By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Hoke and Moore County District Attorney Mike Hardin made it clear in a Superior Court hearing Monday that he is looking into the Board of Education members receiving “staff retention” bonuses as a criminal matter, not a civil matter. “I am considering whether to charge the school board members of a criminal act,” Hardin...
Sex offender sentenced to 75-105 years in prison
A registered sex offender was found guilty last week of sexual crimes against a child, and sentenced to 75-105 years in prison. Investigators with the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office arrested Raheem Davis in August 2022 on three counts of statutory rape of a child by an adult, and three counts of indecent liberties with a child. At the time of...
Banquet honors Blue, helps youth
[Photo: Surrounded by family, Linda Blue gets a hug at the HNASA banquet, held last Friday night to help send local youth to college. Blue was the recipient of the Mitch Tyler Award.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • A teacher assistant who has dedicated decades of her life to helping children learn was named the 2023 recipient of the...
Veterans Day ceremony honors sacrifice, patriotism
[Photo: George Balch (at left) and John F. Harry, both Hoke County veterans, received honors at the ceremony held Saturday at City Hall in recognition of their hard work and many contributions to support other military veterans in the community and beyond.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Veteran’s Day is “a day to celebrate and honor America’s veterans for...
Recount confirms Raeford City Council election results
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • A recount Tuesday night of all the ballots cast in the recent Raeford City Council election confirmed the unofficial results announced last week. Ricky Sandy, Johnny Boyles and Jackie McLean remained as the top three candidates that voters chose to take seats on the city council in December, with a margin of just one...
Stewart’s Tavern bringing barbecue to downtown Raeford
[Photo: James and Kimberly Stewart are new business owners opening a restaurant on Main Street.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Downtown Raeford is getting a brand-new restaurant that will serve up barbecue and a family-friendly atmosphere, brought to life by a couple with close ties to Hoke County and the restaurant business. James and Kimberly Stewart are opening Stewart’s...
Raeford City Council candidates answer questions
The News-Journal asked all nine candidates running for Raeford City Council questions about why they’re seeking office, what they want to achieve and their thoughts on local issues. Read on to learn more about the people hoping to become Raeford’s next city council members. Voters will be able to select three new council members this year. The city council is...
Board members arrange bonus payback
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • According to information from Hoke County Schools, Hoke County Board of Education members have either made arrangements to not accept their stipend in order to pay back the bonus money, or have outright paid it back. Documents showed at least four out of the five members specifically made arrangements: two of them shortly after...
Military family gets home office makeover
[Photo: The Rever family of Hoke County came home from a “staycation” to see the newly renovated home office. T-Mobile, Blue Star Families and Brock Cabinets came together to make it happen. (Catharin Shepard photos)] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • When Alyssa Rever and her husband Matt Rever, a warrant officer at Fort Liberty, moved to Hoke County two...
Hoke commissioners deny rezoning, approve subdivision
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • After the county Planning Board unanimously recommended denial, and after hearing concerns about the process and the proposal from residents, the Hoke County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to deny a rezoning request for property on Rockfish Road. The rezoning request, application for general use rezoning RZ-23-14 submitted by Maebuilt Inc. proposed...
$15 million in state budget for Hoke, Raeford
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The North Carolina General Assembly’s budget, which passed last Friday, contains about $15.7 million for infrastructure projects and other improvements in Raeford and Hoke County. Hoke’s elected state leaders, Rep. Garland Pierce and Sen. Danny Britt, announced the funds once the budget passed the General Assembly in the early morning hours September 22, “after...
Hoke High staff hurt while breaking up fights
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Two Hoke County High School staff members went to the hospital Monday, one with a laceration to the forehead and the other for back issues, after breaking up fights on the high school campus. Two teachers were also checked out for “cuts and abrasions,” and two safety monitors had their eyes flushed out due...
Hoke Reading and Literacy Council celebrates 45th anniversary
[Photo: Attendees enjoyed the celebration last week at the Robert A. Wright Agriculture Building in Hoke County.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Cosandera Melvin had a computer at home, but didn’t know how to use it. While getting her hair done one day, a friend told her about the Saturday computer classes at the Hoke Reading and Literacy Council....
Local ‘studs’ serve up sliders at Habitat fundraiser
[Photo: Raeford Police Chief Marc Godwin was among the volunteer men who served up some sliders at the Habitat for Humanity fundraiser.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • It’s not every day Raeford’s mayor, police chief, assistant police chief and a city council member put on hard hats to wait tables, but it happened for a good cause last week...
Hoke High improves, some schools slip in performance grades
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • No Hoke County schools flunked, and Hoke High improved to earn a B letter grade in the most recent round of statewide school performance grades. Hoke High and SandHoke Early College High School earned the only B and A grades out of the county’s 13 graded public schools this year. All of the county’s...
“We’re facing embezzlement charges”: Court orders Hoke County Board of Education, Board of Commissioners to turn over records
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The Hoke County Board of Education is facing a possible embezzlement probe, according to documents from the Hoke County District Attorney’s office and statements school board Chair Angela Southerland made last week. Southerland said “we’re facing embezzlement charges, which is a felony,” and later said the situation is in “not just regular court, but...
News-Journal, EKOH Magazine win NCPA awards
The News-Journal and the EKOH Magazine won five awards last week in the North Carolina Press Association’s annual contests. The EKOH Magazine won first and second place in Magazine or Niche Publication Division A in the 2022-2023 News, Editorial and Photojournalism Contest. Newspaper Publisher Jessica Hendrix Brown won first and third place in Entertainment Ad Division A for advertising design,...
Schools hire Poyner Spruill law firm for legal counsel
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • After failed motions in two separate meetings, the Hoke County Board of Education voted 3-2 last Thursday to hire the Poyner Spruill law firm to be the board’s new legal counsel. At the board’s regularly scheduled workshop meeting last Tuesday evening, the school board came close to hiring a new law firm without having...
Arabia residents win rezoning denial after overflowing county commission meeting
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Arabia residents who overflowed the county commissioners’ room Monday night burst into cheers and applause as a majority of board members pledged to vote against a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for a developer to build 352 homes on the former Upland Trace golf course. Instead of changing the zoning to...
Duke Energy donates $12.5k to Hoke County Open Door Soup Kitchen
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The Hoke County Open Door Soup Kitchen, which is seeing an increase in need in the community, will use a $12,500 grant from Duke Energy to help feed more people. The soup kitchen takes action to help people in need in the community by giving away boxes of groceries, helping people pay utilities and...
Stonewall community “covered up in rats” as residents try to deal with rodents
[Photo: One of many rats Jordan Balfour and her family have had to deal with in recent weeks. (Photo by Jordan Balfour)] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Dead rats littered the road last week along part of Highway 20 in Hoke County, while residents reported seeing live rodents in their houses and even vehicles. It might sound like a...
Heat safety tips from the American Red Cross as high summer temperatures blaze on
According to the National Weather Service, the majority of the U.S. will experience above-normal temperatures for as long as the next week. This summer is being recorded as the hottest ever and currently, nearly 80 million people are experiencing dangerously hot temperatures as a heatwave moves across the country. HEAT SAFETY TIPS The Red Cross offers steps you can take to...
9 file to run for Raeford City Council
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • With a few days still to go in the open filing period, nine candidates have so far filed to run for election to three seats on the Raeford City Council. Cathy Brown, Jackie McLean, Ricky Sandy and Shelley Wilburn had added their names to the ballot by Monday, according to the Hoke County Board...
Shotwell interim contract through Sept. 30
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Interim Superintendent Dr. Rodney Shotwell will stay with Hoke County Schools until September 30, 2023, according to his contract with the school system. By that time, the district will likely have hired a permanent new superintendent to fill the vacant position, based on a projected timeline of the hiring process provided by the North...
Hoke County school board got $4,000 ‘staff retention’ bonuses
By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Hoke County Board of Education members earlier this month got checks for $4,000 each as a “staff retention bonus,” according to financial documents provided last week to the News-Journal in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The board members additionally received checks for $600 or $1,200 each for a similar bonus...