[Photo: The funeral was held at Cape Fear Conference B Headquarters Friday afternoon. Seats were packed with Peterkin’s family, friends and fellow law enforcement officers; WRAL live-streamed the service.] By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Bold, courageous, reliable, a mentor, a dedicated man – that was how friends and fellow leaders described Hoke County...
Schools online Friday, students get day off Friday, Nov. 12
Hoke County Schools will be online only for all students Friday, October 29 due to expected traffic impacts from Hoke Sheriff Dr. Hubert Peterkin’s funeral. More than half half of all county school buses travel through the area in East Hoke near the Cape Fear Conference B Headquarters where the service will be held, school...
Families, friends mourn Hoke High students found dead
[Photo: Remembering Britany Carolina Munoz Ramirez and Ailton Sebastian Tirado-Martinez at an emotional soccer game Monday night. (Submitted photo by Hoke County Schools)] By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Two teenagers were found dead this weekend in a vehicle parked near an elementary school in Hoke County, with family, friends and the school community...
Crumpler assumes duties of sheriff, board will vote on interim
[Photo: Hoke County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy David Newton shakes hands with Hoke County Coroner Frank Crumpler.] By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Hoke County Coroner Frank Crumpler will assume the duties of sheriff until the county commissioners meet the first week in November to appoint an interim to serve out the rest of...
Hoke County Sheriff Dr. Hubert Peterkin dies, leaves deep legacy
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Hoke County Sheriff Dr. Hubert A. Peterkin died Friday night, leaving the community where he was born and raised in shock from the longtime leader’s unexpected passing. He was 59 years old, and served as sheriff for nearly 20 years. Peterkin had cancer and died from complications during...
Halloween events are coming up
Halloween this year is set for Sunday, October 31, and trick-or-treaters will be out and about in Raeford and Hoke County in the evening hours. The city and county local governments of Raeford and Hoke don’t have any rules governing trick-or-treat times. The Raeford Police Department suggested the hours of 6-8 p.m. on Halloween for...
Support seniors, families in need this Christmas
Hoke County agencies are seeking people interested in helping make Christmas brighter for senior citizens and families in need this year. Hoke County Senior Services is hosting an “angel tree” to help support seniors. An individual, business, church family or other organization can choose an ornament from the Christmas tree in the senior services office,...
Man killed in Rockfish accident
A man from Spring Lake died last week in a two-vehicle accident that happened at a Rockfish intersection. Roosevelt Gay Sr. of Spring Lake died when the moped he was riding on collided with a passenger car, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. The accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, October 7 at the...
Fall Festival street fair is Saturday
The North Carolina Fall Festival returns this week with live music on two stages, the annual Turkey Bowl football game and Senior Day fun for Hoke’s senior citizens. Melissa Kaye Senior Day is set for Wednesday, October 13. The event is named after the late Fall Festival Director Melissa Kaye Pittman. The event will happen...
Comments on sheriff’s office invited
The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled for an on-site assessment as part of a program to maintain accreditation by verifying it meets professional standards. Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), the accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration,...
Less than a third of Hoke population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, update from NCDHHS says
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Due to an apparent error in how the state was applying vaccination data, Hoke County doesn’t have nearly as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as previously reported by state and federal agencies, according to an update from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). Originally...
Commissioners table rezoning request
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • The Hoke County Board of Commissioners voted Monday night to table a requested general use rezoning for future housing and commercial development, based on a request from the county planner and after hearing concerns from Rockfish residents about potential impacts. In a scene that has played out in...
New book by former commissioner shares stories of people and past
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Long before she ran for public office, former Hoke County Commissioner Ellen McNeill wanted to document and preserve the history of White Oak School. Along the way, she ended up collecting the stories of many Hoke County men and women who played important roles in the community –...