The
ews
If it happened, it’s news to us
75«t
No.26VoL103
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, September 10,2008
School board says, ‘bring plaque back’
Second sign will go up, all will be forgiven if Leach returns carted off plaque
By Jason Beck
StaffWriter
The plaque removed from the new Don
Steed Elementary School by James Leach, the
chairman of the Hoke commissioners, may be
returned to the wall, thanks to a decision last
night by the board of education.
However, space will be made for an addi
tional plaque, calming Leach’s concerns.
Last month Leach went on his own to the
Steed School and directed Utilities Director
Dennis Baxley to remove a bronze plaque,
which featured the names of the board of com
missioners in power when grant money was
secured for the school. The names of current
board members Tony Hunt and Ellen McNeill
were missing and Leach wasn’t listed as chair
man, because at the time he wasn’t.
Since then the incident has turned scan
dal.
The school and all of its contents are owned
by the board of education, and the $822 plaque
was paid for out of money given to the school
system from a bond referendum.
After the first plaque went missing, the
board of education also removed a second
plaque honoring the school board, pending
further review.
Last night, the school board took its stance
on the issue. After nearly two hours of discus
sion in closed session. Attorney Nick Sojka
had written a resolution.
“I offer for the board’s consideration the
adoption of a resolution which affirms the
(See PLAQUE, page 6A)
Hannah
brings
flooding
More than 40 spend
night in a shelter
By Jason Beck
StaffWriter
Tropical Storm Hanna
blew into Hoke County over
the weekend leaving yards
flooded and minor damage
to the area.
The storm, which killed
more than 60 across the Ca
ribbean as a category one hur
ricane, made landfall near the
South Carolina state line at
about 3 a.m. Saturday. Despite
sustained winds of 70 mph
and gusts even higher, the
Raeford area was spared the
brunt of the storm’s fury.
However,nearly six inches
of rain forced many streams
(See HANNAH, page 6A)
This Week
Arrests made
for videopoker
page4A
City considers plan
to spend $1 million
on water
page4A
Library to change
fines into food
page IB
Index
Calendar 6B
Classifieds 5-6B
Court news 3 A
Deaths 3 A
Editorials 2A
Legals 2-4 B
Sports 7A
Worship 2B
We’re on the web at
www.thenews-joumal.com
Read by4,500 each week
Clockwise from top: Young Matthew “fishes” from the deck of
his grandfather Greg Inman’s flooded house on Bethel Rd.;John
Leandro’s house at Donaldson Ave. and Patterson St.; Lantern
Lane Saturday morning. (MacDonald photos)
Wrecks in bad weather kill one, injure another
By Jason Beck
StaffWriter
Wet weather over the week
end caused a pair of accidents
that left one Hoke County
woman dead and another
injured.
The first crash took place
on Gainey Road at about 3:30
Lriday, claiming the life the
driver.
Ellen Riggins, 31, of 1691
Gainey Road, was killed in
the single car wreck only
about a mile from her home.
According to the North Caro
lina Highway Patrol, Riggins’
1999 GMC sport utility ve
hicle crashed into a ditch on
the rain soaked highway.
“She ran off the road to
the right, hit a ditch and over
turned,” said Trooper D. P.
Barber, “She wasn’t wearing
that seatbelt.”
A child, who was a pas
senger in the car, survived
the crash with only minor
injuries.
Barber said the accident
report faults Riggins for
exceeding a safe speed in
weather conditions that were
listed as cloudy and rainy.
(See WRECKS, page 5A)
him
If he did, Magoo didn’t mean to.
By Jason Beck
StaffWriter
When firemen arrived to battle a
house fire Sunday they got a surprise - a
monkey named Magoo, who may have
even accidentally started the blaze.
Firefighters from the Pinehill Fire
Department responded to a blaze at3795
Army Road, and couldn’t help but notice
the animal hollering in the trees.
‘Magoo,’ a Capuchin Monkey, is ap
parently a service animal for the home’s
owner Susan Thomas. When fire crews
arrived at the home, situated in the woods
off a narrow dirt road, both Thomas
and the animal had escaped the already
engulfed structure.
It was then Pinehill Fire Chief
Billy Williams got the surprise of his
career.
“When we got there, (Thomas’)
brother came over to me and was telling
me what happened... he felt the monkey
started it,” Williams said. “This lady’s
brother said the monkey... opened
something in the house... He opened a
gas can or something.”
A spark may have ignited the
gas, starting the fire. Confusion and
(See MONKEY, page 5A}
County gets SSOOk for radios
By Jason Beck
StaffWriter
Hoke County has re
ceived a grant worth more
than $800,000 to replace
emergency workers’ aging
radio system.
Congressman Robin
Hayes office announced
the grant’s approval last
week. The money comes
from the Department of
Homeland Security’s As
sistance to Firefighters
Grants program set up
after the terrorist attacks
of September 11.
The $803,943 grant re
quires a 10 percent match
from the county, which has
(See GRANT, page 3A)
LThe News-TJournal
News
By Ken MacDonald
Life just keeps getting stranger.
On Labor Day, after riding in the Tour De
Moore bicycle race and finishing dead last
(more on that in a moment), I drove to the
office to catch up on some editing. When I
finished and returned to my truck, there were
two ducks in the bed. In case you missed that
- two ducks in the bed.
I have no idea who put them there or why.
but made of what I call Fisher Price plastic,
the ducks were covered with a layer of dirt,
and had obviously been decorating someone’s
yard or garden, so I couldn’t help but wonder
if I was then possessing stolen property. But
to whom do you report such a thing?
Instead, I did what any normal citizen
would do, and left them there. I’ve been
driving around for a week now with two
(See OTHER STUEE, page 6A)