WHAT NEXT???
Gov. Jtai MarHa's chief of staff. PM Kir*.
had baaa provided to ths task fores which would
substantiate charfss of corruption in Robsson
County. Mr. Kirk stated ths task fores waa
disappointed in ths lack of rsapoaas but
understands some people may fear reprisals if
they come forward. He also acknowledged some
people with information wish immunity before
providing information.
Although the 18-page report has been issued,
Mr. Kirk said the task force remains intact and
ready to receive specifics of corruption and drug
dealing. He does remind the public that the task
force has no power to investigate but only to
receive information and pass it along to the U.S.
Attorney.
We have recently received a copy of this report
and hope to share some of it with you next week.
??*?*??????????????????????*?????????*?????
"Immediate necetrity make$ many thing*
convenient, uhich if continued would grow into
oppre*rions. Expedience and right are different
thing*."
?THOMAS PAINE
In an attempt to expedient. Sen. Dsvid Pamell
attempted to delete funds to create the second
judgeship in Robeson County. Parnell is locked in
a battle to insure Joe Freeman Britt is named the
senior resident judge. Sen. Parnell has introduced
a bill in the senate which would designate Joe
Freeman Britt as the senior judge when and if he
is elected in November. Rep. Dan Blue has
introduced a bill in the house which would allow
Gov. Jim Martin to decide who would be the
senior judge. Gov. Martin has promised to
appoint a minority to the second judgeship as a
result of a compromise worked out by Li. Gov.
Bob Jordan, the legislative delegation represent
ing Robeson County, and several concerned
citizens.
The senior resident judge has considerable
power and evidently Sen. Pamell wishes to insure
the power is controlled by the 'good ol' boy
network.' It is interesting to note that Sen.
Pamell, Rep. Hasty and Rep. Devane, all white,
support Joe Freeman Britt, While race might play
some role in all of this, there is even more to the
story.
Back when the superior court judgeship was
created, Joe Freeman Britt expressed his opinion
that the position was unnecessary. Even so, Britt
decided to run for the judgeship when it appeared
a minority might become judge. As we all know,
Britt lost the election to Julian T. Pierce, but
biMim at PUtm'i murder, Joe Free men Britt
became the Democratic nominee without
opposition, that to if you ignore the will of the
people at Robeaon County. A com promise allowed
for the creation at a second judgeship and BHtt
went on record as stating he thought it was, "a
joke." And since the senior superior court judge
will have a great deal of power Britt has been
working behind the scenes to insure he gets to
wield that power.
Both Sen. Parnell and Rep. DeVane have
indicated they made a commitment to Joe
Freeman Britt We fail to see how a single
individual merits such consideration. What about
our representative's oosnmitment to the people?
Our representatives shnild do what is best for the
people of Robeson County_ not what is best for Joe
Freeman Britt To do otherwise is to insure theii
political demise.
Some local observers seem to feel Gov. Martin
will shirk his responsibility in naming the senior
superior court judge by allowing both individuals
to be sworn in at the same time. Hiis would allow
current law to dictate who would be senior.
Seniority would be decided by age with the older
becoming the senior judge. We will give you three
guesses who would become the senior judge
under this scenario (Hint: His initials are JFBI)
We give Gov. Martin more credit than this. We
feel he has made a commitment to the people of
Robeson County and he will do what is best for the
county by naming his appointee as the senior
judge. We have observed Gov. Martin's actions in
the past and have noted the courage and
conviction to take decisive action. To use such a
ploy as to allow age to dictate seniority would not
only be uncharacteristic of Gov. Martin, it would
be a disservice to the citizens of Robeson County!
"h the progress of politics, as m the common
occurrences of life, we are not only apt to forget
the ground, we have travelled over, but frequently
neglect to gather up experience as we go."
THOMAS PAINE
Several groups, individuals, and boards,
claiming to represent the people, have made some
interesting decisions and proclamations. A short
review is in order.
???In response to the suggestion of a third party
candidate against Joe Freeman Britt for superior
court judge. Rev. Joy Johnson suggested, 'our
people are not sophisticated enought to split their
vote.' Seemingly, Rev. Johnson dismisses the
possibility of a third party candidate because of a
lack of confidence in the intelligence and power of
holding UMir hud. W* rajsct R?*. Johnson's
obawrttlon and the motiv* behind it We believe
in the ability of the people o( Robeson County. It*
the leader* we must watch and wonder about!
"The Lumbee River Electric Membership
Corporation (LREMC) will hold another election
July 12. LREMC recently loot a case in court
whereby LREMC violated its own rules in u
attempt to prevent the election of a candidate it
did not like. There is a struggle for power at
LREMC and in this struggle, the consumer* lose.
The cost of the new election and the cost of
litigation will in the long run, of course, be passed
on to the consumer. Such irresponsibility should
not be tolerated. Perhaps the board should
consider adjusting its own compensation until it
? repays the consumers for its highhandedness.
' ***The Lumbee Regional Development Associ
ation (LRDA) recently announced its annual
awards. While we understand the right of the
board to choose whom it wishes, we fail to
understand why Mr. John L Godwin or Mr.
Julian T. Pierce were not honored. We have seen
a change in LRDA and its willingness to take
decisive stands. Perhap's they need a name
change, especially since they chose to ignore
the works of Mr. Godwin and Mr. Pierce. Perhaps
they no longer need "Lumbee" in front of their
name. Perhaps LRDA has become a Regional
Development Association.'
???Many people were shocked by the actions of
our county commissioners in the recent budget
discussions. The county commissioners slashed
the recreation budget in half and then fired the
employees of the recreation department, (all but
the maintenance employees) which just happened
to include the county's only black department
head.
The county commissioners seemed to enjo^
their tantrum. Three of the commissioner* who
voted for these cuts were themselves cut by the
voters. H.T. Taylor, Henry Douglas, and Carl
Britt were -all defeated so their votes were
understandable. Sammy Cox also went along
with the group to round out the foursome which
can now be labeled "the gang of four." We will
not argue with these men. We heed the words of
Thomas Paine:
"7b argue with a man who has renounced the
use and authority of reason and whose philosophy
consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like
administering medicine to the dead or endeavor
ing to convert an atheist by scripture. Enjoy, sir,
yourinsenibility of feeling and reflecting. R is the
prerogative of animals."
PEMBROKE KIWANIIS
BY KEN JOHNSON
Director of Athletics, I)r. Raymond
Pennington was the weekly speaker
at club's meeting held at the Town
and Country Restaurant, Tuesday
evening. He was presented by;
Kiwanian and President of the.
Braves Club Reggie Strickland. Dr. I
Pennington expre$s?4utb*nks to
Kityanis^Joc, their finanical support
for the fine new addition of the new
Field House at the baseball field.
Where we are? We are members
of Division II of the NCAA and are
also members of the NAIA. We try to
do our best We do provide scholar
ships, we do abide by all the rules of
all of the National Collegiate bodies.
We sponsor thirteen sports, eight for
men and five for women. Some
sports are more important because
they are spectator sports as others
not Basketball has seven scholar
ships, baseball has three, golf-one,
tennis-one, etc. My biggest job is
over-seeing the financial part of the
program. We don't get any aid from
the state. We have a budget of
$162,000, not a lot of money for
transportation, meals, high referee
fees-it costs 120 for just volleyball
game, $200 for one baseball game,
$300 for basketball game. The
Braves Club provided $10,000 for
scholarships last year. We are
competitive, recruiting is our most
difficult job and by January we need
to raise $62,000 and I am looking
forward to working with Reggie
Strickland, next year's Braves Club
President and all of our coaches are
available to speak to groups. A real
interesting insight into the complexi
ties of atheltics and thanks, Dr.
Ptennington.
Presiding-Garth Locklear; Invoca
tion Marshall Locklear; Song Leader
Ray Lowry; Program- Reggie Strick
land; Reporter- Ken Johnson.
N EWS BRIER
A plate sale will be held on
Saturday, June 25, at the Land Base
Building (Tuscarora) in the Prospect
Community. Fish and chicken plates
will be available for $3.00 each
beginning at 10 a.m. and lasting
until. The sale is being sponsored by 1
Kever Locklear. The public is invited i
to attend. z
LETS
TALK
MATTRESS
SAVE f V
30% MORE
NOW BUY A BIGGER
MATTRESS AT OUR
LOWEST PRICES!
mvcxmcmcuce usa
momoumxni ax/s
hmwwof l/w
mwmkjmouauty vv
?nomobvmmca
sues sets muakv ue?ff^
wmk.i mw lasts' kflim1
bodoiiisbs Mmco
??'Vfetdklmii ' i
pemrroke
furnituife co.
cxifltt" ?(? r?n?l<jii|) canor
We're Breaking
The Sound Barrier
. Five Days A Week
? ?
HEARING EVALUATION
Even the slightest hearing impairment can be a tre
mendous harrier. ..to learning, understanding, and
basic day-to-day communication. This problem
bridges the generation gap, from high-risk newborns
to children w ith learning difficulties, plant employees
who work in constant noise, to senior citizens. And
at Southeastern General Hospital, our Audiology
Department is staffed and equipped to evaluate and
treat difficulties at any stage of loss. ?
Our professional audiologlst has six years of train
ing, plus state-of-the-art testing equipment resulting
in fast and accurate diagnoses. This includes a
sound-proof Ixxxh for evaluation, an auditor)' nerve
testing facility, and inner/middle ear assessment equip
ment. Wfc can determine if you're a good candidate
for a hearing aid, and even fit you for an order the
same day. What's more, thorough testing can some
times indicate a serious underlying problem which,
once detected, can be further diagnosed A
and treated.
So if you suspect a hearing loss in your
self or someone you love, call Southeastern
General Hospital's Audiologv Department. We
make appointments, with or without phy- ^
sician referral, five days a week,
8 .V) a.m. to S:()0 p.m.. and
we just wouldn't hear of
you going any place else /fB
On I SOUTHEASTERN
Uu I GENERAL HOSPITAL
State-of-the-Art Technology With A Hometown Ibnch
300 Vtfcst 27th Street, Lumberton, NC 28359
(919) 738-6444
READ&RS1 RORUM
? \
WEST" ROBESOM FORUM
CONSIDERED A SUCCESS -j
Dear Editor
The forum which wu hold on Juno
11. 1M8 at Woat Robeson High
many. But, whon I rood your critical
editorial of the forum it cauaed mo to
review the program.
While your article waa lengthy and
to the point, there were several items
that took place which were not
mentioned in your article. These
actions once mentioned, does pro
mote democracy.
You failed to mention:
1. The flyer which was distributed tc
promote the forum did stress
the issue to be discussed was the
proposed new judgeship and public
defender's office appointment It
also specifically said the key issue
was "which judgeship should be the
Senior Superior Court Judge."
2. This writer, Ken Freeman,
stressed at the beginning of the
forum that we were there to discuss
that issue. I also stated that there
were other important issues, how
ever, we wanted to address this issue
only.
3. When Rev. Jeny Lowry and Rev.
Robert Man gum attempted to move
to other specific items as mentioned
in your article, the forum and panel
were addressing questions and
answers.
4. We later entertained a motion to
study the write-in issue as moved by
Rev. Man gum. The motion passed.
5. Each option that was submitted
was handled individually. After I
proposed the options, ths motion *
cams from tho floor, not mo.
0. Tho proposed options wore
submittod only after the question and
answer session which lasted approx
imately 1'/? hours. Most of the 1 V?
hour session was to answer submit
ted questions, not presubmitted
questions.
7. The three options which were
suggested by the committee and
approved by those present were:
A. No amendments to House Bill
2215 to make the elected position
Senior Resident Judge.
B. If any amendment was made it
should be to make the appointed
position Senior Resident Judge.
C. Put the issue before the people.
While it is the opinion of this
writer that the forum was both
informative and democratic, let this '
letter serve as an apology to those '
who felt it was not. The committee of ;
which I referred at the forum was ;
made up of representatives from
most of the minority concerned
organizations in the area. The forum
was called for after four meetings on
the matter. All people concerned felt
the people should have the facts. The ;'
forum accomplished that purpose.
Sincerely,
Ken Freeman,
Pembroke, NC ^
P.S. The option was taken to Raleigh, .
NC on June 15, 1988. I submitted
these options to Senator David
Parnell myself.
4
Statement. Made By
Joy Johnson *;
Draws Response
4
To the Editor,
In our local papers, Wednesday
June one edition, there was a
statement that made my blood boil,
the statement was made by Rev. Joy
Johnson, Chairman of Robeson Co
unty Concerned Citizen for Better
Government. Johnson stated, most
of our voters are not astute enough to
split tickets, there would have to be a
tremendous teaching process, for
Robeson County people to learn how
to vote third party. Well I got out my
Webster Dictionary and looked up
astute and I found this (astute
pronounced (a stoot). It means to be
cunning, shrewd, crafty, wise, subtle ?
and keen. Well my beloved Native
Americans in Robeson County this -
Rev. Joy Johnson is calling you -
stupid, Johnson is saying you are not .
cunning you are not shrewd, you are 1
not crafty, you are not wise, you are 1
not subtle, and you are not keen. And "
that you will have to be taught how to .
vote third party, at the countys -
expense. To this Rev. Joy Johnson, I >
say check up on yourself before -
CONTINUE ON PAGE6 |
- w
Community Health ?
& |
| Human Services |
Fair
( < , ? ??
Saturday, June 25, 1988
< i*" *
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Town Park, Pembroke
i :
Free health screening
and community services l::?
* , 1 ?
information
? ? ?
? <
? ' i ?
, ? ?
For more information, contact ?
Bobby Chavis with the i
N.C. Commission of
Indian Affairs
738-6272 in Lumberton.
* ?
??- ? ?? *- --S-- ? -7-*- ?