail.
“I believe that most businesses
in North Carolina want to play by
the rules,” Cooper said. “But, if
there are a few bad apples out there
(See GAS PRICES, page 6A)
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Hoke SAT scores
increase slightly
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By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke County students in
creased their average SAT scores
by five points in 2005, to 870,
uccui ding lu inlurmuliun rclcttscd
by Gov. Mike Easley last week.
The slight improvement in
scores followed a sharp decrease
of 34 points in 2004 to 865 from
899 in 2003. Hoke’s score still
lags 140 points behind the state’s
average this year. However, Hoke
School Superintendent Allen
Strickland said at least the local
scores are not going down.
“I see this as an encouraging
sign,” Strickland said yesterday.
“Our SAT scores are different
every year, and the scores are
(See SAT SCORES, page 5A)
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Signs of the times: gas prices climbed toward $4 per gallon following Katrina. Lines formed when many stations ran out of fuel.
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Hoke, Raeford, like state, see drop in crime rate
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper
recently announced a decline in the crime
rate statewide for 2004 of 1.7 percent,
reflecting a similar trend In Hoke County
and the City of Raeford.
Cooper attributed the improvement to
“strong law enforcement and tough sen
tences” imposed by the courts.
Statistics released by the State Bureau
of Investigation annually reflected a de
crease in crimes under the admitiistration
of Hoke Sheriff Hubert Peterkin. Under
the previous sheriffs administration some
1,433 total offenses were reported in 2000.
Peterkin’s administration experienced
1,413 total crimes in 2004, in ^pite of a
population explosion of more than 5,000
people in Hoke, the second-fastest growing
county in the state.
Peterkin expressed thanks to all of his
staff for their efforts in helping reduce
crime in the county.
Burglaries were up though.
“Burglaries in our county that occur are
a reflection of our population increase,”
Peterkin said. “Of course, they happen at
night. Our larceny rate for break-ins has
substantially decreased.
“I think we are doing really well in
protecting the people of Hoke County with
the resources we are working with right
now,” he said.
“I think our staff is doing an excellent
job to provide coverage to the community,”
he said.
“We hope to increase our number of
patrol deputies next year. I want to thank the
county commissioners for working closely
with us on these challenges ahead.”
This yearly state report also showed a
substantial reduction in overall crime in
the City of Raeford under the leadership of
Raeford Police Chief Kevin Locklear and
Assistant Chief of Police Greg Thomas.
(See CRIME RATE, page 5A)
Former Hoke High basketball standout safe after storm
Shawn Malloy, a student at UNO, makes it back to Raeford with fiance, her daughter
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
Shawn Malloy’s fiancee’s car ran out
of gas outside of Jackson, Mississippi.
Nichole Millsandherfour-year-ald daugh
ter Marchee rode with Malloy for 35 miles
to buy gas then they went back to get Mills’
vehicle. After Malloy gassed up his car,
they had a couple of bucks left for dollqr
hamburgers. Thus fortified, they drove all
the way to Atlanta to a friend’s house.
And so the trio left the nightmare of
Hurricane Katrina behind them.
Malloy, 21, is the Hoke High basketball
standout who earned a scholarship to attend
the University of New Orleans. He began
his senioryear there August 22, but he won’t
be finishing the year. He thinks the campus,
which is near the Lake Pontchartrain levee
that burst, is under water.
“It was a very bad experience,” Malloy
said of the four days he. Mills and Marchee
spent in ahotel in New Orleans before they
were able to escape the city. But, he knows
how lucky the three of them were to have
been in a safe structure and were able to
leave in their own vehicles that had been
stowed on a parking deck.
When Katrina, with winds of 136 miles
per hour, hit the Alabama, Mississippi
and Louisiana coasts Sunday morning,
August 28, Malloy, Mills and the little
girl were on the 21st floor of the Wynd-
ham Canal Place Hotel. Mills, a native
of Portland, Oregon who had graduated
from the university a year earlier, worked
at the hotel. Concerned that the windows
(See MALLOY, page 7A}
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Other stuff
Strickland to seek help in Washington
Superintendent wants federal help educating military students
By Ken MacDonald
Publisher
About the time we were heading to bed
Friday night, sirens passed the house. I
dismissed them, but my wife said she felt a
disturbance in the force, an uneasy feeling
that only mothers seem to get.
Because our answering machine picks
up on the fourth ring, we are somewhat
immune to middle-of-the-night calls from
dialers of wrong numbers, but sometimes
there’s a delay between the leaving and
receiving of an important message.
So when the call came my wife awoke
to hear a message being left.
It was Monica, a 14-year old friend of
the family. “Melissa was hit b\ a car. Call
us,” she said.
My wife woke me up. It was 12:30.1
quickly went to the den and listened. Mom
ica’s tone and the brevity of the message
worried me. A child could not be struck by
(See OTHER STUFF, page 3A)
BY Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke County School Superintendent
AI len Strickland will soon be soliciting the
top military brass and political leaders in
Washington, D.C. for more financial aid
tor Hoke students.
Strickland has been invited by the U.S.
Army to visit Washington, D.C. October
20-21 to discuss educating military stu
dents. He will address challenges associ
ated with the influx of military students.
who will be relocating at Fort Bragg with
their families, due to the military installa
tion’s expansion and the base realignment
process. A substantial percentage of the
new students will enroll in Hoke and sur
rounding counties such as Cumberland.
“We are going up there, hoping we may
receive some help,” Strickland said. “It is
an honor to participate in the conference.
Our military enrollment continues to
increase.
“I will also be conferring with
(See STRICKLAND, page 6A)