Of January In Raeford
Freezing Or Colder
Recorded 27 Days
The first month of the new year
was the driest and coldest Hoke
County apparently ever had on 27
of the 31 days the temperature hit
lows of no higher than the freezing
mark, and only one inch of rain
fell.
These show in records kept by
Robert Gatlin, official National
Weather Service observer for Hoke
County.
I Of the four other days of the
month, low temperatures were in
the 30s on three and in the 40s on
the other.
The severe cold brought adverse
financial as well as physical effects:
the cost of fuel increased as the
temperatures dropped, though
natural gas customers were not as
severely hit as people using oil for
heating.
The inch of rain that fell during
the month was 3.5 inches less than
the average for the same month in
the previous Five years. In January
1980, the rainfall totaled 4.6
inches. The first month of 1978 was
the wettest January of the period --
8.6 inches fell. The rainfall for
January of the other years totaled
5.45 in 1979. 4.7 in 1977, and 4.4
in 1976.
The 3.5 inch "deficit" followed
the old year that had eight inches
less than the average annual rain
fall for Hoke County, Gatlin's
records show. A total of 48 inches
fell during the year.
The Raeford area's system of
deep wells is credited with guarding
the community against severe ef
fects of the dry spell, but the dry
1980 and first month of 1981 has
affected surface water deposits in
rivers and ponds.
Before the main 1981 planting
season starts, the area has about
three months in which the rainfall
deficit could be made up. Appro
ximately two inches of snow that
fell on the last weekend of the
month.
It takes nearly eight inches of
snow to equal an inch of rain.
While January is usually the
wettest month of winter, February
is comparatively dry. Precipitation
in February 1980, tor example,
totaled 2.6 inches.
The total for February 1978 was
I.9. for 1977 it was 2.1, and for
1976, it was 1.5 The February 1979
total, however, was a departure
from the "rule" -- five inches.
The lowest temperatures of last
month was the seven recorded on
January 11, but it reached eight on
January 12, nine on January 5 and
II. and 10 on the last day ot the
month. The effects of the lows of
January 11. 12 and 13. however,
were intensified by the chill factor
created by the wind that blew on
those days.
The average low tor the 27 days
was 21.74 degrees, and the "high"
low was 32.
February started with a rare
condition. On the first day of the
month the temperature climbed
from a low of 15 degrees to a high
of 65. From that high it preceded to
drop steeply again.
25'
XJt
The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXII NUMBER 42 RARFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
9-member City, County, Chamber Group
- journal
25
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 12, 1981
Airport Study Group Creation Advised
Around
Town
BY SAMC. MORRIS
It seems that every time the
weather gets colder, the price of
fuel oil goes up. The weather was
bleak over the past weekend and
there was very little you could do
except stay inside.
The forecast is for rain Tuesday
and Wednesday but the tempera
ture is to be in the 50s. This sounds
like the furnace won't run as much
as it has for the past month.
* * *
Last Tuesday night. Feb. 3.
Burlington's plants here had their
r annual community leaders-plant
management dinner. The affair
jk was well attended and the com
& ments made by Gib Bernhardt and
T Cecil Bond were very encouraging
^.to the businessmen of the com
munity. They were not singing the
blues, but were talking about full
production even into 1984.
They were bragging about the
quality work that was being turned
out at the two plants here and said
that had something to do with their
bright outlook for now and the
future.
This is the kind of news you want
coming from the plant with the
^ largest payroll in the county.
Yes. it makes it brighter for all of
An article elsewhere in the paper
is about a meeting held Monday
morning concerning the Raeford
Airport. The meeting was well
attended and maybe it will lead to a
commission that will put the air
9 port in the condition that it should
be for the use of our citizens.
So if you are interested in the
airport, be sure to read the article.
A couple of weeks ago we ran a
letter from Clyde Upchurch about
the closing of the Red Cross
Chapter here unless funds were
h obtained for operation this year.
Since that time we have had many
people express concern about this
situation and it seems that some
thing is being done about it.
We are running two more letters
which we received this week. They
are self-explanatory:
Dear Sam.
I am pleased to announce that
the Board of the Hoke County
United Way has voted to advance
P operating money to the local Red
Cross Chapter. As you know our
United Way campaign is now in the
organizational stages and our cam
paign kick-off date is March 1.
1981.
The Board has decided that the
small amount of emergency money
which has been held in a savings
account should be made available
for use by the Red Cross. Clyde
Upchurch has requested that this
JT money continue to collect interest
as long as possible. He seems
relieved and grateful that the Hoke
United Way has been able to insure
the operation of his agency.
Many people have been con
cerned about the difficulties of the
Red Cross Chapter. 1 hope each of
them will remember when he or she
is asked to contribute to the United
Way. A contribution in Hoke
I County will help to support Girl
F' (See AROUND TOWN. p:i>>e 13)
Students
To Sell Tags,
Balloons Here
Fifth and sixth grade students
will be selling tags and balloons for
the Heart Fund drive February 14,
21. and 28 on Main Street and
Edenborough Shopping Center,
Raeford.
Miss Susan Blacman, chairman
of the Tags and Balloons Cam
paign. will chaperone the children
from 10 a.m. to noon February 14
and 28, and Mrs. Betsy Collins,
co-chairman, will be in charge
February 21 at the same locations.
The children have set a goal of
S100 for the three - Saturday
campaing.
Februay is Heart Month.
$100 Reward
Offered
In Thefts
Upchurch Junior High School
Principal Allen Edwards an
nounced Tuesday he is offering a
reward of SI 00 for information
leading to the arrest and conviction
of whoever stole food and a
percolator last weekend from the
school's cafeteria.
Anyone having information
about the theft is advised to give it
to Edwards or the Hoke County
Sheriff s Department.
Edwards said 10 cases of com
modity chicken and a 30-cup
electric, stainless steel percolator
were stolen Saturday or Sunday. He
said the chicken had been supplied
by the U.S. Department of Agricul
ture. The stolen poultry weighed
about 300 pounds and was valued
at $124, he added.
Edwards said the percolator was
valued at S50.
He said no evidence that the
building had been entered by force
was found.
HELPING HEART FUND ?? The 3b students of Miss Susan Blackmail's class in the fifth grade of J.W.
Turlington School will he working with the Hoke County Heart Fund campaign the weekends of February 14 and
2H. The balloons they are showing will he given to people who donate to the campaign. February is Heart Month.
Turlington s principal. Miss Emma Mims. is Rueford city chairman for the campaign. I Staff photo by Bill
Lindau. ]
Hoke Property For Taxes In January
'Couple Of Hundred'
Failed To List
The deadline for listing property
for taxes in Hoke County came and
went January 31. with "a couple of
hundred" property owners failing
to list.
However, Les Simpson, county
tax supervisor, said Tuesday that
people are coming into the Court
house Annex office every day now
to list their real and personal
property.
He said about 85 per cent of the
property owners had listed during
January, the listing period but that
some applied during the month for
extension till March 31 with him
and were granted the extensions
when the reasons for needing them
were valid. An application for
extension must be made during
January.
Others having justifiable reasons
For Perfect Job Attendance
26 TexElastic Employees Honored
Twenty-six TexElastic Corpora
tion employees were honored on
Tuesday in recognition of their
achievement of perfect attendance
for calendar year 1980.
Of this group, nine employees
achieved the two-consecutive-year
perfect attendance plateau, while
seven others reached the three
consecutive-year mark.
Those making up the 1980
awards group included Betty Bare
foot, Therman Chavis, Shirley
Gibson. Carol Jackson, Jimmy
Maynor, Hattie Maynor, Donnie
Monroe. Venetta Monroe. Mary
Old Receipt W
Anyone looking at the high
prices of everything would have
trouble choking back a sob if he
could see the receipt Jerry Lytle of
Antioch found in a shoebox at
home recently.
The receipt, made out to Lytle's
White, and Havana Whitted.
The 1979-1980 awards group
consisted of Edmond Burney,
Pauline Cox, Myrtle Currie, Bill
Lawrence. Ronnie McRae, Dorothy
Monroe, Lee Esther Purcell, Pat
ricia Ray, and Irene Smith.
Then, those receiving awards for
the period 1978 through 1980 were
Allene Bullock, Billy Currie, Dore
thea Ferguson, Henry Leak, Mae
McEachern, Catherine Price, and
Gladys Rogers.
Each employee was presented a
certificate of achievement and a
cash bonus for their accomplish
ment. Follow ing the awards presen
tations. refreshments were served
to all in attendance.
After making the presentations.
Horace Stogner. Tex Elastic's plant
manager, noted that "awards like
these are particularly gratifying to
me, because we acknowledge the
dedication and responsibility of
people who know what responsi
bility is all about.
"This is just another indication
of the kind of employees that make
up our team, and we appreciate
each and every one of them."
ould Make Grown Men Cry
father. G.C., shows he paid S2.50
for a pair of shoes and S3. 50 for two
overalls.
Building materials cost a lot
more, though -- $27.06, for 451 feet
of them. Jerry Lytle thinks the
materials consisted of tar paper
and the like.
The goods were bought February
28. 1925, from Z.V. Pate. General
Merchandise, at Gibson.
The receipt also notes the store
handled fertilizers and was a cotton
buyer.
for not listing can be and have been
excused when they write a petition
to the county commissioners and
file it through Simpson. Only the
commissioners can excuse people
from listing their property, he said.
Asked to give examples of justifi
able reasons. Simpson said that one
person advised he had been out of
the state most of January, and
another reported he had suffered
two heart attacks during the
month. Flu, extensive during Jan
uary. caused others to miss listing
on time. "We have to consider that,
too," Simpson said.
"A lot of out-of-county resi
dents" own property in Hoke
County, and that property, of
course, must be listed every year,
just as Hoke residents property
must be.
People without a valid reason for
missing the January listing time are
subject to a penalty amounting to
10 per cent of the total tax due.
Nearly 10,000 individual billings
for taxes are issued, but these
include several to each of a number
of different people. Each piece of
several properties owned by the
same person or corporation and in
different locations is billed sepa
rately. Simpson explained.
As for the general total property
evaluation which can be taxed, the
increase won't be as much as the S3
million a year in taxable im
provements the county has been
enjoying for the past six or seven
years, he said. Last year, he said,
no new business construction to
speak of has been added. The total
property evaluation last year was
about S190 million. It might come
(Sec LISTING, page 13)
Establishment of a joint com
p'ss'?" determine what the
Raeford Airport needs for proper
development and how it tits into the
long-range plans for the economic
development of Hoke County was
recommended Monday morning at
a meeting of Hoke County, and
Raeford city officials and Raeford -
Hoke County Chamber of Com
merce representatives.
at Nth0frMal JaCt'?n could be taken
at the Monday meeting by the
members of the City Council and
? *oard ?f County Commis
sioners since they were not formally
in session according to law.
?;?"jther j"ec?mmendation sub
mitted at the breakfast meeting
says a joint resolution officially
creating the Airport B.ue Ribbon
Mud> Commission and naming its
hln^meDlbf S should be adopted
thP Rft"r? Cit> C?uncil and
the Board of Hoke County Com
mSngTat ^ ^ scheduled
h.TJ6 ^"""endations. drawn up
by the chamber s Airport Steering
Committee, were submitted at a
Wheel Restauranf. a'
rh J,h?KC?mmiJt,ee rec?mmended
thai the study commission be
comp0sed of the five member
steering committee, and two
members each appointed by the
City Council and the countv
commissioners; or. if more de
sirable. three each from the citv
chamber"'* """ from
The chamber board of directors
T, ach b?ards. re?ular meeting
luesday morning reduced the
chamber committee to three -
Cecil Bond, chairman; William
Moses; and Harold Brock. Bond
also was chairman of the five -
member committee.
Other committee recommen
dations submitted at Monday's
joint meeting was that the goals for
he commission as well as a
timetable for completion of the
study, could be set bv the city
manager (Ron Matthews) h
ing) members of iheaidy'^mm?.'
appointed.0' am"nS "" ?*
The foundation for establishing
the study lies in this quotation from
a study made by a blue ribbon
commission which made a study of
aviation and other transportation
tor the State Department of Trans
portation last year:
w AK^ti0n. is a kev element of
North Carolina's transportation
system...
'?Unfortunately, the develop
ment of our airport system is not
keeping pace with growth and
projected needs. These develop
ment shortcomings include both air
carrier and general aviation air
port. Major expansions are needed
at our existing general aviation
airports to meet the needs of
business and industry. In rural
areas of the State 17 new general
arttl0Ln a,rPorts arc needed as part
ot the basic transportation facilities
necessary for economic growth.
Ihe Blue Ribbon Commission, in
addition to recommending in
creased State funding, also recom
mends a greater State funding
share on these projects to offset a
cutback in federal funding levels.
"Airports will become more and
more of a State/local' responsi
bility. This partnership is one we
must accept and develop because of
the airport's vital role in our
transportation system and balanc
ed economic growth."
Fowler tola the participants in
(See AlKI'Ok I . (>ago 1.1)