The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXV1 Number 3 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, May 10, 1984
McPhatter, DeVane lead ticket
Local incumbents retain seats
There were few upsets in the
Democratic Party Primary elec
tion, as unofficial returns show
local incumbents have apparently
been returned to office following
Tuesday's balloting.
Although the Hoke County
Commissioners' race was close,
returns show Neil McPhatter and
Wyatt Upchurch will retain their
seats.
State Rep. Danny DeVane,
i along with incumbent reps. Sidney
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The weather has been perfect, as
far as I am concerned.
1 talked with Mr. and Mrs. Neill
L. McFadyen about their trip to
England recently that com
memorated the sailing of the ships
to Roanoke Island 400 years ago.
First are the comments of Mrs.
McFadyen (Mary Virginia).
"To celebrate America's 400th
Anniversary of the coming of the
English to America more than 200
North Carolinians including Gov.
I and Mrs. Jim Hunt, Sec. of
Transportation and Mrs. Bill
Roberson, Sec. of Cultural
Resources Sarah Hodgkins and
Mr. Hodgkins flew to England on
April 24.
"We landed at London's
Heathrow Airport and traveled by
motor -coach to Winchester,
England, where we spent the night.
The highlight of this first stop was
I visiting the beautiful Winchester
Cathedral.
"On Thursday we drove
through the Dorset countryside to
Sherbourne to tour Sir Walter
Raleigh's home, Sherbourne Cas
tle. From there, we continued on
our drive to Plymouth - the site of
the main event.
"On Friday, the beautiful har
bor of Plymouth, from where the
early settlers sailed to settle
Roanoke Island, was the setting
for Gov. Hunt to unveil the plaque
commemorating the historical
event of 400 years ago.
"Gov. Hunt made a most inspir
ing speech and the whole occasion
was thrilling.
"After two days of sightseeing
in Plymouth - everything con
nected with Sir Walter Raleigh and
our early history, we journeyed to
London.
"Sunday morning, on the way
to London, we stopped at Exeter
Cathedral for a special memorial
church service. This service, too,
gave recognition to our early
history and was most impressive
and reverent. Former Senator
Lindsay Warren of Goldsboro
read the scripture.
"We spent Monday and Tues
day in London and had many in
teresting experiences with free time
for seeing all the famous 'spots'.
We visited the British Museum of
History and the King's Library
where Sir Walter Raleigh's papers
concerning the colonies were
displayed.
"On Tuesday evening we were
guests at a reception given by U.S.
Ambassador and Mrs. Price at the
American Embassy.
"On Wednesday a.m., we
departed for home after a wonder
ful visit and a great experience in
our history.
"Our leader and the overall
chairman of the three year celebra
tion of the Roanoke Voyages is
former Senator Lindsay Warren of
Goldsboro. He is doing a wonder
ful job."
Mr. McFadyen (Neill) tells
about Plymouth, the English coun
tryside and the English people. His
comments follow:
"Plymouth is located at the
mouth of the river Plym which is
at the South end of England. It is a
city of some two hundred thou
sand people. The harbor (spelled
harbour in British English) is ex
cellent. International seagoing
trade is accommodated there and a
large naval base is located in one
(See AROUND, page 11 A)
Locks and Pete Hasty, were also
apparently returned to office.
In a race, which hinged on the
Hoke County vote, incumbent
Superior Court Judge Lynn
Johnson defeated District Court
Judge Charles Guy to retain his
12th Judicial Circuit seat.
During the primary, about 49^o
of those registered in the county
voted.
None of the local Democratic
nominees have opposition in the
November general election.
In the Hoke County Commis
sion race, McPhatter lead the
ticket and finished the race with
2,196 votes and Upchurch was a
close 81 votes behind with 2,115
for his first election.
Upchurch was appointed to the
commission in 1982 to fill the spot
vacated by Danny DeVane who
was elected to the House of
Representatives.
Former commissioner, Mable
Singing their brains out
Members of the Embers keep Hobnob festival goers entertained
Saturday afternoon as they give this song their all. About 300 fans
gathered at the old National Guard Armory Saturday to hear a wide
variety of music by the well-known performers. The Hobnob which
concluded Sunday with the opening of Picture North Carolina at the
Hoke County Library was termed a "success " by festival chairman
Mary Archie McNeill.
Riley finished third with 1,704
votes and 411 behind Upchurch.
There will be no runoff in that
race, Hoke Democratic Party
Chairman Harold Gillis said.
Harry Dew had 381 votes in his
bid for a seat on the commission.
In the race, McPhatter carried
six of the county's 14 precincts,
Upchurch captured seven and
Riley one.
McPhatter had his strongest
showing in Raeford five, while Up
church ran well in Raeford one and
two.
Riley took the Puppy Creek
Precinct.
In the Register of Deeds race, in
cumbent Delia Maynor carried all
but one precinct and soundly
defeated challenger Hazel Niven
by more than A two to one margin.
The final tally was Maynor
2,621 votes and Niven 1,047.
Maynor will begin serving her
third term in office.
The Superior Court Judge race
in Cumberland and Hoke counties
provided local excitement for those
watching the returns.
Cumberland County returns
showed that incumbent E. Lynn
Johnson had a slight edge over
District Court Judge Charles Guy
by about 300 votes and the focus
of the race shifted to Hoke Coun
ty.
Johnson, who was in Raeford
(See ELECTION, page 10A)
Bond nears halfway mark,
for jump school operator
By Ed Miller
Less than half of the bond need
ed to free parachute jump school
owner Gene Paul Thacker from
the Hoke County Jail had been
raised Tuesday, a county
magistrate said.
Thacker, who is charged with
cocaine trafficking, had raised
almost $202,000 of the $500,000
needed for his release, Magistrate
E.G. Inman said.
Most of the money had come
from Cumberland County
residents, and the majority of the
funds were pledged using homes as
security, Inman said.
Thacker had also received a
sizable cash pledge from Union
- County, other courthouse sources
said.
The jump school operator was
arrested last Wednesday at the
Raeford-Hoke Airport by State
Bureau of Investigation (SBI)
Agent M.D. Robertson and Hoke
County Deputy Lt. C.E. Harris on
a fugitive warrant from the state of
Florida.
A Florida grand jury indicted
Thacker along with 41 other per
sons in April. He is charged with
one count of trafficking and one
count of conspiracy to traffic co
caine, the indictment says.
"We are going to allege that he
(Thacker) accepted money for pro
viding a landing strip," said
Florida Department of Law En
forcement (DLE) Special Agent
Supervisor Phil Ramer Tuesday.
According to Ramer, a Florida
grand jury called a number of
witnesses and they implicated
Thacker.
Ramer could not comment on
the actual testimony of the
witnesses.
According to Florida DLE of
ficers, Thacker allegedly allowed
the unloading of 1,600 pounds of
cocaine at the Raeford Airport on
June 15, 1983. The drugs would
have a street value of approximate
ly $14 million.
Thacker was arraigned Thurs
day before District Court Judge
Warren Pate on the charges.
In that hearing. Pate denied a re
quest from Thacker's attorney
Randy Gregory of Fayetteville to
reduce the bond. The judge noted
that the defendant is a licensed
pilot and could leave at will.
Pate added that he would enter
tain a new motion for bond reduc
tion if any new evidence emerged.
Another unsuccessful hearing
before Pate was apparently held
quietly on Friday in a second bid
for a bond reduction, sources say.
Unless the bond is made,
Thacker will remain in jail until
May 31 when he will appear in
(See THACKER, page 11 A)
Airport commission appointed
By Ed Miller
The final two members of the
Raeford-Hoke Airport Commis
sion were named Monday during a
regular meeting of the Hoke Coun
ty Commission.
The appointments, after almost
nine months of negotiations be
tween the city and the county, are
expected to clear the way for the
future operation of the airport
under the guidance of the five
member commission.
L.E. McLaughlin of Bowmore
and Merrianne Baker were the ap
pointees to the commission that
will govern and make rules and
regulations for the airport.
Baker and McLaughlin join
John Plummer, the appointment
from the Chamber of Commerce,
and City Council appointees,
Frank Baker and Wayne Byrd.
According to County Manager
James Martin, the next step in the
process is getting the commission
organized.
Martin said further that after the
approval of the proposal. County
Commissioner Chairman John
Balfour and Mayor John K.
McNeill would probably get
together with the Airport Commis
sion and hold an organizational
meeting.
There was no speculation as to
when this meeting might take
place.
In other business, the commis
sioners again put off approval of
the First Responder Program
because of questions over in
surance costs.
The program was presented to
the board at the April 23 meeting.
If the plan was implemented,
county volunteer firemen, who are
specially trained, would be allowed
to respond to emergencies close to
them.
Hoke Firemen's Association
President Bobby Strother said the
time it takes for emergency person
nel to reach an accident victim
Chamber leader's last rites are well attended,
Raeford stores close Mon. in honor of memory
The Raeford Presbyterian
Church was filled to capacity and
local businesses were closed for
Earl N. Fowler
one hour Monday as mourners at
tended the last rites of Raeford
Hoke Chamber of Commerce
Manager Earl N. Fowler.
The 55-year-old Lumberton
native, who died Saturday of an
apparently self-inflicted gunshot
wound, had served as manager of
the Chamber since September 6,
1977.
During the services Monday,
Fowler was described by the of
ficiating ministers as a "friend to
everyone and a man who loved
life.".
Prior to joining the Chamber, he
had been on the board of directors
and president of the organization.
Most of Fowler's working career
was spent with the A&P corpora
tion, where he served as district
supervisor in Burlington.
Fowler was a graduate of
Lumberton High School, and he
attended the University of Indiana
before joining AAP.
While with the grocery chain, he
worked in Raeford, Laurinburg,
Winston Salem and Burlington.
He retired from the company in
April 1977.
At the time of his death. Fowler
had been spearheading the
county's effort to land a communi
ty college branch in downtown
Raeford and was working to set up
an industrial search committee.
He was an active member of the
Raeford Presbyterian Church and
was serving as an elder.
"He had an almost childlike
love of God," Rev. John Ropp
said.
Fowler was also active in the
Raeford Kiwanis Club. He had
served on the Board of Directors
and was named "Citizen of the
Year" for 1979.
During the presentation of the
award, former City Manager Ron
Matthews noted that Fowler had
been one of the key persons
responsible for influencing
Faberge to move to Hoke County.
Last year. Fowler campaigned,
along with others in the county, to
retain McCain Hospital as a lung
treatment center.
Once the battle was lost, he sup
ported the new prison hospital and
worked with Rep. Danny DeVane
to make sure former sanitorium
employees did not lose their jobs.
Funeral services Monday were
conducted by Ropp, Rev. Michael
Wingate of Highlands and
Raeford First Baptist Church
minister Rev. Billy Beaver.
Fowler is survived by his wife
Marilyn Tapp Fowler; a son,
Franklin Fowler; a daughter,
Carmen Fowler, all of the home;
his father, P.D. Fowler of
Lumberton; a brother, R.J.
Fowler of Lumberton; and two
si iters, Mrs. Roger Barnes of
Lumberton and Mrs. Clyde
Broome of Winston Salem.
could cut from as much as IS
minutes to four minutes.
Under the program, volunteer
members will not transfer victims
but will administer first aid treat
ment only until the appropriate
transportation arrives.
During the last Board of County
Commissioners meeting, the in
surance issue was raised and coun
ty firemen as well as county of
ficials have been working to
resolve the matter.
Such questions as, is the pro
gram wanted by all the firemen of
the county and what is the county's
liability in the case of mishap,
must be answered.
Strother submitted a petition
signed by all the fire chiefs in the
county, as well as the Director of
the Hoke County Emergency
Medical Service and the Hoke
County Rescue Squad Commander
endorsing the proposed program.
James Martin said that getting
(See FIRST, page 11 A)
SLV ?
Inside Today
Vital service
These members of the Rae/ord
Woman 'j Club dressed a<:
flappers during a 50 year an
niversary festivities. The club
will be celebrating 60 years on
Friday. We take a took at the
club 'j history on page 6 of to
day's News-Journal.
Picture
Picture North Carolina, a
black and white photography
exhibit, is on display at the
Hoke County Library. We
take a took 'at the winnmn and
others in section B of today*/
Nem-Journal.