The
ews
Journal
Hoke County’s newspaper since 1905
75^
No. 9 Vol.114
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, May 1,2019
Schools will close for teacher rally
More than 150 teachers ask to take leave to protest in Raleigh May 1
Teachers from Don Steed Elementary
joined the rally in 2018. (File photo)
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Hoke County Schools cancelled classes
Wednesday, May 1 to allow local educators a
chance to participate in the statewide rally.
All schools except SandHoke Early College
planned to close Wednesday. SandHoke was
to remain on a regular schedule for students
and staff.
A total of 165 Hoke County teachers asked
to take leave on May 1 prior to spring break,
causing administrators to evaluate the situa
tion, according to school officials.
“This decision was made after reviewing
the number of Hoke County teachers who
have requested to use personal leave to attend
the NC Teacher Rally in Raleigh on May 1 as
they advocate for better schools, stronger stu
dents, higher pay, and the respect deserved by
all public educators,” the school system wrote
in a Facebook post notifying families of the
school closure. The school system also took
other means to notify parents of the teacher
workday.
The day will be an optional teacher work
day for teachers and staff. Students will not
have school. They won’t need to make up
the time off, according to Superintendent Dr.
Freddie Williamson.
“Instruction is our top priority. Every deci
sion we make begins with instruction in mind.
(See TEACHER RALLY, page 4)
Report card shows
Hoke kids’ struggles
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Over half Hoke County’s 22,000 children
live in poverty, according to a report released
from the nonprofit organization N.C. Child.
Each year, N.C. Child compiles “report
cards” for all 100 North Carolina counties,
tracking factors that affect the health and
wellbeing of children across the state. Hoke
County’s report card showed that many
children face poverty, hunger and other issues
that affect their quality of life.
Over 56 percent of all children in Hoke
live in poor or low-income homes, and nearly
a quarter may not get enough to eat on a
regular basis. Four percent of children in
Hoke County don’t have health insurance, the
report stated.
Of the 22,252 children counted in Hoke’s
population, 34 percent - or about 7,500 - are
under the age of six. Nearly 11 percent of
babies born to Hoke parents have a low birth
weight, and over 10 percent are born pre
term. About 73 percent of expecting mothers
(See CHILDREN, page 8)
Gaming center operator shot
Three arrested for murder, one sought
Officers with the Hoke County Sheriff’s
Office have arrested three people and are
seeking one other in connection with the mur
der of a man in Raeford last week.
Deputies responded to the 7300 block of
Turnpike Road around 10:33 p.m. Wednesday,
April 24 in reference to a shots fired call. The
officers located a shooting victim inside the
building and later identified him as 40-year-
old Mohammed Qasem Al-Otab.
“The victim was being transported to
Moore Regional Hospital when he died as a
result of his injuries,” the sheriff’s office said
in a state
ment. “The
motive
appears to
have been
a robbery.
The inves
tigation is
ongoing at
this time.”
During the investigation, detectives identi
fied four suspects wanted in connection with
(See MURDER, page 5)
McArthur
Cole
DOT shifting two employees
to Scotland County office
The North Carolina Department of Trans
portation plans to move one area of its local
operations to a new facility in Scotland
County, but Hoke’s DOT maintenance office
will stay open, officials said.
NCDOT constructed a new facility, known
as an equipment shop, in Scotland County.
The agency will be moving a few employ
ees from Hoke’s office to the new location,
according to NCDOT spokesman Aaron
Moody.
Escaped inmate
caught in Virginia
Authorities have captured an inmate
who escaped from state custody in Hoke
County last October.
For six months, investigators tracked
the whereabouts of Cul Priest Jones,
45, after Jones escaped from the Hoke
Correctional Institution. Police officers
in Roanoke Rapids and deputies with the
Halifax County Sheriff’s
" (See INMATE,
page 4)
“It made sense to consolidate the equip
ment shops for Scotland and Hoke. Essen
tially they’re just moving two employees
over from the Hoke equipment shop,”
Moody said.
The maintenance yard at the Hoke NC
DOT office, which is located on Mockingbird
Hill Road, will remain open and operating.
“The maintenance yard in Hoke is not
closing down,” Moody said.
(See DOT WORKERS, page 8)
cfHemjfT
By Ken MacDonald
The movie “Mustang” from 2015 was so good
I watched it again on Netflix and it put me in a
teacher appreciation mood.
I’m sure we can all name teachers who af
fected us, and our trajectories, or at least we can
appreciate some for putting up with us.
I’ll admit, to my shame, that I didn’t try very
hard in school at the things teachers wanted me
(See OTHER STUEE, page 10)
Believed to be “The Little Girl at The Fountain,” Covington’s “first distinguishing piece,”
wrote a newspaper. The famous sculptor Lorado Taft took an interest in this work.
(Photo sent by Tom Covington)
‘He says he’s a farmer,
the world will say he’s an artist’
Hoke self-taught sculptor got statewide attention
By Ken MacDonald famous poet John Charles McNeill’s
house at Spring Hill, outside Wagram.
Wednesday afternoon, Calvin i was on the final stop of a months-
Newton led me around the grounds of (See SCULPTOR, page 2)
Covington at work.
WG. Quackenbush
The identity of this man is
unknown.