ROBESON COUNTY, N.C.
PUBLISHED EACH THItrsdAY
Ser-ials Department
GOOD PLACE TO LIVE
DhapeJ .i 11, ,,u d‘r2\
THE CAROLINA INDIAN VOICE
Dedicated to the best in all of us
♦
t VOLUME 5JWMBER 30
i PubItcQfion No. 978360
PEMBROKE, NC
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1977
I
15t PER COPY I
s
ALLEGED BEATING OF OXENDINE
MAN BY TROOPERS BEING
INVESTIGATED BY F.B.I.
PEMBROKE-The FBI is quietly
investigating the possibility that O'Neal
Oxendine's civil rights were violated in the
celebrated case whereby state troopers T.J,
Evelyn and Hubert Covington were
accused of brutality in arresting him for a
number of traffic violations, including
Driving Under the Influence, No
Operator’s License, and Resisting Arrest.
According to a spokesman of the FBI, the
investigative agency is looking into the
case because of a complaint lodged with
ihem that questions the arrest procedure of
Evelyn and Covington.
Small Towns
The case received wide attention because
McDuffie Cummings, the town manager of
Pembroke, witnessed the arrest and
affirmed that the troopers used undue force
to restrain Oxendine. The arrest resulted in
31 stitches being inflicted on Oxendine’s
head. Cummings, in a letter to John
Jenkins, the head of the N.C. State Patrol,
charged the troopers with callous brutality
and said further that the troopers
precipitated the violence.
Charles G. McLean, local district court
judge, ruled in favor of the troopers saying
that, in his opinion, they did not use undue
Set To Take
force. A cynic, who observed the trial
noted that the highway patrol had the
license to inflict up to 31 stitches on
anyone’s head for any violation. Oxendine
appealed McLean's verdict to ' superior
court. A date has not yet been .^et for the
trial.
District Attorney Joe Freeman Britt would
not allow a warrant to be taken out against
the two troopers because, as he put it. “no
warrants can be taken out against a law
enforcement officer until my office has
conducted an investigation." Britt has not.
to date, released any findings that his office
might have found in an investigation. Some
citizens question whether Britt has
conducted an investigation.
The highway, patrol, in response to
Cummings’ letter, have conducted an
internal investigation and absolved
themselves of blame in the incident.
Jenkins, in a letter to Cummings, went even
further and noted that he had uncovered no
evidence of discrimination within the ranks
of the highway patrol in North Carolina.
The FBI has given no indication when
their investigation will be completed.
On U.S. Over EDA Funds
Believe it or not but eight small towns m
southeastern Nonh Carolina, including
Pembroke, are poised to take on the United
Slates Government in the matter of the
allocation of public works monies being
dispensed by EDA (the Economic
Development Agency).
Many of the smaller towns, including
Pembroke, were left out in the cold when
the monies were allocated recently.
Yesterday they filed a suit in federal court
asking to be included in the distribution of
the monies.
They also will ask for a temporary
injunction to prevent distribution of the Job
funds in Cumberland, Robeson, Columbus
and New Hanover counties, until a ruling is
made on allocations for the eight
communities.
The suit charges that communities with
I970 populations of less than 2,500 were
excluded from consideration for the funds
despite a mandate from Congress to
consider all communities.
Led by Hope Mills in Cumberland
County, towns joining in the suit are
Chadboum and Tabor City in Columbus
County; Stedman in Cumberland County;
Si. Pauls. Pembroke and maxion in
Robeson County; and Carolina Beach in
New Hanover County.
A hearing will have to be held within lO
days to determine if a federal judge will
grant the injunction to prevent distribution
of the job funds.
Officials of small towns throughout the
nation reportedly have been upset over the
distribution by the Economic Development
Administration (EDA) of the special job
funds since 7th District Rep. Charles Rose
of Fayetteville discovered last month they
lad not been considered for funding.
According to Renny W. Deese, an
attorney assistingRose in preparation of the
suit, other towns across the nation are
preparing similar suits.
The towns are claiming the EDA erred in
calculation of the grants.
It was Rose’s policy group on computers
that first uncovered the questionable
distribution of the funds.
Earlier Rose indicated that hearings may
be held by the House Public Works
Committee into how the money was
distributed.
The towns are claiming that the EDA
inserted zeros when it could not find
employment information on a community,
thus knocking it out of consideration for the
funds,
EDA officials have admitted they made a
conscious choice to use U.S, Bureau of
Labor Statistics data and not local or state
employment agency information.
Named as defendants in the case will be
Secretary of Commerce Juanita Kreps,
Secretary of Treasury W. Michael
Blumenthal and several EDA officials
including Robert Hall, who heads the
agency.
“We are claiming that the EDA did not
follow the mandate of Congress," Deese
said.
He said local and state agencies had the
population and employment information
the EDA needed, and Congress said the
EDA had to use all data available,
regardless of the size of the community.
Deese emphasized that the towns are
seeking the funds available in the program,
and are not trying to stop the program in the
three counties.
Rose, who urged the communities to sue
in an effort to receive the job funds, said he
is disappointed the towns have been forced
to take the matter to the courts.
“I sincerely regret that this result has been
necessary. 1 was very hopeful that we could
have solved their problems through
negotiating with the EDA but this proved
impossible,’’ Rose said.
“I believe the communities are taking the ^
right action and I will certainly cooperate \
with them in any way I can,’’ he added.
Earlier, Rose said he received charges that
unident ifiied congressmen brought
pressure on the EDA to release fund
authorizations based on the incomplete or
inaccurate data in order to impress voters
with the distribution of the grants prior to a
primary election.
PSU’S GENE WARREN WINS I2TH
NATIONAL SPORTS BROCHURE AWARD
District 29, which includes 11
universities and colleges in North
Carolina and Virginia.
Pembroke State University’s
1977 spring .sports brochure,
written and edited by Gene
Warren, the school’s public
information director, has won
fourth place nationally in the
National Association of
Intercollegiate athletics brochure
competition.
This is the 12th national sports
brochure award that Warren has
won in his nine years at PSU.
Warren's brochure was the only
one in North Carolina so
honored. Other brochures
honored were from schools
inLouisiana, Arkansas, West
Virginia, Ohio and Nebraska.
A native of Wilmington and a
graduate of both
UNC-Wilmington and the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Warren has served
for the last eight years as
publicity chairman of NAIA
A former sports writer for 13
1/2 years with the Greensboro
Dally News, Warren has won
two national writing awards and a
number of state awards. He is a
former president of the National
Collegiate Baseball Writers
Association.
Warren has served as a member
of the Board of Directors of the
Biblical Recorder, North
Carolina Baptist weekly
publication. He also serves as a
deacon and Sunday School
department director of First
Baptist Church in Lumberton.
He is married to the former
Sharon Newnam of Greensboro.
They have two son: Gene, Jr. a
student at PSU and Reed, vice
president of the student body at
East Carolina University.
^ I
Gene Warren
Harper’s Page Presented To ‘Strike at the Wind!’
9 ^
Dj^Frir‘^r''Krn‘hM'^h7s‘tTfe*p”m''K^^^ Km Maynor, Executive Director of Lumbee Regional
r. Eric C. Krohne, haiHina an original page, given by Dr. Krohne to “Strike at the Wind!’’
^velopment A^iatiom ey p^gg shows wood engravings of Lumbee folk hero, Henry
from an 1872'Har^r s . J, ju. wind!” which shows near Pembroke, is the story of the Lumbee
Berry Lowrie and his gang. Strike at me v* mu
Indians and Lowrie.
Melton
Lowry Has
Special Ties
With Henry
Berry
Lowrie
Melton Lowry has a challenging
role in the outdoor drama,
“Strike at me V/ind!’’ Not only
does the Pembroke native portray
the most controversial outlaw in
North Carolina’s history, but the
outlaw is also Lowry’s ancestor.
The 26 year-old Lumbee
Indian, a professional
journeyman pipefitter, attended
the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro as a
pre-engineering student on
scholarship. Each Wednesday
through Saturday however, he
brings to life the saga of Lumbee
folk hero, Henry Berry Lowrie.
Called outlaw by some and hero
by others, the Lumbee Robin
Hood figure roamed this large
rural county in Southeastern
North Carolina from 1864-1874.
Seeking revenge for the murders
of his father and brother by the
Confederacy. Lowrie and his
tri-racial band held Robeson
County in a grip of terror. Never
brought to trial, the swamp
outlaw disappeared with a bounty
of $30,000 dollars on his head
never to be seen again. His
actions however, had a profound
effect on state politicians,
bringing the vote to all citizens of
North Carolina. His story and the
story of the Lumbee Indians are
told near Pembroke in Randolph
Umberger’s outdoor drama,
"Strike at the Wind!"
Chosen from auditions of local
and state talent, the young Indian
man even physically resembles
his famed ancestor right down to
the heavy dark beard. The main
difference is that the modem day
outlaw does not carry the I(X)
pounds of weaponry that his
predecessor reputedly carried
over a century ago.
"I first became fascinated with
the tale of Henry Berry Lowrie,”
said Melton, "when my
grandfather Neil brought a home
supposed to have been built by
the outlaws. When I was small,
I’d find coins under the house and
my grandfather said it was money
dropped by the outlaws when
they were counting it.”
Henry Berry Lowrie was
married to Rhoda Strong, "the
prettiest girl in Pembroke.”
Hope St. Pierre is returning for
her second season as the wife of
the swamp outlaw. Also a
Pembroke native, she is 26 years
old. According to Melton, the
reason for the difference in name
spelling between “Lowrie” and
"Lowry” is that immediately
after the outlaw’s reign of
robberies, people were ostracized
Continued on Page 4
"Strike at the Wind!” has received an
original page from the Mar. 30. 1872
Harper’s Magazine which features the
characters Henry Berry Lowrie and his
gang. The • well-preserved page was
donated by Dr. Eric Krohne of
Jacksonville, N.C.
Dr. Krohne and his wife Pam are antique
-i collectors and enjoy themes which deal
.• with North Carolina history. They found
the page, which contains wood engravings
done by a Harper’s reporter in 1872, with a
dealer several years ago. Dr. Krohne said
there were probably other pages in
circulation from the article but they were
most valuable in North Carolina, where the
action took place.
Dr. Krohne, a doctor in general
psychotherapy, hypnosis, marriage, family
and sexual counseling, teamed about
“Strike at the Wind!” through a television
advertisement. When he found out the
drama wa.s the story of Lowrie and the
Lumbee Indians, he wanted to donate the
page to the drama.
The Harper's page will be preserved by
the North Carolina Dept, of Archives and
History in Raleigh. Then "Strike at the
Wind!” is going to donate the mounted
page to the Native American Resource
Center and Museum to be located in the
renovated Old Main building on the
campus of Pembroke State University.
people
and places
and things
REP. ROSE’S MOBILE SCHEDULE
Congressman Charlie Rose, D-NC.
announced the Seventh Congressional
District Mobil Office schedule for August
1977.
Rip Collins, Congressman Rose’s
administrative assistant and representative
in the district, announced that the mobile
office will be parked as close as possible to
each post office.
Robeson County
August 13, Saturday: Lumberton, Biggs
Park Shopping Center 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
August 17, Wednesday; Pembroke Post
Office, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. August 18,
Thursday: Rowland Post Office. lOa.m. to
3 p.m. August 26, Friday: Lumberton,
Biggs Park Shopping Center 10 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Cumberland County
August 19, Friday: Hope Mills Post Office,
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Hoke County
August 12, Friday: Raeford Post Office, 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. August 25, Thursday:
i.m. to 3 p.m.
Raeford Post Office,
FmHA STUDIES
DROUGHT IMPACT
Crop and livestock conditions in drought
stricken areas of North Carolina are
presently being reviewed by members of
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Emergency Boards to determine disaster
assistance needs of area farmers. The
Farmers Home Administration, USDA’s
credit agency, will assist in determining
counties in the state where serious crop and
livestock losses are occurring because of
the prolonged dry weather, according to
James T. Johnson, FmHA State Director.
Johnson stated that FmHA will make its
Emergency loan program available
immediately in counties that are designated
natural disaster areas by the Secretary of
Agriculture, or otherwise declared eligible
for the program. Designations are
considered when , the Secretary of
Agriculture receives requests from the
Governor of North Carolina. The program
will make low interest loans available to
help cover eligible farmers’ losses and
other parts of the program will allow loans
for annual production expenses and to
make adjustments that are needed to
increase the soundness or efficiency of the
operation.
Interest rates on loans for actual losses are
five per cent. Other parts of the emergency
loan program carry a market rate of interest,
which is presently set at eight per cent.
Loans to cover actual losses are scheduled
for repayment consistent with the ability of
the farmer to pay and available security, up
to seven years. Other parts Y)f the loan are
similarly scheduled but can carry terms up
to forty years, if needed.
Applicants may be either individual
farmers. fanning partnerships or
corporations primarily engaged in farming.
All applicants must show that they cannot
obtain the needed credit from private
sources. Among other requirements,
applicants must operate in a county
declared a major or natural disaster and plan
to continue farming. Production losses
must be significant and not compensated by
insurance or otherwise, and physical losses
must likewise be uncompensated losses.
Johnson said that further information
concerning the Emergency loan program
and other loans available can be obtained at
local Farmers Home Administration county
offices which are listed under U.S.
Government (Agriculture) in. local
telephone directories.
SPECIAL
BULLETIN
A U.S. District Court judge Wednesday
agreed to stop, until a hearing next month,
distribution of federal public works job
funds in four Southeastern North Carlina
counties.
Judge John Larkins of Trenton issued the
temporary restraining order against the
Economic Development Administration
(EDA), which will prevent the distribution
of the funds in Cumberland. Robeson,
Columbus and New Hanover counties until
a hearing set for Aug. 1, according to
lawyer Robert Pope.
The logo pictured will be considered for
adoption at the quarterly Boardof Directors
meeting of the Robeson County Church and
Community Center, Inc. The meeting will
be held Thursday, July 28. at 5 p.m. at the
Chestnut Street United Methodist Church.
Guest speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Joseph
Bethea, formerly professor of Black
Studies at Duke Divinity School and now
District Superintendent of Rockingham
District of the United Methodist Church.
TWINS ARRIVE
Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Locklear of the
Prospect Community announce the birth of
a daughter, Mary Beth, and a son, Matthew
Brock, on Wednesday, July 6th. at
Southeastern General Hosptial.
Lumberton.
Mrs. Locklear is the former Roxann
Oxendine, daughter of the late Leroy
Oxendine and Gertrude Oxendine
Locklear. Paternal grandparents are Mr.
and Mrs, Lewis Locklear of the Prospect
Community.
LREMC ACCELERATES
COLLECTION PROCEDURES
RED SPRINGS. N.C.-Lumbee River
Electric Membership Corporation
announced today that the cooperative will
accelerate its collection procedures
effective immediately.
According to general manager Deri J.
Hison, "the number of members who do
not pay their electric bills within ten days
after receipt of the bill is increasing
monthly. Delinquent accounts amounted to
over $280.0{K3 in June.”
Hinson continued by saying that the
accelerated program will hopefully reduce
the number of delinquent accounts, "and
we want to encourage each member to pay
their electric service bill within the ten days
allowed.” Those who do not, will be
subject to be disconnected without further
notice.
"Members who fail to pay their bill when
received." he said, "regardless of the
reason almost always find it doubly
difficult to pay for the electrical service if
the service is extended another month."
"In the past,” he continued, ".some
members were allowed more than the ten
days before disconnection, but this was due
in part to a lack of manpower necessary to
keep the cooperative's cut-off list
up-to-date. Because of this, we are going to
use construction and maintenance
employees until the list is at a manageable
level.”
“Members who pay their bills on time
will not be effected by the accelerated
collection procedure. Members with
extreme hardships will be worked with on
an individual basis,” he said.
LREMC TO RECEIVE REFUND
FROM CAROLINA POWER &
LIGHT CO.
RED SPRINGS. N.C.-Lumbee River
Electric Membership Corp. manager Deri
J. Hinson stated today that “supposedly
LREMC wilt receive a sizeable refund from
Carolina Power and Light Co. on a
wholesale rate settlement which dates back
to January. 1975, but we have received no
official word from the Federal Power
Commission concerning a refund on the
CP&L overcharge.”
When CP&L was allowed to put the
wholesale increase into effect in January,
1975, LREMC did not increase its retail
rates enough! to compensate for ihe
increased costs, he said. Therefore, when a
refund is made by CP&L, it will have to be
used to offset an operating deficit for the
year 1975.