The
ews
I ournal
Hoke County’s newspaper since 1905
No.8Vol.109
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, April 30,2014
Are those flyers making the rounds legal?
Each election, questions, rumors abound, this one’s no exception
The News-Journal often gets ques
tions and reports of rumors about political
matters in Hoke County from the legality
of promotional ballots to alleged plots to
bypass the election and get favored people
into office.
Here we try to answer the questions and
find out if the rumors are true. These are
a few of the rumors and questions we’ve
received from multiple sources this year.
Are sample ballots illegal?
Several sources reported that people
attending a breakfast function at Virgil’s
restaurant Saturday received pieces of paper
telling voters who to vote for in the election.
Others reported that they have received
sample ballots on other occasions and from
different places. The pieces of paper pro
vided to The News-Journal stated, “This
Sample Ballot is Endorsed by Hoke County
Concerned Citizens.” The sample bal
lot provided to The News-Journal did not
resemble an actual ballot, but was a listing
of names. The ballot provided to the news
paper told people to vote for candidates
Allen Thomas, Harry Southerland and
Tony Hunt for the county commission. Sen.
Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate, Toni Morris for
U.S. House of Representatives and Sen. Ben
Clark for state Senate District 21.
What people have asked the most about
the sample ballots is whether or not they
are legal. The short answer is that sample
ballots are legal if they fit certain guide
lines. The Hoke County Board of Elections
reported that it is legal to hand out sample
ballots as long as it is clear on the handout
that it is not an actual ballot. It is legal for
nonprofit groups to hand out sample bal-
(See QUESTIONS, page 4A)
s well be.Aliviya Blue (right) was quite excited by the fish her sister Liyah Blue caught at Called Into Ac
idraising event over the weekend.Their mom, Jessica Blue, and sister, Sophia Blue, watch in the background,
hoto; story 6A)
Standoff on Main
ends peacefully
Gunman allowed to pass out
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Guthrie
An armed standoff between law en
forcement officials and a man wanted for
allegedly violating a domestic violence
order ended last week without anyone
getting hurt, Hoke County Sheriff Hubert
Peterkin said.
A deputy with the sheriff’s office and
an officer with the Raeford Police Depart
ment attempted last Tuesday to serve a
domestic violence order (DVO) on Richard Guthrie, 47, of
the 900 block of North Main Street in Raeford. Guthrie
would not come to the door, so the officers left the papers
there and went to get back into their vehicle. Then Guth
rie came out on the porch wearing a bulletproof vest and
carrying “some kind of high-powered gun,” Peterkin said.
Guthrie went back into the house and the officers heard
shots fired. Then they called for backup because the
officers had reason to believe Guthrie, a former Special
Forces officer, had multiple weapons and the intention to
hurt others, the sheriff said.
(See STANDOFF, page 3A)
Turnout strong
in early voting
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
This Week
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 7B
Deaths 3A
Editorials 2A
Legals 3-6B
Sports 5A
Worship 2B
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Two shot at apartment complex
Two men were sent to the
hospital last week after gun
fire erupted at an apartment
complex in Raeford.
A group of people were
standing outside the the
Meadows Apartments on
North Fulton Street around
10:30 p.m. Saturday when
someone driving by in a
vehicle opened fire on the
crowd, according to Raeford
Police Department Assistant
Chief MaJ. Marc Godwin.
Someone in the crowd re
turned fire, he said.
Howard Baldwin Jr.
and Jermaine Malloy both
suffered gunshot wounds.
Baldwin was shot in the back
of the neck, sustaining seri
ous injury, while Malloy was
shot in the arm. Both of the
men were taken to an area
hospital for treatment. Bald
win remains in the hospital.
The police department
continues investigating the
case. No charges have been
filed yet.
In the first week of one-stop voting for the 2014 mid
term primary election, voter turnout at Hoke County’s two
early voting sites has been “robust,” according to local
elections officials.
As of Tuesday morning, 853 people have come out to
the polls to cast a ballot in the primary election. Of those
voters, 769 were Democrats, 81 were Republicans, two
were Libertarian and one was unaffiliated, according to
data provided by Board of Elections director Caroline
Shook.
The majority of votes coming in were taken at the
county office one-stop site. A total of 747 people voted
at the county office building, while 106 people voted at
the second early voting site at the Rockfish Community
Building.
The second voting site, located at 2749 Lindsay Road,
has worked out well as a polling place. Shook said. There
is good parking and the space is reserved only for voting,
with no other events going on at the building during the
(See VOTING TURNOUT, page 4A)
Teams form, prepare for Relay For Life in June
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Walkers at last year’s Relay For Life.
The purple shirts and glow
ing luminarias are returning this
year to celebrate cancer survivors,
memorialize those who died of the
disease and raise money to support
those still battling it.
The Hoke County Relay For
Life is set for June 20-21 at the
Raz Autry Stadium on the Hoke
County High School campus. The
all-night event features volunteer
walkers packing the track from
dusk to dawn to collect money
for the American Cancer Society,
along with activities, entertain
ment, food vendors and more.
Now’s the time to get together
with others and form a team to
participate, if you haven’t done so
already, event organizer and co
chair Ashley Dial said.
“Anyone can participate in Relay
For Life, it is a public event. Please
come out and walk to support this
wonderful cause and visit with the
many team vendors around the
track,” she said in a statement.
At the start of every year’s
Relay planning, the organizers ask
everyone to stand up and state their
reason for coming in to participate
in Relay For Life. Dial’s reason for
participating in the event is to help
people battling cancer, even if it’s
in small ways.
“We can raise money to make
the quality of life for someone else
a little bit (better),” she said. Some
of the money goes to do things
like buy wigs for children or adults
who have lost their hair because of
chemotherapy treatments, help pay
for gas cards for people who have
to drive back and forth for treat
ments or even therapy to help those
struggling to come to terms with
their battle.
(See RELAY, page 4A)