eChe<m ew& - journal pre *- ASSOCI Qz/io?uuA NATIONAL NEWSR^PER ^ association ASSOCIATION Published Evtry Thursday al Retford. N.C. 2S376 119 W. Elwood Avenue Subscription Rates la Advance Per Year? S?.0Q ? Mouths? $4. 15 3 Months? 52.25 LOUIS H. FOCLEMAN, JR Publisher PAUL DICKSON Editor HENRY L. BLUE Production Snpenrtsor BILL LINDAU Associate Editor MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor SAM C. MORRIS Contributing Editor Second Class Postage al Raeford, N.C. (USPS 3M-240) THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1982 Go through channels We agree with the Hoke County commissioners' action of April 5 regarding the Hoke-Raeford Housing Authority. This was the adoption of a resolution requesting the U.S. Farmers Home Administration to deny funding to any Hoke County apartment complex which hasn't been channeled through and approved by the Housing Authority. It seems to us this is what the Housing Authority is for. It's a local organization of people living in Raeford and the county's rural areas, and consequently they would be familiar with any conditions affecting such a project. They also are qualified to consider a project in an unbiased manner. --BL 'Superiority' question From The Christian Science Monitor It is well that US administration officials quickly sought to define the scope of President Reagan's remark on Soviet nuclear "superiority" last week. More clarification by the White House and scrutiny by Congress are needed. They could help to ensure an accurate estimate of US strength and to convey a wise perspective on it to the public. These are important for at least three reasons: ?To ensure allies and adversaries alike that American policy is based on realism. ?To give the American people confidence that they are being informed of the state of their strategic defenses without exaggeration of either assets or shortcomings. ?To support productive congressional and administration choices ? instead of arbitrary cutbacks ? in the pending reductions of massive military budget growth. Perceptions as well as hard facts enter into these matters. The basic information on US and Soviet strategic weapons would be no news to the military of either side. It is important that public pronouncements not lend themselves to distortion causing false fears or false comfort. Thus the necessity for perspective when Mr. Reagan introduces in a nationally televised news conference the stark note that "on balance the Soviet Union does have a- definite margin of superiority." When aides explained that he was probably referring to certain heavy new Soviet missiles, they in effect raised the question that bears on all efforts at drawing overall comparisons on strategic nuclear arms. So did members of both parties in Congress and from former administrations who took issue with the assertion of Soviet superiority. It is the question of the mixture of advantages and disadvantages on each side. For example, the US has more nuclear warheads than the Soviets; The Soviets have more intercontinental ballistic missiles. There are many other differences - qualitative as well as numerical - often dictated by the strategists' choices on each side rather than by any falling behind or leaping ahead. So far, most arms experts have seen a rough parity in the results since Moscow overcame America's former vast superiority. Some, going back to previous Republican administrations, have questioned the meaning of "superiority" when levels are so high on both sides. Some suggest that "sufficiency" - sufficiency to deter attack ? should be the criterion. Considering the economic drain of arms in both the US and the USSR, sufficiency at lower levels should be inviting to both Moscow and Washington. As for the present situation, a State Department official helped to provide the needed perspective when he noted that Mr. Reagan had not said the Soviet Union could mount a first strike without fear of retaliation. This fits with the finding - worth quoting at length - of an exhaustive independent study by the Carnegie Panel on US Security and the Future of Arms Control last year: "It is clear that the United States can retain great confidence in its retaliatory capabilities against the Soviet Union throughout the 1980s. U.S. leaders have every reason to believe that their Soviet counterparts see this the same way. For the foreseeable future, at least 3,000 and probably as many as 5,000 warheads on U.S. SLBMS (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) and bombers would survive any plausible Soviet first strike... "To the degree that deterrence of nuclear or conventional attacks on this nation and its allies hinges on the risk of precipitating such retaliation. Soviet leaders should be deterred from initiating a conflict and even from taking steps which would lead to a situation in which the probability of such a conflict became significant." This Is The Law EXPANDED JURISDICTION OF MAGISTRATE'S COURT It's sometimes called the "peo ple's court", or the "small claims court". That's because it's provid ed for the use of citizens ? usually without a lawyer's help ? to have small claims and disputes resolved. Its official name is the Magistrate's Court. One is located in every county seat in North Carolina and in each large city. The jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court is limited. The amount of money or the value of the property involved in a case can not exceed a certain amount. Otherwise, the case must be handled by a higher court, either the District Court or the Superior Court. Through the years, the dollar limit to the Magistrate Court's jurisdiction has increased to keep pace with inflation. The 1981 ses sion of the legislature raised the figure again, and the Magistrate can now handle disputes involving a value of up to $1,000. 4 'It takes a heap of thawing to make a freeze' It's a Small W orld mm By Bill Lindau 3N8M8MMSS6& 98WS9*^S38 "'"?"'"?V" 1 1 irirr ? ????mrr r i ??n? Last week's weather produced something rare in places in Hoke County; dust storms. The gusty winds raised clouds of dust from bare farm fields. One, about eight miles north of Raeford on U.S. 401, was so thick on April 6 many cars and trucks had headlights on traveling through a stretch which included a short valley in the road just north of the dust cloud. We also saw dust clouds blowing across N.C. 211 between here and Timberland. Unfortunately it was more than an interesting spectacle. In each place the dust cloud was top soil blowing away from farmland for ever. .... * * * As a strange spectacle, Taclo ban. the capital of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, was about as strange as you can see in its way. One soldier there during World War 11 said Tacloban must be the only place in the world where "you can be walking ankle-deep in mud and get dust blown in your face at the same time." * * * The other day I saw one of those peaked caps that have messages on them, mostly commercial, like NAPA. This one had this in scription though: "How do | spell relief? "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." One observer was asked whether he'd like to have one like it. He said, "Heck, no. If I wore that home, my wife would spell relief W-I-D-O-W." Later I heard this story also about spelling "relief." . A man got a job doing television commercials. But he got fired after he did his first one. "They asked me how I spelled 'relief,'" he explained. "So I spelled it R-E-L-I-E-F." * * * Some warning signs show imagi nation, also. Like on "Real People" last week, one picture showed a sign at a parking space reserved for handi capped drivers. The sign said: "If you're not handicapped when you drive into this space, you will be when you leave.' Then there was the man who used this notice warning trespas sers: "Anyone found on this pro perty at night will be found there the next morning." Letter T o The Editor Editor, The News-Journal Hoke County is presently, (written April 5 ? Editor) enjoying a week-long cultural arts festival. Everyone involved, art and music teachers and director, in parti cular. deserve the highest com mendation for providing a most worthwhile week of music, dance, arts and crafts. Many artists from Hoke as well as nearby counties participated to assist with this cultural "happening." 1 was thoroughly impressed with every thing I saw. One exhibit made me particularly proud of our vocational department - the carpentry work of Stenson Oxendine and Wayne Simmons. Last April when we first started hearing about financial cutbacks, carpentry was one of four voca tional programs named to be eliminated from the 1981-82 high school curriculum. Fortunately, funds were miraculously provided at the last minute to preserve these badly needed areas, areas indispen sable to non-college-bound stu dents. These young men and their instructor are to be complimented for producing such fine wood works. It seems ironic that an area such as Hoke County would even con sider doing away with these badly needed trades. Any extra money in the vocational department should go to the industrial arts to provide tools and materials" for future artisans. If this is an example of what can be done on a very limited budget, there is no telling what they can do with proper funding. Sincerely, Naomi Johnson Rt. 3, Box 143-A Raeford Puppy Creek Philosopher Dear editor: After watching the space shuttle blast off and watching it come down after eight days aloft and after reading about the astronauts' experience while aboard, I got to thinking about space. Some people say man's future is in space. They envision colonies out there where people live and work in giant enclosures, free from the pull of gravity and unbothered by gnats, flies, mosquitoes and possibly even politicians. You reckon this is merely day dreaming? I mean, life in space may turn out to be about like life here on earth, judging by the experiences the astronauts had on the space shuttle. For example, the plumbing stopped up. Their radio went out. Two ot their television cameras malfunctioned, duplicating what is known here on earth as network difficulty. They came down with motion sickness with no doctor available. Sloppy carpentry or something caused tiles to peel off the outside of their space home, a home incidentally which, like a home here on earth, cost about twice what it would have a few years ago. Also, they were a day late getting back because of bad weather. And furthermore, the whole trip was financed with borrowed money, at the highest interest rate in history. It doesn't seem to me that life in space is going to be any different from life on earth. Yours faithfully. J. A. CLIFF BLUE . . . People & Issues ?QOOOOCXXX3CXXXXX3nr^i BOB JONES. J K ... I was astonished a few days ago when I read about Bob Jones, Jr. raving out against Secretary of State Alexander Haig, calling the Secretary of State "a monster in human flesh and a demon possessed instrument to destroy America." He then added, "I hope you'll pray that the Lord will smite him, hip and thigh, bone and marrow, heart and lungs and all there is to him, that He shall destroy him quickly and utterly. 1 am going to pray that God will get rid of that man." My thought is that if Bob Jones is a sincere Christian, he will ask forgiveness for his unkind and un warranted outburst against Secretary Haig who is working for peace and understanding rather than antagonism between nations. Bob Jones could have been sincere in disapproving Haig's ac tion, but we venture to say that unless he sincerely apologizes for such a rash statement, he will lose many nights sleep, as well as much of his influence at Bob Jones University. FALWELL... While writing about evangelists and religious leaders we note that Jerry Falwell, who is a television evangelist and Moral Majority founder, has opened his Lynchburg church's Family Center, a supermarket-like facility that dispenses free groceries to the poor. Falwell, is pastor of the 18,000 member Thomas Road Baptist Church at Lynchburg, Virginia. "We have always tried to serve the people in our community as needs arise," Falwell said. "With government cutbacks, many families are finding it impossible to pay electric bills or buy food or clothing -- or all three. They need help and the church must be ready," he says. I believe that the church can provide a more caring, personal approach to dealing with financial problems than what the state can do," said the television evangelist. A NEW FACE?. ..While discussing politics with a state of ficial in Raleigh a few davs ago, the gentleman suggested that Con gressman L.H. Fountain might make a good candidate for gover nor since he has decided to step aside and let someone else have the seat which he will have filled for 30 years. Fountain served in the North Carolina State Senate before run ning for the Congress 30 years ago. REAGAN & BREZHNEV ... President Reagan suggested a day last week that he would like to meet the Russia's top man, Brezhnev. We think that it would be in the interest of peace for the two to have an amiable meeting. Perhaps such a face-to-face meeting would cool things off before the two nations might come to a situation such as Great Britain and Argentina find themselves to day. WEDDINGS & DIVORCES ... According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 2.4 million marriages in 1981, and 1.2 million divorces. During 1981 there were an estimated 3.6 million live births in the United States, an increase of 1% over 1981. There were 1.98 million deaths during 1981. Thanks to advances in health care, the births are far ahead of the deaths. LOST AIDES. ..We notice in the papers that President Reagan lost eight top aides in 1981. They are: former National Security Advisor, Richard Allen; Martin Anderson, Reagan's senior domestic policy advisor, who will leave at the end of this month; Joseph Conceri who resigned as Reagan's deputy assis tant for special events and presidential travel; Peter McCoy, who stepped down as Nancy Reagan's chief of staff; Kenneth Khachigian, Reagan's top speech writer; former White House political director, Lyn Nofziger and Max Friedersdorf, Reagan's chief congressional lobbyist and Powell Moore, Reagan's Senate lobbyist who went to the State Department. White House assignments must not be as glamorous as the above gentleman thought a year ago! Browsing in the o* The News-Journal 25 years ago Thursday, April 11, 1957 County Tax Supervisor J.W. McPhaul said this week that notices giving the revalued listings of property had been mailed last week to owners in McLauchlin. Quewhiffle and Blue Springs town ships. * * * Mayor Alfred Cole and all members of the present board of commissioners, Tom Cameron, John K. McNeill. Jr.. A.V. Sanders, Truman Austin and Marion Gatlin. have filed for re-election in the town election to be held Monday, May 6. ? ? * President Marion Gatlin of the Raeford Chamber of Commerce, said today that the goal of S10.800 budget of the Chamber in its "Keep Raeford Ahead" program has been over 70 percent subscribed. ? ? * From Rockfish News: The Nail Keg Club is still going strong and we folks down on Fayetteville Street are enjoying the dogwoods that are plentiful in our neck of the woods. * * ? The report of condition of The Bank ot Raeford show total assets at S3. 586. 365. 82. ? ? * The Upchurch School band took part in the district music festival in Fayetteville last week and received a rating of II, which is excellent. ? ? ? The dedication exercises for the new gymnasium at Upchurch High School will be held Sunday after noon at 3:30 in the school audi torium. 15 years ago Thursday, April 13, 1967 C.P. Kinlaw, Raeford jeweler and a member of the town board for the past six years, announced today he will not be a candidate for reelection in the May 2 municipal election. ? ? * A "good selection" of paintings, sketches, ceramics, and other pieces have been rounded up for a local art show to be held here Saturday and Sunday. * * * The first Hoke District Court civil jury session is being held here this week with Judge Coy E. Brewer of Fayetteville presiding. * # ? The Jeptha F. Jordans, who will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary Sunday, have spent more than half their married years with one or more children in college. As a result, all of their 19 grandchildren have fathers who are doctors. ? ? * Mrs. Author D. Gore, a North Carolina Merit Mother, spent Tuesday in Raleigh attending the state Mother of the Year activities. * * * William L. (Bill) Senter, a junior at Hoke High School has been chosen to attend The Governor's School of North Carolina this summer. ? * ? Hoke County Planning and De velopment Commission has pointed out to the Raeford town board a new development in sewage treat ment by use of newly-developed chemicals. 'Tho?e who are at war with others are not at peace with themtelves. H?|jtt

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