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The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
VOLUME LXVIII NO. 2 RAEFORD. HOKE COUNTY. NORTH CAROLINA S5 PER YEAR THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1976
Around
Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
The rains came again last Friday
and Saturday and things are be
ginning to look green again. As this
is being written Tuesday morning it
is raining and the reports are that it
should rain most of the day.
Now if it will warm up at nights
things should start growing again.
Don't forget that the Lions Club
ftolf Tournament has been re
scheduled for Saturday and Sun
day, May 22 and 23. The tourna
ment was rained out the week of
May 1 and 2. Tee times that were
originally set will be honored and
there are still tee times available if
you didn't sign up the first time.
Ashwell Harward or Raz Autry
will be glad to take your money.
Mrs. Rill r?mfmn. coordinator
of Exceptional Children Program
at Hoke High, gave the program at
the Raeford Kiwanis Club last
Thursday night. J.D. McAllister
was in charge of the program. 1 was
impressed with the work Mrs.
Cameron is doing with these chil
dren, but more impressed with the
way she is wrapped up in this work.
She certainly has her heart and soul
with these children.
If vou can find time it would pav
you to go by the Hoke High
Stadium Friday night and attend
the State Girls' High School track
meet. The Hoke High girls have
won this meet for the past four
years and will be the top choice this
year.
It will also give you a chance to
see Kathy McMillan perform for
the last time at Hoke High. Just to
see her will be worth your time.
The item about the record book
from the post office in this column
fist week brought forth some phone
calls.
The first call came from Mrs.
Floyd Monroe and she gave me
some information about the post
master and also where the post
office was located in 1910. Mrs.
Monroe called last Friday and it
was nice to talk to her, not only
about the Dost office, but other
people and events that took place in
the early part of this century.
Monday, Mrs. Scott McFadyen
of Fayetteville called and later
came over and gave me many
details about the post office item.
D.J. Currie was her father and
they lived in Raeford for a number
of years. She was the former Hattie
Currie and said that she also
worked in the post office. Her
father died in December, 1910 and
her sister Annie C. Currie was
appointed acting postmaster and
served for awhile.
The post office was located on
Main Street where the Raeford
Cleaners is now. The clerk that
v*>rked in the post office was J.C.
Currie and he was a brother to the
late Arch Currie and Mrs. Ed
Bethune nee Margaret Currie.
eMrs. McFadyen said they lived in
the Williford house on Main Street
now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Wes
Williams. Later after the death of
her father they built a house on
Stewart Street behind the Walter
Baker home. This house is not
standing now. She said my mother
and father lived in front of their
home when they were first married.
The book was of much interest to
her and she wanted to know if Jesse
Gullege would sell it to her. This of
course would be Jesse's decision.
The conversation about the old
post office with these two ladies will
always be remembered by me. A
book could be written about this
county and community after talk
ing to them.
Thanks, Mrs. Monroe and Mrs.
McFadyen for your help on this
subject, but many thanks for giving
me an hour or so of enjoyment in
talking to each of you.
? Tommie Upchurch was by the
office Monday and had a picture of
the campus oif Raeford Institute. I
had a copy made of it and will try to
print it before the Bicentennial year
tt over.
Council Gets Look
'77 City Budget:'No Tax Hike'
Sports
Banquet
May 18
The Hoke High School ath
letic banquet is scheduled May
18 at 6:30 P.M. in the Hoke
High gym, Noah Hendrix Sr.
announced.
Only 250 tickets are avail
able on a "first come" basis, at
$2.50 each. Tickets may be
purchased at Hoke Drug Co.,
or from athletic director John
Pecora or any Booster Club
officer.
Second Candidate Files
For Commissioners Seat
Charlie Anderson Pendergrass, a
Hoke County native and farmer,
became the second person to file for
county commissioner Friday.
He said he was running so that
there would be a representative
from his part of the county. He is
from the Buchan section.
"I feel like we need someone to
represent our end of the county,"
he said.
"I'll do the best I can to help
everybody in the county.
"I can do the job," he added
confidently.
Pendergrass and his wife,
Lucille, have three daughters and
five grandchildren.
He is a member of Shiloh
Presbyterian Church where he was
an elder for several years. He was
also a member of the board of the
Lumbee River EMC for nine years
and was a member of the South
eastern Production Credit Associa
tion for thirteen years, and is a
member of Farm Bureau.
This is the first time Pendergrass
has run for public office.
The only other person who has
filed for the two seats that will
become open this year is Neil
McPhatter, who was appointed to
finish out the unexpired term of J.
A. Webb, who died late last year.
Pendergrass was one of three
nominated by the Democratic
committee to fill out Webb's term.
Pranksters Sought
Authorities are seeking prank
sters who felled a large pine tree
Thursday night which blocked
N.C. 211 for more than two hours
and caused damage to a 1972
Cadillac when the driver was
unable to stop before hitting the
tree.
Highway patrolman J.D. Thig
pen reported the pine was sawed
and left across the highway about
two miles south of Raeford about
10 P.M. The Cadillac, operated by
Ernest Black. Rt. 3, Red Springs,
was damaged when it collided with
the tree. The driver was shaken up
but not injured.
Thigpen, assisted by sheriffs
deputies and an off-duty highway
patrolman, guided northbound and
southbound vehicles around the
shoulder until shortly after mid
State
Allots
$219,443
The North Carolina Board of
Transportation last week awarded
a $219,443 contract for resurfacing
work on 13 miles of road in Hoke
County.
The Board, in its monthly
meeting in Raleigh, awarded the
contract to Crowell Constructors of
Fayetteville.
Construction on one section of
primary road and three sections of
secondary road in Hoke County
may begin as early as this month as
is scheduled for completion in
October 1976.
The Transportation Board,
chaired by Secretary of Transporta
tion G. Perry Greene, approved a
total of 30 different contracts that
were let on April 27, for a total of
56,791,221 in new expenditures for
highway improvements in North
Carolina.
Present for the meeting was the
Transportation Board's newest
member, Joseph R. Kaylor of
Marion. Kaylor was sworn in as a
member of the North Carolina
Board of Transportation by Special
Superior Court Judge Donald
Smith.
night when Department of Trans
portation heavy equipment arrived
and cleared the roadway.
Charlie Pendergrass
Hoke Still On Justice Dept. List
For Minority Language Ballot
The county board of elections
was notified last week Hoke is still
one of four Tar Heel counties
affected by the provisions of the
Voting Rights Act of 1975 regard
ing language minorities, and may
be required to print bi-lingual
ballots, according to a letter from J.
Stanley Pottinger, assistant
attorney general.
Hoke, along with Robeson,
Jackson, and Swain counties, is
named in the Department of Justice
proposed guidelines published
April 21 in the Federal Register,
which will become permanent after
a 30 day period for public
comment.
When the county was first
specified last year by the Justice
Department because of the Lumbee
Indian population, the announce
ment created some bewilderment
among officials here, since the
Indians do not speak any other
language than English.
The county is included under the
proposed new Part 55, section 203
(c) of the Act, which establishes
coverage through Aug. 6, 1985, if
within the political subdivision
more than five per cent of voting
age citizens are members of a single
language minority whose illiteracy
rate is greater than the national
illiteracy rate.
For identification purposes, the
Justice Department defines
illiteracy as failure to complete the
fifth grade.
With respect to unwritten
languages, the Justice Department
proposed rules cite as examples
some American Indians and
Alaskan Natives, and advises that
only "oral assistance" is required to
comply with the Act. It is the
responsibility of the jurisdiction to
determine whether a language is
considered written or unwritten.
Harold Brock, board of elections
chairman, said Monday he thought
the matter ended when officials
here wrote the Justice Department
last year after the initial announce
ment.
"We will comply with whatever is
required, but as far as a language
other than English, we haven't
come up with one", he said.
"1 can see what they're trying to
do, assure that every American has
the opportunity to vote and I fullv
agree with that philosophy, but I
think they're trying to cover it all
with one blanket deal, and they
don't realize what will turn up", he
said.
"With respect to illiterate
persons, there is already provision
for any voter to have assistance
from a member of their family, any
qualified person within the
precinct, as well as officials at the
polls, to interpret," Brock said.
$10,000 Check Arrives For Library
A check tor 510,000 for the new
Hoke County public library was
received here Tuesday, a matching
grant from the state through the
American Revolution Bicentennial
Administration.
The announcement was made by
Ruth McEachern, named treasurer
of the library building fund
following the death of R.B. Lewis.
i ne state award will go into the
building tund which was begun
with a $100,000 goal to match
S200.000 in revenue sharing funds
alloted by the country.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for
the new library, the county's
official Bicentennial project and
termed one of the most outstanding
in the state, were held last August.
The building is nearing completion
and officials expect to plan a July 4
opening ceremony.
Meeting
Canceled
The regular monthly meeting
of the Hoke County Board of
Commissioners scheduled for
Monday night. May 17, 1976
has been canceled due to
conflict with annual banquet of
the Raeford Hoke Chamber of
Commerce, Chairman Ralph
Barnhart announced Tuesday.
Clarification
In the last regular meeting of the
Hoke County Board of Education,
Rhenda Cameron was employed as
coordinator of exceptional children
programs for the 1976-77 school
year.
In last week's edition, it was
reported that she was hired as a
teacher.
Chamber Banquet To Hear Hodges
Luther Hodges
The annual Raeford-Hoke
Chamber of Commerce banquet
will be held Monday, May 17, at
the Gibson Cafeteria of the high
school.
Light refreshments will be served
at 6:30 and dinner will begin at 7
P.M. Advance tickets for $5 are
available at the Chamber office.
Guest speaker for the banquet
will be Luther B. Hodges Jr.,
chairman of the board of North
Carolina National Bank and son of
former Gov. Luther H. Hodges Sr.
Hodges, a native of Eden, earned
his A.B. degree in economics at the
University of North Carolina in
1957. After service as an officer in
the U.S. Navy, he earned the
M.B.A. degree at Harvard Gradu
ate School of Business Administra
tion in 1961.
Two years after joining North
Carolina National Bank, he was
named vice president in charge of
the eastern area of the national
division. He later was named a
senior vice president and returned
to Charlotte to supervise the region.
In 1970, he was promoted to
executive vice president with
responsibility for all NCNB offices
in North Carolina. He was named
vice chairman of the bank board in
1973. and chairman in 1974.
He is on the board of governors
of the University of North Carolina
and is chairman of the board of the
North Carolina Manpower Devel
opment Corporation.
Hodges is chairman of the
Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
and a director of the North
Carolina Citizens Association, the
Business Foundation of North
Carolina, and the Research Tri
angle Foundation.
He is also director of Burlington
Industries. J.B. Ivey and Company,
Burris Industries, and the Asso
ciated Council of the Arts.
He is also a trustee of Johnson C.
Smith University, a member of the
central selection committee of the
Morehead Foundation, and chair
man of the public affairs committee
of the Association of Reserve City
Bankers, and he was name to
TIME magazine's list of 200
emerging leaders in America in
1974.
Hodges will be introduced by
Raeford native J. Kenneth Clark,
senior vice president and director of
corporate communications for the
NCNB Corporation.
Clark graduated from the Uni
versity of North Carolina with a
journalism degree in 1957.
Following graduation, he worked
five years with The Charlotte
Observer as a deskman, reporter,
and editorial writer. He was also
See CHAMBER, page 15
City Council members reviewed a
$1.7 million proposed city budget
for the coming fiscal year which
holds the line on the property tax
rate but agreed to reduce the
overall total by slashing five per
cent across-the-board pay hikes for
city employees.
City manager Robert Drum
wright presented the proposed
budget to the full council during a
two and one half hour special
meeting Monday night.
The complete budget, which was
prepared with the pay increases,
includes General Fund appropri
ation of $629,545, water and sewer
fund appropriation of $498,860, a
capital reserve fund of $517,500
and the 1977 federal revenue
sharing award of $58,787.
The amount of revenue sharing
funds included was reduced by
nearly one half over this year's
appropriation since Congress has
not acted yet to renew the program
beyond December. Drumwright
explained.
Drumwright also warned
councilmen the city expects to lose
some $3.5 million in tax valuation-,
or about $20,000 due to reduced
inventories in the Burlington and
Knit-Away textile plants.
The capital reserve fund includes
a fund balance of $350,000 from
this year's budget, with new
contributions of $75,000 from both
the General Fund and water and
sewer fund, plus interest earned.
$150,000 is earmarked for
construction of new municipal
offices and $367,500 remains for
future unspecified expenditures.
Projected revenues in the water
and sewer fund are increased by
over $20,000 from estimates made
last July 1, although Drumwright
termed the figures "conservative",
anticipating continued cutbacks in
the area's textile plants.
Estimated advalorem tax
revenue for the coming year was
put at $360,344, up from $351,746
budgeted last July 1. Actual
receipts through March 31 of this
year are listed as $383,984.
Requests from most agencies,
including the police department,
fire department, and municipal
garage, were trimmed by Drum
wright in drawing up the budget.
Exact comparisons with this year's
budget on totals could not be made
Tuesday, as totals contained the
five per cent pay hikes the council
rejected.
The move to reject the increases
was tied to the changeover to
lntegon Insurance Co. for city
employees' combined life and
hospitalization insurance. Under
the new plan, to become effective
July 1, the city will pay 100 per cent
of the premium costs, so workers'
take-home pay will rise since they
no longer will pay a portion.
The council adjourned without
scheduling a date for another
budget session. By law. a public
hearing must be held before the
final budget is adopted July 1 and
the tax rate set.
Next regular meeting of the
council is Monday, June 7.
Ken Clark