Index
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Books, 2-B; Carthage News, 1-3-D;
Church News, 3-B; Classified Ads, 7-15-D;
Editorials, 1-B; Entertainment, S-9-C;
I Obituaries, 12-A; Pinehurst News, 1-4-C;
Sandhflls Scene, 2-10-A; Sports, 10-13-C.
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VOL. 61, NO. 32
76 PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA 28387
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1981
76 PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
GOP Makes Changes;
Administrator Is Leaving
BY FLORENCE GILKESON
The Republican majority on
the Moore County Board of
Conunissioners continued to flex
O' «.heir muscles Monday as they
made sweeping personnel
changes in county operations
and stacked a series of
committees and boards with
Republicans and conservative
supporters.
Highlights of the lengthy
meeting included acceptance of
Larry Moubry’s resignation as
county administrator, the
appointment of Robert S. Ewing
as director of the Economic
Development program, and the
appointment of Jerry Rhoades to
the social services board.
The board appointed Mark
Liddell as tax supervisor and
shifted the present tax
supervisor, Dewitt Purvis, to the
position of appraiser, but with
the same salary.
In actions related to the
budget, the board eliminated the
positions held by Martin
Chriscoe, an assistant
administrator, and Don
Richardson, tax collector.
They were among at least 10
employes who either resigned or
had their positions abolished
during the meeting.
Positions held by Fire Marshal
Joe Adams and Public Works
Director and County Planner
Parker Lynch were retained, but
their duties were changed.
Moubry apparently was asked
to resign during an executive
(closed) session held late in the
all-day meeting.
When the board returned to
open session. Dr. Charles
Phillips, chairman, announced
that Moubry’s resignation had
been received, and a vote was
taken to accept his resignation.
He will remain on the job
through the end of June to
complete the budget work.
After the meeting Moubry said
that he had no plans for the
immediate future, other than his
interest in seeing the 1981-82
budget through to the finish.
The loss of his job had been
expected for months, more
recently because of action by the
board calling for establishment
of the county manager form of
government.
At the Monday meeting
Moubry was instructed to place
advertisements for the county
manager position in Raleigh,
Greensboro, and Charlotte
newspapers and in the state and
National Association of County
Commissioners publications.
June 30 was set as the deadline
to accept applicants. The salary
(Continued on Page 15-A)
School Budget Cut Talked
As 50^ Rate Remains Goal
Town Budget Up
As Tax Rate Held
BY LIZ HUSKEY
^ While holding the line at last
year’s tax rate. Southern Pines
Town Manager Mildred
McDonald has managed to come
up with a proposed budget that
represents a 10 percent increase
over last yeat’s, Slid still
maintaining all existing
programs.
The present tax rate is 70 cents
on the $100 valuation.
The proposed budget, however,
will mean a “substantial
increase” in water and sewer
fees, and other services which
the Town provides. Mrs.
McDonald said she sees this
system as a way to “more
equitably place cost of service on
those, dh*ectly benefitting from
or using those services.”
Saving money was the main
priority in this year’s budget,
Mrs. McDonald said, and she has
proposed to do so through the
increased fees, by switching to
curbside garbage collection, and
by changing the Town employes
insurance company to one with
the North Carolina League of
Municipalities, providing the
same benefits without the
increase called for by the Town’s
existing company.
(Contiiiued on Page 14-A)
In a budget-slashing mood the
Republican-dominated Moore
County Board of Commissioners
on Monday discussed reducing
the public schools’ current ex
pense budget to $3 million.
The axing effort had as its goal
retention of the present 5(k%nt
tax rate.
Deep slashes were also sought
in the Sandhills Community Col
lege and recreation budgets.
If approved, the $3 million
allocation would reduce the
school system’s current expense
budget by about 1.75 percent for
the 1981-82 year.
The board also discussed the
allocation of $448,000 for regular
capital outlay, representing an
increase of 12 percent over this
year’s budget. This is in addition
to the $420,519 previously
designated for completion of the
Cameron School building project.
This money is to come from
federal revenue sharing funds.
Dr. Charles Phillips, chairman
of the board, said the schools
could manage the current ex
pense cut by reducing ad
ministrative and non-
instructional costs, such as
psychology, psychiatry, health,
and data processing.
Phillips said his ideas reflect
the feelings expressed to him by
the people with whom he has talk
ed. He explained that he does not
want to hurt the basic instruc
tional services and he things
such enrichment programs as
art, music, vocational education
and the handicapped should be
I continued.
Disapproval was expressed for
the school board’s request to use
$31,000 to initiate a three-year
program to eliminate all student
fees.
In his opening remarks about
the school budget, Phillips com
mented that since the schools are
forecasting a decrease in student
population, there should be an ac
companying decrease in funding.
The capital outlay allocation
was approved by a unanimous
vote of the board, which stopped
short of approving the current ex
pense budget.
For this year the schools were
allocated $3.4 million for current
expense plus $400,000 for capital
outlay and $300,000 for the
Cameron project.
For 1981-82 the school board
has requested a total of $5.9
million, an increase of 46 percent.
This total includes $4.7 million
for current e}q)ense, $716,139 for
capital outlay and $479,000 for
long range capital planning.
(Continued on Page 12-A)
Politics Stirred
Gn Trustee Issue
An ironic turn of politics found
two Democrats backing a
Republican against another
Republican Monday when the
Moore County Board of Com
missioners was considering an
appointment to the Sandhills
Conununity College Board of
Trustees.
The Republican majority
prevailed, as expected, and
George Little, chairman of the
Moore County Republican
Executive Committee, was
ai^inted to the college board
seat to succeed Ed Causey, a
former Democratic Party
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chairman.
Gov. James B. Himt, Jr.
expected to name Causey to the
seat presently held by Jimmy
Garner, a Robbins Republican.
(Governor Jim Hunt on
Tuesday announced the
appointment of J. Ed Causey of
Lakeview to the Board of
Trustees of Sandhills Community
College. Causey presently serves
as chairman of the board).
Garner had the backing of
Democratic Commissioners
Arthur Purvis and Lee Williams
(Continued on Page 11-A)
2.43 Inches Rain Noted;
Some Hail Is Reported
Rainfall has amounted to 2.43
inches in Moore County in the
past week.
Although water levels are still
far below normal for this time of
year, the ground is no longer as
thirsty as it was a month ago.
Charles Hammond, Moore
County Agricultural Extension
chairman, and Tom Colson, the
agriculture agent in charge of
crops, have only good words for
the showers, which have boosted
the early growth of such crops as
tobacco and com.
Hail struck in one section of the
county during a brief weekend
storm, but an estimate of the
damage was not available. One
insurance agent reported receiv
ing calls from two farmers who
(Continued on Page 14-A)
Garbage Issue On Agenda
Of Town Council Tuesday
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Garbage and this year’s
budget are among the agenda
items listed for the Southern
Pines Town Council meeting
June 9 at 8 p.m.
The councU will either approve
or disapprove the proposed
curbside garbage collection
system being proposed by Town
Manager Mildred McDonald as a
means to save money.
If the proposal is rejected by
the council, it could mean a tax
rate increase of four cents for
the 1981-82 budget, and will be
considered in conjunction with
acceptance of the budget.
The manager has submitted a
$3,771,074 budget this year, a 10
percent increase over last year’s
budget, but which will not mean
a tax rate increase, unless the
garbage proposal is turned
down.
The second public hearing, as
required by law, will be held
Tuesday night just before the
(Continued on Page 11-A)
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PERILOUS SCENE — Rescue workers struggle to move the body of a
landslide victim from this sharp slope of an open talc mine near
Glendon. Two other persons were injured in the accident last
Wednesday afternoon. The white-shrouded object to the right of the
rescuers is the stretcher bearing the dead man’s body. All three men
were from out of this area.—(Photo by Florence Gilkeson).
Rockhounds In Mine Slide
With One Killed, Two Hurt
One man was killed and two
companions injured in a rock
slide that occurred while they
were digging for fool’s gold last
Wednesday afternoon at a Glen
don Pyrophyllite mine.
Dead was Lennis Comer, 65, of
Reidsville. The injured men were
identified as Richard Chatman of
Greensboro and Charles Setliff of
Pelham, both listed as 41 years of
age.
Comer died of massive chest in
juries, it was reported by (Coroner
A.B. Parker.
Chatman, who sustained a frac
tured ankle and arm, was carried
to Moore Memorial Hospital and
was transferred to Wesley Long
Hospital in Greensboro. Setliff
was given emergency treatment
and released.
A daring rescue effort was
coordinated by Larry Upchurch,
captain of the High Falls Rescue
Squad. High Falls was assisted
by two other units, Carthage and
Robbins.
The men were digging at a
slope an estimated 75 to 100 feet
from the top when the soil and
rock began to slide at about 2:15
p.m.
Upchurch admitted that squad
personnel did not feel any fright
or realize the danger until their
job was completed and they had
time to review the effort.
As the rescuers left the scene,
he said they noticed a 10 to 12 inch
shift, and they became aware
just how dangerous the situation
had been.
Upchurch estimated that the
ravine dropped to a depth of 225
feet. The trio was not quite
halfway between top and bottom,
he said.
Because of recent rains in the
area, the wall was slick, but Up
church said if the rains had been
as heavy as those in High Falls,
the slope would have been too
slick and safety ropes would have
been used. He said the rescue
team had an advantage in a small
plateau at a good location along
the slope.
When the slide occurred,
Setliff, who was die least serious
ly injured, said he tried to
remove the rock from Comer’s
(Continued on Page 11-A)
Moubry Presents Budget
Alternatives To Board
A tax rate as high as 79 cents is
likely if budget requests ex
ceeding $13.5 million are approv
ed for Moore County.
This startling 58 percent in
crease was revealed to the Moore
County Board of Commissioners
Thursday afternoon when County
Administrator Larry Moubry
presented his budget message for
1981-82.
Discussion of the proposal was
minimal during the hour-long
meeting since the commissioners
returned to the subject at their
regular June meeting on Monday
afternoon to dig more deeply into
the funding and cost-cutting pro
cess. The new budget must be
ready for adoption by July 1.
To retain the present 50-cent
tax rate, Moubry told the com
missioners they must hold the
public schools and the college to
their present funding level and
must cut $1.2 million from the
other county budgets for the new
(Continued on Page 16-A)
THE
PILOT LIGHT
^ Bruton Heard As 300 Graduate
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RAINS CAME — The rains came this past week to help Moore County
crops such as this newly planted field near Cameron.—(Photo by Glenn
M. Sides)
The chairman of the State
Board of Education told 300
graduates at Sandhills Com
munity College Friday evening
that they had a responsibility to
see that public support of
education continues in the future,
especially in the face of
suggested economy moves.
Dr. David Bruton of Southern
Pines said public support of
education was a Mstoric
tradition in North Carolina and
deserved the support of the
public in good times and bad.
The Southern Pines
pediatrician has been chairman
of the state board since his ap
pointment to that body in 1977 by
Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
The 300 graduates heard a
welcome from J. Ed Causey,
chairman of the Sandhills
Community College’s Board of
Trustees. He noted that the
college had been holding
graduation services for 16 years
and that the college had been in
operation for 18 years. “Our first
class to graduate had just one
graduate. Now we have 300 at
this service and there will be
more in August. You can see that
we have come a long way.”
Chairman Causey added that
he saw the purpose of Sandhills
as “reaching out to touch
someone.” He congratulated the
graduates and told them they
were better for having attended
college because it put them in
touch with others and taught
them how to learn.
Dr. Raymond A. Stone, college
(Continued on Page 14-A)
SCOTT-Former Governor Bob
Scott thinks that Governor Jim
Hunt’s gasoline tax plan to save
the ailing state highway system
will be approved by the
Legislature.
“There may be some changes
in the package but most of it will
go through,” Scott said.
Scott’s own preference in
regards to a gas tax is one that’s
tied to the price of gas-the
wholesale sales tax which had
been proposed by the blue-ribbon
study committee.
HOLSHOUSER-Former Gov
ernor Jim Holshouser also
favors the wholesale sales tax
on gasoline. It’s a plan that
would bring in more money in
the long run, because as the
price of gas goes up so would the
gas tax.
There isn’t any argument from
the two former govemors-Jim
Hunt’s immediate predecessors-
that the highway fund needs the
extra revenue.
Holshouser says he would be
opposed to using money from the
general fund for highways. “It
would be taking away from
schools and other things,” he
said.
REDISTRICTING - Several
(Continued on Page 14-A)