The News
The Hoke County News - Established 1928
Volume LXXVII Number 8 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
$10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS
i
Thursday, June 13, 1985
Phones, US 401, school
sites tied to progress
By Ed Miller
The four-laning of Highway
401, better school locations and
getting extended area telephone
service with Fayetteville will help
slumping real estate sales in Hoke
County, area real estate brokers
said last week.
The lack of the telephone service
is "one of the biggest drawbacks"
to developing land in Hoke Coun
ty, said Cumberland County
developer Ralph Huff.
Currently, Huff is exploring
several tracts of land in eastern
Hoke County near the
Cumberland County line, he said.
According to Huff, who is a
Hoke County native, a shortage of
land in Cumberland County will
force people to start looking at
land in Hoke, but that land will be
near the Cumberland County line.
That raises another problem,
said Huff.
Hoke County schools are
located in Raeford and people who
live so close to Fayetteville will
have to drive or have their children
bussed to Raeford.
Huff was careful to add that the
quality of the schools in Hoke
County is good, but their locations
are unattractive to families living
on the Cumberland-Hoke line.
"If there were a school in that
area, it would help developers
justify building in that area," he
said.
"The problem is not with the
schools themselves," he said.
In addressing the Highway 401
situation. Huff said: "The four
laning is very vital."
"People moving into Hoke need
the road," he said.
"They (Hoke County officials)
had better do something soon
about county zoning," he added.
According to developer Julian
Wright, "most people (buyers) we
depend on now, are military."
Wright agrees that phone service
between Hoke and its larger
neighbor is a very important factor
in the development of Hoke Coun
ty.
The houses Wright deals in
mostly are in the $20,000 to
$60,000 range, he said.
"Most houses stay on the
market from 30 to 90 days," he
said.
During the first quarter of this
year, 28 houses were sold in Hoke
County. Some of those transfers of
title were between business
associates and family members.
In the same three month period,
Cumberland County brokers sold
446 houses. The average sales price
was $55,085, a spokesman for the
Board of Realtors said.
Wright substantiated what other
real estate brokers in the county
say about sagging real estate sales.
"Most people who live here (in
Raeford and Hoke County) are
rooted and not looking for new
homes," Wright said.
"There is no new blood moving
in," said real estate broker Gene
Carter.
According to most real estate
brokers and developers in the area,
the demand for housing in Hoke
County is low now, and land prices
show it.
"You've got to have people
knocking on your door to get the
prices up," Carter said.
According to Carter, his
business is not bad, but it is not as
good as last year.
Most of his $30,000 to $40,000
houses stay on the market from six
to nine months, he said.
"In our personal situation, it
looks like our people who are able
to pay for that kind of house are
buying in Southern Pines," he
said.
"The phone service and
Highway 401 could change that,"
he said.
Carter said that lots west of the
Cumberland County line are sell
ing for $500 to $800 per acre.
On the Cumberland side of the
line, they are selling for close to
$3,000 per acre, said Carter.
"There is no young people's
market," said broker Avery Con
nell.
"We have lots of houses, but
they are not the right kinds of
houses," he said.
"We don't have the people com
ing into this area. There are plenty
of houses, but no people," said
Connell.
"I don't know how you're going
to attract those people," he said.
Studying the budget
County Manager William Cowan (left) studies the
recommended budget with commission members
(from left): Wyatt Upchurch, Cleo Bratcher, John
Balfour . Neil McPhatter. James Albert Hunt and
finance officer Charles Davis during a recent work
session.
Fire district tax rates hiked
By Ed Miller
Members of the Hoke County
Commission voted to raise taxes in
three of the county's 10 Fire
districts during a budget meeting
Monday night.
Taxpayers in Crestline, Tyler
town and Pine Hill will be paying
more for fire protection following
the action by the commissioners.
In the Crestline Fire District,
taxpayers will be paying an addi
tional 2 cents per every SI 00 of
property valuation.
It will cost residents in the Tyler
town area an additional penny on
the tax rate for protection.
The biggest hike came in the
Pine Hill Fire District, where
members of that fire department
requested and were granted a 4
cents hike.
Pine Hill, which had the lowest
tax rate last year, now is even with
all but two fire districts in the
county with a rate of 10 cents.
Commissioner James Albert
Hunt, who is the county's
representative with the rural fire
departments, said Pine Hill needs
that tax hike to pay for a recently
purchased truck.
The only districts in the county
which have tax rates below the 10
cents mark are the Puppy Creek
and Stonewall districts.
Puppy Creek has a 7 cents tax
rate and Stonewall is 8 cents.
Neither of those departments
asked for an increase this year.
In the second budget session in
as many weeks, the Hoke County
Commission took no action to cut
a budget which contains a recom
mended seven cents tax rate in
crease.
Although commissioners
searched for about two hours, no
ready cuts were found in the
budget.
According to Commission
Chairman John Balfour, this
year's budget has been substantial
ly cut by County Manager William
Cowan .
"This is the first year that you
have gotten a school budget
already cut," County Finance Of
ficer Charles Davis told commis
sioners.
No commission member
proposed any cuts on the board of
education budget although educa
tion in general was a topic of
discussion.
(See BUDGET, page 2A)
Around Town
By Sam Morris
I can't remember in my 67 years
I ever seeing or hearing lightning
and thunder like occurred here last
Wednesday night. It seems like a
miracle that there wasn't much
damage from the storm. There
were also high winds and we
received about two inches of rain,
that was needed.
Then, on Friday night it kept
flashing across the screen of the
television that a tornado was in the
area. It makes me shudder to read
& "prepare to protect your lives."
The wind went north of Raeford
and hit somewhere in the reserva
tion. I don't believe there was
much damage. Another two inches
of rain fell and this could have
brought us close to norma! for this
year.
This week the temperature has
hit the 90s for Sunday and Mon
day. All you can say is that it is
) hot!
? ? ?
Recently Mr. and Mrs. Clayton
Buoyer attended a convention in
Charleston, S.C. After his return I
engaged him near the poet office to
find out about his trip. Lo and
babold, he asked if we could step
inride the newspaper office to talk.
Of course I thought he would have
some juicy gossip to give me about
> the convention.
(See AROUND, page 9A)
Hoke College fund raising goal
set at $1 million for 10 years
A 10-year financial goal of $1
million has been set for a founda
tion to support the Hoke County
branch of Sandhills Community
College.
Members of the Hoke County
Higher Education Foundation set
the long-ranged goal during a
meeting last week.
For the first 12 months, the
group also hopes to raise $30,000.
The majority of the funds raised
by the foundation will be held in a
trust and interests from the money
will be used for the future needs of
the school.
Foundations have tax advan
tages, and members hope that local
residents will rally behind the need
for a school in the county.
An initial donation of $200 was
approved last week by the Raeford
Kiwanis Club board of directors.
Although local funding for the
school is still pending before
members of the Hoke County
Commission, foundation members
are proceeding with plans to raise
money, which will primarily be
used for construction of facilities
and the general support of the col
lege.
In addition to approving the
fund raising goals, foundation
members also gave a green light to
Director Betty High to actively
begin soliciting students for fall
classes.
High was named director by the
Sandhills Board of Trustees on
May 20.
She has been serving as the
Coordinator of Continuing Educa
tion in Hoke County and has been
on the Sandhills faculty since 1975.
To stimulate student interests, a
survey is being conducted in the
county, High said.
A copy of the survey appears in
today's News-Journai and will be
available in other locations around
the county.
The College will primarily offer
courses that will focus on basic
skills and will emphasize voca
tional training. High said.
"Sandhills wants to play a vital
role in the economic development
of Hoke, and these new classes will
help this cause," she said recently.
It is hoped that residents will in
dicate through the survey a
preference of study. Courses can
be developed with that informa
tion, High said.
"The college hopes to work well
with existing agencies, services and
the public schools to meet the
higher educational needs of all
Hoke County citizens," High said.
If the local budget for the col
lege is approved by the county
commissioners, classes will begin
on September 9 at Hoke High
School in the late afternoon and
evening.
Saturday classes can also be
held, High said.
Registration will be held in late
August.
Betty High
An office for the director will be
located in the old County Office
building on Elwood Avenue in
Raeford.
Some daytime classes will also
be held in that building.
The satellite will offer Hoke '
County residents a chance to at
tend a wide variety of classes in
one location and will make the
school and training more accessi
ble to persons who work during the
day, foundation members have
said.
A grand opening ceremony is be
ing planned for the fall, and sup
porters hope to unveil a sign for
the school then.
Graduation
Over 200 Hoke High seniors received degrees Fri
day night in a ceremony which went inside to get
out of the weather. More photographs and the story
on page one of Section B in today 's News-Journal.
School facilities needed
for redisricting plans
By Ed Miller
New school facilities are needed
to make a long-range school
district zoning plan feasible, Hoke
County Board of Education
members were told Tuesday night.
School Superintendent Dr.
Robert Nelson said he had hoped a
plan could be worked out for the
long run redistricting, but that
consideration now seems almost
impossible without more school
facilities.
"Our essential problem is we
have more students than we can
house at Scurlock and are ap
proaching the same conditions at
McLauchlin," Nelson said.
In a previous meeting, Nelson
told board members that the only
elementary schools in the county
with any room at all are South
Hoke and West Hoke schools.
Nelson offered alternatives to
Board of Education members, but
said they would do well to last over
three yean because of growth in
the Scuriock and McLauchlin
areas.
A plan that would, for next year
at least, solve the overcrowded
conditions nt Raeford's
McLauchlin School would take a
group of children living at the in
tersection of the Vass Road and
Highway 401 and place them in
West Hoke School.
There is one extra classroom
available there, said Nelson.
There is another classroom at
the school currently being used by
Four County Community Service
for the Head Start program.
"I don't see any problems with
letting them use it for next year,
but we should have it back in
86-87," Nelson said.
Another part of the plan to im
prove conditions at Scurtock
School may involve moving from
77 to 107 students now attending
that school to South Hoke School,
Nelson said.
"If not this year, certainly next
year" the Board of Education will
have to reclaim a classroom at
South Hoke currently being used
by a full-time dentist for students,
said Nelson.
A problem facing Board of
Education members is how to
transfer the childen from the
Scurlock area to South Hoke.
The children would have to be
bussed 17 miks to the school, the
superintendent said.
According to Nelson: "If this
were a perfect world and I could
wave a magic wand," another
elementary school would be placed
in the eastern part of the county to
(See SCHOOLS, page 2A)