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No,28VoI.116
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
'V(^dnesday, September 8,2021
County hits 50% vaccination total
Another death, 237 COVID cases reported in last week
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Hoke County has hit the 50
percent mark for residents hav
ing received at least one dose of
a COVID-19 vaccine, even as the
Delta variant continues driving up
the number of new cases.
About half of all people in
Hoke County so far have received
at least one dose of a COVID-19
vaccine, according to the North
Carolina Department of Health
and Human Services (NCDHHS).
That means at least 27,587 resi
dents have gotten one of the shots.
The number of people who
are considered fully vaccinated is
lower, at around 44 percent of the
population. A total of about 24,155
Hoke residents are considered
fully vaccinated.
Even while more people in
Hoke get vaccinated, the number
of new confirmed cases of CO
VID-19 remains high in North
Carolina.
Hoke County has seen 491
new cases of COVID-19 in the
past two weeks, including 237
new cases in the past seven days,
according to NCDHHS. Another
person in Hoke County recently
died after testing positive for the
virus, bringing the county’s death
toll for the pandemic to 63 lives
lost.
The county has seen at least
seven COVID-19 deaths so far in
the months of August and Sep
tember, after going for a period of
several months without any virus
deaths at all.
The ongoing surge began in
July. The number of new con
firmed cases of COVID-19 fell
to a low of just 10 in one week,
before the current surge began.
(See COVID, page 6)
Law enforcement warns
of break-ins in county
A rash of vehicle break-ins in the
community caused local law en
forcement to warn residents to lock
their doors and not leave valuables
inside cars.
“Hoke County residents - as
a community, we are undergoing
a hefty amount of breaking and
entering of motor vehicles, as well
as vehicles being stolen. Several
neighborhoods in the county have
been targeted, and affected greatly
by the actions of thieves,” Hoke
County Sheriff Dr. Hubert Peterkin
wrote in an alert on Facebook.
A group of three to five people
are suspected to be behind the rash
of vehicle break-ins, the sheriff
said. They are described as slim-
built men, most of them on foot but
with one person driving.
The suspects have been seen go-
9/11 service is Saturday
Hoke County will take part in
a special ceremony happening
nation-wide this September 11 to
commemorate the victims of the
terrorist attacks of 20 years ago.
Organizers will host a ceremony
September 11 that will include
reading the names and information
of 50 of the people who died in the
attacks.
The event is set to start at 8:30
a.m. September 11 and will be held
at Freedom Park in downtown Ra
eford, at the corner of Main Street
ing from car to car in driveways to
find unlocked vehicles. The break-
ins have been taking place between
2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
“Our patrol division as well as
our detective division are working
continuously to be proactive and
reactive to these types of crimes,”
Peterkin wrote.
Anyone with video footage or
additional information regarding
these crimes is asked to please con
tact Det. V. Rentz at (910) 875-5111
or by email at vrentz@hokesheriff
org.
“As a reminder, please ensure
your vehicles are secured and
personal items such as keys, purses,
wallets, firearms are not left inside
of the vehicles. Please stay vigilant,
and stay safe!” Peterkin wrote.
and East Central Avenue.
Following the ceremony, volun
teers will hold a day of service to
support the community.
The National Flag of Honor
Across America Memorial in Hoke
County is being organized by Hoke
County Teen Court. It is led nation
ally by Global Youth Justice and
funded by that agency and the Fed
eral Agency AmeriCorps National
Day of Service.
For information call (910) 987-
7639.
FirstHealth hospital wins award
FirstHealth Moore Regional
Hospital - Hoke has been awarded
the American Heart Assoeiation
and American Stroke Association
Get with the Guidelines Stroke
Gold Achievement Award for its
commitment to ensuring stroke
patients receive the most appropri
ate treatment according to nation
ally recognized, research-based
guidelines.
(See AWARD, page 6)
Jessica Vanallen in the restaurant she’s opening this week. (Catharin Shepard photo)
New name, menu, owner for loeal ‘Place’
time was right.
“I love working with food, I like to cook. It’s
always been my dream to have my own restau
rant,” she said.
Vanallen was hard at work last week getting
everything ready to open. She planned to have
the restaurant’s first day sometime this week,
depending on how things go with the final prepa
rations.
A number of changes are coming, besides the
new name. Under the new ownership, the res
taurant’s hours are going to expand. The plan is
to have Jess’s Place open from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.,
making it available as a place to get dinner as
well as lunch.
There will be new service options for diners,
too. Vanallen wanted to make things easier for
(See RESTAURANT, page 6)
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
A “Place” for hungry diners in Raeford has a
new owner and is reopening with a brand-new
menu and extended hours of operation.
Frank’s Plaee, founded in 2019 by former
Hoke County Coroner Frank Crumpler, is now
Jess’s Place - named after Jessica Vanallen, who
is launching her first venture as a restaurant
owner.
Vanallen grew up in Hoke County and today
still lives here with her husband and daughter.
She managed Sub Station II in Raeford for about
15 years, gaining hands-on experience in the
restaurant industry.
When the opportunity became available for
her to take over Frank’s Place, Vanallen knew the
What’s that? Bus stops are being installed around county
A new bus stop, in front of the library.
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
They’re blue, they have seats, and
they’ve been appearing in all sorts of
places around Hoke County.
What are these new bus stop shelters,
and why are they showing up?
The county is installing covered bus
stops at locations such as the library,
shopping centers and near the Butterball
plant on East Central Avenue. The shel
ters will have bus transportation provided
by the Hoke Area Transit Service (HATS)
as part of a new service.
HATS plans to launch what’s called
a “deviated fixed route,” director Nancy
Thornton said. The deviated fixed route
will allow the service to continue offer
ing door-to-door service as it always has
- a feature especially helpful for senior
citizens, and people with limited mobil
ity. It will also allow the department to
operate a traditional sort of bus route with
regularly scheduled stops.
There are going to be a total of 15 of
the bus stops installed at places in Hoke
where people commonly need to go,
Thornton said.
Andrew Jacobs has been working on
the project to get the stops constructed.
The Hoke County Board of Commission
ers approved a bus stop agreement in July.
Fourteen of the fifteen bus stop shelters
have already been installed. The funding
(See BUS STOPS, page 4)
Enrolling
For Next
School Year!
Bus Service
from Raeford
(910) 483-3905
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