THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1962
HOSPITAL
(Continued from page 1)
one reason the board had taken
the action is that “the people feel
the hospital belongs to Moore
County.” Both Mr. Reynolds and
Commissioner John M. Currie of
Carthage are members of the hos
pital’s board of - directors.
Mr. Currie pointed out that
Moore County, unlike many coun
ties with county-operated hospi
tals that must be supported with
public funds, has not had to sup
port Moore Memorial and for that
reason, he felt the county owed
it something. He recalled also that
the commissioners had given the
hospital $25,000 for construction
purposes “six or eight years ago
when they were trying to com
plete a wing,” setting a precedent
for the new donation.
Commissioner Pleasants said
that the two hospital directors on
the board of commissioners had
told the other commissiners about
the needs of the hospital and that
the action of pledging the money
was taken only after these needs
v/ere made clear.
Both Mr. Buchholz and Mrs.
Nicholson said they were pa-r
trons of St. Joseph of the Pines
Hospital, but, said Mr. Buchholz,
“I would complain bitterly also
if you proposed to give away
county money to St. Joseph’s. I
can’t see the justification of any
Mrs* Williams
Succumbs at 92
Funeral services were held
Wednesday at Malden, Mass., for
Mrs. Ada B. Williams, 92, who
died Sunday at St. Joseph of the
Pines Hospital. There was no
local service.
A winter resident of Southern
Pines for several yesus, she was
a native of Maine and was the
widow of E. S. Williams of Na-
hant, Mass.
No immediate survivors, here
or in Massachusetts, were report
ed. Her address in Southern
Pines was listed as 550 Coimtry
Club Drive. An attorney in Mass
achusetts made the funeral ar
rangements.
Guardsmen Spend
Weekend at Bragg
Men of Company D, 2nd Medi
um Tank Battalion, 196th Armor
—the Moore County National
Guard Unit—spent from Friday
afternoon to Sunday afternoon at
Fort Bragg, conducting their an
nual “company picnic” which
features firing small arms on the
Fort Bragg ranges.
The company’s tanks were driv
en to Fort Bragg for the occasion
and will remain there until the
local unit joins others of the 30th
Division for the summer encamp
ment starting June 10, to last 15
days, said Capt. James E. Har
rington, Jr., of Pinehurst, com
pany commander.
THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina
Page SEVENTEEN
such gift of public funds.”
Mrs. Nicholson said that if
money were to be given to one
hospital, it should be given to the
other. She cited numerous statis
tics on the service rendered by
St. Joseph’s and said, in reply to
Chairman Reynolds’s statement
that people feel that Moore Mem
orial Hospital belongs to Moore
County, that “many people feel
that St. Joseph’s is our hospital,
too.” She suggested that the com
missioners “sound around and
see how people are feeling” about
the proposed donation to Moore
Memorial. The commissioners
praised the service rendered by
St. Joseph’s.
Both of the protesters question
ed the need for an 88-bed addi
tion to Moore Memorial and said
that it seemed to them that the
matter of need would have some
bearing on the use of public funds
for that purpose. They pointed
out that several of the out-of-
.county areas that send patients
to Moore Memorial are building
or expanding their own hospitals
and that when these patients no
longer must use Moore Memorial,
there may not be need for such
a large addition to it.
Mr. Buchholz asked the com
missioners to reconsider their de
cision on the pledge to Moore
Memorial.
“It will be cleared, if it’s done,”
said Mr. Taylor. “We expect to
talk to Mr. Boyette.”
“We’ll take it to the attorney
general if the county attorney
can’t give us the answer,” Chair
man Reynolds added.
Information Sought
Seeking an impartial opinion
on the legality of the proposed
appropriation by the county to
the hospital. The Pilot has queried
the Institute of Government at
Chapel Hill, an organization that
maintains a legal advisory serv
ice for counties and towns as well
as, under certain circumstances,
for newspapers and others con
cerned with the public interest.
Sections, of North Carolina law
cited by the Institute in a letter
to The Pilot this week seem to
indicate legality of the commis
sioners’ action, although the let
ter pointed out that a fully au
thoritative opinion could not be
given without close familiarity
with details applicable in this
county.
'The sections of law cited by the
Institute of Government in its let
ter follow:
The Institute of Government
letter to The Pilot cites the fol
lowing statutes “relating to the
authority of counties to make
appropriations for support of non
profit hospitals.”
G, S. 131-126.20 (c);' “Any
municipality (defined by statute
to include any county, city, town
or other political subdivision)
may enter into a contract or
other arrangement with any other
municipality or other public
agency of this or any other state
or of the United States or with
any individual, private organiza
tion or nonprofit association for
the provision of hospital, clinic, or
similar services. Pursuant to such
contract or other arrangement,
the municipality may pay for
such services out of any appro
Season Schedule For
Local Little League
LITTLE LEAGUE SCHEDULE
FIRST HALF
Saturday. May 12
Cards vs Braves 6:30 p.m.
Pirates vs Dodgers 8:00 p.m.
Monday, May 14
*Dodgers vs Braves (6:00 p.m.)
‘Pirates vs Cards (7:30 p.m.)
Friday, May 18
Braves vs Pirates 6:30 p.m.
Cards vs Dodgers 8:00 p.m.
Monday, May 21
‘Dodgers vs Pirates (6:00 p.m.)
‘Braves vs Cards 7:30 p.m.)
Friday, May 25
Pirates vs Cards 6:30 p.m.
Dodgers vs Braves 8:00 p.m.
Monday, May 28
‘Cards vs Dodgers (6:00 p.m.)
‘Braves vs Pirates (7:30 p.m.)
Friday. June 1
Cards vs Braves 6:30 p.m.
Pirates vs Dodgers 8:00 p.m.
Monday, June 4
‘Dodgers vs Braves (6:00 p.m.)
‘Pirates vs Cards (7:30 p.m.)
Friday, June 8
Braves vs Pirates 6:30 p.m.
Cards vs Dodgers 8:00 p.m.
SECOND HALF
Monday. June 11
Dodgers vs Pirates 6:30 p.m.
Braves vs Cards 8:00 p.m.
Friday, June 15
Pirates vs Cards 6:30 p.m.
Dodgers Vs Braves 8:00 p.m.
Monday. June IS
Cards vs Dodgers 6:30 p.m.
Braves vs Pirates 8:00 p.m.
Friday, June 22
Cards vs Braves 6:30 p.m.
Pirates vs Dodgers 8:00 p.m.
Monday, June 25
Dodgers vs Braves 6:30 p.m.
Pirates vs Cards 8:00 p.m.
Friday. June 29
Braves vs Pirates 6:30 p.m.
Cards vs Dodgers 8:00 p.m.
Monday, July 2
Dodgers vs Pirates 6:30 p.m.
Braves vs Cards 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 4
ALL-STAR GAME
Friday, July 6
Pirates vs Car^ 6:30 p.m.
Dodgers vs Braves 8:00 p.m.
Monday, July 9
Cards vs Dodgers 6:30 p.m.
Braves vs Pirates 8:00 p.m.
Playoffs begin Friday, July 13th
Two of three series. First half
winner versus second half win
ner.
MINOR LEAGUE SCHEDULE
FIRST HALF
Saturday, May 12
Reds vs Cubs 2:00 p.m.
Tigers vs Yanks 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 16
Yanks vs Reds 6:00 p.m.
Cubs vs Tigers 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 23
Tigers vs Reds 6:00 p.m.
Cubs vs Yanks 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 30
Yanks vs Tigers 6:00 p.m.
Cubs vs Reds 7:30 p.m.
SECOND HALF
Wednesday, June 6
Tigers vs Cubs 6:30 p.m.
Reds vs Yanks 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 13
Yanks vs Cubs 6:30 p.m.
Reds vs Tigers 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 20
Tigers vs Cubs 6:00 p.m.
Reds Vs Yanks 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 27
Yanks vs Tigers 6:30 p.m.
Cubs vs Yanks 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 4
ALL STAR GAME
Thursday, July 5
Reds vs Tigers 6:30 p.m.
Cubs vs Yanks 8:00 p.m.
Local Playoffs Begin July 13
1st half winner vs 2nd half winner
priations or other moneys made
available for such purposes . . . ”
G. S. 131-126.22(a)! “The gov
erning body of any municipality
having power to appropriate and
raise money is hereby authorized
to appropriate and to raise by
tEixation and otherwise sufficient
moneys to carry out the provis
ions and purposes of this article.”
G. S. 131-126.26: ‘Tf the govern
ing body of any municipality de
termines that the public interest
and the interests of the munici
pality will be served by aiding
another municipality or munici
palities or a nonprofit association
or nonprofit associations to pro
vide physical facilities for furnish
ing hospital, clinic, or similar
services to the people of the
municipality, such municipality,
may render such aid by gift of
real or personal property, or
lease or loan thereof with or
without rental or charge, or by
gift of money, or loan thereof
with or without interest . . . . ”
G. S. 131-126.41: “'The board
of county conunissioners of any
county or the governing authority
of any city or town is hereby
authorized, in its discretion, to
pledge, encumber or appropriate
funds from any surplus funds,
unappropriated funds, or funds
derived from profits of alcoholic
beverage control stores for the
purpose of guaranteeing the ope
rating deficit of any publicly
owned or non-profit hospital...”
One additional point, the letter
continued, should be noted con
cerning the above statutory
authority. Under Article VII,
section 7 of the North Carolina
Constitution, taxes can be levied
and debt incurred for functions
which have been classed by the
courts as nonnecessary expenses
only after approval of the voters.
However, nontax funds may be
used for these fimctions without
first obtaining the approval of the
voters. Hospitals have been class
ed as nonnecessary expenses by
the court.
The letter then cited:
G. S. 153-2.1, which is set out
below, may be pertinent to your
second question (whether the
commissioners can appropriate
funds beyond their term of office).
“A county is authorized to enter
into continuing contracts, some
portion of which or all of which
may be performed in an ensuing
fiscal year, but no such contract
shall be entered into unless suf
ficient funds have been appro
priated to meet any amount to
be paid under the contract in the
fiscal year in which the contract
is made. The boards of county
commissioners shall, in the budget
resolution of each ensuing fiscal
year during which any such con
tract is in effect, appropriate suf
ficient funds to meet the amount
to be paid under the contract in
such ensuing fiscal year ...”
Under this statute contracts can
extend beyond the term of office
of the board of county commiss
ioners entering into the contract.
“It is difficult to comment on
the applicability of these statutes
to the situation in Moore County
without more specific knowledge
of the facts involved, the letter
concluded.
Candidate Comments
Wallace W. O’Neal of Pinehurst,
Republican candidate for county
commissioner from Mineral
Springs and Sandhills Townships,
who is opposing Commissioner W.
Sidney Taylor of Aberdeen, Dem
ocrat, in the November election,
commented as follows on the
pledge of coimty funds to the
hospital building fund:
*T am distressed to find there
is a serious question whether this
pledge is legal. I am 100 per cent
in favor of the new building pro-
grsun and feel that it is a neces
sity to ovu public welfare pro
gram. I worked on the campaign
fimd and contributed personally
to the building fund. If the county
commissioner’s pledge of coimty
money is legal and funds are
available, I would certainly con
cur in their action.
“My investigation indicates,
however, that such contributions
are very probably barred by
Article 7, Section 7 of the N. C.
Constitution. Unless surplus funds
are available from non ad-valo-
rem tax sources, the indications
are that the county does not have
this surplus available at this time.
“This pledge was approved at
an unpublicized meeting of the
board of commissioners, appar
ently without the benefits of ad
vice from the coxmty attorney or
accountant. This gives me some
concern over the Board’s decision
to spend county money, when
other requests have been on the
agenda for the past several
months, for instance, the Agri
culture Eiuilding and new school
construction, repairs and assist
ance to the Welfare Department.
“Unfortunately, no minutes Of
this action are available. After
three weeks, therefore, it would
be my suggestion that the Board
consult with their attorney and
review their action in public ses
sion as soon 2is possible. I certain
ly hope these funds will be avail
able if there should be a surplus
or legal way to appropriate them.”
A message from the Treasury of a free people
How to help
keep ffeedom in
your future for
$4.33 a week
T he sum of $4.33 a week will buy
you a dozen Savings Bonds in a
year. A few years of this and you’ll be
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Nothing wrong with being rich. The
more savings strength we have as in
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as a Nation.
But there are some other rather re
markable wheels you set in motion
when you buy U.S. Savings Bonds.
As yovir Bond dollars grow, your
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Buy Bonds for freedom now. All
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Buy an extra Bond
during the Freedom Bond Drive
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Keep freedom in your future witii
avings Bonds
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