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? The Hoke County News - Established 1 928
VOLUME LX1X NUMBER 12 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY. NORTH CAROLINA
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1977
Around
Town
BY SAM C.MORRIS
A few weeks ago I wrote that
most of us had made statements
last winter that the hot weather of
summer would be welcomed and
that we wouldn't say anything
about how hot it got. Well, if this
continues, I mean the hot weather,
it could cause this writer to make a
statement the other way.
According to a report, it has
been over 90 degrees for 22 of the
past 23 days, and some of these
days it was over 100 degrees. Now
this is Fine for the nomads of the
desert, but it is not good for the
people of Raeford and Hoke Coun
ty.
4 If the forecast that came over TV
Monday night is correct, it will be
the same weather-wise, for another
week.
Maybe the old swimming hole at
Rockfish Creek will "rise again" if
this weather continues.
* * ?
While on the subject of hot
weather, 1 had a call last weekend
asking me when "dog days" were
and when they would be over. 1
couldn't tell the person the answer
to this question and it upset me
somewhat. 1 have heard "dog days"
all my life and can still remember
my father not letting us go in
swimming if we had a cut place on
us during these days.
Of course, during the past few
days of this hot weather, the subject
"dog days" has been seen in the
news again.
According to World Book, "Dog
Days" start the first of July and run
until the middle of August. They
are for forty days and they have a
Greek origin. So, if these days
t control the hot weather, we can
look forward to another few weeks.
? * *
? The N.C. Senior Golf Associa
tion had its annual tournament at
Mid Pines Country Club last
weekend. Three local golfers are
members and played in the tourna
ment. They are Harvey Warlick,
Bill Lancaster, and Joe Huffman.
According to the results published
in a daily newspaper, Joe Huffman
had the low net with a 136 total in
the 55-59 age group.
Congratulations. Joe!
* ? *
Every few years this writer will
take a few days off and head for
art of the United States he hasn't
een in a number of years, and of
course like Raeford, things have
changed.
Saturday. July 9. I left Raeford
for a trip to Gilmer. Texas to visit
my brother. Bruce, and his family.
Mary Alice, John and Sarah went
on the trip and this was the first
vacation all of us had been on since
Sarah and John went to college
several years ago. Also, it was nice
to have someone help with the
driving on the way there and back.
We made the trip out in two days
s and spent the first night at Meridi
an, Miss. 1 had spent the night
there when I went to Texas during
my Army days in 1943. In 1943 the
? night was spent at a hotel in the
heart of the city, but this time we
pulled off 1-20 to a motel and didn't
get near the heart of the city.
On Sunday afternoon the Morris
family from North Carolina were
seeing the Texas Morrises. We
stayed until Wednesday morning
and saw wives and grandchildren
we had never seen before. To all of
my brother's friends in Hoke
County, I want to say that he is
doing fine and he was asking about
a lot of people and things here in
Hoke County.
Wednesday morning we headed
back toward the Mississippi River
and Jackson Miss, to turn south for
New Orleans, La. On this leg of the
trip we had our only bad luck on
the entire trip. About six miles west
of the river bridge, a tire blew out
on the car, and changing a tire on
the side of an Interstate in 100
degree weather is an experience 1
don't need to have again. Of
course, having to remove all the
9 luggage and repacking took some
time too.
On to Vicksburg, Miss., and as
Neill A. McDonald told me before I
?left, if tire trouble comes, to look,
for ? Firestone place. This we did
and after three hours delay it was
off to New Orleans.
It was wonderful to pack the car
at the motel and be able to walk
both night and day everywhere we
(See AROUND TOWN, Pg. 13)
Low Bid Of $209,000
Cro well F irm
Gets Sewer Contract
. The contract to construct city
sewer lines to disadvantaged
neighborhoods north of Raeford
was awarded Monday to Crowell
Constructors of Fayetteville
which submitted a low bid of
$209,119.
Work on the county project
will begin within 60 days.
The project is being funded
through a $277,000 federal
grant awarded last year under
the Community Development
Act. Target areas for the
assistance are Cameron
Heights, Cockman Hill and
Jones Hill, predominantly Black
neighborhoods with a high
concentration of poverty.
Stolen
Property
Recovered
Several thousand dollars worth
of stolen property was recovered
and three men were arrested after
an alert state trooper stopped a
suspicious vehicle leaving Hoke
County on U.S. 401.
Trooper T.K. Tolar spotted a
Ford pickup about 3:30 p.m. on
July 9 crossing into Scotland Coun
ty at the Lumber River bridge after
law enforcement agencies were
alerted that a truck had been seen
with a passenger vehicle tag.
The operator of the vehicle,
Michael Cruz, 24, of 481 Hay St.,
Fayetteville, and two passengers,
Alex Lamb, 26, of 1003 Hay St.,
and Carlos Argueta, 19 of New
York, were taken into custody and
turned over to Fayetteville police,
Tolar said.
According to Tolar, a television,
stereo, computer equipment and
other items reported stolen in
Cumberland County were found in
the back of the vehicle.
The truck, a 1973 model, is
owned by Starlight Services, Inc.,
of Columbus, Ga., and was report
ed stolen in the Ft. Bragg area.
All three men were charged by
Fayetteville police with receiving
stolen goods.
Engineering fees are $34,000,
which will be paid out of the
grant money.
The program will involve
approximately 13,500 linear feet
of eight-inch pipe, according to
William Altman, county plan
ning assistant. Easements for
the outfall line across property
in the vicinity of Robbins
Heights and Cameron Heights
still have not been finalized,
however, Altman said the neces
sary agreements should be made
shortly.
About 30 homes in the target
area have already received
major rehabilitation work out of
other funds awarded under the
Community Development Act.
Many of the homeoners with
substandard dwellings are eld
erly and disabled.
Health Center
In other business Monday
night, county commissioners
met with representatives of
Jordan, Snowdown and Mc
Vicker, Laurinburg architects,
to discuss the proposed health
center expansion.
The county has budgeted
$230,000 in federal revenue
sharing funds for the project
after an application for federal
public works funds was turned
down last spring. Cogswell and
? : ' -mm . . .
FENCE - An eight foot wood fence was erected last week in compliance with
the Zoning Board of Adjustments' ruling that a timber loading operation
located at the Aberdeen and Rock fish Railroad yard obscure the view of the
logs from Main Street.
Limited Expansion
Planned By Cable TV
It may be a long dry spell before
Dundarrach gets cable television.
North Carolina Cable TV Co.
does plan to do some local expan
sion, but according to Office
Manager, Miss Rowena Oxendine.
the industry is still too new and the
equipment too expensive to plan on
expansion very far outside of the
city limits.
The local office here has request
ed authorization from the main
office in Denver to extend the cable
lines across the 401 Bypass.
Recent expansion ran down Col
lege Drive and Palmer Street.
Miss Oxendine said that their
office did have plans to continue
expanding, but she didn't have any
confirmed information now on
where they would start or when.
Hopefully, she said, the office
would get the go-ahead on some of
their proposed projects by the end
of August. Construction would
then begin around the end of
September.
N.C. Cable TV Co. receives
(See CABLE, Page 13)
Associates, Chapel Hill archi
tectural firm, had drawn up a
proposal combining the health
center renovation and the ex
pansion of the rescue squad
building with an estimated total
cost in excess of $400,000,
which commissioners termed
too expensive.
No decision has been made
yet on whether to construct a
new health center or add on to
the existing building. Chairman
John Balfour said the county
presently has no land available
for a new facility.
However, adequate parking
area would become a problem if
the present center is enlarged.
The architects agreed to meet
with health officials within two
weeks to survey the needs and
report their recommendations.
The board also approved
several salary increases for
deputies which had been re
quested by Sheriff D.M. Bar
rington. Also, commissioners
approved a resolution adopting
the new state minimum salary
for deputies. Under a law
effective July 1, the minimum
yearly salary of law enforcement
officers is up from $6,500 to
$7,600.
Next meeting of commissio
ners is Monday. Aug. 1.
Senior Citizens
To Get A Visitor
Hoke County senior citizens will
have a say in the implementation of
a newly budgeted 513,000 program
approved by the county commis
sioners.
County Manager T.B. Lester
said that a committee of senior
citizens will be selected to help in
turn with the selection of a "home
visitor."
Following the example of the city
program which sends a worker out
to check on senior citizens who live
alone, or are disabled, or have no
close relatives to check on their
needs, the county program will
reach out to rural adults in need.
"Plans haven't really been laid,"
Lester said. Tentatively the county
home visitor will play a part in
determining who does need help.
Those the worker can't handle will
be referred to other agencies for
help.
One of the prime movers for the
new program. Miss Josephine Hall,
said that some of the more isolated
citizens have no idea what help is
available to them.
Miss Hall, senior citizens coordi
nator for Hoke County, said that
many older people out in the county
had requested this service after
learning about the city program to
help the elderly.
"Some of the people are blind or
disabled and live alone." Miss Hall
said. "Some of them pay $4 or S5
on transportation just to get to
town to buy food stamps or go to
the doctor."
The Robeson County Church
and Community Center in Lumber
ton is providing some help for these
senior citizens by providing a
chorewoman who workds about 20
hours a week doing ironing, clean
ing, cooking and any other chores
that the people cannot do for
themselves.
Another promoter of the visitor
program was Home Extension
Agent Ellen Willis. Mrs. Willis
became aware of the needs of the
county's elderly through her Home
Demonstration Clubs.
"The home extension ladies saw
the need county-wide," Mrs. Willis
said. "So many of these people
need someone to call on them. The
personal touch means so much."
Mrs. Willis indicated that some
of these senior citizens have been
helped by an Expanded Nutrition
Program that provides for a worker
to come into the homes and give
advice on nutrition and food prep
aration.
Both Lester and Miss Hall
indicated that they hoped the
person selected for the job might
have some medical training like
nursing, but that has not been set
as a requirement for the job.
Applications for the position will
not be taken until after the
selection of the senior citizens
committee, probably after Aug. 1.
County Loses
'Trashy
Look
But Decisions Ahead
The mountains of garbage which piled up around the county during the
switchover to a new collection service came down last week.
The News- Journal randomly surveyed about 30 container sites on Wednesday,
July 13, checking Hillcrest, Scurlock, Rockfish, Wayside, Tylertown, Antioch,
and the Ashley Heights areas, and found that nearly all of the dumpsters had
been emptied and the grounds cleaned.
The most unsanitary conditions were found at the two containers located next
to the North Raeford Fire Department. Although the dumpsters had been
serviced two days previously, both were overflowing and a large amount of food
refuse and litter was scattered around the site.
In the same area, on N.C. 211 near Turnpike Road, a check made at one site
with five dumpsters found four of the dumpsters completely filled.
One container site was missed due to confusion over location. John Balfour,
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chairman of the board of commissioners, personally checked two dumpsters on
Vass Rd. which were photographed two weeks ago and found they still had not
been serviced. The containers were emptied Thursday after Balfour's inspection.
Sanitary Container Service of Lumberton, which began county- wide service
July 1, has already placed three additional six cubic yard containers out in the
county, but the placement of more containers was stalled Monday night by
county commissioners.
County manager T.B. Lester said the firm requested permission to place six or
seven more containers, but Lester feels he could not authorize the additional
costs without getting it cleared by commissioners.
Sanitary Container Service has agreed to furnish the extra containers without
requiring the county to purchase them; however, the county will incur the
additional costs of the pickups.
Under the contract which went into effect July 1, the county pays 92 cents per
cubic yard for pickups. The 107 county-owned containers are picked up twice
weekly from 54 separate sites.
Adding to the problem is disagreement over the efficiency and economy of the
various sized containers.
Commissioner Danny DeVane is aeainst the use of anv more six cubic yard
containers because he believes they are not practical. The larger sizes are
difficult to reach into for some people and the county still pays for six full yards
whether the container is full or not, he said.
Eighteen of the 107 containers are eight cubic yards and officials are unlikely
to order any more of that model for the same reasons. That design features doors
on the sides and it is nearly impossible to make full use of them. Balfour,
however, has suggested that 20 yard containers may be the best solution. Some
newer models of this size have a low, "roll out" design so that they can easily be
reached, and one large dumpster may be more attractive to look at than three or
four smaller ones all on the same location. One of these models was tried on a
trial basis here some time ago, but commissioner! did not purchase it.
Officials are also mindful that any containers they do accept on loan from
IMPROVEMENT ~ In contrast to the scene of two weeks ago, the county's garbage dumpsters
showed a hig improvement in appearance. Except for a few locations, a check made one week ago
showed that the containers were emptied and the grounds picked up and raked.
Sanitary would have to be replaced at immediate expense it Sanitary did not
renew its contract for any reason and pulled out of business here.
Garbage collection has become an increasingly expensive service to Hoke
County. According to Lester, last year the county paid $53,980 to have the
containers emptied, some as often as three times weekly.
Although the Sanitary Container Service price is eight cents per cubic yard
less than Pickup Sanitation Service charged, the county would need only another
eight or nine six yard containers to make the total cost-picture approximately the
same, Lester said.
However, commissioners may be faced with just that situation, as the public's
use of the container sites continues to increase, not decrease. Officials try to
encourage more people to use the landfill, but the heavy popularity of the
dumpsters indicates that most people still favor a convenient neighborhood site
for their household trash.
Lester feels that the time is coming when private collection will become so
costly that the county will be forced into operating its own service.
The county manager feels that more control could be retained under such a
system. With its own equipment, the county could service the dumpsters on its
own schedule.