The News-Tournal
Established 1928 ^ " - -
Police radios
blackout TV's
By Ed Miller
The Raeford Police Depart
ment's radios are interfering with
the broadcast frequency of televi
sion Channel 5, WRAL from
Raleigh, a spokesman from Alert
Cablevision said.
The radios are causing black
I outs of the station because of
signal interference, Alert Cablevi
sion Manager Harrison Daniels
said.
Piedmont Communications, a
Fayetteville company, maintains
the radios for the police depart
ment, Daniels said.
Daniels has talked to a represen
tative of the company, he said.
Piedmont promised to fix the
1 problem several weeks ago, said
Daniels.
There has still been nothing
done about the interference, said
Daniels.
"I have not been contacted
about it," said Piedmont Com
munications Manager J.D.
Monroe.
"We'd have to take a look at it
and see what the problem is," said
? Monroe.
Raeford Police Chief Leonard
Wiggins said he does not know
anything about an interference
problem.
Thieves flee
break-in site
' After seeing a strange truck
parked on the side of a road near
his residence, a Hoke County man
saw two men exit his house, get in
to the truck and leave.
George Wesley Johnson saw the
two men who apparently stole
S329. 14 in jewtflry from his motoric *
home in the Harmony Heights sub
division, reports from the Hoke
County Sheriffs Department say.
i Johnson arrived at his home on
August 14 at II p.m. to find his
front door standing open, reports
say.
The two men ran from the
door of the mobile home, got into
the truck and headed toward
Highway 401, according to
reports.
The truck has been described as
being a red Toyota, reports say.
In another area incident, James
(See BREAKINS, page 11)
Around Town
By Sim Morris
Just when you think that the
summer is over, the hot weather
returns. The forecast for Wednes
day and Thursday is for the
temperatures to be in the 90s.
It is good that the hurricane
turned west and didn't bring us all
the rain that would have come with
it. We don't need any more rain at
the present time. It is impossible to
get into the fields with any kind of
equipment. Most harvesting is be
ing done by hand and being carried
from the fields. This can be expen
sive.
Anyway it seems that the rain
has stopped for a few days.
? * *
Most of the news that you hear
or read about these days is bad.
Crime seems to have taken over in
our country. So it is good to be
able to print news about someone
who is honest.
Mrs. Brenda Dunevant (with the
Turkey Festival Bike-A-Thon) call
ed to tell about her mother, Mrs.
Rosa Scarborough finding a
billfold with $100 in it. 1 would say
that nine out of 10 people would
have kept the Si 00 and destroyed
the billfold. The billfold belonged
to Clifford Wayne Huff of 212 S.
Jackson St.
Now Mrs. Scarborough returned
the billfold and money to Mr.
Huff and would not take the
reward offered. She just wanted
the money to go to the rightful
owner.
She is a widow and all her in*
come is from her Social Security.
Now doesn't this make you feel
good to find an honest person
making the news. We need more
(See AROUND, page 1 1)
High stepping
With the help of stilts, this worker is able to reach the upper areas of
the 12-foot walls in the Aberdeen-Rockfish Depot in Raeford to com
plete finish work on sheetrock. The walls were finished last week,
leaving trim and ceilings remaining to complete the job. Efforts are
being made to finish the depot, which will house the offices of the
Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Develop
ment office, by the North Carolina Turkey Festival on September 21.
County opposes waste unit
By Ed Miller
Members of the Hoke County
Commission passed a resolution
Monday morning opposing a pro
posed hazardous waste treatment
plant in Scotland County.
"This board as leaders in county
government strives for a healthful
environment and jobs for our
citizens and further is aware that
the location of a waste treatment
facility as proposed in Scotland
County could affect adversely the
citizens of Hoke County," accord
ing to the resolution.
GSX Corporation is planning to
build a waste treatment facility at
the Laurinburg-Maxton Industrial
Park.
"Should we oppose something
that's not in our county?" Com
missioner Wyatt Upchurch asked.
The waste treatment plant could
effect people in the southern part
of the county, said Commissioner
James Albert Hunt.
"I personally oppose it," said
Hunt.
According to a GSX spokesman,
after contaminated water has been
treated at the plant and all hazard
ous material removed, the water
will be placed into the Lumber
River.
The water will have been treated
by GSX and, upon approval of of
ficials working for Scotland Coun
ty, sent to the Laurinburg-Maxton
Waste Treatment Plant where they
will again treat it before it is
dumped into the river, said GSX
spokesman Dan Jones.
Many residents of Scotland
County oppose the plant, said
Scotland County Manager John Q.
Byrd.
"They have implied that they
would be coming in here with an
unreasonable number of trucks
from all directions," said Byrd im
plying that trucks containing
hazardous waste would be passing
through Hoke County.
Jones said that most of the waste
to be treated at the plant will be
generated in the Charlotte area and
will come down U.S. Highway 74.
"1 don't look for a large amount
to be coming through your
county," said Jones.
Commissioner Upchurch made
the motion to pass the resolution.
As part of the resolution, a
clause was included saying, "this
resolution is in no way intended
to... appear to be opposing in
dustrial development, but as a
means of assuring the citizens of
Hoke County that their welfare
and 'safety is being considered
above any benefits which we might
accrue from such a facility."
The resolution also shows that
Hoke County Commissioners do
not intend to jeopardize the good
standing of GSX Corporation.
"Somebody has to accept this
(See COUNTY, page 11)
Hoke CAT scores moving up
By Ed Miller
In places where Hoke County
was the lowest in the state on
California Achievement Test
(CAT) scores, students are improv
ing and local schools now rank
above others systems in the state.
in reading and language tests on
the second and third grade levels,
where Hoke students were the
worst in the state in 1983, progress
has been made, said Hoke
Superintendent Dr. Robert
Nelson.
"In our second and third grades,
reading and mathematics were the
places we were lowest in," said
Melton. ,
"The thing that is of
significance to me is that we are in
creasing the rate of our children's
achievement," said the
superintendent.
As he has in the past, Nelson
compared the Hoke Schools' quest
to catch other school systems to a
footrace.
One has to run faster than
another racer, catch and pass that
racer to get ahead, Nelson said.
"We are running faster than
we've been running," he said.
"1 think the evidence shows that
we have been running faster and
catching and passing some people
who had been running faster than
us," said Nelson.
Reading scores for the second
grade averaged second year, fifth
month, or 2.5.
While 2.5 is slightly below the
2.7 level when the test was taken,
results in comparison with other
school systems in the state show
that Hoke is no longer on the bot
tom.
There are two school systems in
the state lower than Hoke and
another two reflecting scores equal
to those of the local schools.
There are 13 school systems in
the state showing lower scores than
Hoke's second graders in math, ac
cording to test results.
Hoke second graders earned an
average score of 3.0, two months
ahead of where they should have
been at test time and the national
average.
Nine school systems rank below
Hoke in third grade math achieve
ment tests, results show.
"There's no doubt that we are
going to continue running faster
than other people," said Nelson.
Other test results show that se
cond graders in Hoke County
score at or above the national
average in all other testing areas.
Hoke's second graders averaged
a score of 3.2 in spelling, 2.8 in
language and 2.7, the national
average, on the total testing bat
tery.
Third graders, while hitting the
3.7 national average on total bat
tery scores, averaged fourth grade,
third month, 4.3 in spelling and 4.0
in language, according to results.
Total battery scores also show
local second graders standing on
the national 50th percentile while
third graders are on the 48th na
tional percentile.
What that means is that Hoke
second graders, on the average, on
total test battery scores, earned
marks equal or better than 50% of
all other second graders in the na
tion.
Third graders scored better than
48% of all third graders in the na
tion under the CAT system.
First grade total battery scores
show Hoke students scoring at the
58th percentile.
Total battery scores in other
grades show Hoke students scoring
better than the national average
also.
Total battery sixth grade scores
averaged 6.8, one month better
than the national average and at
the 51st percentile.
Ninth grade scores also reflect a
51st percentile standing with an
average total battery score of 9.8,
according to results.
In the effort to keep Hoke
schools gaining on the competi
tion, the local school system will be
one of 40 to 45 systems in the state
working to establish the North
Carolina Effective Teaching Pro
gram, said Nelson.
About one-third of the state's
school systems will be beginning
the program this year, he said.
Twelve local administrators and
staff members have been through a
30 hour course of study that allows
them to teach other teachers the
basics of the program, said
Nelson.
The program sets up progressive
steps for teaching with each step
described as being "planned and
research based," said Nelson.
Half the program has already
been presented to teachers with the
second half to be provided soon,
Nelson said.
"I think it's going to have a
tremendous impact on school,"
said the superintendent.
Furnishings are needed for depot
With the old Aberdeen and
Rock fish Depot nearing comple
tion, supporters of the renovation
are looking for furniture to make
the station the offices of the
Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Com
merce and Economic Development
Commission.
Little money will be left for fur
nishings after the renovations are
complete.
To make the empty offices into a
place of professional business,
many things are needed to furnish
the depot, including a conference
table, some matching chairs for the
table, antique coat racks, free
standjng bookcases or credenzas,
large oriental rugs, lamps, filing
cabinets, wine-back chairs, three
camel-back sofas, a large wooden
desk, end tables and wall decora
tions.
Anyone wishing to help with
these furnishings should contact
Beverly Pasternak at 875-5929 or
come by the offices of the
Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Com
merce.
College reps pleased by signups
By Ed Miller
Officials for the Hoke County
Satellite branch of Sandhills Com
munity College are pleased with
pre-registration figures for this
fall's classes.
There are about 50 people pre
registered to take classes from the
college, said Local Director Betty
High.
"The exciting thing is that all of
the college credit courses have
made," said High.
Although there are enough
students in the college credit
English, math and business courses
to support the local college, no
classes ,are closed out, said High.
"People should come register
the Hrst night of classes," she said.
Classes at the community college
begin next Monday night.
According to High, recruitment
efforts have been concentrated
over the last month.
High has been talking to
workers in local manufacturing
operations for a number of weeks
trying to get them to sign up for
adult education classes, she said.
"I knew my efforts were paying
off when I registered a man who I
had talked to on third shift from
one of the local plants," High
said.
Although the college is running
well now, future operations of the
satellite will depend on how many
students can be enrolled and will
stay enrolled.
Funding for the college next year
will be based on the number of
students taking classes.
Hoke County will provide, as
they are currently, classrooms for
the college and maintenance for
those classes.
This year, the county budgeted
$15,000 for maintenance costs and
other money for a secretary and
renovations on the director's of
fice.
The money budgeted for the
renovations and for the secretary
will be only for one year.
County officials will be asked
for no more than $15,000 next
year, members of the Hoke Coun
ty Higher Education Foundation
have said.
Next year, the state will pick up
(See COLLEGF. page 10)
Helping hand *"** * '
Raeford Policeman Dick McNeill ( left ) aids EMS and Rescue person'
nel as an unidentified Mocksville man is readied for a ride to the
hospital. The man was Injured in an accident whkh occurred Tuesday
afternoon near the state Highway 211 cutoff. McNeill gives a hand to:
Hoke Rescue Squad members David McNeill (left center) and Gone
Hasty (front center) and Hoke EMS personnel Susan Manning (roar
right) and Jimmy Stewart (right).