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NATIONAL NEWSPAPER association
ASSOCIATION
Published Ever> ThaMit al Raeford, N.C. 28376
119 W. El wood Avenue
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Per Year?$8.00 6 Months?$4.25 3 Months?$2.25
LOUIS H. KOCLEMAN, JK Publisher
PAtL DICKSON Editor
HENRY L. BLUE Production Supervisor
WARREN N. JOHNSTON News Editor
BILL LINDAU Associate Editor
MRS. PAtL DICKSON Society Editor
SAMC. MORRIS C ontributing Editor
ANN MEBB Advertising Representative
Second Class Postage al Raeford. N.C.
(USPS 3*8-260)
THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 23, 1982
Praise for override
The majorities of the members of Congress who overrode
President Reagan's vote of the $14.2 billion supplemental spending
bill deserve high praise.
The veto of August 28 if upheld would have knocked out funds for
helping elderly and disabled stay in their homes instead of living out
the remainder of their lives in rest homes or nursing homes. This
help was part of the supplemental spending package and was
financing for what it called the Chore program, or Title 5.
Reagan's act was based on the president's view that the bill
provided more than he wanted the social programs to have and
about $2 billion less than he wanted the military to have.
In reference to the funds to help the elderly and disabled, his veto
was not only an act of callous disregard for human needs but might
have proven more costly to the taxpayers than the Chore program
has been.
The Chore program has workers doing the household chores and
other things about the house that homebound people are no longer
physically capable of doing themselves. They visit the homes every
other week for this purpose, enough time to do the jobs.
In Hoke County, reports Ken Witherspoon, director of the Hoke
County Department of Social Services, the program employs three
people, each over 60. Of the funds necessary $10,452 is Hoke County
tax money.
Economically, the wiping out of the Chore program's budget
apparently wouldn't have saved the taxpayers much, if anything. At
least part of the expenses of rest home care for at least some if not all
the elderly who enter the homes would come from the taxpayers.
On the human side, the cost can't be measured.
Younger people who are living on comfortable incomes, including,
of course, politicians, have no idea what home means to an elderly
man or elderly woman.
For one example: an elderly woman was moved from her
dilapidated house in the North Carolina foothills and put into a rest
home.
One winter day, some time later, she disappeared.
The searchers did find her.
They found her in her dilapidated, unheated but beloved old
home. She had died of exposure.
No one with any feeling has to be told that the woman preferred
the danger of illness and death, living in her old home, to perhaps
years of physically comfortable existence in a rest home.
Then, too, in one county a housing project for the low-income
people was planned. It would consist of comfortable, well-heated
apartments with all the conveniences of modern living.
It would be a tremendous improvement for the poor over living in
their own homes -- dilapidated, poorly heated or ventilated, with
leaking roofs, cracks letting wind and rain through the walls.
The planners, however, went into shock when they found that
some of the people these modern apartments were intended for
didn't want any part of these modern apartments. They wanted to
stay in their own ramshackle, dilapidated homes.
This is no argument against establishing modern housing for
low-income families and elderly with no children living with them.
It's told to underline the powerful feelings people have for the
homes they have lived in and cared for and raised their children in.
The politicians should re-read, or read, the old lines written
generations ago, and take them to heart:
"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
They should guarantee that enough money is kept in budgets of
the present and future to keep the elderly and disabled from having
to leave their homes, simply by providing Chore workers to perform
the essential services.
--BL
Teeth in sewage law
The Raeford City Council did the community and Hoke County in
general real service last week in putting enforcement "teeth" into the
town's sewage pre-treatment ordinance.
The council authorized spending of up to SI2,000 to pay for the
? state-mandated program.
Moore, Gardner & Associates, the town's consulting engineer
firm, will develop the pre-treatment plan. The plan will provide
strict guidelines for present and future industries and prescribe the
types of materials that can be dumped into the town sewage system.
The program must be completed by next January 1.
The present ordinance covering pre-treatment has been applied to
local industries but one ordered to comply has questioned the
legality of enforcement of the ordinance.
The new plan provides penalities for noncompliance, and cutting
, from the system if standards are not met, which the present
ordinance also provides for. The industry which has failed to comply
;with pre-treatment requirements, the House of Raeford turkey
t processing business, has been given till November, under an
?informal compromise, to have a grease trap system, much less
: expensive than a modern pre-treatment plant, operating to eliminate
?the fat and grease from its waste before the waste is dumped into the
:sewage system. If this doesn't work, then the industry will have to
? install a workable pre-treatment system or it will be cut from the
? sewage system.
? The council obviously moved in the right direction last week.
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It's a Small ^Vorld
by Bill Lindau
Around Miss America weekend
every year I get somewhat annoyed
with the daily newspapers in the
area.
The pageant in Atlantic City,
N.J., comes up with the winner too
late on those Satruday nights for
publication in the editions of the
dailies that reach us out in the
boondocks.
So, since I don't watch TV news
very much, I usually miss the news
of who won, and also who placed
second, third, fourth and fifth. On
Monday the dailies carry something
about the winner.
But nobody says a word about
who finished behind her.
What, for instance, happened to
Miss North Carolina last Sep
tember 11?
1 guess you had to be there.
* * *
1 got close to Miss America once.
1 spoke to her father. He ran a
dance studio in Asbevtlle, and his
daughter won the title, back in the
1950s. Her father and mother used
to come to the newsroom of the
Asheville Citizen fairly regularly
with some news story about his
studio. He taught his daughter to
dance, and when she was grown she
got a job dancing with the
Rockettes of New York City's
Radio City Music Hall. That
experience did a lot to help her win
the crown of Miss America.
? ? *
Back in Southern Pines in the
late 1960s I interviewed a state
contest queen. She was Miss
Arizona -- of 1925. That was before
the Miss America Pageant was
organized. Her winning got her a
starlet contract in Hollywood.
When I met her she was a
friendly, chubby little woman who
was great in any kind of art. She
was teaching at Sandhills Com
munity College. Later, she went
back to New York state where she
had been living before she came to
Southern Pines.
The series on college athletes and
the goodies they get reminds us of
the old times when financing was
unsophisticated and helping ath
letes pay expenses outside the
scholarship they were getting was
severely frowned on.
One story goes that a football
star needed cash for some kind of
college expenses. So a friend of
football at the school got a suitcase
out of his closet, put it in front of
the athlete, and said, "Bet you
S200 you can't jump over that
suitcase." Of course, the player
won. That was in the days when $5
could buy you three meals a day for
a week at the college cafeteria.
Then there was the classroom
wprk. Athletes were expected to
maintain a "C" average, at the
least, at some schools. One football
player was having trouble with a
quiz, though. Finally, the instruc
tor advised him, "If you don't know
the answer, just write, 'I don't
know,' and don't try to guess."
The athlete did as he was told,
and to his surprise he got 100 on
the quiz. He got four questions
right, and the rest he answered
with: "1 don't know." The in
structor marked these "correct,"
since they were right; he didn't
know.
But that doesn't mean all ath
letes were and are slopeheads who
have to take their shoes off to count
to 20. Some have been brilliant
scholars. Burgess Whitehead of
Charlotte and Andy Bershak. both
University of North Carolina stars.
Whitehead played in the late
1920s, won his varsity letters in four
sports, and Phi Beta Kappa, the
national collegiate honor scholastic
fraternity, in the classroom in his
undergraduate days at Chapel Hill.
After graduating, he made a
brilliant career in major league
baseball as a first-baseman. A
student has to make practically all
A's in his courses over at least a
year's time to make Phi Beta
Kappa.
I believe Bershak also made PBK
-- as well as All America and ? at
Carolina in the mid-1930s. And he
was majoring in a tough field of
studies at that -- geology.
But going back to the business of
helping football players with ma
terial matters ..." Some of the
Carolina gridders before the Home
coming game each fall at Chapel
Hill back in the '30s would put on
their most ragged clothes and just
saunter up and down Franklin
Street Friday night and Saturday
morning. That was the weekend
when many Carolina alumni would
come for the game. So sooner or
later, a well-heeled "old grad"
would see one of the tattered
athletes, and get feeling and get
feeling sad for him.
And pretty soon the athlete
would emerge from a clothing store
wearing a new suit.
CLIFF BLUE...
People & Issues
YEARS IN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY. . .In my 18 years in
ihe North Carolina General
Assembly I rubbed shoulders with
many of the great and "near
great" in North Carolina along
with hundreds of the House and
Senate members.
One thing that brought us more
closely together in those days was
that 90% or better stayed at the Sir
Walter Hotel on Fayetteville Street.
Street.
Now, I am told that the
members are scattered over town
while probably the largest groups
stay at the Velvet Cloak and the
Hilton motels on Hillsboro Street.
In the House Chamber, Rep.
John H. Kerr, Jr., of Warren
County was hard to measure up to
when he was in his best shape. He
could hit hard and didn't mind
calling a spade a spade, be it a
friend or foe.
Some people spoke too often in
the House and it caused them to
lose influence. Many able men did
just that. 1 say men, as when I was
in the House in most sessions we
had two or less women. A couple
whom I remember well were Dr.
Rachel Davis of Lenoir County
and Rep. Grace Taylor Roden
bough of Stokes County.
Two other ladies in the 1961 ses
sion, were Rep. Elinoir C. Cook of
Highlands in Macon County and
Tressie Pierce Fletcher of Alex
ander County.
One of Rep. Kerr's great
speeches was in support of the N.C.
Art Museum in Raleish in
1947, if I remember correctly.
Senator Robert Lee Humber was
a great and fluent speaker. He was
the founder of "World Govern
ment" which he espoused in the
General Assembly. It was called
"the Declaration of the Federation
of the World." It was a movement
for World Federation and was pro
moted by Senator Humber. North
Carolina was the first state in
history to endorse World Federa
tion, which was passed by sixteen
State Legislators of the United
States.
Dr. Humber was president of
numerous literacy, art and
historical societies. To sit at his
side and hear him espouse on Art
and other finer things in life was a
treat indeed.
He graduated from Wake Forest
College, B.A. 1918 and L.L.B.,
1921. Oxford University, Rhodes
Scholar from North Carolina, B.
Litt., 1923; Harvard University,
M.A.; University of Paris,
American Field Service Fellow,
1926-28. He had an Honorary
LL.D., Degree from the University
of North Carolina, and from
Wake Forest.
He also was a leader in
establishing the Community Col
lege System in North Carolina. He
was the first Vice-President and
the second President of the N.C.
Trustees Association of Communi
ty Colleges when he died.
To me, he was a great man and a
great friend.
SPEAKERS...Back in my days
from 1947 through 1963 the
custom was for a Speaker to serve
one two-year term. House speaker
Liston Ramsey is an able speaker,
but in my opinion the two-year
term is the best rule in the long
run.
However, the members are free
to elect a different speaker at the
beginning of a new term if they so
desire.
I served under eight different
speakers, not including myself.
J. Thomas Pearsall was the
Speaker for the years 1947-48.. He
was an able and alert speaker. He
died some months ago.
Next was Kerr Craige Ramsey of
Rowan County, a fine Speaker. He
died a few years after being
Speaker. Had he lived he probably
would have been Governor of
North Carolina.
1931-52, W. Frank Taylor was
Speaker, he was a conservative and
an able man. He was a prominent
lawyer in Goldsboro.
E. Tom Bost of Cabarrus Coun
ty was speaker during the term
1953-54. He ruled the House with a
tight gavel.
Larry I. Moore, Jr. of Wilson
was Speaker during the term
1955-56. Speaker Moore was a
man who took his time and was
never in a hurry. Speakers usually
called the House to order right on
time, but it didn't bother Larry if
he was a few minutes late.
However, he was an able and fine
gentleman.
J.K. Doughton, a representative
from Alleghany County was
House Speaker during the term
1959-58. He was as solid as the
hills and a good presiding officer.
Letter To
The Editor
Editor, The News-Journal
After thorough deliberation and
careful analysis, I have resolved not
to run for the U.S. Congress from
the 8th Congressional District '
either as an independent candidate
or as a write-in candidate.
This resolution is compatible
with my dedication to the Republi
can Party, my executive campaign
staff, and the wonderful people of
this fine district.
Accordingly, I will be actively
involved in helping Republican
Candidates throughout the district
in the general election.
Jake Presson
Salisbury, N.C.
Puppy Creek
Philosopher
Dear editor:
It doesn't take much to get TV
network reporters excited.
Week before last they rushed to
report that due to lack of funds
19,000 Internal Revenue Service
workers around the country would
lose their jobs. They hadon-camera
interviews with individuals wring
ing their hands and wondering
what they'd do without a job.
It looks like anybody ought to
have known that Congress wasn't
about to get rid of 19,000 tax
collectors right when Congress
needs more tax money than any
time in- history.
Would a bank, deciding to cut
down on expenses, eliminate its
note-collecting department? Would
a campaigning Governor, wanting
to ease the financial burden on a
big corporation, decline to accept
its campaign contribution?
As you know, Congress at the
last minute found the money to
keep the IRS workers on the job
and tax collecting continues as it
always has. Also, lawyers specializ
ing in loopholes breathed a sigh of
relief, knowing their services will
continue to be in demand, for
who'd need a loophold if the IRS
didn't have enough hands to check
your tax returns?
It's popular these days to belittle
Congress, claiming it doesn't have
the ability or the character to
handle the problems facing the
nation, but when it's confronted
with a basic issue like the loss of tax
revenue, Congress can be depended
on to come through.
Yours faithfully,
J.A.
^ xiy
Read John 4:7-15
Grandpa had an artist's eye. He
could fashion small animals out of
pieces of damp bread. After paint
ing and glazing them, he would
give them to us as gifts. I
remember one day taking a walk I
with him along the city streets. He
picked an old umbrella out of
somebody's trash and told me he
was going to make something
beautiful out of that piece of junk.
Later that evening he showed me
some long-stemmed roses he had
fashioned.The spokes of the um
brella were the stems, and the
petals were his "bread clay,"
painted red and yellow and orange.
Whenever 1 think of Grandpa's ?
gift of seeing beauty and potential
in the most unlikely objects, I
think of Jesus' visit with the
Samaritan woman. Jesus took an
outcast of that society and gave her
the living water of His mercy and
love. He showed us by example
and by word how we are to look at
each other and how God looks at
us.
By God's grace alone can we
fulfill the potential we have; only
through God's eyes can we sec
potential and beauty in our most
unlikely neighbor.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank
You for the beauty Your love
creates. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Where I see ugliness, God sees
beauty.
-copyright-THE UPPER ROOM
-Carolyn Watts (Ohio)
Smokey Say?:
"Rain prevent* Ares when
people don't!"