Index
4
Books, 2-B; Church Calendar, 3-B;
Classified Ads, 10-15-C; Editorials, 1-B;
Entertainment, 4-6-C; Obituaries, 14-A;
Pinehurst News, 1-3-C; Social News, 2-
7-A; Sports, 10-12-A.
s
LOT
Frost Warning
Forecast for tonight. Sunny, breezy and
cold today with temperatures in the.
fifties. Probable frost tonight. Chance
of rain near zero through Thursday.
Vol. 57, Number 21
50 Pages
Southern Pines, North Cartdina Wednesday, March 23, 1977
50 Pages
A,.'-'
Moore Votes Tuesday
On Water Bond Issue
$700,000 Option Is Taken
For Purchase of Weymouth
The College Foundation has
granted an option to buy
“Weymouth” - the Boyd E^ate
in l^uthern Pines - to the
Friends of Weymouth, Inc., and
The Nature Conservancy for
$700,000. The option runs for one
year..
Agreement for the acquisition
of the 200-acre property, which.
among other natural assets,
contains the last known large
stand, in North Carolina of virgin
long-leaf pine trees, was reached
by the Foundation, headed by Dr.
R.M. McMillan of Southern
Pines; the Friends of Weymouth,
headed by Admiral I. J. Galantin,
USN Retired, Country Club of
North Carolina, and Thomas M.
Chapel Hill, and
Washington, D.C.,
The Nature Con-
Bus Station Move
Denied By State
A petition by the Sandhills
Area Chamber of Commerce for
a new location of the bus station
serving the section has been
denied by the State Utilities
Commission after the hearing
commissioner concluded that the
Aberdeen site is “sufficient and
adequate for the needs of the
Sandhills area.”
The order will be made final on
April 6 unless exceptions are
made by the Chamber and
further hearings are determined
to be needed on the basis of the
exceptions.
J. Ward Purrington was the
hearing commissioner and his
report was sent to the Chamber
and others in the area this week.
The report follows a public
hearing in Raleigh on January 5
at which time the commissioner
refused to hem" requests for
“improved bus service” and
limited the hearing to the issue of
a more centrally located bus
station.
Seven alternative sites had
been proposed by the Ch^ber,
but none were accepted by
(Contiflued osrPage 16A)
Massengale,
John Payne,
representing
servancy.
According to Dr. Raymond A.
Stone, president of Sandhills
Community College and
secretary of the College Foun
dation, directors of the Foun
dation and officials of the college
want to see “Weymouth”
preserved and used for the
enrichment of the entire com
munity. They are willing to sell
the estate to the Friends of
Weymouth and The Nature
Conservancy, which has a North
Carolina branch, he said, for a
price regarded as being sub
stantially below the current
market value, to assure its
continuous use and enjoyment by
visitors as well as local
residents.
Admiral Galantin said that the
Friends of Weymouth will
shortly announce plans for a
public campaign to raise ap
proximately $1,000,000 to cover
the cost of acquiring, renovating
(Continued on Page 16A)
Moore County voters will go to
the polls next Tuesday, March 29,
to decide whether a county-wide
water system will be established.
A tissue in the special election
is a $12 million bond issue to
establish the water system,
which is being proposed by the
county commissioners after
more than ten years of studies.
There are 18,436 persons
eligible to vote, although election
officials are expecting about a
third of those registered to cast
ballots on a “Yes” or “No”
question.
Polls will be open at the
regular polling places from 6
a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Spearheading the campaign
for approval of the bond issue has
been the “Good Neighbors for
Clean Water” organization
headed by Norris Hodgkins Jr.,
of Southern Pines and Harris
Blake of Pinehurst.
Endorsements and strong
support for the bond issue and
water system have come from aU
of the major municipal gover
ning bodies-Southern Pines,
Aberdeen, Pinehurst,
Whispering Pines, Robbins and
Carthage.
Several organizations also
have issued statements of sup
port, among them this week
being the Vass Women’s Qub
and the Southern Pines Jaycees.
President Gregg Allen of the
(Continued on Page 16A)
FIRE DESTROYS CHURCH— This is all that was left
this week of Bethlehem Church, the oldest Baptist
Church in Moore County, after fire swept the
sanctuary and educational building early Sunday
morning. The only thing left was part of the walls of
the educational building.—(Photo by Michael Valen).
Moore Landmark Bethlehem Church
Destroyed In Early Sunday Fire
April 1 Is Music Time
For Picquet Festival
Council Plans Hearing
On Changes In Sign Law
Preparations are continuing
this week on the annual Picquet
Music Festival to be held April 1
at 8 p.m. in the Pinecrest
gymnasium.
The event is sponsored each
spring by the Kiwanis Qub of the
Sandhills, since its beginning in
1946 on the initiation of Charles
W. Picquet.
First on the program this year
will be the presentation of the
Junior Builder’s Cup, presented
each year by the Kiwanis Club to
the high school senior in the
Moore County Schools who has
proven himself or herself to be
the most outstanding student in
the county.
The music program this year
centers around the Walt Disney
song “It’s a Small World.” Ten
selections from different
countries are planned by various
choral and band groups from the
Moore County Schools.
The Pinecrest Stage Band will
begin the performance with the
overture of “It’s a Small World.”
The String Ensemble will then do
a Hungarian number entitled
Electronics Firm Plans
New Plant In Park Here
An industry, new to the San
dhills, was introduc'bd to leaders
of the area and members of the
press at a reception Friday
evening in the Member’s (Hub of
the Pinehurst Country CHub.
It was announced that Projects
Unlimited, a 20 year old com-
panj^ out of Dayton, Ohio, will
locate an offshot of their industry
in the Sandhills Industrial Park
on Highway 5 between Aberdeen
and Pinehurst.
The company specializes in the
custom design and construction
of electronic and elec
tromechanical systems, cables
and melded parts, audio in
dicators and systems and also
offer a standard line of solid state
audio indicators, miniature
flashers, panel-mounted alarms,
and test instruments, with
commercial and industrial as
well as military customers.
The firm hopes to start limited
production in one of the existing
buildings at the SandhUls In
dustrial Park by the first of May.
(Continued on Page 16A)
The Southern Pines Town
Council in special meeting
Tuesday night approved for
public hearing April 12 a series of
about 30 amendments to the
Town’s sign ordinance, com
prising however, only two major
changes; heard administrative
policy formulated on goals and
procedures in the personnel
area, aimed at the mo^ effective
service to the citizens, along with
fairness and non-discrimination;
and authorized the manager to
pursue certain opportunities in
state or federal funding which
might result in special benefits to
the town.
The sign ordinance, adopted in
July 1975, provided originally
that signs rated as non-
conforming under its terms
would have just one year from
enactment for amortization of
the owner’s investment before
having to be taken down, with the
council, however, having the
power to extend the time in some
hardship cases.
Extensions were granted on
request, some for as long as four
years, making five in all after
enactment, until finally, on
recommendation of the planning
board, it was decided to allow a
full five years for all the non-
conforming signs. Since the
recommendation was made at
the November 1975 meeting of
the Planning Board, this gave
until November 11,1980, for all to
be brought into compliance, or be
eliminated.
No Final Date
A major change slated now for
public hearing at the councU’s
April meeting would allow the
signs to continue in non
conforming status, without any
terminal date, subject to the
same type of controls as non-
conforming buildings and
businesses under the town zoning
ordinance-no changes in use or
message, no structural
alteration, no relocation, no re
establishment once the sign has
been discontinued, and others
along those lines.
The other major change has to
do with the size of ground signs in
the business areas, of which one-
(Continued on Page 15-A)
Bethlehem Church, the oldest
Baptist church in Moore County,
was completely destroyed by fire
early Sunday morning.
It was a terrible blow to the
266-member congregation, and
all day Sunday there was a
steady procession of cars past
the rubble Which was aU that was
left of the Moore County land
mark.
The loss was estimated at
$250,000, and there was only
$70,000 insurance on the sanc
tuary and adjoining educational
building.
The Rev. Tom Herndon, pastor
of the church which was formally
organized in 1834, said that the
blaze started between 1:30 and
2:30 Sunday morning.
Fire departments from Car
thage, Robbins and Seven Lakes
answered the call and fought the
blaze until they ran out of water,
he said.
The flames spread rapidly
through the church, which was
built of fat pine. It was raining
and the wind was blowing, and
the heat was intense.
“They might not have saved it
anyway, but the water ran out,”
THE
PILOT LIGHT
GET-TOGE’raER-There
were disclaimers of any politics
being discussed but there were
several state and local
politicians on hand fot* a get-
together at Ed Causey’s cabin
near Lakeview on Saturday
night.
Among those were Lt. Gov.
Jimmy Green, State Senators
Russell Walker, Charles Vickery
and Willis Whichard, and Rep. T.
Clyde Auman of Moore County.
Causey is chairman of the
Moore County Democratic
Executive Committee., Some
Republicans, including E. Earl
Hubbard of Southern Pines and
Harris Blake of Pinehurst, were
present, however.
One of the sub rosa subjects
being talked about in Moore
County is the liquor-by-the-drink
bill, which is expected to be in
troduced in the General
Assembly by the Mecklenburg
legislative delegation when they
think it is timely. Those at
tending the gathering at the
Causey cabin were quiet about
whether this subject was talked
about Saturday night.
DEMOCRATS-A full meeting
of the Moore County Democratic
Executive Committee is
scheduled for Monday, March 28,
at 7:30 p.m. in the courthouse at
Carthage. The main purpose of
the meeting, according to
Chairman Ed Causey, is to make
recommendations of three
names for appointment to the
county Board of Elections. The
reconunendations will go to the
(Continued on Page 16A)
the Rev. Mr. Herndon said.
Nothing was saved. Two
members of the church did at
tempt to save the organ and a
piano, but the flames forced
them back. There were three
pianos in the buildings, as well as
some valuable pictures in the
church foyer.
As the flames moved from the
back, where it was believed to
have started from a faulty fur
nace, the steeple collapsed. The
heat was so intense, Herndon
said, that it burned a hole in the
church bell.
The sanctuary which was
destroyed was constructed in
1885-86. The educational building
was wood with brick veneer.
Man Held
In Gun
Slaying
Donald Howard King, 35, of
Seagrove, Rt. 2, was shot and
killed at a rural home in the High
Falls area shortly before mid
night Sunday, and Gary Lynn
Brady, 23, of Robbins, Rt. 1, was
placed in Moore County Jail that
same night charged with his
murder, according to Sheriff
C.G. Wimberly.
Arraigned Monday in Moore
District Court, on the opening of
the current civil term, Brady
was denied bond, and
preliminary hearing was set for
Thursday, March 31.
Wimberly said the in
vestigation by his department
showed that the two men, with
Jimmy Brady, a cousin of Gary
Lynn Brady, after riding around
together during the evening in a
truck belonging to King, had
wound up about 11:30 p.m. at the
home of Danny Cheek on
Seagrove, Rt. 2, where Jimmy
Brady and his sister, Mary Ann
Brady, live.
Jimmy Brady, who had been
driving the truck, said he left it in
the yard with the two other men
inside, and went into the house.
(Continued on Page 16A)
Only the half crumbled walls of
the building remained on
Monday, and the area was roped
off to keep people away from
possible danger.
Bethlehem Baptist Church is
located on county road 1261 near
the intersection with county road
1243, between four and five miles
west of Carthage.l Its mem
bership comes from a wide area.
Immediate plans have been
made to rebuild the church, and
a committee has been elected to
decide “where we will worship,”
the Rev. Mr. Herndon said. On
this coming Sunday the worship
service will be held at the Fire
Station at Seven Lakes from 10
a.m. to 12 noon, and a decision
for future meetings will be made
at that time.
The Rev. Mr. Herndon said
(Continued on Page 16A)
Workshop On Downtown
Is Set Here Saturday
First results of a survey and
study of downtown Southern
Pines by two faculty members of
the N.C. State University School
of Design will be presented at a
workshop March 26.
The first of three community
workshops will be held Saturday
at 8-10 a.m. in the Town Hall,
with the exhibit of a model of
downtown as it exists on view
until 4 p.m. in the town
courtroom, to select major
planning issues from citizens.
Peter Batchelor, AIA-AIP, and
Spurgeon Cameron, AIP, former
resident, are being assisted in
the study by teams of students
from the Environmental Design
Program at NCSU.
Batchelor and Cameron are
interviewing downtown mer
chants and residents today
(Continued on Page 16A)
Baptist Head To Speak
In Moore This Weekend
Dr. James L. Sullivan,
President of the 12-million
member Southern Baptist
Convention, will be the special
pulpit guest March 27 at 11 a.m.
at the First Baptist Church in
Carthage.
On Saturday, Dr. Sullivan will
be the guest of honor and special
speaker at a dinner at the
Sheraton Motor Inn in Southern
Pines.
Prior to his retirement and
election as the top officer of the
world-wide Southern Baptist
Convention, Dr. Sullivan served
20 years as President of the
Sunday School Board of the SBC.,
The Sunday School Board is a
multi-faceted institution
responsible for church literature,
Broadman Press, Ridgecrest
and Glorietta conference
centers. Baptist Book Stores, and
other ministries.
Dr. Sullivan has been quoted in
the news media rather
(Continued on Page 16A)
Dr. James L. Sullivan
Tour Of Schools Proves To Be Eye-Opener
INDOOR SANDPILE — Mrs. Susan Riley plays with the children in the beautiful
Carthage Kindergarten building. Mrs. Riley is one of the two teachers at this
well-equipped Kindergarten.
BY PATSY TUCKER
Where are Dick, Jane and
Sally? These three characters
that lived in the homes of so
many generations of children
have gone the way of the dark
halls and Ix-own and yellow walls
that used to dominate the public
schools.
No longer does a child in
elementary school sit in one seat
all day long, only to squirm
through the bigger part of the
day. He wanders from one area
to another; uses materials that
just a few generations past he
would never have dreamed of
using. He has individual at
tention unheard of ten years ago.
My eyes have been opened to
public school education. They
have been opened to teachers
who really care about the
children they are in charge of for
a large part of that child’s life.
They have been opened to ad
ministrators who appear to eat,
sleep and breath Vacating our
young, from Kindergarten
through grade twelve.
The vision I was shown was a
result of interviews and guided
tours through some of Moore
County’s elementary schools in
an effort to find the results of and
ah understanding of the overall
reading program beginning in
Kindergarten through the State
Primary Reading Project.
I was not only thoroughly
impressed with the entire school
system and their approach to
education I was over-awed by the
attractive, very well-equipped
rooms, the teachers, and what
possibly is the best test, the
children. Nowhere was there a
Johnny with a scowl on his face.
There was no squirming, no
picking at one another; no faces
blank from boredom or teachers
with furrowed brows.
I kept asking and kept asking
everywhere I went. Why? What’s
happened since my oldest was a
first, second or third grader? I
had seen changes, of course, but
had not kept up as closely as I
should have for say ten years.
That ten years has proven to
have covered more ground than I
thought possible.
Then why? Complete
redecoration of halls and
classrooms with bright walls and
bright carpeting immediately
creates an atmosidiere that is
welcoming and pleasing to the
children. Equipment is un
surpassed. Each room is
equipped with headphones for
individual, study of certain
subjects; television sets for
special programs; books and
learning games; stoves and sinks
and refrigerators in a number of
the rooms; learning areas with
groups of chairs rather than the
thou^t of rows of chairs and
desks. Attractive wall
decorations in all cases show the
creativity of the teacher-not
only her own but those creations
done by the children.
(Continued on Page 15-A)
TO