The
ews
75^
I ournal
Hoke County’s newspaper since 1905
No.40Vol.109
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, December 10,2014
Robert Stephens leads 1,500 protestors from Macy’s in New York City to Grand Central Station. (Photo by Jonathan Mehring—mehringphoto.com,
Instagram @mehringsbearings)
Raeford native leads protest charge
‘I want to leave this world better than I found it when I came here’
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
He’s been tear gassed, shot
at with rubber bullets and hit by
poliee batons while taking part
in the protests over the deaths of
Michael Brown in Ferguson and
Eric Garner in New York City.
As people in Ferguson, Missouri
and New York City have raised
their voices in protest, a man from
Hoke County has added his sup
port and even leadership to the
growing movement.
Robert Terrell Stephens, son of
May A. Stephens and the late Rev.
Robert Stephens of Wesley Cha
pel AME Zion Church, said he
felt what happened to Brown and
Garner was wrong, and that he
decided he had to get involved.
“When there’s anything wrong,
you’re obligated to do something
about it, not just sit on the side
lines,” he said.
Stephens, 28, was born and
raised in Hoke County. He had
a strong sense of community
involvement even as a teenager,
he said. When Stephens was at
Hoke High School, the school
implemented a policy that students
caught without their student identi
fication cards had to pay a $1 fine
to get a temporary I.D.
Stephens organized a student
protest against the policy, with the
students wearing white shirts in
solidarity and bringing lunch from
home so they were not buying
food from the cafeteria.
“I’ve always had a flair for so
cial justice issues,” he said.
Stephens became even more
involved in social activism after
graduating with the Hoke High
(See STEPHENS, page 4A)
This Week
She’s the czar
of Hoke food
Page 6A
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 4B
Deaths 3 A
Editorials 2A
Sports 5 A
Worship 2B
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Last day of work arrives for House of Raeford
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The last day of work arrived this
week for most employees at the House
of Raeford’s further processing plant,
marking the end of the poultry com
pany’s decades-long operations in
Hoke County.
Tuesday was the last day of produc
tion at the plant, which was staffed by
more than 400 people. The House of
Raeford shuttered its Hoke slaughter
house in 2013 when it got out of the
turkey business and switched entirely
to producing chicken.
A minimal group of employees will
remain in the shipping and mainte
nance departments for a few months,
according to spokesman Dave Witter.
It’s possible that another company
could buy and reopen the plant, which
was built in the 1990s.
“Multiple parties have expressed
interest in the further processing plant,
but there is no information we are at
(See EAST DAY, page 3A)
Santa, lights, live Nativity ready park for Christmas
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
When her seasonal job with the
Hoke County Parks and Recreation
Department meant she had to dress
up like a Christmas tree, 17-year-old
Shamara Butts didn’t hesitate.
Butts joined her coworkers decked
out in various Christmas costumes
- an angel, a living Nativity scene,
elves and more - at the grand open
ing last week of the first Christmas
Lights in the Park event.
Thousands of lights were set to
shining at the Hoke County Rec
reation Complex on Highway 211
south of Raeford as elected officials
joined department employees in cut
ting the ribbon on opening night for
(See CHRISTMAS PARK, page 4A)
Above, county officials cut the ribbon for the
Christmas celebration at the park. At left, Santa
and Mrs. Claus await visitors. (Catharin Shepard
photos)
High school students were
taken to middle schools
after evacuation.
2,000
students
evacuated
Bomb threat called in
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Nearly 2,000 students at
Hoke County High School
and Turlington Alterna
tive School were evacuated
Tuesday morning after the
school system received
bomb threats targeting both
campuses.
“We are not taking this
lightly,” Hoke County
Sheriff Hubert Peterkin
said shortly after the stu
dents were evacuated.
Bomb sniffing dogs
from Fort Bragg did not lo
cate any explosive devices
on either campus. Students
returned to classes shortly
before 11 a.m.
The bomb threat was
called in around 8 a.m.,
Peterkin said. The person
(See THREAT, page 6A)
Victim: Blanks
Shooting was
bad drug deal
The Hoke County Sher
iff’s Office announced this
week that it will not file
charges in the 2013 shoot
ing death of a man who was
killed during what authori
ties report was a drug deal
gone wrong.
Chad Lynn Blanks, 28,
was shot October 14, 2013
at a home on the 600 block
of Goose Pond Road in Red
Springs.
(See CHARGES, page 3A)
Woman charged
with identity theft
Depu
ties with
the Hoke
County
Sheriff’s
Office have
arrested a
woman for
McDuffie
allegedly lying to officers to
avoid legal consequences.
Investigators arrested
Tiffany McDuffie, 32, of
the 4900 block of Fieldcrest
Drive on charges of felony
identity theft and misde
meanor intoxicated and
(See I.D. THEET page 3A)