Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / Nov. 7, 1985, edition 1 / Page 12
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Hoke zoning overdue There are grumblings floating around Hoke County that those who advocate growth are out to destroy the heritage of the com munity. However, the converse is true. If this county docs not have con trolled growth, we will sink into a financial quagmire which will envelope all that is this community and eradicate the way of life which makes us a distinctly good place. Even those, who now are in sulated from the financial woes of this county, will be dragged under. In the recent past, Hoke leaders have resisted change, but have done nothing to insure that a high standard of life would remain in tact. When local leaders failed to see the future 10 years ago and avoid ed passing strong zoning laws, the character of Hoke County was put on the chopping block. Hoke County is not staying the same. The tax base declined this year by $5 million. Federal Revenue Sharing funds will likely be cut off next year. Unless something is done to turn things around, the slide will continue. As a result of the drop in the base, property taxes will be increased again, as they have been in the last three years, and services, like schools, police protection, ambulance ser vice and garbage pickup, will decline. Unless the tax base is increased, there will be little left of what is now a good way of life in Hoke County for some to leave for any future generations. Although the population of Hoke County has increased 13% in the last five years, some of the growth has not been desirable, and all has been uncontrolled. There are more residents demanding ser vices today, and fewer on the tax rolls to pay the bills. There is a mushrooming in this county of substandard trailer parks, which are lucrative for the owners because of federal housing subsidies, low-cost county services and minimal maintenance. Many of the parks are high crime areas, and good residents are humiliated by frequent break-ins and the squalid surroundings of less thoughtful neighbors. It is hoped the recently passed mobile home restrictions will put the breaks on the erection of these blighted housing areas, but had those laws been passed 10 years ago, many of the problems would not exist today. There is little question extended area telephone service (EAS) be tween Hoke County and Fayetteville and widening U.S. Highway 401 will make this a more attractive area for new residents. There is also little doubt unless leaders take rapid steps to govern how and where Hoke County will grow, the character of the com munity will be changed even more than it has in the last 10 years. Hoke County residents can look at neighboring Cumberland County and see where its leaders went wrong. This community does not needto make the same mistakes. We needed zoning restrictions 10 years ago, and because of the efforts being made to increase the tax base, building controls are critical. Members of the Hoke County Commission and the Hoke County Planning Commission need to begin in earnest to zone the unincor porated areas. The character and heritage of Hoke County are in jeopardy and need the protection. EAS hearing worked Members of the North Carolina Utilities Commission had to be impressed with demonstration of community need exhibited at a public hearing held in Raeford last week. More than 800 local residents, most of whom were in favor of ex tending local telephone dialing between the Raeford and the Fayet teville exchanges, turned out for the hearing before the full commis sion. The importance of the Hoke County case was orchestrated flawlessly during the hearing by witnesses, and the commissioners were listening. It was rare for the commissioners to appear as a full panel outside their Raleigh chambers, and Hoke County residents responded by providing the largest crowd in memory to show up at a utilities hear ing. If Hoke County is going to be a better place to live and work, it is going to take an effort by the entire community. An effort like the one shown to the utilities commission last Tuesday night. Those who showed up for the hearing deserve a pat on the back for a job well done. Now, if 1,600 residents attend the next state Department of Transportation meeting, Hoke County might be able to look for ward to a widened U.S. Highway 401. The News-Journal 11* W. Elwood Area at, P.O. Boi 550 Raeford, N.C. 2S37* Sahacrtttioa Rates la Atfvaact la Coaaty Per Year? SM.M ? M oaths? S5.0Q Oat of Coaaty Per Year? S12.M ? M oaths ? $4.00 LOUIS H. FOGLEMAN, JR. WARREN N. JOHNSTON . PrMWmt Editor HENRY L. BLUE SAMC. MOHH ANN N.WEBB.. Production Supervisor Coatrtbvtteg Editor AdvcrtWag Ripmwtillu Seem* Omm fiili|i at RmM, N.C. (USPS 3M-2M) Fishing brings out the worst Recently I wrote an article for The Saturday Extra in The Fayet teville Times. The article was about a fishing trip I took with my partner Jack Tucker and my friend Simon Terrell. Usually my fishing trips turn out very well. This one was an excep tion. One bad experience shouldn't dampen future trips with friends, therefore Simon and I decided to try it once again with Silent Jack. Before 1 could head down to the coast with these two hardluck fishermen I had to make peace with my other occassional fishing companion. Bob Fisher. At a football game, while talk ing about a luckless fishing trip to Jordan Lake with Bob and John Pecora, I promised to go to the coast with Bob. John was suppos ed to make the trip, but he lied his way out of it, by saying he had to go with Jack Pope. When pressed fbr die reason for going with Jack he claimed no one would go with Jack. To further prove his point, he related that Jack was bent over a car when he arrived at the garage. When he asked what was the mat ter, Jack sniffed and said he couldn't get anyone to go fishing with him. In fact, he frowned and said he couldn't pay anyone to go with him. Naturally, John volun teered. I fully support John in helping his friend, and 1 can understand Coach's reason for not going with Bob. Bob invited John and I to go with him in October. We got up at 5:30 a.m. for the trip, arrived at Jordan Lake at 7:30 a.m., fished for 20 minutes, and Bob announc ed it was time to leave. Since he owned the boat and Looking On Raz Autry motor John and I had no say in the quick exit. This was the second time he had invited us in three years. Fisher always promised we would go six times each fall. We tried to tell him if we fished only once every three years, at our age we didn't have many trips left. Unfortunately, 1 had made the deal with Jack and Simon before I promised Bob. This is another sad thing about advancing age, it will get one in deals which will test the best of friendships. When 1 go fishing with Jack and Simon, I feel like my positive rtItfnkrKg Wefhodist" brother Neal Senter. Taking a trip with some of the better known citizens of Hoke County last week inspired Neal to comment that the fish would develop lockjaw when they heard he was coming. Sure enough as he approached the coast, a "north eastern" blew in. 1 know this was true because Jack, Simon and I were leaving because of the same wind. On our first trip, Jack stranded us in the mouth of the ocean with a screw loose starter. Locking the keys in the truck was another of his ill-fated tricks. Before Simon and I agreed to take this trip we made Jack pro mise to take an extra motor and tape a set of keys under the hood. We decided against the keys under the hood. Jack's hood latch is In side the car. Knowing him like I do, he would probably lock the car with the first set of keys in the switch. All went well with the motor, it even cranked when we decided to move from the mouth of the ocean. Simon kept saying while we were fishing in a full fledged hur ricane, "why are those birds flying over near the beach?" It occurred to me the birds were following blue fish. Jack motored towards the birds, why I don't know, we didn't have any bait. Rigging up some makeshift lures, we caught seven blue fish. When they disappeared my bosom buddy headed for the same non producing buoy. When 1 tossed out the anchor it kept going. Jack failed to tie it to the boat. No an chor, no fish, no bait, no lures and very little to laugh about forced us to return to Jack's resort on Ocean Isle. ...It *tiU .inmcs .me how two perfectly liealthy men can park their carcasses in a chair at a table and wait for a handout. I had to do all the cooking, all the cleaning, all the grocery buying, while they complain of a cooking phobia. Washing dishes is as strange to their way of life, as it would have been for the golden goose that laid the golden egg to come up dry. Since this is the last article I in tend to do on fishing, I would like to apologize to my friend Bob Fisher for being responsible for him forcing the Coach to lie. It is out of character for John to lie, ex cept about fishing, and he calls it exaggerating. To Betsi Terrell and Olaray Tucker, my deepest sympathy for living with helpless men. If the women leave this earth first, Jack and Simon will soon follow, because they will starve to death. Broyhill scores well in race RALEIGH - Republican voters looking for guidance in the U.S. Senate primary between 10th District U.S. Rep. Jim Broyhill and former Ambassador David Funderburk have no single source to which they can turn. There is no tribunal which can definitively pronounce that Funderburk, as he claims, is a truer conservative than Broyhill. Their records can't be com pared. Broyhill has cast thousands of votes in 23 years as a con gressman. Funderburk has been a professor and diplomat. But a comparison of Broyhill's record to those of Senators Jesse Helms and John East might be helpful. The rationale being that East was recruited by Helms' political organization, the Na tional Congressional Club and has agreed with Helms very often. Funderburk was recruited by the club and could also be expected to closdy mirror Helms. Many lobbying groups in Washington issue yearly scorecards on members of Con gress. The higher the score, the more that lobby agrees with the member's voting record. Let's look at the scorecards of 1 1 major lobbies for 1980-44. Broyhill gets better marks than Helms and Bast from two liberal lobbies, Americans for Democratic Action and the American Civil Liberties Union. Broyhill's ADA score is 12, Helms' two and East's zero. BroyhiU'i score from the ACLU is 26, Helms gets 12 and Watching By Paul T. O ' Connor East 10. Broyhill and Helms gets similar grades from the Consumer Federa tion of America, 27 for Broyhill and 29 for Helms (only the last two years). East got a 14. Broyhill and Helms again are closely paired on the major environmental scorecard. The League of Conser vation Voters gives Broyhill a 31, Helms a 26 and East a six. The National Taxpayers' Union, a very conservative, anti government spending group gives Broyhill 75, Helms 81 and East 76. One of the oldest conservative scorelceepers, Americans for Con stitutional Action gives Broyhill 90, and the senators each 96. (A warning: These scorecards are often based on some different issues for the tvo? Chambers of ' Congress. Therefore, variations otf ' a few points may not be mean- *? ingfnl. The National Security Index of the American Security Council v, rates a member's commitment to ?; the conservative concept of defense. Helms and Bast each have 100 scores and Broyhill gets a 93 for 1990-84. Broyhill 's lifetime ?core, he says, is 96. Three conservative rating groups give Broyhill scores lower than those of the senators. The Chamber of Commerce gives Broyhill a 77 and the senators each a 91. The American Conservative Union gives Broyhill a 76 and the senators each 100. The Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress gives Broyhill a 76 and the senators each a 91 . The National Journal, a non partisan periodical devoted to politics, says Broyhill has taken a conservative economic position on 85^? of the votes they've monitored from 1981 through 1984. Helms and East are rated at 81 On foreign policy matters, Broyhill has a 73% conservative score while East's is 83 and Helms' is 79. On social issues, Broyhill has a 69 conservative score. Helms 88 and East 89. Congressional Quarterly, the congressional reporting service, determines the president's position on a number of votes and scores members for loyftlty. During Ronald Reagan's first administra tion, Broyhill supported him on ? 73% of these votes and opposed . him oa 24%. (Absences aren't counted). Helms supported Reagan on 75% and opposed on ? 23%. East supported Reagan on 76% and opposed on 21%. Similarly, CQ rates loyalty to party. BrOyhiH and Helms voted with the OOP On 83% of the issues CQ selected and against the OOP on 12%. East voCed wttb tW OOP on n% and igainst on 10%. Letters To The Editor FT A needs help To the Editor: The J.W. Turlington PTA ex presses sincere appreciation to all the parents and supporters who have helped us over the past two years. Many man-hours have been contributed by community volunteers and PTA members who are interested in the welfare of the school and the children who are housed there on a daily basis. The goal of the PTA is to do all it can to help the staff and faculty provide the best possible education for our children. Last school year, the PTA donated nearly $9,000 to the school, which was used to buy a computer with a printer, instruc tional supply materials in all areas and to paint the hallways both upstairs and downstairs and paid for the labor. This year the money from our fund raising project will be used to upgrade the library by increasing the number of volumes of books and buying current books in every category, especially the sciences. We also need more playground materials. The community is showing PTA and the Turlington staff that they have faith in our school and in our teachers. Providing resources for our teachers to work with our children should come from the community and the community is helping to provide the needed resources through their support. The PTA of Turlington School can never thank its supporters enough for all the hard work and support they've given to the school. Hats off to Raeford and Hoke County. Turlington's PTA meets the se cond Monday night of each month in the school auditorium. Please remember you do not have to have children in school to become a member of the PTA. We need you, our school needs you. Thank you for all you have done for us. Mack Sessoms, President Emma J. Mims, Principal Some can't pay phone EAS hike To the Editor: According to the write-up in the paper all 4,900 Raeford telephone customers would be willing to pay an additional $4.52 per month for direct access to Fayetteville. If they will check with all the people in Hoke County, I believe they will find a different story. There are very few people in Raeford that make $54.24 worth of calls to Fayetteville per year other than businesses and most of them have a Watts line, so let the ones that want to be connected with Fayetteville pay for their calls. Just think of all the widows and elderly people that live by themselves and need a phone and they can't afford it if this $4.52 is added on each month, in fact, the telephone company will be losing a lot of customers. Mrs. H.M. Meeks Humane Society needs help for Hoke animals To the Editor: On Saturday, October 26, the Hoke/Raeford Humane Society held its annual Fall Bake Sale. Once again this sale was a success thanks to the generosity of Hoke County residents. We would like to thank everyone who came out to the sale and sup ported us, either by buying our cakes and crafts or making dona tions. One very kind lady, bought a $10.00 cake from us and gave us an extra $90.00 donation! We also would like to thank Mr. Sanders of Food Lion for so will ingly allowing us to hold our bake sale in front of his store. If you have ? female cat or dog that you would like to have spayed ind cannot afford the full veterinarian's fee, please call me or Esther Teal at the numbers listed below. The animal over-population ex plosion is a serious problem all over the country and it is especially bad here in Hoke County. Over 93% of the animals picked (See LETTERS, page 3B)
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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Nov. 7, 1985, edition 1
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