Month: December 2022

By Catharin Shepard • Editor • Education, construction projects and future development are some of the priorities for the Hoke County Board of Commissioners going into 2023, Commission Chairman Allen Thomas said. Thomas sat down with the News-Journal last week to talk about what’s going on in Hoke, what commissioners discussed at a recent retreat...

The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Roderick Virgil issued a statement this week in the wake of multiple shootings, saying that the increased violence appears to be because of gang activity. The agency is working with other law enforcement entities to investigate the crimes and prevent future acts of violence, Virgil’s office said. “The...

By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Both the available space to build a new Hoke County Courthouse in downtown Raeford, and the state-funded grant money available to build it are going to be tight as commissioners work out details of the project. Commissioners will have to decide how to proceed after two board members...

Two Raeford police officers shot and killed an armed man Monday night when he drew a handgun and pointed it at them, the Raeford Police Department announced. Tavares Harrington, 34, of the 300 block of East Sixth in Raeford was fatally shot in what Raeford Police Chief Marc Godwin said was an act of self-defense...

By Catharin Shepard • Staff writer • Just a few days after his 43rd birthday, Hoke County Sheriff Roderick Virgil raised his right hand and took the oath during a ceremony that marked the start of his first full four-year term in office. The service held Monday at the Mt. Pisgah Community Resource Center saw...