RAEFORD & HOKE COUNTY N.C.Hoke County’s newspaper since 190575¢

Calendar ...............2BClassi� eds ...............6B

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015No. 15 Vol. 110

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This Week

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Big raise in taxes, or big cut in servicesManager proposes 7-cent increase or comparable cuts as county budget looms

Williamson is regional top superintendent

Former councilman, restaurant owner dies

BY KEN MACDONALD

Herman Autry was looking forward to a bumper crop of corn again this summer in his garden along Bethel Road, but a great wind—or UFO or the hand of God?—swirled through the stalks Monday and fl attened them fl atter than a four-day-old Coke. “It looked like a car had driven through,” he said. (Guess he can make fl atbread. Ha ha ha ha.)

But it was the wind, in a storm that passed through, and in its wake, something like a crop circle. More of a crop “L,” Autry says.

By Thursday, he had propped up some of the stalks and was philosophical.

“I read in the Bible this morning in Ecclesiastes that you (See OTHER STUFF, page 3A)

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BY CATHARIN SHEPARD

Staff writer

It was a long journey from the fi rst day of kinder-garten to the podium set up in the hot sunshine on the Hoke High football fi eld, but for the newest Bucks alumni, the reward was worth the wait.

“Here we are today to make our mark on the world,” Valedictorian Ashe-lynn Priest said, recalling the years of studying and hard work it took for the students to make the grade.

The 388 members of the (See GRADS, page 6A)

Parks & Rec.director suspended

Page 3A

Outings available for youth

Page 1B

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A former city council member and owner of a favorite gathering spot for Hoke County locals passed away this week at the age of 83.

Earl McDuffi e of Raeford died Monday, June 15 at his home surrounded by his family.

McDuffi e was born in

Franklin County, Georgia on May 3, 1932 to the late Earl McDuffi e Sr. and Eu-nice Hanley McDuffi e. His ancestors arrived in Hoke County in the late 1790s.

The McDuffi e family moved to Raeford in 1968. McDuffi e was employed with Hormel Company before he retired.

He opened the Edinbor-ough Restaurant on Main Street in Raeford in 1981, and it quickly became a hangout for people look-ing for a place to socialize over a cup of coffee or enjoy lunch after church. The McDuffi e family continues operating the restaurant, which is known to many

simply as “Earl’s.” The restaurant will be closed Thursday for his funeral.

McDuffi e was elected to the Raeford City Council

and served on the board for 17 years. He was elected in 1987 and resigned in 2004.

Former council member Vardell Hedgpeth, who served with McDuffi e, re-membered him as a strong-willed person and a good councilman.

“He was very trust-(See MCDUFFIE, page 6A)

Hoke County Schools Superintendent Dr. Freddie Williamson has been named the 2016 Sandhills Regional Superintendent of the Year.

Williamson has over 30 years of service in public education. He has worked as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, high school prin-cipal, director of personnel, director of vocational educa-tion, director of secondary education, and associate

superintendent. Williamson earned his

undergraduate and master’s degrees from North Carolina A&T State University, an advanced graduate degree from East Carolina Univer-sity and a doctoral degree from Fayetteville State University.

Williamson has received several awards for leadership including: 2011 Sandhills Regional Superintendent of

the Year, North Carolina As-sociation of Education Of-fi ce Personnel Administrator of the Year, State Principal of the Year Finalist and Southeast Regional Princi-pal of the Year. He was also named Wachovia Principal of the Year twice.

“Williamson has and continues to demonstrate a passion for leadership and transformation,” according to the award announcement.

BY CATHARIN SHEPARD

Staff writer

A tax increase, spending cuts or some combination of both are possible for this year’s county

budget, but with less than two weeks to go before the deadline, commissioners haven’t voted on a fi nal course of action.

Funding for school capital projects, motor fuel for county

departments, travel expenses, training for county employees and employee Christmas bonuses are among the items on the cutting table, according to Interim County Manager Letitia Edens.

Edens presented the manager’s proposed budget to the commis-sion Monday night.County offi cials are wrangling with the idea of a tax increase and budget cuts, or making deeper

cuts instead of a tax increase. Edens’ fi rst proposed budget included a seven-cent property tax increase. The one she brought before the board Monday

(See BUDGET, page 4A)

The News-Journal reports:

• Every district court case• Every County Com-mission meeting• Every City Council meeting• Every marriage• Every real estate transaction• Every legal notice• Every School Board meeting• Every Superior Court case

And the list is growing.

Snapshot Contest

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A senior is happy as she walks on the fi eld at Raz Autry Stadium for Hoke High commencement exercises. (Catharin Shepard photo)

Autry in his crop circle, well, crop “L,” last week. He’d already propped up much of the corn.

Hoke High School graduates 388 Friday

Priest Bayne

Williamson, with plaque, surrounded by the school board.

2A THE NEWS-JOURNAL Raeford, N.C. June 17, 2015

Viewpoints“But you and I well know that teachers will never hit the curveballs like we hit good pitches. And each one of those kids who isn’t a home run is a real person, with a real future, good or bad. And we don’t get those pitch-es back. So you can pile the guilt on me and my colleagues if you want. And you can wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first. You can puff yourself up and assure Oprah Winfrey and all your snooty friends that you are better and more pure than the sorry teach-ers like me and every last member of my blood family, regular middle-class people who pollute every town in America with our mediocrity. But I see through you. We are your scapegoat; we make you feel better about being privileged in a nation where many are not. ‘If it weren’t for bad teachers,’ you say, so that you may avoid saying, ‘If it weren’t for people like me.’ — John Kuhn “Stop Making Excuses for Inequality”

“Standardized exams serve mostly to make dreadful forms of teaching ap-pear successful. As long as they remain our primary way of evaluating, we may never see real school reform — only an intensification of traditional practices, with the very worst reserved for the disadvantaged.” — Alfie Kohn, in “Poor Teaching for Poor Children”

Today’s homework (Notes on education)

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Frog HollerPhilosopher

Ron Huff

One on OneD. G. Martin

By Matt Ellinwood

Earlier this month, Governor McCrory signed legislation that ends the practice of providing Personal Education Plans (PEPs) to students who are at risk of academic failure. Though prob-ably an unavoidable step given the flawed and sporadic use and implementation of PEPs, the decision raises real questions about the future of individualized learning plans in North Carolina and whether the state will settle for a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

PEPs were created in 2001 in response to concerns that not enough was being done to help at-risk students who fail to progress at grade level with their peers.

The PEP law required districts to identify students who are at risk of academic failure, provide them with evidence-based instructional supports and involve parents in crafting individualized learning plans designed to help students get on track. The law listed examples of learning supports that students should receive like tutoring, mentoring, coaching, extended days, summer school, or Saturday school and stated that transportation should be provided free of charge.

Unfortunately, despite the good intentions of the law, no funding was ever appropriated to provide students with these supports. On the contrary, since 2008, there have been massive state funding reductions for essential educational supports like teachers (3.5%), teacher assistants (22.9%), instructional supplies (51.9%), and textbooks (78.1%); funding for mentoring, staff professional development, and literacy coaches has been eliminated entirely.

It is no wonder therefore that teachers had mixed feelings about PEPs. The law essentially required them to identify students who are at-risk, meet with parents

to come up with an individualized learning plan, and then inform the parents that none of the supports their at-risk child ought to receive are available at the school due to lack of funding.

There were also major prob-lems with the way the law was implemented. Many parents, teachers, and even school district officials remained completely unaware of the requirement to create PEPs for at-risk students. Many of those who were aware saw PEPs as just another useless form in an avalanche of paperwork that was automatically generated at the end of the school year after it was too late to do much good.

The law also required districts to collect and submit data on PEPs, but that never happened either so there is no way to know which districts were complying with the requirement and no data on whether or where PEPs were having a positive impact on stu-dent achievement.

All of this helps explain why the PEP law was repealed, but not what comes next. Under the new law, students at risk of academic failure still have to be identified, but there will no longer be a re-quirement to develop a plan that includes individualized educa-tional services to help them over-come that risk. Instead, schools will simply develop transition plans for large groups of students.

This is a problem.Flawed as the old law was,

some parents were able to use PEPs to effectively advocate for their child because it gave them the right to meet with their child’s teacher and provide ongoing input regarding their child’s individual-ized learning goals and needed instructional supports. It also put the state on record as having a commitment to individualized learning. Now, those parents will no longer be able to point to a state statute when advocating for their at-risk children.

The bottom line: While schools

have had little choice but to move away from individualized instruction in the current climate of chronic underfunding because they simply cannot afford an ar-ray of services tailored to each student’s needs, this should not be the end of the story.

Individualized learning plans have improved student achieve-ment in states like Vermont when implemented with fidelity and funding. Similarly, federally re-quired Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities uplifted an entire generation of formerly neglected students. And, of course, PEPs have worked for many in North Carolina and remain a voluntary option for teachers for whom they’ve worked well. Intuitively, a student who has been identi-fied as persistently struggling will need additional supports or a new educational plan that fits his or her needs better than the standard instructional model that has already been tried and found wanting.

Thankfully, there remains cause for optimism. The new law directs the State Board of Education to report on how at-risk students are being identified and served across the state. This is an opportunity to get it right on indi-vidualized learning going forward and replace PEPs with meaning-ful individualized learning plans that reflect the services that are available to at-risk students and engage parents. We cannot expect teachers to help their students meet higher proficiency standards without additional supports that address students’ needs. PEPs had their problems but, going forward, North Carolina must do more to help at-risk students succeed in school.

Matt Ellinwood is a Policy Analyst at the North Carolina Justice Center’s Education and Law Project.

Now how do we help high-risk kids in school?

On the fourth day of our recent musical saga, Bubba Dickson, Bobby Matthews, John Morris and I found ourselves barreling to-ward Nashville from Clarksdale, Mississippi in brother Ralph’s Love Machine van. While I drove, each of the others played with their phone apps doing electronic reconnaissance for the trip. By the time we got there, we knew where things were and how far we would walk to get there. Because of our propensity to have a beer or two, and the hassle of driving and parking in unfamiliar terri-tory, I had booked us into a hotel

within a mile of the downtown entertainment district. Our plan was to walk wherever possible and that turned out to be everywhere. Luckily for us, the humidity was low and we were able to take long walks in relative comfort. Bubba says we walked around 10 miles one day and I believe it.

We immediately hit the streets,

hoofing it across the interstate bridge downtown to Broadway, the center for food, music and shopping. It sure didn’t look like Sunday as the streets and estab-lishments were busy. Most bar doors opened onto the street and a smorgasbord of music and the wonderful smell of new leather cowboy boots engulfed us as we explored the area.

This trip was about the music and, although we were in country music land, we planned to seek out some good blues. Bobby, on a recent trip, had found the

(See HUFF, page 3A)

Invited to fire up the Hammond B3

In the wake of Hoke’s move to integrate schools, some 200 parents gather at the Civic Cen-ter to discuss the possibility of establishing a private school. Named to the steering committee are John Balfour, Julian Barnes, Jake Austin, Jackie Crumpler, Mrs. Sam Homewood, Younger Snead Jr. and James Johnson. Col. L.C. Blankenship, a consultant in the establishment of Vardell Hall College and Preparatory School in Red Springs, discusses require-ments for success.

Some 200 wagoners and horse-men are to gather at a vacant lot just west of the National Guard Armory on Central Avenue to leave on the fourth annual Hoke Wagon Train trek. They’ll head to Waldo’s Beach in Hope Mills.

Hoke County officials are astounded when they read in The News-Journal that $16,000 worth of playground equipment is being left behind at Burlington School, which the county plans to close. They travel to the school and have a look, and conclude whoever estimated the worth of the equipment—provided by the federal government—included some audiovisual equipment.

The Rev. R.E.L. Moser is pre-sented a plaque for his contribu-tion to softball before he leaves town. Presenting the plaque is W.K. Morgan, in charge of sum-mer recreation. C.D. Bounds opens the short service; Jack Mansfield closes with prayer.

The county has 253 in summer school, reports Assistant Superin-tendent Ernest Sutton. School is in session at W. T Gibson School, West Hoke, South Hoke, Scurlock and McLauchlin schools.

Raeford Cleaners and Laun-derers on Main Street announces

Is this $16,000 worth of playground equipment?

47 years agoJune 20, 1968

it will close on Wednesday after-noons throughout the summer beginning June 26.

25 years agoJune 20, 1990

House of Raeford says it will comply with the City of Raeford’s demands to meets its effluent strength limits. The city had threatened to cut off the turkey plant’s water service.

The county may take 32 junkyard owners to court over

alleged violations of the county’s junkyard ordinance. Junkyards must be fenced and hidden with shrubbery.

The state reverses its opinion and says soil under the Raeford Auto Building is indeed still contaminated by gasoline from days when the building was in use by the auto dealer. The county wants to use the building for a court annex.

The home of Bob and Connie Heath is named the Rockfish Yard of the Month by the Rockfish Extension Homemakers.

W.K. Morgan (right) presents a plaque to the Rev. R.E.L. Moser for his support of softball.

“I am a United States Army general, and I lost the Global War on Terrorism.”

These are the opening lines of retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Bolger’s book, “Why We Lost: A General’s Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.” Bolger teaches military history at N.C. State.

“No U.S. general has criticized the Iraq and Afghanistan wars more sharply” than Bolger, wrote reviewer Carter Malkasian in “The Washington Post.”

Continuing the shocking opening words of his book, Bol-ger writes, “It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous; step one is admit-ting you have a problem. Well, I have a problem. So do my peers. And thanks to our problem, now all of America has a problem, to wit: two lost campaigns and a war gone awry.”

With President Obama’s deci-sion to send 450 more U.S. troops to Iraq, Bolger’s acceptance of responsibility and his explanation of “why we lost” are extremely timely.

Just what did Bolger and the other generals do wrong in Af-ghanistan and Iraq? You do not have to read all 500 pages of “Why We Lost” to understand Bolger’s explanation. He makes his point in just a few pages in the book’s epilogue.

He writes, “Despite the un-matched courage of those in U.S. uniform--including a good number of generals who led their people under fire--our generals

did not stumble due to a lack of intellect. Rather, we faltered due to a distinct lack of humility. Cer-tain we knew best, confident our skilled troops would prevail, we persisted in a failed course for far too long and came up well short, to the detriment of our trusting countrymen.”

This failed course was the military’s nation building efforts based on a counterinsurgency strategy. But, writes Bolger, “Counterinsurgency works if the intervening country demonstrates the will to remain forever.”

He continues, “Once it be-comes clear that the external forces won’t stay past a certain date, the guerrillas simply back off and wait it out.

“We did not understand our enemies. Indeed, drawn into nasty local feuds, we took on too many diverse foes, sometimes confusing opponents with sup-porters and vice versa. Then we compounded that ignorance by using our conventionally trained military to comb through hostile villages looking for insurgents.”

Throughout the extended op-erations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bolger says there were always only three options: “Stay the course. Add forces. Pull out. Over time, in both countries, all three

approaches were tried. Only the third one, pulling out, worked, and that in the finite sense that it ended U.S. involvement. But it left both friends and foes behind, sowing the seeds for future troubles.”

The question remains. Why does Bolger blame himself and the other generals for losing the war on terrorism? Were not all these decisions made by the country’s civilian leadership?

Here is his answer. “The re-cord to date shows that no senior officers argued for withdrawal. Instead, like Lee at Gettysburg, overly impressed by U.S. mili-tary capabilities and our superb volunteers, commander after commander, generals up and down the chain, kept right on going. We trusted our invincible men and women to figure it out and rebuild two shattered Muslim countries and do so under fire from enraged locals.”

The question remains for Bolger and for President Obama.

Are we doing the same thing again?

One more thing, if you skip the first 400 pages of “Why We Lost,” you will miss gripping, disturb-ing, and inspiring accounts of the incredible performance of U.S. troops in the most challenging and ambiguous situations.

These pages should be required reading for any president or presi-dential candidate who proposes sending American troops again to fight an extended counterin-surgency war.

General tells why we lost the war

June 17, 2015 THE NEWS-JOURNAL Raeford, N.C 3A

Obituaries

Huff(Continued from page 2A)

Other Stuff(Continued from page 1A)

Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar in Printer’s Alley and sug-gested we go. We settled in as a regular solo performer finished his set and made way for the Stacey Mitchhart Band. From the first note, this horn-driven blues machine got our attention as they grooved with passion and dynamics. Very impressed, at the first break, I talked with Stacey about the band and his career and, when he offered to let me sit in on the Hammond B3 organ, I enthusiastically accepted. I didn’t expect this invitation from such a tight band and thought he had forgotten me until he called me to the stage. They kicked off with hot horn licks and I held on. When Stacy looked my way for a solo, I kicked the Hammond

into high gear. The smiles on the faces of the band signaled their acceptance and we did another number. I walked on air the rest of the night.

We had set up the trip to cor-respond with a performance by the Time Jumpers, a group of elite Nashville players that includes Vince Gill and Paul Franklin who is perhaps the best steel guitarist on the planet. I had been warned to get there very early to get a good table. We set out on the walk of nearly two miles through the beautiful city and, while arriving two full hours before the show, we had to sit near the back. Food and beers kept us company and I rendezvoused with a friend who builds amplifiers for two of the band members. After the blues

fireworks of the night before, I was afraid this performance would be a letdown. The 10 members, which included three fiddlers, eased into their set with the precision of a symphony orchestra and were soon full throttle, wowing us at every turn as the stellar players pushed each other to greater and greater heights. Each song was fabulous and, when Vince Gill sang his first ballad, it was easy to see why he is a star of the highest order. The performance left us breathless and completely satisfied.

The next day was to be our last and we set out early to explore the nearby Vanderbilt campus. Doubling back toward town, Bubba Yelped us to Hattie B’s Hot Chicken. This chicken came

in Southern, Mild, Hot, Damn Hot and Shut the Cluck Up! Warned against the Damn Hot, I mixed in some Hot, but Bubba didn’t heed the warning. He looked a little stressed as I bit into the Damn Hot wing and it was Damn Hot! Bubba ate little else for the rest of the trip as his stomach recovered.

We visited the beautiful Capi-tol Building, heard several bands and hit the blues club again. That night’s headliner, though good, could not match Stacey Mitchhart and we headed home early to pre-pare for Bobby’s early flight out.

These four old dogs had learned some new tricks as we reflected on our trip and began to anticipate the next one.

More later.

Earl McDuffieEarl McDuffie, 83, of Raeford

died Monday, June 15, 2015 at his home sur-rounded by his family.

He was born in Franklin County, Georgia on May 3, 1932 to the late Earl McDuffie Sr. and Eunice Hanley McDuffie. His ancestors arrived in Hoke County in the late 1790s.

The McDuffie family moved to Raeford in 1968. He was em-ployed with Hormel Company before he retired. He opened the Edinborough Restaurant in 1981. The restaurant is still in operation at this time by the McDuffie fam-ily. He was elected and served as a city councilman for 15 years, and on the Board of Health for nine years. He was a member of Ra-eford United Methodist Church and the American Legion. He served in the U.S. Army. He loved golfing, fishing and the people of Hoke County.

He is survived by his wife, Willaree Murphy McDuffie of Raeford; his daughter, Carol M. Chambers (Gary) of Clay-ton; four sons, Mike McDuffie (Robin) of Chapel Hill, Chris McDuffie (Jenny) of Raeford, John McDuffie (Christie) of Cala-bash, and Patrick Earl McDuffie of Raeford; three sisters, Betty Jean Pethel, Frances Cook, and Joan Freeman, all of Kannapolis; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, June18 at Raeford United Methodist Church.

The funeral will be held at 2

p.m. at Raeford United Method-ist Church with the Rev. Stephen Castle officiating.

Interment will be in the Ra-eford Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Raeford United Methodist Church, 308 North Main Street, Raeford, NC 28376 or to the Alzheimer’s Association at alzfdn.org.

Online condolences may be made at www.crumplerfuneral-home.com.

Lois ScarboroLois Scarboro, 95, of Raeford

died Monday, June 15, 2015 at her home.

She was born October 20, 1919 in Caldwell County, North Caro-lina to the late Walter Suddreth and Pearl Raby Suddreth. She also was preceded in death by her husband, Lacy Scarboro Sr., and her son, Kenneth Scarboro. She was a member of Parker United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her son, Carroll Scarboro and wife Joan; her daughter, Betty Skipper; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

A private memorial service will be held later.

Online condolences may be made at www.crumplerfuneral-home.com.

Gerald W. Gill Sr.Gerald William Gill Sr., aka

Bear Killer, of Raeford, died Saturday, June 13, 2015 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital at the age of 79.

He was born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 14, 1935 to the late Edward and Mary Ad-ams Gill.

He was preceded in death by his wife Mary Ann Gill and his siblings, Jessie Gill, Wayne Gill, Peggy Sue Lufesy, Lois Rachel Gill, Georgie Rebecca Gill, Mary G. Wade and Carol G. Duncan. He was a member of Sandy Grove United Methodist Church. He was also a member and Peace Chief of Giduwah Band of Cherokee Indians.

He is survived by a son, Gerald W. Gill Jr., aka Storm Eagle, of Raeford; a sister, Martha Hall of Roanoke; four brothers, Robert Gill of Bedford, Virginia, and Lonnie Gill, Donald Gill, and Irvin Gill and wife Doris, all of Roanoke.

Visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June17 at Sandy Grove United Methodist Church

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 17 at Sandy Grove United Methodist Church with the Rev. Judson Dunlap officiating. Burial will be in the Raeford Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.

Online condolences may be made at www.crumplerfuneral-home.com.

George T. BlueGeorge Talmadge Blue of

Raeford died Saturday, June 13, 2015 in his home at the age of 62.

He was born in Fayetteville on September 26, 1952 to the late James and Mabel Saunders Blue. He was a member of Ga-latia Presbyterian Church, and a volunteer and board member with the Rockfish Fire Department.

He is survived by his daughter, Michelle Mueller and husband Mark of Raleigh; two grandchil-dren, Evan and Reaghan Muel-ler; four brothers, Ted Molchan

(Wanda) of North Carolina, Don Blue of Florida, Henry Blue (Heath) of South Carolina, and David Blue (Chrissy) of Tennes-see; and a sister, Sherry Carter (Donald) of Tennessee.

The family will receive friends from 1-2 p.m. Saturday, June 20 in the fellowship hall of Galatia Presbyterian Church.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 20 at Galatia Presbyterian Church with R.E. Herman Autry officiating.

Memorials may be made to the Rockfish Volunteer Fire Depart-ment, 7600 Philippi Church Road, Raeford, NC 28376.

Online condolences may be made at www.crumplerfuneral-home.com.

Aloysius L. RogersAloysius Lamar Rogers, 37,

of 4951 Red Springs Road died Tuesday, June 9, 2015.

Survivors include mother, Helena; father, James Baldwin; stepmother, Dawn Troutman; sister, Whitley Baldwin; and brothers, Montague Baldwin and Jamaurio Richardson.

Dennis HamiltonDennis Hamilton, 53, of Turn-

pike Pines Road died Sunday, June 7, 2015 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

Survivors include his sister, Sarah H. Clark (Bruce); and broth-er, Bernie Hamilton (Deborah).

The funeral was held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 13 in J.W. Turlington School in Raeford. Burial was in Highland Biblical Gardens in Raeford.

Gussie M. JohnsonGussie Mae Johnson, 78, of

Raeford died Friday, June 5, 2015.Survivors include her children,

Brenda Leach, Christine Adams, Alfonzo, Norman and Leewood; stepsons, Thomas and Jeremiah; and siblings, Christine Singletary, Otis, Lacy and James.

The funeral was held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 12 in Spring Branch Missionary Baptist Church.

Burial was in Daniels Deliver-ance Church cemetery.

Clinton O. GodwinClinton O. Godwin, 52, of

1577 McBryde Lake Road died Saturday, June 6, 2015.

Survivors include his mother, Mamie; and sisters, Shelda Har-ris, Elaine Shaw and Jacqueline.

The funeral was held at 3 p.m. Thursday, June 11 in Silver Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

have to plant enough, because you don’t know what might happen.”

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

“I guess this is what farmers face all the time,” I mused as we photographed the damage.

I was hoping for more of a circle, because then we could be famous for a few minutes, but an L is okay too.v

The damage, photographed by Autry’s wife, Nancy.

Hoke County Parks and Recre-ation Director Kendrick Maynor was suspended from his job earlier this month, according to Interim County Manager Letitia Edens.

Maynor was suspended from work from June 1-5 and returned to work Monday, June 8, she said.

Edens said she could not com-ment on the reason for Maynor’s

suspension due to personnel priva-cy laws. Maynor has overseen the department since former director Elgin Blue died in January 2013.

The county Parks a2nd Rec-reation Department oversees a variety of programs for youth, including year-round athletics, and also manages the county’s parks and facilities rentals.

Parks & Rec.director suspended

Ever wonder who providesfood for Hoke schools?

Hoke County is growing quickly. Do you have a question about a new construction project that you’ve seen popping up some-where in Raeford or Hoke? Email us at news@thenews-journal.com or cshepard@thenews-journal.com and we’ll do our best to find out for you.

What’s that construction go-ing on near the intersection of Highway 401 and Pittman Grove

Church Road?Lumbee River Electric Mem-

bership Corporation is building a new office at that location. LREMC provides electric service to over 16,200 customers in Hoke County. It has more than 18,000 customers in Cumberland County, 20,000 customers in Robeson County and 3,000 customers in Scotland County.

What’s that?

Ever wonder what compa-nies provide food and services for children in Hoke County Schools? The Board of Educa-tion approved these contracts for the 2015-16 year. All but one of the contracts are “roll-overs” from previous years.

1. Food, food processing supplies, snack foods, paper goods and cleaning supplies for one year – SYSCO Food Services of Raleigh, located in Selma (Procured through the North Carolina Child Nutrition Procurement Alliance, new contract but same service as before)

2. Milk for one year – Pet Dairy, located in Fayetteville

3. Bread products for one year – Franklin Baking Com-pany, located in Goldsboro

4. Fresh produce for one year – Piedmont Produce, located in Rockingham

5. Beverage products (wa-ter and non-carbonated 100 percent juice) for one year – Aberdeen Coca-Cola Bottling Company, located in Aberdeen

6. Seasoning mix for one

year – Darryl’s Gourmet Spe-cialties, located in Fayetteville

7. Large and small com-mercial kitchen equipment repairs for one year – Hobart Sales and Service, located in Fayetteville

8. Commercial kitchen re-frigeration and freezer repairs for one year – Lynch Com-mercial Refrigeration, located in Fayetteville

9. Extermination for one year – The Master Extermina-tors, located in Fayetteville

10. Monthly pumping of grease traps and disposal of brown grease for one year – Hoke Septic, located in Raeford.

11. Inspection of the kitchen suppression systems/cleaning of the kitchen fire suppression exhaust systems for one year – Resort Fire and Safety, located in Pinehurst

The school system will also contract with SFSPac Food Safety and Sanitation System Division of PortionPac Chemical Corporation, based in Chicago, Illinois.

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J&L Grocery & Meats ............... Rockfish Rd.Lucky Stop .................Hwy. 401 & Palmer St.Lucky Stop 2196 .......Rockfish Rd.&401 Bus.Mi Casita...................... 4534 Fayetteville Rd.MP Mart ............................... Hwy. 211 SouthMcNeill’s Grocery ....................... Hwy. 211 S.McPhatter’s Grocery ..... Hwy. 401 & Vass Rd.Muncheez Express ................ Fayetteville Rd.Murphy Express ................ Walmart Hwy 401The News-Journal ..................119 W. ElwoodQuality Foods ....................................McCainPoco Shop #4 ........................ E. Central Ave.Short Stop #54 ....................Davis Bridge Rd.Short Stop #64 .......................Hwy. 211 WestShort Stop #68 .......................... N. Fulton St.Something’s Brewing Coffee Shop ....7104 Fayetteville Rd.Tobacco World ...................... Fayetteville Rd.211 Food Mart ................................ Hwy 211Waffle House ....................... 401 Hwy BypassWilcoHess ................................ Aberdeen Rd.Yogi Mart ................................... Hwy. 211 S.Zip N Mart ............................. Fayetteville Rd.

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4A THE NEWS-JOURNAL Raeford, N.C. June 17, 2015

District CourtBudget(Continued from page 1A)

recommended a three-cent tax increase.

The commissioners told Edens to try and remove it altogether, but doing so will require cutting more funding for county departments that provide services for citizens.

“Unfortunately, Hoke County finds itself in a position where we have lost approximately $700,000 in revenue and had increases of approximately $1.2 million in debt services that have not been budgeted since 2011,” Edens wrote in a letter to the board.

The proposed budget is one that “intends to maintain and support the current level of ser-vice while operating on a more conservative level,” and seeks to “absorb the increased cost of programming and services with a tax increase of three cents,” she wrote.What happened?

The county’s finances are tight this year for several reasons, Edens said.

“I think we just had a lot of different challenges coming at us from a lot of different directions,” she said.

Officials expected the county would bring in more money in 2014-15 than it actually did. In-stead of increasing as predicted, growth slowed down. Because of that, the county’s 2014-15 budget included money that the depart-ments didn’t have.

“What we expected and what we got were two different things,” Edens said.

The board froze hiring, over-time and purchases several months ago to try and address the existing shortfalls. For the upcoming year, staff members had to be more conservative in planning the budget, Edens said.

There were other issues, too.Since 2011, the county has

spent $1.2 million each year pay-ing off the debt from building new schools. The county was pulling that money from its fund balance each year, Edens said. That was the year the commission voted to increase property taxes by three cents to pay for building Sandy Grove Middle School.

“The three cents was being used to pay the school debt—it just was not enough to cover the entire debt incurred,” Edens said.

The Local Government Com-mission strongly advises counties keep a certain percentage of their money in reserve in the fund bal-ance, so if for some reason the government had to shut down, it could still pay all of its bills for at least a month. The LGC recom-mends that a county maintain a minimum 8 percent fund balance.

Last year, the county’s fund balance was at 11 percent, ac-cording to an audit completed by Kotang Cha-Moses of Martin, Starnes and Associates, a public

accounting firm based in Hickory. The county had $4.7 million in the fund balance last year, down from $6.3 million in 2013.Deadline approaching

County officials have until June 30 to pass a balanced budget. State law requires counties to have a budget ordinance in place before the start of the fiscal year July 1.

This year’s budget work is running late for several reasons, Edens said, including changing county managers at the start of the budget season, dealing with revenue shortfalls and going through all of the departments to examine their finances.

“That kind of pushed every-thing to the back,” she said.

However, even though the commission still doesn’t have a final budget they’re ready to ap-prove, the board members have “known all along” about the financial situation throughout the budget preparations over the last several months, Edens said.

Due to the upcoming deadline and the timing of the commission meetings, which are scheduled for the first and third Monday of each month, the public won’t have a chance to address the board about a final proposed budget before it’s approved. The public hearing held Monday was the only scheduled opportunity for members of the community to address the board about the budget before the com-missioners must approve some version of it.

The board will meet in a bud-get workshop Thursday, June 25 at 1 p.m. at the county building on Main Street in downtown Raeford.Sheriff’s concerns

Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said that if the commis-sioners consider cuts to public safety as part of the last-minute budget adjustments, he hopes the board will talk with him and his staff about it before making any final decisions. Overtime pay for deputies and fuel for patrol cars are two things he believes shouldn’t be cut.

“I advise the board before they even think about not being considerate of public safety that they sit down with me and my staff and we talk about it,” he said.

Under federal guidelines, the county needs about 50 more of-ficers than it has to fully cover the population of Hoke County. That’s part of what’s adding to the overtime issue, Peterkin said.

“The officers are constantly working over and over again because we don’t have enough officers,” he said.

The officers spend a lot of time driving, including taking people to Superior Court, transporting mental patients, doing in- and out-of-state transports and bring-

ing people from other counties to attend local court at the direction of the district attorney, Peterkin said. The county department also allows deputies to take their patrol vehicles home for multiple reasons, the sheriff said, including cutting down response time for emergencies.

If the commission does make deeper cuts, including cuts to public safety funding, “it doesn’t need to jeopardize the safety of the people,” Peterkin said.Budget public hearing

Two people spoke at the public hearing Monday.

Renate Dahlin said she be-lieves the county should raise taxes by a small amount, “one or one and a half cents,” to deal with the growth in the county and needs that arise because of it.

“If we had done that way back when I asked for it, that’s several years back, we would have had, year after year, some money to put in these upcoming projects that we knew would eventually happen with the population in-crease,” she said.

“If we insist on staying at the tax rate we are with prices going up, eventually we won’t even be able to fund anything unless we have suddenly a huge tax increase that people cannot absorb at one time,” Dahlin said.

Dahlin additionally said she believes if the county needs a pub-lic pool, it should not be located on a school campus.

Former commissioner Ellen McNeill also addressed the board.

“I know nobody in the world wants to raise taxes, but we want to keep the services, we want to keep the employees, so somebody’s got to pay,” she said. “With that be-ing said, gentlemen, please look within your heart, make sure we continue with services, make sure we keep our employees, make sure that as you look and cut, do whatever you can for the good of the citizens of Hoke County. I believe you do that, I trust you with that, and that’s what I want you to do.”

Highlights of budgetas proposed

• $41,754,576 total county budget for fiscal year 2015-16, compared to $41,450,113 in fiscal year 2014-15

• $4,812,418 funding for Hoke Schools for fiscal year 2015-16. The school system asked for $1.1 million in capital outlay and $5.2 million in current expense funding.

• $25 increase to planning and zoning permit fees

• Possible 3-cent property tax increase

• No new county positions, classifications or upgrades

• No employee bonuses

Real Estate TransfersTransfers of area property

recorded with the Hoke County Register of Deeds:

May 28• 1.48 acres in Antioch

township, from the Lumbee Regional Development Asso-ciation of Pembroke to Tilley Jones of Raeford

• Lot 43 Country Walk Phase 1B, from Papier Proper-ties Inc. of Parkton to Alayna L. and Justin McWhirt of Raeford

• Three tracts in Hoke County, from Raeford Salvage Co. Inc. of Fort Wayne, Ind. to OmniSource Southeast LLC of Fort Wayne, Ind.

• 3824 Arabia Road, from Charlotte and Ronald S. Huff of Aberdeen to H&H Construc-tors Inc. of Fayetteville

• Lot 34 Carolina Place, from Janee and John Cates of Southern Pines to Giovanna E. and Patrick B. Watts of Raeford

• Lot 28 McDougald Downs Section 6, from Tru-ilant Federal Credit Union of Winston-Salem to David Lee and George Walrath of Raeford

May 29

• Lot 931 The Maples at Westgate Section 4, from Caviness & Cates Building and Development Co. of Fayetteville to Jessica Marie and Joseph Randall Love of Raeford

• 6.55-acre tract (Old Raeford Lumber Yard), from L&S Holdings, LLC and L&S Holding Co. of Laurinburg to Wright and Best Inc. of Raeford

• Lot 130 Bridgeport Sec-tion 2, from Bridgeport Homes LLC of Hope Mills to Jeannette R. and Bruce A. Archambault III of Raeford

• Lot 24 Oakview Estates Phase 1, from Elizabeth W. and Peter A. Porrece of Fayetteville to Christopher A. Karshner of Lumberton

• Lot 18 Shadow Creek, from Tristar Building and De-velopment Inc. of Hope Mills to Lisa and Terry E. Wright of Raeford

• 753 Mumford Road, from The Bank of New York Mellon, as successor to J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, National

Associates, as trustee for Re-naissance Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2003-2 of West Palm Beach, Fla., to Marty Hammond of Raeford

• Lot 53 English Farms Section 1, from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Washing-ton, D.C. to Michael A. Horne of Raeford

June 1• 13.08 acres on McNeill

Farm Road, from Jacqueline Hunt and Ricky Chavis, and Samuel Hunt, to Cynthia and Dwight Oxendine of Raeford

• Lot 64 Country Walk Phase 1B, from Jill R. Gibbs of Raeford to Matthew J. Gibbs of Raeford

• Lot 4 Upland Pines, from Kidd Construction Co. Inc. of Fayetteville to Spencer R. Nelson of Raeford

• 5.25 acres on Veasey Farm property, from Bob M. Rigsby of Raeford to Heather A. and Luke S. Schledermayer of Raeford

• Two tracts on Crawford Wright Road, from Shannon L. and Jamie L. Spell of Raeford

to Brenda J. Lynn of RaefordJune 2• Property partially out-

side Raeford city limits, from Ernestine and Larry J. Beatty of Raeford to Nataisha L. and Larry J. Beatty Jr. and Kiara L. Beatty of Raeford

• Lot 159 Steeplechase Section 2, from Caitlin and Fred Moreton to Jennifer and Hunter Gadd of Raeford

• 15 acres in Hoke County, from Christian Thomas, suc-cessor trustee of the Helen Mary Montgomery Revocable Trust, to Erin C. and Colin Dallas of Aberdeen

June 3• 3.6 acres on S.R. 1429,

from Janice Carter and Glenn McInnis of Chuckey, Tenn. to Douglas Duane Johnson of Chuckey, Tenn.

• Lot 10 Millbrook, from Tanya N. and John Trevino of Dale, Texas to Lindsey and Kyle A. Gilday of Raeford

• Lot 159 Wedgefield Phase 3A, from H&H Constructors Inc. of Fayetteville to Twanna C. Jones of Raeford.

Recent cases heard in Hoke County District Criminal Court:

June 2Judge Michael A. Stone pre-

siding• Carlton Fabien, 18, 13522

Morgan Lee Ave., Charlotte, speeding 54 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone, court costs

• Michele E. Helleby-Isaac, 43, 403 Wooley St., Raeford, driving while impaired, Level 5, 30 days suspended, 12 months unsuper-vised probation, $100 fine and court costs, community service and pay fee, not to operate a mo-tor vehicle until properly licensed

• Philip Lee Holdaway, 35, 114 Stewart St., Raeford, driving while impaired, Level 5, 30 days suspended, 12 months unsuper-vised probation, $100 fine and court costs, community service and pay fee

• Marcus Tyron Jones, 33, 512 Purvis Court, Raeford, improper equipment—speedometer, $25 fine and court costs

• Betty LeGrande, 26, 198 Piney Grove Road, Raeford, im-proper equipment—speedometer, $25 fine and court costs

• Amy Gail Locklear, 42, 180 Wileta Lane, Raeford, improper equipment—speedometer, $15 fine and court costs

• Jaimee Leigh Ann Locklear, 28, 4780 U.S. 310 South, Hope Mills, driving while license revoked, prayer for judgment, court costs

• Michael LaShawn Locklear, 25, 135 Yadkin Trail, Raeford, carrying a concealed weapon, 45 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, $75 fine and court costs; possession of marijuana up to _ ounce, voluntary dismissal

• Rodney Lee Mack, 41, 6116 Garland Highway, Clinton, im-proper equipment—speedometer, $25 fine and court costs

• Alberton Chareen McKei-than, 31, 1302 Clan Campbell Drive, Raeford, improper equip-ment—speedometer, $25 fine and court costs

• Rodney Romell McRae, 48, 30960 N. Turnpike Road, Wagram, improper equipment—speedometer, $25 fine and court costs

• Artice Lowell Monroe, 53, 431 Purvis Court, Raeford, no operator’s license, prayer for judgment, court cost

• Adan Garcia Nava, 33, 2648 Golden Oaks Drive, Winston-Salem, driving while license revoked, prayer for judgment, court costs; speeding 41 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone, voluntary dismissal

• Anthony Rocco Oman Jr., 42, 406 Northwoods Drive, Raeford, improper equipment—speedom-eter, $15 fine and court costs

• Beatrice Lynette Oxendine, 24, 3400 Old Maxton Road, Red Springs, possession of open con-

tainer or consumption of alcohol in passenger area, $25 fine and court costs

• Robbie Wayne Revels, 45, 703 N. Jackson St., Raeford, driving while license revoked (for impaired driving), prayer for judgment, court costs

• Brandon Devoughn Tindal, 28, 996 Hilton Drive, Fayetteville, driving while license revoked, 45 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, $45 fine and court costs

• Edward Keith White, 43, 5115 Beckenstein Drive, Hope Mills, improper equipment—speedometer, $25 fine and court costs

June 10Judge Regina M. Joe, presiding• Jennifer Bounds, 33, 480 S.

Old Wire Road, Red Springs, mis-demeanor probation violation out of county, probation revoked, 15 days in jail, active, to run concur-rently with sentence now serving

• Tom Huckabee, 47, Pem-broke, driving while license re-voked, 60 days in prison, active, sentence to run concurrently with sentence already serving

• Chasity Amber Madden, 31, 516 Indian Lane, Raeford, school attendance law violation (two counts), 45 days suspended, 12 months probation per count, defendant to make every effort to ensure children’s attendance, provide documentation for any absences, cooperate with school social worker on matters pertinent to children’s school attendance

• Adrian McCormick, 30, 412 Daniel McLeod Road, Red Springs, simple worthless check, seven days suspended, six months unsupervised probation, court costs, pay $205 restitution to prosecuting business

June 11Judge Regina M. Joe presiding• John Doyle Beasley, 60, 111

Bayshore Drive, Parkton, im-proper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• Steven Craig Blask II, 31, 200 Village Lane, Raeford, driv-ing while impaired, Level 5, 60 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, court costs, 24 hours community service and pay fee, undergo assessment and submit to recommended treatment; driving while license revoked, 10 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, court costs, not to operate a motor vehicle until properly licensed

• Jacob Thomas Campbell, 1416 Woodford Road, Lewisville, improper equipment—speedom-eter, court costs

• Rother Marie Daniel, 59, 427 Wedgewood Drive, Raeford, im-proper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• Portia Symone Grady, 22, 679 Windsong Drive Southeast, Leland, speeding 64 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone, $25 fine

and court costs• Nicolas Grijalva Gutierrez,

35, 362 Purvis Court, Raeford, no operator’s license, prayer for judgment, court costs

• LaKesha Ann Hammond, 24, 24280 Skyway Church Road, Maxton, improper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• Anthony James Harris, 41, 5241 Mawood St., Fayetteville, driving while license revoked, prayer for judgment, court costs; operating a motor vehicle with no insurance, voluntary dismissal

• Ty Matthew Johnson, 24, 129 Hunter’s Creek, Raeford, im-proper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• Darien Leroy Jones, 26, 2708 Larry St., Fayetteville, improper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• James Trent Locklear, 45, 531 Elias Road, Maxton, improper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• David Charles MacIntosh, 35, 263 Basurto Lane, Raeford, reckless driving with wanton dis-regard, seven days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, $200 fine and court costs

• Michael Laron McArn, 22, 114 Cardinal Ave., Raeford, im-proper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• Jeffrey Alexander Ray, 20, 374 Stansbury Drive, Raeford, improper equipment—speedom-eter, court costs

• Dion Sellers, 22, 807 Roa-noke Drive, Raeford, driving while impaired, Level 5, 60 days suspended, 12 months unsuper-vised probation, court costs, 24 hours community service and pay fee, court authorizes com-munity service obligations to be performed out of state, defendant to submit proof of completion to court, obtain assessment and undergo recommended treatment for substance abuse, not to oper-ate a motor vehicle until properly licensed

• Barsha Lamar Sims, 40, 412 N. McNair St., Maxton, improper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• Kyah Lanay Turner, 18, 403 W. 8th Ave., Raeford, speeding 64 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone, $50 fine and court costs

• Latasha L. Tyler, 26, 2229 Progress St., Fayetteville, pos-session of marijuana up to _ ounce, $100 fine and court costs; driving while license revoked (for impaired driving), voluntary dismissal

• Keith Terrell Watkins, 30, 118 Rye Lane, Raeford, improper equipment—speedometer, court costs

• James Odell Wright II, 36, 231 Knight Road, Hollister, im-proper equipment—speedometer, court costs.

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Spend some quality family time together. Worship at the church of your choice. Our community has a number of churches and a variety of denomi-nations for you and your family.

Pittman Grove Baptist Church4921 Pittman Grove Church Rd.

875-5045

ChuRCh seRviCessunday school 9:45 a.m.

sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m.sunday Night Worship 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday Night Meal& Bible study 6:30 p.m.

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Baptist

tabernacle Baptist Churchof Rockfish

3129 Lindsay Roadsunday school 9:45 a.m.

sunday Morning Worship 11 a.m.sunday Evening service 6 p.m.Wednesday - Bible study 7 p.m.

910-875-4134

Baptist

Hoke County Health DepartmentSweet Community

Diabetes Self-Management Education Program

Individual and/or Group sessionsGet ready to BE IN CONTROL of your Diabetes with the help of our team:

Joy Stafford, Registered Dietitian • Cindy Morton, Registered NurseUlva Little, Health Educator

Sweet Community supports people living with diabetes and pre-diabetes as you make daily choices on how to manage your disease. Gain new information and insight: meal planning, carb counting, checking blood sugars, medications, prevention of complications, stress management, foot & eye care, physical activ-ity, and how to change old habits…

Call to register: Joy Stafford, RD, LDN(910) 875-2298 ext 2131 • Fax: (910) 875-9306

Email: jstafford@hokehealth.org

June 17, 2015 THE NEWS-JOURNAL Raeford, N.C 5A

Sports

Sports News To Report?Call Hal Nunn at(910) 875-2121

By Hal nunn

Sports writer

Hoke County High School has a new baseball coach. Jamie Coleman of Scotland County was named the new baseball coach yesterday by Athletics Director Gary Brigman. Coleman will replace Mike Ray, who has been the baseball coach since 2009, is stepping down as coach but will remain in the classroom. Coleman

was previously the head baseball coach at Scotland County and was the defensive coordinator for the football team under Coach Richard Bailey. He has been at Scotland County for 16 years and played college football, defensive back at Appalachian State from 1993-1995. He played in the Minnesota Vikings organization for one year on the practice squad and made it to the last cut for the 54-man team roster.

”I’m excited and have always admired Hoke County athletics and, being originally from Laurin-burg, I know a lot about the com-munity,” Coach Coleman said. When asked about the direction of the program, he said, “I’m going to be out in the community, build-ing rapport with kids and parents and the middle schools. Also, we need to build up our Parks and Recreation leagues so that, when kids come to the middle and high school, we don’t have to teach fundamentals.” Coach Coleman plans to hire a staff of three to four coaches and wants to bring back the ninth grade program. “Having a strong ninth grade program can help the junior varsity and varsity significantly,” Coleman said. He also plans to have some camps and instructional time with play-ers this summer and fall.

Summer soccer schedule-Hoke High

Summer soccer workouts are for all returning players and all rising 9th graders. All players must have a current physical on file. Workouts will be held at the Hoke High practice fields on June 16-18 at 11 a.m., June 23-25 at 4 p.m., July 7-9 at 9 a.m., July 14-16 at 4 p.m., July 28-30 at 9 a.m. and August 1 - first mandatory workout for those wanting to play at Hoke High - at 8 a.m. For more informa-tion, contact Coach Colin McDavid at 910-280-1127 or by email at cmcdavid@hcs.k12.nc.us.

Rockfish Speedway June 13 results (top 3)

Legends: First-Eddie Daniels (6th in row), Second-Billy Gomez Jr., Third-Stephen Ford; 600s: First-Tim Nye (3rd win), Second-Matt Jones, Third-Mark Jones; 270s: First-Doug Penny (1st win), Second-Jodie McCall, Third-Jason Brown; Go Karts: First-Josh Gomez (4th win), Second-Levi Brown, Third-Chester Beaman. Next race is June 20, Rainbow Pediatrics Night. Gates open at 2 p.m., practice at 4 p.m. and racing action at 5:30 p.m.

Dublin SpeedwayDennis Brewer finished in second place at Dublin Speedway in his

Farm Bureau Insurance and Brewer’s Automotive Finishes ride last weekend in the Open Wheel Modified division. He started fifth and gained three spots in his first visit back to Dublin.

Bucks have new baseball coach

Jamie Coleman has been named the new Hoke County High School baseball coach. Coleman previously was at Scotland County for 16 years and coached baseball and football. He played football for Appalachian State and for the Minnesota Vikings orga-nization.

Moore competes in state gamesJeremy Moore (in the lead, in white at state games), a Special Olympics athlete from Hoke County, won gold in the 100-me-ter, 200-meter and running long jump in the state games last week in Raleigh. He, along with other Special Olympics athletes, teachers and students, will compete in the Unified Relay Across America games that will culminate in the World Games in Los Angeles, California in August. (Photo by Scott Boucher)

National Parachuting Championships this weekThe National Parachuting Championships sponsored by the U.S. Parachute Association is “swooping” into Raeford this Monday through Sunday at the Raeford Airport. Airborne athletes will test their metal as they compete for gold in three daring disciplines of Parachute and Canopy Competition including Swooping. (Photo by Randy Swallows of the U.S. Parachute Association)

Carolina Hustle wins “Out of School Bash”The Carolina Hustle 14U girls’ fast pitch softball team won first place in the Out of School Bash last weekend in Fayetteville. Pictured are Diamond Hammonds (front row, left to right), Adrianna Tellez, Dayona Bandy, Lily Locklear and Alex Sutton; back row: J’Maya Blue, Aleah Graham, Ina Womack, Alissa Dial, BreAnna Steele and Nailah Quick. Not pictured are Coaches Kevin Graham and Walter Steele. (Submitted photo)

Kiwanis tournament largest ever (24 teams)The 23rd Annual Raeford Kiwanis Club Golf Tournament saw its largest turnout ever with 24 teams last week at Bayonet at Puppy Creek. The team of Jonathan Decarlo, David Decarlo, Josh Hunter and Chase Suitt, sponsored by FCI, took home first place with a score of 58. In this photo, Marcus Lowry of Team Palmer lines up his putt on the 18th green. The team shot a 69. (Photo by Hal Nunn)

Sports Briefs

Saturday, June 20 • 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.Hoke County Public Library Stage

334 N. Main Street, Raeford

For more information call Blue Springs – Hoke CDC 910 -904-0312

www.bluespringscd.org

•Food & Retail Vendors•Basketball Competition•Chess Tournament •Zumba Fitness Exposé•Children’s Corner •Multi-Cultural Entertainment •Resources & Information

Something for

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Family

Fun!

RecordingArtist!

McLaughlin Park

Community Festival &Resource Celebration

Blue Springs-Hoke CountyCommunity Development Corporation

The Certified Production Technician (CPT) program is designed to train students for mastery of manufacturing production systems and minor manufacturing equipment maintenance and repair as specified by the Manufac-tures’ Skills Standards Council.

The course will prepare the student to compete for four MSSC certifications: Safety, Quality Practices and Mea-surement, Manufacturing Processes and Production, and Maintenance Awareness leading to the comprehensive CPT credential. The program will also prepare the student for higher paying jobs.

This program is endorsed as a quality training program for potential entry-level employment by Unilever HPC in Raeford & Coty, Inc. in Sanford.

•53% of students found employment•94% of students were interviewed by local companies•Unilever endorsed•Job placement assistance

For more information please contact Belinda McFerrinat (910) 246-4117 or mcferrinb@sandhills.edu

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6A THE NEWS-JOURNAL Raeford, N.C. June 17, 2015

Grads

McDuffie

(Continued from page 1A)

(Continued from page 1A)

Hoke County High School Class of 2015 received their diplomas at the ceremony Friday.

Priest encouraged the students to remember the good times of their years in high school and the friendships they made, even as they thanked their families and teachers for helping them reach their graduation day.

“Congratulations, Class of 2015. We made it!” she said.

Salutatorian Hayley Bayne praised the class for earning more than $3 million in scholarships.

“That is something that we, the Class of 2015, should be proud of,” she said.

In her remarks, Bayne told her fellow graduates to remember that even though life isn’t perfect, “get through the hard times, and the good times make it all worth it.”

Principal Roger Edwards thanked the students for their hard work in striving for their high school diplomas, and for making it to a special day in their lives.

“It is a bridge to all the others, a key that unlocks those doors,” he said.

The senior class officers were President Nytecia De’Oney Brit-ton and Vice President Summer Rae Thompson. The student body officers were Raekwon Latrelle Butler, president; Alexia Danyelle Melvin, vice-president; Dustin Grant Locklear, secretary; and Ayari Whanyae Harrington, treasurer.Valedictorian: Ashelynn Hope Priest

Ashelynn Hope Priest is the valedictorian for the Hoke County High School Class of 2015, with a GPA of 4.8008.

Priest is the daughter of Joe and Sue Priest of Raeford and sister to siblings Amanda, Brett, and Zachery. She was named Miss Hoke High as a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, and participated in the National Honors Society, as well as varsity soccer, tennis and golf. She was

named all conference and all region in soccer for three years in a row, and was also named all state in soccer. She participated in book club and drama club, received the N.C. Scholar Award, was a Scholar Athlete and gradu-ated Summa Cum Laude. She will attend St. Andrews University in the fall, where she received aca-demic and athletic scholarships. She plans to major in biology and minor in art.Salutatorian: Hayley Ann Bayne

Hayley Bayne is the salutato-

rian for the Hoke County High School Class of 2015, with a GPA of 4.7326.

Bayne was born in Ft. Wain-wright, Alaska to parents Joe and Jenni Bayne. The family moved to Hoke County when Bayne was in the third grade. She enjoys going to concerts, traveling and spend-ing time with friends and family. She intends to pursue a degree in Child Development Birth-Kindergarten at Appalachian State University. Her younger sister, Madison Bayne, is a student at SandHoke Early College High School.

worthy. He was set in his way—if he felt like he was right, he would defend that,” Hedgpeth said. “It was very much of a pleasure for me to serve with him.”

Benny McLeod also served on the board with McDuffie for a number of years. He recalled McDuffie as someone who al-ways took an active role in the community and had the people’s

best interest in mind when making decisions.

“He was always very active and very faithful to attend. He was always there in meetings and he always spoke up,” McLeod said.

McDuffie also served on the Board of Health for nine years. He was a member of Raeford United Methodist Church and a member of the American Legion. He served in the U.S. Army.

Seniors enter the stadium at Friday’s graduation. Nearly 400 took part, braving high temperatures, even in the evening.

University StudiesAutomotive

Public Services & SafetyHospitality & Culinary Arts

ComputersCosmetology

Landscape GardeningGolf Course Turf Management

BusinessEngineering & TradesHealthcare & Nursing

Personal InterestsCareer Development

College & Career Readiness

3395 Airport Road • Pinehurst910-692-6185 • www.sandhills.edu

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333 N. Main Street • Raeford, NC875-3508

WEDNESDAYSFamily Dinner 5:50

Youth & Children’s Missions 6:30 Bible Study 6:30

Adult Choir Practice 7:30

First Baptist Church

ALL AREWELCOME

SUNDAYSSunday School 9:45 am

Worship 11:00 amYouth 6:00 pm

Evening Worship 6:00 pm

VacationBible School

July 12 - 166 - 8:30 p.m.

Youth Yard Sale & Car Wash

June 278 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Father’s DaySunday, June 21

VERY SPECIAL GUESTMcDonald’s of Raeford

will have severalSpecial GueStS

June 27, 2015From 2-4 p.m.

111 U.S. 401 • Raeford, N.C. • 910-904-0333

A local tradition rolls into town this week to mark the unofficial start of summer.

The 52nd Hoke County Wagon Train will come to downtown Raeford Friday morning with a parade of mule-drawn wagons and horseback riders. The parade usu-ally hits Main Street around 11 or 11:30 a.m., with no specific time set.

The wagon train was founded in 1963 by Edgar “Red” Brooks after Brooks rode in a wagon train down the Boone Trail in Boone, N.C. Today, Wagon Master Frank Wilson carries on the tradition.

The wagon train gives horse-back riding fans a chance to enjoy the outdoors and camp out over the weekend at a campground off of Alex Baker Road at Vass Road.

It also lets children compete in fun activities and challenges.

The Hoke County Wagon Train kicks off the weekend with the parade Friday morning, followed by music and fellowship at the campsite Friday night. There will be horseback games and children’s games on Saturday, with a DJ providing more music Saturday night.

The event is open to riders and campers who want to take part in the Wagon Train, and to people who want to stop by and enjoy the activities. The charge for participants is $5 for kids and teens up to age 15 and $10 for people 16 and older.

For more information, call Wilson at 286-1307.

Wagon train is Friday