Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / June 9, 2021, edition 1 / Page 1
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The $1 00 ews I If it happened, it s news to us '0 4879 05505 No.l5VoI.116 Raeford & Hoke County n.c. Wednesday, June 9,2021 Another 600 houses debated Residents appear before County Commission to protest development No tax hike in budget (Story, page 4) The Bedford subdivision under construction in 2014. Now it’s going to get I 17 additional lots, (file photo) By Catharin Shepard Staff writer Residents of the eastern and western areas of the county raised questions Monday about whether Hoke has the infra structure to support continued subdivision growth - and whether it should - as commis sioners faced a large agenda of plat requests and amendments at their first meeting of the month. By the end of the two-and- a-half-hour meeting, the board members had tabled two sub division requests and approved six others. The commission also approved three other planning requests and tabled one, follow ing public hearings. All together, the prelimi nary plat approval requests and preliminary plat amendment approval requests from three different applicants represented a possible 606 new homes that could break ground in Hoke. Some of the requests were amendments for subdivisions commissioners already ap proved this year, after the devel oper reworked the site plans to reduce lot sizes and add more lots to the property. A crowd of residents from the Rockfish and Five Points communities attended the board meeting to voice their thoughts on the growth in the county, and concerns about its effects on the school system, law enforcement, traffic safety and fire safety, as well as quality of life issues such as internet access and pre serving the character of rural/ agricultural communities. Ken Gregory of the Rock- fish Community Chamber of Commerce, and Hoke residents David Frump, Ellen Bradford, Robin Bush and Mike King were among the people who addressed the commissioners at length during public hearings for the subdivision requests. After discussion and hearing from speakers, the (See NEW HOUSES, page 8) Clockwise from above: Graduates Chloe Baker and Briana Becker smile for the camera;TawanzaWoodson helps Lauren Lewis adjust her cap;Amber Douse calls seniors to the stage to accept their diplomas. (Contributed photos) More than 300 graduates walk stage at Hoke High School By Catharin Shepard Staff writer “It’s time to let your Buck pride shine,” Hoke High Interim Principal Sabrina Finkbeiner told the Class of 2021, as they gathered one last time Saturday to mark the end of their four years together. Raz Autry Stadium was over flowing as hundreds of parents, family members and friends gath ered to see off the latest Bucks grads in style, after a difficult senior year due to the pandemic. Assistant principal Joshua Wil liams offered words of encourage ment as students processed into the stadium for the graduation. “Congratulations to all the (See GRADUATION, page 4) Raeford joins area law enforcement agencies in raising officer pay Approves budget with no tax hike By Ken MacDonald The City of Raeford reached into contingency money to keep from being left behind and hav ing their police officers poached by higher-paying law enforcement agencies. City Council agreed to add $154,000 to its budget—just before adopting it Monday night at its regular meeting—to fund increases for existing and new officers. “Ya’ll are aware that the sher iff’s department, the county, just bumped the pay for the deputies,” said City Manager Dennis Baxley, as the budget came up for discus sion. “We’re between a rock and a hard place. We knew it was coming at some point where pay was just going to have to go up. So included in the budget is a pay increase comparable to what the sheriff’s doing to keep us com petitive. Now that was a $154,000 hit.” Baxley said Tuesday morning starting pay would go to approxi mately $40,800, up from about $36,800, and all existing officers would be re-graded to equal an approximate 15 percent increase. Hoke Sheriff Dr. Hubert Peterkin recently asked for and received a similar increase for deputies, citing competition from surrounding counties that was leaving the office increasingly and drastically shorthanded. The City funded the change from contingency and from its fund balance. Baxley said an (See CITY COUNCIL, page 8) Enrolling For Next School Year! Bus Service from Raeford (910) 483-3905 Fayetteville Christian School Voted Best Private School 8 Consecutive Years 8i Counting! 1422 Ireland Dr. Fayetteville, NC 28304 • www.fayettevillechristian.conn
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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June 9, 2021, edition 1
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