A 20-year-old man from Raeford was flown by helicopter Thursday afternoon to UNC Chapel Hill Medical Center after he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle. John Claude Rose Jr., 20, of the 100 block of RL Smith Lane was in serious to critical condition following the accident, according to North Carolina State...
Month: July 2020
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Isaias churns in our direction
Caption: The latest model runs of the two best performing ensembles show the storm grazing our coast. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Isaias may graze our coast Monday morning. We’re in the “cone of uncertainty” for the track, however, and the National Hurricane Center says it’s possible the storm will gain hurricane strength along the way....
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Lightning strikes set two houses ablaze, three firefighters and one homeowner injured
Three firefighters and one Hoke County homeowner were injured Tuesday in two separate house fires caused by lightning strikes, according to the Puppy Creek Fire Department. The first fire happened around 5 p.m. Tuesday at a house on the 300 block of Somerset Drive, located off of Hobson Road in East Hoke. A firefighter with...
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Two more file for School Board
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • One incumbent and one new candidate filed last week to seek election to the Hoke County Board of Education. School board incumbent Rosa McAllister-McRae filed to seek another term on the board. McAllister-McRae is the director of student support services for Sandhills Community College at the Hoke Center...
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Teen killed in Army Road wreck
A single-vehicle accident early Monday morning killed a Hoke County teenager and seriously injured several others. The accident happened around 1:37 a.m. on Army Road, according to a report by Trooper D. Clark of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Driver Devin Warfield was operating a P.T. Cruiser traveling on Army Road from N.C. 211,...
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Food pantries ramp up to help in pandemic
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • On a hot July morning this week, volunteers wearing face masks sat in the backs of SUVs, trucks and station wagons pulled up to the shade of a wooden shelter, chatting and listening to music as they waited for a truck full of food to arrive. If not...
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Mass testing site set for south Hoke
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina will hold a free drive-thru mass COVID-19 testing site next month in South Hoke. Patrick B. Strickland, program manager for the department of energy, senior solutions program and community initiatives program, confirmed Monday that the Lumbee Tribe is coordinating the free testing...
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Hoke sees seventh COVID-19 related death as virus continues spreading
By Catharin Shepard • Staff Writer • Hoke County has added about 80 newly identified cases of COVID-19 to its tally in the last week, and health officials also announced the seventh coronavirus-related death of a Hoke resident. Hoke County had 582 total known cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the North Carolina...
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Hoke teenager struck by gunfire while sleeping in his bed
A Hoke County teenager was seriously injured early Wednesday morning when an unknown gunman fired shots into his home that struck him while he was asleep, according to Sheriff Hubert Peterkin. Justin Cameron Dew, 17, was asleep in his bed at his home on Old Maxton Road when someone in a car outside fired shots...
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Hoke sees over 500 cases and record daily increase, two more deaths related to COVID-19
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Hoke County on Wednesday added a record daily high number of cases to its COVID-19 virus tally, and in the last two weeks two more Hoke residents have died due to the contagious illness. The county has now seen at least 509 known cases of the COVID-19 virus...
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Mary Kemp Thomas was first grad of Sandhills
Photo caption: Thomas receives high school equivalency certificate from James Dunlap, left, and Dr. Raymond Stone, becoming Sandhills’ first graduate. By Ellen McNeill • Mary K. Thomas, born and reared in Hoke County, was truly an amazing woman. Among her many achievements, she was the first person to graduate from Sandhills Community College. Mary K. was...
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McNeill named Chamber director
[cmsmasters_row][cmsmasters_column data_width=”1/1″][cmsmasters_text] The board of directors of the Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce has named Raeford native Elizabeth McNeill executive director. After growing up in Raeford, McNeill says she is excited to give back to the community and learn more about what Hoke County and Raeford have to offer its residents and visitors. Having previously worked...
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Influential teacher, civic leader killed in wreck
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Kemp Thomas, 89, an educator who taught students for more than 28 years in Hoke County Schools, died this week after a car crash that also injured two other people. The accident happened just before 5 p.m. Thursday, July 9 on N.C. 211 near Fulford McMillan Road. Thomas was the passenger in...
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More details on hybrid school schedule, sign-ups for online instruction open through July 27
Hoke County Schools plans to use a hybrid school schedule when students return to class next month, but families can choose to keep their child at home and enroll them in an online-only remote learning academy provided by the school system. Students who enroll in the hybrid schedule will be split into two groups and...
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2,400 boxes of produce to be given away Friday
Noonday Kitchen of Fayetteville, in partnership with multiple other organizations, will hold a fresh food giveaway Friday at Raeford Evangelical Methodist Church. The group is working with Mercy Chefs, and the USDA program Farm to Family to give away 2,400 boxes of fresh produce. The produce boxes are 15 pounds each and are free to...
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Happy hibiscus
Mary Roper has a way with hibiscus flowers, and this year she’s done it again. The plant grows in front of her apartment at Woodcreek Village. (Contributed photo)
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Wright files for School Board
By Catharin Shepard • Staff Writer • Local financial advisor John Wright was the first person to file the paperwork announcing his intent to run for a seat on the Hoke County Board of Education, according to the Board of Elections office. Wright, a Raeford native, filed last week. So far he is the only...
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Cape Fear gets new COVID-19 testing
Cape Fear Valley Health has a new tool in its fight against COVID-19. The state’s eighth-largest health system is now using diagnostic lab equipment that can diagnose inpatients for the COVID-19 coronavirus in an hour, the healthcare system announced this week in a press statement. The BioFire FilmArray system cost $140,000 and was purchased with...
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Browsing the Files: looking back at old papers
Photo Caption: The incoming president of the U.S.—Calvin Coolidge— arrives after the sudden death of Pres. Warren Harding. (94 years ago) 94 Years Ago • August 16, 1923 ”The board of education has let the contract for a colored high school and actual construction has begun on the building. “The school is located a mile...
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Yard debris everywhere, but nowhere to take it
Photo caption: Raeford City Council members meet, socially distanced. By Ken MacDonald • The City of Raeford has a yard debris problem. 401 Sand, the company it contracts with for disposal of debris, is out of room, City Manager Dennis Baxley told City Council Thursday morning at its July meeting. The company has applied to...
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Keeps Rockfish beautiful
To the Editor: Come down to Rockfish and see the monument and the art work of the flowers and manicured landscaping. The grass is kept and cut every week along with seasonal flowers planted. The monument lights shine brightly at night to reflect its beauty. None other than our own Larry Chason, solely does this...
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Huff: Hoping for real racial reform
It has often been said that America needs to have a serious conversation about race. That time may be now, especially if Americans can focus their attention on it for more than a few weeks, after the news outlets lose interest. Hopefully that will happen. The terrible killing of George Floyd was just a little...
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Democrats hold meetings
A meeting of officers and precinct chairs of the Hoke County Democratic Party will be held at 6:30 p.m. on July 16 on Zoom. The party’s regular monthly meeting will be held July 21 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. For information call the chairman at 910-494-8054 or the secretary at 910-303-6060.
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Hoke schools will reopen for hybrid learning, offer online-only option
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Hoke County Schools plan to reopen this fall on a hybrid schedule that will see students attending in-person classes two days a week, with online-only learning an alternative option for local families. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that the state would direct public schools to reopen...
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Wreck on NC 2111
Emergency crews are on the scene of a bad wreck on NC 211 near Godwins Outdoor, a few miles outside of Raeford. (5 p.m. Thursday)