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BY VALERIE NICHOLSON
The trial of Henry Webster
Turner, 35, of Southern Pines on
charges of arson and the first-
degree murder of his mother,
which started Wednesday in
Moore Superior Court at Car
thage, ended Saturday in a
mistrial, with the jury hung 10 to
2.
Judge William Z. Wood of
Winston-Salem, presiding, had
asked for the vote count, but
without information as to how the
jury was leaning, and this was
not revealed in Court.
It was learned later, however,
that the vote was 10 to 2 for
acquittal.
Receiving the case at 3:10 p.m.
Friday, the jurors had returned
to the courtroom at 5:30 p.m. to
report through their foreman,
W.L. Baker of Southern Pines,
that they “could not agree.”
They were sent back by the judge
to continue to seek a verdict.
Called back at 6 :45 and asked
how close they were, they gave
the count of 10 to 2, whereupon
Judge Wood set the unusual
Saturday session, to start at 10
a.m. After three and a half hours
of deliberation, with a on&4iour
lunch iH'eak, they reported at
2:30 “no progress whatsoever.”
Judge Wood withdrew a juror
and declared a mistrial.
The action ended one of the
most dramatic, disturbing and
mystifying cases of recent
history in the Moore court,
presenting many puzzles, no
matter how it came out.
Turner, who with his mother,
Mrs. Julia McIntosh Turner, 70,
managed an art studio and
picture-framing shop which she
owned, is an artist, popular
socially, and a member of the
community’s young in-
telligensia. A number of friends
of all ages, from college age on
up to greyheads, were on hand
during much of the trial, some
remaining for the full four day
sessions and showing their
loyalty for the defendant in many
ways.
A young lady whom he had
been dating. Miss Olive Jenkins,
a distinguished harpist and
visiting artist at Sandhills
Community College, sat beside
him throughout &e trial, and
testified for the defense. On the
other hand, his sister, Mrs. Beth
Turner Bowers, well-known
portrait painter, sat with the
{M-osecution, and her husband,
James R. Bowers, testified
against the defendant.
Testifying at the close of the
trial as character witnesses for
the defendant were Jack Reid,
Watts Auman, Mrs. Peggy
Benedict, Jim Bowden, Gene
Phillips and Glen Rounds.
Another friend, David Drexel,
had made his $10,000 bond, which
was continued for Turner pen
ding further action of the court.
It was not immediately know
when, or if, a new trial would be
sought.
The case had been dismissed
by Chief District Judge F. Fetzer
Mills on preliminary hearing
February 24, because of in
sufficient evidence, but District
Dr, Bruton Is Confirmed;
Takes State Board Office
Dr. H. David Bruton of
Southern Pines was sworn in this
(Wednesday) morning at 11:30
o’clock as a member of the State
Board of Education.
The oath-taking in the old
House Chamber followed con
firmation of the appointment by
Governor Jim Hunt by
unanimous vote at a joint session
of the House and Senate of the
General Assembly at 2 p.m. on
Tuesday.
Dr. Bruton, who is the
Governor’s choice to become
chairman of the Board of
Education, will attend his first
meeting of the board as a
member on Thursday morning.
He is expected to be elected
chairman at the June meeting of
the board, succeeding DaUas
Herring of Rose Hill in that post.
Dr. Herring, who has served as
chairman for 20 years, was not
reappointed. He resigned
recently before serving out his
full term and the board elected
Lt. Gov. Jimmy Green as interim
chairman.
Dr. Bruton spent the
remainder of today in Raleigh
attending meetings of sub
committees of the Iward.
Also confirmed by the
Legislature on Tuesday were two
other appointed members. Dr.
John L. Tart, president of
Johnston County Technical In
stitute, and Dr. Ben H. Battle,
director of student teaching and
student placement at Western
Carolina University. They also
took office at the ceremonies in
the Governor’s office this
morning.
Dr. Bruton said Tuesday that
he looked forward to serving on
the board. “It’s a great challenge
Md I know of nothing of greater
importance than the education of
our young people,” he said.
mi
TOUR DE MOORE WINNER — Jim Huff, a
29-year-old school teacher from Michigan, coasts
across the finish line of the 100-mile Tour de Moore, 10
yards ahead of the pack, to win for the second year in a
row the annual bicycle race here. It was q record
number of entries—146 riders—and a record time of
3:57.47.—(Photo by Glenn M. Sides).
Tour de Moore Declared Success;
Huff Repeats As Bike Race Winner
Town Council Award Contracts
For Fire Station, Work Center
The Southern Pines Town
Council, in an “early bird”
meeting held at 8 a.m. Thursday,
approved the letting of contracts
for construction of a new fire
station, public works center and
related municipal facilities,
totalling $732,393.
Bids had been opened April 7
and 14 by the architectural firm
of Hayes, Howell and Associates,
and the engineering firm of
Brown, Edwards and and Miller.
Representatives of both firms,
which had done the preliminary
work on the project, were
present at the meeting.
The council voted to accept the
recommendation of Town
Manager Lew G. Brown that the
low bids be approved, despite the
fact that the total amounted to
nearly $100,000 more than had
been anticipated a year ago. The
Moore Board is Busy
With Budget Requests
Physicians
Meet Here
This Week
More than 400 physicians will
be in Pinehurst for the 123rd
Annual Sessions of the N.C.
Medical Society Thursday
through Sunday as their wives
attend the 54th annual meeting of
the Medical Auxiliary.
The President-Elect of the
American Medical Association
Dr. John H. Budd, and Dr. Jesse
B. Caldwell, N.C. Medical
Association President, will speak
Saturday at 1 p.m. at a
President’s Luncheon at the
Country Club of North Carolina
and a reception, dinner and ball
will be held in the Cardinal
Ballroom of the Pinehurst Hotel
that night.
(Continued on Page 11-A)
The Moore County com
missioners are getting up to their
ears in budgets, and so far have
approved only one-an ap-
ix-opriation of $7,000 as the
county’s share of the otherwise
federally funded Adult
Developmental Activities
Program.
ADAP, which has been holding
its classes for adult mentally and
physically handicapped persons
at Camp Easter since mid-
December, needed its money to
help with the move they are
making into the old classroom
building of the former West End
school, now a Community Ser
vices Facility.
Other budgets received
Monday by the commissioners in
regular meeting were those of
the Agricultural Extension
county office, and the Moore
County Library.
They received a presentation
of the Moore County Schools’
budget last Thursday afternoon,
and on Monday set a special
meeting for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
(tonight) of this week, at which
they will consider budgets of the
sheriff’s department, recreation
department and Economic
Development Committee.
The Sandhills Community
College budget will be heard
Thursday afternoon, following a
sitting of the commissioners as a
Board of Equalization and
Review.
Making the ADAP appeal were
Wayne Hyatt, director, and
several members of the Citizens
Advisory board, including Jim
Fort, chairman, Mrs. Cecil
Smith, Mrs. Joe Rosy, Stuart
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Crafts Festival Slated
At Blue Farm Saturday
project had been included in the
bond issue approved by the
voters last May, at an estimated
cost of ^5,000. While the bids on
the buildings themselves had
been generally in line with the
estimates, plumbing and heating
costs, paving, storm drainage
and sewer had increased more
than had been expected. Brown
said. However, the council
determined that there were other
sources of funds to be tapped,
and acted to get the contracts
signed, and construction under
way, without further delay.
Low bids were outlined in the
project cost summary as
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Democrats
Will Meet
Thursday
'Moore County Democrats will
hold their precinct meetings at
the various polling places on
Thursday, May 5, at 8 p.m.
Chairman J. Ed Causey of the
Moore County Dmeocratic
Executive Committee said that if
a quorum is not present for the
organizational meeting
Thursday the alternate date for
the required session is May 12 at
the same time.
The county convention will be
held at the courthouse in
Carthage on Saturday, June 18,
at 2 p.m.
Chairman Causey said the
dates for the precinct meetings
and other conventions were
changed from last winter to the
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Sponsors of the second annual
Tour de Moore were jubilant this
week at the success of Saturday’s
event, which saw a field of 146
Wcycle riders competing but
with Jim Huff repeating as
champion of the 100-mile race.
It was also a record time for
the winner-three hours, 57
minutes and 44 seconds. Last
year’s time was four hours and 19
minutes.
There were 46 entries last
year.
Hundreds were on hand for the
finish at the Southern Pines
Elections
In Town
Discussed
Should the Mayor of Southern
Pines be elected by popular vote
and should Town Council
members be elected for four-
year terms on a staggered basis?
These questions will be up for
public discussion as one of the
first items on the agenda for the
Council meeting on Tuesday
night at 8 o’clock.
Members of the Town Ck>uncil
are anxious to get public reaction
to the questions and have invited
citizens of the town to come to
Tuesday night’s meetings and
express their views.
Following the November, 1975,
election for the Town Council,
several Council members ex
pressed their concern about
various aspects of the election
and organization process under
which the Southern Pines Town
CouncU is how structures.
Should the Mayor of Southern
Pines be directly elected by the
public? Presently, all candidates
run for positions on the Town
Council. Once the CouncU is
elected, the CouncU members
(Continued on Page ll-A)
raUroad station and there were
hundreds others who watched the
race along a route which circled
Moore County.
It was a satisfying victory for
the 29-year-old Huff, a seventh
grade social studies teacher
from Waterford, Michigan.
He had driven the 800 mUes
from Michigan to Southern Pines
on Thursday, traveling in a
camper with his wife and two
chUdren, and he knew at the
beginning he was not the favorite
in the race, After aU, there were
two members of the 1976 U.S.
Olympic Team and four mem
bers in the U.S. National team in
Foxfire Election Held;
Beer-Wine Vote Sought
Ralph W. Olmstead has been
elected as Mayor of the newly
incorporated VUlage of Foxfire.
In the first election of VUlage
officers at which Olmstead was
elected, Robert M. Cooper was
chosen as mayor pro tern,
George Anderson as treasurer,
and Katie McWilliams was
named ViUage clerk.
The VUlage CouncU wUl hold
its official meetings on the first
Monday of each month at 10
a.m., and the public was urged to
attend the meetings.
The residential area of Foxfire
was incorporated by special act
of the North CaroUna General
Assembly on AprU 21.
At a meeting on Monday of this
week a Planning Board was
appointed, with General Joseph
Donovan as director. Other
members of the board are Boyd
Anderson, Leon Moultrip,
Richard Biggins and Ed Dorsett.
The Village . Council has
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Whispering Pines Tops
In Moore County Growth
Whispering Pines has grown
from 362 to 8(X) at a rate of 121
percent, the Department of
Administration for North
Carolina estimates from 1970-75,
and is the tenth fastest growing
municipaUty in the state.
Southern Pines has changed
33.9 percent from 5,937 to 7,950,
the Office of State Planning said,
and Aberdeen, 31.9 percent from
1,592 to 2,100.
The figures were estimates of
the average permanent resident
population, and were gathered
according to statutes which caU
for “reasonably accurate”
population estimates.
For the five year period, Moore
Ctounty grew 9.1 percent for a
total 42,600 persons, the report
said. The population in 1970 was
39,048.
Vass grew from 885 to 1,000, the
report showed, some 13 percent
and Pinebluff, from 570 to 640
was just behind it with 12.3
percent.
Other towns in the county
were: Cameron, 204 to 220, 7.8
percent; Carthage, 1,034 to 1,120,
(Continued on Page 11-A)
the race, and he said he was not
the strongest.
After the race, however, he felt
like he was smartest. “That’s
one of the neat things about
bicycle racing,” he said. “It’s
how you play your cards, not how
strong you are that determines
who wins.”
Huff came in 10 yards in front
(Continued on Page 14-A)
Board Choices
The Moore County Republicn
Party Executive Committee at
their May 2 meeting nominated
three candidates whose names
wUl be submitted to the State
Board of Elections, one of whom
wiU represent the Republicn
Party on the Moore County
Elections Board.
John Womack of Southern
Pines, Ken Smith of Whispering
Pines, and Jimmy Gamer of
Robbins were selected in order of
preference by the Executive
Committee.
A resolution recognizing
Coolidge Thompson for his
service as Chairman of the
Elections Board and Mrs. Janice
Batchelor for her service as the
other Republican member of the
Board was adopted by the
Committee.
Dr. John H. Budd
Traditional crafts, needle
work, art, farm skills and
machinery and antiques will be
featured l^turday. May 7, at the
Malcolm Blue Farm near
Aberdeen.
The bi-annual Historic Crafts
and Skills Festival is co
sponsored by the Malcolm Blue
Historical Society and Malcolm
Blue Junior Historians.
It is given to renew enthusiasm
for the American heritage. Such
a short time ago, in the 1800’s,
our ancestors were living a self-
creating and self-sustaining life.
Here at the festival demon
strations of such farm skills as
churning butter, milking, kettle
boiling of clothes, soap making,
candle making, rug making,
grinding flour, shingle making,
bee keeping will show how each
^ person needed a knowledge of a
■ variety of skills.
Women folk passed the
evenings with their needle-work,
quilting, caning chair bottoms,
using com shucks and pine straw
for decorative and utilitarian
household items. These too will
be shown by many Moore County
ladies Saturday.
Craftsmen played an im
portant role in the old days of
little industrialization.
Blacksmiths were vital to the
farmers in designing, creating
and repairing farm equipment.
Carvers were needed to create
handles, decoys, bowls, yokes
and artistic creations of life
likeness birds, animals and
people to marvel at. Weavers
made the cloth for all clothing,
curtains, linens and rugs.
Musical instruments were often
hand-crafted for perfection of
sound. Furniture makers were
vital and often created traditions
in design, revealing thoughts and
feelings of the time. These and
other crafts were needed in the
old days and also are to be shown
at the festival.
The Junior Historians have
done a great deal in preparing
(Continued on Page 11-A)
THE
PILOT LIGHT
Family Issue Crucial
In Child Abuse Cases
DEMOCRATS - Vice Presi
dent Walter Mondale made a
good impression on North
Carolina Democrats at the
annual Jefferson-Jackson Day
Dinner in Raleigh on Friday.
Chairman J. Ed Causey of the
Moore County Democrats said he
found Mondale “very friendly
and dynamic.”
Causey estimated that 3,000
persons turned out for the
People’s Party held at the State
Fairgrounds.
Prior to the reception and
dinner at the fairgrounds Mr.
and Mrs. Causey were guests of
the Governor and Mrs. Hunt at a
lawn buffet at the Governor’s
Mansion. All of the county
chairmen were invited and
Causey said about three-fourths
attended.
MOORE - About 20 persons
from Moore County attended the
Jefferson-Jackson Day events,
which also included a breakfast
Saturday morning at which Mrs.
Richardson Preyer was the
speaker.
Among those from Moore
attending the day’s events were
the Causeys, Joe Monroe, Voit
Gilmore, Peter Gilmore,
Woodrow McDonald, Herman
McOimmon, Carlyle Clark, and
the four children of Rep. and
Mrs. T. Clyde Auman-Bob and
Watts Auman, Nancy Cunning
ham, and Laura Auman.
Also Gail Rimer, Richard
McDonald, Elvin Jackson,
Hurley and Carol Thompson.
LEGISLATURE-Legislators
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Helping strengthen or restore
the family of an abused child is
“essential,” members of the
Moore County Child Abuse and
Neglect Committee said Thur
sday night in discussing a
possible therapy program led by
Sandhills Mental Health Center
personnel.
Such a program could be based
on the national “Parents
Anonymous” program for adult
members of the family, they
said.
Parents who are close to
abusing their children can call
for help in this program. It is an
organization of parents who are
learning to overcome abusive
tendencies. By helping each
other, they help themselves.
Dr. Robert Byrd of the Center
was asked to lead the effort to
provide a program here.
Frank Thigpen, Robbins at
torney, was asked to discuss a
guardian ad litem service with
other attorneys in the County, as
well as with Juvenile Court
authorities and Locke Gifford, a
Greensboro attorney who began
the service in his area. Such a
law, now before the legislature,
woidd have a person appointed
by juvenile court represent the
child. The person would not
necessarily be an attorney.
Dr. Richard Ray will find out
from the Department of Public
Instruction its ‘model policy’ on
how to manage a suspected child
abuse situation. Then a Moore
policy will be worked out.
Members of the committee have
offered to take part in the school
administration and principals’
inservice education program this
siunmer.
A Speaker’s Bureau and a
Traveling Exhibit to inform the
public on child abuse and neglect
will be set up, after exploring
these ideas with the Jaycees.
(Continued on Page 12A)
Dr. Kreps
Talks Here
0 On Energy
U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Dr. Juanita Kreps told a District
Rotary International convention
Friday night in Pinehurst that
her department underscored
President Carter’s economists on
the need for energy
conservation.
“By the year 20(X), unless
something drastic is done, at
least two-thirds of our oil
supplies for the country will have
to be imported,” she said.
“Eliminating waste in every
segment of our population” will
cause a significant result in
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Juanita M. Kreps