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The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LX1X NUMBER 28 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1977
Around
Town
BY SAM t. MORRIS
The past weekend brought heavy
rains, not only to this section of the
state, but over the state and nation.
Lives were lost in the western part
of the state due to flash floods. I
guess we have much to be thankful
for here in Hoke County.
The weather conditions didn't
seem to hold down the crowds at
the college football games Satur
day. The Carolina ? Clemson and
the N.C. State - Penn. State had
capacity crowds.
Mary Alice and 1 went with a
group of people from Fayetteville
and Fort Bragg to the N.C. State -
Penn. State game at Carter
Stadium. There were five buses
that pulled out of Fort Bragg in a
down pour of rain. I wasn't sure if
Mary Alice was going to leave the
bus or not when we got to Raleigh
but by the time we reached Carter
Stadium the rain had stopped. A
small cloud would drop rain just
long enough to get your coat on and
then stop so as to give you time to
take it otY.
This was one of the best football
games 1 have seen in my lifetime.
As most of you know Penn. State
won in the last minute of play by
the score of 21-17. A real thriller!
At one point in the game my wife
leaned over and told me that I was
really pulling for State. Of course
my two children that wear Carolina
blue happened to be at other places
for this game. All joking aside, I
was really a State College fan last
Saturday.
A small group that stood in the
rain at the courthouse lawn last
Thursday morning were disap
pointed when Tom Bradshaw,
Secretary of Transportation, failed
to show for a Bond Rally. Of course
Hoke County has been on the short
end from the Highway group for a
? number of years. Most of those in
attendance had been down this
road before. Enough said.
* ? *
The chartered bus that will go
with the band to Mullins, S.C. this
weekend is not just for students,
but for anyone that would like to
go. This is the information passed
on to me by Mrs. Joyce Jamison a
band booster. So to be a booster, go
on the bus trip and for complete
details get in touch with Mrs.
Jamison.
* * *
In everyone's lifetime, that is if
you participate in civic organiza
tions or any kind of work on
committees, you have good events
and bad events. Someone will fall
down on the job and the weak link
will cause confusion before the
work is completed.
1 have been on many committees
and helped with projects of many
organizations but 1 must say that
the work with the Hoke County
Chapter of the N.C. Symphony was
1 about the smoothest 1 ever did.
Why this is so. 1 don't know for if
anyone knows less about music
than this writer, they must not be
born as of this date.
* Everyone did the job they were
assigned to do and the end results
was a complete success as far as 1
can find out. Between 800 and
1 .000 people were at the night
concert and it went off without a
hitch.
I would like to say congratula
tions and thanks to the officers and
directors of this chapter.
? ? ?
The ceremonies at the dedication
of the Hoke High building were
held in the gym due to the weather,
but the people in attendance were
there to pay tribute to a man that
dedicated his life to education and
to the Christian religion. K.A.
MacDonald.
This was brought out in the
speech given by Neill L. McFadyeh,
a former chairman of the Board of
Education while MacDonald was
superintendent of Hoke County
Schools. He gave a history of
MacDonald's life and told of his
relations with him both as a
neighbor and as a schoolman. It
| was fitting that this man gave the
remarks on this day.
The plaque was unveiled by
Anne MacDonald a granddaughter
of the late superintendent.
Also on the program was Mrs.
Marshall Newton, a former teacher
(See AROUND TOWN, Page 15)
Bonds , Amendments Pass
Hedgpeth Leads Council Race
City Council OK's
Cable TV Hike
By Marty Vega
The Raeford City Council voted
to approve a SI per month rate
increase requested by N.C. Cable
TV Co. Monday night.
Only Councilman Sam C. Morris
dissented. Councilman Graham
Clark presided in the place of
Mayor J. K. McNeill during the first
part of the meeting, making the
official vote 3-1.
A second vote on the measure,
however, is required before the rate
increase can be implemented. Last
month, N.C. Cable TV Co. Presi
dent James F. Collins announced
plans to put the new rate into effect
Jan. I, 1978.
There are currently 611 cable
television subscribers in Raeford,
Collins told the council, and the
present base rate of S6 monthly is
not sufficient to offset losses.
Without the new rate, the company
could be forced to go out of
business, he said.
In other business Monday, the
board voted to purchase 7.7 acres
of land near the city waste treat
ment plant for further expansion.
Cost of the parcel is $3,000. The
board heard a report from Moore
Gardner Associates, city engineers,
which recommended upgrading the
waste treatment facilities according
to the state 201 plan.
The board went into executive
session twice during the three
hour-long meeting - first to discuss
the land acquisition and then
airport matters.
Following the second closed ses
sion, the board voted to renew
Gene Thacker's lease for a period
of 12 years. Thacker, the only fixed
base operator at the airport, will
also lease the hanger formerly
owned by Rose Aviation, and now
in litigation, for 10 years, in
exchange for turning over to the
city the deed to his hanger. That
hanger will then be leased back to
Thacker at SI per year for the first
five years and fair market value for
the remaining five years. Also, part
of the motion included the pur
chase of three tracts of land needed
for further development.
According to the minutes of the
meeting, the entire motion passed
on a 3-2 vote with Morris and
Councilman Benny McLeod dis
senting.
The board's vote apparently
rejected further consideration of a
request made earlier in the evening
by Gene Vance, owner of Vance
Aircraft Sales.
Vance, who is engaged only in
sales at the airport, requested a
permanent lease from the city to
expand his business to include
(See COUNCIL, Page 15)
CASTS BALLOT - Like many other Hoke County residents. Mrs. Muzelle
Con/tell. Id') N. Magnolia. Raeford. casts her ballot at the Second Precinct
in Tuesday 's election. Five constitutional amendments and two bond issues
wvre in question. City voters also cast ballots for a mayor and jive city
council members.
Audit Claims Hoke County
Owes Government $10,508
An audit for 1975 claims that
Hoke County owes the federal
government $10,508. but acting
County Manager Lester Simpson
told the Board of Commissioners
Monday that all but 51,727 of the
claim is based on a misunderstand
ing that should be corrected.
The audit questions $8,781 paid
that year to three Hoke County
workers under the federal Compre
hensive Employment Training Act
(CETA), a program designed to
provide jobs for the unemployed.
According to guidelines, an appli
cant must be unemployed for 30
days from the date of his applica
tion in order to be eligible for the
program.
Government officials received
the three applications from Hoke
County on Feb. 28. 1975. But the
work had been completed a month
earlier. The audit claims the county
Reporter
Joins N-J
Charles Blackburn has joined
The News-Journal staff as a repor
ter-photographer. replacing Marty
Vega, who is now working for the
Fayerteville Times.
Blackburn is a native of Hender
son. where he was a reporter for
The Henderson Daily Dispatch. He
has also served as city editor of The
Washington Daily News.
He graduated from Atlantic
Christian College in 1974. receiving
a degree in English. Prior to that he
attended the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring
in journalism.
didn't follow CETA guidelines,
that the work was done before the
applications were filed.
Simpson told the board that the
county waited the mandatory 30
days before hiring the three work
ers. The audit has confused the
filing date of the application, he
said. He said the county has nine
months in which to otter rebuttal.
The county will probably have to
pay $1,727 in unemployment com
pensation which the audit says it
owes. Simpson told the board. He
said the county paid at a rate
specified by the state in 1975. but
no adjustment was made when the
rate increased during the year.
All board members were present
lor the regular monthly meeting in
the courthouse annex Monday
morning.
In other business, the architec
tural firm of Jordan. Snowdon and
MeVicker presented drawings of a
proposed addition for the Hoke
County Public Health Building to
the board.
1'he board was told that the new
addition will increase the floor
space of the facility by 5.02.1 square
feet. Architects set Dec. 15 as the
tentative date for accepting bids on
the project.
The addition will include: a new
(See AUDIT. Page 15)
10 T ME AWMORVOF
K a. mcDcmi)
?)3 -
EDUCATOR.
UNVEILING ?? Anne MaeDonald unveils the plaque re-naming the main
building at Hoke High School for her grandfather. The building was named
the K.A. MaeDonald Memorial Building honoring the late school
superintendent in a .1 p.m. ceremony last Sunday.
Vardell Hedgpeth. a new
comer to the local political field,
surprised many observers by
leading the race for the Raeford
City Council in Tuesday's elec
tion. He was the only newcomer
to win a seat on the board.
He will join four incumbents
who were re-elected: Graham
Clark. James McLeod. Bobby
Gentry, and Sam Morris.
Mayor John K. McNeill. Jr..
who ran unopposed, was elected
to a fifth term. He received 439
votes.
Hoke County, as a whole,
voted overwhelmingly in favor of
the state highway and water
bonds and for all five constitu
tional amendments.
In the municipal race, Hedg
peth polled 459 votes. Vote
totals for the other candidates
were as follows: Graham Clark.
435; James McLeod. 432;
Bobby Gentry. 426; Sam
Morris. 388; Gilbert Bernhardt.
360; Robert Weaver, 184; Lon
nie Baldwin. 71; and Harry
Carter. 54.
The mayor and council mem
bers are elected to two-year
terms.
The vote was better than
two-to-one. in most cases, for
the bond issues and constitu
tional amendments.
Although Amendment Three
(gubernatorial succession) was
expected to create the most
interest among local voters,
Amendment Two actually
polled the most votes. Amend
ment Two pretains to life in
surance.
On the bond issues and
amendments, the vote was as
follows:
Highway bonds: 986 for; 575
against.
Water bonds: 1.099 for; 476
against.
Amendment One: 1.395 for;
142 against.
Amendment Two: 1.3% for;
13b against.
Amendment Three: 937 for;
595 against.
Amendment Four: 999 for:
444 against.
Amendment Five: 1.220 for;
278 against.
In spite of fair weather,
election officials said that the
voter turnout in Hoke County
was relatively light.
UF Drive
Half-Way
To Goal
The Hoke County United Way
campaign approached the half-way
mark this week, with pledges and
contributions totaling $12,327,
according to Louise Wright, trea
surer.
This was the third week of the
drive. The campaign is scheduled
to end on Nov. 30. Campaign
officials are optimistic that the goal
of 524.374 will be reached.
A thermometer on the court
house lawn is charting the progress
of the local fund raising drive.
T.B. Lester Succumbs
To Illness Tuesday
Final Rites Wednesday
Thomas Benton Lester. Jr.,
Hoke County's first county
manager, died of complications
following an operation for cancer in
a Fayetteville hospital early Tues
day morning after an illness of just
over six weeks. Funeral was to be in
Raeford United Methodist Church
at 2:00 o'clock Wednesday.
Born in Florence. S.C.. he was
65 years of age, and had spent most
of his life in this community. He
graduated from Raeford High
School and attended N.C. State
University. He was First sergeant
and a lieutenant in Battery F,
252nd C.A.. North Carolina Natio
nal Guard, and entered Federal
service with that unit in 1940.
During World War II he served
as an instructor in the AA school at
Camp Davis. N.C.. and overseas in
Belgium and Germany. After the
war. Lester, by then a major,
served in the National Guard as a
full time administrator for about
fifteen years and lieutenant-colonel
commanding 2nd Battalion. 252nd
Armor. He was retired from the
Army of the United States on
February 12. 1972 upon reaching
the age of 60.
Col. Lester worked for Hoke
C ounty for about seventeen years as
tax supervisor, accountant and as
county manager. He was past
chairman of the administrative
board of the Raeford United
Methodist Church.
The funeral was to be conducted
by the Rev. Kelly Wilson, pastor,
and the Rev. R.E.L. Moser, former
pastor, and burial was to be in
Raeford Cemetery. Pallbearers
were to be the Hoke County board
of commissioners, John Balfour,
Ralph Barnhart. Daniel DeVane,
James A. Hunt and Neill A.
McPhatter, along with Frank Lewis
of the N.C. Association of county
commissioners.
Surviving are Mrs. Lester, the
former Lorena Andrews: one
daughter. Mrs. Jack Scarborough,
of Oxford; a grandson, Tom Scar
borough; one sister, Mrs. Harry
Mitchell of Fairmont.
T. B. I. carer