Harnett Oo# LLbrarj?
Lllllngton
HC 27o48
News & Advertising
Deadline: Monday Noon
Harnett County News
Published Continuously Since 1919
VOL. 62
THURSDAY, JUNE 28. 1979
TWENTY CENTS
Thousands Expected For Eventful Day In Park
Bjr LORRAINE MIZE
Lillington’s annual Fourth of
July activities have gained the
reputation of being one of the
best celebrations held in this
part of the state. This year’s
activities should prove to be no
different.
Opening this year's events
once again will be the third
annual Cape Fear River Race,
Sponsored by the lillingtoh
Riwanis Club.
' Boat race chairman Rodney
Tut said a money race for flat-
bottom boaU has been added to
{his year’s running due to
^pulu demand.
^ “If everybody participates
{hrt asked for it, we should
bave the biggest field we've
?ver had,” he sud.
' The’ two money races this
^ar are m the Open Division,
>ith two classes featured,
^oes and flat-bottoms. Entry
are $10 per craft for canoes
^d $5 per' craft for llk-bot-
^ms. Only two persons are
^owed per craft.
The canoe race will begin at 9
a.m. at Captain’s Landing and
will finish at the Lillington
bridges between 11 a.m. and 12
noon. The flat-bottoms will
begin at 10 a.m. at Hector’s
Creek and will also finish at the
bridges at about the same time
as the canoes.
Registration for both races
willl begin at 8:30 a.m. at the
respective starting points and
will continue untQ starting
time.
First place winners in the
canoe race will receive 60
percent of the totalentry fees,
mth a minimum guuantee of
$100, and a trophy.
First place finishers in the
flat-bottom class will receive 50
percent, with a minimum of
$25, and a trophy.
In the Sportsman Division,
first place.winners in all classes
will receive trophies and
ribbons, while second and third
place finishers will get ribbons.
All trophies are sponsored by
local merchants.
The three classes within the
division are canoes and kyacks.
flat-bottom boats and one class
for anything that floats.
Again, a limit of two persons
is allowed per craft and entry
fees for all classes are two
dollars per craft.,
AD the races wUl begin at
Hector’s Creek and will finish
at approximately the same time
at the lillington bridges.
Caones and kyacks will begin
at 10 a.m., flat-bottoms wiU
start at 9:30 and aU others wfll
begin at 9. AU entrants must
register 30 minutes before their
starting time.
Because of safety factors,
several rules have been made
for this year’s race and no
exceptions wiU be aUowed.
First, aU participants must
wear life preservers. Entrants
under 18 must have a signed
parental consent form and must
have an adult in the same boat.
Proof of age will be required.
Forms may be obtained from
the Lillington Chamber of
Commerce office or the Harnett
County News.
Amateur radio operators
firom the uea wiU be p»itioned
at points along the river and at
the bridge to help co-ordinate
the event. They wiU also be set
up at the park during the
afternoon.
One majo^ event of interest
at the afternoon Festival in the
Puk wiU be a display of stuned
glass creations by Jack Pinker
ton. Pinkerton wiU be on hand
to talk w about his craft.
Retired firom the U.S. Army
after 22 years of service, he was
a riding instructor at Campbell
College for three years.
One of the most popular
features of last year’s Festival
in the Park, the helicopter ride,
wiU be back again this year.
The appearance of the
helicopter, owned by Executive
Helicopters of Atlanta, is
sponsored jointly this year by
Bank of North Carolina, the
Harnett County News and the
local Chamber of Commerce.
The helicopter should arrive
in lillington sometime during
the mid-morning and should be
ready for riders around mid
day.
Tickets for the rides are six
doUars each, with two passen
gers going up each time.
'Tickets wiU be available at the
sponsors’ office and at the park
on the day of the festival.
A new event for the park this
year is the candy drop
sponsored by the Lillington
iUwanis Club.
Dwight CorbeUo of Lillington
will fly a small plane over the
park at about 2:15 and drop
about 100 candy b^, .each
attached to a smaD parachute.
ChiMren wiU then be aUowed to
gather the candy oh the field.
An age limit on participating
children wiD be announced
prior to the drop.
Sky divers will be perform
ing at 2 and 4:30 p.m. A rocket
show, sponsored by Collins
Mini Mall, wUl be conducted at
4:45 p.m.
The Lillington Rotary Club
will hold its annual bubeciie
supper at the Fireman’s Hut at
the park from 6-8 p.m. Plates of
chicken or pork, potato salad,
slaw and hushpuppies will be
available.
Tickets are $2.50 each and
wiU be avaDable at the park
from any Rotarian. Advance
tickets can be purchased from
Mid-South Bank. As in al the
club’s projects, aD proceeds wiD
go back into the commimity
through various service pro
jects.
Another new attraction to
this year’s festivities is the
operation' of a shuttle ' bus
service to the park.
An activity bui on loan ^m
the Harnrtt-school system wiU
be used for the shuttle service,
another feature sponsored by
the Lillington Kiwanis Club.
There will be no charge for
riding.
The end of daylight hours by
no means summons the end of
the day’s activities.
The Miss Fourth of July
pageant and the street dance,
tr^tional events sponsored
annually by the Lillington
Jaycees, will be held at the
park this year instead of Front
Street. .
The dance wiU begin at 8 p.m.
Tickets for one doUar, wUl be
used in a drawing for three
prizes sponsored by the
Jaycees.
First prize is a riding lawn
mower, second prize is a gass
griD and a 10-speed bicycle wiU
be offe^ for third prize.
Tickets will be available firom
aU Jaycee members, the Fabric
Shop, the conteMants in the
pageant and at the park. Music
for the band wiU be provided by
“The Contents,” a coimtry-rock
band.
. Vying for the Miss Fourth of
July crown wiD be Catherine
Denise Spivey, Anita Gayle
Denning, Dayna Andrien Jung,
Donna Lynn Trasti, Kathy
Williams, Annie HoUman and
Frankie Cotten.
At about 9:45, the skies of
Lillington wiD Ught up with the
bursts of fireworks and noise-
makers. Festival chatoan Dan
Denning has promised that this
year’s show wiD be the most
spectacular ever seen at the
park.
The fireworks this year are
sponsored by the Lillington
Volunteer Fire Department,
which solicited contributions
firom area businesses and civic
dubs to help pay for the event.
The fire department agreed
to take over the event because
of the troubled financial status
of the local Chamber. As an
incentive fH- contributions, it
has promised to display in
fireworks the logos and club
symbols of each contributing
organization.
The entire show wUl center
around a patriotic theme and
wiD end with a finale that
Denning says “wiD pop your
eyes out.”
•IVIARS, Hams Invade Lillington
 - By STEVE PLUMMER
^ MARS, not Skylab, is coming
^ LOIington July 4, but don’t
^anic ■ there should be plenty of
;.hams accompanying it.
Confused? Don’t be. We’re
^talkingalraut Air Force MARS,
*or hODtary Affiliate Radio
'System, an organization of
licensed amateur radio opera-
torii^ (hams) who work with
n^'tary stations ~ to' provide
^bal communications.
Stfil. confused? Then you
need to be here at the Festival
in the Park on July 4, because
the techniques and equipment
wDl be on display, along with
many ham operators, and the
whole subject should be made a
lot dearer.
. Vat Jones of Lillington,
omer and operator of The
Paint Works, is ah avid
a^eur radio operator and the
^ration scheduled for the
parh next Wednesday is his
idea.
“The whole thing started
when I was approached by
some members of the Kiwanis
Club for help in coordinating
communications for their boat
race,” Jones said.
More plans were made as
other ideas and suggestions
popped up. The end result is
that the folks at the park next
week wiD get an opportimity to
'witneM 'in. a^'ion 'one' bf-’th'd"
most sophisticated and efficient
communications networks in
the world.
“In addition to working with
the boat races, We’D have
equipment on display at the
park,” Jones said. “We'D be
talking to other hams around
the country and We’D be
sending personal messages for
people to any spot in the world
they want."
Jones said anyone who woiDd
like to send a brief message to a
frienD or relative, regardless of
where they live, should bring to
the park the person's name,
address and telephone number.
The radio operator in the
park wfil send the message,
with the aid of the MARS unit,
to a ham located in the
designated area, who will
contact the person personaDy.
The local appearance of
amateur radio operators wUl
serve three purposes, Jones
'said.V"-‘'
First' of all,' they will
coon^ate aD eonmimicatiqns
for the boat race, 'insuring the
safety of the participants and'
monitoring their progress on
the river.
Secondly, the hams will
display and discuss various
types of equipment and its
functions. This type of educa
tional discussion may prick the
interest of other potential
amateur radio operators, Jones
said. Tne demonstrations wiD
include sending personal mes
sages for interested persons to
any spot in the world.
FInaDy, the operators wiD be
receiving messages from other
hams throughout the coimtry
and the world.
“AD hams who contact us at
the park will receive a
certificate from us featuring
the location, event wd time of
our operation that day,” Jones
said. “AD they have to do is
send'iis a'siamp^,'self-addres
sed manila'envelope and well
send^them^a' Lillington Fourth
of July certificate." ' '
The ceriificate, an ink
drawing designed by an artist
friend of Jones’, features a
canoeist with a short-wave
radio sending a message to a
hovering helicopter. Names of
aD the dvie dubs participating
in the day’s activities wiD also
be listed on the certificate.
Jones said such certificates
ae common practice with other
amateur radio operators, who
ConUnned on Page 4
Around
Town
l—Bv STEVE PLUMMER •
VAL JON’ES [left], KIWANIS PRESIDENT GLENN JOHNSON
BunnlevelNative In N.C. Pageant
Bus, Traffic Plan May
Reduce Congestion
The Red Cross Bloodmobile
enjoyed consideravle success
last week, when 109 donors
turned out. Nenety-five pints of
blood were collected.
‘‘We were well pleased,” said
Mrs. Grace Swain, executive
secretary with the' Red Cross.
She attributed much, of the
success to the telephone
campaign by the RSVP volun
teers, who called previous
donors and urged them to give
again.
‘‘Mrs. Avis Halt had folks on
the telephone calling donors and
that made a difference,” Mrs.
Swdn said. ‘‘We also got 23
donors from Blue Bell. We
. 1 On June 30 in Raleigh’s
Memorial Auditorium a new
Miss North Carolina wiU be
crowned.
. Last year’s winner, Debbie
Shook, Competed as Miss
Spivey’s Comer. Th'is year
Velena Gaye Black of Bunnlevel
will compete in the pageant,
again for Spivey’s Comer, and
she hopes to duplicate Miss
‘Shook’s triumph.
Ms. Black the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Edward Black Jr., is a
-junior at Campbell College,
studying drama. She has
competed in several other
beauty events and was first
runner-up in the Miss N.C.
Teen pageant at Montreat.
For her talent presentation in
the week-long event, Ms. Black
will sing, “As Time Goes By,”
the song made famous in the
Humphrey Bogart film “Casa
blanca.” Accompanying her
will be Wjnette Johnson, a
piano major at Campbell Col
lege.
Ms. Black has studied voice
four years with Campbell music
prrofessor Susam Horton. She
also studied dance with Leslie
Carter, drama at Campbell
College and piano with a private
teacher.
Ms. Black’s drama credits
include several roles in
Campbell College plays. In this
year’s faU production of the
musical “Oklahoma,” she had
the role of Kate and worked
backstage with the make-up
crew.
In “The Misanthrope” she
played the role of Cetimenc, the
female lead. She worked with
stage design in the “Misan
thrope” and “Life With
Father” and appeared in the
Harnett Regional Theater pro
duction of “Hello Dolly.’’ She is
a member of the Campbell
Players and the Paul Green
Society.
The pageant began Monday
and will continue through
Saturday night when the new
Miss North Carolina will be
crowned.
Swdmsuit competition will be
held Wednesday night, evening
gown competition Thursday
night and talent competition
Friday night.
cooking. She has worked as a
waitress and said the job gave
her the opportunity to meet
people and be more comfortable
around them.
Her reason for entering the
competition was simple. “1 felt
like it would give me an
Continued on Page 4
Summer
Program
Announced
VELENA GAYE BLACK
The 10 semi-finalists will be
presented Saturday evening at 9
p.m. and the winner wall be
crowned around 11 p.m.
WRAL-TV, Channel S Ral-
,eigh, will televise the event.
Ms. Black Is just over S’8”, a
blonde with green eyes v^hose
hobbies include water skiing,
softball, weight lifting, photo
graphy, horseback riding and
The LDIington Parks and
Recreation Department will
begin its summer arts and crafts
program for children July 9 at
the Community Building in
Lillington.
Following is the schedule for
different aged children, along
with the breakdown of weekly
programs that wall be offered:
JULY 9-27
4th-8th Gradeta
Week 1, counted cross stitch;
Week 2, macrame; Week 3,
crochet.
JULY30-Ang.l7
ltt-3rd Gradera
Week 1, natural materials;
Week 2, yarn and cloth; Week 3,
paints and crayons.
All fo the above classes will be
offered free and will meet
Monday through Friday during
the morning hours.
Parents may register their
children for any of these classes
by calling the Lillington Parks
and Recreation Department at
893-2864 or by calling the
instructor, Phyllis Lawrence, at
892-8880.
Traffic control and parking
have been two major headaches
for the Lillington Police Depart
ment and the Chamber of
Commerce during the annual
July 4 Festivals in the Park, but
a couple of efforts this year may
be just what the doctor ordered.
First and foremost is the
implementation this year of a
shuttle bus service that will run
from the park to the central
business area of LDIington.
Sponsored by the LDIington
Kiwanis Club, the two activity
buses, on loan from the Harnett
County school system, wDI make
runs throughout the day. There
is no charge for riding.
The buses will run from the
park, up Main Street, right at
Front Street, left at Eighth, left
ag^in onto James and another
left at the stoplight to go north
on Main.
The bus will then turn right
onto Front Street, left onto First
behind the courthouse, left
again on Harnett, right on Main
and back to the park.
The buses are critical for two
reasons, explained Festival
chairman Dan Denning.
First of all, if the buses are
uses to their full capacity by
local townspeople, then the
number of cars at the park will
be sharply reduced, limited
mainly to out-of-town visitors.
Secondly, Denning said, with
the gas situation like it is today,
hundreds of gallons can ^
conserved by letting the buses
do the driving.
In addition to the shuttle
service, the police department
will restrict traffic on First
Street, as it runs by the park, to
one-way access.
' Traffic wDl enter Edgar Street
by Brock Chevrolet and turn left
onto First Street, passing the
park. Traffic wUl exit on D.
Street by the ABC Store.
Lillington police chief Lincoln
Neal said he hopes the plan will
help keep traffic moving and
prevent long tines of cars trying
to leave the park area at once.
One more area of parking
remains to plague the local
police and Neal admits there is
not much they can do about it.
The areas beside Main Street
near the bridges fill up with cars
every year as spectators at the
Cape Fear River Race arrive for
the finish.
Although the large number of
cars is usually there for only a
few hours around mid-day, they
create considerable concern
among members of the police
department.
The number of cars and
spectators at the bridge create
confusion and a real traffic
hazard, Neal said, particularly
to through traffic by vacationers
who are not aware of the
on-going festivities.
Neal said his -men each year
attempt to maintain control over
the amount of cars at the bridge,
as well as keeping people off the
bridge, but he admits it is a
losing battle. This is another
area that he hopes wall be aided
by the use of the shuttle buses.
really appreciated their coopera
tion too.”
Nineteen first-time donors
were on hand and several
veterans were awarded one and
two-gailon pins.
Receiving gallon • pins from
Lillington were Samuel C.
Hann, James A. Holbrook,
Randy Womack and Mrs. Ann
McCbrmick.
Wayne S. Dean of LDIington
received a tw-o-gallon pin.
Congratulations to these
people,' who really understand
the value of “the gift of life.”
Congratulations also go to the
LDIington Lions Club, which
sponsored the visit and provided
the labi>r for setting up and
taking down the equipment.
They handled it with their usual
competent professional style.
JOKARI TOURxNAMENT
David Stewart, basketball
Continued on Page 4
Compensation Schedule
Schedule
Of Events
The following list of events
is a tentative schedule for
the July 4 Festival in the
Park:
9-12 - Cape Fear River
Race
1:00 - Opening in the Park
2:00 - Sky-diving
2:15-Candy Drop
4:30 - Sky-diving
4:45 - Rocket Show
5-8 - Rotary Club Barbecue
Supper
8:00 - Park Dance
9:45 - Rreworks
10:00 '• Crowning of Miss
Fourth of July
Various games and
concessions will be avail
able throughout the day.
For Damaged Leaf
Several Harnett farmers woU
receive compensation for tobac
co crops damaged by S-D
fertilizer contaminated with a
potent herbicide.
Smith-Douglass Inc. officials
said Friday they were ready to
settle claims. Joseph J. Pointer,
company president, said in a
prepared statement that
“Smith-Douglass sales agents
wriD be in the field to meet with
-the affected farmers to begin
settling and paying clums.”
More than 600 acres of
tobacco in Harnett has been
damaged, according to James
Goff, Harnett agriculture ex
tension agent.
But some tobacco growers
have indicated that the damage
is growing out of the crop as it
gets bigger. “I think another
week will tell whether there
wDl be much loss or not,” said
Harnett tobacco sales supervi
sor C.E. McLamb, Sr. “Appa
rently some of it is not damaged
much."
Smith-Douglass has worked
out a plan for compensation
which is based on a formula
using the cost of the damaged
tobacco to date plus a profit
margin. Harnett farmers wiD
probably get several hundred
doUars per acre, according to
one expert.
An estimated 3,0(X) acres of
tobacco in North Carolina and a
simDar amount in South
Carolina was damaged by the
herbicide picloram. The herbi
cide has been detected in
samples of three grades of
tobacco fertDizer produced at
. the Smith-Douglass plant in
Continued on Page 4
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