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The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXl NUMBER 32 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6. 1979
, Around
Town
SAMC. MORRIS
in ThU WeaSer chart that appears
fa i this week s paper shows that we
li aLm?St,r record "infall for
^?Xe'Jlb,er- ,f the temperature was
recorded on the chart I believe that
Jt would set a record. It has been
below freezing for the past five or
six mornings and I can't remember
this many days being this cold in
I November and December.
The forecast is for warmer
weather the remainder of the week
and then maybe the furnace will Bet
some rest for a few days.
? ? ?
Someone was complaining about
the temperature in the council
!?.mf.at ?ity ^11 Monday night
and this brought forth from Com
?",0?5r Graham Clark that a
state official had; been by his station
I Z^May t0 Sig" that he
:?uld "?t turn his thermostat
above 65 degrees.
'ha^heard about the request to
set the thermostat at 68 degrees but
what agency was requiring a 65
degree setting is new to me.
Uraham said something about
^service stations, but I didn't get the
complete information. Maybe
something will come out in the next
y.ur tw? that wi" Put some light
on the subject.
? * ?
to[?[aVDyOU Purchased your tickets
to the Pancake Supper? That is the
Raeford Kiwanis Club's annual
event which will be held Friday
night starting at 5 o'clock at the
Oibson cafeteria.
^ ?^'S 's an a" y?u can eat"
sUi'I; S? 'f y?U uke Pancakes and
?C' no* ls ,he time to fill up.
Tickets can be purchased from any
fcTa?S[8rCa'",e,0n';,"he
,feib.TP':ou'andio1"
? ? ?
Letters were mailed from Raleigh
last week concerning the mem
bership drive of the Hoke County
"Svm?hr ?c ,he North Caroli"a
a y J?u,ety' ,f y?u ^ceived
Si!!2 . haven't sent in your
uC/u' Please do so at once.
When you do send it in. please
Jake notice ot this box number -
The number that is in the letter is
ttm ,s ,he
So if you haven't returned your
so*" r?li (>r whcn.y?u get ready to do
so. please send it to P.O. Box %~>
and this will save time and trouble?
not only to the Symphony treas
urer. but to the Post Office
department also.
? * ?
Please be careful of leaving a fire
burning in your stove or fireplace.
you have been reading the papers
\ately. you will come across where a
house or apartment has been
burned and in many instances lives
have been lost because of these
fires.
Most houses of this day and age
were built for central heat for the
?*e of fuel oil and gas. Now with
the cost of these heat makers, a
goodly number of people are
turning to wood. Many fireplaces
were put in homes for looks and not
for their use. like in my younger
days. They are not as safe as the
(pes built for that use only.
So if you are going to use your
fireplace, or if you purchase a stove
to use for heating your home,
please have your chimney checked
out before you build a fire and then
leave it to bum. So many of the
^timneys nowadays won't draw and
wsides burning your home, you
could smoke it up.
So remember that, "an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of
cure."
Bill Lancaster save me an article
that was joking about wood stoves,
but since so many fires have
occurred since then, I believe I will
hold it until a later date.
^Thanks anyway. Bill.
? ? *
The Hoke High Bucks play
Seventy - First here Friday night at
the local gym. So eat pancakes and
^ (See AROUND TOWN, page 10)
Conuru^sioners QIC Applying
$30,000 Sites Study Grant Sought
Mrs. Letie
Resigns
As Teacher
Mrs. Miriam Letie has resigned
as a teacher in the Hoke County
school system.
County Schools Supt. Raz Autry
said Monday Mrs. Letie submitted
her resignation in a letter received
last week from her by County
Schools Supt. Raz Autry.
Mrs. Letie gave no reason for
resigning.
The countv board of education
by a 4-1 vote adopted a motion Oct.
30 stating that Mrs. Letie be
suspended without pay for neglect
of duty and the superintendent
immediately initiate dismissal pro
ceedings.
Mrs. Letie was the teacher of the
gifted - children's class at South
Hoke School and had taught in the
county system for the past six years.
The vote against adoption of the
motion was cast by Mrs. R.S.
McNair, who said she felt it should
be determined whether the teach
er's problem was a health problem.
The board acted after hearing a
report that Mrs. Letie had been
absent from her classes periodically
for 20 '/j of the first 38 school days
of the current fall term.
Mrs. Letie had requested a
hearing before a Review Com
mittee. under the provisions of the
state Teacher Tenure Act. and a
hearing had been scheduled for
Nov. 27. Autry advised a reporter
that the hearing had been post
poned to Dec. 13 because Mrs.
Letie could not be reached to be
served with official paper in ref
erence to the hearing.
Temporary
Layoffs Made
Fifty - three employees of the
Raeford plant of Faberge, Inc..
have been laid off for 2Vj weeks
and at least 100 more will be for
two weeks in January for inventory -
taking.
August Zitzman, the plant
manager explained Friday this was
something done each year, saying it
was nothing new .
Such layoffs for inventorying are
annual occurrences in many
corporations.
The Raeford plant had 350
people working following the
layoffs. Zitzman also said, replying
to another question.
L - R, Councilmen Hedgpeth, Gentry, Morris, Clark and McLeod taking oath of office.
Start New Terms
Mayor, Councilmen Sworn
Raeford's Mayor John K.
McNeill, Jr., and the members of
the City Council were sworn into
office Monday night for new two -
year terms shortly before starting
their regular monthly meeting for
December.
McNeill and Couneilmen Vardell
Hedgpeth, Jr., Graham Clark. Sam
Morris, Bob Gentry, and Benny
McLeod were reelected November 6
in the biennial municipal election
with no opposition other than from
four write - in candidates who
received a vote each.
The oaths of office were ad
ministered by Mrs. Juanita Ed
mund. clerk of Hoke County
Superior Court.
In the regular business meeting
the mayor and councilmen heard
City Finance Officer Helen Huff
man review a financial statement
prepared by computer for the
period ending Nov. 30. She dis
tributed copies of the statement to
the mayor, councilmen and City
Attorney Palmer Willcox.
Members of the council agreed
that every six months would be
sufficiently frequent for them to be
provided with the financial state
ments.
City Manager Ronald L. Mat
thews said The Bank of Raeford
and Southern National Bank have
(See COUNCIL, page 10)
Mayor McNeill is sworn in hy Mrs. Edmund.
The Board of Hoke County
Commissioners Monday approved
a proposal that an application be
made tor a S30.000 federal grant to
help finance an Industrial Sites
Feasibility and Selection Study in
connection with industrial de
velopment.
The proposal was made by Earl
how leK, manager of the Raeford
Hoke County Chamber of Com
merce.
He said the study would include
a master plan tor approved sites
and that the approved sites would
be controlled by the county. This
w ill allow the industry committee to
be selective about what industry
comes into the county. A prepared
list of sites also will give the
chamber people something to show
prospects.
The study, which will be made by
a professional, will show the best
places for locations for industries.
The federal grant will be sought
from the Economic Development
Administration and will pay 75
percent of the cost, but the
remainder, the county share, can
be made up of "in kind" payments.
Fowler said.
The fund sought constitute a
technical assistance grant.
Fowler said the chamber will do
the industrial work but under the
direction of the county commis
sioners.
COURTHOUSE RAMP
The commissioners also at their
Monday meeting approved the low
bid of $5,029.50 to build for the
convenience of physically handi
capped people a wooden ramp at
the East Edinborough Avenue en
trance of the Courthouse.
The bid was filed by Foster
Construction Co. The second low
est bid was 55,047.16, filed by
Ratlev Construction Co.
FT. BRAGG
The commissioners were in
formed at the meeting that the
county is not qualified to receive
federal payments in lieu of taxes
on Ft. Bragg land acquired from
the county because the land is
"nonactive." However. Congres
nian Charles Rose's office is work
ing to change the status to include
active.
The information was provided by
Jane Fonvielle of the congressman's
staff. She appeared at the board's
meeting.
The government acquired 92.000
acres of Hoke land for part of the
development of the military re
servation in 1918-23. and Hoke's
Little River Township composed of
20,000 acres in connection with the
same project was transferred to
Moore County Jan. 1. 1958.
The reductions left Hoke County
with a total area of 156.000 acres.
Congress in 1976 passed the
Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act.
(See GRANT, page 10)
Mrs. Cribbs Dies In Fire In North
Raeford Home
Mrs. James L. Cribbs, 48, died
apparently of smoke inhalation
Saturday night in a fire of un
determined cause that damaged
her home. 422 College Dr., north of
Raeford.
Her body was found in bed in the
one - story brick home about 8:30,
soon after about 10 North Raeford
Fire Department men, headed by
Fire Chief George Baker, extin
guished the blaze within 30 minutes
after the North Raeford depart
ment received the fire call from
State Highway Patrol Sgt. D.L.
Minshew. who lives near the Cribbs
home.
Baker said Tuesday Mrs. Cribbs
was alone in the house at the time
the fire occurred. Her husband,
James L. Cribbs was at work at
nearby Burlington Menswear.
Raeford Fire Department men
and equipment stood by at the
scene to act if needed to help fight
the fire and to protect nearby
BURLINGTON DONATION -- Tom Howell, president of the Hoke
County United Fund, is shown receiving the donation of the Burlington
Menswear Raeford Plant and Dyeing Plant to the 1979 United Way cam
paign. L-R: Harry Williams, personnel manager of the Raeford plant;
Howell; and Ashwell Harward, personnel manager of the Dyeing Plant.
homes from sparks from the burn
ing house. The neighboring homes
were not affected, however. Baker
said.
The kitchen and den of the three
?bedroom Cribbs home were severly
damaged, and smoke damaged
other rooms but apparently not
seriously.
The fire chief said the tire started
in the den in a corner near a small
table and a television set.
He said Mrs. Cribbs might have
survived if her bedroom door had
been shut. He said the door of the
bedroom across the hall from Mrs
Cribbs's was shut and the room w as
not damaged. He said the heat
made by the flames was so intense
that it melted glass in the hall the
bedrooms opened on. It takes heat
of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit
to melt glass.
Baker said the firemen didn't
know that Mrs. Cribbs was in the
house till they got there. He said
someone broke a window to try to
get her out but was prevented by
the heat of the fire from entering.
He said he, volunteer fireman
Gib Bernhardt, another volunteer
fireman, and three members of the
Hoke County Rescue Squad found
Mrs. Crihb's body.
Baker said Cribbs talked with
Mrs. Cribbs by telephone at about
7:30 p.m. at home, and she was all
right then. About a half hour later,
he said. Cribbs was told his house
was on fire.
He said the North Haeford
department is grateful to the
Raeford Fire Department, the
Rescue Squad, the State Highway
Patrol, the Hoke County Sheriff" s
Department and the Haeford Police
62 Per Cent Of
UW Goal Reached
About 62 per cent of the 1979
Hoke County United Way goal of
S24.331.08 has been raised, fund
raising co-chairman Steve Phillips
reported Tuesday morning.
He said generous corporate
pledges and contributions have
been received and pledge cards
distributed throughout the county.
The cards will be picked up this
week by campaign workers, he
added.
He advised people who want to
give but have not been contacted to
get in tourch with United Way
solicitors.
The campaign was launched
Nov. 19. and the fundraising
volunteers are trying to at least
reach the goal by Dec. 15.
Department tor their help during
the fire. He said the law en
forcement officers did an excellent
job of keeping the traffic and
spectators under control. He said
"we were having problems with the
crowd" -- people getting in the way,
stepping on hose - till the law
enforcement officers arrived to
help. He said this problem wasn't
anything new. that it occurs at any
fire.
Mrs. Cribbs's death was the
third caused this year by fire in
Hoke County. Two brothers died
Oct. 4 in the fire that destroyed
their home near Dundarrach.
Mrs. Cribbs was born Hazel
Eloise Fowler.
Surving in addition to her hus
band are her sons. Jimmy Cribbs of
Winston - Salem and Jerry Cribbs
of Greenville; her grandchild; her
parents. Mr. and Mrs. R.N. Fowler
of Hamlet; and her sisters, Mrs.
Bernice English of Hamlet and
Mrs. Faye Pappasof Brandon, Fla.
The funeral service was con
ducted Monday afternoon in the
chapel of Crumpler Funeral Home.
Burial in Richmond Memorial
Park at Rockingham.
Yule Gift Idea:
Smoke Detector
The Raeford Fire Department
has a suggestion for a Christmas
gift: a smoke detector.
Smoke detectors are available at
the fire department.