The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXV Number 39 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, January 19, 1984
1 Grand Jury
Indicts
Undertaker
By Sherry Matthews
I A local funeral home director
? was indicted Monday on nine
separate counts of obtaining pro
perty by false pretenses, court
records show.
Robert Lee Doby, 48, operator
of Raeford's Doby Funeral Home,
was arrested in early December
and charged with nine counts of
writing insurance policies without
_ being a licensed agent.
W Doby was placed under a $1,800
unsecured bond but was released
the day of his arrest, Assistant
District Attorney Jean Powell said.
According to Powell, Doby was
apparently writing insurance
policies for Carl Virgil, also of
Raeford.
Virgil, 55, a Raeford insurance
agent, was also arrested and charg
ed with three counts of permitting
) Doby to negotiate insurance
policies.
Virgil's case did not go before
the grand jury on Monday.
Virgil was allegedly allowing
Doby to work for him. Doby was
not a licensed agent.
In addition, Doby was apparent
ly writing policies on his own,
Powell said.
The North Carolina Insurance
^ Commissioner's office is also
? checking into Doby's alleged in
volvement with collection of in
surance premiums on "non
existing" policies, Powell said.
The Hoke Grand Jury also
handed down a bill of indictment
against a Fayetteville man, charged
with _ the November Safeway
Finance Company armed robbery.
Although Michael Reynolds, 31,
plead guilty to the charges in Hoke
P District Court last week, the grand
(See FUNERAL, page 11)
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The weather has been on the
cold side, but the roads in this area
were not ice-covered like they were
in most parts of the state last
weekend.
If the forecast holds true this
type of weather should continue
for the remainder of the week. The
temperatures will be in the 30s at
night and then climb into the 40s
during the day.
? * *
The Super Bowl will be played
Sunday in Tampa, Florida and this
will about ring down the season for
football. The television has been
filled with games since last August .
This is somewhat longer than in
my younger days. Football season
ended with the New Year's Bowl
games.
I can't remember when the eight
teams of the ACC were as evenly
matched as they are this year. It is
hard to say that any team will go
undefeated during the season and
maybe most of them will have two
or more games.
It is almost impossible to obtain
a ticket to a college basketball
game at the ACC schools. All of
the N.C. State and Carolina games
are sold out and after looking at
the sellout crowd at Georgia Tech
Saturday, maybe all schools will be
sold out next year.
Last year Georgia Tech was
playing to crowds of 400 and 500.
Sunday afternoon the sellout
crowd in Atlanta was over 6000.
This shows that fans will support a
winning team. Tech is 10-2 so far
for the season.
? ? ?
The courtroom was almost full
for the swearing in ceremony for
Warren Pate as District Court
Judge on Monday morning. They
were in attendance from both
Hoke and Cumberland Counties.
' Superior Court Judge D.B. Her
ring of Fayettevilie was the
presiding judge to swear in Pate.
(See AROUND, page 11)
V
Swearing in Hoke's new judge
Raeford Attorney Warren /.. Pate, selected last
month to fill the 12th Judicial District Judge's seat
that was recently vacated by retired Judge Joseph
Dupree, takes the oath of office Monday during a
special session of Hoke Superior Court. Resident
Superior Court Judge D.R. Herring administered
W 1
the oath while about 100 persons watched the
ceremony. Shortly after the ceremony and a recep
tion , I'ate went to work in Cumberland County for
his first term of court. I'ate is shown here with his
wife Ann and three sons Josh, Jay and Sam. who
are adding support to the oath taking.
Hoke Officials
Vow 401 Fight
By Sherry Matthews
City and county officials are
ready to "put the heat on" to get
tabled plans to widen U.S.
Highway 401 between Raeford and
Fayetteville back on the state
Department of Transportation
(DOT) project construction lists.
Although DOT area director
William F. Rosser said Friday that
the 401 project was not on the list
to be dual-laned in the next 10
years, Hoke County Commis
sioners said Monday they are ready
to re-establish a battle to "get a
project started."
"1 think we should do all we can
do to see that the highway is
widened," Hoke County Commis
sioner James A. Hunt said.
"1 am for any kind of motion
that will put the heat on for four
laning 401," he added.
Commissioner Wyatt Upchruch
agreed.
"I think there should be a lot of
heat put on to get this thing
started," Upchurch said.
In an interview last week DOT
Division Engineer E.J. Butler said
that "public demand" could help
the Highway 401 situation.
Butler claims thai plans to make
401 a "dual-lane" highway had
been considered, but a shortage of
funds placed the project on the
back burner.
"It was included in the highway
program at one time... before
money got scarce," Butler said
earlier.
"If the county commissioners or
residents felt it was necessary to get
the road widened, they should
make us aware of that," Butler
said.
In 1982, both the city and coun
ty boards endorsed resolutions
calling for the widening and im
proving of Highway 401 from
Seventy-First High School in
Cumberland County to the
Raeford By-Pass in Hoke County.
In their resolutions, the boards
called for the project to be
"reincluded" in the 1983-1992
Highway Improvement Program
with "a 1983 priority" for begin
ning the improvements.
Two years prior, Cumberland
County Commissioners went on
record opposing the DOT's plan
ned widening project.
"We are not and have never
been against the widening of the
highway," Cumberland Transpor
tation Planner Rick Heicksen said.
"The commissioners had no ob
(See OFFICIALS, page II)
Burlington To Start
Major Expansion
Burlington Industries will begin
a multi-million dollar expansion
and modernization program at its
Raeford Plant before the end of
January, a plant spokesman said
Monday.
The upgrading of the local facili
ty is being made in a effort to make
Burlington more competitive with
foreign manufacturers. Plant
Manager Bill Archer said.
Work on the project is expected
to be completed in 18 months, and
when finished, the Raeford plant
will have the latest in techno
logically improved equipment.
Burlington hopes that the new
equipment will increase produc
tion, and help the firm to meet its
growing share of the clothing
market. Archer said.
Archer announced the expan
sion at a luncheon held for local
community and political leaders.
Included in the expansion will be
a $4 million yarn preparation ancf
warehouse addition. Site work for
the new 35,000 square foot struc
ture has already begun. Archer
said.
Few new jobs will be created by
the Burlington expansion, the
plant manager said, adding that
the changes are also not designed
to replace the firm's present
employees.
"While the project will not
mean the addition of any signifi
cant number of new jobs, it will
give us far greaier capability to
meet demands of changing fabric
styling, quality and customer ser
vice. And that's the name of the
game in worsted fabrics," Archer
said.
Burlington expects to maintain
its current number of employees
which ranges between 1,600 and
1 ,700 workers.
The payroll, of which around
65% is earned by Hoke County
residents, should reach about $22
million, Archer said.
The Raeford plant, which
prepares yarn and weaves worsted
fabric, is companion to the
Menswear Dyeing plant where
wool top is dyed in preparation for
yarn manufacturing and weaving.
Both are units of the Burlington
Menswear division.
Costly Courthouse Restoration
Decision Stalled
By Sherry Matthews
A decision to repair the 71 -year
old Hoke County Courthouse was
placed on the back burner Monday
night after County Commissioners
learned that the project could cost
over $230,000.
"This board really needs to get
together and decide what we are
going to do about this thing,"
County Commission Chairman'
John Balfour said.
"We need to decide how much
we can spend, and where it should
be spent," Balfour added.
The commission chairman did
acknowledge the "possiblity" of
trying to finance "at least some"
of the courthouse project with ex
pected revenue sharing funds.
"I hope we will have some fund
balance money that we can use for
this project," Balfour said.
"....If we could only get some
federal or state money to help us
get the ball rolling," he added.
Efforts to get state monies for
the courthouse project were ex
tinguished in early July after a
$82,500 grant application was not
funded.
A second application for
$189,000 in matching federal fund
ing through the Jobs Act Preserva
tion grant was also denied.
Although both Hoke applica
tions were denied, 11 appropria
tion bills that totaled $368,000
were devoted to county courthouse
projects, legislative records show.
The courthouse building, at pre
sent, has cracking exterior bricks.
uneven heat, window air
conditioners, peeling plaster and
paint and a deteriorating roof, ac
cording to Raleigh Archictect Bill
Dodge with Dodge and Associates.
Dodge was at the Monday night
meeting to bring the commis
sioners "up-to-date" on his firm's
study of the facility.
"We are ready to go when you
are," Dodge said.
According to the architect, the
"first phase" of the project would
include weatherstripping the
building, doing interior glazing,
cleaning the exterior masonry, and
making exterior repairs to the
masonry, painting the interior
plaster and woodwork, ventilating
the attic, cleaning the exterior
masonry, painting the exterior to
coordinate with the repairs and
repairing the downspouts and flat
seam metal roofs, at a cost of
587,350.
An additional $127,500 would
have to be spent to install central
air conditioning that could be com
bined with the original furnance
heating units on both floors of the
courthouse. Dodge said.
Another $17,000 has been
estimated for the electrical repairs
needed within the facility, he add
ed.
"It is a great deal of money,"
Dodge said.
"We have failed on the funding
so far... I believe we should keep
pumping the people in Raleigh,"
he added.
"I realize that Hoke County has
an income problem," Dodge said.
"We absolutely should keep on
it so the funds can be raised," he
added.
Dodge's plan calls for the pro
ject to be worked on in priority
phases, with the brick, plaster and
masonry repairs, topping the list.
"It certainly should take priori
ty," Balfour said.
"We would like to go with the
priorities as you get the funds
together," Dodge said.
In other business Monday night
during the regular meeting, Hoke
Rescue Squad Commander Johnny
Melton presented the board with
his annual squad report.
"This has been a pretty good
year for us," Melton said.
(See COURTHOUSE, page 11)
Students Charged With Vandalism
Three Hoke High students were
arrested Wednesday and charged
with vandalizing a Scotland Coun
ty activity bus which was parked at
the school during a wrestling
match.
When Scotland County coaches
and wrestlers returned to the bus
following a match with Hoke High
Tuesday, they found that seats on
the bus had been slashed and a tire
cut, Raeford Police Chief Leonard
Wiggins said.
Over S600 in damage was done
to the bus, the chief added.
Two 15-year-olds and a 16-year
old were apprehended the next day
and charged with damaging per
sonal property, Wiggins said.
The students were turned over to
juvenile authorities, the chief said.
In an unrelated incident, a
27-year old Hoke man was arrested
Friday after he apparently shot
another man, Hoke Sheriff's
reports show.
Mitchell Locklear remained in
jail Tuesday after being charged
early Saturday morning with
assault with a deadly weapon with
intent to kill and inflicting serious
injury, the reports show.
Locklear is under a $50,000
bond, a spokesman for the
sheriff's department said.
The reports show that Harold
Cummings, 20, was shot in the left
side of his stomach with a .410
gauge shotgun.
Cummings was apparently in the
Locklear home at the time of the
incident, reports show.
Sheriff's deputies responded to a
call from the Hoke Ambulance
Service around 11:55 p.m.
Cummings was found lying on
the front seat of a station wagon,
parked at the rescue squad
building, according to the reports.
The victim was transported to
Cape Fear Valley Hospital where
he remained Tuesday in stable con
dition.
Locklear was arrested approx
imately 40 minutes later after
witnesses allegedly linked him to
the crime, reports show.
In other city crime, a Raeford
man was charged with shoplifting
from the Maxway Store in the
Edenborough Shopping Center.
Albert Chavis, 27, of Roosevelt
Street in Raeford was arrested
Wednesday after employees at
Maxway reported a shoplifter to
local authorities.
Chavis was charged with the
larceny of one $2 99 scarf, Wiggins
said.
Maxway also reported to city
police the apparent theft of $855 in
blank Republic Money Orders that
were locked in the store's office.
There have been no leads in the
case, Wiggins said.
In further action, Robert McFa
dyen reported that someone took
merchandise from his apartment
while he was out of the room.
Taken was a camera and other
items valued at $58, Wiggins said.
The case is still under investiga
tion, the chief added.
Raeford Plumbing and Heating
reported Wednesday that someone
had cut the lock off their fence and
had taken a battery from a truck.
Winter time snuggle
As temperatures stay well below 40?. sometimes climbing into the low
teens, even the farm animals look for companions to snuggle with to
keep warm. These pigs try to get closk as the winter chill strikes.