THE CAROLINA INDIAN^dlCE IVH m State Normal School I _ .... . .. _ _ ut I I forhdlaos Sim e 1972 I ?mlomg Coiraroimcalttjr Brftgrt Jn ^ Cri-Jlarial getting I ?- ??* 1075 $rabrakc, C. 28372 ?913 521"2826 J VOLUME 11 NUMBER 11 250 PE* COPY THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1883 * LK ATTORNIES FIRED AND HIRED IN AFTERMATH OF LREMC LEGAL DEBACLES replaced with Chapel Hill law firm for corporate affairs, Barry Nakell continues in legal fight in courts Lwbeitoa?Superior Court Judge D.B. Herring claimed "I have never seen such corporate confusion in my years on the bench" as he upheld a restraining order with effectively bars Lumbee River Electric Membership Corporation Board of Directors from hiring a general manager. The action was brought by a group calling itself the LREMC Action Group which is seemingly led by a spokesman named Carl Branch. The action by Herring also seemed to approve a settlement reached by the LREMC directors and the action group's attornies which gave the dissidents a special meeting they have asked for April 28 if they are able to secure the required 10% of the membership's signatures on a circulating petition. The settlement specifically said the special meeting could be called anywhere eaqaptPem broke, the spiritual and economic center of the Indian community. Herring made his decision following a two hour hearing in Robeson County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon in which he heard evidence that a number of directors who had signed the interim agreement on Friday now wished to change their minds and withdraw from the settlement which seems favorable on the side of the dissidents, even barring Pembroke as a possible site for the special meeting. Horace Stacy, attorney for the action group and Bill Crisp, a member of a Raleigh law firm that has represented LREMC for a number of years, announced the settlement to Herring but they were in for a surprise. Chapel Hill attorney Barry Nakell, a' special friend of Lumbee Indians because of his involvement in the fight to break double voting in Robeson County in the mid 70's announced that he represented the Cooperative in the legal dispute before the court. Nakell based his opinion on a recent motion passed by the LREMC board of directors which gave Nakell the right to represent the Cooperative if legal action was required concerning the petition and attempt to have a special meeting by the dissidents. Crisp, who was disavowed by a majority erf board members at the court hearing, as indicated by Nakell, was fired later in the afternoon at a meeting of the board of directors following the court hearing. Said a director who wished to remain anonymous, "Crisp does not represent me and has never done so...as you can see by the court action (especially the part about not allowing Pembroke to be a possible site for a special meeting) Crisp did not have the board of directors' best interest at heart." According to administrative sources the dismissal of Crisp was done on a 7-3-2 vote with Rev. Elias Rogers, Timothy Strickland, Gus Bullard, Ronald Hammonds, Lacy Cummings, Harold Dean Brewer and Alton Dudley voting to fire Crisp. Voting to retain his services were, according to information received by this writer. Bill James Brewington, J.W. Hunt and Davis K. Parker, the only white on the board. Reportedly abstain ing were Marciea Lowery and Bradford Oxendioe. The directors voted to retain Barry Nakell to represent them in legal action they are presently embroiled in, and then voted to hire a Chapel Hill law firm with Steve Bernholz as principal attorney, to replace Crisp and his law firm. AND IN OTHER MATTERS CONCERNING LUMBEE RIVER EMC... Ronnie Hunt, the interim general manager also held a press conference Tuesday afternoon essentially begging all parties to let the Cooperative get back to its work of providing electric service to some 20,000 consumers in a four county -area encompassing parts of Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland Coun ties. Hunt also, in response to questions from the press, noted that more than S20.000 had been spent in response to the LREMC Action Group's move to replace the 12 directors. NEW COUNSEL EXPECTED TO APPEAL RULING BY HERRING... Barry Nakell informed Judge Her ring in the hearing Tuesday that a number of directors who had signed the interim agreement wished to withdraw from the agreement and inferred that they had signed the agreement because Bill Crisp had intimidated them with implicit threats that Joe Freeman Britt, the D.A. might bring criminal charges against them because some of them had reportedly been late in paying their light bills in the past, in apparent violation of corporate by-laws. Nakell also told the judge thai Crisp had also seemingly threatened him in a meeting of attornies and some of the board members who were present for the hearing during a recess. Crisp reportedly asked some of the board members if he had been unprofessional in his conduct, as they saw it. Some of the board members reportedly were in the process of answering "yes" when they were quieted by Nakell. Crisp then said, according to testimony by Nakell in open court, that "I cannot say the same thing about you (Nakell) and I will respond to the appropriate parties," or words to that effect. Herring took no action when informed of Crisp's implied threat. Judge Herring said he was bound by the interim agreement that was made at a duly called meeting of the directors an