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The Hoke County News- Established 1928
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
VOLUME LXII NUMBER 42
R A F.FORD. HOKE COUNTY. NORTH CAROLINA
4 PER YEAR 10 PER COPY
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 29, 1968
Help Coming From Three Directions
Federal Programs Aim At Poverty
Hoke County and nine others
In tastern North Carolina will
come under concentrated fed
eral aid In an effort to cure
their economic problems.
Money and other assistance
from three sources will be pour
ed Into the area to assist local
leaders In developing man
power, providing Jobs, and ad
ministering other programs de
signed to Improve the lot of the
poor.
In Washington, It was an
nounced last week that a multimillion-dollar
campaign will be
waged In the 10-county area to
fight rural blight.
A major North Carolina news
paper reported officials In
Washington and Raleigh are
winding up plans for a $2 mil
lion "Concentrated Employment
Program," and predicted It will
be approved within six weeks.
The program Is Intended to
help rural people find Jobs in
their own areas, the newspaper
reported.
In addition to Hoke, the area
Includes Scotland, Robeson,
Cumberland, Bladen, New Han
over, Columbus, Pender,
Brunswick and Sampson coun
ties. The 10-county area Is among
the hardest hit in North Caro
lina by the mechanization of
farming operations. Thousands
of people who formerly worked
as tenants or day laborers on
farms in the area are virtual
ly tied to the soil which no
longer provides them a decent
living.
The two-year program will
emphasize on-the-job training
for workers, which will require
extensive involvement by busi
ness and Industry In the area.
If approved, the program will
be only the third In the United
States.
Gov. Dan Moore Is expected
to announce further economic
development plans for Eastern
North Carolina sometime this
week.
Meanwhile, a $33,651.29 fed
eral grant has been received
by Southeastern Economic De
velopment Commissionwhich
Includes all the counties ex
cept New Hanover that are a
part of the employment pro
gram. The grant, boosted by $11,
883.79 In cash and $1,317.
12 "In kind" from the nine
counties, was made to estab
lish an office and hire a di
rector and other personnel for
the aistrict development office.
The third boost to Hoke is
coming through Sandhills Com
munity Action Program (SCAP),
whose program is being reor
ganized to place more empha
sis on manpower development.
A story about that program is
elsewhere In this issue.
Jim Fout, manager of Rae-ford-Hoke
Chamber of Com
merce, is chairman of the de
velopment commission part of
an area program which covers
most of the southeastern sea
bo rd.
Purpose of the commission,
according to Fout, is to Identi
fy and isolate problems It en
counters, and to plan and di
rect action.
"The solutions will not al
ways involve money," Fout de
clared, "We will solve the prob
lems locally, where possible,
and look elsewhere for the ans
wers if they are not to be found
here."
The development commission
Is supported In Washington by
the Department of Commerce's
Economic Development Ad
ministration. Each of the nine counties has
four directors on the commis
sion and an advisory commit
tee of 10 members.
Directors from Hoke Include
Fout, Dr. Robert Townsend,
Jake Austin and Robert Wind
ley. The 10-member advisory
committee for Hoke County In
cludes Ralph Barnhart, Bobby
Gibson, Earl Hendrlx, Lonnle
Bledsoe, Louis Oxendlne, Wash
ington McAllister, James
Thomas Jr., Franklin Teal, and
Neal A. McDonald.
The commission office will be
established at E llzabethtown,
where Bladen County already
has provided spare In the county
courthouse. That contribution
was valued at $1,317.12 "In
kind" toward the local share
of the Initial appropriation.
The remaining share of the
local contribution was divided
among the other counties on the
basis of their population. Hoke
County's share was $534.77.
Other assessments were:
Brunswick, $713.03 Columbus,
$1,426.00: Cumberland, $4,
159.31: Fender, $594.14; Robe
son, $2,495.59; Sampson, $1,
188.37: Scotland. S772.44.
AntirPoverty Unit Bike-Riding
Is Re-Organized
A reorganization of Sandhills
Community Action Program Is
under way, according to a report
from headquarters at Carthage.
Special emphasis is to be
placed on employment.
Three principal divisions will
be established to encompass the
administrative and community
ervlces functions heretofore In
operation and the third will be
the manpower division.
Except for the headstart,
senior citizens and family plan
ning programs, all efforts of the
community service and the ad
ministrative division will be to
support the manpower division.
Under the director of man
power, other staff personnel
will specialize In the areas of
Job development andplacement,
employment training and vo
cational counseling, and follow
up. The community service di
vision will serve the manpower
program by recruitment, out
reach, follow-up assistance,
and by other supportive ser
vices such as transportation,
child care placement, housing
and loan assistance.
The Neighborhood Youth
Corps, new careers, PACE, on-the-job
training, and other work
experience programs will be
Integrated Into the manpower
division. All programs will be
supervised by the director to
insure coordlantlon of all man
power In efforts.
The reorganization will mean
the loss of two home service
workers in Hoke County,
according to reports from a
local source.
The Sandhills anti-poverty
organization operates In Hoke,
Moore, Lee and Montgomery
counties. SCAP headquarters
In Carthage Is supplemented
by county offices In each of
the three other counties,
Hoke County has been without
a community action program
administrator since Jamea R.
Attaway, first paid director of
the local program, resigned
several months ago.
The last session of Congress
substantially modified the anti
poverty program throughout the
nation, delegating control to
local government bodies, more
or less.
The anti-pcverry program In
Hoke County up to this time
has dealt primarily with the
Headstart program for pre
school children; the Neighbor
hood Youth Corps; Job Corps,
and several other programs
beneficial to young people
and elderly citizens.
When the local program was
first outlined, the county asked
for a federal grant to be used
in this county alone. The fed
eral government said, however,
that Hoke didn't have enough
people by itself to qualify for
a grant.
Victim Loses
Damage Suit
A $10,000damagesultbrought
In behalf of a 13-year-old Hoke
County boy, Acy Cummlngs Jr.,
by his mother, Mrs. Mary Jane
Cummlngs, was decided In favor
of the defendant this week In
the current civil session of
Hoke Superior Court, Judge
Maurice Braswell presiding.
The complaint charged that
young Cummlngs suffered se
vere pain and injury when the
bicycle he was riding Septem
ber 18, 1964, was struck by a
car operated by William Carl
Willis, defendant in the action,
and that Willis was negligent In
not keeping proper lookout, not
blowing his auto horn, or ap
plying brakes.
Testimony Indicated the boy
came off a dirt road onto a
paved road, crossed to the other
side, and was struck by the
automobile when the bike's front
w heel was off the pavement. The
victim allegedly was thrown 40
feet.
A 12-man Jury returned In
favor of the defendant.
The case took the better part
of the first two days of the
session, and late Tuesday af
ternoon, the court waded Into
another case which was expected
to take considerable time.
In that case, Louvenla Burke
and Monroe Burke are plain
tiffs against Nationwide Insur
ance Company.
SNOWMANIf this roly-poly man had a heart, it would be like the song- cold, co Id one i because
he is lust plain froren Inside and out. That prol.bly la the reason Graham Mven Is lending him
his own totognn. Shaping up the shoulders Is Jeff Abernethy. His sister, Beth, watch... The
white fellow was a guest In the Abernethy yard Saturday afternoon.
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Child, 2, Is Killed
When Struck By Car
A two-year-old boy was killed
late Sunday afternoon when
struck by a car near his home
on a rural paved road south of
Antioch near the Robeson Coun
ty line.
Harold Jacobs, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Roman Jacobs, Rae
ford Rt. 2, died at Southeast
ern General Hospital In Lum
berton about two hours after
the accident.
State Highway Patrolman E.
M. Roberts said eyewitnesses
told him the child darted across
the road In front of a parked
ai.to and ran directly into the
path of a car operated by Sarah
Chavis Ballard, Red springs
Rt. 1. Mrs. Bullard apparent
ly had no chance to avoid hitting
the child, he said.
The youngster was struck by
the front center of the car and
dragged 74 feet, Roberts said.
The fatality was the second
of the year on Hoke County
roads. The first occurred about
three weeks ago whenaRaeford
woman died in a crash justwest
of Raeford on N. C. 211.
MARKS THE SPOT-State Hirhway Patrolman E. M. Roberts Is shown here examining the spot
where a twLeVr-old THoke County child was struck late Sunday afternoon. The youngster died
T short tlmXerlt Southeastern General Hospital In Lumberton, becoming the county's second
traffic victim of the year.
Hendrix
Candidate
For Board
David Hendrix, Arabia farm
er, filed last week as a candi
date for county commissioner,
subject to nomination in the
May Democratic primary.
Hendrix became the fourth
candidate vieing for two seats
on the five-man board of com
missioners, which two years
ago began a staggered term
arrangement, with two seats
becoming vacant one year and
the other three vacancies oc
curring two years later.
Incumbent commissioners
whose terms will expire in De
cember are J. A. Webb of Ash
See CANDIDATE, Pag.
Zeke Wiggins
Was NOT Drunk
Everybody who read the Item
said It couldn't be true.
And It wasn't.
But It was In the pap.r, Just
th. same.
In last week's edition of The
News-Journal, a paragraph In
the court news listed this Judg
ment: "Leonard Wiggins, Red
Springs Rt. 1, public drunken
ness, costs."
Leonard (Zeke) Wiggins la
a non-drlnklng Raeford police
man and was th. arresting of
ficer In the case. His nam.
appeared as such on the war
rant. Through our error, It was
copied from the warrant Instead
of the name of th. defendant,
James S. King, who pleaded
guilty to th. rharr. and was
assessed court costs.
We apologize to Officer Wig
gins and to our readers and re
gret any mbarrassm.nt It mat
have caused Zeke.
Town Citizens
Vote April 20
On Bond Issue
April 20 will be set as the
date for Raeford citizens to
vote for or against a $700,
000 sanitary sewer bond Issue.
That date Is expected to be
official established Monday
night when tuwn board holds Its
March meeting.
Bond attorneys in New York
City have completed prelimi
nary legal work In connection
with the referendum and have
set a timetable which town com
missioners are expected to a
dopt. The bond Issue Is being ask
ed to Increase the capacity of
the town's sewage disposal plant
and to provide an additional out
fall line to Burlington Indus
tries. For more than a year, town
commissioners have been
wrestling with what consulting
engineers say Is a serious
problem.
The town's sewage treatment
plant, completed In 1963, al
ready Is loaded far beyond Its
designed capacity, the designer
says, and serious trouble is
liable to develop at any time.
To date, the plant has oper
ated satisfactorilyexcept for
a brief period Just after it was
put into operation and some
kinks" had to be ironed out.
It's a miracle, according to
the engineer, Richard Moore
of Asheboro, because the plant
was designed for a B.O.D. (bi
ological oxygen demand) of 2,
800, and the average load du
ring a testing period last sum
mer was well above twice that
amount.
Why, town commissioners are
frequently asked, Is a plant
already overloaded that was de
signed to accommodate a city
of 35,000 and was supposed to
be sufficient for Raeford for
15 years?
The answer, engineers say,
is vastly Increased industrial
use, primarily by Burlington
Industries and Raeford Turkey -Farms,
Inc., Doth of which have
expanwn operations since the
new sewage treatment plant was
See BOND LSSUE, Page 9
NOMINATED Paul Currie, son
of Mr. and Mrs. David Srott
Currie and a student at Hoke
High School, Is one of five
young men from this conpres
sional district to tie accepted
as a nominee for the Coast
Guard Academy. The announce
ment was made by principal
Raz Autry. Currie will com
pete with the other four nomi
nees for the single appointment
to lie made by Rep. Alton A.
Lennon. Two other Hoke Hirti
seniors are competing for ap
pointments to service aca
demies, including John Pope(U,
S. Military Academy) and Ralph
Huff (L. S. Air Force Arademy),
Local Businessman Says
'Give Turkey Plant The Credit
For Killing Moonshine In Hoke'
BY JIM TAYLCR
A Hoke County businessman who asked that his name be
withheld this week challenged an article inlastweek's issue
of The News-Journal which rsponed: "...the annual report
of Sheriff Dave Barrington indicates the manufacture of
"stump hole' whi-ky has slowed to a trickle since legal sale
of liquor was vteJ in abait five year; ago."
"I do not wish to take anything away from Sheriff Barring
ton, his deputies, or A3C Officer Kermit Riley," the man
said, "but bootlegging has all but disappeared here for
another Mason."
The reason: Raeford Turkey Farms, Inc., and other in
dustries in the area that employ uneducated workers have
n-.ade it unnecessary for a great many people who used to
distill illegal whisky to keep at it.
"It's a fact that the turkey plant, the shoe factory (B. F.
Goodrich) In Robeson, and tie Iron works- In Southern
Pines are paying good wages to some of the people who
u.'ed to make whisky," the informant said. "1 know, be
cause I have talked to many of them."
He ;aid he took a swing through south Hoke County and
the northern part of Roneson County not long ajo, seeking
a jar of white whisky for a friend who wanted to take it
out-of-state.
A few years ago. the first stop would have produced the
whisky, he aid, but not this time.
"Ti e first fellow I approached -- who used to keep it
all the time said he didn't have a drop. When I asked
him why, lie said he had a good job, made a 'Ood paycheck
every week, ard diJ,.'t have to fool with the stuff anymore,"
At several other houses where one mi-hthave found white
whisky a few years ago, no man-of-the-house was to be
found.
"Their children, or whoever was home, told me the man
was at wcrk in o,ie of the plants I've mentioned previously,"
See MOONSHINE, Page 9