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Pembroke, N.C. "Building Communicative Bridges In A Tri-Raeial Setting" Robeson Coi
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VOLUME 17 NUMBER 35 * THURSDAY, AUCUST 31. 1989 25* PER COPY
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Public Meeting Planned To Discuss
increased County Taxes
i
On Thursday, September 7, there
will be a Public Meeting on Property
Tax Increases in Robeson County at
7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in
the Gym at Pembroke Elementary
School. The Meeting is being spon
sored by the Center for Community
Action.
The meeting is being held to
liscuss the large increase in property
uums and to determine questions
which need to be answered by the
County Commissioners. A petition
drive has begun to "petition the
Robeson County Commissioners to
determine how the tax rate can be
lowered and to levy no more
increases in the cost of county
services until a full explanation of the
tax increase and methods to lower it
are given to the citiyns of Robeson
County."
Copies of the Petition 4HD be
available at the Public Meeting for
individuals to sign and take with
them in order to be signed by others.
A date will be chosen at the meeting
as a deadline for petitions to be
turned in. A date will also be chosen
as to when the petitions will be
delivered to the County Commis
sioners.
The massive rise in property taxes
has caused a great deal of anger and
confusion over why the taxes had to
be raised as high as they were raised.
The first reason given by certain
commissioners and county officials
was that school merger was the
major reason for the tax increase.
After investigation of the procedures
used by the commissioners, Mr. Eric
Prevatte, Chairperson of CARE
(Citizens After Responsible Educa
tion), and Rev. Sklney Locks, House
Legislative Member, both determin
ed that a second method was
available to the commissioners.
Investigation has also shown that
there was over 1 million dollars
available in state transfer funds that
could have been used for general
expenditures for our schools, and
documentation from the state avail
able to die county in February shows
how that procedure could best be
done. When citizens voted for school
merger, they voted to raise local
support for the merged system on a
gradual basis, beginning with 70
percent of the state average. What is
unknown at the present time is the
level at which the citizens are now
supporting the Public Schools of
Robeson County due to the confusion
over the available procedures and
I
funding options. What is clear is that'
school merger did not cause the taxes.
to go up as high as they did,
practicing more conservative funding
options and procedures available to
the county commissioners. Informa
tion will also be shared about other
budget items leading to the increase
in property taxes so the public wOl be
aware of what then- taxes are buying.
The meeting will include a presen
tation by Mr. Eric Prevatte,
Chairman of CARE, who is also on
the Board of Directors of the Center
for Community Action. All
of the county commissioners will be
invited to attend. CCA asks that
citixens tell others about the Public
Meeting and die petition drive.
New faculty member* at Pembroke l
?State Umvereity are thorn here. Left
I to right, they are: front row--Dr. Don I
? Sefen, Dr. Paul Flower*, Dr. Bruce I
~>eHart, Dr. Susan Prugk, Soni
tfartxn-Monm, Dr. Nancy Barrineau,
>. Pat Cabe; middle rcru> Dr. Gary
Vilhs, Anne Lockwofd, Dr. Douglas
Norman, Kim O'Connor, Dawn j
bangley, Cindy Snmerel, Rebecca )
Bryeon., Dr. Elinor Bridget; back <
tnw-Betty Upchvrck, Sharon Bell, j
Sd Diaz, Dr. Andy Ask, Dr. Tom I
\4orUy, Dr. Merrill Miller, Lavem I
Txendtne, John Has kins, and Dr. I
Tavid Ziegler.
COMMUNI TV
? ROBESON COUNTY FAIR
^ BOOTH SPACE
AO organizations and buaineaaea
interested in securing booth apace
= for the Robeson County Fair to be
held from October 2 through October
Sj 7 should contact Brace Jobe at
799-1010 or Charles Ivey at 799-1100.
D
ROBESON COUNTY PAIR
^ HOMEMADE CRAFTS
Homemade crafts will be exhibi
^ ted during the Robeson County Fair
to be held October 2 through October
7. For more information, please
contact Brace Jobe at 799-1010.
ROBESON COUNTY FAIR
HOME AND
AGRICULTURAL EJOIIBTTS
Han now to exhibit your home
and agricultural products during this
year's Robeson County Fair to be
held October 2 through October 7. A
?weepstaha prise of $100 will be
awarded te the winner of the most
blue ribbons. Exhibit departments
include horticulture, field crops,
flowers, clothing, needlework, crafts,
cooides-piee-cakes, canning, youth
department. Junior division swine,
open division swine, youth division
beef cattle, open division beef cattle,
dairy, horse-ponies-mules-donkeys,
poultry, and rabbits. For more
information, call Greg TVaywick at
971-9276.
ROBESON COUNTY FAm
SCHOOL ART CONTEST
Robeson Comity Fair 8chool Art
Contest scheduled for this year's
fair to be held October 2 through
October 7. Hie art work of Robeson
County Public 8ehool students wiB be
displayed during the week of the fair.
Trophiee and other prisee wffl be
awarded. For more information, call
Brace Jobe at 799-1010.
.
DIAL FAMILY REUNION
TO BEHELD OCTOBER 7,1999
AB descendant* of the late Wfflie
and Rebecca Dial ere invited to
attend the Dial Reunion October 7.
1989 at the Bear Swamp Church
Fellowship Hall from 1:30 p.m. until
4 p.m. Please bring a coveted dish.
WOMEN'S SOFTBALL
TOURNAMENT SEPTEMBER 9-10
Robeaon County Recreation and
Park Commission will hold a Wo
men's Double Elimination Softball
Tournament at Maggie Oxendine
Park in Pembroke September 9-10.
Entry fee is $76 per team. Deadline
for entering the tournament wfll be
Friday, September 1 at 13 noon. A
roster of 16 players is permitted. For
more information, call Robeson
County Recreation Department at
071-3090.
MENS SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
SEPTEMBER 19-17
Robeaon. County Recreation and
Park Commission will hold a Men's
One Pitch Double Elimination Soft
ball Tournament at Maggie Oxen
dine Park in Pembroke September
16-17. Entry fee is $76 per team.
Deadline for entering the tournament
will be Friday, September 8 at 12
noon. A roster of 16 players is
permitted. For more information, call
Robeaon County Recreation Depart
ment at 671-3090.
LAUBACH TUTOR TRAINING
WORKSHOP SEPTEMBER It-IK
The Scotland County literacy
Council is sponsoring a free Laubach
Tutor Training Workshop Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday, Septem
ber 12-14 bom 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Hie
workshop will be held at the Scotland
County Literacy Council Office at 401
N. Main Street in Laurinburg, NC.
'?\> pro-register or for further infor
mation. pleaae call (919)276-7007.
PSU Chancellor Talks
to Freshmen About How
to-Succeed in College
He was like a kind uncle talk
ing to some youngsters.
Chancellor Joseph Oxendine
spoke in a reassuring way to new
Pembroke State University
freshmen recently, giving them
advice, explaining how they can
get the most out of college life,
and telling them what resources
to use if they get into academic
trouble.
He explained that nationally 50
percent of all students drop out
before completing college?but
hastened to point out that PSU
plans to do a lot better than that.
"We know you have the abili
ty," Oxendine told the freshmen..
"We have carefully studied your
records and talked to your
counselors. You were not selected
to be a failure. If you don't sue
ceed. vnn are nni nmiino unur
j r?*"o /VM?
skills to use."
Oxendien said PSU has an ex
cellent faculty which is willing to
help students.
He urged the freshmen to have
a "balanced" college life. "Do
you make your college life all
studying~and don't make it all
fun and games," he said. "You
need to establish a balanced life
style.''
Oxendine described this "as a
new year, a new venture" for the
freshmen.
"You ought to enjoy this," he
continued. "You are going to
look back in 20 or 40 years from
now and say, Thos were the best
years of my life.* You will be
making life long friends here."
He said this is the first time
they would be out from under the
watchful eyes and discipline of
parents. "Some people can han
dle this freedom, and some
can't," he warned. "You need to
study, exercise, get to know
people--and you'll enjoy it."
He urged freshment to call for
help when they need it. "Don't
wait until you are too deep in
water or too far out in the woods
to find your way back," he said.
"When you find yourself getting
into trouble, go to a faculty per
son and ask ?here you can go.
Don't waittoo long. Don't wail
until there is absolute chaos."
The PSU chancellor said the
students should call fo{ help early
if they need it. "We have a lot of
people here to support your ef
forts, and we want you touse
them," he stressed. "Don't wait
too late to do this."
Looking around the room at
the freshmen, Oxendine added:
"When you complete your work
here, you will have a degree you
can be proud of."
In conclusion he said: "I want
you to enjoy it. I want to get to
know you. I want these to be the
most fulfilling and memorable
four years of your life. I welcome
you to the campus and hope ou
have great success."
I Indian museum brings native history to Cape Fear Region
living
off the land
by Tom Squier
"When the white man got here
> there were do taxes, the women did
> all the work, and then men hunted
and fished all day. How can you
?: improve on a system like that?"
These chauvinistic words are
found oo little wooden plaques in
the tourist traps of Cherokee, N.C.,
and the surrounding area. But in
truth we can learn many things
hoth about and from the native
cultures that inhabited this area for
thousands of years before the
arrival of European explorers.
At oae time there were roughly
49 different Indian cultures in our
area, but now they are down to a
handful including the Cherokee,
Lumhea, Tuscarora, Coharie, wae
camaw Siouxans and the Catawbas.
But there is all sorts of evidence of
the passing of these ancient
cultures. Nearly everybody who has
grown up in the Sandhills has a box
of arrowheads tucked away some
where. Even those golfers who fly
in, play a round, and fly out again
are often a mated to find arrow
heads laying on top of the ground
where the native forests have been
destroyed to provide room for
sandtraps and manicured greens
Unfortunately most of us doat
recognise the significance of those
little finds and what they mean to
the past
The Sandhills is a "happy hunt
lag grounds" for archaeologists
because there are so many loca
tions where Indians used to live and
so many lessons to be learned from
the things they left behind. What
looks like a few pieces of pottery or
bones or perhaps an old campfire
and some drawings in a cave can be
pieced together like the pieces of a
puxxle to form a picture of life long
ago.
Although many people aren't
; aware of it, there is a place where
? this information has been collected.
: interpreted and displayed la such a
: manner as to share thaae lessons
from the past with all of an The
Indian Museum of the Carolines in
Laorinburg has more than 40 exhih
its, each showing glimpses of Indian
Life as it was in the past: banting,
fishing, farming, healing and recre
ation. With more than ?0,?M
artifacts the maoism constantly
changes its displays, giving visitors
a panorama of Indian Ufa. N
Pottery, arrowheads, spear
prints. other t*"f* tools (some
dating back 10,MS years) highlight
many displays. There are four
dugout canoes which may be
viewed, one of which is a rare
nnfinislied vessel still attech*1 to
the tree trunk.
Other attractions include Jewel
ry, tomahawks, stone bowls,
tobacco pipes, spears, bows and
arrows, as well as modern palatini
depicting Indian life Bach exhibit
is complete with Informative labels
explaining Indian Ufa to the visitor.
The museum also has a professional
archaeologist on staff to answer
questions.
Museum director Margaret
Houston is a professor at nearby
Pembroke State Univenlty, bat
whan I visited the museum she was
tutoriag a local youngster about
plants used by the Indians I liked
this because as clone as we always
hear the Indians were to the earth
and nature, two of the greatest
treasures to Indian peoples wore
young people aad old people. That is
one lesson we need to revive!
Ma Houston says: "One of the
values of the museum is that It
offers people a chance to see some
of the methods which
archaeologists ase to discover how
people lived lathe past" Students,
scholars and professionals may me
the museum's collections and
Ubrary for stady and research.
The old brochure for the ?
mmeiun points oet that a Native
American Garden was planned for
the future and this drew ma to the
museum. Because of limited fads,
and personnel and time, the garden
wasn't as far along as had bea
hoped. It conld me some mainte- '
nance because p1"^ especially
wild onaa, seem to keep right a
* growing whether wer want them to
or not lis. Houston said that I could
be the "Botanical Consultant" to the
garden and museum as long a I
- understood is a volunteer
position. Ptoe with me, I said, this is
what the military caOs "pro
fessional development" So soon, I
will be clearing away otut grown
blackberries and uldarburrim and
planting some of the native pleats
mod bv the 1***>* for food,
medicine, fibers and dyes I could
see some help with that, ton, if
embody is interested.
In fact the mmiam could am
director. The maaaam is a non
profit organisation relying en
public and private support for its
operation. Donations are always
needed and welcome. Not just
money, bat books, display item and
especially time. This would be an
excellent opportunity (or scout
groeps or persons who are retired
but not tired with time and skills.
The museeiu has depended on volun
teer assistance since its beginning.
In (act, the shop class at Scotland
County High School laid the bricks
(or the foundation! Mi Houston says:
"All kinds of volunteers are needed
(or inside projects, tour guides, and
(or outside work."
Butif you just have a little time to
relax and get out occasionally, bet
not enough to volunteer some of It,
then come and visit the museum
when you want a pleasant and
education way to pass the afternoon.
The Indian Museum of the Carolines
is open 10 aon. to noon and 1 to 4 pan.
on Wednesday and Thursday, and 1
to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Then
day, and I to 4 pan. on Sunday. It is at
607 Turnpike Rd. Admission is free
For information, call 276-58M.
This aign outside the Oak Grove Baptist Church serves as an open
invitation to anyone to join the membership for worship service. The
church is located in the Johns community, out from Maxton. The
pastor is the Rev. Wade Cochlear. The public is encouraged to attend
Sunday School any Sunday morning at 10 a.m. and Worship service
any first, second, third, or foulh Sunday beginning at II a.m. (Photo
by I.H. Hawk)