The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXVI Number 12 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA S10 PER vfad 25 CENTS Thursday, July 12, 1984
Muddy fourth
Youngsters and adults gathered in Parkton last Wednesday to take
part In Fourth of July activities. These girls wrestle for a watermelon
in the mud while they are sprayed with water from a fire hose, perhaps
to keep the contest from getting too heated. Parkton is In neighboring
Robeson County. There were no organized public activities in Hoke
County to celebrate the nation 's birthday. This photograph *>aJ taken
by Jim Skinner, who works at Faberge and lives in Parkton.
Extra land 'out'
for Camp MacKall
By Warren Johnston
Although the U.S. Army is plan
ning an expansion of the facilities
at Camp MacKall, no future land
acquisitions from Hoke County
are being considered, Eighth
District Congressman William G.
Hefner said Friday.
Hefner was in Raeford on Fri
day campaigning.
During a recent meeting with Ft.
Bragg officiers, Hefner said he was
assured by post commmander
Gen. James J. Lindsay that there is
no plan to acquire more land from
either the Sandhills Wildlife
Reserve or from Hoke County as
part of the Camp MacKall project.
There are also no plans to re
activate a "corridor" linking Ft.
Bragg to Camp MacKall through
Hoke County, Hefner said.
Funds for the corridor plan were
denied by Congress in 1953, after a
delegation from Hoke County lob
bied for its defeat.
Under the original plan the
western end of Hoke County
would have been acquired by the
Army.
Some county residents had
feared the plan might have been re
activated after the Army announc
ed plans to expand the Camp
MacKall facility to accommodate a
"top secret" project.
The project, which is "highly
classified," will be contained
within the present boundaries of
Camp MacKall, the Congressman
said.
"The general assured me there
are no land acquisitions planned,"
Hefner said.
The meeting was set up with
Gen. Lindsay and members of his
staff to help improve the com
munication between Congress and
Ft. Bragg, Hefner said.
In addition, efforts are also
underway to improve the relation
ship between Ft. Bragg and Hoke
County.
Plans are taking shape to set up
a future session with Ft. Bragg of
ficers, Congressmen Hefner,
Charles G. Rose and Charles
Whitley and leaders from surroun
ding counties, including Hoke, the
Eighth District representative said.
"One of our objectives would be
to see better communications be
tween Ft. Bragg and Hoke
County," Hefner said.
Because of his position as Chair
man of the House Military Con
struction Subcommittee, Hefner
says he can help Hoke County
develop a better relationship with
the Army, and also may be able to
earmark future base construction
funds to benefit the county.
Currently Ft. Bragg operations
are centered in an area which is ac
cessible to Cumberland County
and difficult to reach from Hoke.
Members of the Hoke County
Chamber of Commerce and others
hope to establish better access to
Ft. Bragg in an effort to attract
more military personnel and
civilian workers as residents.
The $63.32 million recently ap
propriated for Ft. Bragg construc
tion was primarily to be used for
existing projects and could not
have been diverted to uses which
might have been of more benefit to
Hoke County, Hefner said.
(See HEFNER, page 10)
Courthouse, other county projects
funded by NC solons
Restoration of the Hoke County
Courthouse seems assured after
members of the state legislature
approved funding last week of
$67,300 for the rehabilitation.
In addition, other Hoke County
projects garnered another $68,000
in state funds during the legislative
short session.
The courthouse funds were part
of the legislative "pork barrel,"
and were engineered by state Sen.
David Parnell.
County officials had attempted
to get $82,S00 funded by the state,
but Parnell said Monday those
funds were cut by a legislative
budget committee.
Local solons were unable to get
the project funded during last
year's long session, and came away
during that term with a total of on
ly $25,000 in matching funds for
Hoke County. That money went to
the restoration of the Mill Prong
House.
The courthouse money from the
state will be combined with over
$100,000 in local facilities fees to
help restore the deteriorating
73-year-old structure.
Library project
Parnell, who represents Hoke,
Robeson and Scotland counties,
was also able to land $5,000 for the
Hoke County Library.
The money will be used for the
i
library's history room, Librarian
Elizabeth Burgess said.
A microfilm reader printer will
be purchased with the state funds
and with other money given by the
City of Raeford.
Any money left over will be used
to purchase books and microfilm
for the history room, Burgess said.
Industrial development
Members of the House delega
tion, who also represent the three
county area, were able to obtain
$10,000 in "special project" or
pork barrel funds for the Raeford
Hoke County industrial develop
ment effort.
The $10,000 can be used in any
manner the city and the county
wish for industrial development,
state Rep. Daniel H. DeVane said.
The state funds could be added
to local contributions to pay the
cost of hiring a new industrial
recruiter, DeVane said, noting that
the funds could also be used to
help purchase an industrial park
site.
Originally the funds were re
quested by the late Chamber of
Commerce Director Earl N.
Fowler and were to be used for an
industrial park, DeVane said.
"There is no restriction on
them, though," he said.
Children's Center
State House members DeVane,
Pete Hasty and Sidney Locks were
also able to obtain $44,000 from
the Human Resources budget for
the Hoke County Children's
Center.
The money will be used to pay
off the mortgage on the Center's
new building on Jackson Street in
Raeford, DeVane said.
Recreation funds
House members also secured
$3,000 for the Hoke County
Recreation Department.
According to DeVane, the
money is earmarked for the old
Armory ball park and will be used
to restore the facility, which has
fallen in disrepair.
Bathrooms and other facilities at
the field will be helped with the
state funds, Recreation Director
Denise Melton said.
Literacy Council
The Hoke County Literacy
Council will also receive funds
from the state as a result of the ef
forts of the local delegation.
The council will receive $8,000
in pork barrel funds, DeVane said.
The money can be used for
general operating expenses during
the coming fiscal year, he added.
Around Town
By San Morris
Robert Gatlin, observer for the
National Weather Service, came by
the office Monday and gave me
some figures for the month of June
which should be of interest to most
readers.
Gatlin said that we had 3.7 in
ches of rain during June and that it
fell in five days from June 16
through June 21. There was no
rain on June 19 and 2.3 inches fell
on June 17. Since June 21 we have
had 3/100 of an inch of rain. Ex
cept for the days mentioned about
rain, the skies were clear the rest of
the month.
He stated that June was a hot
month. During a finer day period
June 16-20, the following highs
were recorded. June 16, 100
degrees; June 17, 90 degrees; June
IS, 98 degrees; June 19, 100
degrees; and June 20, 101 degrees.
The low temperature was 44
degrees on June 1 and. the lows
during the month were mostly in
the 60s.
The weatherman stated that the
low for July so far was Monday,
July 9 when the reading was 32
degrees.
It -was nice Monday morning,
but the forecast is for the hot
weather to return during the week.
(See AROUND, page 1 1)
Pushing trash
GarftMv cnukm oparator Jmrry Taw had afuBday
om Friday at tha Raaford-Hoka ImndflU, aftar cky
katdart got immcM and back ati ackadatad
P*kup fM bakind aftar two truck* brokt
down tattwaak. Soma rnidana wait ad a waak for
P*k*P. km accord* ? Cky Maaagar Tom
Phillips, the vehicles are repaired and collections
should be back to normal. However, Thursday end
Friday were busy days et the lendfUl es the ctty tried
to cmtch up, Phillips mid. Here, Tew flattens the
refuse before It Is burled In the landfill pit.
Possibilities numerous
for surplus city funds
By Ed Miller
Surplus funds in the Raeford
budget could be used for an inten
sified effort for industrial develop
ment and for downtown revitaliza
tion, City Manager Tom Phillips
said Monday.
Members of the state legislature
failed to repeal the North Carolina
intangibles tax before adjourning
Saturday, and as a result Raeford
is going to have surplus un
budgeted funds.
During a meeting last week,
members of the Raeford City
Council said action could not be
taken to rescind a municipal ad
valorem tax increase because the
intangibles tax income was
threatened.
The city budget for the coming
year was approved with the one
cent tax rate hike, before council
members learned that state one
half cent sales tax rebates had been
under estimated.
With the sales tax money, the
budget for the new fiscal year
should contain between $32,000
and S45.000 of unbudgeted
revenue.
Surplus funds will probably be
put into a reserve fund for the
coming year, Phillips said,
Phillips said there were a
"number" of items the money
could be spent on, but noted that
the funds could not be spent
without the approval of the city
council.
Both of the city's garbage trucks
were in ill-repair last week and the
purchase of a new one may be on
the agenda during the year.
The motor had to be replaced in
(See SURPLUS, page 10)
Inside Toda'
Rehearsals art over, and tha
play will begin. We take a took
ut the Youth Summer Theatre
on page 9 of today's New*
JmtmI. The group opens Fri
day with the production of
" Broadway Our Way. "