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The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXII NUMBER 19 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1980
>2 Areas ' Dead ' For Public Housing
Hoke Board Tables IHA Powers Resolution
' Around
Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
Elsewhere in this paper is the
official weather report for August.
According to the figures in the
report and the forecast for the
Remainder of the week, summer is
Rtill with us.
* * ?
Ken Witherspoon, director of the
Department of Social Services,
spoke to the Raeford Kiwanis Club
a couple of weeks ago and his
message left room for thought. The
subject of his talk was "Apathy."
After much discussion on the
subject, which showed that this
Country and its citizens are cer
tainly under the spell of "Apathy,"
it was brought forth from someone
that the last two things before the
fall of the nation, according to
history, is apathy and bondage.
Don't you think we should be
trying to take steps to correct the
state of our people.
* * *
^ An article in this issue of the
paper is calling attention to an
event that will take place at the
Raeford Armory on Sunday,
September 14. 1980.
On September 16. 1940 the local
National Guard units were called to
active duty for one year. Raeford
had two units in the 252nd Coast
Artillery Regiment, Headquarters
Battery of the First Battalion and
^Battery 'F' of the Third Battalion.
^ Of course for most of us who
went to the National Guard Armory
40 years ago, the one year turned
into more than five years. Over 150
men left here a week later and it
was a long, but fruitful time. The
final blow was the defeat of
Germany and Japan.
Some of the men that left here
stayed together, but many like
myself, were separated from the
Pinit by either going to school, being
transferred because of promotions.
Yes, many reasons caused the
break ? up of many NG units
during the war.
The public is invited along with
the honor guests, members of the
two units that were called up Sept.
16. 1940.
This should be a gala event, so I
hope to see all you old guardsmen
Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Raeford
^rmory.
While on the subject of National
Guard veterans. Graham Clark
recently had a letter from Ben
Braden. Braden is a (Ret) Lt. Col.
and lives in Camden, S.C. He was a
sergeant in the Battery "F" outfit
that was called up for duty, but was
transferred and promoted the first
day.
He later went to OCS and
remained in the Army after the war
ended. I would say it has been 39
years since I have seen Ben Braden.
* * *
The Class of 1930 reunion was a
success. Everyone 1 have talked to
about the event was wondering
pvhen they would have the next
reunion.
As happens when you run
pictures of people you don't know
and write ups come in about things,
mistakes will be made that we think
are excusable.
The name of William Lamont,
Jr. was omitted from the list under
the pictore of the Class of 1930. He
is the fifth person from the left in
the first row and is between Patrick
P.ohnson and William Floyd. So for
the one* that have the pictures for a
keepsake, add Bill Lamont's name.
Also In the program the bene
diction ?ras given by Mrs. J.C.
McLean, a former teacher of the
class.
It wqp also a pleasure to see Leo
Fullergfttid Floreda Campbell
Wilso?T?iembers of the class, who
came by the office the Monday
jfollowMg the reunion .
(Sf^plOUND TOWN, page 1 3)
In Old County Office Building
Clothes Closet Re-established
The Clothes Closet, for men,
women, and children put in need
for any reason, has been re-esta
blished by the Hoke County De
partment of Social Services in a
room in the basement of the Old
County Office Building on West
Elwood Avenue, Raeford.
People have contributed used but
still useful clothing, and the re
sponse has been greater than
expected, Ken Witherspoon, direc
tor of the county department, said
last week. Donations may be left at
the department in the New County
Office Building, he added.
Furniture and appliances also
are needed, Witherspoon said.
The articles are for men, women,
and children, and private dona
tions are depended on because no
tax money is available for the
purpose in the department, be
cause of the currently high prices of
the clothing and other things
needed, Witherspoon said.
Foster children with little suit
able to wear and people who have
lost their clothing and other per
sonal property in fires are among
those the Clothes Closet is set up to
help. Witherspoon said. He said
the Closet, for example, recently
helped a family in an emergency
created by a fire that damaged the
family's home.
The Clothes Closet had been
maintained until a few years ago
when it was discontinued. This was
before Witherspoon became direc
tor of the department.
Volunteers of the Baptist Young
Women of First Baptist Church
here have been helping sort the
donations. Clothes hangers also are
needed, Witherspoon said.
August Daily
High Average
97.8 Degrees
The temperatures in Raeford
during August reached an average
of 97.8 degrees a day at their
highest, Robert Gatlin, official
weather records keeper in Raeford
for the National Weather Service.
Only 1 .4 inches of rain fell on the
city during the entire month, he
also reported.
The average daily highest tem
perature for July was 96.3 degrees
but the tally doesn't include the last
four days of that month, all of
which averaged at least 100 de
grees.
The July rainfall totaled 2.75
inches.
IN CLOTHES CLOSET ? Volunteers of the Baptist Young Women of First Baptist Church of Rue ford paused
for picture-taking August 27 while sorting donations to the Clothes Closet in the Old County Office Building.
L-R ? Anna Jordan, Barbara Rozier, Theresa Sanderson, Holly Scarboro and her mother Jenny Scarboro.
(Staff photo by Bill Linda u).
Three Charged In Still Operation
Three Hoke County businessmen
were charged Friday with two state
prohibition-law violations in con
nection with the SherifT s Depart
ment's discovery of a 10-gallon
liquor still on the property of one of
the men.
The warrants were issued by
Deputy Sheriff R.S. Hart and
signed by Magistrate Brian H.
Thornburg against Alfred Kay
Leach, 50, of Rt. 1, Box 667,
Raeford: his brother, Clyde Alvin
Leach, 41, of Rt. 2, Raeford; and
Delbert Gordon Ragsdale, 37, of
Box 490, Raeford. Alfred Leach is
chairman of the Hoke County ABC
Board but is not, as a daily
newspaper reported, a "former
Democratic Party chairman in
Hoke County."
The defendants are free on their
own cognizances. Alfred Leach is
scheduled for trial in Hoke County
District Court September 19. The
trial dates of his brother and
Ragsdale were not available up to
press time.
The warrants charged each with
possession of a complete distillery,
one wooden barrel containing 40
gallons of fermented mash, and a
gas burner, "property designed for
and used in the unlawful manu
facture of intoxicating liquor;"
and with distilling, manufacturing
and making liquor. The warrants
indicate the charges are misde
meanors.
The still allegedly was on Alfred
Leach's property in the Arabia
community and near a cabin Leach
owns. The property is near Rock
fish Creek.
Sheriff's officers reportedly
raided the still early Friday night.
Alfred Leach was in Moore
Memorial Hospital at Pinehurst at
the time the raid was made.
Hospital records show he was
admitted at 10 a.m. August 27 for a
lung examination and remained
there till 9 a.m. Saturday when he
checked out.
Medicaid Paid $1,654,087 Of Bills
Medicaid paid a total of $1,654.
087 in hospital and other medical
bills for Hoke County during the
fiscal year 1979-80, compared with
$1,454,069 the year before, figures
received last week from the State
Department of Human Resources
show.
Of this year's total, $87,325
came from county tax funds and
the rest from state and federal. The
previous year, the countv put out
$71,704 for Medicaid.
Statewide, Medicaid paid bills
totaling $319.5 million in fiscal
1979-80, which was about $50
million more than in the previous
year.
Medicaid helps needy and other
low-income people such as ihe
aged, disabled, members ot" fami
lies with dependent children, and
other children who are eligible to
receive it.
Eligibility tor Medicaid pay
(See MI- DIC AID. page 13)
Raeford Units' Reunion
Mobilization's 40th Birthday Fete Set
World War II veterans of two
National Guard units will celebrate
September 14 the 40th anniversary
of their mobilization for World
War II. The public is invited.
Sgt. Brown shows a Certificate of
Recognition signed by the state
adjutant general. A certificate will
be given each veteran or member of
a deceased veteran's family at the
reunion. [Staff photo by Bill Lin
day J.
The program and a display of
equipment and of old photo
graphs and other mementoes from
the history of the 252nd Coast
Artillery Regiment will be held at
the National Guard Armory here,
starting at 1 p.m.
The reunion and celebration is
for the men of the 252nd's Head
quarters Battery, First Battalion,
and Battery "F," Third Battalion,
based in Raeford, who were called
to Active duty September 16. It
would be another year and slightly
less than three months before the
Pearl Harbor send the United
States into World War II. but the
Guard's mobilization for six
months' active duty originally had
been ordered to prepare the coun
try for war if it became necessary.
Raeford was the only city in the
nation to mobilize two full com
panies of National Guard men for
the emergency. The men were from
Raeford and its neighboring areas.
A total of 154 men who were in
the two batteries went into service
under the mobilization order. SFG
Franklin C. Brown of the staff of
the 252nd Armor's Headquarters
and Headquarters Company of the
Sgt. Brown (left) and MSgt. Witiam Stone show 252nd's World War II
guidon at the armory here. ( Staff photo by BUI Lindau J
Guard said last week in describing
the reunion and celebration pro
gram. He said that up to Friday he
had succeeded in contacting 50 of
them. He asks that anyone who was
a member of either unit September
16, 1940, or want more information
to get in touch with him by
telephoning (919) 875-3576. or
28376* P ? Dravverf),?' Raef?rd.
The 252nd Coast Artillery Regi
ment has become the present 252nd
(See BIRTHDAY, page 13)
The Hoke County commissioners
Tuesday night tabled a resolution
allowing the State Indian Housing
Commission authority to exercise
its powers in Hoke County in
proposed U.S. government
financed public housing for low
income people because it did not
provide tor cooperation with a joint
Raeford-Hoke County Housing
Authority.
The commissioners later, follow
ing a public hearing attended by
about 30 people, most of them
residents of the Holly Park sub
division just south of Raeford,
adopted a resolution expanding the
current five-member Raeford
Housing Authority to nine mem
bers. The four additional will be
residents of county areas beyond
the Raeford city zoning area and
will be appointed by the county
commissioners. The others are
appointed by the mayor of Raeford.
The City Council will act Monday
night on the joint resolution at its
regular monthly meeting.
During the public hearing.
Buddy Blue, acting chairman of the
Raeford Housing Authority, in
formed the visitors the Holly Park
area and the area on U.S. South
near St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Catholic Church are dead as far as
possible sites for public housing
units are concerned. Holly Park
residents have opposed construc
tion of housing for low-income
people three times. The most recent
petition, which was accepted Mon
day night by the county commis
sioners by adoption of a motion,
was signed by about 40 of the
subdivision's residents.
The petition says the residents
feel a public-housing complex
"would only breed crime and
violence" in the city and com
munity" and that the area already
is too congested.
The motion to table the resolu
tion on the Indian Housing Com
mission powers also provides that
the state agency and the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development be notified of the
commissioners' action and also of
the opposition expressed by Hoke
County citizens to construction of
housing units on sites tentatively
suggested in August by John Bul
lard, of the Indian Housing Com
mission.
Bullard at the commissioners
mid-month meeting in August
attempted to have the commis
sioners adopt the resolution. The
action would have bypassed the
Raeford City Council and the
proposed joint Raeford-Hoke
Housing Authority.
The effort failed, however, when
the commissioners decided to post
pone action till their September 2
regular meeting. After the commis
sioners voted to table it board
chairman John Balfour said the
matter won't be brought up again
unless someone comes to the
commissioners and brings it up.
The Holly Park people became
aroused after reading the news
paper report that Bullard had told
the commissioners the three pos
sible sites included one adjoining
the Hoke Medical Complex on the
east side ofN.C. 211 and across the
highway from the subdivision. The
others were the one on U.S 401
South and a North Raeford loca
tion near the North Raeford Fire
Station.
Bullard said the one considered
in the Holly Park area would be for
26 units for low-income elderly
single people and couples without
children living at home. The others
(See BOARD, page 12)
Hot Weather
Closes Schools
In Hoke Early
The Hoke County Board of
Education voted Tuesday night
to close all county schools at 1
p.m. daily through the rest of
the week because of the heat.
Supt. Raz Autry said they
would wait and see how the
weather conditions are next
week before making any fur
ther extension of the 1 o'clock
closing.