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\^Ke lew 6
* The Hoke County News - Established 1928
VOLUME LXXIV NUMBER 24 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
journal
25
$8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1 982
Warns Turkey Plant
City Sticks By
Sewage Cleanup Plan
Peterkin during council meeting.
City: No Help
Needed In Hunt
For Woman
ft
In the opinion of the Assistant
District Attorney, everything that
can possibly be done to find a
missing Raeford woman, is being
done, Raeford City Attorney
Palmer R. Willcox told members of
the city council Monday night.
Assistant District Attorney Jean
Powell has looked into the investi
p gation being conducted in the
disappearance of Mrs. Florence R.
McCray, 38, and has concluded
that the Raeford Police Depart
ment is doing all that can be done,
Willcox said.
Willcox made his remarks in
response to a request for a stepped
up probe by members of the Hoke
County Urban League of Concern
ed Citizens.
About 150 city and county
} residents attended Monday night's
meeting, to request that the council
hire additional personnel and ask
North Carolina Gov. James B.
Hunt, Jr. to offer a reward for
information about the missing
woman.
"No arrest warrants can be
issued until a body is found,"
Willcox said, adding that the city is
being assisted by the Federal
" (Sec WOMAN, page 16)
Around
Town
BY SAM C. MORRIS
) I hope the weather vin Hoke
County was as nice as it was at the
beach. The temperature was in the
80s during the day and many
people were fishing and swimming.
There wasn't any rain so the
weekend was perfect.
It seems that many people now
wait until September and October
to go to the beaches. The prices
t have come down on the rooms and
' maybe also on the food prices at the
restaurants.
For the past two years Southern
Bell Telephone Company has been
at Wrightsville Beach the last week
in September. Their groups along
with the people who love to fish,
help keep the motels and hotels
nearly full during this time of the
year.
It couldn't have been any nicer
} for a beach trip in the middle of the
summer than last week. The fore
cast is for the same type of weather
this week.
? ? *
The football players strike has
caused many people to change their
schedules for the weekend, when
the strike will end is hard to say,
) because it seems the players and
management are a long way apart
on many issues.
Maybe it was a good thing that
the strike was on this past weekend
because I believe the football
ratings would have fallen with the
tight races in the American and
National Leagues of baseball. With
Atlanta in the pennant race, most
folks around here were more
| (See AROUND TOWN, page 16)
Despite pledges by an industry
representative, members of the
Raeford City Council vowed Mon
day night to get tough with a local
turkey processing plant if the
sewage discharges are not cleaned
up by November 1.
House of Raeford spokesman
Harold Brock told the council that
the firm would get grease and oil,
which is now being discharged, out
of the municipal treatment system
by November 1.
Brock, who was appearing on
behalf of firm President Marvin
Johnson, said the plant was work
ing with a Charlotte engineering
firm and that new equipment
would be installed by the deadline
date.
House of Raeford is subject to
$10,000 a day fines if the firm
continues to violate mandated pre
treatment regulations.
Brock apologized for "an acci
r
dent" last week in the company's
existing pre-treatment system that
sent at least nine turkey necks to
the city's sewage treatment facility.
The necks clogged the new city
plant and "blew out" a pump,
causing the facility to shutdown, an
engineering firm supervisor told the
council.
"We can't pump turkey necks,"
Consulting Engineer Hiram J.
Marziano said.
House of Raeford will pay for any
damage caused to the sewage plant.
Brock said.
If the plant can remove the
grease and oil from the system and
control some of the flow of feathers
being received by the city facility,
the municipality will be close to
meeting state imposed discharge
standards before the deadline,
Marziano said.
The sewage plant had a four-foot
deep build up of feathers this week.
the engineer added.
"We're going to be checking on
November 1," Mayor John K.
McNeill told Brock.
"1 understand that language,"
Brock assured the council.'
With the improvements to the
city plant, sewer discharges into
Rockfish Creek have improved,
Marziano said.
The discharge into the creek is
almost half what it was before the
SI million in improvements were
made, he said.
The city's discharge must still
improve in order to meet the
regulations, he added.
Water Plan Mulled
In other business the council
agreed to make a decision before
the November meeting on a
proposal to sell water to Hoke
County.
County engineers offered to pay
the city 585,000 to install lines
which would provide the Antioch
area with 50,CK)0 gallons of water a
day, as part of the first phase of the
countywide water service plan.
Under the proposal, the city
would provide a pipe, a meter,
50,000 gallons a day and a reserve
of 50,000 gallons.
No decision was made on what
the municipality will charge the
county for the water.
County officials hope to install
the first phase of the water system
to serve around 1,200 users with
funds from the federal Farmers
Home Administration (FmHA),
federal and state grants and from a
public bond offering.
City residents will have a chance
to vote on the bond issue. County
Engineer David Upchurch said.
In still further business, the
council took action on these other
matters during the regular monthly
meeting:
-- Approved the installation of
two street lights on North Carolina
Highway 20 and on West Sixth
Street.
-- OK'd a $26,500 addition to the
Raeford City Garage.
-- Signed a proclamation declar
ing October 17-24 North Carolina
Textile Week in Raeford.
? Approved a plan to transfer
part of the city funds into a special
state pool. The funds would gain a
high interest rate and would be
available whenever needed.
-- Read a letter from Hoke High
Principal Lenwood D. Simpson
commending city Police Officers
Junior Ward and Clarence Patter
son for an outstanding job done
during a recent school function.
Pound Animals Looking For Home
I
by Warren Johnston
Hoke County and City of Rae
ford officials may be finding that
j years of neglect have placed the
jointly operated animal pound in a
"Catch 22" situation.
At least in the city, authorities
are receiving stepped up pressure to
enforce the municipal leash laws
i and to curb the problem of straying
dogs.
Although both city and county
authorities are willing to pick them
up. dog wardens are reluctant to
put captured animals in over
crowded pens, where diseases
spread rapidly and where dogs and
cats have about an 87% chance of
| being exterminated.
City officials agreed last spring to
go along with a Hoke County
Health Department recommenda
tion to build a new pound facility,
however, the proposal was shot
down by County Manager James
I Martin.
"In my opinion, we needed the
funds in other areas, like roofs for
school buildings," Martin said.
A proposal had been included in
the health department's budget
request for the county to provide
$20,000 to go along with an $8,000
contribution from the city to build
a new pound.
The pound was eliminated from
the budget by Martin and not
presented to the Hoke County
Commission.
The new pound may not be dead,
Martin said Friday, adding that
funds might be obtained for the
project out of the county's capital
reserve fund.
Renovations and improvements
will at least be made to the existing
facility, he said.
Another problem with a plan to
either rebuild or remodel the pound
is the lack of an agreement between
the city and the county.
"We need something outlining
specific responsibilities," Martin
said.
Under the present plan, the city
provides the site for the pound,
along with water and sewer treat
ment, and the county provides the
feed for the animals.
Extermination of the animals is
paid for out of the health depart
ment budget. Health supervisor
Lloyd Home said.
TTiere is no provision under the
present arrangement for maintain
ing the facility, Martin said.
Although city taxpayers are pay
ing for the pound through county
taxes, Martin said extra payments
by the municipal residents were
justified because of Raeford's dog
leash law.
Martin said he was unsure
whether or not animals were being
treated in a humane manner by
being placed in the pound.
Home, who also was unsure of
how humane the pound is, noted
that it will be only a matter of time
before the city and county have to
build a new facility.
"I think that they are being
treated as humanely as possible
under the present conditions at the
pound," the health officer said.
The present facility is clean and
animals receive ample water and
food, Home said.
Home did admit that the facility
has these problems:
?At some times during the year,
the pound is "grossly" over
crowded.
?Because of the lack of pens,
sometimes large animals are placed
in with small animals. The little
animals are often killed.
?Sick animals are not able to be
isolated from healthy ones and
diseases are hard to check.
?There is no heat source in the
facility and some animals freeze to
death during cold winter days.
?Roads to the pound are impas
sible at certain times of the year,
and difficult for the residents to get
in who might want to adopt an
animal.
?There are no facilities for
volunteers or wardens to get out of
the weather, and therefore no
regular hours are maintained at the
pound.
?On some winter days, pipes
freeze at the facility and water must
be brought in in 50 gallon drums.
?Animals must be exterminated,
because the county cannot afford to
keep them longer than 10 days.
(See POUND, page 12)
County Approves
Hiring DSS Staff
The Hoke County commissioners
Monday approved employing extra
people for the Hoke County
Department of Social Services low
income assistance programs and a
continuing lease of the South Hoke
Community Building by the Lum
bee Regional Development Asso
ciation.
The commissioners also adopted
a motion asking the Lumber River
Council of Governments not to
approve a Raeford apartment pro
ject for funding by the U.S.
Farmers Home Administration un
til the project is sent through the
Hoke County-Raeford Housing
Authority for approval. A regional
organization approval of a project
is required by the federal govern
ment before a federal loan or grant
is issued.
A loan of 51,451,100 in FmHA
funds has been requested by Bent
Tree Associates of Raeford for
construction of 16 one-bedrom and
32 two-bedroom apartments in the
Adams Street-East Prospect Street
area near the Raeford Fire Depart
ment building. The project cost
amounts to the sum being asked of
the FmHA and $76,400 in the
applicant's funds.
The commissioners, meeting the
Social Services Department
request, authorized establishment
of two temporary fulltime Eligibi
lity Specialist 1, one halftime
temporary Eligibilty Specialist 1,
and one temporary Clerk-Typist II
fulltime position for no longer than
10 weeks each.
Ken Witherspoon, the SS
Department director, in his written
request said that the extra help was
needed because the Energy Assist
ance Program for low-income
Tylenol Cleared
From Stores Here
No Extra-Strength Tylenol of the
MC 2880 lot had been found by
managers of five Raeford stores
contacted by a reporter Friday
afternoon.
Officials started working Thurs
day to get the product withdrawn
from sales in at least 31 states,
including North Carolina.
Two Raeford stores withdrew all
Extra Strength Tylenol capsules,
regardless of lot numbers, just to be
on the safe side. Mike Wood,
pharmacist and owner of Hoke
Drug Co., said he had withdrawn
all capsules from sales and
wouldn't sell any for two days,
though he found none of the MC
2880 lot in his store.
Clyde Register, manager of the
A&P, also said that, though he
had found none of the suspect lot in
the store, he had removed all Extra
Strength Tylenol capsules.
Managers found none of the
suspected lot at Edinborough Phar
macy, Valu-Mart and Howell Drug
after checking, they reported.
*
people this year requires it for
processing the more than 1 ,300
applications in two months.
He said the anticipated cost in
salaries and fringe benefits would
be about 57,855, with the total cost
paid by the federal government.
About 5137,000 in benefits were
paid to Hoke County residents in
the 1981 program, he added.
Witherspoon appeared before
the commissioners Monday to pre
sent his request.
His letter said that in conducting
an evaluation of the implementa
tion of the 1981 energy assistance
program it became evident to him
that the department's other pro
grams suffered to some degree by
using the existing staff.
BUILDING LEASE
The LRDA recommended the
commissioners authorize a lease
agreement for the period from last
July 21 through October 31, 1983,
that the rental be 5300 per month,
and that the LRDA be responsible
for cleaning and other janitorial
services inside the building and
maintenance of the yard and other
grounds outside the building.
The commissioners adopted a
motion made by Commissioner
Danny DeVane that the lease be
automatically continuing from year
to year, and that 60 days' notice be
given the tenant if the commis
sioners plan to terminate the lease.
ROCKFISH BUILDING
John Balfour, the commission
ers' chairman, appointed Commis
sioners Neil McPhatter and James
Albert Hunt as a committee team
(See COUNTY, page 16)
r
Inside Today
Alexander McQueen, who is
113 years old and Hoke
County's oldest resident, was
honored Thursday in Raeford
by the state.
"Hie story and photos of
the program are on Page One,
Section Two, of today's edition
of The News-Journal.