The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LX1X NUMBER 9 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
r
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, JUNE :?>. 1977
Around
Town
BY SAM C.MORRIS
The weather is the typical
summer weather. It is hot and then
comes the thundershowers and this
keeps the humidity high.
Tlie forecast is for the weather to
continue this way until the weekend
and then maybe it will be nice for
all the golfers and beach goers.
Maybe it would be better if the
weatherman forecast a bad week
end. This could mean that the
church would be filled during the
summer. From the looks of the
pews at the Raeford Presbyterian
Church last Sunday the golf courses
and beaches must have done a
booming business, (or would you
say the devil!)
* ? *
William Poole was in charge of
the program at the Raeford
Kiwanis club meeting last Thurs
day night. He had as his guest
speaker. General (retired) William
Yarborough of Southern Pines.
General Yarborough, who was a
leader in the first Airborne troops
before World War II, gave an
interesting talk on the beginning of
the paratroopers. It is always a
pleasure for me to listen to a
speaker who knows his subject
matter and is sold on what he is
talking about. This I will assure
you; the General was completely
prepared.
Being a veteran of World War II,
it brought back memories when he
was describing the youth of the late
thirties and early forties. Some of
the things he talked about had
slipped my mind but what he said
was certainly true in those days.
Young, tough, patriotic and love
for wine, women and song could be
what the General was talking
about. He ended up by saying that
these same young men were now
lawyers, doctors, judges and you
name it.
A fine talk to a well - listening
audience.
Talking about the small world
and Dick Neeley and his wife
running into a roommate of my son
in Utah, this week Ashwell Har
ward called and said that he was a
cousin of the Todd boy's mother.
He went on to give me the low down
on another of the boys that roomed
with John and Bubba. This was
Chris Sears, now a lawyer in
Greensboro.
Yes this is a small world after all.
? ? *
This office will be closed next
Monday, July 4th. This will be
another long weekend and the
highways will be filled with cars
and of course some of the drivers
will not be up to par at all times, so
please be careful if you are taking
a trip.
Most of the businesses and
offices will be closed and it should
be two Sundays in a row.
* ? #
The state lawmakers are getting
ready to end another session. What
they have accomplished will come
out later and it will either aid us or
hurt us according to what you do in
life.
Two pieces of legislation that
came before the assembly will be
acted on by the people at the polls
but the lawmakers sometimes don't
think they have sense enough to get
in out of the rain except at election
time.
The insurance bill to strip John
Ingram of his powets and liquor by
the drink were taken up in elections
and the people spoke with an
overwhelming majority on how they
felt.
The liquor issues finally died but
they are still after John Ingram.
Read Cliff Blue's column about
this!
YOUR TAX DOLLAR ~ The diagram breaks down how the 92 cents tax
rate will he used next year in the Hoke County budget. The pie shows the
percentage of tax money used and also the amount in cents taken from
every 92 cents collected. Percentages do not add up to 100 and cents have
been rounded off.
City OK's Budget,
C of C Funds Set
Hoke T eachers
Score Low On
National Exam
Hoke school system teachers are
ranked 132nd out of 145 school
systems in the state in a comparison
of average scores on the National
Teacher Examinations.
The survey, made by a Raleigh
newspaper, used figures compiled
by the State Department of Public
Instruction showing the number of
Funds For Ambulance Radio
To Be Deducted From Supplement
County commissioners met Tues
day morning with Tony Buie,
owner of Buie's Ambulance Service
which has been awarded the county
contract for 1977-78, and agreed to
pay for radio equipment for Buie's
ambulance with the money to be
deducted from the $25,000 Buie
will receive from the county next
year.
All commissioners were present
except Ralph Barnhart.
Buie told commissioners that the
radios used by Harris Ambulance
Service, which has held the county
contract for the past year, are not
county - owned equipment as he
had thought originally. Buie said
he intends to purchase a base
station and one mobile unit at a
cost of $3,500 from Danny Mor
rison. Morrison operated an
ambulance service under contract
to the county for several years.
Buie said the equipment will give
him radio contact with the sheriff's
department, but not the hospital
emergency rooms. He said perhaps
later he might acquire radios tied to
the hospitals, and also second
mobile unit to be used on his
second ambulance.
Buie said that the radios used by
Harris Ambulance Service have
contact with both the sheriff s
department and the hospitals.
The board also ordered that the
$1,284 worth of county - owned
Chamber
Manager
Resigns
Dayna Pate has resigned as
manager of the Chamber of Com
merce, effective Aug. 1, it was
announced Friday.
The announcement was made by
Chamber President Earl Fowler,
who said it was made for personal
reasons.
"Let me assure the people of
Raeford and Hoke County that
Mrs. Pate's decision to resign is her
own and reasons for her resignation
are totally unrelated to her job as
manager of the Chamber." Fowler
said.
"Her performance is superior,"
he said.
Fowler said no replacement for
Mrs. Pate has been chosen yet and
applications for the position are
now being accepted.
Mrs. Pate, 30. was named the
Chamber manager in June 1976,
replacing J.H. Blue Jr. She plans to
move to Georgia.
Offices Close For Holiday
All city, county and state offices
will be closed on Monday, July 4, in
observance of the Independence
Day holiday.
The post office will observe a
holiday schedule and suspend mail
delivery.
The News-Journal office will be
closed July 4. All news items and
announcements must be turned in
by noon on Friday, July 1, for
publication in next week's issue.
The regular meeting of the
Raeford City Council will be held
one day later, on July 5, and the
Hoke County Board of Com
missioners will meet on July 5. at 9
a.m.
medical equipment acquired under
a state grant be turned over to
Buie. The equipment had been on
loan to Hams.
The contract with Buie's
' Ambulance Service was signed but
later some confusion developed.
The contract requires that two
ambulances be operated but does
20 Deaths
Predicted
On Roads
Twenty people could lose their
lives and about 1,000 injured in
traffic accidents in North Carolina
over the long Fourth of July
weekend, the N.C. State Motor
Club has estimated.
The state will count its toll over a
78-hour period beginning at 6 p.m.
Friday, July 1, until midnight
Monday, July 4.
Motor vehicle records for past
years indicate that in 1976 there
were 19 fatalities and in 1975 there
were 22. Motor club officials cite
improved economic conditions as
the reason for there being more
travelers on the highway this year
and that is the reason for the
estimate of 20 fatalities this year
over 19 for 1976.
Excessive use of speed and
fatigue coupled with the use of
alcohol and drugs are two of the
primary causes of traffic accidents.
N.C. State Motor Club officials
stated that fatalities so far this year
are- lower than this time last year.
Therefore, all motorists are urged
to use caution and common sense
so this holiday can be the safest in
many years.
not require radios. However, the
motion passed by commissioners
June 13 which awarded the contract
to Buie states that the award was
made on condition he is state -
certified and radio - equipped.
County manager T.B. Lester said
the minutes of the June 13 meeting
have not yet been approved so a
correction can be entered.
In other business, the board
discussed naming a replacement
for Juanita McAllister whose term
on the Board of Social Services is
expiring and decided to delay a
final decision until next month.
Chairman John Balfour said he
had received a list of nine names
from DSS board members and that
the board members felt that the
replacement should be a black
since Mrs. McAllister is a black.
Commissioner Danny DeVane
suggested that it would be a good
idea to have a county commissioner
on the social services board, but
Balfour expressed doubts.
The board approved 1977-78
budgets and certified rosters for all
nine rural fire departments. All of
the fire districts will have a ten cent
tax levy except Rockfish, which is
six cents.
Detailed county maps which are
needed by the tax listing office and
other departments were ordered at
a cost of $300.
A $25 license fee refund was
authorized for Vemco Music Co.
Lester said the company had moved
its machines out of a business and
was requesting the refund.
Commissioner James A. Hunt
agreed to represent the board at an
area Department of Transportation
meeting to be held Aug. 15 in
Moore County.
Next regular meeting of the
commissioners is Tuesday, July 5 at
9 a.m., one day later
white teachers and minority
teachers and their respective
scores.
Hoke School Supt. G. Raz
Aurty, however, said the figures
used in the study were not current
and therefore did not reflect the
scores of the newer teachers in the
system.
For example, Autry said of 13
new teachers hired for next year the
lowest score for the group is 1075
whereas the Raleigh survey listed
the average score for minorities at
1,008. The minimum score for
certification is 950.
"Our scores are definitely higher
because of the teachers we have
hired," he said.
The survey also lists the average
score on the teachers exam at 1 , 1 78
for white instructors in the Hoke
system. According to Hoke school
records, Autry reported an average
of 1 ,2 1 7 for the white teachers. The
average score for minorities,
according to Autry, is 1,040.
The NTE does not measure
intelligence or ability, but it does
measure the degree to which those
tested have mastered the subject
matter studied. A federal court
forced North Carolina to drop the
NTE in 1975 after the U.S. Justice
Department filed a lawsuit alleging
that the test prevented minority
persons who were otherwise
qualified from being certified.
After a reversal of the court
decision, the State Board of
Education reinstated the 950 -
minimum score requirement last
April.
"We do not have anyone in our
system now who did not pass it
when it was required," Autry said.
The basic problem with the low
Hoke scores, according to the
county superintendent, is that
"We're competing with city systems
that offer good supplements. The
very best minority applicants are
going to be attracted to the larger
systems. Any small system will be
in this position."
"We do pick up some real fine
teachers from Ft. Bragg," he said,
"well - traveled, intelligent ones.
But, we can only keep them for a
year or two."
Autry does not feel that the test is
culturally biased. He is in favor of
the test for certifying teachers. "1
feel that anyone who goes to a good
institution can pass it, he said.
(See TFACHERS.Pagc 15)
APARTMENT CONSTRUCTION The 40 unit apartment complex, a project of Weaver Realty of Greensboro,
is under construction on the U.S. 401 -bypass near Cole Ave. The S500.000 development is expected to be
completed by early next year.
The city council adopted the
1977-78 budget Monday night
which will bring a two cent
increase to taxpayers and also
ended the indecision over the
Chamber of Commerce subsidy
by agreeing to give the agency
$4,000 with strings attached.
The S4.7 million city budget
will raise the ad valorem tax rate
to 57 cents per $100 of property.
The two cent hike is required to
pay the interest on the $200,000
worth of municipal bonds issued
to finance the city's new fire
station. The bond debt will be a
separate levy.
The new budget also includes
seven per cent pay increases tor
nearly all city employees.
City manager Robert Drum
wright said the council agreed to
allocate $4,000 for the Chamber
next year, the full amount
requested by the Chamber di
rectors. but stipulated that the
funds would not be released
unless the Chamber clearly set
forth the purposes for which the
money would be used. The
council will then approve or
disapprove.
The continued participation
of the city in subsidizing the
Chamber has been an issue
among some council members
since early this year. An opinion
from the Attorney General's
Office in Raleigh was received
by city officials which noted that
taxpayer's dollars may be given
to a local Chamber of Com
merce only if the municipality
retains control over how the
money is spent.
In other business, the council
agreed to lease property at the
corner of Stewart St. and Cen
tral Ave. from McDonald Tire
Recapping Service for a public
parking lot. The property is the
site of the old Maultsby home
which was torn down recently.
Drumwright said the city will
lease the land at no cost and put
in gravel.
The council also discussed
arrangements with Northwest
Water Supply, Inc., on collec
tions of sewer charges for the
neighborhoods in North Rae
ford which will be getting city
sewer lines under the county's
community development proj
ect.
Drumwright said Northwest
is requesting that the city collect
10 per cent on the first 52.500 of
bills, seven per cent on the next
$2,500 and five per cent on the
balance. Drumwright said the
city wants a flat 10 per cent of
the total, up to a maximum of
$200.
No decision was reached
Monday night.
Councilmen rejected a pro
posal made by Brenner Indus
tries to enter into a contract to
have the city sanitation depart
ment take charge of cleaning up
the waste disposal sites in the
county. The city manager said
the Brenner firm had expressed
interest in sub-contracting the
cleanup work.
Brenner Industries was
awarded the contract last week
to service the county-owned
garbage containers beginning
July 1.
The council approved an
increase in grave opening fees.
The new charge will be $50 on
weekdays and $75 on weekends.
Also, city residents will be
charged $4 for hauling away
limbs in excess of one truck
load.
The council also ordered an
increase in water and sewer
rates for homeowners living
outside the city limits. The
outside rates will go from 150
per cent to 200 per cent,
effective Aug. I. Drumwright
said.
The council voted to go into
(See CITY. Page 15)