The
ews
J ournal
Hoke County^s newspaper since 1905
L
No.4Vol.l09
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, April 2,2014
FirstHealth reports satisfaction, growth
Hospital spokesman says 16 additional beds applied for are needed now
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The response to Hoke County’s first hos
pital has been so strong that not only did the
administration bring on additional staff to
deal with the demand, but also officials say
the hospital right now could easily fill the
additional 16 inpatient beds currently tied
up in litigation.
The hospital, which opened to the public
in October 2013, has gone from seeing
about 1,100 patients in the emergency
department in the first month of opera
tion to seeing nearly double that number in
January, according to assistant emergency
department medical director Dr. Matthew
Harmody.
FirstHealth expected a good response
from the community once the local hospital
opened, but the rapid increase in patient
visits to the emergency department still
surprised the administrators. Officials had
to make some quick adjustments to handle
the influx of people.
“I think it’s safe to say the number of
patients we see has far exceeded our expec
tations, so we’ve had to adjust our staffing
levels,” Harmody said.
The hospital hired additional nursing
staff to provide another nursing shift to
cover the patient needs. And although the
additional 16 beds that the state awarded
FirstHealth are still tied up in court, the
hospital could fill them today if they had
them in place, Harmody said.
The hospital itself is designed to allow
for additional construction and the entire
existing hospital would be converted into
(See HOSPITAL, page 4A)
Educators, wearing red to show unity, rallied with Rep. Garland Pierce (right foreground). Rep. Ken Goodman (not pictured),
and commission candidate Allen Thomas (left rear).They were led by NCAE local president Diane Mitchell (left center).
Teachers decline to sign at rally
'We prepare the children for tomorrow, we
prepare the leaders for tomorrow, and if the
General Assembly thinks that we’re going to sit
back and take this, they ’re wrong. ’—Bob Barnes
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The statewide debate over educa
tion matters such as teacher tenure
and school vouchers doesn’t have
anything to do with education at all,
Hoke Schools Assistant Superinten
dent Dr. Bob Barnes said.
“It has to do with politics, dirty
politics and business. That’s all it
is. The governor keeps saying he’s
pro-business. Well, he can’t be pro
business without being pro-educa
tion. That’s the bottom line,” Barnes
said. “We prepare the children for
tomorrow, we prepare the leaders for
tomorrow, and if the General Assem
bly thinks that we’re going to sit back
and take this, they’re wrong.”
Barnes was one of several people
who spoke last week at a Decline
To Sign rally for educators in Hoke
County Schools that was hosted
by the Hoke County chapter of the
North Carolina Association of Edu
cation (NCAE). The event held at
the Hoke High media center invited
teachers and others with an interest
in the school system to speak their
minds about the ongoing debate over
teacher tenure (career status) and
other topics.
The party was meant to
(See TEACHERS, page 4A)
This Week
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 7B
Deaths 3 A
Editorials 2 A
Legals 3-6B
Sports 5 A
Worship 2B
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Banquet honors officers
The Hoke County Sher
iff’s Office held its annual
awards banquet Eriday
night honoring local of
ficers who have made a dif
ference in the community.
Bob Conerly, a former
Sheriff’s Office deputy,
received a special honor at
the ceremony. Sheriff Hu
bert Peterkin named Con
erly an honorary lieuten
ant of the sheriff’s office.
Conerly was wounded and
n"
HokeFest
opens
Horses race in last year’s event at Carolina Horse Park.
Stoneybrook
runs Saturday
Expected to draw thousands
The 63rd annual Stoney
brook Steeplechase will
bring some of the best
steeplechase racers in
the world to Raeford this
weekend.
The steeplechase, a
springtime tradition for
the Sandhills, is set for
Saturday, April 5 with the
gates opening at 9:30 a.m.
The event will feature five
horse races including those
on the flat and over fences,
as well as many contests.
activities and more for
spectators.
The shops at Merchants
Crossing and the Kid Zone
open at 10 a.m. Sign-ups
for the famous Botanicals
Fabulous Flowers and Or
chids hat contest will be at
10 a.m. as well, along with
the sign-ups for the Jeffer
son Inn Stick Horse Race.
The hat contest and stick
horse races begin at 11:30
a.m. The contest winners
(See RACES, page 6A)
Powell says there’s
still work to be done
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
left paralyzed during a training
accident in June 1995. Conerly
was shot with a blank round
while he and other officers
were practicing techniques for
arresting dangerous felons,
according to News-Journal
records. He had been an of
ficer with the department for
four years before the training
accident.
(See HONORS, page 6A)
Hoke County Commissioner Jean Powell will run for
another four-year term on the board.
Powell, a Democrat, is one of 12
candidates who have filed to run
for one of three seats on the county
board. The candidate said she decid
ed to run for reelection because there
are still matters she would like to
address as part of the Hoke County
local government.
“I still feel like I have something
to offer to the county and there’s
certainly plenty of work to do as a
Powell
commissioner,” she said. “I would like to continue figur
ing out what needs to be done for Hoke County to be able
to meet the future, so to speak.”
(See POWELL, page 4A)
Quantico Tactical gets
$10 billion contract
Sheriff Hubert Peterkin (right) with former ofRcer Bob Conerly.
The fourth annual HokeFest
barbecue festival and carnival
kicks off this week with carnival
rides, food and fun, plus special
musical guests.
The Christian rock band
4PointsNorth will play at the
festival Saturday night. The
(See HOKEEEST page 6A)
Quantico Tactical,
located in western Hoke
County on Highway 211,
has received a five-year,
$10 billion contract to
provide special operations
equipment to multiple mili
tary agencies.
Quantico Tactical
produces performance ap
parel, gear, tactical medical
supplies, armor and fire
arms for federal agencies,
law enforcement, military
and “the serious adventure
enthusiast,” according to
the company. Retired U.S.
Marine David Hensley
founded the company in
2001 in Quantico, Virginia.
Since then, the company
has grown to include retail
locations across the
(See CONTRACT, page 6A)