The
ews
$1 00
If it happened, its news to us
0 5 5 0 S
No,18VoI.116
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
'V(^dnesday, June 30,2021
$57.6 million budget passes
No tax increase, County funds more than 60 offices, programs
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The Hoke County Board of Commission
ers voted Tuesday to approve a $57.6 mil
lion budget ordinance with no tax increase
for the upcoming fiscal year 2021-2022.
The board members met Monday and
Tuesday in sessions reconvened from
last week’s recessed meeting to give the
proposed budget and a number of county
contracts a final review. The commissioners
voted Tuesday to pass the ordinance, and
the budget will take effect this Thursday,
July 1.
The balanced county budget of
$57,625,706 is based on expected income
of $28,663,486 in property taxes, at a 75
cents per $100 valuation rate; $13,336,991
in sales tax revenue; $4,739,288 in revenue
from Social Services; $2,875,314 in revenue
from the Health Department; $1,560,640
appropriated from the county’s fund bal
ance; and multiple smaller amounts from
other county departments and fees.
The budget ordinance included funding
for more than 60 departments and pro
grams. The county spent the most money
on funding for Hoke County Schools,
$9,870,847; the Hoke County Sheriff’s Of
fice, $7,202,498 and jail, $4,858,709; the
Hoke County Department of Social Ser
vices, $6,554,055; and Health Department,
$3,835,885.
Other seven-figure line items included
(See BUDGET, page 5)
Champs
National champs
Hoke High 2021 grads Danny Pham, left, and Riley Edwards are
National Champions in the National Skills USA Commercial
Drone Competition.Pham also finished first,and Edwards,second,
in the state competition. Mario Malabunga was their teacher.
State champ
Hoke High Senior Laila Sa became
the school’s first Women’s State
Champion in the N.C. High School
Athletics Association Woman’s
Invitational in Wrestling. She plans
to earn a degree in nursing.
State champ
Hoke High 2021 grad Jadarien
Parker recently claimed the title
of NCHSAA State Champion in
the 200 meter race,finishing with
a time of 21 seconds.
(Contributed Photos)
An ambulance was sent to a convenience store
on South Main Street Tuesday after a reported
shooting. (Catharin Shepard photo).
Police investigate
shooting report
Officers with the Raeford Police Department
and emergency medical services responded
Tuesday afternoon to a gas station on the edge
of town in reference to a report of a person suf
fering from a gunshot wound.
Law enforcement and an ambulance re
sponded to the MP Mart gas station at the
(See SHOOTING, page 6)
COVID-19 numbers in Hoke continue to decline
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Hoke County showed a con
tinuing decline Monday in the
number of new COVID-19 cases,
with only 10 new confirmed cases
of the virus over the last seven
days.
The county saw 24 new cases
over the last 14 days, according to
the North Carolina Department
of Health and Human Services
(NCDHHS). That’s down from
the 36 new cases reported in the
two weeks prior, and down even
further from the 112 new cases
that were reported during the last
two weeks of May. There haven’t
been any additional deaths due to
COVID-19 in Hoke County in the
month of June reported, accord
ing to state numbers, leaving the
county’s coronavirus death toll at
56 people.
Hoke dropped to the second-
lowest tier on the County Alert
System in the most recent update
last week. The county is marked
in pale yellow for “moderate
impact” from COVID-19, down
a tier from the yellow “significant
impact” level.
The statewide alert system
generally reflects a continuing
downward trend in the number
of new infections across the state.
However, some counties are expe
riencing higher numbers.
(See COVID-19, page 8)
ily 10 new confirmed cases the 36 new cases reported in the ing to state numbers, leaving the impact” from COVID-19, down riencing higher numbers.
/irus over the last seven two weeks prior, and down even county’s coronavirus death toll at a tier from the yellow “significant (See COVID-19, page 8)
)unty to pay up to $200,000 to company for roadside litter cleanup
e County leaders recently perform roadside litter pickup 2022. In monthly payments, the four days a week, working eight addition to the agreed-on payme
ed a contract with a service alone Hiehwav 401. Hiehwav 211 countv will nav the comnanv un to hours a dav. to provide services at amount, according to the contrac
Hoke County leaders recently
approved a contract with a service
provider that will pick up litter
on some of the county’s busiest
highways.
Greenway Service LLC will
perform roadside litter pickup
along Highway 401, Highway 211
and Highway 20 in Hoke County,
according to the contract. The
one-year contract will run from
July 1 of this year to June 30,
2022. In monthly payments, the
county will pay the company up to
a maximum of $200,000 for the
work.
The contract specifies the
company will provide two crews
four days a week, working eight
hours a day, to provide services at
the different locations as needed.
Additional roadside pickups or
other work will require a different
quote and added to the invoice in
addition to the agreed-on payment
amount, according to the contract.
Littering on the county’s roads
has drawn many complaints from
citizens in the last few years,
(See LITTER, page 3)
Well-known Evangelist Hardaway dies
By Ken MacDonald
I had seen the look before—but in a puppy, one full
of energy, but temporarily restrained by a leash, fastened
to the chair leg at an outside restaurant table. Again,
restrained, but happy and enthusiastic and hardly inconve
nienced.
That day some 25 years ago, the look was on a young
fellow, a bright seventh grader, named Brian Lee. His desk
was placed permanently BEHIND Mrs. Frahm’s, presum
ably to rein him in, separate him, and keep him from
(See OTHER STUEE, page 3)
A well-known minister and entrepreneur
in the Hoke County community passed away
Monday at the age of 71.
Evangelist Betty L. Hardaway was pastor of
Jericho Deliverance Temple for more than 40
years, and owner of Hardaway’s Herb Garden,
a business she founded herself
Known for her passion for preaching the
Gospel, she appeared for many years on her
own television show as a televangelist and
singer-songwriter. She also sold herbal reme
dies and other products at her business located
on U.S. 401 at the corner of Vass Road.
Hardaway was bom and raised in Raeford
by her parents, Sam and Mildred Willis. She
and her husband Freeman Hardaway Sr. made
their home in Hoke County where she created
many business opportunities.
Hardaway worked her way up to becoming
a businesswoman and public figure. With the
support of her husband of nearly 50 years, she
knew what it was like to live the American
dream, her family said.
“Even though she grew up a sharecropper,
she managed to become an entrepreneur and
(See EVANGELIST, page 8)
Enrolling
For Next
School Year!
Bus Service
from Raeford
(910) 483-3905
READERS’i
Fayetteville Christian School
Voted Best Private School
8 Consecutive Years 8i Counting!
1422 Ireland Dr. Fayetteville, NC 28304 • www.fayettevillechristian.conn
AWARDS