Editorials
Congratulations
"Congratulations" is a weak word to use in addressing Raeford's
City Council, individual citizens, and civic organizations such as the
Raeford-Hoke County Chamber of Commerce in this instance.
The occasion is the awarding, again, for another year, Gov. Jim
Hunt's Community of Excellence honor last week.
The reason the word is weak is something stronger is needed to
point to the great effort, selfless dedication, springing from the
desire to make the community a better place to live that brought the
award. The effort principally is aimed at making a community
attractive as possible as a home for more industry to provide more
jobs.
? The award is given to a community which has established the
following:
--A local development team trained to discuss available sites,
facilities, and other local factors with industry representatives.
?A financial organization enabling the community to buy, sell
and option property to or for industrial clients as well as finance the
construction of industrial buildings.
--Adequate school, health care, and recreational opportunities.
--Clear and well-organized information about the community: its
facilities, utilities and tax structure, among other things important
to a business and industry.
The record which has brought Community of Excellence awards to
Raeford shows the Raeford people keep working to improve the
economy specifically with the consequent improvement in the quality
of living, and this, of course, is a benefit to all of Hoke County.
--BL
Educate drinkers
! The drive to get drunk drivers off the roads by making it easier to
revoke their driver's licenses can be backed up by getting people who
have been drinking to stay out of the driver's seats.
; The same can be said for people who commit other crimes while
they are intoxicated.
Convincing people prone to violence, either by motor vehicle or
other instrument, to stay home after they've been drinking will take
a long, continuous education process. But it will pay off.
One point that should be hammered home to every drinker is that
state law says voluntary intoxication is no defense of the commission
of a crime. The law puts the responsibility for conduct squarely on
the individual, where it belongs.
Nobody has to drink, and everyone old enough to buy liquor
knows that drinking too much makes a person drunk, which, for
some, brings commission of crimes.
The only exception to the law is the defendant who has
demonstrated that he/she didn't know what he/she was doing and
was incapable of forming a plan or carrying it. out.
The recent murder conviction in Hoke County Superior Court is
?n example of how the law works: The defense tried to show the
?accused was too intoxicated to know what he was doing. The
prosecution showed, to the satisfaction of the jury, that the
defendant was capable of carrying out an intent. This was
demonstrated by the prosecution's showing that the accused had to
perform certain separate, deliberate acts to commit the crime,
j The efforts of defense and prosecution were based on the state law
eliminating voluntary intoxication as a defense.
? Tragically, no one knew how to prevent the accused from going
abroad in his alleged intoxication.
This preventive action is what is necessary to prevent everything
from disruptive public drunkenness to driving under the influence to
murder.
Everyone must be told over and over that drinking interferes with
physical coordination and with judgment and disarms the
inhibitions that prevent indulgence in dangerous misconduct.
If the education doesn't reach all drinkers, it will reach the
members of the families of some, at least, so that they'll perhaps
persuade the drinkers to stay at home and will keep weapons and car
keys out of his reach.
-BL
Private help
It will be interesting to see how much money the Raeford-Hoke
County Humane Society can raise from private donations, to help
the county pay for building a new dog pound.
The start of the campaign brought $310 by November 22.
If the campaign proves through its course as successful as its start,
the county can count a new force for helping with its animal control
efforts.
?BL
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NATIONAL NEWSPAPER association
ASSOCIATION
Published Every Thursday al Raeford. N.C. 2*376
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H't a Small World
fcytaiMn
Raeford's Christinas parade was
scheduled for December 1 1 .
But Raleigh's parade was held
November 21, which meant Santa
had to wait four days before getting
his Thanksgiving turkey.
Getting an early start on holiday
promotion brought a sad reaction
from one kid years ago in Asheville.
In early October, signs and displays
in store windows told of Thanksgiv
ing coming.
After seeing all these things, the
kid broke into tears and wailed,
"What happened to Halloween?"
Fortunately, Mama could re
assure him that he still had
Halloween to look forward to, that
it was just that nobody was talking
about it very much.
? *
So somebody sprinkled goofer
dust in the Hoke County courtroom
the other day, trying, no doubt, to
influence the course of justice.
That's the kind of thing that
would make a judge and a prosecu
tor watchful and perhaps, a little
lonely.
They can, however, look at the
bright side: it could have been a
skillie instead of goofer dust.
A skillie can take on any shape it
wants to. For instance, it could
have taken on the form of the judge
himself, or the prosecutor, or any
witness, or even a bowl of soup.
And it can do nice things for
people.
A skillie is something the Chero
kee talk about. It's really a human
with those special powers (accord
ing to the Cherokee). A conjure
woman is the only one who can tell
whether a newborn baby is a skillie
or not.
I first learned about it back in
the 1950s. It was in a time when
Unidentified Flying Objects - fly
ing saucers and the like ?? were
being reported here and there all
around the country.
Our Cherokee correspondent
called us one night. Said some
policemen saw a large red cloud
suddenly appear before them as
they were patrolling a dirt road
back near the headwaters of the
Oconalufty.
When they stopped their. cruiser
the cloud stopped. When they got
out and walked toward it, the cloud
backed away a few feet.
I believe it also messed up their
radio communication and maybe
put their lights out before it just
drifted off toward Newfound Gap.
Our corresponded said the
policeman reported, "It's a
skillie."
? * *
And if 1 find goofer dust
spriaktod around my.4esk after**
people have had a chance to read
this week's paper, I'll know the
reason for it, though I won't know
who was responsible (any one of the
thousands of people who read this
column, that's who).
? * ?
We used to see some unintended
humor in, of all places, long
standing dialogue in a Catholic
Mass.
Toward the end of the service,
the priest would say, in Latin:
"Ite missa est."
And the congregation would
reply, "Deo gratias."
What the priest was saying was:
"It is sent (or it is over, or ended),"
and the congregation was replying,
"Thank God."
You have a service that runs an
or to three hours, and you see relief
in the congregation's reply.
1 am writing this at the risk of
falling down and breaking my leg
or neck as soon as I get up from this
typewriter.
Like the golfer who swore each of
several times after he missed putts,
and despite the warnings of a
minister golfer who was playing
behind him.
The layman would swear,
missed."
After the third time he did this,
the skies darkened, thunder rolled,
and lightning flashed, and sud
denly a bolt of lightning struck the
ground only six inches from the
cussing golfer's foot.
Then from above came a voice of
thunder;
"Doggone it! I missed!"
? ? ?
This is a true story. Some men
were hiking .up the trail in the
r#iHMintainft#flh0ve Blue Ridge As
sembly near Slack Mountain one
summer day when the black clouds
appeared, the thunder rolled, and
it started raining hard, with lightn
ing arready.
so the men -- there were three ?
stopped and took what shelter they
could under a tree.
Since the storm was fierce,
and unbating, one of the men, who
was a minister, suggested, "Let's
take turns saying a prayer that the
storm will cease before we all get
hit by lightning, or washed down
the mountain, or something."
So he led off with a prayer, and
when he finished a companion took
it up and said one, and when he
finished, he turned to the other
man.
But the other man said regret
fully, "Lord, all I know is a little
old morning prayer, and it ain't
gonna do a bit of good for a storm
like this."
Letters To The Editor
Group Can Be Formed
Dear Editor:
In the November 18th issue of
The News-Journal in a letter to the
editor there was a request for the
organization of persons with
similar needs - divorcee.
Such a group can be organized if
the person making the request and
other interested persons will call
Ellen Willis, Home Economics
Extension Agent at 875-2162.
Strength and support can be
received by persons getting together
with other persons going through
the divorce experience.
Sincerely,
(Mrs.) Ellen S.Willis
Home Economics Extension Agent
Think* Extended
Dear Editor.
On behalf of my mother, Mrs.
Frances Parks, who is a patient at
Open Arms Rest Home, I would
like to express thanks and gratitude
?? both to Mrs. Joyce Jamison and
to the Raeford branch of the
International Evangelistic Women
Workers.
Mrs. Jamison sponsored a birth
day party on November 20, for her
mother, Mrs. Leana Cook. With
the assistance of her friends and
local businesses, Mrs. Jamison
served the patients hot dogs,
hamburgers, baked beam, drinks,
and ice cream.
Each of the patients and staff
members also received gifts. I
happened to be at the rest home
after the party, and saw the joy on
the patients' faces as they proudly
showed their new gifts to each
other.
My mother also enjoyed the
delicious Thanksgiving dinner, as
sisted in preparation by the Open
Arms staff, from food and special
dishes brought to the rest home by
the Raeford branch of the Interna
tiona] Evangelistic Women Work
ers.
She also enjoyed the special
singing presented by these ladies.
One has only to visit the rest
home to see what these special
activities, such as the ones de
scribed above, mean to the pa
tients.
Sincerely yours,
Helen Parks Cox
Rockingham
Puppy Creek
Philosopher
Dear editor:
According to a psychologist,
video games are harmful to young
kids.
He said they spend so much time
glued to those electronic machines
they'll never get an education and
be able to take their place in the
grown-up world.
He may be right.
For example, the depressed,
mis-managed condition the country
is now in is bound to be due to the
fact the present crop of grown-ups
spent their youth playing marble
machines.
The generation before wasted its
youthful days spinning tops and
playing mumblety-peg. And the
generation before that. ..well, I
don't know what the kids did
wrong, but it was bound to have
been something a psychologist
could put his finger on.
And this country is not alone.
The English are experts at
playing croquet, and I guess you
know they have one of the highest
rates of unemployment in the
world, and a Prince who likes
movie stars.
I don't know what the French
youths are doing to fortell the ruin
of France, but any psychologist
good enough to get his name in the
paper could find something.
i don't know what the present
Russian leaders did when they were
young but my guess is they mis
spent their youth playing toy
soldiers, and locking each other up
in make-belicre jails.
I tried playing a video game
once, and I wish I had my quarter
back.
Yours faithfully,
I.A.
CUFF BIDE...
PMflt ft Ismm
NURSING HOMES.. .the high
cost of Nursing Homes has caused
Dick Brown and Bill Wright of the
Fayetteville Observer to write at
length about the problem.
People operating these homes
are in it for the money, and if they
were not, somebody else would be,
or the goverment would have to
step in.
it seems to me that private enter
prise will have to operate on a most
modest basis or government will be
forced to move in, which would be
just as costly as free enterprise.
We hope that Dick Brown and
Bill Wright find a solution to the
problem, which according to an
April 1981 audit is North
Carolina's "largest medical ex
pense."
In bye gone years kin-folk would
take the elderly in, but that pro
blem seems to be out the window
now unless it's a father or mother,
brother or sister.
In this socialistic time we simply
have to look after our kin-folks in
a tender-hearted way as did our
grandfathers and grandmothers SO
years ago.
We are sure that these people
don't want to bother grand
children any more than grand
children want to bother them.
Poor treatment and high cost
seems to be the problem with nurs
ing homes. But, these problems go
with almost any project today.
COMMUNITY COLLEGES ...
Being a member of the State Com
munity College Board it was my
privilege to visit the Wilson Coun
ty Technical Institute last week.
The State board of Community
Colleges will sponsor a series of
small conferences to elicit the
views of business leaders on the
impact which new technologies
and economic changes will have on
their employment needs over the
mid to long range. Special atten
tion will be given to developing a
scenario of needs for trained
workers in technical and other oc
cupations for which community
colleges train.
Business leaders will be asked to
review and comment on the role of
the community colleges in meeting
these needs.
The conferences will result in a
series of reports on training needs
by industry and possible strategies
to address them. These will serve
as background for policy-making
by the State Board of Cbmmunity
Colleges and local institutions.
WILSON. ..Wilson County was
formed in 1855 from Edgecombe,
Nash, Johnson, and Wayne coun
ties. It was named in honor of
Louis D. Wilson, many times a
member of the Legislature from
Edgecombe County, a soldier of
the Mexican War who died near
Vera-Curz of Fever, and the
benefactor of the poor of his
native county. Wilson is in the east
central section of the state and is
bounded by Pitt, Greene, Wayne,
Johnson, Nash and Edgecombe
counties.
The present area is 375 miles and
the population is 61 ,200. The court
was organized to be held at Ben
jamin Barden's store in Wilson, a
village already established, until a
courthouse could be built. Com
missioners were to acquire a site
within one-fourth of a mile of the
town of Wilson and erect a cour
thouse. The captain "corporate
Tisnot (Toisnot) Depot, and
Hickory Grove in the county of
Edgecome into a town by the name
of Wilson." Wilson is the county
seat.
NATIONAL DEBT... Recently I
wrote to Senator Jesse Helms, ask
ing how much the National debt
was increasing a month; also, the
present National debt was at the
end of the month. Here's his
answer:
According to Arnold Barnes at
Treasury, the amount by which the
national debt increased in the
month of October 1982 was
$790,721,268.89. The total na
tional debt as of 10/31/82 was:
$1,142,825,151,055.71.
The national debt increased in
fiscal year 1982 by
$144,179,906,573.12. The total na
tional debt at the end of fy 1981
was $977,854,523,213.70. Total
national debt at the end of fy 1982
was $1,142,034,429,786.82.
Think of it: The US National
debt in one month increased by
$790,721,268.89!
Letters Policy
Letters to the editor are encouraged and
welcomed. Writers should keep letters as
short as possible. Names, addresses and
telephone numbers should be included
and all letters must be signed. Names will
be printed, however, other information
will be kept confidential. We reserve the
right to edit letters for good taste and
brevity. Letters should be received by Th*
Ntws-Joumel by S p.m. on the Mooday
of the publication week.