The
ews
Journal
Hoke County’s newspaper since 1905
75^
No.46 Vol.113
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, January 16,2019
State delays widening of N.C. 211
New transportation plan puts off project another year because of funding
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The North Carolina Depart
ment of Transportation announced
last week that it will push back the
widening of N.C. 211 by one year
for budgetary reasons.
The project announced in 2016
was originally set to begin con
struction in 2022. The purchase
of land as part of the right-of-
way process is still set to happen
beginning in summer of 2020.
However, construction will not
begin until 2023 under the newly
released development plan.
The schedule adjustment was
announced as part of the state’s
State Transportation Improvement
Plan (STIP) draft update. The plan
uses a formula to assign a score to
each project and determine which
projects get funded first.
The delay was one of about 500
changes in major highway projects
from the previous STIP. About
200 of those changes involved
an adjustment in scheduling “for
planning or budgeting needs,”
according to a statement from
NCDOT.
The widening project will turn
N.C. 211 between West Palmer
Street in Raeford and U.S. 15/501
in Aberdeen into a four-lane high
way. The project is estimated to
cost about $150 million.
The schedule adjustment was
necessary to “assist with balanc
ing funding,” according to a state
ment from NCDOT.
The draft STIP includes proj
ects across all transportation
modes and in all 100 counties in
North Carolina. The list includes
1,266 highway projects, 86 avia
tion projects, 235 bicycle and pe
destrian projects, 47 rail projects,
(See 211 WIDENING, page 5)
Talks to continue
on new buildings
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Hoke commissioners will continue talks on a
new agriculture building and Parks and Recre
ation center at a meeting next Wednesday.
The board will meet with Bobbitt Design-
Build of Raleigh Wednesday, January 23 at 1:30
p.m. in the commissioners’ room.
The commissioners sent the Bobbitt design
team back to the drawing board after a meeting
last month. While the board approved of early
stage plans for the agriculture center, planned
for construction across from the Hoke County
Health Department, the price for the Parks and
Recreation center came in higher than expected
at about $15 million. There were also concerns
about how to arrange some of the possible
facilities, such as an indoor walking track and
a swimming pool, to best fit the community’s
needs.
(See BUILDINGS, page 5)
Count will gather
data on homeless
The Hoke County Open Door Soup Kitchen
will sponsor the 2019 statewide Point-In-Time
Count that surveys how many people in Hoke
County, and across the state, are homeless.
The count will take place January 31 as part
of an annual mission conducted by the N.C.
Coalition To End Homelessness. The intent
is to gather up-to-date information about the
homeless population in North Carolina. The
data includes the total number of homeless
(See HOMELESS, page 4)
Chamber banquet Jan. 29
Tickets are now available for the annual
Raeford-Hoke County Chamber of Commerce
banquet.
The banquet, held each year in January, gives
local businesses and organizations a chance to
network with each other and hear about new
developments over the past year. The catered
dinner also features a guest speaker.
(See BANQUET, page 8)
Up and coming wrestler
Hoke High Junior Ronnie Slate wrestles at a recent meet. He won his first pin against Seventy-First at Pinecrest in December. “And how
does one follow up?” asks the Bucks’ Facebook wrestling page? “You get your second win by pin in less than a minute.” (Photo by Ed
Clemente)
Girl Scouts kick off this year’s cookie sales
Area Girl Scouts began selling cook
ies for the 2019 season over the weekend.
Scouts in North Carolina Coastal Pines
set up booths in Hoke County and began
personal sales.
Through the cookie program, girls not
only “discover their inner leadership po
tential but also use their earnings to power
amazing experiences for themselves and
their troop, including travel, outdoor
adventure, and science, technology, engi
neering, and math (STEM) programming.
Many girls put the money toward im
pactful community projects right in their
own backyards, from supporting animal
shelters and food banks to working with
local and state legislators to change laws,”
says the organization.
“When we invest in girls, we are giving
them the opportunity to develop the skills
and confidence they need to take the lead
in making the world a better place,” said
Lisa Jones, Chief Executive Officer at Girl
Scouts—North Carolina Coastal Pines.
“The Girl Scout Cookie Program has pro
vided girls with the incredible opportunity
to develop key skills like goal setting,
decision making, money management,
people skills, and business ethics while
allowing them to fund once in a lifetime
experiences.”
The program includes a recently
(See COOKIES, page 8)
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Tylertown getting community center
The News-
Journal
is sold in
more than
40 area
stores.
By Ken MacDonald
I must have been in the seventh grade when my father
told me he’d found someone to teach me guitar. My
parents had made several attempts to help, including
taking me a number of times to the Y in Fayetteville,
where I was assigned an album of surfing music and a
corresponding book of what looked to me like hiero
glyphs. I tried to play Wipe-out—I think that’s the most
recognizable song on the album—but I ended up wiping
out for real instead. (Around that time, I actually tried
to make an electric guitar with just a battery, but that’s
another story.)
The night we headed out to Dundarrach, I’m sure my
father was full-on sacrificing, because he was no
(See OTHER STUEE, page 5)
The Hoke County Board of
Commissioners joined members
of the Tylertown community Jan
uary 7 to celebrate the ground
breaking for a new community
building.
County Manager Letitia
Edens, Sheriff Hubert Peterkin
and county department heads
also joined in the ceremony as
the county broke ground on the
new public building.
The county awarded the con
tract to J&K Builders, a compa
ny based in Raeford, to construct
the building. The community
(See TYLERTOWN, page 8)
Officials break ground for the new Tylertown community center. (Con
tributed photo)
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