The Hoke County News - Established 1928
Volume LXX1V Number 37 ^ > RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
- journal
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S10 PER YEAR Thursday, January 6, 1983
AILMENTS MINOR -- The Hoke County Courthouse, 70 years old, is
basically in pretty good shape, the county commissioners were informed at
. their Tuesday meeting. Defects exist and were described as "minor but im
w portant." The general condition and the specific ills were described by
William K. Dodge III, and George T. Fore, Jr., both of Raleigh firms,
who are doing a study of the building under a county contract. Dodge is
with Dodge and Associates, architects and planners, and Fare with
Building Preservation Consultants.
Unemployment Up Again
The jobless rate in Hoke County
^ rose .6 of one percent during
? November as 40 residents, who
worked the previous month, joined
the ranks of the unemployed.
Despite the opening of the
Raeford-Hoke Village Shopping
Center, which created over 100
new jobs here, the number of per
sons working in the county as well
as those available for work,
decreased in November.
^ Figures released by the North
f Carolina Employment Security
Commission last week showed that
during November, 7,050 persons
worked in the county out of a
possible work force of 7,910.
During the previous month,
revised commission figures showed
that 7,150 persons had worked and
the job force had been 7,970.
Although last week's figures for
^ November show that the number
? of persons unemployed here rose
to 860 from 820 jobless during Oc
tober, local officials have said they
feel many more persons are not
working in the county.
The figures from the state reflect
only those persons, 16 years or
older, who did not haOe a job dur
ing the week surveyed and who
were actively seeking work.
. Official state figures do not in
) elude persons who have been laid
off and are subject to being recall
ed, or persons waiting to take a
new job.
The November rise in unemploy
ment was the first increase in the
county for the last several months.
The 10.9^o figure recorded in
November was still below the
highest mark reached in the coun
^ ty. In January Hoke County
recorded a 13.4fy> unemployment
rate.
The lowest rate for the year was
reported during June, when the
figure dropped to 9.2%.
Hoke County had reached the
same 9.2% last year during the
same period in November, and had
been dropping since August of this
year before the current upturn.
In October, the rate reached
10.3%.
State officials attribute the hikes
in the jobless to seasonal
unemployment in farming and
agriculture related businesses.
Hoke was among 60 counties in
the state where the jobless rate in
creased.
In the surrounding counties,
unemployment rose in Moore,
Richmond and Robeson.
The rate dropped in Scotland
and Cumberland counties during
November.
In Richmond County, the rate
increased from 16.5% to 18.4%
with 3,370 persons out of work.
Robeson County's rate rose
slightly from 14.3% to 14. 6% with
7,000 persons out of work.
In Moore, there were 2,010 per
sons unemployed during
November and the rate increased
from 8.2% to 8.5%.
Over 500 persons found jobs in
Cumberland County, where the
rate dropped from 9.6% to 8.9%,
but 6,620 persons still remain
jobless there.
The Chapel Hill area in Orange
County recorded the lowest rate in
the state. There only 3.9% of the
work force were out of a job.
Graham County registered the
highest unemployment rate, which
was 32.7%.
Statewide, the total unemploy
ment rate was 9.5% in November
up from 9.3% in October. During
November, there were 278,000
jobless in North Carolina.
The national rate during the
month was 10.8% with 11.4
million unemployed.
Around Town
by Um M?rit
The weather over the New
Year's holidays was cold and
rainy. This meant that most folks
stayed indoors and watched the
bowl games. There was all kinds of
weather for the games, but mostly
the weather was good. The
forecast is for warmer weather for
the remainder of the week.
Elsewhere in the paper is a
report on the rainfall for the
month and year. The rainfall end
ed the year at about what is ex
pected here for a year. It was a lit
tle over 52 inches and that is what
is normal for Hoke County.
? ? ?
There was plenty of football on
television over the holidays and it
(Sec AROUND TOWN, page 14)
I Co . Mulls Costs Of Running
I Hoke Ambulance Service
by Bill Undau
Hoke County commissioners
Tuesday postponed action on
renegotiating a new contract with
the Hoke County Ambulance Ser
vice until a committee to be ap
pointed completes a study of the
financial situation and reports its
findings to the commissioners.
The commissioners were inform
ed that the service had been unable
to collect $54,000 due by in
dividuals since July 1, 1979, when
the contract period started.
The report is due at the commis
sioners' meeting on February 1,
rescheduled from the standing
first-Monday date, because Chair
man John Balfour said he would
be out of town on the regular date
? February 7 -- and it was not cer
tain that Commissioner James
Albert Hunt would be able to at
tend that day either.
Moore Memorial Hospital at
Pinehurst reported Hunt, admitted
Thursday, was still in the hospital
for "observation and treatment"
Tuesday.
The commissioners adopted mo
tions affecting the Ambulance Ser
vice in several ways. One provides
that a committee of at least five
people be appointed, to study the
service's financial condition and its
bookkeeping system. People are to
be recommended by commis
sioners to County Manager James
Martin by Thursday for appoint
ment to the committee.
Another motion authorizes a
$5,500 advance to the service
repayable during the year and a
half remaining on the current five
year contract and the advance will
be secured by a lien on one of the
ambulances.
Before taking up the contract,
the commissioners adopted mo
tions asking the area legislators to
include Hoke County in state laws
concerning payments to the am
bulance service and people's call
ing the service.
The laws make failure to pay an
ambulance service bill a misde
meanor and provides punishment
for anyone calling for an am
bulance without needing it.
The commissioners discussed in
an executive session of about 70
minutes the renegotiation of the
contract, part of the time with Jim
Henley, the owner of the Am
bulance Service.
Balfour after the meeting was
reopened told a reporter of the un
collectable bills, in replying to a
question; why was the advance
needed.
The county has been providing
the service with a subsidy of
$64,000 per year under the con
tract.
Extensive Service
The commissioners in other
business turned down one request
and tabled another made by Coun
ty Agricultural Extension Service
Chairman Willie Featherslone.
Featherstone had asked the com
missioners to authorize advertising
and hiring of an assistant agent to
work with field crops production.
The new assistant would fill the
vacancy created by the resignation
of Banks Wannamaker.
The other motion adopted, tabl
ed the request for use for buying a
$2,000 electronic typewriter. These
funds were budgeted for other pur
poses. The tabling was done to
allow County Manager James
Martin time to investigate the
situation. Featherslone said the
new machine was needed to cut out
repetitions in typing and generally
speed handling of paper work of
the Extension Office.
The commissioners, adopting a
motion made by Cleo Bratcher,
Jr., declined to give the authoriza
tion. Bratcher explained in making
the motion that they should wait
till they saw what the state was go
ing to do and to see how
Featherstone and livestock Assis
tant Agent Richard Melton would
do by sharing the field crops
duties.
Featherstone had pointed out
that the state, for budget reasons,
had frozen vacancies in the Exten
sion Service till July 1, the first day
of the 1983-84 fiscal year.
Commissioner Wyatt Upchurch
and Balfour said people had told
them they didn't believe the county
needed the second assistant, in
view of the county tax dollar situa
tion.
Upchurch said he had received
calls from people expressing the
opinion, and Balfour said he had
received the same statements from
every farmer he had talked to.
Featherstone replied that the Ex
tension Service in Hoke would
continue providing the agricultural
programs with or without a Held
crops assistant but that if he had to
work in the programs, then he'd
have no time for working with
housing assistance for the low
income, and with other valuable
community development projects.
He pointed out that building of a
new home adds to the county's
property tax revenue.
Courthouse
Two building specialists in
formed the commissioners that
their study showed the 70-year-old
Courthouse is "basically in good
shape" for a building of that age
but described leaking and insula
tion defects that should be cor
rected.
The specialists are William W.
Dodge III of Dodge and
Associates, architects and plan
ners, and George T. Fore, Jr., ar
chitectural conservator, of
Building Preservation Con
sultants. Both firms are based in
Raleigh.
(See COUNTY MULLS, page 14)
Antique Dealer, 83,
Robbed By Two Men
An 83-year-old Hoke County
antique dealer was robbed by two
men last Thursday evening outside
his place of business on state
Highway 21 1.
Fred Riley 83 was robbed of $60
and some change, his watch
and a ring about 6:40 p.m. Thurs
day in front of his Riley's Antiques
on N.C. 211 west in Ashley
Heights, the Hoke County
Sheriff's Department reported.
The report said Riley's coat was
pulled over his head, and he was
wrestled to the ground, and the
two took off his wrist watch worth
$40 and his Mason ring worth $75,
then went through his pockets, get
ting his billfold and the change.
Riley said the two men then
drove off in a car they parked near
the store.
He told the investigating officer
these other details.
One of the men rang the bell
outside the back door, and when
Riley opened it the man told him
he wanted to copy the number of a
heater so his son could pick up the
stove later.
Riley agreed to let him note the
number, so Riley went through the
store and out to the front where
the heaters stood.
As Riley was taking items off the
top of the stove and bent over to
see whether the stove had a grate,
the other robber pulled his coat
over his head.
Riley described both men as be
ing black. One man, he said, had a
light complexion, brown eyes and
a heavy build, weighed about 175
pounds, stood about 5 feet 9 inches
and was 20 to 30 years old.
The other man he could describe
only, besides being black, as being
about 6 feet tall.
No arrests had been made by
noon Tuesday.
Inside Today
Hoke High's Greg Holl
ingsworth helped the Bucks past
Prospect last Thursday night for a
win in the consolation game of the
school's holiday tournament. We
take a look at the game and other
Buck action on Page 8 of today's
News-Journal.
OLDTIMER - This old building stands behind Center Missionary Baptist
Church in the Antioch community, and some of the materials for putting
up another, or maybe giving the old one a face lift, can be seen nearby. No
one who could answer the questions of the purpose of the sand and blocks
was around when the picture was taken.
Public TV Gets Dumped
In Cable Realignment
By Warren Johnston
North Carolina public television
could be restored to local cable
subscribers and to those in six
neighboring cities by the end of
this week, a spokesman for Jones
Intercable said Monday.
The public station was removed
from the system, along Charlotte's
Channel 18, when the Atlanta bas
ed firm made abrupt unannounced
changes in programming last week
in an effort to "improve service",
and as a result some subscribers
are upset.
Jones hopes to borrow equip
ment this week from one of its
sister systems in Gaston County,
which will enable the firm to re
establish public television on a
sharing basis with the Christian
Broadcasting Network (CBN),
local manager Harrison Daniels
said.
If the equipment cannot be bor
rowed, Daniels said it would take
longer to restore the public station,
but the programming would be
available before the end of
January.
The decision to change the pro
gramming was made from the
firm's Atlaata office, and was
made without informing
subscribers, Daniels said.
Since the moves were made, the
firm's Red Springs office has
received a number of calls from
angry subscribers, he said.
Initially the company had plann
ed to show public television only
during daytime hours to ac
comodate schools, and to show
CBN at night.
However, reaction from viewers
caused the company to re-think the
move, and the public station will
now be shown from "sign on to
sign off," Daniels said, adding
that CBN will be shown after the
public station signs off.
In an apparent reaction to re
quests made by managers and
mayors from the six-city franchise
area during a December meeting
held in Raeford, Jones bumped
Channel 18 and the public station
to add the Cable News Network
(CNN) and a 24-hour sports net
work (ESPN).
The changes in programming
were also made in anticipation of a
rate hike for the cable company,
Daniels said.
Representatives of the firm will
appear before city councils this
month in Raeford, Red Springs,
St. Pauls, Pembroke, Elizabeth
town and Fairmont to request a 60
cents a month hike, Daniels said.
Prior to last week's program
ming changes, Jones had a North
Carolina and a South Carolina
public station, and many programs
were duplicated.
South Carolina public television
will remain on the air until it will
also be removed to make room for
Federal Communication Commis
sion (FCC) required Channel 3 of
Wilmington.
That Wilmington station is an
ABC affiliate, and will also
duplicate programming on three
other stations on the system,
Daniels said.
"There is nothing we can do
about that. The FCC requires that
we carry them," he said.
Of the 12 channels on the Jones
system, seven are required by the
FCC because of their close prox
imity to the receiving station,
Daniels said.
Presently, Jones has three ABC
stations, one NBC and two CBS
channels.
In addition, the firm carries
Showtime, Fayetteville's Channel
40 and Atlanta's Channel 17 and
the other mentioned stations.
One of those calling the Jones'
office was Hoke County Board of
Education vocational studies coor
dinator Harold Gillis.
A video taped presentation of
(See PBS, page 14)