. 25
The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXIIl NUMBER 20 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLIN A
1
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
$8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1981
Around
Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
The weather has been on the cool
side for the past week, compared
with some of the days in August.
The nights are perfect for sleeping
and the air conditioner doesn't
come on as much at night, as it did
during the summer.
?> Rain has been spotted, but
Raeford has had very little over the
weekend. Someone told me that it
rained in Aberdeen and Southern
Pines Saturday and Sunday. It is
dry again, and some rain could
help.
? ? ?
The item last week about the
picture we ran a couple of weeks
>ago brought forth much comment.
Some people seemed to think that
the lady in the picture was a
Rackley.
We will quote a paragraph from
a letter we received from Mrs. Ava
Rackley Jackson of Kingsport,
Tenn. It follows:
"My niece called me this week
that you had a Rackley girl working
in Dr. Townsend Drug Store in
* 1920 and had my picture in your
paper. That was not me; that was
Virginia Canoy. I worked next door
at Hatcher's Jewelry Store, and
when he sold out I went to
Fayetteville and worked until I got
married in 1925."
At the time Mrs. Jackson wrote
the letter she had not received the
paper sent to her, so maybe when
she sees the picture, she can tell us
* for sure who the lady in the picture
is. She asked that a paper be
mailed to her and we did so in case
the other had gotten lost.
? ? *
Did the officers of the Hoke
High Booster Club realize that this
is the 25th anniversary of the club?
It was formed 25 years ago at a
supper at Lake Alice. Time surely
*does fly!
? * *
Frank Teal came by the office
Labor Day and was talking to me
about watching a baseball game
recently on TV that was played in
Philadelphia. He asked me the
name ot the park in which the
Philadelphia Phillies were to play?
I said, "Shire Park" and he said.
k"No, before that?"
Then, I told him it was a place
called either Baker Field or Baker
Bowl. 1 believe it was Baker Field
and it got the bowl name because it
was shaped like a bowl and was
small so the heavy hitters were
hitting it out of the bowl. I also
believe a player by the name of
Chuck Klien was playing there at
that time.
!f anyone is certain of the name,
let me know .
* * *
Ken Weatherspoon, director of
the Dept. of Social Services was by
the office a couple of weeks ago and
while talking, gave me some very
interesting figures about the Food
? Stamp program in Hoke County.
He said that usually in May.
June, July and August, that the
number of people who get food
stamps falls off, but that in July of
this year that more people received
the stamps than in 1980. The
number receiving stamps in July
1980 was 1407 families. In July.
1981, there were 1616 families
getting stamps.
' This could show that less people
were working this summer than last
vear.
Ken also stated that in July over
5200,000 in food stamps were
issued in Hoke County. This is
right much money going into the
economy.
When asked when the stamp
program would be cot as the
Keagan administration has been
talking about, he said possibly in
October
There are many pros and cons
about this program, but local
merchants will feel the effects when
the cutting time comes.
? ? ?
AH members of old Battery "F."
don't forget that the reunion is next
month.
With Heritage Of Monroe
Local S&L Board
OKs Merger Intent
Raeford Savings <ft Loan Association building ( right V 113 Campus Avenue.
Extension Chairman Named Also
Hoke Sunday
Beer Sale Ban
Continues
Beer sales in Hoke County will
continue being prohibited.
A motion to repeal the county's
1971 ordinance against Sunday
sales died for lack of a second, at
the Hoke County Commissioners'
monthly meeting Tuesday. The
motion was made by Commissioner
Danny DeVane, who has expressed
his opposition to beer sales on
Sunday but has said they should be
allowed, because the current situa
tion is unfair. He pointed out at an
earlier meeting that Sunday beer
sales for off-premises consumption
are allowed at Hoke County
businesses which have state brown
bagging permits.
In other business the commis
sioners adopted a DeVane motion
authorizing spending by the Hoke
County Board of Education for
local matching funds for a federal
energy grant of the S26.500 re
ceived from the sale of the former
residence for Hoke County High
School principals.
The school board had asked the
commissioners at their August 17
meeting to authorize use of the
money to h?lp pay the S36.500 cost
of reroofing the Unchurch Junior
High School's Eighth Grade build
ing. The balance would be paid
from school maintenance funds.
The school board last year had
budgeted S19.S21 as the local share
of an energy grant at the time that
the federal government was paying
90 per cent and local governments
10 per cent of the total. Since then,
however, the new administration of
President Reagan has changed the
ratio to half tne total payable by
federal and local governments
each.
The total energy fund the school
system now can receive is $89,062,
which means the school board
would have to put up $44,531 in all.
The total originally planned was
$195,310.
The commissioners' authorizing
the house sale fund to help provide
the local share would complete the
local share including the $19,531
previously budgeted.
County Health Administrator
Lloyd Home told the commis
sioners his office had been in
Driver In Fatal Crash
Found Not Guilty
Charles Wesley Jones. 19. of Rt.
1, Shannon, was found not guilty
Thursday of charges filed in con
nection with the death of a 2-year
old boy in a traffic accident in Hoke
County the night of June 6 about
four miles north of Red Springs.
Jones had been charged by State
Highway Patrol Trooper K.W.
Weston with exceeding a safe speed
and unintentionally causing the
death of Michael Stephen Bullard,
2. of Rt. 2. Maxton. "while
engaged in a violation of a state
law.' exceeding a safe speed.
Hoke County District Court
Judge Joseph E. Dupree found
Jones not guilty after Jones pleaded
not guilty to the charges.
The child was fatally injured and
five other people, including his
father, were injured less seriously
when a car in which they were
riding and allegedly being driven by
Jones ran off SR 1108 on a curve,
struck a small hill of dirt, then went
over a pile and came to rest at the
edge of a corn field. Michael
Bullard and most of the others were
thrown out of the car. The child
died in Cape Fear Valley Hospital
in Fayetteville. His father. Randell
Bullard. 23, wis treated at the
same hospital, then released shortly
afterward.
Jones was admitted to the same
hospital, and the three others were
treated at Southeastern General
Hospital in Lumberton. Two were
admitted.
The accident happened near SR
1113.
Hoke MBA Clinic To Close
formed that the Hoke County
Medical Betterment Association
won't be refunded by the federal
government for the coming year;
consequently he was requesting
permission to negotiate with the
Hoke County physicians for ser
vices with the existing funds and
that a temporary arrangement not
to exceed the current hourly rate be
approved for 30 days.
The commissioners granted the
permission.
The commissioners also adopted
a motion granting his request for
an addition of SI. 144 to the health
department budget to bring to
Sl5.2t?9 the salary needed to
employ an experienced public
health nurse currently employed in
another county. State public health
employees' salaries are fixed by the
state in accordance with a formula.
EXTENSION CHAIRMAN
Willie Featherstone was chosen
by a 4-1 vote Hoke County Agri
cultural Extension Service chair
man. filling the vacancy created by
the retirement July 31 of Wendell
S. Young. Featherstone has been
on the Hoke Extension staff, first
as an assistant agent, then by
promotion as an associate agent,
since 197$.
The negative vote was cast by
CteVane but on opposition to the
state's increasing the percentage of
the county's share of the chair
man's salary. He and the other
commissioners and Southeastern
District Extension Chairman Ralph
Sasser. who nominated Feather
stone for the position, agreed that
Featherstone was excellent for the
job and the county could get no one
better.
Earlier in the meeting, the
commissioners had adopted a
DeVane motion that Sasser's
recommendation of Featherstone
be accepted but on condition that
the county percentage of his pay
remain unchanged. Sasser then
said he couldn't accept that. Later,
after talking by telephone with
state Extension headquarters of
ficials. he informed the commission
he had been told the salary
arrangement could not be changed.
But after John Balfour, chair
man of the board of county
commissioners, said S7.168 in
county funds had been budgeted
for Young's salary for 1981-82. and
Sasser promised he would not
exceed the county's budgeted
figure. Commissioner Neill Mc
Phatter made the motion to accept
the recommendation for the ap
pointment provided the county's
share of the pay did not exceed the
amount budgeted.
The appointment is effective
September 16.
Featherstone's salary will be
S22.000 per year, of which the
county will pay 32.58 per cent.
DeVane's motion would have the
county's share 28.53 per cent of the
salary". DeVane said he was against
going higher on principle because,
he said, the state has been in
creasing counties' percentage of
funding, indicating this was to take
up the slack in forced state and
federal budget cuts.
Sasser told the commissioners
also that three people would be
interviewed Friday for an assistant
agent's vacancy on the Hoke staff
and that Featherstone's position
would be changed to a straight
agriculture job. Featherstone has
been working in community de
velopment and housing. Sasser said
the two vacancies on the staff would
be filled with field -crops and
livestock agents. Also to be filled is
a secrewry's position. Miss Jean
Hodgin resigned as one of the two
secretaries elective August 31 after
serving 20 years in the position.
The assistant agent's vacancy has
been created by the resignation of
William Northern, who will leave
the staff September I7.
Miss Hodgin during Tuesday's
meeting was presented a framed
copy of a resolution of appreciation
for her services. The resolution had
been adopted by the commis
sioners.
WATER AND SEWER
The commissioners after hearing
Earl Fowler, executive vice presi
(See BOARD, page 14)
Doctors Plan After-hours Program
The Hoke /County Medical Bet
terment Association announced
Tuesday the operation of after
hours medical clinic was closing
September 16.
However, a separate report made
Tuesday says three Raeford physi
cians will start a new, private
program to try to provide the
medical services after office hours
(nights, weekends and holidays).
Dr. R.M. Jordan, one of the
physicians, emphasized, however,
that the doctor s program is not a
continuation of the HCMBA pro
gram but is a separate, new. private
operation.
The other doctors are Robert
Townsend and Ramnik Zota.
The HCMB program is ending
because federal funding will not be
provided.
The association's board was
organized three yean ago as a
committee of the Raeford Hoke
County Chamber of Commerce to
enhance the medical services badly
needed in the county. "Since then,
"the association announcement
says. "the board had devoted its
efforts to the medical needs of the
county and primarily the avail
ability of attention on a 24 - hour
basis.
"To that end, federal funding
was sought and secured. At this
time, due to the federal budget cuts
and a change in interpretation of
the grant section related to this type
of operation, the federal funding
has been terminated, necessitating
the dosing of the service as it was
previously operated."
The announcement adds. "The
board of HCMBA would like to
express their appreciation to Drs.
Jordan. Townsend and Zota for
their cooperation in the past and
especially for their commitment to
the continuation of those services
previously offered by the clink."
The association advised prior
patients of the clinic to contact
personnel there to authorize the
preferred disposition of their
medical records.
In the past year, the federal
government provided half the funds
for the operation, and the re
mainder was provided by fees
charged patients, llie first year,
the government provided 75 per
cent of the funds needed
The clinic is staffed by two
fulltime physician's assistants, two
alternating n jrses. and two clerical
employees, and a laboratory ana an
X-ray technician were on call,
besides the participating physi
cians.
The Raeford Savings and
Loan Association's Board of
Directors has voted to approve a
letter of intent to merge with
Heritage Federal Savings and
Loan Association, based in
Monroe.
This was announced Monday
by Franklin Teal, president of
Raeford Savings and Loan.
He said the Raeford institu
tion's board also has approved a
move to apply to the Federal
Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.
Ga., for a federal charter. He
explained that Heritage is a
federal chartered mutual as
sociation. At present Raetord
Savings and Loan is a state
chartered mutual association,
and the local association may
obtain a federal charter in order
to merge with the federal-chart
ered association.
Teal said the Raeford S&L
stockholders must approve their
association's conversion to fed
eral, and a meeting of the
stockholders will be called
"when appropriate to do so,"
which will be after some pre
liminary steps are taken by the
board.
He said Heritage was estab
lished in 1908. With the addi
tion of the Raeford association,
it will have assets totaling about
$185 million and 72 employees.
It has 13 locations in North
Carolina, four in the Charlotte
area, and ranging from Lincoln
ton in the West to Smithfield in
the east.
Raeford S&L was established
in 1913 and now has assets of
about $18.4 million.
Teal said the present mem
bers of the Raeford staff will
remain in their present positions
after the merger becomes effec
tive. The other members are
Helen Monroe, Margaret Davis.
Deborah Woodell. and Charles
E. Davis, Jr.
He said he will be a vice
president of Heritage in charge
of the Raeford office. Sam C.
Morris, chairman of the Rae
ford board, will join the Heri
tage association-wide Board of
Directors as a member. Teal
added.
The other present members of
the Raeford board will be
serving as an advisory board for
the Raeford branch. They are
Wyatt Upchurch. Graham A.
Monroe, Jack Bray. Fred Cul
breth, Younger Snead. Jr..
Richard E. Neeley. R. Palmer
Willcox. and Davis K. Parker.
Teal said "All of our accounts
will continue to be insured by
Federal Savings & Loan Insur
ance Co."
Of the pending merger. Teal
said: "We feel very proud to
make this announcement for
several reasons:
"Heritage is one of the largest
in this area of the state, and
they are certainly a progressive
and customer-oriented institu
tion.
"After several weeks of con
sidering this move, we made our
decision because we felt this to
be a great opportunity to insure
complete savings and loan ser
vices in the coming years.
"As financial institutions be
come more deregulated there
will be many innovations to
benefit the customers. Being a
branch of Heritage Federal will
enable us to offer these innova
tions to our area. There also will
be some new services we will be
able to offer immediately.
"It has been a tradition of
Raeford Savings and Loan to
provide the best service possible
to its members ir. Hoke County.
This move is a continuation of
that tradition."
Morris said, "1 joined with all
our board in voting for the
change in our association. Our
board has always looked first in
what is best for our member*
(Sec Ml RGLR. 14)