The
ews
I ournal
Hoke Count3^s newspaper since 1905
No.52Vol.112
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, February 28,2018
Filing closes this week for ‘ 18 election
6 vying for Hoke Commission, 3 for sheriff, 3 for state house
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The filing period for the 2018 midterm
elections closes Wednesday, with candi
dates submitting their intention to run for
local, state and national offices.
As of Tuesday morning, six people had
filed to run for a seat on the Hoke County
Board of Commissioners. Incumbents
Tony Hunt, Harry Southerland and Allen
Thomas filed to run for another term on
the board, and will face candidates Angela
Jones, Terrell McMillan and Graham Poole.
All six filed to run as Democrats.
Three people have filed seeking the
office of Hoke County Sheriff, with in
cumbent Sheriff Hubert Peterkin joined
by candidates Darin Bronson and former
Raeford Police Chief Kemp Crumpler in
running for election. All three are running
as Democrats.
Incumbent Hoke County Coroner G.
Franklin Crumpler - the longest serving
elected official in North Carolina and pos
sibly even in the United States - will seek
another four-year term in office. Clerk of
Superior Court Evelyn McLeod has also
filed to run for another term. Both Crum
pler and McLeod are unopposed in those
races so far. Crumpler is the father of Kemp
Crumpler, candidate for the office of sheriff.
In state races, two more candidates filed
to run for a seat in the North Carolina
House of Representatives. John Wilbert Im-
baratto and Lrancis Russell Walker filed to
run as Republicans. Imbaratto and Walker
will face each other in a May primary, with
the winner going on to face incumbent Rep.
(See FILING, page 10)
Man killed by
hit-and-run driver
Marvin McCoy, 52, died Friday
night after being struck by a car just
outside of the Raeford city limits.
McCoy was apparently walking in
the roadway near the intersection of
Vass Road and U.S. Highway 401 when
a vehicle struck him, according to in
formation officer Trooper Pierce of the
North Carolina Highway Patrol.
A call to 911 came in around 9:16 p.m.
Friday, with emergency responders from multiple agencies
rushing to the scene to find McCoy lying on the shoulder
of the road. Despite efforts to save his life, McCoy did not
survive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
(See PEDESTRIAN, page 4)
McCoy
Sweet job
Kamryn (left) and Bella Votaw found a spot out of the rain Monday downtown to sell Girl Scout cookies.Their table in
front of Home Food received so much attention their supply of cookies was thinning Tuesday. Cookie season closes March
4. (Ken MacDonald photo)
‘Oldtimer’ recalls life of hard work, family
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Steed, left, with Miranda Roberts who nominated him. (Con
tributed photo)
Steed presented Order
of Long Leaf Pine Award
The man for whom Don
Steed Elementary Sehool
was named, received the
Order of the Longleaf Pine
award at State Employees
Credit Union luncheon.
The award is the high
est offered by the North
Carolina governor’s office.
and recognizes “persons
who have made significant
contributions to the state
and their communities
through their exemplary
service and exceptional ac
complishments,” according
to the award society’s
(See STEED, page 6)
Walter Purcell, 83, has a lot of stories
to tell after a long life of hard work with
the A&R railroad, starting several busi
nesses, raising five children and being
called to study ministry. His cousin,
neighbor and lifelong friend, Mernelle
Baxter, convinced him last week to share
his life story in honor of Black History
Month.
Purcell and his family moved to the
McFarland Farm in the Five Points area
of Hoke County in 1949. His father, Silas
Purcell, was a farmer who worked in the
area. Purcell himself didn’t learn how to
read and write as a young man - some
thing he went back to school later in life
to accomplish. He went to work for the
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad in 1954
and stayed with the company for more
than 22 years.
“I went to the railroad. That’s the train
up there on the wall if you can see it
there,” he said, pointing out an old photo
of himself and another man with one of
the A&R engines. “I went in as a brake-
man, and at that time it was 86 cents,
what I was making, and I built a five-
room house with that money at 86 cents
an hour. That came to $6.88 a day.”
After doing track maintenance, he
worked his way up to being head brake-
man on the train. He spent years teaching
(See VLDTIMER’, page 6)
Walter Purcell at home. (Catharin
Shepard photo)
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News-Journal
Hoke EMS team finalist in international competition
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Follow
us on
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www.raefordnj.com
The same paramedics who
respond to accidents, illnesses and
injuries in Hoke County every day
beat out over 20 other teams in the
annual Journal of Emergeney Medi
cal Services (JEMS) Games compe
tition in Charlotte last week.
Hoke County EMS, contracted
from Cape Fear Valley, came in
third place in the finals of the inter
national competition that tests medi
cal first responders’ skills. They
beat out teams of paramedics from
all across the country and even an
international team from Europe to
make it to the top three. A total of
27 teams competed, including the
New York City Fire Department,
the largest emergency responder
organization in the nation, and
Cumberland County and Cape Fear
Valley’s LifeLink teams.
The three-person team got the
ehance to shine by displaying the
same skills they use every day, but
this time, in front of an audience
of their peers. The team practiced
for about six months by running
through different scenarios. Cape
Fear Valley Viee President for EMS
Brian Pearce said.
The JEMS Games competition
(See EMS, page 6)
Subscriptions just $33
per year inside
Hoke County!
News-Journal wins 9 awards
The News-Journal staff brought
home nine awards last week from
the North Carolina Press Associa
tion’s annual convention in Raleigh.
The awards included three first-
place wins, two second-place honors
and four third-place recognitions
across seven different eategories.
Staff writer Catharin Shepard
won first place in education report
ing, first place in general news
reporting and second and third place
in city-county government report
ing. Publisher Ken MaeDonald
received third place in news feature
writing. MacDonald and Shepard
together took home first place in
online breaking news coverage for
coverage of Hurricane Matthew and
seeond plaee in general news report
ing. Staff additionally won third
(See AWARDS, page 6)
By Ken MacDonald
Suffered two tortures in recent days: a liftgate fell on my head, and I
had to sit through a three-hour banquet. I don’t know which was worse.
My sister-in-law, whose Jeep I was loading with luggage, said (now, in
retrospect, I think with uncertain sympathy), “Yeah, that happens about
half the time,” as I felt for blood, and issued the s-word with great em
phasis. “He always says that,” my wife clarified to her sister, “when he
gets hit on the head.
(See OTHER STUEE, page 4)