Weather
More rain and drizzle are in prospect
for today and Thursday, with the
expected low temperature around 34,
the high about 58. Chance of rain is
nearly 100 percent tonight and
Thursday, 50 percent Thursday night.
:ay
Springs
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ml
MujE^rn.
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PILOT
Index
Books, 2-B; Church Calendar, 3-B;
Classified Ads, 12-15-A; Editorials, 1-B;
Entertainment, 14-B; Obituaries, 12-A;
Pinehurst News, 15-B; Social News, 2-^
A; Sports, 8-9-A.
Vol. 55-No. 14
32 Pages
Southern Pines, North Carolina Wednesday, February 5, 1975
32 Pages
Price 10 Cents
Power Rates ToDrop;
Workers Get Pay Cut
Some 11,000 residential users
of electricity in Moore County
wUl benefit from the 25 percent
rollback in fuel escalator
charges ordered on Monday by
the State Utilities Commission.
But 150 employes of the
Carolina Power & Light Com
pany in Moore County are taking
a 5 percent cut in wages,
presumably ordered by company
executives to offset part of the
revenue losses resulting from the
rollback.
The rollback will be effective
on bills rendered to customers on
and after February 1, according
to A. J. Wooddy, district manager
of CP&L. It is not applied to bills
of business firms, municipal
power companies and rural
cooperatives.
The fuel escalator charge has
been at just under one cent per
kilowatt hour of electricity used
by customers, Wooddy ex
plained. The 25 percent rollback
will cut this charge to approxi
mately three-quarters of a cent
per kwh.
A residential customer using
1,000 kwh a month thus will get a
$2.48 reduction in his bill.
Wooddy emphasized that the 25
percent reduction affects only
the fuel adjustment charge; it
Sheriff Questions Court
As Jail Continues Full
Sheriff C.G. Wimberly, making
his monthly report to the Moore
County commissioners Monday
morning, noted that the grand
jury report had indicated his jail
was “temporarily full” but he
said it was just as full this week
as it was before the court term
was held.
Of the new Moore County Jail,
designed to serve for the next 20
years, he said, “I might be able
to accommodate six more in
mates at this time, but not any
more than that.”
While the court was grinding
away at the trial docket during *
the January term, the grand jury
was busy finding true bills in
more cases than they were
getting rid of. Also, most of the
defendants in the cases disposed
of were already out on bond, and
the disposition of their cases did
nothing to diminish the jail
population.
Sheriff Wimberly said he didn’t
mean to criticize the courts and
there were undoubtedly good
reasons for their calling the
cases they did, but many behind
bars waiting to be tried, “only
two jury cases were held during
the term and only one of these
Father Considers Appeal
For School
An Army officer maintainini
his home in Southern Pines while
stationed on Fort Bragg said last,
week he is considering an appeal|
from a decision of the Moore t
County Board of Education
which permanently bars his son
from attending Moore County
schools.
Col. David Q. Cummings of 385
East New Jersey Ave., said he
agreed that his son William, 16,
deserves severe punishment for
his part in an incident late last
year at Pinecrest High School.
But he said he could not con
sider it “reasonable punish
ment” when it denied his son
opportunity to continue his
education while remaining at
home with his family.
The original decision was that
of Philip L. McMillan, Pinecrest
ix-incip^, who e:q)e]led young
Cummings and another student,
Steve Hinton, for an attack they
made on him in the school
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Rabbit Chase Results
In Bad Burns For Man
Donald E. Gillis of Rt. 1,
Aberdeen, was critically burned
Saturday in a freak accident that
occurred while hunting rabbits
along Highway 211 just outside
the Aberdeen town limits.
Gillis, 26, and an unidentified
companion chased a rabbit
which took refuge in a section of
irrigation pipe. To dislodge the
rabbil, the two attempted to
stand the pipe on end. In the
process, the pipe touched high-
tension wires overhead.
Gillis’s companion escaped
injury, but Gillis suffered second
and third degree burns over 40
per cent of his body, according to
a member of the Aberdeen
Rescue Squad which took him to
Moore Memorial Hospital.
Placed in intensive care, Gillis
was reported in “stable” con
dition three days after the ac
cident.
» Hodgkins Elected Head
Of United Fund for ’75
Norris L. Hodgkins, Jr., Senior
Vice President of First Union
National Bank, was elected
ix'esident of the United Fund of
Moore Ck>unty, Inc., at its annual
meeting on liiurs^y, January
30.
He succeeds Robert L. Royster
under whom he served as vice
president and chairman of
budget and admissions in 1974.
The annual meeting is the
occasion on which workers with
the Fund join with represen
tatives of participating agencies
and outstanding contributors to
In
Norris L. Hodgkins Jr.
present awards and to elect new
officers and directors.
Dwyer Sump, reia*esenting the
North Carolina United Way,
praised Royster and 1974 cam
paign chaimum Emerson Gower
for putting together “possibly the
strongest team effort Moore
County has seen in numy years.”
Gower presented awards to the
following campaign workers:
Larry Newsom, in charge of
professional contributions; Greg
Allen, public employes (whose
contributions were four times as
much as last year); Bill Toney,
banks; Walter Holden, com-
merci^; and Dave Leary, in
dustry.
He also presented awards to
the following outstanding con
tributors: First Union National
Bank, 100 percent participation,
award received by Bill Toney;
Town of Southern Pines, 100
percent participation, received
by Lew Brown, Proctor-SUex,
Ingest contribution, $14,000, in a
pilot campaign to kick off the
drive, received by Bob Parkent;
and ciarolina Power & Light Co.
for an average contribution of $20
per employe, received by A.J.
Wooddy.
Royster presented a plaque to
Gower in appreciation of the
(Continued on Page 16-A)
involved a man in jail.” Trying
him, the sheriff said, didn’t
help-he was soon returned,
under a two-year sentence to be
served in jail.
Watching his full house grow
fuller, Wimberly admitted he
had a-“hard time understand
ing” why, on Wednesday after
noon, the judge excused all the
jurors except those actually
serving on a case; and the whole
term wound up at the close of
business Thursday, leaving one
whole day unused.
Children’s Center
Mrs. Sharon Trent, director of
the Moore County Children’s
Center, a non-profit day care
center operating in the former
St. Anthony’s Parish school
building in Southern Pines,
presented the commissioners
with their first budget request for
the fiscal year 1975-76. liiis was
for the amount of $13,428, to help
meet a total budget of some
$31,000.
Mrs. Trent was accompanied
by the Rev. John Speight of West
End, chairman of the Center’s
board of directors.
Other sources of funds they
said, include the Moore County
Association for Retarded Child
ren, its prihcipal sponsor; N.C.
Department of Mental Health,
Division of Children’s Services
(a grant-in-aid). State Depart
ment of Human Resources,
Moore County Department of
Social Services, with contribu
tions from civic groups, private
citizens and the proceeds of
special events. Tuition fees are
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Dow Gifts
Presented
To Squads
Moore County Rescue Squad
No. 4, the Crestline Volunteer
Fire Department and the
Aberdeen Volunteer Fire
Department were joint
recipients of $4,700 in gifts from
Farm Chemiciils, Inc., at a
banquet Monday night at the
Holiday Inn in Southern Pines.
The gifts, most of them
designed to improve the local
emergency services of the
recipients, were presented in
conjunction with ^e Aberdeen
Jaycees as a result of a special
marketing program of Dow
Chemical U.S.A., Midland, Mich.
Dow’s program, based on sales
performance, provided
distributors of its agricultural
chemicals with dollars for
donations to local charities or
community service
organizations.
(Continued on Page 10-A)
does not alter the basic rate for
electricity. The fuel charge is
added to customers’ monthly
bills to compensate the power
companies for the higher costs of
coal and oil needed to generate
electricity.
Taking into account both the
current basic rates for electricity
and the 25 percent rollback, an
“all electric” CP&L customer
using 3,000 kwh per month would
receive a bill for $79.71 in
February, instead of $87.17. The
rollback thus cuts the fuel charge
by $7.46, from the previous $37.28
to $29.82.
Similarly, a customer with
electric appliances but not
electric heat who uses 1,000 kwh
a month would have paid $34.18
in February, but the rollback
means a savings of $2.48.
The reduction in residential
electric bills will have no effect
in Pinehurst, however. Pinehurst
buys power from CP&L, so is
excluded from the rollback,
according to Graham T. Doug
lass, manager of the Pinehurst
electric department.
A 13.2 percent increase in
Pinehurst electric rates was put
into effect last January 2 on an
emergency interim basis to
compensate it for the higher cost
of electricity it purchases.
Pinehurst has about 1,000 resi
dential customers.
The CP&L cut in wages was
system-wide. District Manager
Wooddy explained. It amounts to
(Continued Page 16-A)
Hunger Plan
Is Offered
By Church
Members of Enunanuel Epis
copal Church will celebrate l^nt
beginning Wednesday, February
12 with the customary three-fold
rule of worship, fasting and
prayer.
Every household has been
asked to have specifically meat
less days, but a nutritionous but
greatly simplified diet on Tues
days, or another convenient day.
Then, in lieu of what would
ordinarily be spent for food will
be made as an offering to be
presented in church in ordinary
quart-sized jars on Easter Day.
“Your offering will be sent to
meet the needs of the hungry
people everywhere, cooperating
with fellow Episcopalians all
over the world,” explains the
(Continued on Page 16-A)
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WINTER BROODS — There’s a stillness in this
woodland scene as winter broods in the Sandhills.
Golfers play and horsemen ride, but in other parts of
the region there is tranquillity as nature waits for the
not too distant spring.—(Photo by Glenn M. Sides).
Courts Facility Plans Proceed;
Judge Orders Hearing On May 1
Prodded by a grand jury
reconunendation and a courts
ordered hearing on May 1, the
Moore Ck)unty Commissioners on
Monday acted to speed iq) con
struction of new court facilities
in Carthage.
Superior Court Judge James
M. Long, presiding over last
week’s criminal term of court,
ordered a hearing at 2 p.m. on
Thursday, May 1, “to determine
if, in fact, additional courtroom
facilities for Moore County are
needed and should be required.”
Judge Long appointed James
R. Van Camp, president of the
Moore (bounty Bar Association,
to be in charge of arrangements
for the hearing, to which the
county commissioners, along
with other witnesses, will he
invited.
At their regular meeting on
Monday, however, the com
missioners continued with the
plans for the facility, with the
hope that construction can be
started this year.
They conferred with County
Administrator Bob Helms on
possible sources of federal funds,
and with architect E. J. Austin on
working up preliminary
drawings, tentatively by March.
Helms said he had two possible
fluid sources in mind, with
$300,000 the maximum ob
tainable, but to. get such funds,
“we need sonie sort of time-
frame, and some ball-park
figures.”
Austin gave his view that “a
Youth Given Jail Term
For Shooting Bike Rider
THE
PILOT LIGHT
A jury impaneled Tuesday in
the case of George E. Dixon, Jr.,
of West End, Rt. 1, charged with
assault with deadly weapon witii
intent to kill, found two days
later that it could not agree on a
verdict.
Following deliberations that
continued from Wednesday
afternoon through Thursday
morning, it was reported
hopelessly deadlocked and a
mistrial was declared.
Later that day, one of the first
cases in Moore Superior Court of
official “plea bargaining” under
a new law effective January 1,
Dixon came into court with his
attorney to plead guilty to a
reduced charge in the case.
The young white man, accused
of firing a rifle from a moving
truck at two teen-aged black
girls riding their bicycles on a
country road, and hitting one of
them, Clynthia Smith, pleaded
guilty to assault wi& deadly
weapon.
He received the sentence he
had requested and on which the
{vosecution and defense had
agreed—two years to be spent in
the Moore County Jail, to work
in and around the jail under
supervision of the sheriff.
Superior Court Judge James
M. Long, (vesiding, added also
the authorization for Sheriff
Wimberly to give Dixon time off
for good behavior, as would be
done for him if he were serving
time in the State Prison. This
could reduce his sentence to one-
fourth, or three months.
It will be further reduced by
the time of about two months
young Dixon spent in jail
area immediately after shooting,
which did not seriously hurt the
(Continued on Page 12-A)
LEGISLATURE — Talk of a
recess for the General Assembly
to await a clearer view of the
economy cropped up a few days
ago, but almost as suddenly died
down.
It’s true there isn’t a great deal
of activity in these early days of
the Legislature, but both House
and Senate leaders say there is
plenty of work ahead, even
thou^ legislators may not know
what the state revenue picture
wiU be until the middle of May.
Work will proceed on a line-by-
line scrutiny of the budget, with a
special committee in &e House,
headed by Rep. Billy Watkins of
Oxford, going over the con
tinuation budget. Look for
recommendations for some cuts
in present state services from
this conunittee.
Meanwhile, House Speaker
Jimmy Green is proceeding with
conunittee aiqwintments, and it
will probably be another full
week before this is completed.
There has been some criticism of
Green for slowness in appointing
committees but observers say
that he is not much behind the
schedule of sessions in 1969 and
1971.
Speaker Green is getting at
tention for the quick gavel he is
wielding in keeping order in the
House. “He’s all business,” one
member observed, “and I don’t
think you’ll see much horsing
around at this session.”
(Continued on Page 16-A)
High School Teachers
Report Reading Lack
program of our aims within the
building should be the first order
of business, in order to determine
the direction we’re going.”
This was done, he rect^ed “in
a general way” in 1972, when
through research he determined
just how much space would be
needed by each county depart
ment affected. However, the
project was envisioned then as a
remodeling of the courthouse.
Later, it was changed to call for
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Pinecrest
Gym Work
Started
Construction of the new Pine
crest gymnasium has finally
begun.
The gymnasium is being built
on the school’s campus behind
the cafeteria.
The contractors are laying the
underground drain pipes and the
total construction time is expect
ed to take 13 months with
completion scheduled for Febru
ary of 1976.
The cost of the project is
$1,070,000. The building will be
two floors with overall size at 142
feet in length and 116 feet in
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Tag Lag
BY DIANE HOGG
Reading is a key to commu
nication yet many students
graduate from high school
without sufficient reading skills
to insure a productive and well-
informed life.
In high school reading is taught
as part of the English program
but many teachers would like to
see reading back in the curricu
lum.
“A lot of children don’t know
how to read. I was sorry to see
the reading program dropped out
of high school,” says Mrs. Voss,
chairman of the English depart
ment at Pinecrest High School.
Reading is central to any
academic situation. “We really
need a reading program,” states
Tommy Richardson, 11th grade
English teacher at Pinecrest.
“It’s necessary for the kids to
learn to read if the rest of us are
going to teach anything.”
What problems face English
teachers in high school? Some
find fault with new teaching
(Continued on Page 10-A)
Bell’s Experience Makes Him Heart Fund Booster
Auto license plate sales in
Moore County are currently
running about 2,000 behind last
year.
Bill Bowen, who has charge of
the auto license bureau on US 15-
501, warned this week that unless
auto owners start buying their
plates now there will be some
long lines by the time of the
deadline for new plates on Feb.
15.
Tar Heel motorists have until
that date to purchase and install
new plates. After that they are
subject to arrest.
Warren Bell, one-time pro
basketball player, has a message
about your health. “No matter
how well you feel,” he says,
watch your blood pressure.”
Bell who, with his wife, Peggy
Kirk Bell, a championship golfer,
established the Pine Needles
L^e and Country Club, agrees
with the Heart Association that
there are lessons to be learned
from his life style and from his
ten-year experience with heart
disease.
In 1953 the Bells, newlyweds of
two months, selected the Sand
hills as the place to make a
dream come true. This was an
educated choice. Both of them
had toured the country exten
sively. He as a member of the Ft.
Wayne Pistons, a pro basketball
team, she as a golfer with a
string of amateur and profes
sional titles to her credit.
They knew the best resorts and
had acquired a pro’s eye-view of
their advantages and disadvan
tages. So they had plans for the
future. The ideal golf resort was
the goal. The lovely rolling
country of Southern Pines was
the spot.
Once Pine Needles was under
way, nothing would do but
perfection, particularly for War
ren. He was his own architect
and builder; together the Bells
worked out the interiors. “We
started modestly,” he said, “and
for three or four years it was a
struggle.”
The whole project was inter
woven so completely with their
lives that it seemed only natural
for Bell to work 18 hours a day,
365 days a year. Even after the
business began to mushroom, he
continued this schedule. He was
doing the thing he most wanted
to do, although he was not always
eating when he should and
sometimes falling asleep at his
desk. His health? It had always
been there. It always would.
True, he knew his blood
pressure tended to be high; and
that his father had died at 40 of a
stroke. But he thought nothing of
it until a Sunday in 1965 when he
was walking the 150 yards uphill
from his office to his home at 2
a.m. he felt severe chest
discomfort.
Still he was not alarmed until
the next night the experience was
repeated, and more severely. On
the way to bed the top of the
stairs seemed like the top of
Everest. On Monday morning he
was checked at Moore Memorial
Hospital by Dr. Joseph Hiatt,
heart specialist. Caradiograms
indicated that he had had a mild
heart attack of the angina type.
He was advised to remain in the
hospital for rest and observation
for three weeks.
“This is when I should have
(Ckintinued on Page 16-A)
Warren Bell