Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / May 14, 1981, edition 1 / Page 1
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Midweek Precipitation Alone Was Boon Rains Help Hoke County Crops , Pastures stalk was reduced by the dry weather of the long period which preceded the mid-week rainfall but probably more weight was put on the heads. This year's crop covers about 5,000 acres, about 2,000 more than last year's, he said. Young said, however, "We'll have a chance to come back in late summer," in the second planting, which will be done from mid-June to July 4. The first harvest, he said, will run from June 20 to July 1 , then soybeans will be put in. Last week's rain helped most Hoke County crops and pastures, Wendell Young, county Agricul tural Extension Service, said last week. His veiw of the situation was obtained by a reporter Friday, before the weekend rain fell, to provide more help for crops, live stock and the surface and under ) ground water supplies. Young said the biggest concern was for small grains: the question was whether the rainfall of May 6-7 helped or not. The length of the He said another concern is "not too many chcmicals worked tor weed control." because there wasn't enough moisture till last week. Pastures will be short, he said. Most are in Coastal Bermuda, and the dry weather made it slow to come out. Some livestock produc ers were still feeding hav. But the rain should help pastures quite a bit. Young added, saying most have been fertilized. Robert Gatlin of Haeford, the official observer for the National Weather Service, reported the May 6-7 rain averaged 1.9 inches in Raeford. The tall ranged from 1.7 inches in the north end of town to slightly over 2.1 inches in the south end. he said. At his house, on Harris Avenue, it measured 1.9 inches. Young said the rain fell all over the county and appeared to have been heaviest in Blue Springs where it washed out portions of plowed fields. That raintall was followed during the weekend by intermittent rains which fell steadily. The rains were the most benefi cial, since they were the soaking kind with very little runof. Cool weather and cloudy skies that prevailed afterward kept evapor ation comparatively low. Corn felt the beneficial effect of the mid-week rain. Young said, because nitrogen had been applied to the crop. "It should be ready to grow, really take off," he said. Most of the tobacco plants which had been set had been re-fertilized, he said, and the rain dissolved the fertilizer, making it available to the plants. The drought had slowed the planting of soybeans down. Young also said. Not many soybeans were planted, he said, because growers had decided to wait till it rained. Seeding was to have begun Satur day or Monday, il the ground were not too wet. The rain also helped cotton greatly. Most of the crop was planted shortly before the rain fell he added. 25 eu?i> The Hoke County News - Established 1928 journal 25 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905 VOLUME LXXIII NUMBER 3 ( RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Requested From County Funds For 1981-82 S8 PKR YEAH THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1981 School Board Cuts Budget To $799,297 Around 1 Town BY SAMC. MORRIS Well the rains finally arrived last week and it was according to where you lived as to how much rain you would say fell. The report has been from two inches and one-tenth to two inches and five-tenths here in the vicinity of Raeford. It seems to me that the folks ) down on the Red Springs road and on into Antioch got more rain than we did in Raeford. Anyway it was welcomed and you can almost say it was a "million dollar rain." * * * The Rev. Billy Beaver, pastor of the First Baptist Church here in _ Raeford, is not only a "fisher of P men" but also a fisherman for large fish. It seems that he asked the advice of one of his deacons about going fishing and one of the strong points was to go early in the morning. Now from the following report, it seems he took that advice. Earl Fowler came by the office last week and was telling me that the minister had caught an eight pound, one ounce bass on a bream ^ hook. Now this was not the advice ? given by the deacon and the deacon couldn't understand how the preacher hooked the fish with his way of fishing. Now I haven't talked to the preacher, but the deacon was telling me that he was fishing the next day and fished until dark. Maybe he was trying to duplicate the feat of the preacher because he was telling me how many bream he had pulled in at his pond. He didn't say if all the bream he caught weighed as much as the bass. 1 won't use the deacon's name because one of the businesses that sells papers, states that they don't sell well with his name in this column. ? * * Bob Harris was by the office last 9 week and brought me a tomato about the size of a pool ball out of his garden. He said that he had been watering his garden and that it was doing real well. I know that Bob was glad to see the rain. Mavbe he will bring me some of the "Early Girls" tomatoes when they ripen. * * * ^ Three good friends of this writer have passed on in the past week. Bill Andrews. Grady Setzer. and Buist Bethune. Bill Andrews was older than I. as were the other two mentioned above. He was the son of Lon Andrews who owned the horse and mule stable which my uncle and daddy ran for many years. Bill grew up in Raeford. went to high school * and played on the football team. ? He was an outstanding tackle during the 1920s. It made me feel so good to go through the receiving Tine at his 50th wedding anniversary and shake his and Willie's hands. You know not many people live to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Grady Setzer came to Raeford when Robbins Mills bought the local plant from Whitehurst. Now I | could be wrong on the name. He (See AROUND TOWN, page 1 I) The Hoke County Board of Education in an emergency meet ing Thursday night voted to termi nate positions of four vocational education teachers and make shifts in other employees in fashioning a proposed 1981-82 budget for the county school system. County Schools Supt. Raz Autry said Monday, however, it is pos sible that the vocational teachers' jobs could be saved, if state funds are restored. The emergency meeting was called because the board had only till Sunday to provide affected tenured people the notice of job termination at least 30 school days in advance, a requirement of the State Teacher Tenure Act. The personnel changes were among others the board voted to reduce the previously approved tentative budget which the Hoke County commissioners at their May 4 meeting said was too high for the commissioners to avoid raising the present county tax rate of $1.01 per $100 property evaluation. The school system gets about 60 percent of the property tax funds. The school budget submitted to the commissioners May 4 totaled $895,000 in county tax funds and $105,000 more the school system gets from court fines and forfei tures. Thursday night's work brought the budget request for county tax money to $799,297, w hich amounts to an increase of $98,000 over the 1980-81 budget. The county's annual share of the school budget is in addition to the funds provided by state and federal agencies which, between them, make up the majority of the yearly budget. The new tentative budget was turned over to County Manager James Martin for aciton by the commissioners. Autrv said Monday that he has made all the recom mendations he can. that the matter now is between the commissioners and the school board. Of the tentative budget the school board approved Thursday night. Autry said "not SI" can be cut from it without hurting the instructional program. The only other place where a cut could be made, he added, is in the S22.000 budgeted so the schools need not charge fees to parents, which he said was a double tax. since the parents are already paying county taxes. The school fees formerly were charged but have been elimi nated. "The board feels it should not come out." Autry said referring to the $22,000 in the revised tentative budget. He atso said further cuts in the budget would seriously endanger the school system's accreditation. Increases in energy costs and reductions in state and federal funds have caused the squeeze for the school system budget. Only Indian education (under the federal Indian Education Act) got in creased. he said: to SI 14.000 from last year's $89,000 in the Hoke school system. Autry said of the energy prices it costs $74,000 more than last year even without full fuel oil tanks for heating, and would be $138,000 more if the tanks were filled. The vocational teachers whose jobs are to be ended are Pete Sawyer, carpentry: Arthur Kemp, electronics; James Baxley, electri cal; and Linwood Simpson, brick laying. Autry said the terminations cut $l(i,000 in county money from the previously approved budget. The county pays 26 percent and the state the rest of vocational instruc tors' salaries. To Fill Coming Vacancies School Board Names Four New Teachers The Hoke County Board of Education May 5 approved re commendations that four people be employed for the 1981-82 school year as teachers, to fill coming vacancies. The new teachers are: Patricia Backer, assigned to West Hoke School, replacing Cohildia Lyons, who is transferring to South Hoke School as assistant principal and teacher. -- Pandora Jackson Autry, to McLauchlin School kindergarten to a position being vacated by Verdie Payton, resigning. -? Elizabeth Floyd to music teacher at West Hoke, replacing Miriam Ropp McNeill. - Mitchell Tyler to West Hoke, replacing Cynthia McNeill, as a fourth-grade teacher. Mrs. Lyons has been serving as a fourth-grade teacher and assistant principal at West Hoke to Principal Woodrow W. Westall. who will become South Hoke principal. South Hoke Principal George Wood has been transferred to Scurloek School as principal. Replying to a question put by a private citizen during the meeting. County Schools Supt. Raz Autry said the new teacher assigned to McLauchlin is his daughter-in-law. Replying to a reporter's question Monday, he said Mrs. Autry is the wife of his son. G. Raz (Skip) Autry III and volunteered the information that employing a relative of a school system official was not setting a precedent. He pointed out that the wives of two board members and the school board attorney arc employed in the school system. The recommendations to employ the new teachers were made bv the superintendent. In other business, the board adopted a motion to have the board-owned house at 705 Harris Ave.. Raet'ord. advertised for sale. The house was used as a residence for Hoke County High School principals. * Both Parties Satisfied ' Turley Given Job In School System Brady Turley. Fired April 3 from his job as Scurlock School custo dian. was reemployed May 6 by Hoke County Schools Supt. Raz Autry. Turley will go to work next month with the county school's maintenance group headquartered near Upchurch Junior High School. (A report published elsewhere Fri day that Turley would return to his job at Scurlock was erroneous). Autry when contacted by a reporter said he would make no comment on the matter. Turley was unavailable for comment. The County Board of Education the night of May 5 by a unanimous vote adopted a motion that left the hiring or Firing of a custodian to the Superintendent's discretion. The action, taken in public session, followed a closed meeting in which Turlev's situation was discussed. After the board adopted the motion. Autry invited Turley to "sit down and talk" the next day. A letter written to Autry and the school board by attorney Joe Mc Leod of Fayetteville for Turley requested that Turley be reinstated in his job without loss of pay and that reasons given in writing by Autry for discharging Turley be removed from Turley's personnel file. Turley had denied the reasons were correct. Turley left a written statement Thursday morning referring to the previous day's meeting with Autry but it did not state whether the conditions were met or the nature or location of the job Turley has been given. The complete text of the letter follows. "At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday May 6th I met with Mr. Autry in his office at the Board of Education. FmHA Can Finance Duplexes The following letter refers to the federal rent -subsidy housing pro ject for 30 families planned for north Raeford. It was written May 4 by James T. Johnson, state director of the U.S. Farmers Home Administration to Buddy Blue, chairman of the Raeford Housing Authority. Dear Mr. Blue: This will confirm your conversa tion of May I, 1981. with Thurman Burnette of our staff. We prefer financing apartment projects where the buildings con tain more than two units per building because we can achieve a better looking complex. However, we can finance a complex com posed of duplexes. Our desire' is to finance attrac tive. well designed complexes which are an asset to the community in which they are located. Sincerely James T. Johnson State Director "Wc had a frank. man to man talk and came to the understanding that completing (sic) resolves the issue. "Both parties are satisfied, and it is my desire now to get on with the business at hand. "I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appre ciation to all the nice folks of Hoke County who were so kind to me and my family in recent weeks." Turley was fired personally at Scurlock by Autry after a letter Turley had written The News-Jour nal was published in the news paper's editor of that week. The letter criticized the board of educa tions judgment in approving the superintendent's recommendation that Scurlock Principal Floyd Cald well be transferred to the principal ship of McLauchlin School. The board acted on this and other transfer recommendations at its March 3 meeting. Autry denied that the letter had anything to do with his decision to discharge Turley. The written rea sons given by Autry referred to "insubordination" and job perfor mance. Autry did elaborate Monday, however, on his decision to re employ Turley. He said he felt a deep compassion for Turley's five children but added that he stands by his original position: that "if you work for an organization you should be loyal" to it. Autry added that Turley realizes now that he should go through the "chain of command" of the school system (when he has a criticism of the school system or school board to make). Autry also said of Turley as a worker he is a "very capable man." Autry was asked whether Tur ley 's personnel file was cleared of Autry's written statement of the reasons for firing Turley. He replied the statement was not in the record, that since Turley was a non-professional employee, "there was nothing in Turley's file to start with." Annual Chamber Dinner Tuesday The annual dinner meeting ol the Raeford-Hoke County Cham ber of Commerce will be held Tuesday, starting at 6:30 p.m.. in Gibson Cafeteria at Hoke County High School. The officers and directors of the chamber elected recently will be installed. The guest speaker is State Sen. Sam Noble of Lumberton. The public is invited to attend. Tickets to the dinner are $6 each and available through the chamber office. People who want tickets or to make reservations are advised to c.ill the chamber office. 875-5929. no later than noon Friday. * Other reductions were made bv doubling up supervisory duties so the people would be paid entirely from federal or state money instead of partly by federal or state and partly from county money. 1 he changes: --Jerry Oxendine. reassigned to classroom teaching, from the posi tion of coordinator of Title IV Indian Education Act. The state pays all classroom teachers sal aries. -Associate Supt. J.D. McAllis ter. to take over Title I. federal Elementary and Secondary Educa tion Act. from Earl Oxendine. ? fcarl Oxendine. from Title I director to Indian Education and Migrant Education programs di rector. Other personnel changes were: Hoke High School librarians re duced to one from two; Upchurch Junior High School guidance coun selors. reduced to one from two and Mrs. Laurel White, taking over migrant education teaching in ad dition to her duties as coordinator Physical education for the school system. These changes were made. Autry explained, "to possibly save an art and a music teacher." Guidance counselors, who are tenured teachers, are returned to classroom teaching as positions become open. Normally, he said. Ic> vacancies occur in the school system every year, and "we've got three of four now." which have not yet been Tilled. The Upchurch guidance counselor affected. Char maine Butler, was a teacher before she became a counselor. I he Hoke High librarian af fected is Mrs. John Ropp, but she is being transferred to Upchurch Junior High School as librarian, since she has considerable seniority as a school librarian. She will replace Jacqueline Gladney. w ho is mg reassigned to classroom teaching. The other Hoke High librarian is Pauline Locklear. In the maintenance department two vacancies are in sight on the staff of six. one is being filled at the end of the present school year. Autry said the state has said the Hoke system should have seven on ne staff, but the state would have to put up the monev for the county to add the seventh." Staff changes cut SI 58.000 from butl^l- including: 5LL470 in the pay from local money for^he assistant superinten dent; *7.-64 in a maintenance position: three local teachers. $18 43b; and $4,410 in half a centrai office secretary's pay. "'hner cu,s athletic supplements ss oon: 'n*,ruc,,onal applies - OnrX |an,,onal applies - V. (MX); library books -- $2 000 exceptional-children's buduet *10.000; cultural arts - 55%). vocational education $12,000 (in the county's 2b percent share of salaries): maintenance ?? $5,000; physicians' assistants -- $8,000 (may be absorbed by the County Health Department): Literacy Council - $5,000 (eountv commis sioners to consider f unding for next fiscal year, however): employees' hospmh/ation $2,354; contingency '""d -- $27,085; from federal revenue sharing - $4,000 for a new smoke slack for Hoke High; type writers -- $4,000; and vocational education supplies - $3,288. The county school system be cause of federal program cuts is 5nn .-000 in Child 5130.000 for Title I (remedial reading). $5,000 each for the handicapped and for library nia terials for the Title IV program.
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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May 14, 1981, edition 1
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