The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LX1X NUMBER 48 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
I
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 1978
Around
Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
Congressman Charlie Rose was
by the office last Friday and
elsewhere on this page you can re^d
what he has to say about the MO A.
Words mean a lot, but if you had
seen the expression on his face
when he was talking, you would
have known that he meant
business.
It seems as if about every 25
years the people of Hoke County
have trouble with the military
about a takeover. If this project is
stopped - and we certainly hope so -
then the next generation had better
prepare for a take-over below the
surface, only time will tell.
The books that were mentioned
in this column last week are at the
office and if you want one, come by
and get it.
They will soon be turned over to
the school, and then you can
contact Raz Autry for them.
? * *
Ken McNeill, chairman of the
Hoke County Democratic Execu
tive Committee, was by the office
this week and asked that the people
be reminded of the convention to be
held at the Hoke County Court
house at noon on April 29.
McNeill said that delegates to the
district and state conventions
would be elected at this meeting.
Also at this meeting the members
of the different state committees
will be elected. These include
judicial, senatorial, etc. These
committees become important
when someone dies or resigns his
post. So make plans to be at the
courthouse at noon. Saturday.
April 29.
? * *
According to all reports and
rumors work should be started to
complete the parking lot across
from The News-Journal by the time
this paper hits the streets.
I his writer has been asked many
times how the savings and loan lot
could be finished before the city lot.
The only reason 1 could give was
that Bob Drumwright, former city
manager, said he could get the
work done cheaper by another
contractor.
When one person heard me say
this comment was: "Yes, dirt
cheap." What they meant, maybe
you can figure out.
? * *
If you haven't registered to vote,
be sure to do so before the
deadline. Monday. April 3rd.
? ? *
This column usually starts off
with weather news. 1 received a
letter last week from a former
Raeford resident and a classmate in
high school, and she was telling me
about the weather in Massachu
^ setts. The letter speaks for itself.
V
Dear Sam.
Hello, from snow country to golf
country! I noticed a couple of weeks
ago you said something about
playing golf - we are still slip -
sliding around. Had several inches
of snow again last night. Several
weeks ago when we had the "big"
blizzard. 1 had a paper to send you.
but never got out of the house to
send it. Anyway it is in the mail
now ? the pictures are mild - the
actual scenes are terrible. 1 was
lucky - my damages only came to
about S5000. My basement was
completely flooded by high tide. (I
live right on the water.) Lost my
furnace, washer, dryer, refrigera
tor. freezer, stove ? and lots of other
things - back and front steps were
badly damaged - I'm still lucky.
Thought you might get a kick out
of the pictures, now that spring is
almost here.
Hope to be in Raeford first of
May.
Sincerely.
Anne Langis
(Annie Ruth Alexander)
Thanks Annie Ruth for the
letter. The paper hasn't arrived as
yet - maybe it went by San
?'Francisco. For you readers that
don't know, Annie Ruth is the
daughter of Mrs. W.L. Alexander
who lives on N. Stewart Street. She
is a sister of Mrs. Truman Austin.
Come by to see me when you are
in town. Annie Ruth, and we will
talk about our next Class Reunion.
Congressman Rose Says
He'll Start Suit T o Stop MO A
EGG HUNTERS ?? About 100 Easter Egg hunters braved the rain and cold Saturday to search for 2, 700 eggs
hidden by the Hoke County Parks and Recreation Department at McLauchlin Park. What they lacked in
numbers, they made up for in enthusiasm. Just about everyone went home with a full basket.
Critics Say Bikes Reward
Juveniles For Delinquency
Many people here are saying that
a program using mini-bikes to
teach responsibility to juvenile
offenders comes mighty close to
rewarding them for their mischief.
Not so. says Bill Altnian. who is
on the local committee that studied
the problem of what to do with the
county's delinquents.
"The first time I heard about the
program. I had my doubts."
Altman admitted this week. "But
once I got into it, 1 saw there was
more to it than 1 thought."
Last week the Hoke County
Board of Commissioners voted to
participate in the National Youth
Project Using Mini-Bikes
(NYPUM) which was developed in
I9b9 by the YMCA to "change the
conditions that foster alienation,
delinquency and crime." Over 400
communities across the nation are
involved in NYPUM.
Hoke is getting into the program
because after July 1 the county will
have to take care of its own status
offenders. " Status offenders are
juveniles who have committed non
criminal offenses. They have either
been truant, disobedient, or run
aways.
According to legislation, these
youth cannot be sent to the state's
training schools after July 1 . Conse
quently. North Carolina counties
have had to come up with alterna
tive programs for keeping them
from getting into more serious
trouble.
It means added expense for the
counties, but the state is helping to
pay the bill. Altman said this year
Hoke County got $5,300 of the $1
million voted by the N.C. General
Assembly for community based
alternatives to training school.
Hoke's share was determined by
the number of 10 to 17-year-olds in
the county, he said. Some counties
Mitchell Royal May
Come Home This Week
Following surgery for leukemia,
a 15 - year ? old Vander youth may
be able to return home from
Seattle. Wash, this week.
Mitchell Royal received a unique
bone marrow transplant from his
twin brother. Michael, almost a
month ago for treatment of acute
lymphocytic leukemia. The opera
tion was done at the University of
Washington Medical Center be
cause doctors there had the most
experience with bone marrow
transplants. Before the trip to
Washington. Mitchell had been
treated at Duke University Hos
pital.
The trip was made possible by
contributions from individuals,
civic clubs, churches and other
organizations. Mitchell. Michael
and Mrs. Nadine Lockey. the boys'
mother, all had to be in Wash
ington for several weeks for the
surgery. Mrs. Lockey supported
her family by working at Summer
field Industries, and the trip also
meant lost wages for her.
Following the surgery, checks of
Mitchell's bone marrow have
shown no signs of cancer cells, his
grandmother. Mrs. Ha/el Jordan,
reported. The family hopes to be at
home by March 3 1 .
A bone marrow test was
scheduled for Monday and a spinal
tap was done Tuesday. If the tests
showed no cancer cells and
Mitchell's appetite improved, they
should be able to come home. Mrs.
Jordan said.
Doctors plan to cut down on
intravenous feedings, hoping it will
improve Mitchell's appetite. He
was dismissed trom the hospital
more than a week ago, although he
has been making daily visits to the
hospital for treatment.
"He called Wednesday and said
he is feeling tine. He's been out to a
bowling alley and went for a ride in
the countryside." Mrs. Jordan said.
Doctors said that because
Mitchell received the transplant
from his twin, a cure was probably
more likely. The cancer was first
detected in mid - December and
Mitchell began receiving treatment
at Duke University. Doctors there
encouraged Mrs. Lockey to try to
overcome the financial obstacles
and send Mitchell to Seattle for the
surgery.
In early February, fund raising
efforts to aid the family in making
the trip began. Initially, Duke
officials estimated that S3.000 was
needed for the trip, but that
amount would only cover the cost of
the trip and housing. Mrs. Evers, a
family friend, reported. Mrs.
Lockey would also lose several
weeks of wages while in Wash
ington.
Follow ing publicity in The News
Journal and a Fayetteville news
paper. donations began coming in.
Civic organizations and churches
worked to raise money. Although
efforts to raise the needed funds
began only about a week before the
trip was made, residents of
Cumberland and Hoke counties
successfully solicited enough fund
ing to make the trip possible. Over
SI 4.500 was raised to meet the
expenses of the surgery and the
trip.
got more, others got less.
A supervisor will be hired to give
the kids a strong dose of counseling
as they are learning about the
bikes.
"We're not just talking about
letting kids have fun with bikes,"
Altman said. "I don't know that
NY HUM is the best idea, but it will
get their attention. We want a good
man to supervise the program. We
hope to get a CETA (Comprehen
sive Employment and Training
Act) position for the job."
The county will retain possession
of the bikes. Altman said they hope
to be able to let the kids ride them
at the local fairground. Initially.
NYPUM will involve 29 youngsters
here, he said.
Safety will be emphasized, Alt
man said. Liability insurance is
being provided to the county free of
charge. Juveniles will be referred to
the program through the schools
and the Department of Social
Services.
The county will order 10 bikes to
start the program. The bikes cost a
total of $4,500. The county will
have to put up 10 percent of that
and is doing so by providing
equipment for the program, such
as a desk, filing cabinet, and a
typewriter. The county has also
agreed to pay freight costs and
maintenance. Altman said.
He said the committee would
have liked to have seen a foster
home built for these youth, but the
cost -- estimated at $75,000 -- was
prohibitive. Other programs sug
gested by the state were already in
progress here, he said.
"The mini-bike program was
really the only one Hoke could
participate in." Altman said. "We
can switch to some other program
later if we get more money. But
there's only so much you can do
with $5. .100. They tell us that
NYPUM will divert 50 percent of
these kids from getting into more
serious trouble.''
The idea for NYPUM started
late in 19fo9 at the Northeast
Branch of the Los Angeles YMCA.
It was a project with 15 junior high
school boys, most of whom were
referrals trom the schools and
youth authorities for problems of
delinquent behavior. The idea was
to use the mini-bike as an attractive
tool for development of a small club
program with these so-called hard
to reach youth. Six months' experi
ence showed a phenomenal drop in
delinquent behavior, such as drug
experimentation, truancy, and
petty crime.
Since then American Honda
Motor Company. Inc. has donated
14.000 mini-bikes and $142,000 to
the program, which has spread
nationwide, serving more than
8.000 youth.
by Charles Blackburn
Congressman Charlie Rose said Friday he will help the City of
Raeford initiate a law suit against the government if necessary to
stop a Military Operations Area (MOA) from being charted in the
skies over Hoke County.
The Congressman's comments came a few hours after
Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce Manager Earl Fowler told a
special joint meeting of the city council and the county board of
commissioners that excessive noise created by the military air zone
will cause "severe losses" for Hoke County turkey farms and might
discourage some new industry from locating here.
The boards voted to ask the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) to take no further action on the proposal until after a public
hearing is held in the courthouse here on April 13. They also
requested a copy of a report that details the environmental effects
the MOA will have on the county.
Safety Measure
FAA, Army and Air Force officials met here in February with a
handful of local citizens to discuss the proposed zone. The FAA
described the MOA as a safety measure and said it wouldn't restrict
civilian flying. Military spokesmen assured those present that air
traffic would not increase in the area.
Fighters flying ground support missions for infantry troops at Fort
Bragg circle in holding patterns over Hoke County. As it was
explained, the MOA would concentrate these patterns into a defined
area around Raeford. The zone would appear on aviation charts to
let pilots unfamiliar with the area know that "something unusual is
going on."
Public Concern
Public concern has been mounting here because the proposed
zone includes the town itself and will allow jets to fly over Raeford at
altitudes as low as 500 feet. But military spokesmen said in February
that, as in the past, their jets will be ordered to avoid Raeford.
"You*on't notice the difference." said FAA representative Leon
Harrison. Harrison said the MOA was the brainchild of the FAA,
which has charted over 50 of them in the country.
Charges Made
At Friday's meeting, one resident accused the military of trying to
take over Hoke County airspace "as quietly and with as little public
interference as possible." And Earl Fowler read from a report which
said current industry and agriculture within the proposed zone
would suffer because of noise.
Letter of Protest
A letter of protest from local citizens was sent to the FAA last
week under Congressman Rose's signature. He was in town Friday
and told The News-Journal he will do everything he can to help
Raeford block the proposal.
"I have been made aware of certain regulations which would allow
armed aircraft to fly at low levels over Raeford," he said in speaking
of the MOA. "If 1 have to help Raeford start a law suit to stop this. I
will. There's no excuse for our government to ask the people of
Raeford to endure that potential noise and risk. Who's to say that
some of these weapons won't come loose, or be accidentally
discharged?
"Hoke County has never been adequately compensated by the
government for all the land that was taken to form the Fort Bragg
Reservation," Rose continued. "I will do everything within the
power of my office to stop this attempt to intrude upon the airspace
of Raeford and Hoke County."
History of Intrusion
The letter sent to the FAA by the Congressman's office reads in
part:
"Hoke County lost 92,000 acres to the United States Government
when Fort Bragg was developed in 1918-1923. At that time, the
military promised that a road through the reservation would be kept
open to connect Little River Township with the county seat. The
road was later closed, and Hoke lost another 20,000 acres when
Little River was annexed by Moore County.
"In 1953, the government proposed to take another 63,000 acres
from Hoke County to create a corridor between Fort Bragg and
Camp Mackall (a training base for gliders in World War II, located
in Scotland and Richmond counties). This proposal was blocked at a
cost to residents of much time, money, effort and anxiety.
"The monetary benefits of Fort Bragg have gone to Fayetteville
and Cumberland County, while Hoke has borne the economic
burden of supplying most of the land for the reservation. Repeatedly
the government has asked Hoke County to make sacrifices for the
good of the military, without giving anything in return. For example,
efforts over the years to have U.S. Highway 401 four-laned in the
county have been futile.
"The economic growth of Hoke County has been severely limited
by the intrusion of the military. Citizens here feel they should not be
made to bear the added economic hardship that might be caused by
an increase in noise in the skies above Raeford if the Military
Operations Area is established. They strongly oppose the charting of
an MOA in Hoke County because of its unforeseen economic
impact."
Economic Impact
"This (the MOA) was in motion for 15 months before we knew
about it." Earl Fowler told the city and county boards Friday. "I feel
this is one of the most important things that will happen in the
county."
Fowler read from a report about the effect military air zones have
had in other parts of the country.
"Some new industry will not move into the area due to excess noise
caused by the MOA," Fowler read from the report. "Turkey farms
in the county will experience severe losses during the proposed
MOA's operation due to the birds being scared by the noise. Many of
these operations will be forced to relocate to another part of the
(See ROSli. Page IS)