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- Established 1928
RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
$8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1982
.Worker Hired To
Prepare Stamp Fraud Cases
The Hoke County commissioners
Tuesday authorized employment of
an assistant to help prepare sus
pected food stamp fraud cases for
review by the Hoke County Board
of Social Services and a secretary to
staff the county inspection and
maintenance departments' office.
The actions were taken at the
board's regular first-of-the-month
| meeting, postponed a day because
of the Labor Day holiday.
The authorization of the ap
pointment of the food stamp fraud
cases worker was made for the
County Department of Social Ser
vices in reply to a request made by
the Social Services Board. The
latter had voted at its August 30
meeting to make the request of the
commissioners.
P The reasons for it were described
in a letter written by and in person
before the commissioners by Ken
Witherspoon, department director.
Witherspoon's letter explained
Around
BY SAM C. MORRIS
Now this is what 1 call perfect
weather, not hot or cold, just right.
Let's hope that it will continue this
way and on until the winter weather
comes in November or December.
But we all know that this is too
much to hope for at this time of
Pyear.
* * *
Last Friday afternoon I received
a phone call at home from Danny
DeVane and he informed me that
his Republican opposition had
asked that his name be left off the
ballot and that the time had passed
for him to be replaced. Of course
^this was good news for me, but I
'can't believe that anyone could
have been any happier than Danny
DeVane.
I was not here on election night
when he won the nomination, but
last Friday was enough to last me
for a long time.
This will not only take the sweat
and worry out of having to run, but
it will save Danny money in
^advertising in the three counties.
?Most folks don't realize how much
it costs this day and time to be
elected to public office.
So let me say again, congratu
lations to him and it is good to have
a Hoke County representative once
again.
I went out to lunch last Thursday
^with Bill Archer, manager of the
Raeford Plant and Jack Bradford
who was down from the group
office in Clarksville, Va. During
the course of our conversation, 1
made the error of calling the plant
Pacific Mills. Of course this branch
is no longer in existence and the
name is Men's Wear Division.
Bradford said that he could tell
|when folks had been in a place for
"many years because they would
make the same mistake abolit the
name of other plants in other
places. He named Lexington,
Burlington and one or two other
places where the names had
changed.
Maybe plants are not the only
things that can be re-named and
mistakes made. Last Saturday
night as I was listening to the
^Furman-State game over WPTF in
Raleigh, one of the announcers
called the site of the game Riddick
Stadium. Of course the place is
Carter Stadium.
This announcer must have been
around for a number of years for
State did play at Riddick Stadium
or Field many years ago.
I guess when you get accustomed
to a place the name sticks with you.
The way of the scoring for Hoke
High last Friday night brought
back memories of a Rose Bowl
game many years ago. In that game
a player, I believe his name was
Ray Reigel, ran the wrong way
against Georgia Tech and the game
was lost by one point. I think
| (S?e AROUND TOWN, page 14)
that "Approximately 12-15 food
stamp cases have been identified by
various means as possibly being
fraudulent. The total amount of
monies involved is difficult to
determine at this time but could
range from $12,000 to $18,000."
Witherspoon's letter added that
the Social Services Department's
"problem has been in securing
enough staff time in preparing
these cases for presentation to the
Board of Social Services. If the
Board authorizes the Director, then
he presents the cases to the District
Attorney. After a satisfactory re
view, warrants can be drawn and
then the cases move through the
court system."
The Social Services request was
for permission to add a food stamps
worker for 45 days (30 working
days) to prepare the cases for
putting into the procedure. How
ever, Commissioner Danny De
Vane, a former Fayetteville police
man, said he didn't believe this
would be enough time, and moved
to authorize the employment for up
to six months. This means, it was
pointed out, that the worker could
be employed for less time if the job
took less than six months.
Witherspoon's letter says the
staff time would be reimbursed at a
75/25 match rate. This means the
county would pay 25 per cent and
federal funds the remainder. The
county share would be $408 per 45
days, according to the Social
Services Board request.
He told the commissioners in
describing the situation that aside
from the suspected food-stamp
fraud cases, three cases of sus
pected fraud involving funds in the
program of Aid to Families with
Dependent Children are ready to go
to the Social Services Board for
review.
Witherspoon said that the 12 to
15 suspected food stamp fraud
IN THE DITCH ?? This worker last week was packing dirt around utility
lines which were recently installed to serve the new addition on the First
Baptist Church. The new lines forced workers to take a sizeable chunk out
of Main Street.
Raeford real estate broker
Daniel H. DeVane was virtually
assured of a seat in the state House
of Representatives Friday after
Republican opposition in the No
vember 2 general election failed to
materialize.
Until Friday DeVane had been
one of four candidates expected on
the ballot who were vying for three
seats in the House.
However, Republican candidate
Steve Strickland withdrew from the
race earlier last week and fellow
party officials failed to name a
replacement by the 3 p.m. Friday
deadline.
The ballots will be printed with
the names of DeVane and two other
Democratic Party nominees and
will show no Republican opposi
tion, Hoke County Election Super
visor Rose Sturgeon said Friday.
Voters will rubber stamp the
Democratic Party candidates for
the three House seats, she said.
DeVane will be the first House
member from Hoke County in
approximately 10 years. He will
join John (Pete) Hasty and Sidney
A. Locks representing Hoke, Robe
son and Scotland Counties.
In the primary runoff voting July
27, DeVane finished second in the
three-county tally about 500 votes
behind Locks and 700 ballots
ahead of Hasty.
DeVane swept the Hoke County
vote winning by more than 1,000
votes.
Federal Ax Hi
Elderly In Hoke
The federal budget ax fell on
Hoke County again last week,
cutting 30 elderly and disabled
residents from a bi-weekly chore
service program.
The cuts may force some of the
residents to abandon their present
dwellings and enter a rest home, a
spokesman for the Hoke County
Department of Social Services
(DSS) said Friday.
The program, was designed to
help the disabled elderly remain in
their homes, and also employed
three workers in their 60's to
conduct domestic chores on an
every-two-week basis.
Without the assistance of the
workers to do the chores, which
included house cleaning, washing
clothes and some cooking, at least
some of the recipients may be
forced to enter rest homes, DSS
(See FEDERAL AX, page 14)
cases were seen among the total of
about 1,400 food stamp recipients
on the Social Services Department
rolls.
SECRETARY
The request for the inspection
and maintenance departments
secretary was made by Jack Ellis,
head of the county Inspection
Division, to County Manager James
Martin, who recommended to the
commissioners: consider approving
a clerical position at an annual rate
of $7,912 to 58,643.
Ellis explained to the com
missioners that the secretary is
needed to set up and maintain a
records system and also to handle
incoming calls from contractors
and to issue permits to contractors
coming to the office. He said the
inspection department now has no
one in the office all the time, so that
a visiting contractor may find no
one there when he comes on
business. He also said 95 to 96 per
cent of all permits issued are issued
to out-of-town contractors. Ellis
also mentioned other reasons for
employing a secretary.
The motion adopted includes the
provision that the secretary be
available for helping other county
departments when the secretary is
not needed in inspection and
maintenance.
The pay will range from $7,912
to $8,643 annually, depending on
the employee's qualifications and
experience.
PRINTER
In reference to Social Services,
the commissioners also authorized
the purchase from the lowest
bidder of a printer for computer
use in the food stamp program.
The lowest of the three bids to
supply the printer is $4,924 which
includes a cluster feature, and
S3.785 without it. The other bid
ders and bids were: CMA -- $4,100
without the cluster feature (SI,139
in each of the three bids), and SOS
-? $3,850, without the cluster
feature.
Without a printer in Social
Services now, the one clerk now
working in food stamps has "to
make almost daily trips to secure
printouts on the (Courthouse) an
nex printer," Witherspoon said in
his written request to Martin. The
absence of the clerk on these trips
to the annex "causes another staff
member to fill in while she is away.
The other option is to send the
supervisor or an eligibility specialist
to the annex. Neither way is very
good management on my part."
The federal government will pay
half the expenses of the extra help.
(See STAMP FRAUD, page 14)
Most Hoke County Students
Testing Above State Average
Hoke County students in the four
elementary school grades tested
about six months ago performed on
the whole above or about equal to
their grades but ninth graders fell
below, a state summary of the test
scores shows.
The scores showed what the child
knows and the skills he or she
actually achieved.
The summaries were published
and issued statewide in recent
weeks.
The tests, in reading and mathe
matics fields, formed the North
Carolina Annual Testing Program
of Basic Skills for the five grades.
The report shows the following
for the Hoke County students in the
grades indicated.
In the First Grade, a total of 443
students took the reading test. On
the whole the scores showed they
were performing at the level of close
to the second grade -- the first year
plus eight months. They also had a
percentile of 59, which means they
did at least as well or better than 59
percent of the students throughout
the nation taking the test.
In mathematics, the 443 students
over-all were performing at the
level of the third month of the
second grade. The scores gave them
an 83 percentile.
A total of 289 Second Graders
took the reading test, and their
over-all score showed a perfor
mance equal to what is expected of
students in the Third Grade. Their
percentile was 57. In mathematics,
the students' scores showed the
equivalent of the fifth month of the
Third Grade, with an 84 percentile.
A total of 414 Third Graders
scored the equivalent of students
three months into the Third Grade
in reading, and six months into the
Third Grade in mathematics. The
scores over-all gave them a 39
Voter Registration
Deadline Oct. 4
The deadline for registering to
vote in the November 2 general
election is 5 p.m. October 4.
Hoke County people were re
minded of this Friday by Rose
Sturgeon, supervisor of Hoke
County elections. She is in the
Hoke County Board of Elections
office in the Old County Office
Building on West Elwood Avenue.
Mrs. Sturgeon also said that
applications for absentee ballots
could be requested as early as last
Friday.
Applications for one-stop voting
ballots and for absentee ballots will
be received up to 5 p.m. September
28. Mrs. Sturgeon added. After
that, it will be too late to apply.
One-stop voting will start Oc
tober 5. Any registered who will be
out of town on election day is
eligible to vote the one-stop
method.
The voting places will open on
election day at 6:30 a.m. and
remain open till 7:30 p.m.
percentile in reading and 42 in
mathematics.
Among the Sixth Graders, 390
took the reading test, and their
scores over-all showed the equiva
lent of three months into the Sixth
Grade, with a percentile of 45. In
mathematics. 390 took the test,
with scores on the whole showing
eight months into the sixth grade in
performance, with a percentile of
52.
The 317 Ninth Graders scored in
reading the equivalent of students
in the eighth month of the Eighth
Grade, and their percentile was 40.
In mathematics the grade equiva
lent for the 317 over-all was six
months into the Eighth Grade, with
a percentile of 38.
County Schools Supt. Raz Autry
said the administration felt pleased
with the elementary graders' per
formances but not with the Ninth
Graders.
Elsewhere in Region 4, which
contains 18 school systems, includ
ing Ft. Bragg's federal and Hoke
County's, the grade equivalents in
reading showed Ninth Grade stu
dents in some were higher but
others the same or lower than
Hoke's (Ft. Bragg's was not listed
in the Ninth Grade category in the
state report). The grade equivalents
of Ninth or higher in other school
systems included Moore County
Five months into the Tenth Grade.
Cumberland, Harnett and Mont
gomery Tenth each, and Whiteville
city Tenth Grade second month,
and Lee County Tenth, third
month. The grade equivalents for
the Fayetteville city Tenth first
month. The grade equivalents for
Scotland and Richmond were
Ninth or higher but less than
Tenth.
School systems of the region
showing a grade equivalent lower
than Hoke's Ninth Graders in the
mathematics tests' scores include
Fairmont city and Robeson County
Eighth Grade, and Red Springs
city and Columbus County, Eighth
Grade third month each. Bladen
and St. Pauls were higher than
Hoke but less than Ninth Grade.
In the math test results for the
Ninth Grade, Hoke's grade equiva
lent was even with Columbus
County's. Moore County was tops
with a GE of 11th Grade first
month. Fairmont city ranked
lowest with Eighth Grade third
month.
In the language tests, however,
Hoke's Ninth Graders showed a GE
of Ninth Grade eighth month with
a 51 percentile.
Regionwide, the 10,406 students
who took the reading test scored a
grade equivalent of Ninth fifth
month and a percentile of 49.
Statewide. 86.233 Ninth Graders
took the test, coming up over-all
with the equivalent of a Tenth
Grade performance and a percen
tile of 53.
In mathematics, the region's
figures were Ninth Grade eighth
month and a 51 percentile, and
statewide they were Tenth Grade
equivalent and a 54 percentile.
For the other grades tested, the
figures for region and state were:
--Reading: region GE Sixth
Grade ninth month, and 53 percen
tile. State GE Seventh Grade fifth
month, and 63 percentile.
The region and state figures for
the First, Second and Third grades
are not listed.
CACTUS BLOSSOM ?? For the first time in noticeable memory, this
four-year-old cactus gave birth recently to a blossom during day light hours.
The cactus, which belongs to the David Davis family on East Fifth Avenue
in Raeford. normally blooms around midnight for anyone who is up to
watch it. However, this year it was in full bloom at noon. The Davis'
attribute the change to recent rainy weather.