,,s ^(te <~Y\" CXCt'pf while away in bot^ a^e n(m- suporv,it's sales of both advertising and printing, m . P " 3 caPMin in the N C ofHn"^' Guard" a?d is onimander of Hq. Btry 2nd Bn. 252d Armor here in Raeford. As most of our friends and associates already know. mv wife Margaret and I have been quietlv self. T 3UaV m?rc and '?r stural years and as Sam Morris ' P .oul- ,he "me has come to make it official that another uener ation is taking over. See you around. Sales Tax Collections of Hoke Countv s one $2|CSS- wf1" J3* amoun,ed lo *21 .55 - .80 in November, the State week"Ue partmcm reponed last The collections in the previous month totaled $50,672.82. The November 1980 collections totaled $28. 300.. 14. "actions Hoke County Manager James Martin said Monday he pro bably would act "the first of next week" on a recom mendation regarding the firing of William Hales as county dog warden. Martin was expected to re ceive the recommendation from the County Advisory Personnel Board this week and would have three working days in which to make his decision. The board under the county's grievance policy for county employees met on Hales's appeal from his November 23 firing in three sessions, the last of which was held December 23, but no witnesses were heard at the final meeting. The reasons for Hales's firing have not been revealed by officials. A report ' published Thursday in the Fayetteville Times said Hales lost his job when he said he accepted small amounts of money given by people when they adopted dogs from the dog pound. State and county officials, unidentified by name, are quoted by the report as confirming December 23 this was the reason for the firing, explaining that state and county, policy requires the warden to report money received. The newspaper report quotes a source as saying the donations which Hales said he accepted amounted to $1 and $2 usually. The news story says Hales, as did the late Archie Clark, his uncle and dog catcher whom he* succeeded, used the extra money to supplement regular county funds for buying dog food. Martin, asked about the in formation contained in the article Monday, declined to confirm or deny it. The county policy requires him to decide within three working days after receiving in writing the recommendation and record of the hearing's proceedings and whether to uphold or nullify the firing of a county employee. Martin also must state the reason or reasons for his decision. He said Monday, however, he will not be able to make public the recommendation after he receives it and will be able to say only that he received it. The rest of the Times article contains the following. State and county officials agreed that Hales did not gain personally from the transact ions, that he even added from his $9,921 annual salary money to buy additional dog food for the animals in the pound and to bait traps to catch dogs gone wild. In a matter independent of the advisory board hearings. Hales was investigated by the, State Bureau of Investigation for allegedly falsifying records -- reportedly stating he was buying cat food, when he was feeding dog food to cats in the pound because dog food is cheaper On New Year's Day Government Hoke County and Raeford gov ernment employees have another short week this week, off Friday for ' tMlTN^w Year's TJay holiday. January 1 also is a legal holiday for banks and savings and loan institutions. Most downtown stores will be open for business, though some will have a "short" day, opening later than usual. The News-Journal will be closed all day Friday. The Raeford Post Office will be on its holiday schedule Friday, than cat food. State officials have said no criminal prose cution is expected. Assistant District Attorney Jean Powell, who requested the SB1 probe, told The News Journal Monday afternoon she expects to receive the report of the investigation some time in January. The Times report also con tains the following. Cats often were fed dog food at the pound as a money-saving measure that also had dogs eating hog food mixed with dog food. During the hearings, witnesses told the advisory board Hales was using practices introduced by the former warden. They also corraborated the argument made by Phil Diehl, Hales's attorney, that no administrative dog policy or written regulation for the county dog warden to follow. Officials said they had few dealings with the county's dog operation and weren't aware of problems in Hales's record - keeping until they received a complaint in November. Then the investigation which resulted in Hales's firing was started. Offices Closed closed for business, but will be open Saturday. Next week, the county and city official boards will hold their regular meetings on the standing dates ? the county commissioners Monday at 9 a.m.; the Raeford City Council Monday at 7 p.m.; and the County Board of Education Tues day at 7 p.m. The county schools will reopen Monday morning for business on their standard schedules. Hafpylk^ai May each man and woman find peace in his or her heart at this holiday season. . .and may that peace extend throughout the world.