Wednesday, April 19, 2006
School board hires new superintendent
Dr. Freddie Williamson addresses
Hoke school board members.
Schools get
OK audit
By Victoriana Summi;rs
Staff writer
A united Hoke Board of Educa
tion hired Dr. Freddie Williamson,
associatesuperintendent for human
resources, auxiliary and student
services in the Scotland County
School System last week. He plans
to steer a positive course on un
charted challenges such as over
crowding, a massive inllux of mili
tary students, and improving aca
demic test scores in Hoke County
Schools.
Selected after a closed, execu
tive session that was held at last
Thursday’s meeting. Dr.
Williamson is distinguished as the
first African American to become
a permanent Hoke school superin
tendent. Retired Hoke assistant
school superintendent John D.
McAllister, the first African Ameri
can serving briefly as interim su
perintendent when then-Hoke
school superintendent Raz Autry
retired, preceded Williamson in
1982. McAllister went on to serve
four elected terms to the Hoke
school board, where he was named
chairman.
Williamson received a recom
mendation by Hoke school board
member Tom Pilkington. His lead
was followed by a second motion
from school board member Hank
Richards and even a third motion
echoed almost simultaneously by
school board member Rosa
McAllister McRae.
The board congratulated
Williamson, who appeared before
the board with his wife. Shirley
Bryant Williamson, to hear their
positive decision.
“Thank you for your vote of
confidence,” Williamson said to
the board.
School board chairman Russell
C. Smith, a former Hoke County
High schoolteacher and current
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We’re on the web ot
www.thenews-journal.
com
By Victoriana Summi rs
Staff writer
After a prolonged period,
CPA Phyllis Pearson of Petway
Mills & Person in Raleigh pre
sented the annual Hoke County
Board of Education audit last
week, indicating their were no
“material weaknesses" found
in the school board finances
for 2004-05.
Yet the yearly audit was de
livered almost five months late,
failing to meet the Local Gov
ernment Commissions’ re
quirements under state statutes.
No fines, however, were im-
(See AUDIT, page 7A)
The family piano serves a
dual role as a trophy case
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Dad stand proudly with
him.
associate dean of student life at
Campbell University’s School of
Law, served as the “shepherd” to
guide the board in their ultimate
search. Williamson will replace
retired Hoke school superinten
dent Allen Strickland who stepped
down February 1. Retired Hoke
school superintendent Don Steed
has been serving as interim school
superintendent. Steed remains tem
porarily at the helm until
Williamson comes on board July
1.
“I want to publicly thank mem
bers of the Hoke County school
(See SUPERINTENDENT, page 5A)
Williamson:
Focus on goals
By Victoriana Summi-.rs
Staff Writer
Pledging a crucial focus on de
fined goals instead of “random acts”
of improvement. Dr. Freddie
Williamson, newly selected Hoke
school superintendent, joins the
school district on July 1.
After he resigns from Scotland
County’s school system as associate
superintendent for human resources,
auxiliary and student services,
Williamson will take paf't in the hir
ing process of an assistant Hoke
(See GOALS, page 5A)
Kershaw, family and friends anxiously await NFL draft
By Hal Nunn
Sports writer
When William Kershaw Jr. was
small, there wasn’t anything little
about his heart and his statute.
Heart is definitely what it takes to
succeed at the highest level of your
sport and being 6' 3” tall, 240 lbs.
and running the 40 in 4.62 seconds,
now that’s what the NFL wants.
Hopefully, on April 29-30, the NFL
will decide that William Kershaw is
what the NFL needs. Kershaw, the
son of William Sr. and Betty
McDuffie Kershaw, grew up in
RaefordonPinehaveii Drive off Doc
Brown Road. That’s where this
sports writer had the opportunity to
meet the NFL prospect and his par
ents along with Elvenia Southerland,
a long time supporter of Kershaw.
Southerland commented about young
Kershaw playing the drums in the all
malechorusat Wall’sChapel United
Methodist Church. “William has al
ways been involved in church and
participating in church activities,”
Southerland said. That’s where he
got hiscalmspirit,which iscrucial in
staying on track and focused in life
and heading down the right roads
when faced with decisions young
people face.
Kershaw grew up loving football
and playing in the 1 loke County Parks
and Recreation league here in
Raeford and played flag football as
well as tackle football. Coaches and
parents always recognized him as a
big boy who mostly stood as tal 1 and
as big as the coaches he played for.
“Look at his hands and see
how big they are. He always
had big hands and loved to
play basketball and football. ”
—Betty Kershaw.
When he was 10 and 11 he played
for the Trojans in the Parks & Rec
league, and they finished the season
undefeated. He did have someone to
look to for football experience.
Fellow teammates remember
Kershaw Sr. as a “tough man to tackle
on the field” when he was a fullback
at Hoke High. When reminded of
this, the elder Kershaw said,
“You see, boy, when I was playing
I was pretty tough just like you.”
Kershaw Jr. chuckled in disbelief
but recognized that his dad was a
strong player as well. Asa youngster,
Kershaw Sr. was in bed one Saturday
morning when Raz Autry the princi
pal at Hoke High came into his bed
room and said, “I heard you want to
play football young man.”
“Yes sir, I do,” was the reply.
(See KERSHAW, page 9A)
Hoke officials meet with
FORSCOM civil service leaders
BRAC employee expansion at Bragg
could be county’s future boon
By Victoriana Summlrs
Staff writer
’’Y’all come,” may soon be a
friendly refrain uttered by Hoke’s
board of commissioners to the cur
rently Georgia-based FORSCOM
civil service command soon to be
transferred to Fort Bragg, according
to I loke commission chairman Bobby
Wright.
County commissioners are hoping
to not only immediately attract more
military families to reside in Hoke,
increasing sales tax revenues and
spawning commercial growth. C'on-
ccntraimgon advance, economic plan
ning, the board is also inviting the top
brass in civil service to relocate here
with their families to purchase homes
that could potentially bring up to $ 100
million in real estate sales to Hoke.
“The board is discussing forming a
military liaison committee to help
with the military connection,” Wright
said. “We are looking at establishing
a special website for civil service and
military families so they may find out
more information about moving to
Hoke County.
“We would be delighted to wel
come these families here. There is a
whole lot to offer in this region.”
Commission vice chairwoman Jean
Powell said recent census figures are
predicting that by 2030 Hoke’s popu
lation will double, totaling 75,0()0
people. County commissioners think
with the abundance of land in Hoke
and county services available that real
estate developers and agents would
be able to accommodate the military
(See BRAC, page 7A)
The day the embezzlement stopped
County auditor releases new info on MePhatter case
By VtcroRiANA Summers
Staff writer
Raeford CPA Frank Baker proved
that crime does not pay, breaking the
embezzlement-case of former Hoke
county manager Bernice MePhatter
without seeking any credit.
MePhatter was convicted of em
bezzlement in an investigation that
even was reported on by USA Today
after she stole almost $269,000 of
taxpayers’ moneys over a four-year
period until 2001.
“Oh s—!” was the first expletive
Baker remembers he uttered when
he realized the magnitude of
MePhatter’s swindling of county
money and betrayal of the Hoke
board of commissioners and taxpay
ers
MePhatter is currently serving a
seven-to-eight vear prison term in
the N.C. Department of Correction
at its Wilmington facility for women.
Although she pleaded not guilty, she
later publicly apologized for her
crime during a civil trial held to
recoup bond moneys that paid for
the county’s losses.
Baker said no one knew before he
was the real “whistle-blower” be
cause he was bound by confidential
ity not to tell since he had to testify in
the court trial of MePhatter. Also, no
one had ever asked him of the cir
cumstances — which many thought
were accidental — of how the first
$5,()()() check forged by MePhatter
was discovered. Not until The News-
Journal staff writer questioned him
more closely three weeks ago, did his
disclosure come out.
“My accounting firm blew the
whistle on Bernice MePhatter,” Baker
said. “1 know a lot of people were
saying behind my back why did we
not know what was going on.
“We did suspect something was
definitely wrong, but we had to be
able to prove it.”
MePhatter’s associate, fired Hoke
finance director Shirley Rush, also
pleaded guilty in 2005 to a lesser
misdemeanor charge of violating au
ditors’ rules as a county official. Be-
(See WHISTLE BLOWER, pageSA)