The Hoke County Land Use Plan update survey is now accepting responses through July 30, asking questions that will help shape the future of the county’s growth for the next several decades. The survey is being conducted by Benchmark Planning, a third party the county commissioners hired to help the county update its 20-year-old land use plan. The land use...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • With filing set to close this Friday for the 2025 municipal election, three incumbents and two candidates have put their names in for consideration for two seats on the City Council, and the office of Mayor of Raeford. Incumbent John K. McNeill III, and candidate Demetria Barker Augugliaro have filed to seek the office...

The Hoke County Land Use Plan update survey is now accepting responses through July 30, asking questions that will help shape the future of the county’s growth for the next several decades. The survey is being conducted by Benchmark Planning, a third party the county commissioners hired to help the county update its 20-year-old land use plan. The land use...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Westgate resident Rob Murcko found out Friday that a subcontractor for Brightspeed Internet had accidentally cut his water line, when the water pressure went out at his home. “They didn’t try to tell me. We noticed there was no water at our house. I went out there, I got pictures of the busted line…they...

Two roads that access Hoke County High School are now closed for construction, and one of them will be closed indefinitely. School Street and Bethel Road are closed and inaccessible to all vehicles. The closure affects School Street from Harris Avenue to Bethel Road, and Bethel Road from School Street to the entrance of the bus parking lot. School Street...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • An $80 million county budget that keeps the property tax rate the same, increases water and sewer fees by 10 percent and raises system development fees is now under consideration by the Hoke County Board of Commissioners. County Manager Letitia Edens sent the manager’s proposed budget to the board members this week to get...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Mousa Ali A. Shahbain, 35, of the 800 block of South Parker Church Road was arrested Monday, May 12 following an Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) investigation into allegations of illegal video gambling in Hoke County. Undercover ALE agents were able to receive cash payouts at four businesses alleged to be locations of illegal video...

By Jessica Brown Hendrix • News-Journal Owner and Publisher • Featuring: Old Auntie (who thinks government corruption is just “spicy politics”), Big Republican, (convinced Ron Huff is a deep-state sleeper agent with a column and Jessy on his payroll), Wannabe Expert (who Googled “Raeford” one time) and a Wacko (who begs to face the chancleta. If you know, you know) Spoiler...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The Hoke County Board of Commissioners – at least some of them – are by all appearances trying to hide public information from Hoke County citizens, with the side effect of driving The News-Journal out of business. The commissioners who aren’t actively involved with these attempts at suppressing information, haven’t yet chosen to take...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • They didn’t use “the M word” – “moratorium” – but Hoke County commissioners still hit the pause button this week, immediately cutting off approvals for any new major subdivisions in Hoke County. After hearing Monday morning from Utilities Director James McQueen on where things stand with the county’s water system capacity, the board took...

[This editorial is solely the opinion of The News-Journal Editor Catharin Shepard and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the newspaper.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The Hoke County Board of Commissioners made a decision Monday that won’t be popular with everyone, but it was a much-needed step to begin the long, hard process of addressing the...

The Hoke County Board of Commissioners voted Monday morning in a resumed meeting to effectively stop new major subdivision development in Hoke County until further notice. Under the county ordinance, a “major subdivision” is six or more houses. The board specified that the motion will apply to any major subdivision development not already submitted to the planning office as of...

Members clash in tied votes over continuing business with The News-Journal By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The school district last week effectively joined Hoke County local government in no longer publishing public notices and other advertisements in The News-Journal, with two members of the board asserting that it is unethical for the district to do business with the newspaper...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Residents of Rockfish were left without water last week, then were under a boil water advisory, after an accident with a utility line left workers scrambling around the clock to fix the problem. What caused the water line break, what can be done to permanently fix it, how the county responded – and ways...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The fate of federal funding for school programs including Exceptional Children, Career and Technical Education, Indian Education and others is still unclear as education officials in North Carolina and across the country wait to see what happens on the national level. Hoke County’s school district leaders have learned the district won’t receive about $500,000...

[This story was originally published in The News-Journal in March 2025.] By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Hoke County’s revenue increased by about $3.3 million in fiscal year 2024 to top $72 million, while its expenditures rose by about $7.7 million to a total $63.2 million. The county’s fund balance at the end of the fiscal year sat at about...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Hoke residents with private drinking water wells who are close to the Cumberland County line can request free testing for the PFAS “forever chemicals” known as GenX, under an order by the state issued to Chemours. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality recently ordered Chemours to expand its well testing efforts to include...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • The Hoke County Board of Education and its attorney met in a called meeting Monday morning to go through the district’s policies in preparation to consider removing terms such as “diversity,” “equitable” and “gender identity” in an effort to comply with updated federal guidelines. (An audio recording of the meeting is available to listen...

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • A new sheriff’s office and law enforcement center, social services building, improvements to sewer and water and more funds for the new Hoke County Courthouse could be on the way, if pending legislation makes it through the North Carolina General Assembly. A bill introduced last week in the North Carolina State House of Representatives...