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? died each Thursday by First American Public
VOLUME 23 NUMb THURSDAY MARCH 7, /VV6
ont Page Editorial of the Carolina Indian Voice
The \r<,ild According to the Robesonian's Bill
and O.H. Lewis and Other Items of Interest
The Robesonian'sB\]\ LcvvisandO H Lewis have a cockeyed v icw
of life in Ol" Robeson, as we see il here on the front pages of the Carolina
Indian fcg/ctmewspapcr It is a way of life that has not existed in
Robeson County for some lime now The Levvisboys. in our opinion, w ill
forever sec things from a 1950s slant, lqng before Indians and Blacks
were allow'ed to participate in the political life in these parts It will never
be likcthal again, if righllhinking people vv ill kccplhcir wits about them
Someone recently asked us if the Lew is boys (Bill and O H.) were
related, and we said that w e thought not except in a philosophical sense
In that way. Bill and O H arc brothers, even twins, indeed1 Both speak
an 1860s Democratic Party mentality that ended when the North won the
Civil War The Lewis boy s would have you believ e that the Confederate
flag is still flying If isn't, no matter w hat they and Pat Buchanan say
The Civil War is over The North Won! Honest! Bill Lewis is actually
the general manager of the Robesonian. the so-called county, daily
newspaper It has never been anything in our opinion, than the voice
of the conscrv ativc element in Robeson County that for so long ran things
economically , politically and socially Recent changes arc quite ev ident
in Robeson County, except in the pages of the Robesonian. Notice the
masthead sometimes How many Indians or Blacks do you see there?
How many writers either Black or Indian, do you see in the pages of the
Robesonian? They have two writers, one Black, and one Indian. 1
suppose, to pacify the 65% of the population (40% Indian4. 2 5% Black)
Robeson County according to the 1990 Census, has a population of
105.610 made up of 40% Indian. 25% Black, and 35% White. (Figures
rounded off) Ask the Robesonian sometimes how many Indians and
Blacks actually work for them, other than those who ride by and throw
the newspaper out in your yard How many Indians and Blacks arc in
management, how many arc reporters, how many work in the back in
accounting or in the press room, or in any other capacity? Then ask them
how many Indians and Blacks subscribe to the newspaper II might
shock you to find out that probably more than half the subscribers to the
Robesonian arc Indians Aren't those amazing figures? We think these
figures reflect badly on the Robesonian, which has put itself forth as the
" county, daily newspaper Some may say that the Indian Voice is biased.
and \vc mighl agree w ith that sentiment Aflefall as we ha\e noted mam
times in the past, the I 'urolina>lndian I Wee tells it like it is most I > from
the perspective of the Lumbcc Indian
White conscr\ativcs like Bill Lewis and OH Lewis, and the newest
kid on the block. John Culbreth. the young editor of the Robesonian,
continue to tell you what you think about this and that including the
latest fiasco about the tax valuations in the county They never tell you
that they speak with a White Conservative tongue, and do not always
wish Indian and Black constituencies well, editorially speaking, of
course It'so k. to be conservative it's not o k to mislead you about it
Have you ever read a disclaimer in the Robesonian? Why is it that
everything you arc told in the Robesonian comes from the pens and.
heads and hparts of the Lew is boys. John Culbreth. Brant Clifton, and
their ilk? Where arc the Black voices'' Whcrcarp the I ndian voices'' You
won't find them on the editorial page drthe Robesonian So. as you can
see. the world, according to Bill and O H Lewis is cockeyed to us here
in the heart of the Lumbcc community If you were riding through
Robeson County and picked up a copy of the Robesonian to find out
what the natives arc up io. you would be fooled terribly
These Lewis boys are something else O H. Lewis writes a column
entitled "Reality Cheek " TJiat it is Someone suggested that the
"OH." stands for "Old Hot Air", but wedon't hold to that cxtrcmca
position. OH. is probably a nice fella, if you were ever allowed to get
to know him Our problem w ith him is he seldom has any thing good
to say about a person of color and hardly ever any thing bad to say about
a W ASP (While. Anglo-Saxon. Protestant) Forinstance he still praises
-former SherilTHubert Stone, and in the last few days has been singing
the praises of White County Commissioncr.Marion Rice History has
shown that it is political death to be praised in the pages of OH. Lewis
column O.H. loves to bash SherilT Glenn May nor. County Commissioner
E B Turner. School Superintendent Purncll Svvctl. and folk like
that We arc not professional pollster here but we have noticed that O.H
Lewis is a good way to read the political winds If he gets on a run and
gels to praising someone, say like former Sheriff Stone, that person will,
more likely than not, lose the next election If O H blasts you in his
column. you'll probably do well in the nexfeleclion O H Lewis is out
of louch with reality: that's the reality check, as we see it here
Bill Lew is. the general manager of the Robesonian, w rites a column
entitled "Bitsand Pieces " It is that, for sure Mostly his bits and pieces
arc about some conservative icon somewhere, and seldom showcases
Indians or Blacks Over the years, under Lewis' leadership (sic). Rev
E.B Turner and Mr Purncll Swell have received some of the hardest
knocks in print from Lewis and his minions, and have, on occasion, been
referred to disrespectfully as "E.B " and "Purncll" in print, certainly
not a proper way to address someone holding their political positions
one a county commissioner and preacher, the other the county school
superintendent Terry Smith, who we consider to be the w rong-fooled
school board member, and Brant Clifion. the conservative darling w ritcr
at the Robesonian. recently blasted Mr Swell by inferring that he had
improperly kept Richard Monroe, a member of Mr Swell's administrative
staff, from speaking at a recent meeting at Robeson Community
College concerning the controversial lax evaluation for the county ii
was a story, as we see it. concocted from hot air It is the kind of story
that we have come to expect from The L.cvvis-lcd Rohesonian
It is our contention the extremist views of the Lewis boys Brani
Cliflon and others on the pages of the Robesonian are one of the reasons
that our county docs not have a viable two party system. How can we be
expected to support extreme conservatism in a county where Indians
comprise a majority of the population and the Blacks comprise 25%"
This extreme conservatism underlies the mentality we believe, that
Indians and Blacks should slay out Of positions of power It is our v icw
that every political position, as well as all other positions, including the
management of the Robesonian. should reflect the racial make up in the
county.
And for the record, we give you those figures again; 40% I ndian. 35%
white, 25% Black Therefore, we consider it proper and right that we
have three Indian, three Black and three white County Commissioners
We consider it proper and right that the County- Manager is Black
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of front page editorials about
the state of affairs here in Robeson County More next week!
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Church A ctivities
Revival at New Bethel
Revival services will be held at
New Bethel Holiness Methodist
ChurchMarch 17-23. Sundav evening
service will begin at 7 p.m. Week
night sen ices will begin at 7:30 p.m.
New Bethel is located on Ioiia Church
Road between Rowland and Fairmont.
Evangelistswill be Patrick L.
Cummings. pastor of Hopewell
Holiness Methodist Church, and
Curtis Oxendine.
Special musicwillbcprovidcdeach
night.
The pastor of New Bethel. James
H. Woods, extends a cordial inv itation
to the public to attend.
Plate Sale & Yard Sale
at Elrod Baptist
Elrod Baptist Church w illbc having
a chicken/barbecue plate sale and a
yard sale at the Pembroke Tow n Park
on March 19. beginning at 6 aim
Plates will be $4. combination plates
will be $5. Various items will be
available at the yard sale, including
farm equipment, livestock, household
items, clothes, etc
Joint Revival at Salem
& Island Grove
v A Joint Revival between Island'
Grove Baptist Church and Salem
Missionary Baptist Church will be
held March 10-15. Rev. Larry i
Locklcar is pastor oflsland Grove and i
Rev Donald Bullard is pastorofSalem
Missionan Baptist Church..
Sen ices will begin at Island Grove. .
Highway 710. on Sunday. March 10 .
at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday night.
March 11-12 scniccs will begin at
7:30 p.m.
Scn iccs will be held Wednesday.
Thursday and Friday nights at Salem
Missionary Baptist Church, located
in the Red Hill community. Senices
will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night.
The message vvii 1 be delivered each
night by different speakers. Special
music will be provided. The public is
cordially invited to attend these
senices by both pastors and both
congregations
Gospel Sing and Revival at Prospect UMC
Prospect United Methodist Church
will be the site for a Gospel Sing on
Saturday. March 16 at 7 p.m. Prospect
UMC is located on koutc 3. Maxton.
across the road from Prospect School.
The sing will feature the Singing
Scotts. the Pierce Family and the
Prospect Community Men.
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This Gospel Sing is the prelude u>
the Spring Revival at Prospect UMjp
which will begin on the next Sunday.
March 17 at 7 p.m and at 7:30 p.m
Monday. March 18 through Friday
March 22 Plan to attend the gospc
sing on March 16 and the revival o.
March 17-22.
Piney drove's Annual Spelling Bee was held Feb. 8. The winner was
.aura Suggs from Mrs. Debbie Meekin's sixth grade class. She is the
laughter of Ronald and Brenda Thompson. Runner us was Pamanekiu
Taylor of Mrs. Shirley Cain's fifth grade class.
Other participants were Emily Baker, Joshua Abner. ChudBurtley, Justin
tones. Lance Spaulding, Christa Canady, Shanenu Britt, Laura Oxendine
tnd Mitchell WlUiums.
Mrs. Delois Lowry was the caller. Judges were Mrs. Shirley Cam. Mrs.
Delia Lamb and Mrs. Marian Emanuel.
Shown is Laura Suggs, Piney drove's Spelling Bee Champ.
Pinev Grove School's Activities
the Robeson Soil and Wuter Conser vation District Essay C 'on test winners
Jrom Piney drove School are shown above. From left to right they are:
Sharina l.ockleur, first place; India Jones, second place; und Chandra
Graham, third place. Congratulations to these winners.
On January 26 the cafeteria of Pi nc\
Grove School had Super Bowl bag
lunches in honor of Super Bowl XXX
The cafeteria also had a contest of w ho
was going to win and what he score
would be. Tickets were checked and
winners found. First place w inner w as
Tiffany Connors from Mrs
HcdgcpCth's first grade class. Sccoik
place was Dewey Hammonds fron
Mrs Wanda Locklcar's first grad(
class Third place were winners were
Whitney Blanks from Mrs Brooks
Erc-k class and Brandon Bray boy fron
Irs Eunila Locklcar's sixth gradi
class V
Walk/Run to benefit Cystic Fibrosis
The Southeastern Lifestyle Fit ncss
Center will sponsor a $K (3
mile) Walk/Run for benefit the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on Sal urday.
March 30, at the Center.
4895 Faycllcvillc Road Rcgistra
lion uill begin at 9 am. eveni hi
9:30 a m Free rcfrcslimcnls. trophies
and pri/cs The entry fee is
$5 per person For more information.
call Barb Bullnrd at 73R5433
Robeson County Farm
Bureau President
Attends Conference
North Carolina Farm Bureau
olTicials front the "mountains to the
coast"' met recently in Raleigh for the
organization's annual President's
Conference
Robeson County Farm Bureau
President L> curous Low ry w its briefed
on priority issues affecting state
farmers, including initiatives to
address animal waste and nutrient
management concerns Farm Bureau
staff also reported on possible
recommendations to conic from
Governor Jim Hunt's Blue Ribbon
Stud) Commission on Agricultural
Wasic.
N.C. Farm Bureau Labor Specialist
Paula Guplon said that the
organization would be following
possible changes in Workman's
Compensation law this ycai.
particularly asitapplicstoagricullurai
employers She noted that this year
increased attention would be gi\ en to
migrant housing inspections and all
regulations as they appl> to Worker
Protection Standards (WPS)
N.C. Farm Bureau General Counsel
Julian Philpott told the count)
presidents that at least ado/en counties
would face tax revaluation issues this
year and emphasized the need for
Farm Bureau members to stay active
at (he local, state and national levels
He said. "Considering (he ntan\
elective offices that w il 1 be v otcd on i n
1966. this will nodoubt be a watershed
vcar in the political arena "
Count) Farm Bureau Presidents
stale vice presidents and board
members meet annually hi Raleigh to
discuss state and national agricultural
concerns, as well as issues of local
i niportancc vv hich may rcqui re 1111 i Tied
action N.C. Farm Bureau President
W B Jenkins explained. "Farm
Bureau operates on (he principle of
grassroots' leadership, whereby stale
policy and action is determined by the
lot) county Farm Bureaus "
Activities at Pembroke
Housing Authority
On February 24. 1990 cighl youth
from (he Housing Authority attended
the Rockingham Speed Race at
Rockingham. NC. The youth enjoyed
all the excitement that look place at
, the race
We would like to thank Pembroke
. State Uni\crsily Campus Police for
! getting the tickets for this event We
1 would also like to thank our volunteers
1 for giving their lime to help chaperon
: A big thank you goes to Hardee's of
; Max ton and the Express Stop of
Pembroke for their contributions to
1 this event
February 29 was a big night for ten
of the youth from Pembroke Housing
Authority who went to see the play
'' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' at
the Pembroke Slate University
Performing Arts Center The play
offered entertainment for everyone
who attended
Youth from the Housing Authority
attended un Animal Show held at the
Robeson County Public Library
Auditorium on March 2 The event
was to help educate the youth about
different ty pes of animals Some of the
youth were in an interview with
Channel 15 News at the end of the
show.
Upcoming Activities
On March 15 Pembroke Housing
Authority 4-H Club. "Helping
Hands." w ill be sponsoring a Rock-a Thon
at the Youth Center at May nor
Manor. This exciting event will be
from 5:00 p m til 11:00 p in The
proceeds w ill be used by the 4-H Club
for special projects
Mitchell "Bosco 'Locklcar. Drug
Elimination Program Coordinator,
encourages every otic to come out and
support this worthy cause There will
be refreshments for every one toenjoy
IxKklcar said
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