Viewpoints
Military building
could help county
It would be nice if Hoke County could benefit
directly from the $63.32 million the House of
Representatives approved last week for construc
tion next year at Ft. Bragg.
Last year $31.1 million was spent and few who
live in Hoke County knew any construction was
underway.
Although this county has been struggling for
survival since it gave up more than 100,000 acres
to create the military reservation, relatively few
direct benefits have drifted our way.
Almost all of the Ft. Bragg housing, ad
ministrative offices, classrooms, recreational
facilities and commercial operations are located
with easy access to Fayetteville and Cumberland
County. Civilians and military personnel live,
work and spend money in those areas outside the
reservation which are the easiest to reach. This
county is not one of them.
Areas accessible to Hoke County are used
primarily for field training and as a firing range.
Efforts have been launched by local leaders to
attract more Ft. Bragg personnel Jo this county,
but the task is difficult because of the access to
the reservation. Hoke County is not convenient.
Congressman Bill Hefner, who serves as Chair
man of the House Military Construction Subcom
mittee and who represents Hoke County, played a
key role in the approval of the funds for the Ft.
Bragg building.
Congressman Hefner could also play an impor
tant part in getting some of the new buildings con
structed in a location accessible to this county or,
at least in helping develop a highway link from
Raeford to the existing main operations area.
Taxes are going up in this county, and a few
more residents would help ease the burden.
America celebrating 208 years
By Cliff Blue
Two hundred and eight years
ago, on Juy 4, 1776 this Wednes
day, the people celebrated the
Declaration of Independence.
On every fourth of July, the
United States celebrates its birth
day. On that date, in 1776,
representatives of 13 British col
onies in North America adopted an
eloquent statement setting forth
the reason for declaring their in
dependence from Great Britain.
No one was much surprised at
the news. War against England
had already begun. Battles had
been fought at Lexington, Con
cord, and Breed's Hill. Colonial
troops had seized Ticonderoga and
Crown Point.
George Washington had been
named to lead the colonial army.
The spirit of independence was
abroad in the land. Many men
were asking, with Samuel Adams,
"Is not America already indepen
dent? Why not then declare it?"
The actual birthday of the coun
try was much quieter than celebra
People & Issues
tions of its anniversaries. No
Liberty Bell rang out the glad news
to a waiting crowd. The great deci
sion for independence had really
been taken much earlier.
On June 7, Richard Henry Lee
of Virginia moved in the Continen
tal Congress that "These United
Colonies are, and ought to be, free
and independent States." Three
days later, Congress voted to name
a special committee to draft a
declaration supporting Lee's
resolution.
On June 11, it named John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, Robert Liv
ingston, and Roger Sherman to the
committee. Jefferson was given the
task of preparing the draft:
"A Declaration of the Represen
tatives of the United States of
America in Congress Assembled."
Congress approved the Lee
resolution on July 2. Strictly
speaking, this act became the of
ficial declaration of independence.
On July 4th Congress adopted the
final draft of the declaration in In
dependence Hall in Philadelphia.
This draft was largely Jefferson's
work. John Hancock signed the
document "by order and in behalf
of Congress."
Charles Thompson, secretary of
Congress, attested Hancock's
signature.
GRADUATE PLACEMENTS
... Job offers to recent college
graduates have risen sharply com
pared to last year, but they have
yet to match the level of 1982. At
the same time, starting salaries
have increased little, if at all, in
most career fields, reports the
governing Boards of University
and Colleges.
After forty years of dramatic
growth, enrollment of the nation's
community, and technical colleges
dropped very slightly between the
1982 and 1983 fall terms, accord
ing to figures released by the
American Association of Com
munity Colleges.
Editorials
Perhaps local leaders should remind Con
gressman Hefner on a regular basis that those liv
ing in Ft. Bragg and in Cumberland County can
do little for his re-election hopes, but that voters
living in Hoke County can help.
Officials earned
Seattle convention
In a week or so, a group of Hoke County of
ficials will be heading off to Seattle for the Na
tional Convention of County Commissioners.
Local taxpayers will be picking up the tab, and it
is probably going to be a bargain.
During the convention, members of the Hoke
County Commission will not only have an oppor
tunity to attend instructional sessions, but the of
ficials will also be exposed to fresh ideas and dif
ferent approaches to running a county govern
ment.
It is true much of the convention's activities
will be recreational. Those sessions can also be
profitable for developing better relationships with
elected peers from this and other states.
In a normal year of service to the county, a
commissioner will attend two four-hour regular
meetings each month. Commission members also
must serve on other special committees and repre
sent the county on other area boards which meet
on a monthly basis.
As Hoke County grows, the job of being a
commissioner is becoming more demanding, and
the pay is low. Commissioners are paid $125 per
month and the chairman $175 per month.
In addition to their regular salary, each year the
commissioners attend the national convention.
They have earned it. We hope they profit from
the experience.
Clean water act
working
By BUI Hefner
Congressman
For the most part, the Clean
Water Act is a success. Since 1972
it has done a lot to clean up the
pollution in our rivers, streams and
lakes. Fish are now returning to
waters that had been too polluted
to feed them.
For the next several days I will
be working with the other Con
gressmen and women on a bill to
update the Clean Water Act.
In its first stages during the early
1970's, it was called the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act of
1972. Back then the Act had a na
tional goal of eliminating all pollu
tion from the nation's waterways.
That's a pretty tall order, but it has
been surprisingly successful. Con
gress approved a mid-course cor
rection in 1977 helping to stay on
target, but trouble began to sur
face when President Reagan began
his budget cutbacks in 1981. The
Clean Water Act still was able to
accomplish much, however.
Many parts of the Act expired in
1982 and since then Congress has
been wrestling with the problem of
putting it back on the books.
That's where we now stand.
This year's bill is undergoing
several major changes and it has
drawn a few protests, but I'm glad
to report to you that, the Congress
seems to be ironing out those prob
lems. It appears an agreement is
now reached between the U.S.
House and environmental groups.
Here's what's happening.
This bill extends the Clean
Water Act through 1989. It raises
the amount to be spent on sewage
treatment construction grants and
it raises the federal government's
share of treatment plant construc
tion costs. If the Act passes Con
gress, a new program would be set
up to control run-off pollution
from fields or streets. Also, some
industries would get more time to
comply with Clean Water Act stan
dards. If it becomes law the new
act would begin a new program to
clean up "toxic hot spots." These
are waters which will not meet
water quality standards due to tox
ic pollution. The Clean Water Pro
gram would also be expanded.
The Clean Water Act has done a
good job of serving you and your
families, and helping to preserve
our good earth. I can't say that
about all of those federal programs
coming out of Washington.
'Friendly skies' should start
with personnel on the ground
By Lucien Coleman
The skies had been friendly
enough, as promised in the
airline's advertising. But the agent
at the counter on this side of the
Pacific definitely didn't fit the im
age.
At the airport in Tokyo, one of
my traveling companions had
checked a box containing six pairs
of scissors with the rest of her bag
gage. When we arrived in Seattle,
the box never did appear in the
baggage claim area. So, when we
checked in for our flight to Texas,
my friend asked the agent at the
gate what she should do about it.
"You'll have to take that up
with the customs people," he said.
"I can't do anything about it."
His whole demeanor said, "Lady,
get lost. Don't bother me with
your little problems."
My sense of chivalry all aglow, 1
stepped into the fray. "Excuse
me," I said, with as much
pleasantness as 1 could muster
under the circumstances, "your
airline checked the box aboard in
Tokyo; therefore, it seems to me
that your airline is responsible for
producing it on this end of the
line."
"You'll have to check with
customs," he repeated, his voice
sounding very unlike friendly
skies. "I'm not responsible for it."
"Sir," I responded, somewhat
less pleasantly, "you are an
employee of this airline, and this
airline is decidely responsible for
my friend's parcel." But to no
avail. That round went to the
Things That Matter
representative of the "friendly
skies."
Yesterday, I went to a local store
to ask about a minor problem af
flicting my portable cassette
player, a missing screw. When I
asked the salesman where 1 might
find a replacement screw, he
replied, "I don't know." That was
it. Not, "I'll try to find out," or
"You might try so and so." Just,
"I don't know."
Now, I wouldn't have given it a
second thought except for the fact
that the guy's store sells portable
cassette players like mine.
However, deciding not to pursue
the matter, I asked another ques
tion. Having noticed a newer
model of the cassette player on the
shelf, I inquired, "How does the
new unit compare with my old
one?" Again, the same bored
response, "I don't know." Sensing
that I was inconveniencing the
fellow with my questions, 1 left.
A few hours later, my wife and I
stopped at a bakery thrift store,
where they sell day-old pies, cakes,
and bread at greatly reduced
prices. The young woman at the
counter was a delightful person.
"Let me know if you don't see
what you want," she said, "and
I'll try to help you find it."
We had never set foot in the
store before, but you would have
thought we were longtime
customers. "We have a very good
buy on sesame-seed buns today,"
she smiled. We bought,^ sever*}
packages of sesame-seca buns.
"This whole-grain bread is ex
cellent," she said. "It's my
favorite." We bought two loaves
of prhole-grain bread. In fact, we
left the store with six bags stuffed
with buns and breads of various
kinds.
"Now be sure to put those sour
dough rolls in the freezer until you
get ready to serve them," she told
us, as we prepared to leave. "They
don't keep very well in this hot
weather."
The difference between that
young lady and the two dullards
described earlier is that she was
serving customers. They were do
ing a job.
The News-Journal
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II* W. Ehaood Anna*. P.O. Box 550
Rarford. N.C. 2*376
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LOUIS H. EOGLEMAN. JR PaMtabrr
WARREN N. JOHNSTON Editor
HENRY L. BLUE . . Prodacltoa Nap*r?i?or
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Sort* I > Editor
SAM C.MORRIS < oalriballaf Editor
ANN WEBB AdvrnWat Rrjrwealatlvr
lad Clan Potlac* at Rarford, N.C.
(USPS XS-2M)
Mountain inn is like being in
bygone era
By Warm Johnston
Well, it had been hot, and we had deserved a break, I thought, as
the old Bluebird buzzed along Highway 211 heading home from the
mountains.
The bus was subdued. Everyone was exhausted, particularly
Sadie Louise. After three days of food and frivolity, the peace was
an abrupt change.
"I want to go back," Sadie Louise moaned tearfully. Everyone
? agreed.
The mountain outing had been planned a week earlier. An
emergency meeting of the Hoke County Culture Club had been
called o address a pressing matter, the weather. It was too hot in
tlH Si tdhflls to do anything sophisticated. We knew we had to go
"It's hard to pet worked up about culture when your knees are
?waring," Sadie Louise had said.
i-, Samntof us had to purchase extra rope frotn the hardware store
in ante to get oar suitcases dosed, but once we got everything
topthar, we piled the Bluebird Ml and headed for cooler
k*: ?
The Puppy Papers
After about four hours, too many traveling songs, eight pit stops
and a half dozen orders of all-the-way dogs and fries, we rolled into
Blowing Rock and the Gideon Ridge Inn.
The Bluebird strained up the long winding driveway to the inn.
We climbed out of the bus in short pants and summer attire, only to
be greeted by congenial hosts, panoramic views and cool weather.
"I think my right knee is frozen," Sadie Louis* squawked, as she
dragged her disheveled Samsonite from the bus and ravaged it in
search of a sweater. > .
Before long we realized we had discovered a rare place, much like
an enchanted forest or a hidden garden, which before we had believ
ed only existed in tales of "how things used to be."
The inn is a special piaos. The three proprietors still care about
tending to the wants of their guests and do it with deft expertise.
Soon after the morning coffee, served with a wake up call, the fresh
fruit and flowers in the rooms, the five-course breakfast and the six
course dinner, wb knew it would be a weekend to be savored.
Once Sadie Louise learned not to chew the entire artichoke leaf
and discovered that fresh peaches were good on chocolate ice
cream, we felt confident that the Culture Club had finally found a
permanent site to hold our quarterly convention.
The only minor setback came on Saturday, when Sadie got word
that we were having snails for the first course at the evening meal.
She hkl in the bathroom and refused to come out until we told her
the menu had been changed. Escargots would be served instead.
When we were not eating, we were walking on the terraces, ad
miring the gardens or reading in the finely appointed an# comfort
able library. There was even a brief singing held around the piano,
but we had to cut it short after the grandfather clock in the lobby
struck 2 a.m.
As we left on Sunday, Sadie Louise hung out of the bus window.
She could be heard halfway down the mountain yelling out her
pledge to return as soon as possible.
*Td even eat escargots again, if I could just go Mck," she said,
as we rolled home.