* The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXTV NUMBER 23 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
journal
25
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
$8 PER YEAR
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1982
#lJobless
Rate
Rises
Despite positive signs, unem
ployment rates in Hoke County
% During August continued to seesaw
and increased one full percentage
point over the July figures.
Hoke was among 42 counties in
the state that increased during the
month, as the jobless rate reached
11.4%, putting an end to a two
month decline.
Although 90 more persons were
out of work in the county, there
? were some encouraging signs for
future employment here.
Candidates for jobs at the new
Raeford-Hoke Village Shopping
Center lined up this week at the
Employment Security Commission
on Elwood Street in hopes gaining
an available slot.
About 120 positions will be Fdled
at Sky City, Revco and Food Town
stores, Hoke-Scotland Commission
Manager A1 McKenzie said.
? Applications are also being taken
at the J.P. Stevens Plant in
Wagram for about 100 positions,
McKenzie said.
"We're hoping that the figures
will drop in September," he said,
adding that preliminary figures are
showing that there could be a
decrease.
Several local plants have had
temporary layoffs, which have re
suited in hikes in unemployment,
McKenzie said.
McKenzie said also he was
unsure how the Burlington shut
down planned for one week in
October would affect the jobless
figures during that month.
More than 1,600 workers will be
off during that week.
Employment commission of
ficials are anticipating a steady
^ recovery and a gradual improve
9 ment in the unemployment figures,
McKenzie said.
"It should be gradual, but we
(See UNEMPLOYMENT, page 12)
Around
Town
BY SAM C.MORRIS
The weather over the weekend
was wet, but it did hold off enough
for the football games. It was also
really cool on Sunday and maybe
some of the local folks turned on
their heaters. As this is being
written Monday afternoon, the sun
is shining and the forecast is for
warmer weather the remainder of
this week.
We think that the rain was too
late to help the soybeans and it also
caught farmers with cotton open in
the fields. Most farmers now try to
wait until all the cotton is open
before they send the cotton picker
into the field. So it is very likely
that cotton will get wet.
? ? ?
As you ride north on Main Street
you will notice that the new
building of the First Baptist
Church is near completion. I was
told last week that they should be
putting the carpet down next week,
so it shouldn't be long before they
will be holding service in their new
building.
Every new building on Main
Street helps the looks of the city.
? ? ?
Someone told me Monday that
one of the stores at the new
shopping center was taking appli
cations that morning and that
people started lining up early in the
morning for jobs. Maybe when all
. the stores open in the center it will
cut the unemployment rate for the
county. We certainly hope it does.
? ? ?
Last Saturday I went again to
Chapel Hill to see the Carolina
football team play. It was cloudy
when we left, but the sun came out
and it turned out to be a nice day.
At the game Saturday before
) (See AROUND TOWN, page 7)
QUEUING UP -- Job applicants lined up this week along Elwood Avenue in hopes of landing one of the 120
jobs being offered at the new Raeford-Hoke Village Shopping Center.
Search Continues For Mrs. McCray
The last time anyone saw Mrs.
Florence Ree McCray, 38, of 509 E.
Prospect Ave., Raeford was 11
p.m. August 1.
This was by a woman friend who
walked home with her.
The last time anyone heard of
her was 11:30 p.m. the same day.
This was by her mother, Mrs.
Annie Butler of Rt. 1, Raeford.
They had a talk on the telephone.
Her mother said Mrs. McCray
sounded normal, that she didn't
seem upset about anything!
Since then, Raeford Police Chief
Leonard Wiggins said Monday,
many leads, including rumors,
have been investigated by the
Raeford police, assisted by the
State Bureau of Investigation.
"At present," he continued, "I
have reason to believe foul play is
involved."
He said Mrs. McCray had no
car, that no evidence has been
found that she left home volun
tarily. He said she has not picked
up her most recent pay check from
the House of Raeford and she
hasn't reported for work there since
before she was reported missing,
and she never missed a day's work.
Wiggins said also, "I've been
thinking seriously of contacting the
governor's office about having a
reward offered." This would be for
information leading to the finding
of Mrs. McCray or for information
leading to the arrest and conviction
of the person or persons who
committed foul play, in her dis
appearance, if foul play has been
committed.
He said, "I'd rather not go into
details" but that portions of Ft.
Bragg have been searched by the
Army's Criminal Investigation
Division and parts of Hoke County
have been searched with the help of
tracking dogs by other officers.
Mrs. McCray's disappearance also
has been entered in the National
Crime Information Center, he
added.
Wiggins said he called the SBI in
to help a couple of days after Mrs.
McCray was reported missing.
Detective James Murdock has
been and is continuing to investi
gate the case nearly full time,
Wiggins said, and the investigation
will continue till either Mrs.
McCray is found or whoever is
responsible of foul play in her
disappearance is found guilty.
Wiggins said "bits and pieces"
have been investigated and will
continue to be.
He said as soon as a report
concerning Mrs. McCray is re
ceived by the police department it is
investigated immediately. In the
course of the investigation, he said
reports from several states, as far
away as New Jersey, and from
several North Carolina counties
outside Hoke have been investi
gated. One source reported a body
found in another county, and this
was investigated, but it was found
that the body was not Mrs.
McCrays.
Her description with her picture
has been circulated by television
stations WECT (Channel 6) of
Wilmington and WKFT (Channel
40) in Fayetteville, and by The
New>s-Journal\ and her description
has been broadcast by the local
radio station in efforts to attract the
attention of anyone who knows of
her whereabouts.
Mrs. McCray lived alone with
her children, who are 18, 16, and 6
years old. She and her husband
Grady, had been separated for
some time, Wiggins said, and her
husband is living in Hoke County
outside Raeford.
Mrs. McCray has a medium
brown complexion and a dark spot
on the right side of her forehead
near her temple. She is about 5 feet
2 inches and weighs about 135
pounds. She has brown hair and
brown eyes.
When she was last seen, she was
in good mental and physical health.
"Everything humanly possible is
being done and has been done,"
Wiggins said.
He asked anyone who has any
information about Mrs. McCray
and has not been contacted by the
police to get in touch with the
police.
Va. Man Killed
A Richmond, Virginia man was
killed Tuesday around 2:30 p.m.
while working with an electrical
hand tool at the Burlington In
dustries, Raeford Police Chief
Leonard Wiggins said.
He was not an employe of the
plant and worked for the Virginia
contracting firm McGraw -
Morgan. The man's name was
withheld pending notification of his
next of kin.
An autopsy will be performed.
Wiggins said.
Zoning Could Take Months
Although members of the Hoke
County Commission vowed last
week to assist residents of a county
subdivision stop objectionable de
velopment pending in their neigh
borhood, it could be months before
regulations can be implemented.
In response to a request for help
from residents of the Chance
Subdivision, commission members
instructed County Manager James
Martin to begin working with the
Lumber River Council of Govern
ments (COG) on developing a
countywide zoning plan.
However, both Martin and COG
Planning Director James Perry
believe that implementing the plan
could take months and the road to
adopting a comprehensive zoning
ordinance could be politically ar
duous.
Perry has collected ordinances
from surrounding counties for the
commission to study, and will also
resurrect a zoning ordinance, sub
division regulations and mobile
home restrictions, which were par
tially drawn for Hoke County three
years ago but abandoned when the
issues became "too hot politically."
Commissioners will probably
have to call a special work session
to go through the material and
decide in which direction to go,
Martin said.
Countywide zoning, along with
the other planning ordinances,
were worked on by the commission
in 1977, but the matter was
dropped after a December public
hearing.
In 1979, the commissioners
again considered developing a zon
ing plan for the county.
Funds were earmarked in the
budget to share the expense of a
staff planner with the City of
Raeford.
Many property owners
will strongly oppose
passage of a zoning or
dinance, until someone at
tempts to move a pig parlor
or a slaughter house next
door to them.
?COG Planner Jim Perry
Each governmental body would
have split the salary expense.
Martin and City Manager Ronald
Matthews had interviewed and
selected a candidate for the boards
approval, when the commissioners
changed their minds and deckled
not to fund the project.
Political pressure from some
property owners apparently took its
toll again on the project.
"Zoning is designed to protect
the property owners, but until it is
explained to them that way, most
people are against it," Perry said.
Many property owners will
strongly oppose passage of a zoning
ordinance, until someone attempts
to move a pig parlor or a slaughter
house next door to them. Perry
said.
Proper zoning can eliminate a
mixing of uses which Can have an
undesirable effect and cause a loss
of value, Perry said.
Once county commissioners de
cide how they want to use zoning,
then the county land use map must
be updated to determine present
uses.
Zoning would be centered
around the present uses. Perry
said.
For example, the new county
wide water system could be tied
into the zoning ordinance.
If engineers plan to put in
heavier lines for future industries,
then those areas should be zoned
for industry, Perry said.
Ruling Sparks
Public Outcry
by Warren Johnston
Public sentiment has been high
since last week's nonsuit of a Hoke
County man charged with raping
his six-year-old daughter and local
citizens are being encouraged to
seek changes in state laws.
Public officials and admini
strators said following the verdict in
Superior Court, that they received
numerous calls from concerned
residents about the case.
"All I can tell them to do is to
call their legislator and try to get
the laws changed," Hoke County
Sheriff David Barrington said.
Democratic Party state House of
Representatives nominee Danny
DeVane, who is unopposed in the
November general election, said
last week that he had received more
than 30 calls about the case, and
that he intended to look into the
law.
Another resident reportedly
called Governor James B. Hunt Jr.
asking about changing the law.
Under the present North Caro
lina law, a prosecuting witness in a
rape case must testify that there has
been penetration, a spokesman for
the state Attorney General's office
said.
"She has to say that he put his
part in me," the spokesman said.
During the trial last week the
young daughter of accused rapist
Bobby Louis Green of Rt. 2,
Raeford was unable to reply to
repeated questions from Assistant
District Attorney Jean Powell about
the alleged attack.
Although the six-year-old had
given previous statements to law
enforcement officers, doctors,
nurses and Miss Powell detailing
the incident, all she was able to say
in court was that the defendant
took her clothes off. got on top of
her and "hurt" her.
According to the present law,
statements about the incident given
to responsible persons are not
admissible to prove rape.
Testimony from doctors that the
girl had been injured and required
stitching to stop heavy bleeding was
also not permissible and would not
have proved rape without the girl
collaborating there had been pene
tration. Miss Powell said.
Miss Powell. Barrington and
Hoke County Department of Social
Services (DSS) Director Ken
Witherspoon all said they would
like to see the law changed to:
?Permit testimony from other
reliable witnesses about statements
given by a rape victim of tender
age.
?Allow the court room to be
closed to the public while a minor
witness is testifying in a rape case.
A motion was made by Miss
Powell to exclude the public during
the testimony of the six-year-old,
however, after an objection from
defense attorneys-Paul Herzog and
Orlando Hudson, 16th Judicial
Circuit Judge Samuel E. Britt of
Lumberton rejected the move.
Closing the court room may have
violated the defendant's rights to a
public trial granted under the
construction of the United States,
Britt ruled.
"The little girl was capable of
only so rnvyh pressure," Miss
Powell said, ftbting that the witness
was faced with pressure applied by
family members present in the
court room and by the difficulty of
testifying against her father.
"She just froze up," Miss Powell
said. "She wouldn't say anything or
even indicate what had been done."
In some rape cases, medical
testimony can prove rape if seman
is found in a post-incident exami
nation.
However, in this case, the little
girl was bleeding so much that
evidence of sperm would have been
"washed away," Miss Powell said.
At the time she was admitted to
the hospital, doctors said that the
girl's hemoglobin count was about
half that of a normal child her age
because of tjj? loss of blood, Miss
Powell said.
"I was upset after it was over. I
got personally involved," she
added.
"Jean Powell is one of the best
assistant DA's in this state," the
spokesman for the Attorney Gen
eral's office said.
"I'm sure that if she couldn't get
the girl to testify, it couldn't be
done," the spokesman said.
During his 26 years of law en
forcement work. Sheriff Barrington
said he has seen 20 to 30 cases like
the one in court last week.
"It was obvious there was sexual
assault, but the witnesses couldn't
or wouldn't testify." Barrington
said.
In seven or eight cases, mothers
have come to the sherifFs office
with the victims, but when they
found that child would have to
testify, the women refused to press
charges.
"We had medical examinations
(Sec RAPE, page 12)
FALL COMES TO FARM -- The first day offall came last week to this old
ham and its fields in Hoke County. The large, fleecy clouds covering part of
the blue sky reminded the admirers of the beauty of the day of the summer
that had just left till next June.