eu?4 - journal
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
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.^K.ugi HHA SUSTAINING
"" m mm-ii73
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PRES S
SSOCIATION
Published fcvery Thursday at Raeford, N.C. 28376
119 W. Elwood Avenue
Subscription Rates In Advance
Per Year - S5.00 6 Months - $2.75 3 Montis - $1.50
PAUL DICKSON PubliAer-Editor
SAM C.MORRIS General Manner
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Ediloi
MARTY VEGA Repofler
Second Class Postage at Ractord, N.C.
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1976
Travel by public employees
A news article in this issue gives some facts and figures about
travel costs to Hoke County for trips inside and outside the county by
employees and officials. Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that
such expenses are improper or bad for the county in any way, several
points should be considered.
As a start, we would generally agree with County Manager T.B.
Lester's contention that most of these trips are worthwhile. The fact
that an exchange of ideas among administrators, supervisors,
planners and others who are trying to accomplish the same objectives
in different places and environments is beneficial and leads to better
performance is so undeniable that the Internal Revenue Service
allows businesses to report such trips as legitimate operating
expenses. Many times methods and ideas being used elsewhere are
learned at meetings which result in savings to governments and
institutions far beyond the cost of sending the personnel to the
meetings. True, some trips wind up being just pleasure trips, but we
would say that generally good employees and officials make good use
of the associations and bad ones don't, and there are better ways of
measuring performance than the trips one takes.
It has not been and is not our purpose, as one official suggested, to
single out anyone in reporting the facts on travel to the public, who
after all foot the bill. We did report the board of education's trip to
the west coast and have not intentionally overlooked anyone. We do
not feel that just because many of the taxpaying public don't get
such trips can be a valid excuse for them knowing their employees
are getting them. After all, most of the public these days is not paid
as well as its employees anyway, and most seem willing to accept the
fact. Our business is not to make any judgments primarily, but to see
that the public does know what is going on, and to this we are
dedicated.
We would not like to see any taxpayer accept the conclusion that
as "only 28 per cent" of some travel costs comes from local tax
budgets, the other 72 per cent is not coming from his or her pocket
as well. Most of us have a clear awareness of where the money
disbursed from Raleigh and Washington comes from, and we should
not forget it. Our taxes pay this 72 per cent, along with the
non-typing secretaries in Washington, our social security checks, the
postal employees, welfare checks. Jimmy Carter's campaign
expenses, and all the rest.
A news item last week reported that the county school
superintendent and his assistant would be at a meeting at the Great
Smokies Hilton for about a week in July. The Great Smokies Hilton,
in case you didn't know it, is about as comfortable a place for a
conference as there is. east of the Mississippi and above sea level. As
Lester asserted and we agreed, these conferences serve a worthwhile
purpose, and certainly they wouldn't be as well attended if they were
held in a cabin on some swamp. Facilities have to be adequate, and
conducive to thought and exchange of ideas, certainly, and the nicer
the place ? California. Utah, the Great Smokies Hilton ? the
smarter the crowd that's going to attend. Of course, there may be a
point down the line somewhere beyond which we shouldn't go, and it
may be that this should be getting some thought.
The suggestion that newspapers shouldn't even print this
information about public servants, that they "have to give up so
much of their privacy." does give us some concern also. It is our
attitude that part of what a public servant is paid for is that his
masters have a right to know what he is doing in his official capacity.
We also consider it our duty as a newspaper to go look it up in the
records and tell the public. If it is a fact that the public doesn't have
an interest in these matters, then it's past time the public changed its
attitude, before we all wind up working eight months a year for the
government instead of about four.
Browsing in the fil
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
Thursday, July 19, 1951
An average loan rate of 50.7
cents per pound for 1951 - crop flue
- cured tobacco and a schedule of
rates by grades were announced
today by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
The State Highway Commission
recently announced the completion
of 21 additional miles of hard -
surfacing in Hoke County under
the 5200,000,000 bond issue pro
gram.
About 35 members and guests
attended the luncheon meeting of
-tile Raeford Chamber of Commerce
at the Hoke School cafeteria
Tuesday.
fV '"
? ? ?
f"v
From Rockfish News:
Recent rains have been of great
benefit in this vicinity. Tobacco
baming is in full swing now and
everybody is busy.
15 years ago
Thursday, July 20, 1%1
A million dollar hail storm
slashed across Hoke County late
Tuesday afternoon, and veteran
agricultural observers said the
stripped fields were "the worst
we've ever seen."
Mrs. Mary Virginia McDougald,
62. of the Wayside Community was
buried Saturday afternoon in the
cemetery of Galatia Presbyterian
Church.
Hoke officers of the Highway
Patrol reported an unprecedented
total of nine wrecks occurinf in the
county last week, with two persons
critically injured and damage totals
running into the thousands of
dollars.
He wants to measure the drapes'
v'
Ch?i*h*n Science Monitor
? by Marty Vega
A Rush Of Hoofbeats
D of last weclrV n- ?
month's, ilory) ^ ? ?r Uaf
th,mHd sudden'y there was a
aw.'jrsrj?:
c~>'??C.,"
breakneck speed andi. J
SrmLui^omt h ?"?
emerged from their homeHnd
For ulZging abOUt hi?
days sinc^the f?Ur and a ha|f
ridden off tn y?Un8 colonist had
dating invasion of Ft. TTuindL
the rain^which fSftSriy^very^ay^
Puppy Creek
PhiJosopher
Dear editor:
It s too late to do anything about
Nant^alU,rdUnn8
national Convention the main
EITrf " seJmed to me, since the
?Ued on'V^ "fTm" ?
LTufnd^S"<0 S'ay in ,hCir
i
pounded Ms gavel! Part0 of'th^21
35KJ had.parents "ho kept
were?hiMm ,C quie< when they
S I ken," 3nd C0Uldn't make it
TV to J P expecting a voice on
'. come on saying "Do not
adjust your set, this is a politics
convention you're watching/* '
borne of the inattention of course
"askca?sed by the speeches, soml
?f which were so dull you knew for
yectacle going out on the air could
damage a partys image, and would
homes .which i, wo8u?mC?Ift^re
JS'dSsir"
Therefore I have rolled up mv
sleeve .?d tack|ed (he pro^^
h,\ i hW wi" sa> >t can t
be solved, that it's like trying to
wive infla,|on, when any thinking
person knows the way to stop
inflation is to make other people
reduce their prices and leave mine
But I have the solution. It came
to me during the first two hours of
the convention.
. Th? answer to the milling
ETd, Leg8,e Problem is ^at
belts. Lock em in. When the
chairman s gavel falls, it hits
a button that makes every un
fastened belt in the hall shriek with
that awful buzzing sound car
o^ner, know about. With two
thirds of the belts buzzing awav
the noise will be so fierce and ear
inll iIniJi deIega,es win ?it down
and buckle up to keep from going
insane. Once buckled up, the
release button for all is maintained
at the chairman's podium. First
aid people will have to be stationed
around the hall to take care of
over-enthusiastic delegates who try
to leap to their feet and pull their
seats up by the roots. This won t
cost much. TTiere are thousands of
unused seat belts available in cars '
all around the country.
Yours faithfully,
J. A.
The others swarmed around the
messenger eagerly, anxiously wait
ing for the information he was
about to impart - that their loyal
friends in Raeford would join them
in the battle with Ft. Thunderclap.
"I have bad news, my friends
the rider spoke at last.
"They won't help?" everyone
cried out.
"Who?"
"The Raefordians!"
"1 never got to Raeford, that's
the bad news", the rider exclaimed.
It was indeed bad news, as the
settlers would have to reimburse
him his expenses out of their
dwindling travel budget, but before
they got down to details, he
explained.
"I met an old man on the road
who had a newspaper and what he
showed me was so grave I rushed
right back to tell you", he said, his
voice breaking with emotion.
The rider went out to say that the
newspaper reported CT&T,
Callous Telephone & Telegraph,
with headquarters in Tar Bog,
N.C., was about to go on strike.
"Do you realize what that will
mean? Poor service, equipment
breakdown, unaccountable delays
in repair, increased costs
The colonists pondered this new
threat, and all agreed the most
distressing part was they would be
unable to discern when the strike
began, or when it ended.
The settlers began mumbling
among themselves why the Callous
Telephone & Telegraph Co.
workers felt it was necessary to
strike for higher wages, as the
Callous management had plenty of
money to give to workers in raises.
For it was no secret to the colonists
that if they had to call Raeford it
would be 20 cents for the first three
minutes if they dialed from their
home phone, but if they had to call
from a pay phone, the Callous
Telephone & Telegraph Co.
charged EIGHTY FIVE cents for
three lousy minutes.
"I wonder if it works the same
for the citizens of Raeford who
want to call here", mused one in
the crowd.
"You must go immediately and
find out", shouted the crowd to the
rider, who had begun to unsaddle
his mount. "There's not a minute
to lose. Leave now and find the
truth. The Raefordians have a
stake in the outcome of this
struggle".
Wearily, the young colonist
mounted his steed and turned the
reins to the west, to Raeford.
(To be continued next week, or
?ometlme)
CLIFF BLUE...
People & Issues
PRESS CONVENTION -As has
been my custom for years I
attended the annual N.C. Press
Association's annual meeting at
Wrightsville Beach last Thursday.
Friday and Saturday. It is always
refreshing to meet with fellow
members of the fourth estate from
over the state to talk "shop",
current events with a little politics
thrown in.
Most members of the fourth
estate in North Carolina are
registered Democrats, although
many vote "independent". Most
seemed to think that the Carter
Mondale ticket was as good as the
party could have come up with,
although some were out-spoken in
their disappointment, or opposi
tion, particularly with Mondale.
James C. High, publisher of the
Whiteville News Reporter was
elected president of the Association
for the coming year. Richard B.
Wynne, publisher of the Asheville
Citizen-Times was elected vice
president and Margaret Harper
was reelected secretary-treasurer.
New directors elected were Myrtle
Tomlinson of the Clemmons
Courier and Bill Horner, Jr. of the
Sanford Herald.
JUDGE BAILEY -- Superior
Court Judge James H. Pou Bailey
was the guest speaker at the Friday
night dinner and was well received
being heartily applauded for his
address which ranged from rib
tickling stories to a serious discus
sion of court procedure as it might
affect the First Amendment and
newspaper reporting. Judge Bailey
saw no reason why the newspapers
and the courts could not get along
well and safeguard the First
Amendment if both sides would be
reasonable and respect what the
other -- the courts and the
newspapers were honestly trying to
do.
CRIME -- In the lobby of the
Blockade Runner Friday afternoon
for an hour or more I discussed
crime with Judge Bailey and what
might be done to curb the continual
rise, year by year. Judge Bailey, a
plain-talking, hard-hitting judge,
admitted that he didn't have all the
answers. From his own standpoint
as a judge he seemed to feel that if
the judge who tried the cases had a
longer period in which he might
alter the sentence it might be
preferable to the present system.
Frankly, I have talked with District
judges and candidates in recent
weeks about the matter and tfc
answer is not as simple as mM
might think.
Back to Judge Bailey: Th
newsmen left the meeting feelinl
[hat Judge Bailey was a solid
defender of the First Amendmen]
and tries to be firm but practical in
running his court.
LIEUT. GOVERNOR -- In th<
seven-person race for the Demo
;ratic nomination for lieutenant
governor, E. Frank Stephenson
Ir.. of Murfreesboro has mailed ou|
press releases on the Long Poll
which shows Stephenson wit!
19.9% of the vote to be led only b;
House Speaker Jimmy Green witi
21.6%; Waverly Atkins 9.7%
Howard Lee with 8.2%; Johi
lordan 7.6%; Herbert Hyde 8%
Kathryne M. McRacken 1.2%
jndecided 22.2%; no answe
1.7%.
May we remind you that strav
rotes and polls, unless scientificall
made, are like straws in the wind
:an lean one way. then another!
PLEASED! -? The liberal Demo
:rats are quite happy over thi
lomination of Senator Mondale fo
rice president by the Democrat!
ind the conservative Republican!
.eem to be jublicant over the
vlondale nomination. Question is:
iVho will do the shouting after the
November election?
GIVING EM FITZ -- "Giving
Em Fitz" is the title of a new
>0-page "Bunch of Jokes and
Stuff just off the press by J.D.
Mtz. publisher of the News-Herald
n Morganton. We quote in pari
rom the introduction or preface to
'Giving 'Em Fitz" by W. Stanley
vloore. Editor of the News Herald:
'J.D. Fitz has been a collector ol
okes ? but he has never been a
loarder. He's no miser with the
inecdotes which gravitate to him
rom many directions. He has been
i regular one-man Joke Exchange
or many years, swapping tales with
riends like he used to trade pocket
inives or marbles as a boy and like
nen now swap stocks and bonds,
-lis profit is in the joy of sharing;
lis dividends come from the
aughter of those who hear his
okes."
Yes. Morganton is rich in the
vay of homespun raconteur o(
unny stories in the person ol
ormer Senator Sam J. Ervin. Jr.;
ind in good jokes, no other than
he publisher of the town's daily
lewspaper - J.D. Fitz!
Report
To Tin.
People
b\ Senator Robert Morgm
With the Democratic Convention
being held in New York last week
and the Republicans meeting next
month in Kansas City, it is
interesting to observe that the
Democratic nominee and one of the
two Republican candidates for that
nomination are making much of
their lack of ties with Washington.
They feel, and probably rightly
so, that the peogle are getting fed
up with the manner in which the
Federal Government is trying to
regulate their lives. Having been in
the Senate only 18 months, I can
hardly qualify as an expert on
Washington, but I have seen
enough of this meddling to under
stand the growing public
disaffection.
Two recent actions by regulatory
agencies illustrate why Washington
is turning people off these days.
One was an announcement that
the Consumer Product Safety Com
mission will take steps to require
that match books have latching
covers to make them "child proof.
The agency's spokesman said that
evidence showing that the locking
devices may cause more danger
than they prevent has caused some
people to doubt the wisdom of the
requirements.
\ A gentleman from Cary. noting
this action, wrote to protest the
goVfrnment "wasting my money to
protect me from myself."
"T\his will be." his letter con
tinue^, "the end of the free match.,
I realise you have important thing?
to do,\ but 1 would appreciate
anything you can do to keep me in
matches i,"
He certainly makes a valid point J
The second almost unbelievabl#
action canw: from the Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare.
There, officials decided that
schools where Mother and Daugh
ter or Father and Son Banquets
were held vj(ere scenes of sexual
discrimination and that any school
system that Permitted them could
lose federal futnds.
The ridiculdius ruling was made
in answer to a Huery from a school
system in Soottsdale, Arizona,
which wanted ti> be sure that it was
in compliance of anti-discrimi
nation laws. A^ter pondering the
question for sortie five months, the
general counsel lyr HEW decided
yes, such mothef-daughter affairs
are discriminate
President Fordl to his credit,
said he was "shopked" by the
action and otVered David
Mathews, the Secrelpry of HEW, to
review it. That tSfectively sus-j
pended enforcemetl of the nelvj
policy, and Mr. Mkhews, to his ]
credit, said he agreed with the
President, and with allot of the rest
of us in the Senai: who wert^
watching developments.
These two incident are not of
earth-shaking importance, but they
are symptoms of what is going on in
Washington and whit I tried to
talk about in a newsletter last
See REPORT, page 13
This Is The Law
By Robert E. Lee
Sponsored By The Lawyer*
of North Carolina
Residence Requirement
For Divorce
To obtain a divorce in North
Carolina, at least one of the two
parties must reside in the statt for
at least six months immediately
prior to the divorce action.
The law does not require both
parties to be residents of North
Carolina; it is sufficient if either of
them is a resident of the State for a
minimum period of six months.
Some other states have shorter
residence requirements but perma
nent residents of North Carolina
should consult a lawyer before
investing their time and money in a
quickie out-of-state divorce.
A divorce decree may be valid
under the laws of one state and not
under the laws of another, and for
most persons it is important that a
divorce be recognized in all
jurisdictions.
North Carolina cannot be clas
sified as a "quickie divorce" state.
In the first document filed by a
lawyer in a divorce proceeding,
there must be a statement to the
effect that the ground for the
divorce has existed for at least six
months prior to the filing of the
complaint.
If a person states in a divorce
proceeding that he has been a
resident of North Carolina for more
than six months, when he has in
fact not been a resident, the court's
judgment may be vacated and any
divorce granted may be set aside.