The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXII NUMBER 52 RAEFORD, HOKE COIMY. NORTH CAROLIN \
- journal
25 ?
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S8 PER YEAR THURSDAY. APRIL 23. 1981
Around
' Town
BY SAM C.MORRIS
The weather for the Easter
Parade was perfect in Hoke
County. The temperature was in
the 80s and there wasn't any rain.
Robert Gatlin was by the office
Monday morning and said that
one-tenth of an inch fell about 11
o'clock Sunday night.
The forecast for Monday was 70
percent chance of rain, but as of
this time, about 3:30 p.m. no rain
had fallen in Raeford. The sky was
overcast but the wind had been
blowing the clouds around and it
didn't look like we would have
much rain.
A farmer was in the office during
the day and said that all crops
needed rain very much, but that
^ tobacco couldn't hold out much
longer.
We are all hoping that the rains
will come before too long.
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The Raeford Presbyterian
Church was filled Easter Sunday
for the morning worship service. I
haven't .heard about the other
churches, but understand that a
^ large crowd attended the sunrise
service at the Hoke High Stadium.
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Easter Monday is a state holiday
and many financial businesses,
state, county and city offices all
close for this holiday. Some of the
other businesses also close, but
many of the chain stores remain
.open, along with most service
? stations.
The schools of the county sche
dule the entire week for holidays
and use them as snow days if they
must close during the winter. The
schools didn't have any snow days
this year, so they were closed all
week.
Times have changed, because
Easter Monday years ago didn't
close anything in Hoke County.
l including schools. But of course in
those days, it was a six - day work
week and some folks worked from
sun - up to sun - down.
Those were what we hear called
"the good old days?"
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Reports from my family mem
bers that had to travel on 1-95 and
1-85 to get home for Easter was that
I the roads were crowded. They
stated that when they left the
interstates that the traffic was not
bad at all.
* ? ?
I was talking last week with
someone about the high cost of
energy and it brought to mind the
hard times of the early 30s. There
wasn't much money flowing around
I at that time and what little a family
had, they would purchase a few
needed items like sugar and coffee.
The other essential food items were
either raised in the garden or
produced such as hogs, chicken,
cows, etc.
Now one thing that we all have to
put up with and have to do is pay
taxes and die. Of course we didn't
want to die and most folks didn't
I have money to pay taxes.
So getting back to energy, they
would pay their taxes by bringing in
loads of wood which would be used
for fuel at the courthouse, jail and
the schoolhouse. This kinda sticks
in my mind because they used to
stack the wood between the court
house and the jail. The method ot
getting the wood to the schoolhouse
was with a wheelbarrow and the
power behind this was the high
i school boys. If there were no
volunteers, then if you had been in
trouble the punishment was to haul
wood for the recess period or after
school.
The school term had been cut
from nine to eight months because
of the economy and there was talk
of cutting it to six months if things
didn't get better. They must have
improved because we never had the
six months school.
So in the 1930s it was not the
high cost of energy that caused the
problem, but the lack of money.
The problem was solved then and
the high cost of energy today is with
money in abundance, but the costs
are above anything any of us would
have ever imagined. But the pro
blem must be solved and it must be
solved in a way that it was in the
1930s when the lack of money was
(See AROUND TOWN, page 13)
Hoke High Students Participate
'Accident' Tests Emergency Services
Correction
The News-Journal in its April 16
edition reported erroneously that
the Hoke County Grand Jury the
previous week returned a true bill
of indictment on a charge against
Daniel Eric Jones, 18, of Rt. 1.
Raeford, of possession of more
than one ounce of marijuana.
The News -Journal regrets the
error and is happy to make the
correction.
Jones had been in Superior Court
in connection with an alleged
violation of probation, in that he
had failed to be regularly employed
or enrolled in school as a fulltime
student. Judge William Helms,
however, modified and continued
Jones on probation. The modifi
cation was that Jones be employed
outside his family. The court had
been informed in Jones's defense
that Jones had been employed by
his family.
The condition of employment or
fulltime student status was one
imposed May 27, 1980. in sus
pending a sentence for possession
of marijuana, after Jones pleaded
guilty to the charge. The Grand
Jury returned a true bill on this
charge in January 1980.
IC SCHOOLS 28
l
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Victims of the disaster awuiiinn emergency medical help. The 'disfigurements ' on them were mode up to lit the
sfum of the drill. '
April 30-May 1 At Upchurch Junior High School
Arts F estival Offers Variety
Of Displays , Performances
The 1981 two-day Hoke County
Fine Arts Festival will be held
April 30 - May I, at Upchurch
Junior High School under the
sponsorship of the North Carolina
Grass Roots Arts Program, the
Hoke County Arts Council and the
Upchurch students and faculty.
The programs will otter visitors
a variety of work in crafts, visual
arts, dance, and music, with manv
visiting performers on ihc pro
gram.
On April 30, the gym will be
opened at 9:15 a.m. to the public
and the Upchurch English classes
to view the arts and crafts setups.
Students arts displays uill be held
in the C horal and Band Rooms.
Arts and crafts demonstrations
will he held April 30 in the gym.
That afternoon, also in the gym.
these performances will be given:
-- Dance: Bill Weaver - Scottish
The 82nd Airborne Division Chorus, shown here, will be among the groups entertaining the visitors May I during
the 1981 Hoke County Fine Arts Festival which will be held at Upchurch Junior High School starting April 29 at
9 a.m.
Set Clocks An Hour Ahead
For DST Sunday
Daylight Savings Time will
start officially at 2 a.m. Sun
day.
This is to remind you to set
your clocks forward an hour
before you go to bed Saturday
night or early Sunday.
If you normally go to bed at
10 p.m. Saturday, set your
clock to II p.m. bctore you
retire.
Of course, if you don't want
to mess with the clock, just
remember to get up an hour
earlier than usual starting Sun
day morning.
Otherwise you may be the
only one at the church when
you arrive for Sunday school.
The performance of Loonis Mc
Glohon ( above J and his Jazz Trio
of Charlotte is on the entertain
ment program for May I at the
Hoke County Fine Arts Festival.
Piper and School of Highland
Dancing, Red Springs; singing
?the J.W. Turlington School
Chorus, "It's Music;" mime, jug
gling, and clowning -- Kevin
Campbell and Andy Finney (noon
to 5 p.m.). North Carolina School
of the Arts, Winston-Salem; sing
ing - Hoke High Barbershop
Singers; impressionist ? Danny
Norton, Raeford; vocal duet
-Vincent McAllister, Raeford.
and Ann Freeze, Upchurch chorus
director; vocal solo -- McAllister;
instrumental music -- "Once In A
While" Group, Raeford; singing
--First Baptist Church Children's
Choir.
A concert will be given that
night at 7:30 in the Upchurch
auditorium by the Upchurch
Chorus and Band.
The performing arts presenta
tions will be given May 1 in the Up
church auditorium.
Starting at 8:15 a.m., the 82nd
Airborne Division All American
Chorus will sing compositions
ranging from patriotic to "pop."
This performance will be fol
lowed an hour later by playing of
scenes from the historical drama.
"Strike at The Wind," which is
given at Pembroke every summer.
Following an hour break, the
Click 'N' Cloggersof Durham \s ill
give a performance of folk dances,
starting at 1 1 :40 a.m.
following lunch, jazz artist and
composer Loonis McGlohon and
his Jazz Trio of Charlotte will per
form, starting at 1 p.m. The other
members are drummer Bill Stowe.
and Terry Peoples, on the string
bass.
A rock group, which is being ar
ranged for, will provide the closing
entertainment at 2 p.m.
Also participating in the festival
will be Richard Mayberry, visiting
artist at Anson Technical College
near Wadesboro.
A chicken dinner will be served
April 30 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
in the Upchurch cafeteria with the
proceeds from the sale of tickets at
$3 each to go to the Upchurch
chorus and band.
The festival committees are: Up
church Principal Allen Edwards,
school coordinator; Joan Balfour,
Arts Council coordinator; Eloise
Carter and Jimmy James, Arts and
Crafts co-chairmen; Anne Freeze.
Performing Arts coordinator; Mary
Archie McNeill and Glenn
Langdon, programs; Upchurch
Assistant Principal W.K. Morgan,
stage director; Gail Stephens, Arts
Council, finance chairman; Mary
Archie McNeill, correspondence;
Judy Chavis, Bonnie Davis, floral
arrangements; Dwan Upchurch.
Carol Tolin, Lodging and Meals,
Nancy Davis, hospitality chairman.
Ambulances, fire engines, and
police cruisers came rushing to
U.S. 401 bypass at Teal Drive
about 9:30 a.m. April 15 where a
school bus and a gas truck stood
side by side in a field, and about 40
students, showing ugly signs of in
juries were sitting or lying on the
ground.
Thick smoke rose from different
places near the truck and bus.
Hoke County Ambulance Ser
vice and Hoke County Rescue
Squad workers quickly went to
work, giving emergency help and
putting the seriously injured on
stretchers and into waiting am
bulances for trips to hospitals.
Police Chief Leonard Wiggins
and his officers were on 401 direc
ting traffic.
They also were answering ques
tions asked by motorists who
wanted to know what had happen
ed.
The answer was: it was an
emergency drill staged by the Hoke
County office of the federal
Emergency Management Agency
(formerly Civil Preparedness). It
was directed at the scene by the
Hoke EMA manager. Bill Niven.
Also participating was Capt. Nor
man Dean of the Army National
Guard.
Dean handled the "special ef
fects", the canisters which provid
ed the thick smoke that added
realism to the scene. Dean com
mands Company C, Second Bat
talion, 252nd Armor. The bat
talion's Headquarters and Head
quarters Company is based in
Raeford.
The "disaster" was an exercise
for the county's emergency ser
vices, and Hoke High health
occupations students helped, serv
ing as "victims". Most of the "in
juries" had been made up in ad
vance, at school, before the
"disaster" occurred, though some
needed touching up at the scene
shortly before the emergency ser
vices men and women arrived.
Niven later praised Mrs. Sally
Young, health occupations
teacher, for organizing her
students so no time was lost once
the emergency situation was
started. In the drill, the emergency
services people went into action
after receiving a radioed report
from the Hoke County Sheriff's
Department that a gas truck and a
school bus had collided.
The sheriff's department
notified the Raeford Police
Department once it was learned
that the "accident" had occurred
in the city limits.
Niven also praised the Hoke
High art students, who had made
the simulated injuries with
makeup.
Though the accident and its
results were simulated, the profes
sional emergency people and the
participating students acted as
More Photos on Page 1 1
Niven said Hoke High's
cooperation was superb, starling
with Dr. Lenwood Simpson, the
principal, who received Nisen's re
quest tor student help about two
weeks before the exercise, when it
was first being planned. Simpson
was at the scene April 15. staying
till he learned his help was no
longer needed.
I ater last week, an official of
the state Division of Emergency
Management said, "1 evaluated an
exercise held in Raeford.... Over
the 12 years that I have been with
the Civil Defense program, 1 hase
probably witnessed a hundred type
exercises drills".
"The unusual aspects of this ex
ercise was the total invohement
that your Emergency Management
Coordinator, William Niven, ob
tained from the community.
Besides the obvious involvement of
the emergency services, law en
forcement, fire and rescue, he also
utilized the services of the health
occupation and art classes of Hoke
High School; the National Guard;
and an instructor from the Sand
hills Community College."
"This approach Mr. Niven
employed, in preparation for this
exercise, caused much more of the
community to become aware of the
emergency preparedness efforts
being accomplished in Hoke Coun
ty. It was an excellent exercise and
I was very proud of Mr. Nivcn's
preparation for this exercise."
The statements were made in a
letter written Thursday by Vance
E. Kee, coordinator. Area "C", of
the state EM Division, to John
Balfour, chairman of the Board of
Hoke County Commissioners.