- f2l^i j"T| Published Each Thursday Since January 18,1973
Im^UM CAROLINA *>j
iKjcIndian <X)oire
" Promoting Communications Between Indians and Nations * phmbrokn. nc
Robeson County
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I 1
Lance Harding
Elected Speaker of
Tribal Council
Lance Harding, who represents
District 21 on the Lumbee Tribal
Council. was elected Tuesday night to
be the first Speaker of the Council.
The speaker will conduct the meetings
and serves in the same capacity as the
Chairman of a Board. Harding resides
in the Saddletree area
Other officers include Gary W
Locklear of Pembroke. Vice Speaker.
Emma Lee Locklear of Prospect as
secretary. Sam Wvnn of Fayetteville
as Treasurer, and Rev. Jerry McNetllof
Rennert as Chaplain
In elect uig the officers, the Council
took into consideration the geographic
boundries of Lumbee Territory
In other business, the Council
retained the services of Arlinda
Locklear as Tribal Attorney, and als
requested the services of Lumbee
River Legal Services for adminstrative
services
The Council will meet on Monday
night at 7 p.m (Oct 17) in the PSU
Chaws Center I ribal members are
mama
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Konaia Hammonds Announces for Re
Election to LREMC Board of Directors
Ronald Hammonds of the
saddletree community has announced
his candidate for re-election to the
Lumbee River Electric Membership
Corporation Board of Directors Mr
Hammonds has represented District
#5-for the past twelve years.
Hammonds, an agri-business man is a
board member who will speak out He
will address the issues and take a stand
on issues without regard to what is
politically expedient He has
demonstrated that he is people oriented
and is concerned with the needs of
people He has demonstrated his
commitment to other people, not only
by his service on the LREMC Board,
but by his varied involvement with
community service organizations,
such as the Saddletree Center wliere
the members render service to the
community and have a program by
which they encourage young people
to seek post secondary education.
Hammonds released the following
statement
"I would like to ask the member
consumers of LREMC to vote for
Ronald Hammonds on Tuesday.
M A A m
October 18 You must vote tor tour
members of the board of directors
Make RonaJd Hammonds one of your
four I am a board member who will
speak out and i am dot ashamed of my
record as a straight forward, honest
board member It is not always popular
to be out spoken, but 1 believe I was
elected to represent the members I
cannot do that m v agreeing with things
when I feel in my heart they are not in
the best interest of the cooperative
"1 have worked for ten years in the
past for an electric company This
experience has been abasis tor building
and expanding my knowledge of the
electric cooperative programs 1 am
very familiar with the electric
programs and can talk intelligently
about the services that we are suppose
to be providing.
"I feel that my service on the EMC
board has only been a continuation of
the community service that I feel honor
bound to provide to people in our
service area It isonlv an extension of
community service and I believe that
I have a good record and that the
record will show that I am committed
to scrvingour members furly. honestly
and with the utmost integrity
"As an agri-business man I am
familiar with the needs of those of us
who reside in rural areas I am a
farmer and believe thai I have
represented the interests of the agn
businessmen well during mv tenure
on the LR?MC Board of Directors. I
am a dedicated agn businessman, but
first of all. I am dedicated to my
family I am proud of the
accomplishments of my wife. Linda,
who is completing work on her
doctorate and the accomplishments
of our four children I am also
dedicated to my church. Mt Olive
Baptist Church in the Saddletree
community I am owner and operator
of CCA Farms and promise that if *
elected I will continue to make
decisions on the LREMC board that
are conducive to good business
practices, fair and equal employment
opportunities and do what 1 can to
keep the cost of electricity from
accelerating at a rapid pace
See Hammonds Page 4
Jim Dial Receives Certification and
Seeks Re-Election to EMC Board
LREMC Board President Lacy
C winnings presents Mr James H Dial
i ri trill), a member of Lorn bee River
Electric Membership C orporation s
Board of Directors, a Certificate in
recognition of his completion of the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association s Certification Program
Mr. Dial, vice prestdent of the
LREMC Board, has served as District
I representative for six yean
Mr Dial is seeking re-election to
that position The umal meetinv of
LRFMCaSlbe held Tuesday. October
IS. beginning at 6 pm at the
Performing Arts Center of Pembroke
State Univenit) Mr Dial rsltmrd
the fol lowing statement relative to hu
candidacy
"It has been a privilege to serve as
vour representative for the past six
years I sat extremely proud to have
received my certincate It is an
indication that I have fulfilled my
most knowledgeable person an the
LREMC Board I ?n committed to
continuing my service to die member
consumers ot our cooperative
"Running an electric cooperative
is a business, and it needs to be ninned
like one M\ expertise in tiie business
world, as owner or D & D Drainage
has given me inure knowledge of the
financial perspective ot running out
cooperative Since I have been a
member of the board of directors. I
have seen our business grow from a
SI7 million a year business to one
operating on a budget ofS48 6 million
This is no small task We have been
fortunate to have added 2.111 new
services to bring our total service
from 26.065 to 38.493 We have
grown from 2.917;7 miles of line to
53.60.V6 miles I am proud of our
growth and am happy to have been a (
small pan of tlus progress bv our local
cooperative
*t am a retired educator and have
been an businessman for most of my ,
adult life I am proud of our
commitment to industrial and (
community development We have
staffed for Economic Development at
our local EMC and more than doubled
the number of industrial accounts at
EMC W e are ftrst in North Carolina
a to utilize customer owned peak (
shaving ? improve customer rases
and financial standing of the cosp I
See Dial Page 4
A Front Page Editorial of The Carolina Indian Voice
In The Name of Jesus:
Race, Religion and Politics
in OP Robeson
This is the third i* * series of editorials about the state
of things ia Of' Robeson*
It might surprise some Robesomans to learn that Jesus
lived in the Mediterranean area of the world when he
walked amongst us here on earth, before be was i
resurrected from the tomb People in that part of the
world, many times, are darkly-hued. tending toward
being olive-stunned- yes. even Brown and Black
complexion In other words, if the truth be known. Jesus
looked a lot like we Robesomans. in all our white, red and
black anthropological finery
But you'd never know it here in OT Robeson the way
people carry on. invoking the name of Jesus in their racial
way of looking at things Twoexamptes are the hiring ot
the ex-felons issue ia the school system, and the candidal \
of Glenn Maynor, an Indian Democrat, for sheriff
The weirdest thing we've seen so far are two letters
that appeared in the ILobesomhm, our local conservative
Bible we read in Ibex pant, not in tbe unforgiving way
he put it aavway
Also. aecoKMg to tbe aeenung right wing slant of
stones appeanng both on tbe from and editorial pages of
the RobuxoHiuH, we know they're against allowing ex
felons to work in the public schools After all. they' ve told
us over and over and over again Their editorials have
been, many times, in our opinion, mean minted and
bordering on the edge of racism, as we see it. Go back and
review everything the Meheioeium ever said negatively
about William Johnson, the whix predecessor of Indian
schools superintendent Purnell Swett Johnson and Swett
are superintendents of the same school system The only
good thing we can say about Ihe Hilwnum is that they
did not claun divine revelation in their editorial, nght
wing assertions Also, as you read how tome of the stories
are skewed, seemingly, against Glenn Maynor. you're left
with die perception that me kohetemmm might be one ol
thoac Democrats ttic i tor banderaon. U is strange thai
Local churches voice opposition
to board's felons in schools decision
First Baptist
members sign
petition
Dear Editor
The members of First Baptist
Church, Seventh and Walnut
Streets, Lumberton, voted in a
business session, Aug. 31, the fol
lowing statement:
"we oppose the recent decision
by the Robeson County School
Board to allow convicted felons at
employees in our public schools.
We urge the board to rescind this
action and employ only persons of
the highest ethical and moral stan
dards possible."
WHNam Powell Tuck
p?3oT
(This petition was signed by hun
dreds of the members of First Bap
tist Church and personally deiiv
ered at the September Robeson
County School Board meeting.)
Chestnut Street
United Methodist
opposes decision
Dear Sir.
On August 28. 1994, the Ad
ministrative Board of Chestnut
Street United Methodist Church
unanimously approved a resolution
denouncing the decision by the
Robeson County School Board
members to hire convicted felons
into the school system. As adamant
supporters of public education, see
found that the decision to hire con
victed felons was an example of
poor judgment by the school board
members and another strike against
an already tarnished school system.
Willi numerous institution* of
higbar education in the ana (Pem
broke Stale University. Robeson
Cuiiiiiwllj College) that are pro
ducing highly trained edmators
and technicians, it is truly incon
ceivable that there would be a lack
of qualified individuals lo flU va
cancies within the school system.
It was nosed at the meeting that
to ha an elected official carries cer
tain rights and raaponsMSties that
must be morally, ethnically, and
prayerfully directed These respon
sibilities have not baan MfUied.
On behalf of Chestnut Straat Unit
ad Methodist Church, I strongly
urge the school board to reveres the
dicMou lo hiff Moot in the public
school tyttcm.
(Inaaaaki
sHUvWYt
Thnalhy M
Administrative Board
Chestnut Street United
MctnOQltC LnUfcn
These two letters are worthy ot comment They never
did mention Jesus, nor did ttoev offer any scripture to back
up what they said. Like a lot of things in CM Robeson, the
letters, appearing in tandem, were strange and unsettling
in their unforgiving mode It is significant that these two
churches-one Baptist, the other Methodist-are two of the
largest, predominately white churches in Robeson County .
According to these two letters ooe could reasonably infer
(hat they would have been against Moses, King David,
the Apostle Paul, and even Jeans himself Moses killed
an Egyptian one time for picking on one of his Hebrew
brothers. Folks, we suspect some of you find this hard to
believe, but Cod actually forgave Moses He was. later
on. chosen by Cod to lead the Jews our of bondage in
Egypt. King David was not allowed to build the temple in
Jerusalem because he had blood on his hands " Yet. lie
did mighty deeds in God's name The Psalms, many ol
them written by king David. cry out to a forgiving Cod
The Apostle Paul delivered Christians up totheSanhedrin
10 be tried for. as he saw it. heresy and treason Paul was
struck down by a great burst of light < understanding i on
the road to Damascus then got up with a forgiving he an
i wonder ifJesg* would be welcomed here in CM Robeson.
speaking against die ?uue and die statu* quo like he did
Somebody in our midst might even throw a stone or two.
accusing him of treason But he would have asked us to
love one another, to forgive one another, to understand
one another He speaks to us todav. but many of us have
turned away from Hun. and do not hear what He is saying
to u*
Another letter-writer who has gotten our attention it an
O.H Lewis. Jt ofLumbertou He supports Sheriff Stone,
decries Rep Charlie Roar and speaks stronglv against
en-felon* He won't come tight out and say it. but we
wouldn't necessarily be surprised to find thai he is ooe of
those phenomenon in CM Robeson called " Democrats
iski for Sanderson " In a letter to the editor in i*r
HobenmUm dated August 2?. IV04. Lewis said, w pan
' certain school boasd members have surely taken leave
of then senses try voting to allow convicted ex-felons to
work ui our public schools No' We do nut have to allow
this to happen, the 'Lord givetb' and the 'Lord taketh.' so
uvs the Btbte..." He says more, much more, but you get
the setf-nghtoouadrift Also, he didn't give u> a reference
for that so-called biblical quote because it's nut in the
1 I
a so-called newspaper for all three race* (40% Indian.
25% Black. 35% White) would take some of the
conservative standi they have taken lately, but then this is
CM Robeson Remember'
We could cite some of the absurd ravings of Richard
Monroe, the RAE President, on the subject of hiring ex
felons In one article, he slurred a slew of people, including
just about every ooe of the board members Oo back and
read Monroe i, in our opinion, mean-spirited article
entitled "Latest School Atrocity no Sin prise" that
appeared in the Rotxwmu* on August 29.1994 Monroe
Einto the act loo At one point, he exclaimed ' 'Why in
ven s name would the public allow their children to be
taught by convicted criminals "" It might be. just might
be. becauae it was "in heaven a name" But. again,
enough of thai Let t not use Jesus name, or refer to
heavenly things, except to a spirit of love and peace and.
yes. Mr Monroe, forgiveness"
And now Rep Frances C ummings speaks in Jesus
name Our Black legislator has boiled the Democratic
Party, r? Wising to suppoti Glenn Maynor. the Indian
Democratic candidate for sheriff, all vine herself, instead,
with James Sanderson, the white. Republican candidates
lor sheriff Some things are met mind boggling and j
Black representative talking about it has nothing io do
with race, while serving in a district that was carved out
for Blacks isone of those things Race was pretty imporuuu
to Frances ( ummuigs. apparently, when she chose to run
in a Black district against a White. Pete Hasty
Yes. race, religion and politics are strange bedfellows
?n Rohrsrei ( nunly Yes. strange things are happening m
Ol Robeson Maybe ut a future editorial, when time
permits we It tell vou uu sHS v ol the chunk some While
V iciikxii.u* in Pembrukc gave toe hesiaui United Methodist
Church in Lumbertoo And how they turned around md
sold it back to the communnv tor $60,000 But tune snuui
out this week Maybe next week, huh" In the meantime,
if anybody-Black. White or Red-comas to you in thr
name of Jesus.'escept In the spir* of lore and forgiveness
show them the door Ahem Amen
Again, we feel the election of Glenn Maynor at Shanft
on November 8 will go a long wnyt towards heeling our
racial wounds here in 01' Robeson. We wholabanmdl>
support Glenn Maynor lor Sheriff
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