9 Index Books, 2-B; Carthage News, 1-3-D; Church News, 3-B; Classified Ads, 6- IS-D; Editorials, 1-B; Entertainment, 4-9-C; Obitnaries, 13-A; Pinehnrst News, 1-3-C; Sandhills Scene, 2-9-A; Sports lO-lS-C. /fe Uiqhl Zandof orcond Glen don r,'' I h t m >aqc ^ Comcron dii«v«y*Vas& AL-.i.-.'-cn biujr I LOT Horse Show sponsored by Kiwanis Club draws record entries and plans to expand to four days announced. See Page 10-C. VOL. 61, NO. 23 78 PAGES SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA 28387 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1981 78 PAGES PRICE 15 CENTS t fi Board’s Action About Center Remains Firm > ' • , ' '/■ ' ' ■ 'V 'v'*: ^■ PINEHURST RACES — More than 1200 persons turned out for the year after a lapse of several years. Hundreds of horses train at annual running of the Matinee Races at the Pinehurst Racetrack on Pinehurst and soon will be leaving for northern tracks.—(Photo by Sunday. Maxima, with Mark Wren as driver, was the winner of the Glenn M. Sides), first race shown above. The harness racing event was resumed last Assassination: Mixed Views On Gun Control Sandhills residents, like most of the country, reacted with shock to the assassination at tempt on President Ronald Reagan on Monday, but curiously many of them are opposed to gun control laws. A man who had the respon sibility of protecting the lives of several presidents—retired Secret Service agent John E. Campion-is convinced, however, there should be “real tough laws on carrying handguns.” Campion, of 495 Crest Road in l^uthern Pines, thinks the Secret Service performed “ex ceptionally well,” in the attempt of the life of the President and the shooting of three others on a Washington street Monday afternoon. “You can only protect a President so far,” Campion said. “This is a democracy and tliey like everyone else should be able to move about freely. But there’s always an element of risk and chance.” Gen. Leonard Heaton of Hospital Signs Contract For Mental Health Plan Moore Memorial Hospital’s newest contract with Sandhills Mental Health Center is no “do- goodism on our part,” said Derry Walker, hospital public informa tion officer, in an interview last week. “It is a serious attempt to rescue troubled employes.” He was talking about what the mental health center calls the EAP - Employe Assistance Pro gram. The program name does little to explain what EAP can mean to employes and hospital manage- Festival Set The annual Picquet Music Festival, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills, will be held at North Moore Hi^ School on Friday night. Highlighting the festival will be a performance of “Brigadoon” by the North Moore Drama and Music department. The Kiwanis club also will present its annual Junior Builders Cup at the festival at 7:30 p.m., following a dinner in the cafeteria at 6:30. ment alike and how its significance can and will affect the patient. Dr. John McBride, EAP consul tant and manager for Sandhills, calls it an extra management tool dealing with non-productive or troubled employes. “It’s the humanitarian ap proach, because it tries to salvage the employe rather than terminate his job,” Dr. McBride explained. Then it has the side effect of saving the hospital money. Employe benefits include: dealing with problems in a dif ferent way, a reversal of the old approach of using stern disciplinary action; because the company, in this case the hospital, is providing the pro gram, the employe has the benefit of having no initial cost, and if treatment becomes necessary, there is less cost than there wodd be otherwise because most, perhaps all, of these ex penses will be paid by the com pany group insurance; and final ly, under EAP, family members are also covert. Through an EAP contract San- (Continued on Page 14-A) TKE PILOT LIGHT AUMAN-More than 400 persons will be on hand at the Sheraton Convention Center here on Thursday night to honor T. Clyde Auman, who served 16 years in the State Legislature. Among those coming for the Clyde Auman Appreciation Night banquet will be two busloads of ^ate legislators and other officials from Raleigh. James VanCamp, Southern Pines attorney, mil serve as master of ceremonies, and ten persons have been chosen to make remarks of three minutes each. The jazz band of the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem will entertain. SAMARKAND - Supporters of Samarkand Manor near Eagle Springs and nearby McCain Hospital got assurances from some high placed members of the Legislature this week that the two facilities will not be closed, at least not this year. The assurances came from Appropriations committee members who usually carry a lot of weight. Officials at both Samarkand Manor and McCain, however, had been concerned about a scheduled helicopter visit to the two facilities this past Monday by Secretary Sarah Morrow of the Department of Human Resources and Secretary Woodard of the Department of Corrections, along with three members of the Legislature. The visit was (Continued on Page 12-A) Pinehurst, a physician who at tended President Dwjght D. Eisenhower, called the action of the Secret Service men “cer tainly heroic in the real sense of the word.” He called attention to their prompt protection of the President and fee -bravery, -m particular, of Timothy Mc Carthy, the agent who caught a bullet in his own body. The retired gener^ said he could vouch for the quality of the United States Secret Service and of the care the President is receiving at George Washington Hospital. “I know those people at George Washington, and he is in ex cellent hands. His prognosis is excellent,” he said. Heaton explained that the hospital is the closest one to the area where the shooting took place and was the best and ob vious place to take the injured. Asked about a need for han- Womein, 31 Succumbs In Fire Lillie May Wright, 31, died in her Berkley home early Satur day morning when a fire destroyed the house. Aberdeen fire officials do not know what caused the fire, but said it was completely under way by the time they received the call at 4:47 a.m. A spokesman for the fire department said the roof and w^ had collapsed by the time fire trucks arrived on the scene. They were assisted by Crestline and Pinebluff Volunteer Fire Departments. County Coronor A.B. Parker said the woman died of smoke inhalation. She was the daughter of A.B. and Mamie Wright who owned the Berkely home. Funeral services were held at Pugh Funeral Home Tuesday at 2 p.m. Burial was in ^e (Continued on Page 14-A) dgun control, Heaton described the assassination attempt as “a gross example of the misuse of handguns.” “It’s an example to all of us that something should be done about this situation,” Heaton said. “When you try to take the life of the President of the United States, something should be done.” Several persons had the same viewpoint as Campion about the need for better gun control, but others took an oi^site view. A concern for national at titudes cropped up in the com ments of several persons polled by The Pilot. Campion served with the Secret Service White House staff from the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt until the late 1960s in the term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. He said he and his wife Georgia watched everything about the assassination attempt on television and had read the reports, and he thought the Secret Service reacted well to the shooting. He said that in a situation such as that on the Washington street anyone can get near the E*resident because you cannot clear the streets of everyone. As for the prior arrest of the accused assassin, John Hinckley, Jr., in Nashville last fall on (Continued on Page 14-A) Long Prison Terms Given Trio On Break-In Charge Sentences ranging from 25 to 35 years were meted out last week in Moore County Superior Criminal (Tourt to tivee men who pleaded guilty to five counts each of breaking and entering. Defendants Robert Lynn Holder, Randolph Clay Holder, and Thomas Paul Dowdy were each sentenced five to seven years in each case, the sentences to run consecutively. Judge Robert D. Rouse Jr. of Farmville added a special condi tion to the sentences, in the event they are allowed to serve the sentence under work release edn- ditions, or parole. If either is allowed, the defendants must pay restitution to the individuals and Stoneybrook Another sellout appears likely for the annual Stoneybrook Races on Saturday, ^ril 11, and those wishing parking spaces should make reservations now. The Stoneybrook office is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and the tele phone is 692-8000. Parking spaces are $25 and general admission is $5. Upwards of 40,000 are expected for the races this year. corporations damaged in the break-ins. Other cases involving the trio were voluntarily dismissed. Long prison sentences also went to two men who pleaded (Continued on Page 12-A) Man Killed James Calvin Stutts Jr., a 67-year-old Star resident, died last night when his automobile traveled off a highway near High Falls and struck a pine tree head- on. Trooper E.E. Vuncannon of the State Highway Patrol said Stutts was dead on arrival at Moore Memorial Hospital. Death was attributed to massive chest in juries. Scene of the accident was Rural Paved Road 1461, better known as Howard’s Mill Road. The trooper estimated the time at 9:25. Vuncannon said Stutts drove the 1980 Ford off the road to the left in a slight curve, traveled some distance along a ditch and into a yard before striking the tree. It was the first highway fatality of the year. Robbins Group Home Planned A third group home for mental ly retarded adults is in the mak ing for Moore County. To be developed in Robbins, this home will be the second such project undertaken in the county with funds from the federal Department of Housing and Ur ban Development. Tracy Browq, group home specialist with l^ndhiils Human Resource Center (formerly men tal health), said the sponsoring Moore (IJounty Group Homes, Inc. expects the building project to begin next year. Plans call for an architect to study lots under con sideration in Robbins and to begin the home design in the near future. Ms. Brown said represen tatives of Group Homes, Inc. will soon appear before the Robbins Town Council to explain the pro ject. The private, non-profit cor poration was successful in its se cond application fof HUD funding and has sent a letter of intent, along with the $2500 seed money, to HUD. The seed money was bor rowed earlier this month from the county and is to be repaid in early sununer. Once the house is erected, it will become home to five persons BY FLORENCE GILKESON Dr. Charles Phillips, chairman of the Moore County Board of Commissioners; says he is working toward expansion of the county conununications advisory committee in response to a strongly-worded request from the fire and rescue organizations. Phillips indicated that he does not expect the board to change the action taken March 16 to abolish the communications department as an independent agency and turn its management over to the sheriff’s department. “We have carefully considered this and have already voted on it. We’U give it a trial,” Phillips said. Such an effort is not expected to satisfy the county’s two major volunteer groups, which want the communications center to remain independent and to be managed by a control board with hiring and firing authority. The matter has not been placed on the agenda for the Monday, April 6, board meeting, but Phillips expressed the opinion that the subject will arise during the day. David eXunmings, captain of the Vass Rescue Squad and spokesman for the fire and rescue leaders’ associations, told The Pilot that he asked for a place on the April 6 agenda and was turned down. “My own feeling is that the commissioners will be happy to enlarge the conunittee to provide better representation, but I don’t think they will change it back to a control board because that takes away the responsibility of the commissioners, which is basically to hire and fire. It should be managed by an elected official, either the com missioners or the sheriff,” Phillips said. In a lengthy letter, the fire and Weymouth Meet The Friends of Weymouth will hold its annual membership meeting on Thursday afternoon, Aix-il 30, at 4 o’clock, at the Weymouth (Center. The purpose of this annual meeting is the election of directors for the coming year, and presentation of reports on Weymouth activities of the past year. All members who have ex pressed financial interest in activities during the calendar year 1980 and 1981 have voting rights. All other persons who have been members in earlier years and who would like to renew their interest are invited to attend with a tax deductible contribution of $10 or more. Membership in Weymouth is in no way restricted. rescue people last week asked the connmissioners to reconsider the March 16 decision and to restore the communications center to independent control. The group proposed that the center be returned to the management of a control board, to be conqwsed of 13 members. Such a board would have authority to hire, fire and direct the staff. The controversy, which has been simmering almost two months, came to a climax at the March 16 meeting, when the conunissioners voted 3-2 to turn (Continued on Page 12-A) Rate Of Jobless Drops To 6% Moore County’s unemployment rate dropped 1.5 percent to 6.0 percent in February. Reflecting a return of the resort season and overall economic improvement, the February rate is still a long way from the 4.4 percent rate reported for February, 1980. For this year, the improvement is considerable, for the January figure was 7.4 percent, which was 0.1 percent higher than the state average. This latest report from the state Employment Security Com mission ifeows that Moore County dropp^ well below the state average of 7.2 percent in February. The national unad justed unemployment rate was 8.0 percent. ESC statistics assign to Moore County a labor force of 21,830, an employment force of 20,520, and 1,310 persons unemployed in February. The labor force represents those persons who are working and those members of the labor force currently without jobs. The ESC report shows that 29 North Carolina counties reported unemployment rates of more than 10 percent in February. Unemployment was up in 44 counties, down slightly in 50 coun- (Continued on Page 12-A) Voter Lists Are Purged Of 1654 Names In Moore The Moore Ctounty Board of Elections has announced that 1654 names have been purged from the voter lists comprising 959 Democrats, 551 Republicans and 144 Unaffiliated. Total number has 1419 whites and 235 blacks purged. The total registered voters as of Tuesday was 22,704. According to Mrs. Doris Fuquay, executive director of the elections board, some 2300 cards were mailed out requesting the recipients to return the card if they wished their names to remain on the books. Purging of the voter registration books consisted of names of persons who had died, moved away or did not vote in the past two general elections. Broken down by precincts the number purged was as follows: East Aberdeen-Democrats 50, Republicans 15, West Aberdeen- Democrats 111, Republicans 46; (Continued on Page 14-A) Gill Named President Of Arts Council Here Douglas Gill, a Southern Pines attorney, is the new president of the Sandhills Arts Council. He was elected Thursday at the Council’s annual meeting to succeed Phillip Brown, who has served as president the past two years. Other officers elected at the meeting were: Patsy Tucker, first vice president; Milton Sills, second vice president; Katherine Ewing, third vice president; Cleon Hayes, secretary; Ed Pace, treasurer. Elected to the board of directors for three-year terms were: Glenn Brillhart, Nancy Mason, Anthea Tate, Sam Ragan, John McPhaul, Gray VanderVoort, Dr. Charles Phillips, Pidgie (Tiapman, Emily Hewson and Emanuel Doulass. Outgoing President Brown gave a report on the development of the Arts Council in the Sandhills and its aims and purposes. Executive Director Caroline Hodgkins reported on activities of the past several months and (Continued on Page 14-A) 18 years old and older who are mentally retarded but able to help take care of themselves. The home has the advantage of removing these adults from public institutions and allowing them to live in a more normal home atmosphere, where they may learn additional skills. The other two group homes are situated in Southern Pines. Sixty percent of the funding comes from a grant from the N.C. Department of Human Resources, while the remaining 40 percent is paid by the clients through the benefits they collect, (Continued on Page 14-A) FIRST DOGWOOD — Among the first white dogwood spotted in bloom in Southern Pines was this tree in the yard of Haynes Britt on Ashe Street. — (Photo by Glenn M. Sides). ,