^fte ^YlewA - journal Qmd&mz PRES S ASSOCIATION Published E?ery Thuridaj at KWord. N.C. 28376 119 W. Etwood Avenue Subscription Rates la Advance Per Year? $8.00 6 Months ? $4.25 3 Month.? $2.25 PAUL DICKSON Publisher? Editor SAM C. MORRIS General Manager MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor CHARLES BLACKBURN Reporter CASS IE WASKO Reporter Second Class Portage at Raeford, N.C. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8. 1977 Secrecy in the voting booth Until we read the news tojattfiw refusing to tell not occurred to us that yo diJd just that recently to how you voted in an election. B J t at the Umversity of Susan R. VanHattum.a who she had voted for in a city Michigan. He ordered her to tell mm contempt of court. election. She refused, and he sen. her jo J..UO ^ ^ be back She was released after an hou aaainst the contempt charge. ;,ur, soon to defend herself further agatmt th ^ ^ M le The iudge's rationale was t cnrino They voted illegally cast their ballots in a city ekction lait p ^ mistake in the no fault ofthetr own but because ^ ^ voter-registration office : - and t 20 persons voted, he contested. If the judge can fmd ou> a?d resolve a senous can deduct their votes from the 'in ^ ^ election or putting election contest without ^he^q gchosell by invalid votes. into office a mayor who ?ay ha aroument as any that could be Now that may well be as good g ^ ^ But as far as we are made for violating the se? along the lines of a recent speech*. , ? tivp always aware, however, that I have tried to remain ob3^e' ^tag. Objectivity is a way objectivity and neutrality are not t ,on of ,he thought, of thinking about an issue, not the summ .-Christian Science Monitor Browsing in the files of The News-Journal 25 years ago Thursday , December 4, 1952 When called on the telephone Tuesday Congressman C.B. Deane. who was at his home in Rocking ham, said that he was more in the dark about what was going on here in Hoke County in the way of a survey by Army Engineers, and to the purpose of the survey. * ? * The Hoke High Bucks opened their 1952-53 basketball schedule with a bang Tuesday night as they took both ends of a doubleheader with Rowland. ? * ? From Rockfish News: A.W. Wood says he will have to get in some more nails, so there will be seats enough for all the Nail Keg gang if this cold weather continues, so far most people are busy with hog killings. * ? ? Most of the plans for the appearance of Santa Claus and the big gala Christmas parade set for next Wednesday afternoon have been completed and indications are that it will be bigger and better than the one last year. 1 5 years ago Thmdaj, December 6, 1962 A wave of fires, almost certainly the work of arsonists, burned over 500 acres of Hoke timber and leveled the Hoke Exchange feed mill Sunday. Everyplace is either too hot or too cold' HOKUM By Charles Blackburn The first annual Reindeer Hunt was held this past weekend in Anson County by a friend of mine who practices law in Wadesboro. It could just as easily have been a dragon or a unicorn hunt. Bill Capel, hunt organizer, noted that reindeer are seen in the county only one night a year in late December when they power a tiny sleigh for a chubby elf. The hunt was kind of unusual. No one got up at 5 a.m. to stand around the cold woods. We "hunted" by night. It didn't re quire a license. You didn't need boots or a flak jacket. No firearms were involved. When it was over, you didn't have to lie about all the shots you'd passed up for humani tarian reasons. The only thing we stalked was a bottle. In fact, the whole unsullied purpose of the hunt was to take a drink. No one even thought about assaulting wildlife. The Anson County Hunt Club is one of those organizations that sneers at charters and bylaws. It denies absolutely the existence of community spirit. Everyone wanted to be treasurer, for mercenary Puppy Creek Philosopher Dear editor: In these troublesome times, although as far as I can tell nearly all times in the history of the world have been troublesome, there are some things that take priority over others. For example, when the networks interrupted a football game a couple of weeks ago to flash some news about Sadat's trip to Israel, telephone switchboards at TV stations all around the country lit up with protests from sports fans. You see, the Mid-East will never become fully civilized until it becomes normal for a network to say, "We interrupt this war to bring you the score of the Super Bowl game." Therefore, recognizing what takes priority, I'd like to plunge right into a grave matter now bothering professional football. It's the matter of penalties. Players are saying the officials are making some bad calls and missing some good ones. "Hiey'll call some holding penalties, es pecially at crucial times, and miss three - fourths of the others. When a fight breaks out, they'll throw out the wrong guy. The players are being unreason able. How can they expect five or six officials to keep up with twenty ? two players jumbled up on a football field 100 yards long? And all trying to win by whatever means because their salary depends on it. But like Congress, most people had rather fuss and fume about something than do something about it. Actually the solution is simple. Every game should have twenty - two officials, each assigned to just one player with instruction to never take his eyes off of him. While I realize that on nearly every play yellow flags flying in the air would look like balloons being released at half - time, you've got to admit few rule infractions would go undetected. At the same time, attendance might drop off disastrously as fans discovered they couldn't see the players for the officials. It'd be like going to a car ? racing event and never seeing any smash - ups. I give up. Next week I'll solve the Mid-East problem. Yours faithfully, J.A. reasons; but since no one paid anv "tk tte ?ffice lost its fraction The Hunt Club joins an illustri ous group of societies whose goals are as muddled as its members. Evei^ year, for example, The Man Will Never Fly Society gets Norther ?ni- the outer banks of rha? ? Carolma to march in less ? " precision formation over Jock ies Ridge while chanting the society motor "Birds fly. men drink^TTie nfC?i!y C^ver!es on the anniversary lh?eT^right brothers' alleged flight. The top brass from the Air uMiafi a"t commerc'al airlines usually show up to denounce aviation as a grand illusion. The meeting lasts for two days and not one item of business is transacted The president of the society says he began it all because, in the past there were never enough people on the outer banks in December to have a party. The Flat Earth Society is no less anv "of "ifltS M'e[ Y?U won,t find any of its members booked on around the world cruises. It was would li|tHat Space missi?ns On the i"e th,s group forever. Il'' ' u contrary, they continue to thumb their noses at all scientific ?ntenigence. Pictures of Earth from space show it to be a flat disk, they wise >,ng a"y?ne to prove other In London, the Baker Street Irregulars meet regularly to quiz each other on Sherlock Holmes trim arid to poke their beaks in a glass. The Baker Street Irregular ZLdflf ?gtag rowd'es that assisted the famous detective in The Sign of the Four. c.J1?6" isueven a society of Spartan f rlars who claim to have read all of Edmund Spenser's 16th century allegorical epic the Faerie Qoeeiw Spencer told his friend Sir Walter Raleigh that he planned to write 12 liTS? !" f S?oks' with another -J Li fo"ow 'f those were favorably received. English students the Letter To The Editor Dear Editor: Being a former citizen and m ",?ni!.d Person of the develop ment and growth of Hoke County I wri?pC that he has the courage to vote "no" when he knows there is no ? money in the treasury to pay the % Kill Only the