PUBLISHED FCH THURSDAY
W THE CAROLINA INDIANVOICE fg
Dedicated To "He Best In All Of Us
*
Volume 7 number 11 Pembroke, nc thursdav|iarch 15,1979 15? per copy
A FRONT PAGE EDITOHAL EXPRESSION
"As We See It" concerning the
Parnell-Herndon-Parkton-St. Pauls debacle
or ...Did you know Sen. SAM NOBLE'S WIFE'S
name is reportedly on the petition too?
Every once In a while an issue comes along that demands a choosing up
of sides. One Is either on that side or on this side. The new proposal to
annex the Parkton-Oak Ridge School Attendance Areas to the St Pauls
City School System is that kind of issue. It's choosing up time.
Progressive minded people cannot afford to allow David Parnell and Bill
Herndon to succeed In this effort. We simply cannot afford their
shenanigans.
We want to tell ft Just like we see It. We hope our editorial view will afford
some insight Into a very devious and subtle plot that is not easily
understood by many of us. Many folk in Robeson County have been
playing racial games for many years. Some of us are Just now becoming
aware of racial politics and how to spot tt when It rears its ugly head.
In this editorial we shall attempt to clarify the Issues so that our citizens -
Red, Black and White - can have some understanding of a very
complicated matter that threatens the educational well being of all our
children.
Some background...
The issue arose when a group of predominately white persons in and
around the Town of Parkton - oetensibly led by Tim Herndon but In reality
led by St. Pauls County Commissioner Bill Herndon, the father of Tim, and
State Representative David Parnell, a Parkton resident - sought ways in
which to have Parkton School annexed to the St. Pauls City School
System.
Initially the effort did not receive much success since they were rebuffed
by the St Pauls Board; however, certain events and realizations have
occurred recently until the St. Pauls Board is now actively championing
such an annexation.
The support Of the St Pauls Board seme with the iseWaaUun that even
with bond monies St Pauls would not be able to bulkf a new high school
within their district given the preeent size of. their school system.
Furthermore, given the recent policy of the State Board qf Education of
requiring state approval of local building plans with a view towards how
those new buildings would function In a merged county-wide system, the
St. Paula Board realized that the plans of the County School Board in the
northern part of the county will forever doom their efforts to build a new
high school at St. Pauls to failure; therefore, the St. Pauls Board figured
that by annexing Parkton they could foil the county plan, thereby insuring
state approval of their new high school to be locate within St. Pauls.
Since this realization, the St. Pauls Board has b ;ome the ardent
champion of the Herndon-Parnell effort; In fact, the torney for the St.
Pauls Board, Paul Canady, reportedly drafted the i tit Ion which was
presented to the Robeson County Board.
Tim Herndon
Seemingly, the point man for the effort, before eve Is forced the real
leaders Into the open, iq Tim Herndon, the son o St. Pauls County
Commissioner Bill Herndon; both father and son sre r ildants of Parkton
Township. It should be noted that Tim Herndon has ng advocated the
annexation, and In fact his children do not even attend he public schools,
they being enrolled In what he termed the Robeson Co My "Country" Day
School; the school is an almost totally white private s< ool located In Red
Springs. With the support of the white controlled St. P >ls Board and with
the white Parkton opposition to consolidation with a pi domlnately Indian
school, Tim Herndon and company finally saw their c a nee to effectuate
their annexation aims. (It was he who supervised tf > gathering of the
signatures and who nervously presented the petitic i to the Robeson
County Board.)
Bill Herndon
This man is the father of Tim Herndon and was abpoined to fill the
vacancy of the late Doug Wellington on the Robesob County Board of
Commissioners to represent Parkton, St. Pauls, Saddletree and West
Howellsvllle townships. Bill Herndon s role in the effortfas to confuse the
issue so as to gain the support of the Magnolia area forthe annexation by
telling them. that if they lost tlbeir school that the
community would in his words "dry up." In order to effectuate the
Herndon-Parnell nefarious aims, Bill Herndon deviously and grossly
misstated the position of the county board of education at a community
meeting at Magnolia School recently. In fact, he has been going from
door-to-door In the Indian community of Saddletree la order to sell his
damaged goods. The scenario is like Hollywood at Its worst; Here is a
ho Is trying to do exactly what he Is warning the Indians against by seeking
to close the high school at Parkton via an annexation with St. Pauls I
Apparently Mr. Herndon is not worried about his own community "drying
up," and again maybe it does not matter as his grandchildren are
attending a white private school. Mr. Herndon's active support of the
annexation effort has put him at odds with most of the Black people in the
Parkton area, including in particular David Green, a Black sitting on the
county board of education.
David Parnell
David Parnell is white, a member of the House of Representatives, and a
resident of Parkton Township. He supported the movement clandestinely
until it appeared that the county school board would not act favorably on
the group's petition; since that time he has been forced into the open.
According to Informed sources, Rep. Parnell has dusted off s bill which he
had already had drafted some time ago in preparation for such an
eventuality and filed the legislation in the State House this past Friday.
Apparently Mr. Parnell was genuinely surprised when Rep. Horace
Locklear didn't support his bill to annex Parkton to St. Pauls since he
figured that Herndon's efforts In Saddletree would force him to do so;
however, Rep. Locklear, much to his credit, stated that his supporters in
the county were opposed to any such annexation legislation. Apparently,
. Mr. Locklear realizes that his votes In the predominately white city
precincts were few and far between in the last election.
White Flight
The issue here is quite clear: the white oriented Parkton group is seeking
to escape the jurisdiction of the majority Indian-Black county board of
education. In the words of Rep. David Parnell, they can "relate better" to
the white-controlled St. Pauls Board of Education. Make no mistake about
it; if the David Parnell-Bill Herndon effort is successful, then similar efforts
will shortly follow in other areas such as LlttlefMd and OrrunuThe end
result will be the destruction of the hard-earned victory of double-voting
as nothing will be left of the old county school system except a shell.
The Old Double Standard
Can any Indian forget the near violence which occurred around Prospect
School in 1970 as a result of the hundreds of Indian school children
trapped within the city school districts being forced to abandon their
historic schools in favor of the white-controlled city schools? Whet relief
was afforded these Indian people at that time? Meanwhile, white people to
the north and west of the City of Lumberton petitioned the legislature
successfully for inclusion within the Lumberton City Schools in order to
enttbren from hiving to attend preeomeWeiy Indian sohpole.
Today, some hta* years War, are we to sMow the same scenario to be
replayed? Given me elimination of double-voting and Indian-Black control
of the county school board, are we to now allow such annexqttffe to
reoccur? If our legislators can afford relief to the white resIdKts of
Parkton, then can they not also afford relief to the Indian residenta of
Oxendine, Prospect, Rennert, Shannon, South St. Pauls, and Fairgrove?
We all know that these Indian people would prefer being within the county
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
"STRIKE AT THE WIND"
TO HOLD AUDITIONS
Local additions for the 1979 season
of "Strike at the Wind!" have been set
for 10 a.m. on March 24th and 2 p.m. on
March 25 at the Lakeside Amphitheatre
on the grounds of the Riverside Country
Gub near Pembroke. In case of rain,
auditions will be held in Moore Hall on
the Pembroke State University Campus.
Director David Ariail will be casting
all roles and hopes that members of last
year's cast and new aspiranta will turn
out. Dancers, singers, and actors are
needed.
Some changes in the production are
scheduled including the addition of
more music by composer Willie Lowry.
Mr. Ariail is also seeking qualified
technicians and other backstage per
sonnel. Those wishing to apply for those
jobs should send a resume to "Strike at
the Wind!". P.O. Box 1059. Pembroke,
NC 28372.
GRACE GOSPEL SINGERS J
TO PERFORM
The Grace Gospel Singers of the
Grace Baptist Church of Gastonia, NC
will be the featured singers on Sunday,
March 18. at 2:30 p.m. at the Rock of
Bethlehem Church. The pastor is Rev.
J.W. Campbell and extends a cordial
invitation to everyone to attend.
LIONS CLUB BANQUET PLANNED
The Pembroke Lions Gub will hold
their 17th Annual Charter Night-Ladies
Night Banquet Monday, March 19. at
the Town and Country Restaurant in
Pembroke. The Lion of the Year w?l be
chosen and ten year tonflmsous - umiw
ship pins will be pussiitsa.
The keynote speaker wit be Seakey J
W. Robinson who is the pest district . .
governor. 31-F, of the WbMeviHe Lions
Gub. Jimmy Edmund who is the district
governor, 31-F, of the Luiabutea Uoas
Gub will be present for the occasion.
PSU's Pinchbeck Maintenance
Building Dedicated Today
Dedication ceremonies for the new Walter
J. Pinchbeck Maintenance Building were
held today on the PS U Campus.
Pinchbeck, one of Pembroke's most
famous citizens, died in 1977 after a long
and illustrious scouting career, and as a
member of the PSU maintenance
department (many years as superintendent)
for 28 years.
Members of the Pinchbeck family were
present during the impressive ceremonies
which included a presentation of a portrait
of Pinchbeck on behalf of the family which
will hang in the building in his honor.
More (including photos) next week.
Jaycee Efforts Successful
Lumberton-The Eagle Claw Jaycees
report a succesful car wash and raffle. The
institutional chapter chose its name from
the Eagle Claw Rod Reel donated by Jim
Freeman of Freeman Sporting Goods in
Pembroke for the raffle. Winner was the
Prospect Jaycee Chapter. Their winning
ticket was #448.
President of the Eagle Claw Jaycees
Dellon Scott termed it "successful" and
said, "we wish to thank everyone who took
part in our raffle, especially JimFreemar
who donated the rod and reel. It was quite
successful and we raised enough money to
pay our membership dues."
And in spite of the vacuum cleaner going
on the blink, the members reported a
successful car wash last Saturday. At last
count they washed and cleaned 17 cars.
The institutional chapter is composed of
inmates of the l.umberton Correctional
Center. They were sponsored by the
i Fairgrove Jaycees.
***** HiHmmWmZm
S
? ?
BOARD DENIES
HERNDON PETITION
Mr. Willie McCormick, a citizen from
the St. Pauls area, appeared before the
Robeson County Board of Education on
Tuesday. Said he, "I am here to address
consolidation from the view point of St.
Pauls...We desire consolidation too...
We are not opposing consolidation....
We desire a better school system and
this is the only way we can get a better
school system. (Referring to merging
Parkton School attendance area with
the St. Pauls City System).
McCormick continued to urge the
board to vote to release parkton. Said he
"This is a Robeson County problem.
You have an opportunity to settle it in
Robeson..."
The board heard him out before Supt.
Purnell Swett read alengthy statement of
the board's position on the matter. (See
that statement in its entirety on page 2
of this issue).
The board also adopted a form to be
used for teacher aide evaluation. The
form was presented by Mr. Donald A.
Bonner, assistant superintendent.
They approved the superintendent's
recommendation to include all the
elementary schools in the fluoride
mouthrinse program now exisiting in
only 7 schools. They heard Mr. Fred
Ellis discuss a problem with his son's
school bus being revoked by the
principal. Mr.Dewey Nye. No action
was taken on the matter.
Mr. Woodmw i)ul . Chairman of
the Title IV Part A. Parent Committee.
made a recommendation concerning the
IEA bus issue which had been studied
by a committee. Dial stated the
committee's recommendation that the
bus be removed from impoundment
immediately and be used by the entire
county through the Indian Education
Office. The board adopted his recom
mendation and the buses officially
become a part of the centralized Indian
Education Program. .
Mrs. Shirley Britt reported on a
Committee relative to the new East
Robeson Primary School. The commit
tee was composed of Mrs. Britt and a
member of the advisory councils of both
Smiths and Allenton Schools. Mrs. Britt
reported that the committee did not
approve of the name and wished the
new school to be called Allenton-Smiths
ilementarvSchool. To this the superin
tendent replied, "I recommend that you
take this under advisement...,1 have a
problem with that name as both Smiths
and Allenton campus still exist...."
And Chairman Ralph Hunt said: "It
is the policy of this board when requests
are presented to answer them at the
next meeting." And they took no
further action on the matter.
On motion by Mrs. Lillian Faye
Locklear, seconded by Major David
Green, the board unanimously
renewed Supt. Swett's contract for four
years. And Swett responded: "1 really
appreciate this...Any time you feel I'm
not concerned for children, you let me
know....I will continue to try and do a
good job for you..."
PSU vs VIRGINIA
BASEBALL RAINED
OUT YESTERDAY
RESCHEDULED AS
DOUBLEHEADER
SUNDAY ON PSU
DIAMOND
$
DEEP BRANCH PAGEANT PUNNED
Dmp Branch School will ?ponfr a
pageant an PrMny, March IB, 1919 at
71JO p.m. In the echool aedttorlum.
Cnnteetant* arc between grade* k-7.
The theme wM be "Spring I* Awaken
tog."
9 ?
Prtee wM be S3 Mr adetta and Bl far
Voters
Approve
School Bond
Issue
Robeson County-Said a political wag,
"Eighty-five percent of the voters in
Robeson County don't care which way
the wind blows because only fifteen
percent of them came out to vote on a
$16 million school bond issue that might
raise our taxes..."
Although Robeson County has more
ihan 42,000 voters, few of them showed
up to express an opinion on the
proposed and now official $16 million
school bond issue. Elections chair
person, Elizabeth Morton, estimated
that 15 percent of the registered voters
in the county actually exercised their
right to vote on the matter.
Voting in favor of the matter were
3,504 voters; against were 2,310.
Some random samplings show some
interesting votes. For instance, Maxton
voted overwhtlmingly in favor of the
measure. 172 voted "yes" and only 2
voted against the measure. The mea
sure also received heavy votes in
Lumberton's Precinct #1 and in Pem
broke. Said a political observer, "It's
probably the first and last time in
history that Lumberton #1 and Pem
broke will be for the same thing."
Lumberton # 1 voted 508 in favor and
164 against. Pembroke voted 347
"Yes" votes and 100 against.
Elections were in and tallied by 9:00
p.m.
. - Since they might be affected by the
vote it is interesting that Partton only
voted 43 "yes" and 98 "no." Saddle
tree of which Magnolia School is a part
also voted In an interesting pattern.
They voted 59 in favor and 93 against.
Said Robeson County School Super
indent Purnell Swell, "It's a good day
for education in Robeson County, ft
shows that those who take the time to
vote on matters af interest la our
children see considerate in their deNbe
rations."
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CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
TO MEET TONIGHT
The Pembroke Chamber of Com
merce and Agriculture will meet
tonight, March 15th at 7:30 in the Town
Hall. This will be an important meeting
as we were have a report of the
Nominating Committee and proceed to
elect officers for the coming year.
The attendance lately has been very
good and; they hope everyone not only
make a special effort to be at this
meeting, but also bring along a
prospective member. The Chamber can
only be as strong as we make it by
increasing our membership and partici
pating in the ptojects of the chamber.
Submitted by J.T. Peal
ROBESON NATIVES MAKE
ALL STAR TEAM
Annie Graham, a junior at Rowland
High School, and Regtna Miller, a
junior at Parkton High School, were
named yesterday aa members of the
Raleigh News and Observer's 1979
Class I-A All-East Girls Basketball
Team. Joining Graham and Miller on
the squad were Sheila Ford (Clarkton),
Martha Gibbs (Belhaven) and Lynda
Nelson (Belhaven).
WEEKEND REVIVAL PLANNED
A weekend revival is planned for
Eastside Church of God In Payetteville
beginning tonight, March IS, at 7:30
p.m. The pastor, Rev. C.C. AUsn, it.
cordially invitee the public to attend.
Quest speaker tonight (Thursday) win
bs the Rev, SteMOrd Lee Smith of the
Riverside Cherch of Ood in Lamhstten.
Ouest epeeher oa Friday night wti he
the Rev. Jasfe Hunt, aaeter ef the
Pembroke Church of Ood On Saturday
night *e speaker w? he Rev. CCf.
Afleu.
J
IN THE ARMED FORCES
Master Sgt. Andrew L. Hammonds
whose wife. Annie, lives at 1106
Efstera Ave. NE Washington, DC
recently was presented his second
award of the Amry Commendation
Medal at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The medal was awarded for meritori
ous service. Such service can be over an
extended period of time or for outstan
ding achievement in a single situation.
In either case, the recipient must have
demonstrated skills and dedication
for above average
Hammonds received the award while
assigned as an operations sergeant with /*
the 501st Signal Battalion at Fort
Campbell, Ky. He entered the Army to
February 1953. He is a 19S1 graduate of
J.H. Hays wood, Lumberton, NC Hit
father, Jake Hammonds, lives on Route
7, Lumberton.
ART CONTEST FOR AMERICAN
INDIANS FAIT OF CONFERENCE
' To celebrate North CaroRna Native
American art, the North CeioMaa
Commission of Indian Attain wit
sponsor an art conteat Mr American
Indians of all ages as part of thuMpi Jj
Annual Indian Unity Conference In be
held March 29-31 to Feyettevllto.
Entries may Include drawings, paint
to|a> or etchings to ftot ]
end' ?vie*
on March JO. Wtoutog gaMaa
nssliaaaehprtae auduHR b*