Index
Books, 2-B; Church Calendar, 3-B;
Classified Ads, 10-15-C; Editorial, 1-B;
Entertainment, 4-7-C; Obituaries, 7-A;
Pinehurst News, 1-3-C; Sandhills Scene,
2-4-A; Sports, 8-9-A.
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on Industry focuses on Pride-Trimble
today, in the first of a series of articles
on local enterprises. Page 10-B.
Vol. 58, Number 39
48 Pages
Southern Pines, North Carolina 28387
Wednesday, July 26, 1978
48 Pages
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HORSES ROUNDUP — Four highway
patrolmen and a Southern Pines policeman
played cowboy on Sunday at the Pine Needles
golf course. Three ponies got loose from the old
Smith farm on Highway 22 and were first
spotted at 10:30 a.m. by a highway patrolman,
who called Southern Pines Patrolman Richard
Williams. The chase lasted more than an hour
before the roundup came. The ponies were
owned by Natalie Baum of Country Club
Drive.—(Photo by Glenn M. Sides).
Tobacco Sales Open Here Tuesday;
$1.37 Average Recorded In Georgia
BY ELLEN WELLES
The tobacco warehouses stand
silent and empty now, but by this
time next week they will be
swarming with activity as the
first sales of the season begin.
The first sale is in Carthage on
Tuesday, August 1 and in
Aberdeen on August 2.
The first markets of the season
opened in Georgia and Florida
July 19 with an average price of
$1.29 per pound and a high of
$1.55. They resumed this week
Kelly Has Leading Role
In Church School Case
The Rev. Kent Kelly of the
Calvary Christian School in
Southern Pines in one of the
representatives of church
schools in Raleigh this week,
C protesting the state’s authority to
supervise private schools.
The other private schools in the
area allow this supervision.
Kelly has been unavailable
for comment all week.
However, a Raleigh source
quoted Kelly as saying “The
statutes of North Carolina..are
unconstitutional if they are
applied to our schools, which are
administered by the church.”
The issue has developed for
sometime as a few private
schools have refused on matter
of principle to have a few things
inspected—whether such schools
have libraries and sufficient
teaching supplies, whether
textbooks are used, and the
primary issue, whether teachers
are certified.
During Monday and Tuesday’s
action in Wake Superior Court,
(Contiqued on Page 14-A)
Diamondhead Reporting
Increases In Revenue
Increases in revenue and net
earnings for the first six months
of 1978 have been reported by
Diamondhead Corporation, the
owners and ' operators of
* Pinehurst, Inc.
Pinehurst is regarded as one of
the more profitable of the
Diamondhead resort operations.
According to a report released
this week by Jolm R. Kelly,
senior vice president for finance
and treasurer of Diamondhead,
revenues during the second
quarter showed an increase of 17
percent.
^ Revenues during the second
quarter of 1978 were $16,418,000
compared to $14,060,000 for the
same period a year earlier.
Revenues during the first six
months of 1978 were $27,377,000
as compared to $23,640,000 for the
same period a year earlier, or an
increase of 16 percent.
Net earnings during the second
quarter of 1978 rose to $1,093,000
or $.19 per share reflecting an
increase of $701,000 from the
same period a year earlier when
the net earnings were $392,000 or
$.07 per share. Net earnings in
the first half of 1978 increased
approximately $1,200,000 to
$242,000 or $.04 per share
compared to a loss of $965,000 or
$.16 per share during the same
period a year earlier.
Results for the six months
period are not necessarily
indicative of the results to be
expected for the year because of
the seasonal nature of the
Company’s business, company
officials said.
(Continued on Page 15-A)
with an average of $1.37 and a
high of $1.60. Last year the
Georgia markets opened with an
average of 78 cents per pound.
For 16 weeks, the Sandhills
will experience what has become
a tradition with its roots dating
back to the time of Sir Walter
Raleigh and the first tobacco
crops. While farmers speculate
on the price and hope for the
best, their families will turn out
for the year’s big event and
auctioneers and buyers will take
part in a ritual steeped in
tradition and romance which
some consider almost a lost art.
Surveyor
Position
Off Ballot
The Moore County Board of
Elections has taken the name of
(Charles (Chuck) Ward off the
November ballot for County
Surveyor because of a challenge
to the legality of election for the
office.
Chairman Angus M. Brewer of
the Board of Elections, in a letter
Tuesday to W. Sidney Taylor,
chairman of the Moore County
Board of Commissioners, said
that a ruling from County At
torney M.G. Boyette Sr., is the
County Surveyor should be ap
pointed and not elected.
As long as the office has been
established it has been elective in
Moore County. A few weeks ago,
however, C.H. Blue, a surveyor
of Southern Pines and president
of the N.C. Society of Surveyors,
questioned the legality of the
election and a ruling was
requested by Chairman Brewer.
Boyette discovered that a law
passed by the N.C. Legislature in
1959 provides for the ap
pointment of the County Sur
veyor by the county com
missioners, with 31 counties
(Continued on Page 7-A)
It is estimated Moore County
farmers will gross more than
$9 million this year and that
3,900 acresare planted . in
tobacco. This year’s “effective”
allotment is 4,191 acres and the
“effective” quota is 7,206,390
pounds.
Farmers on the Aberdeen
market alone are expected to
bring in $450,000 per ^y. Also,
the auctions bring business to
restaurants, hotels, grocery
stores and other types of
business. Most buyers here for
the season even rent office
space.
Those hearing the incessant
chant of the auctioneer for the
first tiiiie probably will not
realize the enormous amount of
planning that takes place before
the tobacco arrives at the
market, is set out in neat rows of
squares blocked on the
warehouse floor and is brought
by the companies which will
produce the cigarettes, and other
(Continued on Page 16-A)
A public hearing on regulations
to govern the sale of
liquor-by-the-drink will be held in
Southern Pines on Tuesday, Aug.
8.
Former Governor Jim
Holshouser, who was appointed
by Governor Jim Hunt as
chairman of a special committee
to conduct hearings and make
reconunendations to the state
ABC Board, said Tuesday that
the hearings will be held in the
Town Council room of the
Municipal Building.
Two hearings will be held
here-one beginning at 2 p.m.,
and the other in the evening.
Holshouser said that two issues
stand out at this point-what is
the definition of a social club and
will mixed drinks be served in
areas other than dining rooms.
He said that the ABC Board is
at work on developing the key
issues in proposed regulations
and these issues will be outlined
at the public hearings.
Citizen comment and
suggestions will be sought at the
five public hearings to be held in
the state, beginning with the first
at Charlotte on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Other hearings will be at
Asheville on Aug. 2, Wilmington
on Aug. 9, and Greensboro on
Aug. 16.
Holshouser said that after the
last hearing he plans for his
committee to meet for one or two
days to draft recommendations
for regulations and to deliver
those recommendations to the
ABC Board by the end of August.
The first referendum under the
local option law on the sale of
mixed beverages will be in
Summer Outing
The annual Summer Outing of
the Sandhills Area Chamber of
Commerce will be held Saturday,
July 29, at Pinehurst.
Activities will get under way at
noon with a golf tournament on
Pinehurst No. 5 course. Starting
times are from noon to 2 p.m. A
tennis tournament will be held at
the Pinehurst Tennis C3ub from
1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
There will be a picnic at
poolside at the Pinehurst Hotel at
6 p.m.
The Summer Outing is for
members and their guests.
Deadline for reservations is noon
Thursday. Call 692-3926.
Mecklenburg County on Sept. 8.
Southern Pines will vote on the
question on Sept. 12.
Holshouser, who opposed
mixed drink legislation during
his administration as Governor,
said this week that he now
believes the proposed method
may be better than
brown-bagging.
“There is a real hope that this
method will be better than what
we have had before,” he said.
“Based on the experience in
Virginia and South Carolina, this
new system may hold potential
for improving the situation.”
He sees the task of his special
conunittee as one which be
dealing with policy as well as
specifics. “Our job is to make the
new system work,” he said.
He pointed out, however, that
“some key issues already have
been taken care of by the
Legislature.”
In regard to reaching a
definition of a social club, which
under the law may serve mixed
drinks if approved in a local
option election, Holshouser said
that is “not as serious a question
here as it may be in Charlotte
where there are discos.”
The other issue which he sees
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Downtown Plan Is Talked
But Action Comes Slowly
Tax Collections Better,
Report To Board Shows
The percentage of taxes
collected last year in Moore
County is up slightly from that of
the 1976-77 fiscal year, it was
learned at a specif meeting of
the County Commissioners
Wednesday afternoon.
Out of the original levy,
discoveries, schedule “B” and
beverage licenses and penalities,
totalling $4,272,442.25 in charges,
$4,012,858.68 was collected,
setting the percentage of levy
collected during 1977-78 at 9481
percent.
During 1976-77, $3,698,130.83 of
the original charges of
$3,962,988.18 was collected
setting the levy collected at 9428
percent.
Approximately $300,000 more
was collected in 1977 than in 1976,
according to official tabulations.
Moore County’s long-time tax
collector, Roy Wallace, resigned
this spring after collecting
$3,589,195.28 in taxes. He was
replaced on April 8 by Don
Richardson, who collected
(Continued on Page 14-A)
THE
PILOT LIGHT
Sewer System Work Is Slowed;
Berkley Block Grant Planned
(Construction on the final phase
of the Regional Wastewater
Treatment System is running 21
percent behind time, but with an
additional work crew it is
e]q)ected to be completed by the
end of October in keeping with
the deadline, it was reported at a
special meeting of the Moore
County Commissioners
Wednesday afternoon.
A1 Walpole, a superintendent
with the construction firm of
Henningson, Richardson and
Durham, reported that work on
laying pipe for the south
Southern Pines Interceptor line
has been slowed because the
ground has been so full of water
from all the rains, it has required
much de-watering. Also he said
he felt the crew was lagging and
some of the crew were not as
experienced as expected;
therefore, he is bringing in an
additional crew.
The south Southern Pines
Interceptor is a part of the total
project and is being paid for by
the debt service from the
participating towns of Southern
Pines, Pinehurst and Aberdeen.
Since work started on the line
January 23, more than 7,000 feet
of the^tal $16,920 feet of pipeline
havedaeen laid, Walpole said. To
date, 21 of the total 51 manholes
have been completed. It is
expected all the pipeline will be
in by the end of September and
the total project ivill be finished
by the October 20 deadline
despite the fact that 170 of the 270
alloted days have been used
(Continued on Page 16-A)
LIQUOR VOTE-Supporters of
the mixed beverage proposal to
be voted on in Southern Pines on
Sept. 12 are hoping the same
margin in favor will prevail as in
the last expression of voter
opinion on the issue.
That was in November of 1973
when a statewide referendum
was held on the local option
liquor-by-the-drink question.
In that election the four
Southern Pines precincts voted
by a two-to-one margin-1651 to
821-in favor of the question.
Moore County as a whole voted
against local option mixed
beverages.
The 1973 votes by precincts
were: Knollwood, 248 for and 140
against; Pinedene, 395 for and
184 against; North Southern
Pines, 572 for and 271 against;
South Southern Pines, 436 for and
226 against.
HOLSHOUSER-Former Gov-
enor Jim Holshouser, who has
been named as chairman of a
special committee to hold
hearings and make
recommendations on the sale of
mixed beverages, said this week
he hopes his committee can
complete its work by the end of
August.
Holshouser was appointed by
Governor Jim Hunt and the
Holshouser committee will make
recommendations to the State
ABC board on regulations for the
sale of liquor-by-the-drink in
cities or counties which approve
the sale in local option
referendums.
(Continued on Page 16-A)
“Go slow,” has been the
catchall phrase concerning plans
for downtown revitaliation, and
if the meeting last Thursday
night between plan designers and
local citizens is any indication,
people are getting frustrated
with waiting.
The group of architects,
representatives of local utilities
and the steering conunittee for
this revitalization effort were in
fact looking for one place to
start.
However, no definite action
was taken in the meeting-the
steering committee merely
heard from the planners and
utilities representatives and
reaffirmed their belief that
block-by-block revitalization is
best.
Spurgeon Cameron, a Southern
Pines native, and Peter
Batchelor, an N.C. State
professor and private planner,
were in town to answer any
questions the steering conunittee
might have before the whole plan
is presented to downtown
merchants in September; and Ed
Hitchings with Carolina Power
Poultry
F aring
Better
The poultry business, second
to tobacco in Moore County’s
farm revenues, is faring better
in this round of high
temperatures than in the heat
wave in June when many
chickens died of a heat reaction.
North Carolina is a primary
pouitry-producing state, and the
northern part of Moore County
and the Gozzi turkey farms
around Southern Pines produce
high numbers annually.
Paul Seabolt of the Moore
County agricultural extension
(Continued on Page 7-A)
Hospital
Power Out
For Hours
The main transformer at
Moore Memorial Hospital went
out of order at about 4:30
Tuesday afternoon, but caused
only momentary interruption as
the emergency generator was
activated at once.
According to Roy Tanner,
director of maintenance, and Ed
Hitchings at Carolina Power and
Light, almost all services were
(Continued on Page 16-A)
and Light Co. and Jim Thomas
with United Telephone spoke in
regard to overhead versus
underground wiring.
Steering committee members
present were Town Council
members Hope Brogden and
Jerry Daekej Joanne Duffield,
Charles Sullivan and John May,
who is the chairman. Others in
attendence were local architects,
horticulturists and members of
the town’s Appearance
Conunission.
Charles Sullivan, local
merchant as well as steering
committee member, was the
most volatUe critic of slow or
never-moving plans for town
improvement. “The study is no
good unless it’s implemented,”
he said. “I’d rather see just one
block developed and see it done
right.”
Citizens in attendence
informally agreed to start
something just to show
revitalization can be a reality,
one step at a time. This resulted
from the frustration voiced by
many that changes are often
given Up service only and that
nothing reaUy gets done.
Carlisle Bean, a member of the
town Appearance Commission
and a local designer, suggested a
first step might be to encourage
merchants to park off the streets,
an idea endorsed by Joanne
Duffield and Peter Batchelor,
who said “I don’t know if a cozy
relationship exists between the
Southern l^es poUce and local
merchants but those parking re
gulations are not being enfor
ced.” Many noted that cars sit on
Braod Street and Pennsylvania
(Continued on Page 15-A)
Town Gets Study Grant
On Community Facilities
Southern Pines was among a
number of municipaUties that
requested a share of federal
funds, part of the 701 planning
money made available through
the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development and
distributed in North CaroUna by
the Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development.
According to Marvin Collins,
town planner, whose office
receives the funds, Southern
Pines received the maximum
possible, $6,600 with the condition
the town matches this 60-40.
Southern Pines must come up
with $4,800 and will get the
federal money in the process of
carrying out the plans and
{x-ograms.
The town Appearance Com
mission, in particular the
planning committee, will be
involved in some of the things
Southern Pines will do with the
extra funds. The town’s ap
plication for the grant money
stated it would undertake “a
community appearance
program, a community facilities,
plan, and would provide
assistance with ordinance en
forcement.”
(Continued on Page 16-A)
NC Press Takes Stands
On Postal Service, Law
Resolutions to strengthen
North Carolina’s open meetings
law and to restore the U.S. Postal
Service as a public service
agency were adopted at the
annual convention of the North
(Carolina Press Association at the
Pinehurst Hotel on Friday.
New officers of the association
and related organizations were
elected at the 105th annual
meeting.
James H. Parker, editor and
publisher of the Sampson In
dependent of Clinton, was elected
president to succeed Richard
Wynne, publisher of the
Asheville atizen-Times.
Other officers elected were:
Walter Phillips of Morehead
City, vice president; Herbert
O’Keef, retired editor of the
Raleigh Times, secretary-
treasurer; Jerry Ausband of
Shelby and Joe Doster of Win
ston-Salem, directors.
The North Carolina
Association of Non-Dailies voted
to change its name to the North
Carolina Association of Com
munity Newspapers, and at its
annual meeting, presided over
by Wingate Lassiter of Smith-
field, heard reports about
deteriorating service and in
creasing costs of the Postal
Service.
It unanimously adopted a
resolution calling on the North
Carolina Congressional
delegation to restore the Postal
Service to its former status as an
agency of public service under
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Press Split On Helms-Ingram;
Little Chance Seen For ERA
BY JENNIFER CALDWELL
The North Carolina Press
Association meeting in Pinehurst
last weekend was the perfect
opportunity to gauge the mood of
the state on several issues,
through its newspaper editors.
Between meeting times and at
social hours we asked if liquor-
by-the drink would make an
appearance in the various areas,
whether ERA would pass the
state’s legislature this time
around, and the million-dollar
question: who seems to be ahead
right now, Ingram or Helms?
J.D. Fitz of the daily
Morganton News-Herald,
said his county is pretty well
divided between Democrats and
Republicans, he does not think
the Equal Rights Amendment
will pass this year, and
Morganton is not ready to have a
referendum for mixed drinks.
Joe Parker of Ahoskie, who
owns the Parker Brothers chain
of papers in the Northeastern
part of the state, said Ingram
will carry that part of North
Carolina. About ERA-“I would
like to think it would pass, but I
don’t think there have been any
changes in the legislature.”
Parker doesn’t think mixed
drinks will be important, except
in the tourist-drawing part of
bare County.
Jake Strother of Kinston thinks
“...when Helms carried our
county in 1972 it was a fluke. He
was a political accident in a year
when the Republicans carried
everything. There is a strong
rrnntinued on Pace 16-A)