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Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, December 28,2005
$ 100 million ethanol plant still on track
Clears environmental regulatory hurdles, waiting on improvements to railroad
Carlisle, CEO and co-founder of Clean
Bum Fuels, LLC based in Cary.
“Ethanol converted from corn is
cheaper and not harmful to the environ
mentlike oil-gasoline products,” Carlisle
said. “We are still on track to bui Id a $ 100
million ethanol plant in Hoke.
“The ethanol industry can only get
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Hoke County will soon be feeding
more than livestock with com crops.
It will be fueling vehicles on the East
Coast with ethanol, an alternative fuel
source made from com, according to Jack
Construction needs,
schools top stories
2005 saw Hoke dealing with growth
bigger and bigger as suppl ies of petroleum
decrease and costs i ncrease. We just have
a few details to work out with railroad
transportation before the final contracts
are signed with Hoke officials.”
A final hurdle for state approval of the
local plant was recently cleared. Design
plans for the plant passed the air quality
standards set forth by the N.C. Depart
ment of Environmental and Natural
Resources, according to Hoke officials.
This assurance came after an an
nouncement this month that a $150
million ethanol plant would be con
structed in rural Aurora, NC in Beaufort
County, where 74 jobs will be provided.
Carlisle said Hoke’s ethanol deal is not
associated with the Aurora plant, and he
has no financial interest in the eastern
North Carolina site. Hoke’s and Aurora’s
ethanol operations would represent the
hrst ones to be constructed on the East
Coast.
(See ETHANOL, page 4A)
Y'.'lJ
By Pat Allen Wilson
AND Victoriana Summers
It took 10 years for Hoke
Schools to win a class action vic
tory in the courts for more financ
ing from the state for education.
The Supreme Court ruling in
Leandro vs. North Carolina this
year established the right of every
child in the state to “the equal
opportunity to receive a sound
basic education.” That ruling
underlined the responsibility of
the state to ensure that end.
Yet2005ends with the students
of Hoke seeing few identifiable re
sults from the ruling as the needed
finances are slow in coming. A
shortage of teachers continues
in spite of programs designed
to bring more qualified teachers
into the sy stem. In addition, Hoke
schools are looking at an influx
is
Woodberry carolers
start tradition
page IB
BG Anderson
speaks to youth
page 3A
Weinstein seeks
reelection
page IB
Sports year
in photos
page 5A
Index
Binh;
2B
(dassiheds
5B
Deaths
6A
Fditorials
2A
lA'gals
3-4B
Religion
2,3B
Socials
2B
Sports
5A
We’re on the web at
wiviv. thenews-journalcom
Read by 3,000 each week
of students from military families
relocating to Fort Bragg and are
attempting to find room for them
in the system.
That is why The News-Journal
has identified the needs of the
schools as the top story of 2005.
Coming in as close seconds are
the “aggressive building mode” of
the county and the renovation of
downtown Raeford.
Responding to pressure from
state officials, the county hashed
out plans to expand the jai 1 at a cost
of $7 million. The sheriffs office
will move from its cramped quar
ters behind the courthouse to a
renovated health center on Central
Avenue. Meanwhile, construction
of a new $2.8 million health cen
ter on Palmer Street is underway
and expected to be completed in
February. County commissioners
have also made preliminary plans
for a new recreation center at $2
million and a new agriculture
center that is expected to cost $4
million. Also in the plans are a
new animal shelter.
Main Street is still partially
tom up as streetscape plans for
a new look for downtown are
underway. After years of efforts
to save the old and abandoned Ra
eford Hotel, the six-story historic
building fell to the wrecking ball
in early May and a vacant lot is
left — available for development
— in its place.
(See TOP STORIES, page 3A)
V
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k
Local firefighters extinguish a blaze on Ranch Road last Thursday that destroyed the home of Grady and Willie Ann Lee.
Fire steals Christmas from West Hoke couple
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
just three days before Christmas,
according to Major Freddy John
son, Hoke fire marshal.
An afternoon house fire ini- “Mr. And Mrs. Lee lost every-
tially reported as a woods tire thing lastThursday,and they were
destroyed the home of sen iorciti- understandably upset,” Johnson
zens Grady Lee Jr. and his wife, said. “This is a terrible thing to
Willie Ann Lee, on Ranch Road happen just before Christmas.
“Fortunately, they were not at
home at the time of the blaze.
The home is a total loss.”
Firemen from North Raeford,
Hil Icrest, Pinehill, and West Hoke
lire departments fought the severe
fire aggressively and were initially
concerned that the owners might
have been trapped inside.
A large plume of smoke
could be seen for at least three
miles. The fire swept through
the doublewide mobile home,
disintegrating walls and leaving
only a skeleton of the structure.
(See FIRE, page 3A)
Wrecks over holiday leave two dead, others in critical condidtion
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By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
’’Not for an instant” did Sean
Davies think of his own safety
as he pulled a man from a burn
ing vehicle on Christmas Eve. “I
was doing my job,” the Hil Icrest
firefighter said.
Davies was on the scene of a
traffic accident that left one dead
and another critically injured. It
was one of two traffic fatalities
that occurred shortly before the
Christmas holiday. The Highway
Patrol reported 12 vehicle ac
cidents in Hoke from December
19 to the 25th. Most were serious,
they said.
The Christmas Eve crash in
volved a vehicle whose driver was
leaving the scene of a hit and run.
Trooper J.D. Hoover reported. A
1999 Hyundai crashed less than a
minute after it crossed the center-
line on Scurlock School Road and
sideswiped another vehicle.
As the Hyundai rounded the
curve, it went onto the right shoul
der and the driver lost control, his
car sliding sideways into a tree
and bursting into flames.
Davies and Chief Michael
Scott and Captain Derek Baker,
volunteers at the nearby Hill-
crest Fire Department, were on
the scene immediately after the
call came in. They found the car
wrapped around a tree, “blowing
up with exploding tires,” accord
ing to Davies.
(See ACCIDENTS, page 4A)
The scene where one man died and another is in critical condition
after their vehicle hit a tree and burst into flames.
News
Tjoumal
Other stuff
Schools prepare for influx of kids
Huts may be used to avoid or delay building schools
By Ken MacDonald
Publisher
Male’s guide to cooking collards
(Feeds 20 - or 10 twice - with enough
leftovers to store in a cereal bowl in tlie
fridge for a week)
Grow, or go to Home Food and buy, 4
large heads of collards.
Also grow or buy a ham bone. And
you might as well get some beer while
you’re at it.
Place collards only - not the ham bone
or beer - in washing machine, remember
ing to remove any women’s cloths that you
don’t want stained green.
But first, cut (or tear if you’re really
manly) the leaves off the stalks discard
ing the stems. If you don’t, the washing
machine will.
Set on col lard cycle, or if you’re in an
area of the country that is not in the south
and your washing machine doesn’t have
a collard cycle, set on gentle wash with at
least two rinsings.
Add half the usual bleach. Ha, just
kidding. Wanted to see if you’re paying
attention.
If you are using this as a recipe and
(See OTHER STUFF, page 6A)
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
Projections of 8,000
m i 1 itary fam i 1 ies relocat i ng
to Fort Bragg during the
next five years and 15,000
moving into the region
within 10 years have Hoke's
Board of Education and
commissioners wrestling
with options to handle the
predicted influx of students
in Hoke schools.
This growth will occur
because of the recent Base
Realignment And Clos
ings (BR AC) plan that will
expand the population of
troops based at Fort Bragg,
and encompass Pope Air
Force Base too, according
to Hoke school superinten
dent Allen Strickland.
It’s almost a crisis, and
school board members
plan to pass next year’s
school budget in February
- an unprecedented three
months in advance. Com
mission Chairman Bobby
Wright has asked the school
board to analyze whether
modular classrooms might
be the best route instead
of permanent brick and
mortar school buildings in
the future.
The savings could be
substantial, according to
Brown Hendrix Jr., Hoke
schools’ facilities and main
tenance director. Hendrix
said modu lars cost 50 cents
on the dollar with a lifetime
of 40 to 50 years com
pared to the more expen-
(See SCHOOLS, page 6A)