Published each Thursday in Pembroke, N.C.
CAROLINA INDIAN VOICE
"Building Communicative Bridges In A Tn-Racial Setting"
VOLUME 28 NUMBER 10 THURSDAY, MARCH8, 2001 25c
Peggy Ann Harris
(Article and photo submitted by the family)
Mclntyre announces over
$1.3 Million for UNCP
Washington, D.C.-- U.S. Representative
Mike Mclntyre announced
today that the University of North
Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) will
receive more than SI.3 million in
federal funds to establish the Pathway
to Health Professions Careers
program designed to encourage
students of diverse backgrounds to
enter the health professional field.
Congressman Mclntyre said, "Congratulations
to Chancellor Allen
Meadors, Dr. Roger Brown, Mr.
Gene Brayboy, and all the fine folks
at UNCP on this outstanding
achievement! I am thrilled by this
opportunity to establish a partnership
within the community to repruit
and train individuals of diverse
backgrounds who might not
otherwise choose a health career
for their profession. Since I joined
Congress, 1 have worked hard to
encourage and provide federal incentives
to help create greater diversity
in the health fields, especially
in rural communities such as
those in southeastern North Carolina."
Funded under the Health Careers
Opportunity Program through the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, the Pathway to
Health Professions Careers program
is designed to assist individuals
from diverse backgrounds to
develop the skills they need to
compete, enter, and graduate from
health professional schools.
Through the formation of a unique
community partnership between
UNCP and local public school systems,
community colleges, tribal
organizations, community-based
organizations, and undergraduate
and health professional schools,
this program will focus'on efforts
to improve the representation of
Native American and AfricanAmerican
health-care providers in
the region. Activities will range
from exposing middle and high
school students to opportunities in
the health-care field to providing
college undergraduates with the
skills and training necessary to enter
a health professional school.
Congressman Mclntyre is CoChairman
of the House Rural
Health Care Coalition.
farmers $19.2
Avalon Academy
to hold Pembroke
meeting
Avalon Academy has scheduled an
information meeting for the Pembroke
area for March 15th. The
meeting will be held at the Pembroke
Public Library in Pembroke.
Those parents who have interest in
or questions concerning Avalon
Academy or who wish to obtain
information for the 2001-2002
school year are encouraged to attend
this meeting. The meeting will
begin at 7:30 PM.
Renal Support
Group to meet
The Renal Support Group will
meet Tuesday, April 3, at 6 P.M. in
the Observation Unit Waiting
Room on the third floor of Cape
Fear Valley Medical Center.
Patients, family and friends of
those with renal disorders as well
as those interested are welcome to
attend.
The Renal Support Group meets on
the first Tuesday of each month.
For more information, please contact
Jeanne Canady at (910) 6096713,
Rep. Ron Sutton to Co-Chair
Legislative Redisricting Committee
Members of the House received
some of their marching orders for
the session with the announcement
of committee assignments.
Legislators spend the bulk of their
time in committees, hammering out
details of legislation and listening
to testimony. On an average day?
- if there is such a thing in the General
Assembly?members of the
House will spend 3 1/2 hours in
committee meetings and less than
two hours on the house floor.
Committee assignments have a lot
of bearing on the "clout or power"
legislators have and how they
spend most of their time.
Representative Ron Sutton, a
Democrat Lawyer of Pembroke
was assigned as the Senior CoChair
of the powerful Legislative
Redistricting Committee. The
Speaker has assigned the two redistricting
committees. Congressional
and Legislature, and equal
number of Democrats and Republicans.
Sutton's Republican Senior
Co-Chair is Representative Larry
Justice of Hendersonville.
The Congressional Senior CoChair
are Democrat Representative
Thomas Wright of Wilmington and
Republican Representative Ed
McMahan of Charlotte.
"I was surprised to get this assignment
but i am prepared to give it
my all," said Representative
Sutton. The Legislature Redistrict
ing Committee draws the lines for
all 120 House members. The Congressional
Redisricting Committee
will draw the lines for our 13 Congressional
Districts.
In addition to his responsibilities
involving redisricting, Representative
Sutton serves on Judiciary
Committee #1, the Transportation
Committee, Ethics Committee,
Military Veterans and Indian Affairs
Committee, and the Appropriations
Committee (Transportation
Sub-Committee).
Next to the budget, redisricting is
the most demanding venture the
General Assembly wilt undertake
this entire term. It has to be done
following each census and effort*,
will really get underway once census
data is available. Public Hearings
will be conducted throughout
the state.
The committee announcements
ended weeks of anticipation and
speculation.
The process started before the
General Assembly session began
when Black sent out a questionnaire
asking members of the House
to rank their committee preferences.
They also were asked to note any
committees they would like tochair.
Some lucky members were able to
land on many of the committees
they requested. That was not possible
for all House members be
cause some of the committees they
requested meet at the same time of
day.
While committee assignments gave
legislators a better idea of what
they will be doing during the session,
permanent seat assignments
let them know where they will be
sitting. The assignments, made by
the speaker in consultation with
the Democratic leadership, were
announced shortly before the committees
were announced.
The committee and seat assignments
left legislators with one more
organizational chore?office assignments?
before they settled
down for business. Offices are usually
assigned shortly after committees
are announced. Committee
chairs generally prefer offices near
the rooms where their committees
meet. The local delegation maintained
their same chamber seats
and office spaces.
In the past Representative Sutton
had chaired a Judiciary Committee
but with his redisricting work
load that was not possible this term.
Time just would not permit it.
"The Speaker asked me if I would
second his nomination speech on
Opening Day and 1 agreed to do
so. Little did I realize that he had
plans for my heading the powerful
Legislative Redisricting Committee
in mind at the time," said Representative
Sutton.
Compassionate
Friends to meet
Compassionate Friends, a support
group for families who have experienced
the death of a child, will
meet Tuesday, April 3, at 7:30 P.M.
in the Cardinal Room at the Village
Drive Education Center of Cape
Fear Valley Health System, located
at 3418 Village Drive.
The group meets on the Tuesday
of the month at the same time and
location. For more information,
please call Martha Lynch at 6094481.
Registration to be Held
at Pembroke Elementary
Pembroke Elementary School will
be having Kindergarten Registration
on Wednesday, April 11,2001
from 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M.
Parents must bring: a certified birth
certificate (not a mother's copy), a
current immunization record, a
Social Security Card, a 9111 address,
a Tribal Enrollment Card (if
applicable) and an Insurance Card.
Please contact the school at 5214204
if you have questions.
A Modern Day Miracle
Pembroke-Do you believe miracles
, still happen today? If you don't, perVhaps
you will after reading about the
Wdeal Mrs. Peggy Ann Harris ensured.
\ It all began on Saturday. November
13,1999. Like every Saturday, she
wfent to the beauty shop: then to the
grocery store; and finally returned back
hoVie to clean house. Except on this
"day, she could not overcome the pressure
she was feeling in her chest.
William, her youngest son, took her to
the emergency room at Moore regional
in Pinehurst. She was admitted straight
into the intensive care unit due to a
heart attack and congestive heart failure.
Two days later, bad turned to worse.
She was placed on a ventilator to assist
with her breathing. This shocked everyone,
including her doctors. Things
continued to go wrong. Her kidneys
stopped working and dialysis was necessary
to perform the daily functions
ofher kidneys, the catherization ofher
heart revealed major blockages in four
ofherarteries. According to Dr. Robin
Cummings, he hadn't seen blockages
of that degree in quite some time. She
needed open heart surgery but due to
the severe complications with her kidneys
and lungs, the risks associated
with that procedure were extremely
higher than usual.
While the doctors worked vigorously
day and night to keep her
stabilized, more problems arose. She
suffered a stroke, developed pneumonia
and worst of all. began bleeding in
her lungs due to a hereditary problem
with the tiny arteries ofher lungs.
After almost four weeks of battling
one illness after another and one procedure
after another, she was
transferred out of the intensive care
unit. However, her ordeal was far
from over. She received therapy to
help her learn how to walk, eat, and
even dress herself again. The doctors'
plan was to send her home to rest for
the open-heart surgery .
After two weeks in the rehab unit,
she was able to go home. Unfortunately.
her stay at home was very brief
due to a second heart attack. She was
admitted back into intensive care on
January 2,2000, and placed immediately
back on the ventilator. Many
people doubted that her body could
endure even more illness. Hope was
very slim. At one time. Dr. Cummings
indicated that with all that had to be
done and with the potential counteraction
of the procedures and
treatments, she had as little as a five
percent chance of pulling through.
After two more weeks in intensive
care with around the clock care, she
was placed in the step do wn un it (3 A).
Several of the nurses who were caring
for our mother began to feel our frustrations
as well as our disbelief of
what had happened. "I am sure that
the bond developed between the hospital
staff and nurses helped us to
cope with the ordeal," states Lemark,
her oldest son. To prevent the risks
associatedwithanotherpossible heart
attack at home, the doctors did not
release her. She essentially had to
remain in the hospital until she was
strong enough to undergo bypass surgery.
Several weeks later, surgery was
scheduled for January 25, 2000, but
due to an unexpected snowfall (the
largest in years) it was cancelled. The
hospital was without power and water
for several days. Was that a sign that
she needed more lime to rest? Later.
Dr. Cummings stated that there might
have been a silver lining in that dark
cloud. Peggy strengthened even more
during that one week following the
storm. This extra week surely made a
world of difference in her recovery.
On February I, 2000, Dr. Cummings
successfully performed bypass
surgery of five arteries. By four o'clock
that afternoon, she was awake and
doing well and available for one quick
visit from her family and friends who
anxiously waited that day to see her.
The following day she was breathing
on her own and everything finally
looked like it was headed in the right
direction. One week after surgery, she
was allowed to go home.
Despite having to be hospitalized
twice since surgery to remove fluid
from her lungs, she is doing fine.
Today, she is back at work full-time at
her job with the TMH class at the
Pembroke Middle School. She continues
to be a great and loving wife,
mother, and grandmother to her family.
Most importantly, she is still an
active member of God's family.
During this three-month ordeal,
many prayers were offered and support
to her family was outstanding.
Many thanks go out to those who
visited and cal led the hospital; brought
food for the family and guests to enjoy;
fed her husband, Grady; kept her
company throughout her hospital stay;
and checked on her after she got home.
Last but not least, a special thanks to
Dr. Robin Cummings and the numerous
doctors and nurses for allowing
God to work through them.
If you ask Peggy today if she is
considered a miracle, she would smile
and say, "That's what they tell me."
FSA pays
Million in 2000
For calendar year 200, Robeson
County farmers were paid
$19,276,339 for participating in
Farm Service Agency (FSA) administered
programs according to
Giles B. Floyd, County Executive
Director of the Robeson/Scotland
Farm Service Agency.
Farmers who agreed to keep their
highly erodible cropland out of
production for 10 years and to establish
the land in trees, grass or
wildlife habitat under the Conservation
Reserve Program were paid
$9,659. Fanners that carried out a
conservation practice under the
Environmental Quality Incentives
Program and other FSA conservation
programs received $434,407.
Floyd said that farmers participating
in the 7-Year Agricultural Marketing
Transition Act (AMTA)
Program and the Marketing Loss
Assistance Program were paid
$12,133,284 to help offset heavy
losses from low commodity prices.
Eligible farmers and landowners
received $4,758,105 under the Tobacco
Loss Assistance Program.
Farmers who sustained quantity or
quality losses on their crops due to
weather related conditions received
payments in 2000 under Disaster
Assistance Programs in the amount
of $1,940,884. These payments to
farmers by FSA were of great help
to those farmers who were prevented
from planting or who lost
some or all of their crops because
of adverse weather, Floyd said.
Payment to Robeson County farmers
over the past several years are
as follows: in 1999- $14,029,308;
1998- $5,803,398; 1997$3,869,025;
1996- $3,667,457;
1995- $2,131,864; 1994$3,271,660;
1993- $6,071,203:
1992- $4,231,903; 1991$2,366,357;
I990-S2.86l.720.
Lumbee Tribal
Elders to hold
Spring Gathering
l.umbee Tribal Elders Council presents
their 7th Annual Spring Traditional
Spiritual Gathering- March
23rd, 24th & 25th, at the North
Carolina Indian Cultural Center in
Pembroke, North Carolina
Sacred Fire Ceremonies shall be
conducted at :Sunrise, Noon &
Sunset.
No Drugs, Alcohol or Profanity
allowed. There will be Pot Luck
meals served. Trading is done by
Barter Only. Everyone is Welcome.
Reviving Yesterday to Create
Tomorrow.
Activities and News from North
Carolina Indian Cultural Center
The NC Indian Cultural Center is continuing to offer pottery classes on
Thursday nights from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The cost ofthe class is $30.00
per month, which includes materials and instructors. Come leant contemporary
and traditional pottery-making techniques and help keep our heritage
alive. The instructors are Karen Coronado and Connie Locklear. For
more information call the N.C. Indian Cultural Center at (910) 521-2433.
Also, in order for the NC Indian Cultural Center to give away the 2001
Mustang, the NC Indian Cultural Center has to have a donation of 2800
tickets at the "Gathering of the Eastern Indian Nations at Sunrise" festival;
If we do not have enough donations, we will continue at the next
festival "Gathering ofthe Eastern Indian Nations at Sunset" which will
beheld on September 6-8,2001.
Pembroke Housing Authority
elects new officers
PEMBROKE-On Thursday, February
22,2001, the Pembroke Housing
Authority Beard of Commissioners
elected new officers for
FY2001.
Ms. Annie Ruth Maynor was
unanimously elected to the office
of Chairperson, She Served as
Vice-chairperson during FY2000.
Ms. Maynor was originally appointed
to the Board to complete
the unexpired term of her late husband,
Gerald D. Maynor.
Mr. Reggie Strickland was unanimously
elected to the office of
Vice-chairperson. He served as
Chairman during the initial reorganization
of Pembroke Housing Authority
until January, 1993. He was
recently reappointed as Commissioner.
The Authority's largest development,
Strickland Heights,
was named in honor of Mr.
Strickland's service to the Town of
Pembroke during his tenure as
Mayor.
Outgoing Chairperson Olivia M.
Revels will continue to serve as a
Commissioner.
"I enjoyed this service to our community,"
she says. "I look forward
to supporting my fellow Commissioners
in their newly elected offices
to complete the many tasks
that we have outlined before us."
For more information, contact
Lemark Harris, Executive Director,
at (910)521-9711.
Poetry Contest
open to area
Write a poem and win the
$1,000.00 grand prize!
Hollywood's Famous Poets Society
is sponsoring a new poetry contest,
open to everyone. There is no
entry fee.
To enter send one poem of 21 lines
or less: Free Poetry Contest,
PMBI26, 1626 N. Wilcox Ave.,
Hollywood. CA 90028. Or enter
on-line at www.famouspoets.com.
A winner's list will be sent to all
entrants.
"This is our big contest of the year,"
says Executive Director Mark
Schramm. "We trust our prizes will
encourage new poets to share their
talent." The deadline for entering
is March 31. 2001.
5K Road Race
part of St. Pauls
Folk Arts Festival
A 5K Road Race will be among the
activities that will make the North
Carolina Folk Arts Festival in St.
Pauls a very special event. The
Festival and race will be held Saturday.
March 24, with the race be- t
ginning at 9:30 a.m. Entry fee iy
only $10. with a free t-shirt to tW
first SO entrants. Medals willlfc
presented to the top three flni&Krs
in each age division. Plcas?*call
race organizer, David Lewis at
(910) 865-3833, after 6 .. for
entry information.
Democrats
to meet
. Precinct meetings will be held at
the polling sites on March 13.
2001 at P.M. The business to be
conducted will be the election of
Precinct Officers and other business
of the Democratic Party.
There must be 10 active Democrats
present to conduct business.
In the event of not having
a quorum a makeup date of
March 20, 2001 at 7 P.M. will
be set
Milton R. Hunt
Robeson County Democratic
Chairman
Doc Watson to be
atUNCP Mar. 16
North Carolina legend Doc Watson
along with David Holt will be in
concert at the Givens Performing
Arts Center on Friday. March 16
at 8:00 P.M. Also featured in the
concert is Richard Watson, the
grandson of Doc. These awardwinning
artist's have toured the
world over celebrating the down
home musjeianship that have made
them legends in their own time.
Tickets are $16. $14. $12 and $8
for children and students. For reservations
or more information, call
the GPAC box office at 910-5216361
or 1-800-167-0778. This performance
is sponsored in-part by
WKML, 95.7 FM.