Index
Books,, 2-B; Carthage News, 1-3-D;
Church News, 3-B; Classified Ads,
5-15-D; Editorials, 1-B; Entertainm-
ment, 4-9-C; Obituaries, 12-A;
Pineharst News, 1-3-C; Sandhills Scene,
2-9-A; Sports, 10-13-C.
Mi^h Pails
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Rcbb*n^
Glcndon
/Samarkand lakis T Cameron
, '»g''5f50'lass M I
»'• iSs
PinSbIl "
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S
Tobacco
grown in Moore amounted to 7.3 mfllion
pounds in 1980. Warehouse sales were
$15.9 million. See story Page 15-A.
VOL. 81, NO. 28
80 PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA 28387
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1981
80 PAGES
PRICE IS CENTS
Budget Requests Run
Ahead Of Last Year
T'
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MA Y DAYS — A cow grazes in a barn lot glowing
with the bright yellow flowers of May on this
farm on one of the byways near Bensalem as one
of the signs of May days now with us in the San
dhills.—(Photo by Glenn M. Sides).
Fee Hike And Water Problem Seen
An increase in the wastewater
treatment fee and potential
water problems in the southern
end of the county came to the
attention of the Moore County
Board of Commissioners Mon
day.
No action was taken on the 10-
cent user rate increase proposal
after Southern Pines Mayor
Hope Brogden and Town
Manager Mildred McDonald
requested a delay while they
“discuss it with our people.”
“After all, it is the people of
these towns who pay for the
Pinehurst Favors
Liquor By 594-44
Pinehurst voters made good
and sure Tuesday that their
resort community is not en
dangered by pending legislation
to .strip them of liquor by the
drink.
They voted 594 to 44 to retain
the sale of mixed beverages
within the village limits.
Wary of a bill introduced by a
Wake County legislator, the
Pinehurst Village Council asked
for the referendum as insurance
that, just in case the bill does
pass, the resort will be covered
through the referendum.
From the beginning no organiz
ed opposition was felt in
Pinehurst.
Officials of the Moore County
Board of Elections, which con
ducted the referendum, reported
this vote by precincts: East
Pinehurst - 266 in favor of liquor
by the drink and 23 opposed;
West Pinehurst - 326 in favor and
21 opposed. Two absentee ballots
were counted, both in favor of the
measure.
The referendum was called
after Rep. Allen Adams
(Continued on Page 14-A)
Sam Ragan Is Presented
North Caroliniana Award
BY FLORENCE GILKESON
Sam Ragan confessed Friday
night-to a life long love affair
with North Carolina.
His confession came in his
acceptance of the North
Caroliniana Society Award
during a banquet at the Carolina
Inn in Chapel Bill.
Ragan was presented the
prestigious society award in
recognition of “his public service
and his promotion, enhan
cement, production and
preservation of the literature of
his native state.”
Ragan, editor and publisher of
The Mot, was the nation’s first
secretary of a state department
of culture. He is a poet, colum
nist, teacher and mentor of
aspiring writers and has
emerged as a leader in North
Carolina’s development of
cultural resources.
“He not only writes books, he
oicourages books, he inspires
books, he breathes books,” said
Walter Spearman, semi-retired
professor of journalism.
University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, in his brief com
ments.
(Continued on Page 16-A)
AWARD — Sam Ragan of Southern Pines is
shown after being presented the North Caroli
niana Society Award at Chapel Hill on Friday
night. —(Photo by Florence Gilkeson).
system,” said Mayor Brogden.
The recommended fee of 85
cents per 1000 gallons would be
sufficient to cover operating
costs, debt service and other
needs of the sewer system, it was
reported by Les Hall, consulting
engineer. The regional system
serves the towns of Southern
Pines, Pinehurst, and Aberdeen.
Based on an estimated flow of
2,247,000 gallons a day, a fee of
83.2 cents per 1000 gallons would
bring in the approximately
$682,500 needed to operate the
system next year. A tentatively
approved budget of $749,000 was
recommended in February,
when this budget was given early
consideration in order to give the
participating municipalities
ample time to prepare their
budgets.
Hall recommended that the fee
be 85 cents, a 10-cent increase.
He pointed out that the user fee
has not been increased in the
past two years, but he did
recommend that the present 75-
cent fee be continued du*ough the
Historical Meet
The annual meeting of the
Moore County Historical
Association will be held at
Weymouth Center on Sunday,
May 10, at 4 p.m., when six new
board members will be elected.
Dr. George E. Melton,
chairman of the History
Department at St. Andrews
Presbyterian Ck>llege, will ad
dress the association on “History
In the Public Schools.”
A picnic supper on the
Weymouth grounds will follow
(he meeting. The public is invited
to attend.
Court Term
Will Open
On Monday
The first week of a two-week
criminal session of Moore Ck)unty
Superior Ck)urt will open Monday.
Judge Hal H. Walker will
preside for the session which con
venes at 10 a.m. Monday. Judge
Judson D. DeRamrs Jr. will
preside for the second session, to
open Monday, May 18.
Twenty felony cases will go to
the grand jury to be returned as
bills of in^ctment and possible
trial during one of the two weeks.
The trial calendar contains one
murder case, that of Charlie
Wayne Edwai^, who is charged
in the January slaying of his
mother, Ruby Oakley Edwards.
The 34-year old defendant is also
charged with assaulting his
father, Harvey Edwards, with in
tent to kill.
True bills of indictment were
returned against Edwards on
these charges at a previous ses
sion of court, but the cases were
continued.
The trial calendar also contains
almost 100 cases, including
felonies continued from previous
court terms and misdemeanors
appealed from district court. The
(Continued on Page 16-A)
end of the present year.
The engineer, who designed
the plant, said a major need in
the new year is a build-up in the
equipment maintenance fund in
order that adequate spare parts
may be available at all times.
Because the facility is
relatively new, there has been
little need for major repairs. Hall
said, but he reminded the board
that as the plant ages, this need
will increase.
In his report Hall indicated an
(Continued on Page 13-A)
BY FLORENCE GILKESON
Budget requests mounted
above the $2.8 million point
Monday as nine agencies carried
their proposals directly to the
Moore County Board of
Commissioners.
Although the requests
presented Monday represent
little more than a beginning
toward the overall budget
picture for the county in the 1981-
82 year, the total was
nevertheless revealing-more
than $400,(X)0 above the amount
appropriated for these same nine
agencies for 1980-81.
Not included among these
requests was the school system,
which will be asking for $5.9
million, over $1.5 million more
than was appropriated for this
year.
County Administrator Larry
Moubry said he will present
budget requests for most of the
remaining offices and
departments at the board’s
meeting on Monday, May 18. The
new county budget must be
adopted prior to July 1, when the
new fiscal year begins.
Except for questions and a few
comments, the commissioners
had little to say about the
proposals.
Moubry said that the final
total on anticipated revenues has
not been completed, and this
figure should be available by the
next meeting.
Although the tax base is
expected to grow substantially in
the new year, it is not likely this
School Budget Lowered
By Cameron Project Bid
The finance officers of the
Board of County Ck)nunissioners
and of the Board of Education of
Moore County will meet together
this week before the proposed
schools budget is presented to the
county commissioners May 18.
The school board approved a
$5.9 million county budget in a
special meeting Monday, slightly
lowering the budget after receiv
ing bids for the Cameron school
project.
The original schools budget
from county funds was $5,969,994,
and with lower bids for the
Cameron school project, the
schools are now requesting
$5,911,513, still almost a 40 per
cent increase over the approved
budget last year.
Dr. (diaries Phillips and Tony
Parker, county commissioners,
attended the meeting, and Chair
man Phillips said the school
board request was “overwhelm
ing,” but said “I hate to see our
go^ school system have to lose
anything.”
He suggested that the two
boards’ finance officers meet, at
which time schools finance of
ficer Joe Vaughn could present a
more detailed report of ^e school
system’s other sources of
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Weymouth Near Debt End
As Officers Are Chosen
It’s getting closer and closer to
mortgage burning time for the
Friends of Weymouth.
A big step to reach this plateau
was taken at the organization’s
annual meeting last week and of
ficials hope area residents will
climb aboard the bandwagon to
contribute the $4,000 more need
ed.
“I feel that we are a going
enterprise which has assumed a
definite role in the community,”
Sam Ragan told last Thursday’s
TME
PILOT ijiGHT
HEFNER-Congressman Bill
Hefner was reported this past
weekend as being outraged at
what he called a “smear cam
paign” against him by the
Raleigh-based Congressional
Qub, founded some years ago to
support Senator Jesse Helms and
of which Helms now serves as
honorary co-chairman.
Several thousand letters were
sent to Hefner’s constituents in
the Eighth District charging that
Hefner had voted for money to
give away the Panama Canal
and had approved aid to
Marxists in Nicarauga.
He&ier said, “It is absolutely
untrue.” He said he had voted
against aid to Nicauragua last
year, and his vote for the
Panama Canal was for an ap-
iropriation to keep it operating.
growth will be sufficient to cover
all of the county’s needs without
a tax rate increase-without
making startling and perhaps
unpopular budget cuts.
In recent months the county
has tangled with a financial
crisis, blamed on under
budgeting and over-estimating
revenues for this year.
Few frills were admitted by
the budget petitioners.
Sheriff Jerome Whipple said
he needs additional personnel,
including a detective and a
process server.
Dr. Alfred Siege included one
new local item in the health
department budget, a $25,000
allocation for Hospice, the
program which works with the
terminally ill.
Social Services
Social Services Director
Calvin Underwood asked for
$22,000 to buy station wagons
which may be used to provide
emergency transportation
service. His department will ask
volunteers to operate the
vehicles. The allocation would
cover the price of the station
wagons, maintenance, gas, oil
and insurance. Underwood also
asked for $730 toward the wages
(Continued on Page 14-A)
Federal Budget Cuts Mean
Positions Lost In Moore
session as he was named to head
Weymouth for the third one-year
term.
When the meeting began, there
was a $14,500 balance due on the
$100,000 which Friends of
Weymouth had to borrow two
years ago to buy tjhe Georgian
style home and tree-studded
grounds from the. Sandhills Ck)l-
lege Foundat^bn, Inc., for
$700,000. Most of the woodlands
have been tun^ over to the state
(Continue^ on Page 16-A)
He said /he had tried to call
Senator /Helms to protest the
“smear/campai^” but Helms
did not return his call.
In the news story out of
Washington about the
Congressional Club’s efforts to
pressure congressmen to vote for
President Reagan’s budget
package it was pointed out that
the liberal Americans for
Dano^ratic Action rated Hefner
^ 22,>on a scale of 100, making
him (ine of the most conservative
metTibers of the state’s
deflation.
vicKERY-Senator Charles
Vicvery will meet with members
of tl^e Sandhills Area (Chamber of
Conjimerce at breakfast on
Moiiday, May 18.
T$ie meeting for a discussion of
Continued on Page 14-A)
BY LIZ HUSKEY
Federal bucket allotments for
1981-82 are so uncertain, that
Moore County school officials are
expecting to lose at least nine
personnel positions and have
held back renewing contracts of
37 first-year teachers. Associate
Superintendent C. Edison
Powers told The Pilot Thursday.
Based on the way the federal
cuts have been heading. Powers
said school officials anticipate a
25 percent cut for schools.
Such a cut will dig deeply into
several federally-funded
programs such as Child
Nutrition, Right to Read and
Vocation^ Education.
But all is uncertain at this
point. “Usually by this time
we’ve received in writing an
ticipated allotments,” Powers
said. “We have not received any
notice, because of the un
certainty of the federal budget.”
The situation promoted school
officials to meet with all teachers
who had been in the school
system only a year, then gave
them notice that their contracts
would not be renewed until
federal funding was made
available in their areas.
The letter to the 37 teachers
read; “In view of these un
certainties, the Board of
Education is withholding the
issuance of all contracts in all
Literary Event
“Southern Literature and the
South Today” will be the subject
of a symposium at Weymouth
Center Saturday, May 9, from 1
to 4 p.m.
Leading the discussion will be
Dr. Louis Rubin, author, critic
and foremost authority on
Southern literature; Lee Sniith of
CSiapel Hill, author of “Black
Mountain Breakdown” and other
novels; and Dr. Guy Owen of
N.C. State, novelist, poet, editor
and critic.
The public is invited and ad
mission is free.
Jobless
Rate Up
In Moore
Moore Gounty’s unemployment
rate climbed by an unexpected
percentage point in March.
The 7.1 percent jobless rate
reported by the Employment
Swurity Commission of North
Carolina was up from the 6.0 per
cent figure reported for
February. In March, 1980 the
county’s jobless rate was
reported as 4.5 percent.
The increase for March places
Moore County slightly above the
average for the state, which was
6.9 percent.
Moore was one of 20 counties
with an increase in the jobless
rate. Seventy-three counties
showed a decrease, while the re
maining seven counties were un
changed.
State ESC (Airman J.B. Ar
cher attributed the cause of the
high joblessness across North
Carolina to an uncertain
economy with its continuing high
interest rates and inflation.
In its monthly report released
last week the ESC said 23 coun
ties registered unemployment
(Continued on Page 13-A)
program areas for first year
professionals in Moore County...
“Your professional evaluation
indicates you have had a very
successful first year and every
effort will be made to issue you a
contract as soon as funding has
been finalized for your particular
prc^am area.”
The school administration has
received notice of 15 resignations
or retirements, but some of these
are in areas that are not losing
positions, or are in areas that
require specially trained per
sonnel, such as principals and
media specialists.
Therefore, the administration
cannot just transfer people to the
vacant areas.
The first major allotment is
based on the projected Average
Daily Membership (ADM) in the
next school year. Based on these
projections, the number of
personnel allotments is deter
mined. In the 1981-82 school year,
(Continued on Page 16-A)
Street Garbage Pick-Up
Under Study By Council
Southern Pines residents may
be using heavy duty bags for
street garbage collection if a
proposal by Town Manager
Mildred McDonald is adopted by
the council.
The suggection is an attmept to
save taxpayer’s money, Mrs.
McDonald announced at a
special Town Council meeting
Tuesday night, because it would
mean a reduction from the cost
of garbage services from the
present collectors.
The town presently has a
contract with Leibers Sanitation,
and this fiscal year, the company
is asking for an increase in
service cost, from the present
$318,000 contract to $378,337, for
regular pick-up.
The proposal by the manager
and the collectors would mean
residents would leave their
garbage in heavy duty bags
along the road, instead of having
backyard pick-up and garbage
can pick-up that is done now.
Leibers promised that by using
the heavy duty bags, the town
contract would be for only
$325,000, a savings of $54,357 on
the new contract price.
The council will not act on the
proposal until further public
opinion is received, but Mrs.
McDonald said, “the Town
administration is sincerely
soliciting the assistance and
support of all citizens in this
attempt to save your tax dollars,
and will appreciate your
assistance in helping us to make
this work.”
In other business, a public
hearing was held to discuss
proposed uses for revenue
sharing entitlement funds.
In this first of the two hearings
that are required before
disbursement of funds, no one
spoke at the meeting, but Mayor
Brogden made one suggestion
given to her earlier.
Proposed uses included repair
of drainage problems on the west
side of Southern Pines, near the
elementary school.
Mrs. McDonald also relayed a
suggestion by Caroline
Hodgkins, director of the
(Continued on Page 13-A)
i
PEACHES — Early peaches are ripening in the
Sandhills and the luscious fruit hangs heavy ort
the trees in this Bensalem Township
orchard.—(Photo by Glenn M. Sides).