Weather
Today’s rains eased forest fire threats
in the Sandhills and from one to two
inches were predicted before it ends
tonight. The temperature at 10 a.m.
was 50 degrees.
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Index
Book page, 2-B; Church news, 3-B;
Clasislfied Ads, 7-15-D; Editorials, 1-B;
Entertainment, 4-8-C; Obituaries, 11-A;
Pinehurst News, 1-3-C; Sandhills Scene,
2-8-A; Sports, 1-5-D..
Vol. 59, Number 23
86 Pages
Southern Pines, North Carolina 28387
Wednesday, April 4, 1979
86 Pages
PRICE 15 CENTS
4
i
$18 Million US 1 Job
Gets Started In May
Communications Proposal
Gets OK-But No Money
\ \
A
K
r
SANDHILLS ABLOOM—Bees were buzzing, as
shown above, as the Sandhills burst into bloom
this week, with flowering dogwood and azaleas
everywhere.—(Photo by Jim Kirkpatrick).
Gras Usage Is Cut
For County Units
The current energy crisis has
recipitated a cutback in Moore
bunty’s gasoline allocation, the
ounty commissioners were
dvised Monday by Assistant
ounty Administrator Martin
hriscoe.
The board agreed to Chriscoe’s
4.9% Jobless
Moore County’s unemploy-
lent rate climbed 0.5 percent in
ebruary to 4.9 percent, it was
sported by Frank Burch,
lanager of the local
mployment Security
ommission office.
This was slightly below the
ate figure of 5 percent.
The February civilian labor
rce was placed at 21,640 with
1,480 persons listed as employed
id 1,060 unemployed, his report
lows. The January
lemployment rate was 4.4
:rcent.
recommendation that all county
departments be asked to reduce
gas usage by 15 percent.
As of March 1, the county’s
allocation has been cut from
10,500 gallons to 8000 gallons a
month. Chriscoe predicted a
cutback of from 95 to 90 percent
but recommended the 15 percent
reduction because of the
possibility of even greater
reductions in coming months.
The allocation was cut by thei
Gulf Oil Co., the county’s
supplier.
Chriscoe pointed out that
almost 7000 gallons of the 10,500
is used by the sheriff’s
department. He proposed that
the best answer is to ask all
departments to do their best to
cut back 15 percent.
Commissioner Tony Parker
pointed out that some employes
are driving county vehicles home
at night, and he asked if a saving
(Continued on Page 12-A)
Preliminary work on a 12^nile
four-lane e3q)ressway for U.S. 1
from Lakeview to Quail Ridge
will get under way in May
The first hearing on the
project, estimated to cost
$18,010,000, will probably be held
in the Cameron school
auditorium next month.
Martha S. HoUers of Candor,
member of the State Board of
Transportation, revealed the
long-awaited U.S. 1 project at a
luncheon meeting of the Kiwanis
Club of the Sandhills this past
week.
The No. 1 expressway is now in
the planning stages, she said,
and several hearings will be held
before construction can be
started in 1982.
One important hearing will be
the route the expressway is to
take, but before that is held maps
of five proposed routes will be
posted in this area.
Mrs. Hollers, who gave an
overall view on North Carolina
and Moore County road-building,
said that “It takes seven years to
get a road ready to ride on.” That
would set the opening of the No. 1
expressway in 1986.
“Environmental impact
studies and various regulations
are time-consuming,” 3ie said.
The $18 million construction will
be mostly borne by 60 to 70
percent from the U.S. govern
ment.
“We have the largest number
of state-maintained highways in
the whole United States,” said
Mrs. Hollers. “There are over
75,000 miles of these roads in our
State. Fifty-five percent of the
people in North Carolina live on a
paved road. This is an unusually
high State average for our
nation.”
Among the secondary roads
(SR number) in Moore County
over 75 percent are paved.
However, there are still 219 miles
of unpaved secondary roads.
“The total allocation of money
for Moore County secondary
roads is $429,398, but it costs
$60,000 per mile to black-top an
unpfived road,” said Mrs.
Hollers. “If all that money is just
used for paving, we can pave
only seven miles this year. But
there are many other needs
including repairs and widening
of roads. We are going to try to
widen part of Midland Road to
make it less dangerous.”
Nine road projects are listed to
(Continued on Page 12-A)
BY FLORENCE GILKESON
Informal approval of the
concept of a central com
munications system was voiced
Monday by the Moore Ctounty
Board of Conunissioners.
Implementation of such a
system appears to be some time
away, however, and the proposal
offered by the Communications
Control Board carries no price
tag at this point.
The finances did not escape the
board’s attention during the
special meeting, held at the close
of the commissioners’ regular
all-day session Monday.
Money was high on the list of
attention-getters throughout the
meeting. The commissioners
received 1979-80 budget requests
from the Department of Social
Postmaster Asserts
New Site Necessary
VIobile Homes Will Make Up
25% Of Dwellings For Moore
BY FLORENCE GILKESON
Young couples get started in
lem, older couples retire to
lem.
Mobile homes, of course.
In Moore County an estimated
)Q0 mobile homes provide
)using for residents of all ages,
' varying social and economic
anding. Most people think of
Moore County as an area of golf
courses, horse county, rich
farmland, homes erected on
spacious lots and condominiums
overlooking a golf course.
“They’re all over the
countryside,” said the woman
who ought to know, Estelle
Wicker, county finance officer.
That 25(K) estimate comes from
Dewitt Purvis, county assistant
tax supervisor, who has issued
about that number of tax stickers
for mobile homes. Of this
number perhaps 300 are
doublewide units, which, if they
are 24 feet wide or larger, are
taxed as if they were houses.
Purivs does not know the exact
(Continued on Page 9-A)
-.ttess
fttMNr ^
mmi r
1'.
■
I i
m
HOMES FOR MANY—A line-up of mail boxes signals a mobile home
pork, one of many which accommodate hundreds of Moore County
families. The county tax office estimates there are 2500 mobile homes
throughout Moore.—(Photo by Florence Gilkgson).
Postmaster Robert E. Peele of
Southern Pines said that needed
space by the Post Office cannot
be obtained by remodeling or
expanding at the present location
and a new site must be sought.
Peele issued a lengthy
statement, in which he said:
“The Postal Service badly
needs new facilities to relieve the
congestion at present location,
and to provide adequate working
conditions for its employes. More
room is immediately needed to
work an ever-increasing volume
of mail for a growing
community. A part of mail
received each day is worked on
outside on the docks. There is
inadequate parking for employes
and during business hours of day,
there is inadequate parking for
our customers.
“The Postal Service is
attempting to plan and build
facilities that will not only
relieve our present conditions,
(Continued on Page 12-A)
Truancy Problem Faced
In Different Ways Here
BY JENNIFER CALDWELL
The word “truant” is
obtrusively outdated; in part
because actions taken against
the children who skip school have
changed so much. Today, a child
cannot be taken to juvenUe court
for skipping school, fiistead, his
parents may be charged with the
misdemeanor offense of their
child’s skipping.
In neighboring Richmond
County, parents have been
placed on probation following a
court session where they were
charged with their offspring’s
truancy-defined as five or more
consecutive days absence from
school without a medical reason,
or frequent inclusion on the
absence list of his school.
The truancy policy used in the
Moore County public schools is
one set by the state. The truancy
officer for Moore County is also
the public relations liaison. Bob
Dalton.
Dalton in this particular
capacity must visit each school
once a week to check attendance
records. He said there is no
maximum number of days a
child can miss before he is
detained a year.
“The first step we take with a
truant is throu^ the teacher,”
he said. “If a child is out
excessively she can write the
parents a note telling them the
child is out...” and ask them udiy.
At this point, Dalton said,
(Continued on Page 12-A)
Council Meet
The Southern Pines Town
Council will meet April 10 at 8
p.m. with several items for
discussion being continuations of
past business.
A public hearing was continued
from the March 13 meeting in
regard to a conditional use
permit for the Terminex
Company to construct
broadcai^ing equipment on top of
the town’s water tank.
Services-up $216,666 from the
initial unamended budget for this
year-and the Sandhills Mental
Health Center, Inc., the latter
with a $103,447 request which is
approximately double the
amount sought last year.
No action was taken on the two
budget requests, which will be
considered at later meetings,
along with other departmental
budget materials.
The board did take action on a
special equipment request from
Sheriff Jerome Whipple, in
keeping with a previous promise.
The equipment, to cost more
than $10,000, will be paid from
the remains of various funds,
with some coming from next
year’s budget.
Ctounty Finance Officer Estelle
Wicker was instructed to find the
funds. She reported that the
sheriff’s department will
probably end the year with about
$3000 to spare in salaries and
there “is a little left in con
tingency.” The remainder will be
logged against the 1979-80
budget.
Assorted Equipment
Equipment described by the
sheriff includes everything from
raincoats and short-sleeved
shirts to fingerprint kits and riot
gear. The list includes riot sticks
and batons, riot helmets, two
megaphones (for crowd control),
fla^ights, fire extinguishers,
first aid kits, gas masks,
spotlights, tear gas grenades,
shotguns, walkie-talkies,
bulletproof vests, and
binoculars, among other things.
Sheriff Whipple said his
department has almost no
equipment for use in time of
emergency, such as the radiation
(x-oblem at Harrisburg, Pa. or in
case of riot. He noted that the
patrol car which was destroyed
by fire last week might have
been saved if the deputy had had
a fire extinguisher available.
Whipple added that he hopes the
federal Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration will
pick up the cost on some of the
equipment.
(Continued on Page 16-A)
''ri'-
^sufrnm-'i
FIRES—N.C. Forestry Service fire
are shown trying to control one of
FIGHT
fighters
several fires along the raUroad tracks this pa7t
week. This one was near the Hyland Hills Golf
Course.—(Photo by Glenn M. Sides).
Fires Sweep Area
During Dry Spell
A rash of fires throughout
southern Moore County were
partly attributable to dry
conditions in the area before
Tuesday’s rain.
Lester Graham, Southern
Pines fire representative, said
March and April are in the fire
season when brush fires in
particular often take place.
Two brush fires were reported
on March 27, one along the
railroad tracks at Morganton
Road, the other in the early
evening in a yard at 251 N.
Hardin Street, which did not
approach a house.
Similar brush fires were
reported March 29 between
Aberdeen and Pinebluff and
along the railroad tracks near
Hyland Hills Golf dkiurse, which
was answered by the Vass Fire
Department and the Forestry
Service.
The next day another fire
occurred b almost the saihe
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Holshouser Is Elected
To UNC Governors Board
Baker
Leaving
Work Is Under Way Here
•f Talmadce .5 Ri
Talmadge S. Baker, chairman
T'n IVTaUa r^friccirirvc of the Moore county Agricultural
-1-Lf iTXctJVt!/ V>4l' Extension Service sbce 1970, has
Railroad cross-gates have
been going up for the past week
at the crossings in Southern
Pbes that already had some
sort of signal.
An arrangement was made
whereby if a crossroad already
had some sort of warning, it
would be upgraded, said Mildred
McDonald, town manager.
The crossing at Massachusetts
Avenue and New York Avenue
have already been done. SimUar
bars, which fall bto pbce to
prevent cars from passbg at the
approach of a tram are bemgi
installed at Pennsylvania,
New Hampshire, Connecticut
and Vermont Avenues.
Mrs. McDonald said a crossbg
for Illbois Avenue is not in this
particubr process because there
was no warning signal prior to
this round of projects. She said
that crossbg probably will not
be b pbce until this time next
year.
The railroad crossings
systems are funded by the
f^eral government to 90 percent
of the completed cost. The Town
of Southern Pines will be billed
at a bter date for 10 percent of
the cost.
Funds were admimstered for
tlus project b the state by the
North Carolina Department of
Transportation.
resigned to accept a similar
position b Randolph (tounty. Hb
resignation becomes effective
May 15.
Baker made hb decbion public
at the Monday meeting of the
Moore County Board of Com
missioners.
Chairman Lee Williams
responded that the board b
accepting hb resignation “with
deep regret but we wbh you the
best just the same.” Later b the
meeting, at the request of
Commissioner Cbrolyn Blue, the
board agreed to pass a resolution
recdgnbbg Baker for hb out
standing service to the coimty.
(Continued on Page 9-A)
Former Governor James E.
Holshouser Jr., of Southern
Pines has been elected to the
Board of Governors of the
Umversity of Norb Carolba.
Hobhouser said this week he
was pleased and honored to be
chosen for the board and a
Umversity official declared, “He
will be bvaluable as a member,
and hb dedication to the Univer
sity system is well known.” *
Holshouser, as a member of
the Legisbture, played a key
role b the establishment of the
University system and tbs week
he said, “It was probably the
best tiling I have done for the
state.”
When the consolidation of the
16 state supported campuses bto
one system was under con
sideration by the General
Assembly during the ad-
James E. Holshouser Jr.
minbtration of Governor Robert
Scott, Hobhouser went at hb own
(Continued on Page 12-A)
THE
PILOT LIGHT
People Here Are Drinking Less
Restaurant and club managers
b the area that are now licensed
to serve liquor by the drbk all
agree that tiie new law is good for
the area.
Accordbg to Tony Borrelli of
the Southern Pbes (Country Club,
the guests are defmitely drbkbg
less. “When they drink less,
they’re better behaved,” he
stated. “It’s hard to tell if sales
are up because this is our biggest
season, but sales have defbitely
been better sbce the law was
passed.”
Mid Pbes reported that as
they were basically b the room
and golf busbess and had not
allowed brown bagging b the
dbbg room anyway that they
had seen little change b the
drinking patterns of their guests.
John Warren, dbbg room
manager at Pbe Needles, stated
that as their dinbg facilities are
just for guests they had seen no
change b beer or wbe sales as
some establishments reported.
“JFR Bam had a drop in beer
and wbe sales at first but that
has leveled off now,” said
manager Lee Thomas. “It has all
been very smooth. It hasn’t
really made that much
difference because we’re still b
the food busbess first. It has,”
he contbued, “cut down on
people trying to fbish up a tiottle
before they leave, so it has de
finitely helped in crowd control.”
Holiday Inn, The Sheraton,
Cheese ‘N Thbgs all agreed that
the law has not changed their
clientele and they had not had
any problems.
LEGISLATURE - Rep. T.
ayde Auman’s bill (HR 631) to
amend the local option mixed
beverage law ran bto opposition
on the floor of the House on
Tuesday.
Auman succeeded, however, in
gettbg the bill referred to the
House ABC Commitee before a
vote was taken. The House
committee had given approval to
the bill last week.
The bill would allow Pinehurst
to vote on the sale of
liquor-by-the-drink, which it is
not permitted to do under present
legislation.
The bstitute of Government
sees the Auman bill as “the one
with greatest significance” of aU
mixed drbk bills introduced tlus
session.
_ Two local bills btroduced by
Rep. Auman some weeks ago
have now passed the Senate after
House approval. They would
amend the Pbebluff charter, and
set new terms of office for the
Robbins mayor and
commissioners.
LIQUOR-Motel and hotel
owners gathered b (Charlotte last
week and got a report on the first
few months experience with
liquor-by-the-drink sales.
Bill Hester, administrator of
be State ABC Board, said bat 22
cities or counties have bus far
approved mixed drbk sales and
ei^t have voted bem down.
Of 520 estabUshments bat
have been licensed to sell mixed
drbks, 156 are b Mecklenburg
and 65 are in Wake County.
Hester estimated that wibin a
year be state will have licensed
850 establishments.
Most of bose present said bey
have had no problems wib
mixed drink sales, it has helped
busbess and bere are fewer
(Continued on Page 12-A)