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Page TWO Southern Pines ILOT North Carolina “In taking over The Pilot no changes are contemplated. We will try to keep this a good paper. We will try to make a little money for all concerned. Wherever there seems to be an occasion to use our influence for the public good we will try to do it. And we will treat everybody alike.”—James Boyd, May 23, 1941. THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina ‘‘I.iookout For TTiat Satellite, You’re Going Entirely Too Fast, Tighten Your Orbit, Watch That Curve THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1963 On The Right Track Formation of a Good Neighbor Council here this week, composed of Negro and white representatives, puts Southern Pines on the right track in attempting to meet race problems in this community. The town council was requested by Negro leaders, as voiced at a Tuesday night meeting, “to peacefully meet the demands of the time and work toward the ending of discrimination in our com munity on the basis of race ...” That seems a good definition of the council’s purpose—a purpose that will call upon the good will of all the town’s citizens, a purpose that will painfully strain long-held prejudices, a purpose that can bring Southern Pines successful ly through a time of change and moral Object Lesson For Young People The closing of schools and colleges, the exhilarating air of early summer, the phase of the moon or what have you— for some reason an extradinary number of young people (mostly 16, 17 and 19 years of age) was in the local recorder’s court last week. The charges ranged from failure to stop at a stop sign to (alleged) fighting with brass knucks. The speeding charges ran as high as 90 miles per hour—com bined in two cases with drag racing on the highway. Judge Fullenwider, as usual, linked understanding, severity and ingenuity in assigning penalties—in one case having a young defendant turn over the keys to his car to his father for a week, in anoth er putting two 19-year-olds in jail for two days, with instructions that they be let out at meal times to eat where they wanted to and then go back to jail. (Those several return trips to the jail, after a breath of freedom, must have been migh ty impressive on the teen-agers!). Second Thoughts On The College Last week in these columns The Pilot raised some questions about the communi ty college project—questions we felt should be answered before any organiza tion or individual could give the project unqualified endorsement. We were thinking primarily in terms of the endorsements being asked for in clusion in a brochure to be presented to the State Board of Education outlining Moore County’s qualifications as a site for such a two-year college that would give academic, techinical, trade and adult education courses. As it happened, the brochure was published and presented to the State Board of Education by the College Steering Committee (county board of education) before our editorial appeared. The brochure presents an impressive ease for Moore County as a college site. It is said to be the first such complete presentation by any county to the State Board of Education and would appear to put Moore in the forefront of the areas seeking allotment of one of the several colleges authorized by the General As sembly. On second thought, it is clear that sev eral of the questions we raised last week cannot in any case be answered at this stage of developments. The county board of education, for in stance, is acting only as a steering com mittee and, as soon as the college pro posal is fully presented to the State Board of Education, its job will be done and a board of trustees will take over the man agement of the college’s affairs from that point on. The present steering committee, therefore, cannot commit itself beyond the bounds of its preliminary function. Also, we are informed, since writing last week, that the county board of educa tion is by no means “insisting” that the college be built in physical conjuction with a consolidated high school; and that it is likely that bond issues for the col lege and for the high school construction needs of the county would, on an election, ballot, be listed as two separate items, though perhaps on the same ballot. Moreover, nobody can say at this stage what interpretation the State Board of Education will put on that portion of the community college law which says that public schools in the area must not “be affected adversely” by financing and con struction of the college. That ruling will simply have to come later and the assumption now, by all of us who believe in the need for this col lege and its tremendous potential for the good of the area, should be that the de cision will be reasonable and within the ability of the county to comply. The brochure says the college will cost W .I'K. re-assessment that must be faced by every bi-racial community in the nation. The Good Neighbor Council was set up on the same day that Governor Sanford made his eloquent appeal to North Car olina’s pride “as a people of good sense” to stop mass demonstrations and start deliberations. There is every evidence that disorder, violence and public hysteria can be avoided here. While firm in their deter mination to press steadily toward an end ing of all aspects of racial discrimination, it was obvious at Tuesday’s meeting that the Negro leaders of Southern Pines want to proceed peacefully. The community is fortunate that ne gotiations are beginning with good will on both sides. If® A glance at the docket for such a session as that of the local court last week ex plains the soaring liability insurance rate on automobiles driven by young men. The number in court presumably represents only a proportion of the youthful speed ers, racers and careless drivers who are on the roads at any given time—the pro portion who were caught. But the young people who went through Judge Fullenwider’s court last week may be the lucky, ones for having been caught, for having seen the inside of a jail and having been forced to realize the seriousness of their transgressions, be fore becoming involved in some disaster on the highway. Meanwhile, in both East and West Sou thern Pines, other groups of young people are taking the schools’ driver training course, in preparation for obtaining their first driver licenses. Let us hope that, before they are turn ed loose on the roads, they can somehow be made to understand the life-and-death importance of obeying traffic laws. -p^r?c 90% OF WOODS BLAZES PREVENTABLE Fires Take Toll In Wildlife^ Trees less than $1 million. A committee com posed of chairmen of the three boards of education in the county, a county com missioner and an accountant is studying the bond issue construction needs of all the Moore County school systems. We suppose exact figures can’t yet be de manded. Then, too, this week, came the good news that two and a half million dollars, contingent on a State surplus on July 1, 1964, will be made available to North Carolina counties for school construction needs and also—as this was written early in the week—there is prospect that the $100 million State school bond issue, to be voted on in the fall of 1964, may offer in the next few years, further relief to counties hard pressed for school construc tion funds. It should be noted, too that everybody concerned, in dealing with the college project, is breaking new ground. There are no precedents to point the exact turns that events will take. And there is time. The people of Moore County are not being rushed and we are confident the public will be adequately and fully informed before the vital bond issue decisions are posed. The Pilot is for the college. If we find the status of some of the planning for it confusing, we are also confident the pro ject can and will be brought to a success ful conclusion. At least there is no reason now to think this cannot be accomplished. Humans And Flowers Well, the bulbs are long over; except for a few lilies sailing up in the most startlingly bright and beautiful apparel. And the Day lily clumps, shading from pole cream to deepest orange-red. Now the annuals, coming into flower, are fairly bursting in a wild range of colors and shapes. They take the stage just as the great swansong flowering of the pansies, before they start to spindle, is at its height. What a gathering of flowers—how they make glad the heart! And still—and still —the bulbs, the shortest lasting—as if to emphasize their preciousness—aren’t they the loveliest? Here’s a verse, a translation from the Greek, that comes close to expressing the human’s depth of gratitude to the flowers: If thou of fortune be bereft And in thy store there be but left Two loaves—sell one and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. Sandhills residents are more conscious of woods fire dan ger now than in many years —following the disastrous fires of April 4, one of which burned over some 25,000 acres and took a heavy toll in homes, farm buildings and other structures, in addition to timber and wildlife dam age running into many mil lions of dollars. Most woods fires, like the “Big Fire” of April 4, result from carelessness. For this reason the Division of For estry of the N.i C. Department of Conservation and Devel opment carries on a year- round educational campaign, to cut down the fire toll. Cooperating in that cam paign, The Pilot reprints herewith, in part, an article, “Wildfire!” that appeared re cently in “Wildlife in North Carolina,” official publication of the N. C. Wildlife Re sources Commission: During 1963 there will be over 3,000 separate forest fires in North Carolina and they will consume nearly 60,000 acres of valuable timber. This grim pre diction will come true unless we as sportsmen take steps to com bat needless wood fires. Over 90 per cent of ths forest fires in North Carolina that annually de stroy thousands of dollars worth of timber and countless homes for wildlife can be prevented. Wildfires literally take game from the hunter’s bag as well as destroy wildlife habitat and den trees. Secondary effects of un controlled fires are the destruc tion of wildlife food plants thus driving out game for several years in some areas and the elim ination of cover which leaves many wildlife species open to in creased predation. Nature does heal the wounds left by wood fires, but even those trees that escap.9 the onslaught of flames are more susceptible to disease and insect attacks. The very soil in burned-over forest may take years to regain its growing abilities. What is a well-managed forest worth? The timber cruiser and lumber man can tell us practical ly down to the last dollar the value of the wood products in any given stand. To the hunter and even the fisherman, the value might be even higher as habitat for game and as a silt-free water shed for streams and lakes. The camper, Sunday hiker, the bird watcher—all place a value on the woodland that can’t be measured in dollars and cents. Very Often the benefits of a timber stand are multiple and severa,! interests including the lumberman, sportsman and camp er, can utilize the same piece of woodland. A forested watershed is vitally important to municipal water supplies and industry as well as being essential to maxi mum fish production in streams and lakes. Good forestry practices are aim ed at the harvest of mature tim ber while at the same tir-.e per petuating the .sta-n-l f^r future production. GeneraLy included in these procedures is fire protec tion—both prevention and fire fighting. Fire control is generally divi ded into the fields of “behavior” effects, prevention, detection, sup pression, use and economics. Fire is a powerful molder of woodland environment, and can exert pro found total effects on wildlife and the plant community. Brush burning is still our num ber one cause of forest fires, and the critical time is spring and early summer. Each year, over 30 per cent of the woodsfires in North Carolina are the result of careless debris burning. A mo ment’s thoughtlessness can de stroy acres of wildlife habitat that took years to build. When burning fields, debris, or new ground, remember: • Notify your neighbors and County Ranger before burning. • Have plenty of help and JUNE DAYS BEGIN EARLY From The New York Times The sun now rises soon after 5 o’clock daylight time, June days begin early, possibly because there is so much for June to ac complish. The leaves are spread, the early flowers have bloomed, and now comes the surge of growth that makes July and August. Tree and vine, bush and grass need full 15 hours of day light to complete their annual assignment. But even a June day begins with a sense of peace and leisure. Night is gone, the stars have faded, yet the day itself takes its own time in rousing. The insects are quiet, still sluggish with the night’s chill. A few birds sing, but even the chattering brown thrasher is somewhat restrained, waiting for full sunlight. The night’s mist lingers in the hollows, shimmering like remnants of vanished starlight, reluctant to go. The trees, lush with fresh green, seem to shiver and stretch as a breath of breeze touches them. They shed a fine shower of dew from their night-washed leaves and almost catch their breath, as though newly wakened. Beneath them, the gress twinkles. Butter cups nod at the edge of the hay meadow, and yesterday’s cutting of hay, awaiting the day’s sun for further curing, breathes the essence of June in the dampness of first sunlight. A robin scolds, then flies to the tall elm and begins to sing. A grosbeak takes the cue and whistles from the nearest maple. The thrasher stops chattering. The mist rises and the day begins, but still unhurried, still peace ful, still full of that sense of un ending time, of long-day June. tools on hand. • Plow or rake a firebreak at least six feet wide around area to be burned. • Burn late in afternoon— wait until winds lays and woods are not so dry. • Stay with burning until it is dead out. From October 1st until June 1st the law requires that any per son burning any material between the hours of midnight and 4 p.m. is required to obtain a burning permit if the burning is within 500 feet of lands protected by the state. An exception to this is as follows: The brush burning per mit law does not apply to any fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling house. Burning permits may be obtained free of charge from any duly authorized agent of the North Carolina Diyis- ion of Forestry. Contact your County Ranger, fire tower look out, or any Forest Ranger, fire tower lookout, or any Forest Ser vice employyee for information. Sparks escaping from trash burning by well-meaning subur ban residents have become a major cause of forest fires in North Carolina. Generally speak ing, housewives are the chief of fender, though rarely does fire escape from the same house twice. This source of forest fire could be eliminated by following these simple rules: • Use a safe trash burner or incinerator. A simple, in expensive incinerator may be constructed from an old oil drum with a piece of heavy screen wire serving as a top or lid. The lid is of great importance as many fires start from trash burning in drums which have no top to prevent the escape of burning paper. • Keep the area around the incinerator free of dead grass or other flammable material. • Do not place incinerator too close to woods. • Do not bum on exception ally windy days. • Do not leave fire unattend ed. Smokers contribute to almost 20 percent of our forest fires. A smoldering cigarette—all can be come torches of destruction. And the careless individual responsi ble won’t even realize that it was he that sparked the fire. Over ten percent of Tarheel woods blazes are started by cam pers, hunters and fishermen. There isn’t an outdoor enthusiast who would intentionally light a forest fire. Yet, the abandoned camp fire springs to life and creeps into the surrounding forests. A moment’s thought and a little effort in clearing a space for the cooking fire, plus a thorough drenching of the fire area when camp is broken would save hundreds of acres of wild life-producing wood lands each year. Niaff Said Speedy scribbling in your court reporter’s notebook results some times in jottings that are odd, to say the least; though sometimes oddly apt. Like this: Judge to weak-chinned youth: “Speeding 90 in a 50 zone! Will you tell me why in the world you were going so fast?” On the line below are the words: “parents and pregnant wife.” What? No Ice-Cream Even? Question: What establishment gets free ads every Wednesday.? Answer: Howard Johnson. Every other speeder convictd of a traffic offense is trudging down Route 1 to H. J. in compliance with Judge Harry Fullenwider’s sen tence, pronounced loud and clear: “Walk to Howard Johnson or take your punishment.” How about putting sandwich boards on those folks: HOWARD JOHNSON’S OR JAIL! Wonder if Voit has thought of that one? Headlines Again Two headlines in the daily paper a while ago caught the eye, as headlines are supposed to do, but not exactly in the ortho dox way. One of these said that Mr. Breathit was in a fix and the other said that the breath-test gimmick, for spotting alcoholic drivers, had been passed by the Legislature. Wouldn’t it have been tidy if Mr. Breathit had volunteered to breathe it and give it a dry run, so to speak, killing two birds with one breath? First Night Game Do those Little Leaguers, sit ting in their dugouts while the team plays, realize that the tra dition of baseball at night started back in 1883? It was out in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And the candle- power used up was terrific. Most of the audience decided the game wasn’t worth the can dle and went home. Pick It Up! All honor to the policeman who was seen arresting a man for throwing trash in the street. This heartening sight was not observed hereabouts, we are forc ed to admit, but up in Raleigh. More power to them! Fine Record A while ago a report was pub lished in the News and Observer of th.3 remarkable record being made by the Raleigh Police De partment. It strikes us to be well worth repeating: According to the N&O, Raleigh, with a force of 93 policemen, (31 of these on traffic detail), has the lowest number of officers per cap ita population in any North Car olina city and here’s the record: it had also this year the lowest number of crimes. Don't Look Parked along Broad Street for a few moments last hot after noon, we looked with awe not to say apprehension at some of the damsels who came parading by. It wasn’t so bad when they came at you, but going away was some thing else again. They weren’t only damsels either, but dames as well: happy, placid, well-pad ded dames. Watching the parade go by, we were reminded of that quatrain addressed to a young lady by the wonderful Ogden Nash: Sure, deck your lower limbs in pants Yours are the Limbs, my sweeting, You look divine as you ad vance— Have you seen yourself re treating? THE PILOT Published Every Thtirsday by THE PILOT. Incorporated Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941—JAMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict Associate Editor Dan S. Ray Gen. Mgr, C. G. Council Advertising Bessie C. Smith Advertising Mary Scott Newton Business Mary Evelyn de Nissoff Society Composing Room Dixie B. Ray, Michael Valen, Thomas Mattocks, J. E. Pate, Sr., Charles Weatherspoon, (jlyde Phipps. Subscription Rales Moore County One Year $4.00 Outside Moore County One Year $5.00 Second-class Postage paid at Southern Pines, N. C- Member National Editorial Assn, and N. C. Press Assn.
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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June 20, 1963, edition 1
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