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The Hoke County News- Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
VOLUME LXVII NO. 34 RAEFORD. HOKF. COUNTY. NORTH CAROLINA 85 PF.R YEAR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1971
r 1
Around Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
It it hard to believe that Christmas is
over for 1971. We realize that we had a
turkey dinner and opened our presents,
but the 70 degree temperature just
doesn't feel like the end of the year.
We rode around early Christmas
morning and we were amazed that we
didn't see kids on bicycles and tricycles.
Maybe most of the kids receive these toys
before the Christmas season. We can
remember when the only time you would
get a bicycle would be at Christmastime.
Anyway we did have a happy holiday
and we hope all our readers had the same.
We didn't break a foot like we did last
year.
We enjoyed the football games during
the holidays, but from what we can read
in the papers it would seem that a game
on Christmas day will be a thing of the
past. We still have about three more
weeks of football on TV. We hope the
wife and Sarah can hold up for these
three weeks.
School will not begin until Monday so
remember the kids playing and walking
around town. Drive carefully.
We will not make any New Year's
resolutions because we don't want to
break them. We will say that the year
1971 was a happy one for us and we hope
it was for you.
We want to thank all the people that
contributed to this column during the
year and we hope that we have been of
some service to our readers. So if you
have something for this column, send it
along and we will be glad to publish it.
We would like to wish our readers a
very happy 1972.
SURF. AS TAXES - Ed Smith, clerk of superior court, swears in the list takers for county taxes. From the left are Smith. Miss
Betty McFadyen, Archie Brvne, Doulgas Monroe, Julian Love. Eli Shankle, Mary Matherlv, Cliff Conolv, Mrs. Mildred G. Odom
and Miss Wilta McLauchlin.
Three Die In 401
City Quiet Chief Says
The holidays were quiet for Raeford
policemen, Chief James E. Lamonl
reported Tuesday.
No "Christmas crimes" such as
shoplifting or present stealing were
reported to city police.
"I'm sure with as many people as there
were in the stores before Christmas that
there probablv was some shoplifting.
Chief Lamonl said. ^"But none was
reported to us by storekeepers and we
didn't catch any. The increased patrols
helped, I'm sure."
In the days before Christmas, there
were five policemen on duty in the
downtown area during business hours,
, drolling the and the siotes.
Burlington Watchman Held
While Plant Is Robbed
No Fundi
ESAP School Projects
To Be Dropped Jan. 10
All of the projects begun with the
of
emergency school assistance program
(ESAr) funds last year are ending on Jan.
10, Donald D. Abernethy, county school
superintendent said this week.
This includes the 12 teacher and aide
jobs, he said.
HEW did not approve the proposer
$91,000 request from the county tc
continue the projects or start additiona
ones this year.
The projects undertaken under the firs'
grant last year included the completion ol
six student - built portable classrooms
the purchase of home economic!
Wreck
Two Raeford residents died Sunday
night in an accident just north of the
Hoke County line.
Johnny Dimps, 44, of Raeford am
Mable Smith, 40, of Rt. 1, Raeford were
killed in a headon collision on U.S. 401.
Also killed was Robert Smith, S3, of
Fayetteville.
Injured were Daniel Heath, 35, of Rt.
4, Fayetteville and Robert Carlton
Johnson, 33, of Orlando, Fla. They were
both admitted to Cape Fear Valley
Hospital where they were listed in
satisfactory condition Monday.
Highway Patrol Trooper M.R. Beaman
said a 1962 station wagon driven by
Dimps apparently had a blowout and
went out of control. The wagon crossed
the center line and was struck by a 1970
Pontiac driven by Heath, who was
traveling toward Fayetteville. The three
persons killed were all riding in the
station wagon.
Both vehicles were destroyed.
Local Soldier
Killed On 401
A young Ft. Bragg soldier, son of a
Raeford resident, died last week after a
wreck on U.S. 401 about five miles south
of Fayetteville.
E3 Danny Ellis Pruitt was injured on
Dec. 21 when his car veered out of the
northbound lane and hit a tractor ? trailer
headon. He died Dec. 23.
materials tor underpriviliged students ana
funds for the 12 employees.
Hired under the program were two
teachers, seven aides, a receptionist at the
high school and two library aides.
They were told at the beginning of the
year that the jobs would be eliminated in
mid ? year if the grant was not approved
for this year, Abernethy said. The
displaced personnel will have priority on
rehiring if money becomes available for
additional programs, he said.
He said that the county was still
hoping to get additional federal funds if
the education bill now before Congress is
passed.
United Fund
Now $6,121
United Fund contributions boosted the
total to $6,121.85 this week.
McCain contributors added another
$70.45 to their other donations to give
more than $400 to the community fund
this year.
Other contributors included Hoke Oil
Company with $239.
Still to report are most of the
industries and iowntown stores.
The guJ '.ib year to support the dozen
agencies that depend on the Fund is
$18,171.11. This year's goal is $1,010.08
less than the goal for last year, which was.
in turn, reduced over the previous year's
goal.
Only the 4-H clubs allocation was
increased this year. Budget cuts were
made to the recreation program, the
community development program and to
Carolina United, the catch - all for the
national agencies such as USO.
The campaign this year is being
conducted by the officers and directors:
Dr. Julius Jordan, president. W. T.
McAllister; Mrs. O. B. Israel, secretary
and Sam Morris, treasurer.
Directors are: Mrs. Richard Neely,
Lewis Oxendine. Wyatt Upchurch, A. W.
Wood, Jr., Hugh Simmons, William
Lamont, W. T. McAllister, Allen
McDo*?ld, Sam Morris, Leonard Frahm,
C. D. I ounds, Mrs. O. B. Isreal, Dr. Julius
Jordan, Graham Pope and Steve Clutter.
A masked gunman held the night
watchman at Burlington prisoner in the
boiler room for over an hour early
Monday morning while other thievei
ripped front the plant walls three money
changers containing about S800 in bills.
According to Hoke County Sheriff
D.M. Barrington, the night watchman,
Preston Moore, was making his rounds at
the plant when a man, said by Moore to
be white, drew a pistol on him. The man
wore stockings on his face and hands,
Moore told the sheriff.
Moore told the sheriff that he was
taken to the boiler room by the gunman,
who guarded him there from about 2 a.m.
to 3:15. Another masked man came in
the boiler room once, Moore said.
The sheriff said the thieves apparently
entered over the fence, as the gates were
locked during the long Christmas holiday.
They entered the plant through the back
ramp and went into the concession area
where they unbolted the money changers
from the wall. Two of the changers
contained approximately 5350 each and
the third had about 5100 in it. The
changers, owned by Mid-South Vending
Machine, are valued at more than 5800
each. Drink machines and other vending
machines were rifled but contained little
money during the holiday, the sheriff
said.
The thieves left in a blue and white
Burlington Industries pick - up truck,
which had been parked in the lot with the
keys in the vehicle, the sheriff said. They
stole Moore's keys to open the plant gates
and then left the keys on the ground.
Moore was left tied in a chair to a pole
in the boiler room, Sheriff Barrington
said. He was reported missing at 7 a.m.
and was found shortly after that by
Raymond Maxwell and Carl Stutts.
The automatic alarm system is
programed to shut down at midnight
Sunday and on holidays, the sheriff said,
as normally the third shift begins then.
Moore made his last winch on the ala-m
before the gunman anived.
The Burlington truck was found
Tuesday morning in a ditch near Philippi
Church; the money changers have not
been located.
Total damages and losses are estimated
at more than 53,000.
Sheriff Barrington, Deputy Harvey
Young and Raeford Police Chief James E.
Lamont investigated at the plant Monday
morning. The investigation is continuing
and no arrests have been made, the sheriff
said.
Miss Abrams
Is Promoted
Miss Brenda Abrams has been
promoted from assistant home economics
extension agent to associate agent
Wendell S. Young, county extension
chairman, announced this week.
This promotion means that she will
have increased responsibilities with the
extension service, he said. Promotions are
made from length of service worked and
the ability of the individual to do an
outstanding job in carrying out the
extension program.
The North Carolina Extension Service
notified the local office of Miss Abrams'
promotion. Promotion steps in the home
economics section are: assistant home
economics extension agent, associate
home economics extension agent and
home economics extension agent.
Miss Abrams, a native of Edgecombe
County, has worked here for the past Vh
years. She is a 1969 graduate of East
Carolina University.
Tax Listing Time Is Here
Tax listing time is almost here again
and this year there is a stiff new penalty
for failing to list.
Listing dates are from Jan. 4 to Feb. 3.
The penalty for failing to list has been
increased ten times and is now as much as
a S500 fine and up to six months in
prison. Under the old law, the maximum
fine and jail sentence was S50 and 30
days.
In Raeford, taxes may be listed at the
courthouse from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday and from 8-12
on Saturday. Mrs. Mary Lee Matherly is
the list taker for Raeford and persons
whose home is in townships other than
Raeford are asked to list in the township
in which they live.
At Stonewall, Eli Shankle will take tax
listings at his home Monday through
Friday from 9 . 9. In Allendale, Miss Willa
McLauchlin will take tax listings at her
home Monday through Friday from 8
a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 8
a.m. until noon.
In Antioch. C. C. Conoly will take tax
listings at his home from 9 to 9 on
Monday through Friday and on Saturday
See TAX LIST. Page II
Good News And Bad: This Is The Way 1971 Was
ruui ?o i-7/i passes. marKea oy notn
sorrow and good news, as all years are.
Some of the good news was reflected
in the day to day accomplishments of
county citizens that didn't perhaps
collect em very large headlines: many
Hoke High students continued to qualify
for scholarships in colleges and
universities across the state and many of
those who went off to school regulary
made the dean's list; the youngsters
involved in athletics did well in state
competition, taking the state title in girls
track, for example, and reaching the semi
. finals in the hast cm 3 A football
playoffs. Debbie Little, a 15 ? year - old
Hoke High student, went all the way to
Denver, Colo, to compete in the national
Junior Olympics track meet and finished
fifth in the nation in the high jump.
And then other accomplishments made
the headlines. Knit Away started
operation this year and doubled in si/e by
spring. The Army program began here
this year, collecting headlines in the New
York Times. Time Maga/ine and The New
Republic, hut at the same time helping
the county health center to get moving.
But there was had news this year also.
I he traffic death rate tripled from ten
killed in 1970 to 30 dead in 1971. A
plane crash took the lives of three Knit -
Away executives and the pilot in the
week before Christmas. The community
was saddened this year by the loss of J.D
McMillian and Israel Mann, both of whom
were responsible for many of the
accomplishments in the community
through the years, and by the deaths of
Chaffie Steele and C.E. 'Preacher' Bethea.
Citizens got used to paying a one per
cent sales tax in 1971 and to detouring
around the high school. The county
commissioners imposed the sales tax and
the city council closed Bethel Road
during school hours.
And so it went this year, both good
and bad but never to return.
Month by month, this is the way 1971
was.
In January, (he sales tax was an off and
on affair, as county commissioners got
into gear for an election and then had to
call it off when the state supreme court
ruled the local option tax
unconstitutional.
A petition was presented to the
commissioners from officer of the local
chapter of the NAACP for the county to
adopt food stamps and meanwhile the
city council was approving the formation
of a housing authority in order to apply
for low - rent housing. House fires left
two dead and two families homeless
during the month and an ice storm made
the county sparkle in the sunlight but
caused comparatively little damage.
A landmark fell as the old Raeford gin
was dismantled and Knit ? Away began
dying operations that month.
In February, house fires continued to
destroy homes and property loses soared
in the county. The Army medics and
doctors began to get their new program
into operation and health care at the
county .health department was expanded,
even as the building was being expanded
to relieve tlie cramped quarters.
The counts commissioners approved
food stamps and the long wait for
government approval began. The board
also listened to a plea from recreation
officials who were struggling to get funds
fpr the city ? county recreation program
Mayor John K McNeill was named
Man of the Year by the Kiwanis club and
two youngsters from the high school took
the conference championships in
wrestling Paul Smith and Donald
Plummer.
The official U.S census listed the
county population as 16.436.
March came and it was horse show
time again for the Raeford Woman's
Club. Mrs. J.M. Andrews was chosen as a
finalist in the state Mother of the Year
competition.
The county commissioners gave the
recreation program Si,500. which also
freed a previous commitment on the part
of the city council, and the city police
department began writing more speeding
tickets with the help of the new radar
unit. The Hoke County ? Army teamwork
made the New York Times and the Hoke
County Rescue Squad broke ground for
their new building.
The county acquired land for the
county's first sanitary landfill.
In April, two youngsters placed in the
state Fine Arts contests: Kenny Davis
took second in the vocal competition and
Suzanne Jordan won honorable mention
in the 7-9th grade art.
The medical examiner system was
begun In the county with Drs. Riley
*
Jordan and Robert Townsend named
from this part of the county. A McCain
physician was to be named also. The city
and county signed an agreement on the
joint landfill operation and a countywide
recreation program was planned and
announced, depending on Army help.
The help never came and the program was
not fulfilled but hopes were high for it in
April.
The Raeford Jaycees honored Jim
Blackburn at their annual banquet. The
mayor and five city councilmen were
unopposed tor reelection.
The community was shocked by a sex
offense charged by a high school girl
against a teacher.
In May. Pal Taylor headlines the
annual Chamber of Commerce dinner
meeting as speaker. Knit ? Away doubles
in size and acquires a new plant but the
city has problems with pi ogress as a
temporary sewer line causes continuing
pollution problems and water shortages in
the city system cause become
commonplace in the city system. On top
of that. postal rates go up.
Hoke High girls become state champs
in foui track events, ( tampions are Pat
McKoy, high hurdles; Debbie Little, high
jump; Gloria Carthans, 80 and a relay
team of Janie Beatty, Gloria Carthans,
Debbie Little and Barbara Lide. Later in
the month, eight youngsters competed at
the slate Jr. Olympics in Jacksonville.
June was a busy month. The Army
expanded its medical operations in the
county and CONARC commander Gen.
R.h. Haines came to inspect.
A letter written by George Willoughby,
Jr., state highway administrator, to Gov.
Robert Scott, revealed that the only
reason the project to widen U.S. 401 to
four ? lanes from Raeford to Fayettevjlle
was included was to give the governor and
Highway Commissioner Charles Dawklns
something to tell the county
commissioners and that no effort was
being made to move the project through
the environmental study.
The last bloodmobile drive of the fiscal
year failed with only 23 pints collected
and the county was put on probation.
But a make ? up drive on the last day of
the month netted 225 pints and put the
county hack in good standing.
Rock fish dedicated its new community
water system. t
7
F rom f
The Staff of
The News-Journal