i / ft ? '-ii -? * "fry, . ' 'v": ? ' H H.U* ?| - ? - ? , o o o I PUBLISHED EACH THURSDAY ?5 II Ebs^i raTHE CAROLINA INDIAN VOIC % ? "Building Communicative Bridges I VOIXJME 1\NUMBERt9 2&c PER COPY " :J" %. 7TWRSDAY^nrvir. 1986 ? A i&EyV. Will Five Go Into One ? Merger Possibilities In Robeson County EDITOR'S NOTE This is the seventh in a series of articles about school merger possibilities in Robeson County. Will five go into one I History shouts "No!" We hope history mill be proven wrong. The series of articles was written by Bruce Barton, editor of this newspaper. THE (JAKUUNA INDIAN VOICE heralded the news, of course, but the matter lay dormant until 1981 when the issue was revived by the North Robeson Concerned Parents-the organization op posed the annexations as they felt that students were being bussed out of their area who could be utilized to support a more comprehen sive school in the north. The group contrasted curriculum poor Magnolia with Lum berton Senior High. The organization solicited and received the assitance of Lumbee River Legal Services and the American Civil liberties Union in bringing litigation attacking the an nexations. Although a stran ge decision was rendered by the local federal court, con sisting of a three-judge panel, including Robeson native Earl Britt, the plain tiffs prevailed in their direct appeal to the United States Supreme Court Thus, the residents of the annexed areas may no longer serve on the Lumberton School Board of wr in- any electio.i for its members. The North Carolina Attorney General subsequently ruled that the county may no longer levy the supplemental school tax upon property within the annexed areas, thus, putting a severe financial strain on the city schools. Lumberton first tried to resolve the matter politically with the Federal Attorney General; utilizing the ser vices of W. Osborne Lee,Jr., a bombastic, local attorney who ironically represented the residents of these areas when they petitioned for inclusion into the city school district Although Attorney Lee struggled mightily and stalked the corridors of power in the nation's capitol with various politicians, such as Republican Ed Johnson and Conservative Tom Gibson, the federal authori ties declined, the invitation offered by the local federal -ourt to rescind their earlier objection. From what I have been able to gather, the plaintiffs and their legal representatives seemingly overwhelmed "Obbie" Lee and his political allies with masses of data and cogent argument Having paid Mr. Lee a small fortune to save the day and seeing him seemingly fail so miserably and ungra ciously, the Lumberton school authorities accepted the suggestion of then Sen ator Sam Noble and others to sit down and talk about resolving what had become a nightmare. From what I have been able to gather, a series of private meetings were held involving the plaintiffs and represen tatives of the Lumberton and county boards of education. The county schools were represented at the time by Supt Purnell Swett, the Chairman David Green, and interestingly enough. Dexter Brooks, who was responsible for first exposing the annex ations and who then served as attorney for the county school board. The Lumber ton Schools were represent ed by Supt Gilbert Carroll, then Chairman A1 Kahn and regularly-retained counsel John Wishart Campbell. Noticeably absent from the discussions was the appar ently now discredited "Ob bie" Lee. At first many suggested that Liimberton attempt to 1 -*i ? ??.?*?--- T- : . .. soive ins prooicBi oj annex ing even more county terri tory. Even Rep. David Par nell (now state senator) pledged his support to such legislation; however, then Senator Sam Noble refused to go along saying that the matter should be resolved through negotiation among all concerned parties. Tlie county school board also served notice that it would strongly oppose any further annexation of its territory. Hie threat was given even greater substan ce by the presence of Dexter Brooks whose legal talent and knowledge of voting law made him a formidable adversary. Interestingly enough. Brooks is also the founding father and chair man of the Board of Lumbee River Legal Services and a member of the Civil Liber ties Union. As I understand it, once the various personalities un derstood the positions of the other parties, an amic able solution was reached. The plaintiffs agreed to not press any further litigation if the Clybourn Pines-Country Club area was de-annexed from the Lumberton City School District The City Board of Education agreed and, with the approval of the county school board, the compromise was submitted to the local legislators for the introduction of enabling legislation. Then Senator Noble had the courage not to be swayed initially by the frenzied crowd and insisted that the parties try to resolve the problem through negoti ations rather than through biased, one-sided legisla tion. Indian people were represented by such as Purnell Swett and Dexter Brooks who it seems can hold their own with the best of any race. Although Brooks has his detractors, they cannot validly criticize his abilities or the results of his activities, especially in edu cational matters. Most pro gressives were even proud of the Lumberton school au thorities who apparently ne gotiated the issue in good faith. It seems that Robeson is a better place for the experi ence. It demonstrates that redskins and palefaces can sit down and reason toget her. If they would only apply this method to other prob lems, the elimination of time smaller city school units will finally be realized for all Robesonians. Hie Clybourn Pines-Coun try Gub citizens residing in the affected area have been in the public eye since as the matter has moved through the halls of the general assembly in Raleigh, before the County Commissioners, and now the courts again. Serving as spokesman, mostly, has been Eric Pre vatte. Ironically, Prevatte has a business- Prevatte's Auto Parts-in Pembroke. Pembroke is considered by many as the economic and spiritual center of the Indian populace in Robeson Coun ty, the dominate race in the county schools. Hie irony is, as one Indian political wag put it at the time, "It's o.k. to sell Indians spark plus, as long as one doesn't have to go to school with them." Prevatte is now, of course, eloquently calling for one school sys tem. Delegation to the State 4-R Electric Congress 1986 State | j I ! CiMM M | : "?f1" O -I) Robeson County't delega tion to the State 4-H Heebie A Robeson County 4-H member ?u named second place territorial winner at the 39th annual State 4-H Hectric Congress July 7-9 at Chowan College, Murfieea boio. Doug Bernhardt, 106 W. 16th St, Lumberton, won the award in Carolina Power ? Congrats included [firm left) Cathy M. bowery, Bart . I and Light Company's terri torial district. He received a portable AM FM stereo with cassette recorder. * Others attending the con gress from Robeson County included Dong's brother Bert Bernhardt and Cathy M. Lowery, assistant exten sion agent, 4-H. Bernhardt and Dong Bern hardt with Aundria Hyer. They were Accompanied by Aundria Hyer, customer service representative for CPAL ~ CPftL provided the trips and the award and helped sponsor the congress. The event was conducted by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service. Features Three-Race Idecfe Designs For Bicentennial^ '%/'v Medallion Accepted '*1? ?>. ? ? ;? *1 , ' These are the detignt which will be used on the bicentennial medallions of Robeson County. The three races of this predominately tri-racial county are shown on the right, depicting [left to right] the Indian, white, and black races. A map of Robeson County, the largest of North Carolina'a 100 counties, is shoum on the left The medallions, which will cost $20, will be avail able for purchase before Christmas. by Gene Warren Hie designs for a comme morative medallion for the Robeson County Bicentenni al, whose celebration begins Jan. 6, 1987, were officially adopted by the county's Bicentennial Commission, meeting Tuesday night at the Ramada Inn in Lumber ton. One side of the medallion, which will be brass with gold tones, shows the profiles of the three major races, of Rob?#ort County: mdian, white and black. The faces on the medallions re left to right in that order. On the other side of the medallion is, a map of Robeson County. Hie design of the three faces will be used on not only the medallions, but also on T-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, etc., agreed the commission. These will pro bably be sold first as T-shirts to test their market appeal in the clothing area. The medallions are being produced by Helen Stone's Trophies and Awards Co. of Lumberton. One thousand are being ordered and will sell for $20 each. They will be placed on sale just before Christinas of this year. "If necessary, we can order more in January," said Hector Mac Lean, chairman of the Bicentennial Commis sion. Designing the three faces of three different races were members of the medals committee, made up of chairperson FVances Dietzel of Lumberton, Pete Cunning ham of Red Springs, and Carol Oxendine of Pembro ke. "Mr. Cunningham show ed the idea to some school children and they had input in the design," said Mrs. Dietzel. As other fund-raising pro jects for the Bicentennial, Mr. Dietzel suggested nee dlepoint with items sold by clubs or scouts plus tote bags with designs on them. It was announced that a special Robeson County Bi centennial Float, built by Robeson Technical College, will be ready by mid September or mid-October of this year. Riding on it will be three queens, each rep resenting the* three main races of Robeson County. The 8x20 float will b? entered in every parade in the county plus other major parades like Wilmington's N.C. Azalea Festival, Ra leigh, and Charlotte. The Indian queen of Robeson County was present at Tues ' day's meeting in the person of the newly crowned Miss Lumbee, Leshia Gail Rogers, a sophomore at PSU. A historical map of Robe son County is being prepar ed by the Heritage Commit tee, chaired by Henry McKinnon. "Historical Robeson, Inc., has met with a printer from Fayetteville and discussed having a 19x25 inch map on parch ment-type paper done in two colors," said McKinnon. "Only the main historical points will be illustrated." This committee is hoping to find a business sponsor for the maps so they can be given away. "The Geography Depart ment of PSU is to help with the topography," said Mc Kinnan. "Ellen McLean of Lumberton is assisting with the art work." McKinnon's committee is also hoping to borrow a portrait of William Tatham to exhibit in 1987 from the North Carolina Museum of History. "He was one of the founders of Lumberton," said McKinnon. The Cultural Resources Committee has produced a 41- page pamphlet entitled "Cultural Events in Robeson County," announced its chairman Bob Fisher. "These are being distribu ted through the library, the welcome wagon, and Evelyn Williamson," said Fisher. One thousand copies have be?fi printed and placed in branches of the Robeson County Public Library. Chairman MacLean sug gested bringing a Christmas program entitled "Dickens Christmas Carol'' from High Point to Lumberton's Caro lina Civic Center Dec. 9. 1986. "This would be a good kickoff to the Bicentennial," said MacLean. It was also suggested that a Homecoming Com mittee be formed to invite back home notable Robeson County natives who now live elsewhere. Mayor Coble Wilson said he wants to see a Bicenten nial Park become a reality in the downtown area of Lum berton near the old water plant. As part of Rowland's projections for the Bicenten nial, it was noted that Rowland native Julia McGirt who has performed on Broad way in "Dream Girls," might be brought home to an outdoor jazz and blues con cert in May at the ball park in Rowland. In August of '87, Rowland representa tives are projecting having vintage clothing and fashion presentation in their town. Gene Warren, chairman of the Publicity Committee, said that Betty Pait of the Lumberton Robeson Count Chamber of Commerce and Helen Moserof Maxton have met and made preliminary plans for a Robeson County Bicentennial color publica tion. "Ms. Pait said they wQl meet again next week on this important project," said Warren. Burt Dickison, director of "Industry on Parade" to be held Oct 12-18. 1986, at Robeson Technical College, distributed newly printed brochures about it They included words of congratu lations from William J. Bennett secretary of U.S. Department of Education. Next dinner meeting at the commission will be Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Ramada ' Inn. Cooper Elected Secretary Treasurer of Progressive Savings an . WINNERS OF GIFT CERTIFICATES AT HILL* S FOOD STORE, PEMBROKE Shown mm rmeont wmmin of gift ctrkficatoa at BM't Food Storm ?? Ptmbrok*. PmmyOaondimo [tM.OOeor tificatal- Pmggy Ortndma I$60.00\: mdPoUyB. Bakor \$100.00\ oftko tpoctid promotion {mm ywar) by BU't. 1%op mom Harvey Godueu, Jr. For tk* tecond year m ? mo, Godum it daubing at "Bam ry Berry Lovme" m ike pOpulut (jfONMI "JBHkt at Be Wbrdl" mora mprayrttt. WhOt m ifl>ii| mam fwr ten h the moor ektfjOB. ' E%sf