Weather Mostly sunny weather is forecast in the Sandhills, continuing very cold. High today, 28 degrees; tonight, down to 15. Thursday, high, 32 degrees. Chance of rain, zero. Index Books, 2-B; Church Calendar, 3-B; Classified Ads, 7-11-D; Editorial, 1-B; Entertainment, 4-7-C; Obituaries, 9-A; Pinehurst News, 1-3-C; Sandhills Scene, 2-7-A; Sports, 1-2-D. Vol. 59, Number 10 64 Pages Southern Pines, North Carolina 28387 Wednesday, January 3,1979 64 Pages PRICE 15 CENTS V'»“, • . FIRST BABY FOk ’79 — Pepper Dawn Kirk, seven pounds, five and one-half ounces, arrived at 11:30 q.m. on January 1 at Moore Memorial Hospital. She is the daughter of Ronald and Gay Kirk of Hamlet, Rt. 3, and was the first baby born at Moore Memorial in 1979. —(Photo bv Derry Walker). Father, Son Plead Guilty In Burning, Theft Cases An Asheboro man must pay $6,200 in restitution for damage to an uninhabited house which was burned in September. For that crime and a break-in carried out jointly with his father, William T. Brower was sentenced to 10 years as a committed youthful offender and was placed on probation for five years. Brower and his father, William J. Brower, 36, also of Asheboro, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in fitie opening session of a criminal term of Moore County Superior Court. Judge Ronald Bartee of Greensboro is presiding. The son pleaded guilty to burning an uninhabited house and to breaking, entering, larceny and receiving. His father pleaded guilty to felonious larceny. The break-in took place at a Robbins school building, where $449.79 worth of building and maintenance materials were stolen. The house which was burned was located on Glendon Road, Carthage. Young Brower was also ordered to remain either gainfully employed or in school. He is to obey the law and be Theft Ring Has Links With Moore And Others Moore County is cooperating with eight other North Carolina local law enforcement agencies in cracking what has been described as a major theft ring spanning an area extending from Hoke County to the Virginia state line. Sheriff Jerome Whipple told The Pilot that the Moore County Sheriff’s Department is cooperating as a link within the investigation but emphasized that this county does not represent a major factor in the “ring.” The sheriff said his department has been busy working on some old break-ins and larceny cases but relatively few new cases have been reported in recent weeks. Taking part in the investigation are sheriff’s departments in Alamance, Randolph, Lee, Guilford, (Continued on Page 12-A), Hayes Named By Hunt To State Crime Body Governor Jim Hunt has named Thomas T. Hayes, Jr. of Southern Pines to the St^ate’s Crime Prevention and PubUc Information Committee. Hayes is president and treasurer of Hayes-Howell and Associates, Architects. He is also a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects, ex- Director of the N.C. Arts Council and a past president of the N.C. Design Foundation. He is also a member of the Governor’s Advisory Panel on Design and Construction Practices and president of the N.C. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He is president of the N.C. Association of Architects. The Committee is an adjunct committee of the Governor’s Crime Commission and is responsible for advising the Commission on the most (Continued on Page 12-A) THE PILOT LIGHT LEGISLATURE-The 1979 session of the North Carolina General Assembly will convene next Wednesday, Jan. 10, and even though state leaders are expressing the hope that the session will last no longer than four months that hope is not likely to be realized. For one thing legislators will not know what the revenue prospects are until around May 1 and there will be at least another month of wrangling with the budget and other matters. Governor Jim Hunt is scheduled to address the legislature in joint session on *’Jan. 15. BRADSHAW-Youthful and able Tom Bradshaw is itching to run for public office and may well depart the cabinet of Governor Hunt in 1980 to do just that. Right now Bradshaw, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, is giving some thought to becoming a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, hut the former mayor of Raleigh is also getting some encouragement to run for Congress from the Fourth District. He is seen as a strong candidate against the incum bent, Rep. Ike Andrews. SCHOOL-Govemor Hunt has appointed a blue-ribbon board of trustees for the new science and mathematics high school which is scheduled to be set up in an old hospital building in Durham next year. Not everybody, including many top educators across the state, is happy with the decision to establish a state high school for boys and girls with talents in science and math, (Continued on Page 12-A) Electrical Permit System Given Approval By Board Sen. Morgan To Introduce Mrs. LBJ At Lunch Here fingerprinted for the State Bureau of Investigation and is likewise to reimburse the state for his court-appointed attorney’s fees. The father was sentenced to five years, suspended five years under probation conditions, including payment of a $250 fine, costs, and restitution to the county. He too is to remain gainfully employed and is not to violate any laws. David Jerome Ross, 17, Aberdeen, who pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, was sentenced from 10 to 30 years as a regular youthful offender. Judge Barbee announced that he had determined the defendant would not benefit from the designation of committed (Continued on Page 12-A) Patrol Car Wrecked In Chase Deputy Thomas Lee Cox and Sgt. James Jackson of the Moore County Sheriff’s Department escaped injury Sunday morning when their patrol car was wrecked while they were pursuing a speeding vehicle near Robbins. Deputy Cox told The Pilot that he swerved the patrol car to avoid a collision with the car being operated at a high rate of speed by David Franklin Key, 18, Robbins. Key was treated at Moore Memorial Hospital and released. Key has been charged with (Continued on Page 8-A) Grand Opening A champagne reception to celebrate its grand opening will be held by Sandhills livings and Loan in its new building at Morganton Road and Bennett Street on Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. As a part of its grand opening Sandhills Savings and Loan will hold a drawing for prizes which include a set of golf clubs and bag, an English saddle and a Judy Leslie original oil painting. BY FLORENCE GILKESON A3 of Feb. 1, a permit system will be in effect for all electrical contractors or other persons doing their own work on any electrical installation in Moore County-before starting an installation. The Moore County Board of Commissioners took this action Tuesday at the request of Ben N. Cooper, county electrical inspector. Cooper told the board of numerous problems encountered with unlicensed persons undertake such work, often at risk to the health and safety of the people living in the building where the work is undertaken. He also proposed a written examination of not more than 10 questions which must be passed by anyone seeking such a permit. TTie board declined to include this provision, but allowed all other provisions of Cooper’s request. Action followed a vigorous period of questioning by Tom Purvis of High Falls, who pointed out the difficulty many people have when they try to secure the services of a licensed electrician to handle simple items at home, on the farm or in their business. Although Purvis agreed that many people do electrical wiring who “don’t have any business doing it,” he pointed out that it would take as many as three days just to get a permit for a simple job which could be accomplished in five minutes. Speaking in favor of the request was a private contractor, Harold Fowler, who explained some of the problems involved with non-professional homestyle electricians. Noting that the permit system would not pnean any more business for him personally, Fowler recalled that while he served as fire chief several years, he heard a number of people express favor for a permit system-after it was too late to help them. (bounty Commissioner Tony Parker argued that the permits should be issued in the interest of saving lives and protecting the general welfare of the citizenry. Parker reported seeing “a lot of do-it-yourselfers who could cause a county-wide problem.” Chairman Lee Williams proposed that the permit arrangement be carried out in diplomatic and sensible fashion with some leeway allowed for emergency situations, and Cooper agreed that this is needed. , Commissioners Carolyn Blue, Arthur Purvis, and James M. Craven concurred. Mrs. Blue said she does not think permits (Continued on Page 8-A) Revaluation Property revaluation notices go into the mail today. Moore County Finance Officer Estelle T. Wicker advised the county commissioners shortly before the January meeting was adjourned Tuesday afternoon. The revaluation study of property for tax purposes has been underway through most of 1978. Such revaluations are required by state law every eight years. 61 CETA Workers Face Work On Two-Week Basis For Moore County’s 61 CETA workers, continuing employment is an every two weeks affair and will remain that way until the end of March. It’s mostly a red tape tie-up and should have little personal effect on the individual employes, says Tony Carlyle, who directs the CETA program for Moore County. CETA-for Comprehensive Employment Training Act-is a federal program instituted in 1973 to help retrain people who were losing jobs because of an economic recession. Since Oct. 1, CETA programs have been operated under an extension of last year’s contract with administrators regularly signing two-week extensions, and this business of signing an amendment to the contract every two weeks Sen. Robert B. Morgan (D-N.C.) will introduce Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson when the nation’s former first lady speaks here next week in support of the Friends of Weymouth drive to preserve the Boyd estate woodlands and to develop a regional cultural center for the arts and humanities. “We are very pleased that Senator Morgan can be with us when Mrs. Johnson comes to the Sandhills to help us meet our goal of acquiring and preserving this unique area,” said Mrs. Ernest L. Ives, Friends of Weymouth vice president, in making the announcement. Mrs. Ives, sister of the late Adlai E. Stevenson, is serving as chairman of the $50-d-plate fund-raising luncheon to bolster the Weymouth drive which will be held at 12:30 p.m., Friday, January 12 at the Pinehurst Country Club. Morgan, of Lillington, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974 after serving in the state legislature from 1955-57, 1959-61 and 1963-68, as co-chairman of North Carolina Legislative Research Commission and as North Carolina’s Attorney general from 1969-74. Mrs. Johnson, known for her work in beautification, preservation and restoration programs, has numerous other interests and projects but her work in beautification remain high on her list of priorities. Her philosophy is that “America Can Be More Beautiful-with your help.” Mrs. Johnson, who at an early age became known to her family and friends as “Lady Bird,” spends a good deal of her time Senator Robert Morgan Public Affairs on the University of Texas campus. The former president died on January 22, 1973. She continues' to maintain her residence at the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall, Texas, even though the ranch house and surrounding property were given to the people of the United States as a national historic site in December of 1972. Mrs. Johnson, author of “A White House Diary,” a record of her activities, during the years her husband served as president, noted her first public participation in the beautification of America back in 1%4. She became chairman the next year of a Committee for a More Beautiful Capital. Things did begin to happen after she came on the scene. Soon 10,000 azalea plants lined Pennsylvania Avenue; huge numbers of daffodils and tulips were planted near the Washington and Jefferson Memorials; work began to plant the hundreds of small traffic circles and triangles; planters and two new malls appeared in the downtown area; a number of school grounds and parks appeared with multiple planting and bright and colorful playground equipment. Work to carry on the beautification of Washington, D.C. continues today. (Continued on Page 12-A) Mental Health Awaiting Audit Spending Report continue until April That supporting the activities of mhor, Doi^i.,1, /-.TTi-TA -M.-T~^he Lyndou B. Johnson Presidential Library and the when the Raleigh CETA office says a new contract can be signed, according to Carlyle. Congress was slow in completing the 1978 bill, which was then turned over to the Department of Labor for allocation to the states. Moore is one of 88 North Carolina counties which operate CETA programs under contract with the state. (Continued on Page 12-A) Lyndon B. Johnson School of Sandhills Mental Health Center has done its part of the work and is awaiting a final report from state auditors concerning a funding regulation misunderstanding with the State Department of Human Resources. Sandhills is one of perhaps 23 mental health centers across North Carolina which may owe money to the state. A state audit of mental health management practices has found that many local expenditures of state and federal funds to not comply with regulations. The audit was initiated in 1976 and is about half complete. Dr. Steven Dingfelder, director of Sandhills, told The ^ot that untU his center receives a final report, he has no way of knowing “what we owe or don’t owe.” He thinks there is some possibility Sandhills may not owe the state anything at all, rather than the $39,941 figure mentioned in one recently published newspaper account. “It’s really not clear what they (Continued on Page 12-A) Building Repairs, Insurance Among Matters Before Board Transportation Costs More For NC Schools Moore County transported 6,354 students in 123 school buses daily in 1977-78, according to a report this week from the Division of Transportation of the State Department of Public Instruction. Moore ranked 37th in number of vehicles and 42nd in average number of pupils transported. It was 23rd in the state, however, in the average number of miles traveled per day per vehicle, with 49 miles. It was 61st in number of pupils per vehicle, with an average of 52. According to Louis Alexander, director of the Division of Transportation, the 11,910 buses in the state that operated during 1977-78 traveled 96,860,630 miles. The average bus traveled 44.9 miles each day carrying an average of 61 students. The average number of students riding buses has declined, noted Alexander, to 66 in 1972-73 to 61 in 1977-78. Annual audit figures released by the State Board of Education indicate that the cost of transporting the public school students during the past school year increased by more than $5 (Continued on Page 12-A) Building improvements may be in the future for the Moore County Health Department. Similarly there may be some changes in the Farmers Market, which closed a successful season two weeks ago. These proposals met with the general approval of the Moore County Board of Commissioners at the regular January meeting Tuesday, an all-day affair which continued until after 5:30. At the same meeting the board took action to provide insurance assistance for Moore County’s approximately 200 rescue squad members and passed a motion officially appointing the present members of the Airport Committee. The board also accepted the resignation of county attorney Moseley G. Boyette, who is retiring, and welcomed a new department head aboard, Calvin Underwood, director of the Moore County Department of Social Services. Mike Wilson, county maintenance supervisor, advised the board to consider major renovation for the health department building, which “is in pretty bad shape.” He mentioned such things as flaking plaster walls, rotten wooden doors in the trailer office, (Continued on Page 12-A) Judge Crutchfield Is Honored Attention was turned toward Judge E.EI. Crutchfield at the beginning of a half-day civil session of Moore County District Court on Friday, Dec. 22. Judge (Crutchfield, who retired at the end of December, was presented the “Book of (Cour thouses” as a gift of appreciation from the Moore County Bar Association. John M. May, Association president, made the presentation. The volume, a pictorial history of courthouses in the United States, has been signed by all members of the local bar, many of whom were present in the courtroom. Crutchfield has served as a district court judge for 10 years, since the system of district' courts was established under the Court Reform Act. The 20th District encompasses Moore, Anson, Richmond, Stanly, and Union counties. An Albemarle resident, the judge is a Stanly county native and a graduate of the Wake Forest School of Law. Most of the court’s time was devoted to the disposition of uncontested divorce cases. Divorces were granted in these cases: Guinevere Ferguson versus Walter Ferguson; Mary Sue Harrelson Britt versus K«nneth Ray Britt; Charles Edward Dutton versus Kay Parker Dutton; Carlos Mendoza Diaz versus Blanca Iris Men doza; Archie Ray McKenzie versus Michaella Ann Graham McKenzie; Gerald Lee Stutts versus Francis Ritter Stutts: Sherie McLaughlin Chavis versus Floyd Lynn Chavis; Tony Curtis Hancock versus Pamela Gail McCall Hancock. A default judgment was issued in the case of Southern National Bank of North Carolina versus (Continued on Page 12-A) BY ANY NAME — Questions about the official name of the local airport arose at a recent county commissioners’ meeting. Here’s the answer: Knollwood Airport is the name on the stone marker. Although the airport is usually called the Southern Pines-Pinehurst Airport, some commissioners expressed the opinion its official name should be the Moore County Airport. —(Photo by Florence Gilkeson).