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The Hoke County News - Established 1 928
VOLUME LXXIV NUMBER 30 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
journal
25
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
$8 PER YEAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1982
, I ? ? i ~~ T
Investigators at the scene Sunday on NC Highway 211 west of Raeford. One man was found dead in the residence
and his brother was seriously injured following an apparent malfunction of a heater.
Probe Of Man's Death Continues
Hoke County Deputy Sheriffs
were investigating this week to find
why a heater apparently malfunc
tioned Sunday at a NC Highway
211 residence leaving one Raeford
man dead and his brother seriously
r injured .
Glenn Edward Ellington, 20, of
Rt. 3,. Raeford, was found dead
apparently from smoke inhalation,
and his brother, Benjamin James
Ellington, Jr., seriously ill around
11:40 a.m. Sunday, the Hoke
County Sheriffs Department re
ported.
Benjamin Ellington was still in
serious condition Tuesday at Cape
i Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville
?J where he was admitted for treat
ment, a hospital spokesman said.
Glenn Ellington was pronounced
dead at the scene by Dr. Riley
Jordan, a Hoke County Medical
Examiner.
His body was sent to Chapel Hill
for an autopsy by the State Medical
Examiner's office to determine the
specific cause of death.
h The Sheriff s Department in
vestigation is continuing, including
the reason for the accident.
Sheriff" s Deputies Alex Norton
and C.E. Harris reported they
found white smoke coming from a
gas heater when they went into the
home in response to a telephone
report.
The officers found Glenn Elling
ton dead on a couch in the living
room, and his brother unconscious
but still breathing on a bed.
Benjamin Ellington was given
oxygen and taken to the hospital by
ambulance.
The officers didn't know whether
the gas heater was burning when
they saw it because they felt it was
important first to cut off the flow of
gas from an outside tank the
deputies said.
The body of Glenn Ellington was
found in front of the heater.
Ronald Ashburn, manager of
Raeford Oil Co., said Tuesday that
his firm installed the heating
system a few weeks ago. and that he
had not seen the heater since the
This window is at the front of the First Baptist Church's new sanctuary.
1st Baptist's Sanctuary Dedicated
The new sanctuary building of
First Baptist Church of Raeford
was dedicated formally Sunday
morning.
The services were followed by
dinner for the members and their
guests.
The new sanctuary seats 437
people, compared with the approxi
mately 250 the older, wooden
building next to it seated.
(See BAPTIST page 9)
incident.
He said the Sheriffs Department
has the house locked up and is
making a full investigation into the
circumstances surrounding the ac
cident.
The deputies went to the house in
response to a report that a "shoot
ing" had occurred there the in
vestigation report says.
The report of the "shooting"
indicates a witness heard some kind
of explosion in the house and was
under the impression it was gun
fire.
The funeral for Glenn Ellington
was to be held at 2 p.m. Wednes
day in the chapel of Crunipler
Funeral Home by the Rev. Robert
Deaton, with burial in Ashley
Heights Baptist Church cemetery.
Surviving besides his brother are
his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Ben
Ellington of Rt. 3, Raeford; his
sisters, Mrs. Jean Key of Illinois.
Mrs. Dornita Davis of Raeford,
and Misses Linda, Beverly, Pamela
and Kristina Ellington of the home.
Around Town
by Sim Mtrrti
Wintertime came over the week
end, and from all reports, will be
with us for awhile. The tempera
tures will get up into the 50s for
most of the week, but will drop
down to around freezing for the
nights. So this means that the
heaters will run for the next few
days.
The wind was out of the north on
Saturday and with the tempera
ture in the 40s, it was a rough day
at Kenan Stadium at Chapel Hill.
Having seats on the south side
wasn't for the best last Saturday.
Many people left at the half, and
there were many empty seats in the
section where I was sitting when the
game started.
I did stay until about six minutes
before th? end of the game, but I
was afraid my joints were frozen
when 1 first started to walk down
the steps. Football games are fun to
go and see if the weather is
suitable. Maybe it will be warm
Thanksgiving for the game.
? ? ?
Last week I went down to Holden
Beach with a group from Raeford
to do some fishing. The group
consisted of Palmer Willcox.
Duncan McFadyen, Dick Neeley.
James Martin, Earl Fowler, Frank
Teal, Robert Gatlin and myself.
A few weeks ago I wrote about a
group going fishing at Bogue
Sound and they consisted of six
Methodists and one Baptist.
Robert Gatlin. Now the group I
went off with consisted of seven
Presbyterians and Robert Gatlin.
On the trip with the Methodists,
Gatlin tried to do some missionary
work by pushing a fellow in the
(See AROUND TOWN page 9)
Riley Resigns
Upchurch Appointed
To Commission Seat
In a move that appeared to be a
formality, members of the Hoke
County Commission unanimously
elected a Raeford businessman to
fill the seat vacated November 1 by
newly elected state Rep. Daniel H.
DeVane.
Tarheel Turkey Hatchery Presi
dent Wyatt Upchurch was elected
without discussion Monday night
following the surprise resignation
of commission member Mabel
Riley, who was also considered to
fill DeVane's seat.
Riley's resignation left only
three members to consider the ap
pointment.
Riley was defeated in her bid for
re-election in July, but had been
nominated along with Upchurch
and Raeford Druggist Tom
Howell, by rpembers of the Hoke
County Democratic Party Ex
ecutive Committee to fill the va
cant seat.
In order to compete for the seat,
Riley had to resign from the com
mission, a state Attorney General's
opinion said.
Riley's term would have expired
ai ihe beginning of the commis
sion's next meeting in December
and the action to fill the seat Mon
day night was the last matter to be
considered by the body.
She served for four years.
"This sort of takes me by sur
prise," Commission Chairman
John Balfour said after reading
Riley's letter.
The board of commissioners is
not obligated to follow the recom
mendation of the party, however.
Balfour said the board normally
does.
Upchurch was the top vote get
ter during last week's party caucus
with 43 votes. Riley received 33
and Howell 28.5.
Jimmy Plummer Sr. and David
Warren were also considered in the
balloting by the executive commit
tee.
Party leadership had favored
Upchurch, and some observers
said prior to the unanimous tally
Monday night that the election was
pre-decided weeks earlier.
Upchurch will join Cleo Brat
cher Jr., who won election in
November, Balfour and incum
bant James A. Hunt, in swearing
in ceremonies during the December
6 meeting.
Pound Fund Started
In other action during the
regular meeting, commission
members also voted unanimously
to establish a building fund to be
used toward the cost of construc
ting a new animal pound.
Citizen donations and contribu
tions to the fund can be made with
the money earmarked for the new
pound.
Although the county will have
complete discretion to determine
how the funds are used in building
the pound, the money will be
returned to donors if the new
facility is not constructed, Balfour
said.
The action was sparked after a
county resident said she wished to
donate to the building fund and
wanted to give food for the
animals at the present pound.
Deon Cole told commission
members that she was willing to
donate to the construction of a
new pound, but would not give
money for renovating the present
facility.
The commissin voted earlier to
establish a committee to determine
the feasibility of building a new
pound, but Balfour said Monda>
that he had not yet appointed
anyone to serve on the study
group.
Those appointments would be
made soon, Balfour said.
On Monday morning there were
45 dogs in the pound, and by the
afternoon all but five had been
killed. Cole said.
Dog food contributions would
be made to the county health
department for the pound animals,
Cole said, noting that she
understood that the present food is
being mixed with hog feed.
"If they are going to be put to
sleep, I'd like to make their last
meal a good one." she added.
Other Action Taken
In still further business, the
commission also approved a
Christmas bonus for a" county
employes.
For the county's 107 workers,
the bonus will amount to 1% of
each employe's salary for the year,
i?*ss social security and retirement
allotments.
The bonus will be based on
salaries prior to October 31, and
will cost taxpayers $13,522.88.
The commissioners also approv
ed an amendment to this year's
budget.
Most of the changes included
items approved prior to the June
30 end of the fiscal year, which
were not paid for.
A $7,000 canopy over the new
gasoline tanks being installed for
the sheriffs department was also
included in the budget amend
ment.
After a 20-minute executive ses
sion, Balfour noted that the board
had discussed the purchase of ad
ditional office space for the coun
ty, but that no decision which
could be made public, was
reached.
The commissioners are consider
ing purchasing the Pilot Building
on Main Street from Southern Na
tional Bank.
Members of the Airport Blue Ribbon Commission at a recent meeting.
Airport Funding Hinges
On Parachute School
by Warren Johnston
A management plan must be
established and the hazard of
parachute jumpers falling near run
ways must be eliminated before
Raeford is likely to receive funding
for improvements at the municipal
airport, federal and slate officials
said this week.
A local "Blue Ribbon" commit
tee is studying the feasibility of ex
panding the Raeford Airport and if
improvements are to be made,
federal and state funding would
probably be needed.
Revamping the airport is being
eyed, because local and state of
ficials feel a well run facility is im
portant for attracting industry
here.
State and federal agencies could
pay up to 95% of the cost of air
port improvements.
"We know that Raeford can use
parallel runways and taxi ways, but
our big concern is the jump opera
tion," regional Federal Aviation
Agency (FAA) Director Howard
Robinson said.
"We would like to see them do
their jumping somewhere else,"
Robinson said, noting that the
FAA felt parachutists falling near
the runway were a hazard to
airplanes.
The FAA has no problem with
Gene Paul Thacker's jumping
school being run from the airport,
but agency officials believe the
landing site for the parachutist
should be moved away from the
facility, Robinson said.
Thacker, who met with commit
tee members last Tuesday night,
said problems with the jump opera
tion could be eliminated if tougher
regulations were established.
"I have never seen a situation
out there which is almost life
losing," Thacker said.
Some planes have had to circle
the airport again, but there have
(See AIRPORT page 9)