The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXVI Number 5 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROUNA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, May 24, 1984
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The first crucial minutes
Rescue Squad member Mark Posey (center),
Emergency Medical Technician Calvin Bishop
(right) and Upchurch Jr. High Principal Allen Ed
wards attend to the needs of a victim of an
automobile accident last Tuesday. The wreck occur
red on Burlington Road and involved a school bus.
The victim was hospitalized.
(Photo by Pam Frederick)
Hoke history teacher
center of porn probe
By Kd Miller
Law enforcement authorities
were apparently centering an in
vestigation of local child por
nography around Robert Taylor,
shortly before the Hoke High
history teacher shot himself last
Thursday.
Taylor, 38, who was a member
of the Hoke County Department
of Social Services board of direc
tors and a former member of the
Raeford Housing Authority, was
"under investigation for what ap
peared to be violations of obsceni
ty laws," Hoke County Sheriff
Dave Barrington said.
Although other adults may be
involved, a further investigation
will not be conducted into the use
of local youths in the pornography
business, Barrington said Tuesday.
The case will be closed out
"unless something else comes up,"
the sheriff said.
According to authorities the in
vestigation began when local police
received a report from Los
Angeles, California containing
photographs depicting a 14-year
old Indian male, naked, on the
back of a truck.
The truck was linked to Taylor
after the first three letters on the
license plate were identified from
the photographs, authorities say.
A subsequent search of Taylor's
South Hoke home turned up
numerous other photographs and
material which involved local
youths and at least one other local
adult, authorities say.
A brown, white and orange
afghan which appeared in some of
the photos, was also lied to Taylor.
That cover, along with other items,
were found when sheriff's deputies
searched the history teacher's
home and car the day before he
shot himself in the heart.
According to authorities, the
allegedly pornographic photo
graphs had fallen into the hands of
a California anti-pornography task
force when a developing company
had refused to process the pictures
of a male that looked too young to
be 18-years old.
Taylor allegedly had a mailbox,
under a fictitious name, through
which he sold photographs to
publishing companies, authorities
said.
According to a search warrant
issued by Magistrate E.G. Inman,
Sheriff Barrington and Deputy
Weaver Patterson performed a
search of Taylor's residence on
May 16 and confiscated the follow
ing items: seven mildly por
nographic magazines (of the
newsstand variety), 10 return let
ters from magazine companies, a
padlocked tan metal box and some
photography equipment.
Taylor was found dead the next
? morning at the Jaycee Hut in
South Hoke. He had helped raise
the funds to build the structure.
The warrant was issued pending
charges of "lewd and lascivious
pictures of a minor" and other
persons that may have been minors
at the time the pictures were taken.
After the box was discovered in
the trunk of the Taylor's car, the
history teacher told authorities he
had left the key to the box at
school. He was to deliver it to Bar
rington on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Taylor was found dead around
11:50 a.m. on Thursday.
Taylor had told officers that the
box contained sporting equipment;
however, when the box was opened
after his death, it was found to
contain three pornographic
magazines, 237 color slides, 623
photographs and 52 pornographic
playing cards, the search warrant
says.
Attached to the warrant in the
Clerk of Courts office was a court
order signed by Judge Warren Pate
ordering that the name of the
minor child who co-operated with
sheriff's deputies be stricken from
all court records.
In addition to serving on the
social services board and the hous
ing authority, Taylor was the
former president of the Hoke
County Jaycees and chairman of
Indian Education Association in
Hoke County. He coached the
freshman girls softball team and
the IEA RoadRunners distance
runners.
Students are 'key' to
satellite college unit
By Ed Miller
Hoke County will need a
minimum of four to eight
classrooms and "substantial"
number of students enrolled in
order to get a college satellite
operating in Raeford by the fall, a
spokesman for Sandhill Communi
ty College said Monday.
Sandhills Vice-President George
Lewis said that the Southern Pines
college is "clearly committed to
serving the people of Hoke Coun
ty," but that "the people need to
Around Town
By Sam Morris
We need rain but it doesn't seem
to be in the forecast. It seems sum
mer has arrived early.
Be sure to attend the basketball
game Friday night at the Mac
Donald Gym that starts at 8:00
o'clock. It will be between the
ACC All Stars and a group of local
players.
Many of the Carolina players
0 will be playing including Michael
Jordan, the college basketball
Player of the Year in the United
States.
# * *
Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Lancaster,
Bill and Mary Ruth, spent from
April 28 to May 12 in Bar
ranguella, Columbia, S.A. with a
m group of Baptist Church people
helping with the mission work
there. They report that the popula
tion of the city was about IVi
million. The -temperature was
about 74 degrees at night and 84
degrees during the day. They also
reported just a few drops of rain
fell while in the country.
The following report is from the
Lancasters:
_ "From the beginning of Baptist
W work in Columbia, S.A., it was felt
that a medical ministry would open
many doors and hearts to the
gospel. Barranquilla (Barran-ke
yah) was chosen for the location of
a hosptial since it seemed to be the
area of greatest need. Recently, a 3
story addition was begun that
would serve as offices for the mis
sionary, Chaplain and ad
ministrator, plus rest rooms, and
| (See AROUND, page 2A)
realize that courses can only be of
fered if there is enough enrollment
to justify them."
A recent poll sponsored by the
college and the Raeford-Hoke
County Chamber of Commerce
showed that there are at least 1,500
county residents that would be in
terested in taking classes here if
they were offered.
The schools facilities have been
the center of efforts to get the col
lege satellite in the county, but ac
cording to Lewis, the enrollment to
support the courses is more impor
tant.
In a report issued by architects
Hayes, Howell and Associates,
costs of putting the facility in
either the old Bank of Raeford
building on Main Street or old Na
tional Guard Armory building
would run between $150,000 to
$180,000 initially.
The firm was probably using a
figure of $30 to $35 per square foot
in calculating the costs, Lewis said.
noting thai many additions had to
be made to those figures to meet
state and federal classroom regula
tions.
"A lot of expense comes from
having to meet codes," Lewis said,
adding that fire and handicapped
regulations are strict.
"Many specific items had to be
added to the base costs," he said.
Lewis pointed out that a less ex
pensive alternative may be a
preconstructed new building such
as a Butler Buildng to house ihe
classes.
"I would guess ihat a new
building like we have here on cam
pus would run between $55 and
S70 per square," he said.
Those figures are higher than
those estimated for the construc
tion on the existing buildings but
his quoted figures are for a new
brick buildings.
Lewis also said that Sandhills
had started in a few buildings in
downtown Southern Pines.
There was a classroom over a
store, some of the administration
offices were in abandoned stores,
and the vocational shop was in a
garage, he said.
Lewis said that Sandhills has
been responding to the people of
Hoke County.
If the satellite gets started here,
and enough people become in
terested in attending, Lewis said
that "gradually, we would offer as
many (courses) as the people
want."
Soon gone but not forgotten
The rose shown here was at its peak blooming stage about two days
before the photograph was taken, but the beauty and wonderful color
h'oi not decreased in the least. It will not be too long before this year's
rose season will be over.
Three charged with abduction;
given stiff prison sentences
By Kd Miller
Two men and a woman were
sentenced last week in Hoke Coun
ty Superior Court to spend a total
of 68 years in jail after they were
convicted of charges stemming
from the rape, robbery and kid
napping of a Davis Bridge conve
nience store clerk.
Anthony Johnson, of Rex, was
sentenced to 40 years after he plead
guilty to charges of second degree
rape, robbery with a dangerous
weapon and first degree kidnap
ping.
The 23-year-old man was ar
rested on March 26 and has been in
the Hoke County Jail since
awaiting trial.
Co-defendants, Jimmie Sinclair
and Daphne Childers Boyd each
received active sentences of 14
years for their roles in the March
crime.
They were charged with robbery
with a dangerous weapon.
All three defendants were
ordered by the court to pay $36 in
restitution to Little Thrift Food
Marts and $250 restitution to the
victim.
Boyd was also made to pay $500
for her court appointed lawyer.
Charges were brought against
the three following a one-week in
vestigation into the robbery of the
convenience store after which the
victim was found partially clothed
on a deserted rural dirt road.
Hoke County Sheriff, Dave Bar
rington said earlier that "a trace"
placed on money orders taken dur
ing the robbery had helped the
department catch the suspects.
A clerk in the St. Pauls store
where the money orders had been
cashed had recognized suspects
Boyd, of Raeford, and Sinclair, of
St Pauls, as they were trying to buy
tires. Assistant District Attorney
Jean Powell testified during the
trial.
Powell read an earlier statement
made by Johnson, in which the
defendant said the three had been
drinking the night of the robbery
and that they had planned to "go
out" later in the evening.
The statement said that Johnson
had no money and that, as a joke.
Boyd suggested that they rob the
Short Stop as it usually had only
one person in it.
There was only a woman work
ing at the store so Johnson, don
ning a stocking mask and gloves.
(See DEFENDANTS, page 2A)
Inside Today
What \s left of a gift.
This stone bench, donated to
Flora Macdonald by the class
of 1920 has almost destroyed
by the tornadoes that hit Red
Springs and the school during
March. W> examine the
damage done to Flora Mac
donald Academy and what ef
forts are being made to get the
school going again on page
one of this week's B section in
The News-Journal.
Service station operator
nabbed in break-in
By Ed Miller
A Raeford service station
operator was arrested last week
and charged with breaking into a
downtown business.
Raeford Police reports show
that at about 12:25 a.m. last Fri
day, officers on patrol heard
noises in an alley on the east side of
town.
Upon investigation, they
discovered that Candle Stick
Crafts, on Elwood Street, had
been broken into.
A subject was reportedly found
in the alley with merchandise from
that store in his possession.
Barry Lynn Nixon, of Raeford,
was arrested and charged with
breaking and entering and larceny,
trespassing and carrying a conceal
ed weapon.
Nixon is out of jail awaiting
trial.
On the same night, police
reports show that the Southern
Restaurant was broken into and a
small amount of money was taken
along with two phone books and
some charge account books.
This matter is under investiga
tion.
Break-ins continued to plague
Hoke County residents last week,
sheriff's reports show.
James Lewis Blue discovered
that his home had been broken in
to and clothes and valuables were
gone.
Last Thursday, Blue reported
that his Raeford residence was
broken into and almost S2.000 in
food, appliances and clothing was
taken.
Blue reported missing a color
television, a 35mm camera, five
leather coats belonging to both he
and his wife, a watch, two Hoke
High School class rings, a wedding
band, an onyx ring and $300 in
cash after the reported robbery.
There was also S80 in damage
reportedly done to the house.
The investigation into this mat
ter is continuing.
(See SEKVK F. page 2A)