The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXIII NUMBER 18 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
For 1981 Raeford Mayor, Council Elections
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
$8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1981
City Filing Period Opens September 11
Around
Town
BY SAM C.MORRIS
All I will say about weather this
week is that it has been perfect.
Several weeks ago an item in this
column was about Sgt. Joe Rock
holt coming by the office. It was
? stated here that he was an air
controller and that he had been
expecting to be called back to duty
from his leave.
The following letter was received
from the sergeant last week:
Dear Sam:
I hope this finds you in good
health and enjoying life. I sure was
surprised to see my name in your
paper! I was called back from leave
early and have been assigned to
^ Burlington International Airport in
Burlington, Vermont. I am looking
forward to the challenge and will be
reporting in Vermont tomorrow.
(Aug. 17).
There was only one minor error
in your column - I'm in the Army
instead of Air Force.
Don't let the golf course get you
down. Take care and I'll stop by
the next time I'm in Raeford.
Thank you,
? Joe
P.S. There are so many rumors
floating around about the strike
etc. that I can't really say how
things are going to work out. We
may even be released from military
duty to work for the FAA? That's
my favorite rumor.
_ Cecil McKeithan of Rockfish was
' by the office last week and was
seeking the address of his sister,
Mrs. Merle Jaritz, of New Mexico,
who wrote me a letter recently.
After obtaining the address Cecil
was telling me about a fishing trip
he had been on to Ten Thousand
Islands in Forida. He stated that
they had caught many Carp and
they weighed between 25 and 30
pounds each. To prove his point
P take a look at the picture below:
To the readers of this column
who have stated that paper sales
fall off when Robert Gatlin's name
is mentioned in this column, I will
not argue the point. The one thing
that wtll cause me to bring it back
again is when someone sends him a
letter that isn't signed and he must
have someway to answer.
The picture that ran in this
~ newspaper last week of Bill Lan
* caster and his 61 -pound melon had
been clipped from the paper and
over the 61 someone had pasted 198
and in the margin had written the
following letter:
Mr. Gatlin:
It is my understanding that this
could be one of your TENANTS. If
ao, do you know whether a BAP
TIST FISHERMAN'S scale was
used to determine accurate weight,
) (See AROUND TOWN, page 12)
RAEFORD IN THE EARLY 1920s -- This picture was turned into the
office last week by Ken McNeill. From some oldtimers it was made in the
'Hoke Officers Search 3 Areas
msmm
early 20s and the lady is a worker for Townsend Drug Store by the name of
Rackley. If you can furnish any information please contact this newspaper.
Weekend Drug Raids Bring Charges
Three people were charged with
drug-law violations and another
with resisting an officer after Hoke
County deputies raided and
searched three areas with the help
of drug detection dogs.
Gregory Bryant of Maxton was
charged with felonious possession
of, with intent to sell and deliver
marijuana; and Virginia Baker
Scott and Mary Evelyn Mull of Rt.
2, Raeford, but living in separate
residences, each charged with pos
session of marijuana and of a
syringe and needle, officers partici
pating in the raids reported,
Irving Lawrence Hook, Jr. , 49, of
Bethesda, Md., was charged with
resisting an officer attempting to
serve the search warrant on Mrs.
Mull, Deputy James Madden re
ported.
He reported a plastic bag con
taining 16 pink pills was found on
Hook. Sheriff David Barrington
said later that no charge had been
filed as he was awaiting the results
of an analysis being made to
identify the pills.
Officers went through Mrs.
Mull's mobile home about 4:14
p.m. Saturday and Mrs. Scott's
residence at 9:50 p.m.
The charge against Bryant was
filed after officers found a plastic
bag containing six one-ounce bags
in his Chevrolet van when they
raided a house an officer termed
the "poker house" on Goose Pond
Road in the Antioch community
about 11:40 p.m. Friday.
Sheriff s Department Detective
C.E. Harris reported the search of
the house proved "fruitless."
The marijuana possession charge
against Mrs. Scott is a misde
meanor since she is accused of
possession of less than an ounce of
the drug, Mrs. Mull is charged with
felony possession, since she is
accused of possession of three
ounces, the sheriff said.
The deputies in addition to
Harris who participated in the raid
on Mrs. Scott's property were Alex
Norton, J.R. Riley. Madden, C.R.
Wilson, Weaver Patterson and
Ossie Finin.
Participating with Madden in the
Saturday afternoon raid were
Harris. Riley, and Sheriff s Detec
tive Craig Hart.
Taking part in the Friday night
raid with Harris were Norton.
Wilson. Patterson, and Ralph Ttn
dall.
The drug detection dogs. Joey
and Duchess, were handled by
Gary Lapham.
Sheriffs officers also last week
end arrested three other men on
marijuana possession charges in
unrelated cases. Charged witn mis
demeanor or possession are James
Thomas Rowsey 111, 20, and Jeffrey
Lynn Branch, 22, both of Rt. 1,
Red Springs, arrested Friday; and
Jemen Oxendine, 33, of Rt. 2,
Maxton, arrested Saturday.
Branch and Oxendine were ar
rested by Patterson, and Rowsey by
Hart.
Northern Will Return ToS.C.
Assistant Agent To Enter Business
William L. Northern said Mon
day he planned to return to South
Carolina and enter private business
when he leaves the Hoke County
Agricultural Extension Service staff
September 17.
Northern submitted his resigna
tion as a Hoke assistant Extension
agent in a letter written August 1 1
to James Martin, county manager.
The county commissioners at
their mid-month meeting August
17 accepted the resignation "with
regret."
Northern's letter says his resigna
tion is effective September 17.
"I have enjoyed working with you
and the people of Hoke County," it
adds, and it is for personal
reasons that I must resign. North
ern did not state his reasons.
Northern was appointed assis
Bloodmobile Due
The American Red Cross Blood
mobile will be in Raeford Septem
ber 2, at Raeford United Methodist
Church, from noon till 5:30 p.m. to
receive blood donors.
The visit will be hosted by the
House of Raeford.
The public is invited.
tant agent effective last March 1 by
the commissioners at their monthly
meeting of February 2. He was
named to fill the vacancy created by
the resignation of Larry Locklear
September 19. 1980.
Northern is 27, a native of
Morganton, W. Va., and a 1979
graduate of Clemson, S.C, Univer
sity. After graduating from high
school, he served in the Marine
Corps till 1974, and later enrolled
at Clemson. He had been living in
Clemson since 1967 except for his
Marine service period, till he
started work on the Hoke County
Extension staff. Northern's father
is a dairy specialist for the South
Carolina Agricultural Extension
Service at Clemson.
Northern's major studies at
Gemson were in horticulture and
agronomy.
Robbery Suspect Taken In Hoke
A Robeson County man was
arrested in the Five Points area of
Hoke County the night of August
17 and charged as one of the three
people who robbed the Carolina
Bank at Aberdeen that afternoon.
Hoke County Detective C.E.
Harris reported that, acting on a
report received by the sheriff's
department, he went to the area
accompanied by four Aberdeen
policemen and three FBI agents.
He said Jimmy Hunt, 34, of Rt.
2, Rowland, was arrested at a
residence off Blue Farm Road, Rt.
3, Raeford. The charge against
Hunt was filed by the FBI, the
report says.
Harris reported Hunt was found
after the sheriff's department was
notified that a green Monte Carlo
carrying three Indian males had
been seen in the Five Points area
about 4p.m. The description of the
car resembled the description of the
one reported to have been used by
the bank robbers.
The officers brought Hunt to the
Aberdeen Police Department, Har
ris reported.
Three people held up the bank
about 3:25 p.m. August 17 and
escaped with an undisclosed
amount of money. Moore County
officers alerted Hoke County offi
cers that the robbers, all armed
with hand guns, were believed to
have gone toward Hoke County.
Hoke Sheriff Dave Barrington
reported that the initial report
advised officers to watch for a
green -and-white Monte Carlo con
taining three people, one black and
the others either white or Indian. A
report broadcast later, Barrington
said, described the passengers as
two men, black or Indian.
I
Fire Chiefs,
Assistants To Meet
I
Hoke County fire chiefs and
assistant fjre chiefs will meet
Thursday at 8 p.m. at Hillcrest
Volunteer Fire Department.
Everyone is urged to attend.
This is election year for the
Raeford City Council and
mayor.
Raeford citizens will elect a
mayor and five councilmen for
two-year terms on November 3.
The city elections are non
partisan: candidates are not
identified by party membership
on the ballot.
Rose Sturgeon, executive
secretary of the Hoke County
Board of Elections, which
conducts the city as well as the
county voting, advised Monday
that unregistered, qualified
people have till 5 p.m. October
5 to register to vote in the 1981
municipal election. A person
must have been a resident of
Raeford at least 30 days before
the election to be eligible to
register and vote in the
municipal election.
The minimum age for voting
in the city as well as other
elections is 18. A person must
be at least that age on or before
election day to be eligible.
Candidates can start filing for
the offices of mayor or council
men at noon September 1 1 . The
deadline for Filing is noon
October 2.
In the 1979 election, only
about 128 of the total of
approximately 1 ,408 city people
registered to vote cast ballots.
This is slightly less than 10 per
cent of the registration.
The incumbents are John K.
McNeill, Jr., mayor; and
Graham Clark, Vardell Hedg
peth, Jr., Bob Gentry, Sam
Morris, and Benny McLeod,
councilmen. Except for one
write-in vote for mayor and one
write-in for each of two other
people for city councilmen, the
incumbents were unopposed for
reelection in the 1979 voting.
McNeill, Clark and McLeod
are serving their sixth two-year
terms, Morris his fourth, and
Gentry and Hedgpeth their
second. Gentry was appointed
in 1976 to serve the unexpired
portion of David Lovette's term
and was elected the next year to
his first regular term.
? ? ?
The registrars and judges of
the county's 13 precincts were to
be sworn into office at 10 a.m.
Wednesday in the courtroom of
the Courthouse for the new
election period.
Each was notified personally
by Mrs. Sturgeon.
The county as of January 1
had 6.817 registered voters.
Of these, 6,377 are Demo
crats, 377 Republicans, and 63
unaffiliated. The registration
the previous year showed 7,076
total, of whom 6,585 were
Democrats, 413 Republicans.
77 unaffiliated, and one In
dependent.
The 1981 registration is com
posed of 3,481 whites, 2,818
blacks, and 518 Indians; and
women outnumber men. 3.634
to 3.183.
Balfour
Named
Director
John Balfour, chairman of the
Board of Hoke County Commis
sioners, is a new director for
District 5 of the North Carolina
Association of County Commis
sioners.
He was elected August 15 during
the association's annual convention
in Winston-Salem.
Robert Hester, chairman of the
Bladen County board, also in
District S, was elected second vice
president of the statewide associ
ation, which virtually guarantees
him the presidency in two years.
Scotland and Robeson are the
other counties in the district.