By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Santa Claus is coming to Raeford this Friday for the seventh annual Hometown Christmas, and so is the Grinch. Santa will arrive in town at 5:30 p.m. December 2 to help with lighting the Christmas tree at Freedom Park, located at the corner of Main Street and East...
Month: November 2022
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Woman gets new home through ReBuild N.C.
[Photo: Karen McLean celebrates getting the keys to her new home from contractor Eric Pender of Shepherd Response.] By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Karen McLean’s home on Cumberland Avenue was so badly damaged by Hurricane Matthew that come winter time, she had to put flannel sheets and thick plastic on the cinder block...
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Shooting range could go by treatment plant
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • After rescinding original plans to put a law enforcement gun range near the Hoke County animal shelter, county commissioners will instead consider putting it at the back of wooded property at the county’s wastewater treatment plant. First, they’ll hold a public hearing to get feedback from any citizens...
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Recreation center, swimming pool construction still underway
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Construction crews are still hard at work building the James Leach Hoke County Aquatic Center and will probably be working until the end of December to complete the project, according to county officials. Commissioner James Leach, the building’s namesake, said he visited the building site last week and...
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Local emergency planning committee holds kickoff meeting
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • When Alfred K. “Dooie” Leach got word that one of FCI Inc.’s facilities was on fire on New Year’s Eve, at first he thought it might be the company’s office headquarters, not one of the buildings that works with farm chemicals. When he arrived at the scene on...
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Sandhills-born playwright, New York cast bring Gospel play ‘Yesterday is Here’ to Seabrook Auditorium
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • A playwright who grew up in the area is returning home this month and bringing with her an original Gospel stage play, “Yesterday is Here.” Arlean Wells founded her own production company, A.N. Wells Enterprise. She writes, directs and produces her own plays, directs productions for other playwrights...
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Incumbents return to commission, sheriff’s office, newcomers join school board
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Hoke voters returned incumbents to the county commission and sheriff’s office, and chose three new members for school board in the 2022 general election. Incumbent Hoke County Commissioners Tony Hunt, Harry Southerland and Allen Thomas, all Democrats, were voted back in for four-year terms over Republican candidates Johnny...
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Mill Prong opens for Christmas Open House Dec. 4
The Board of Directors of Mill Prong, Inc. is inviting the public to a Christmas Open House at Mill Prong House. The historic home is located at 3062 Edinburg Road, Red Springs (in Hoke County). The Christmas Open House is set for Sunday, December 4 from 2-5 p.m. In the late 1700s John Gilchrist, a...
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N.C. Supreme Court rules in favor of funding Leandro plan
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • The North Carolina State Supreme Court ruled Friday that a judge did have the authority to order the state to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to fund a remedial education plan meant to bring public schools into compliance with the Leandro court decision. The justices ruled 4-3...
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ELECTION RESULTS
We’ll post local election results HERE beginning around 7:30 p.m. this evening, Nov. 8.
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Brock book signing is Saturday at library
Rockfish author and family genealogist Claudyne Brock will hold a book signing at the Hoke County Public Library Saturday, November 5 to celebrate the reprinting of her first book. Brock’s children’s book, “Little Johnny Goes to Bible School,” has been updated with new photos, cover art and more as part of its reprinting. She will...
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Early voting closes Saturday, election is Tuesday
By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • With a few days still to go in the one-stop early voting, turnout ahead of election day continued to be strong as people go to the polls to choose local, state and federal elections. By close of day Monday over 4,760 Hoke County voters had cast an early...
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Have you seen ‘Snuggles’? Pet cockatiel is on the loose in East Hoke
[Photo: Park and Snuggles (Submitted photo)] A Halloween decoration proved to be too scary for an East Hoke resident’s pet cockatiel, and there’s a $1,000 reward offered to anyone who can get the beloved bird safely back home where she belongs. Moon Park’s grey female cockatiel, Snuggles, got the fright of her feathered life around...
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Hometown Christmas returns Dec. 2
It’s almost that time of year again as the Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce prepares to present the annual Hometown Christmas in downtown Raeford. This year Hometown Christmas will be held Friday, December 2 from 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Local businesses will deck the halls with lights and decorations and stay open into the evening for shoppers...