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The Hoke County News - Established 1928
Volume LXXIV Number 42 RAEFORD. HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
journal
25
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S10 PER YEAR
Thursday, February 10, 1983
AGILE W ORK ?? This painter makes his way with apparent ease around
the steeple of the First United Methodist Church in Rae/ord to a lofty
perch for painting. The work h?s being done last *rek as part of the
church s sprucing up campaign .
Ambulance Subsidy
Hiked By 63.3%
By Bill Lindau
Members of the Hoke County
Commission voted Friday to re
write the county's contract with
the Hoke Ambulance Service, and
to increase the firm's tax paid sub
sidy by more than 63.3^?.
The action came in a specially
called meeting and after a two
hour executive session.
As a result of the move, Hoke
Ambulance Service will receive
$105,436 per year, which is an in
crease of $40,883 over the firm's
previous contract.
The agreement also provides
that the commission will not
automatically renew the contract
when it expires on December 31,
and that the body will investigate
the feasibility of the county going
into the ambulance business.
"It was our lowest estimated op
tion," County Manager James
Martin said, noting that another
proposal would have cost the
county more than the figure agreed
on with Hoke Ambulance.
Under the new contract, the
county has agreed to:
? Make the new arrangement
retroactive to January 1, 1983.
? Seek county owned space for
the ambulance service head
quarters. If the space is found the
contract would be reduced by
$9,746 or $812 per month.
^ Allow the firm's owner Jim
Henley to use a county vehicle for
30 days until an additional
qualified Emergency Medical
Technician can be hired. The car
will allow Henley, who has a top
certification, to respond in the
vehicle when needed.
? Deny efforts by Henley to
raise the ambulance fees from their
present level.
The action came shortly before
noon after an executive session that
ran from about 9:45 a.m. to 11:38
a.m.
The amount of county money
provided in the 1983 budget is
about S9.000 more than Henley
had asked the commissioners for.
However, Commission Chairman
John Balfour explained after the
meeting that the amount was raised
because the commissioners turned
down Henley's request for an
increase in the service's per-patient
fee to S55 from S35 and the travel
expense charged patients to SI .25
from SI per mile.
Henley's budget proposal sub
mitted earlier totaled SI 29.475.29.
of which about 533.000 would be
provided by charges collected from
patients, with the rest to come from
county funds.
The county total, however, would
be $84,000. if the county provided a
building for the Ambulance Service
and paid the utilities bills, accord
ing to the proposal.
Last year, the county provided
$64,553.
Henley had reported, however,
that the Service was unable to
collect about $54,000 in charges
due from patients since the Service
started in 1979.
Henley had advised the commis
sioners that he would need S32.435
more in county money annually to
operate and that his company
would go bankrupt if the old
contract were not renegotiated
within 30 days.
Henley also requested after the
commissioners acted on the budget
the use of a Sheriff s Department
surplus vehicle. The commissioners
agreed to leave the matter up to the
county manager. James Martin. No
objection was expressed.
The Ambulance Service's first
contract, led by the commissioners
in 1979. was for five years, but
Henley at last week's meeting said
he didn't want one for more than a
year -- to June 30, 1984 -- because
of the possiblity that national
economic conditions would change,
affecting the Service's financial
situation.
The original contract was to run
until June 30, 1984. but the
commissioners' Friday action in
validated the contract and had the
(See AMBULANCH. page 6A I
,T urkey Plant
Begins Construction
By Warren Johnston
Construction of a waste water
pre-treatment facility is expected
to begin at the House of Raeford
turkey processing plant this week,
members of the Raeford City
Council were told Monday.
Letters of commitment, plans
?and specifications, which outline
the firm's intentions to construct
the gravity flow pre-treatment
facility, were received by the city
Monday, and officials are op
timistic that a 10-year struggle over
the turkey plant's sewage discharge
has been resolved.
In a letter, dated Monday, to
Mayor John K. McNeill, House of
Raeford Controller George W.
^Kitchens noted that a contract was
signed January 31 with the
Keystone Heights. Florida, con
struction firm of Royal Jones and
Around Town
kf Sm Mwrit
The snow Sunday morning
should have made everyone happy.
To those who like snow it was on
the ground for a while in the morn
ing but it did not stick on the
highways. So those who don't like
snow were able to get around
without any danger of slipping and
j sliding on the roads.
If we had received all snow dur
ing the period of the precipitation
we would have accumulated about
10 inches according to Robert
. Gatlin. The rain melted much of
| the snow that had fallen during the
ft night and then the rainfall was
1 over an inch.
I The forecast for the coming
yeek and weekend is for warmer
^weather.
(See Around Town, page 3A)
Associates Inc. to build the facili
ty.
"Construction is to be started
today (Monday), and there will be
30 working days required to com
plete this project. It is our inten
tion to have this project completed
by March 31, 1983, weather per
mitting," Kitchens said in the let
ter.
If the firm completes the pre
treatment facility and brings the
plant's discharge in line with a
municipal ordinance, council
members have agreed to waive
more than $30,000 in violation
charges levied earlier, as well as
S3, 000 per month which is ac
cumulating during the construc
tion period.
Officials are also expecting the
state Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development (NRCD) to lift a ban
on ne* industry here once the
turkey plant has brought its
discharge into line with the city or
dinance
If the House of Raeford had not
taken the action to clean up its
discharge. NRCD officials had
threatened to levy civil penalities
on the city which could have run as
high as $10,000 per day.
Those fines would have been
passed on to the turkey plant, and
Kitchens has agreed that if the
state fines are still levied as a result
of the House of Raeford
discharge, the firm would pay the
tab.
City officials said after a regular
council meeting held Monday, that
they considered the letter from Kit
chens a formal commitment from
the House of Raeford to resolve
the problem
Another Try
In other action, council
members vowed to renew efforts to
get reduced speed limits and cau
tion lights on the U.S. 401 Bypass
Highway around Raeford, despite
an earlier rejection from the state
highway department.
In response to an earlier request
for reduced speed limits from the
council and Hoke High Principal
Dt. Linwood Simpson, highway
department officials have agreed
to lower the limit to 45 miles per
hour from the Vass Road intersec
tion to the St. Elizabeth of
Hungary Catholic Church. City
Manager Ronald Matthews said.
The move would cause speed
limits to increase in some areas and
would not lower it enough in
*? jgpj' VV'ST
PONDERING THE QUESTION - Members of the Hoke Comnty Legislative Delegation met here Saturday to
answer questions from residents and constituents. Shown here pom (left to rtghtj are Rep. Sidney A. Locks,
Rep. Daniel H. DeVane . Sn. David AwwO and Rep. fine Hasty.
dangerous sections near the high
school, Matthews said.
"What they are proposing
would raise it in the Vass Road and
North Fulton Street areas," Mat
thews said, noting that those in
tersections are dangerous and do
not need increased speed limits.
State officials are concerned
about the reaction the department
might get from truckers if the
speed limit on the Bypass is
lowered to 35, Matthews said.
"The only time the state will
come in and do anything is when
four or five people get killed,"
Police Chief Leonard Wiggins
said.
City and school officials became
concerned about the Bypass safety
after two Hoke High students were
hit while crossing the road near the
school.
A move to put caution lights
near the school was also rejected
by highway officials because Hoke
High is separated from the Bypass
by a median, Matthews said.
City officials hope to join forces
with members of the Hoke County
Board of Education in an effort to
get the lights and warnings near the
school.
Other Matters
In still further business, the
council took action on these mat
ters during the regular monthly
meeting:
?Approved for second and
final reading an ordinance raising
the basic fees charged to Jones In
tercable customers by 60 cents per
month. The hike will take effect on
(See Tl'RKKY PI ANT. pjge <>A>
Delegation Backs
McCain Hospital
Members of the Hoke County
Legislative delegation vowed
Saturday to continue efforts to
keep McCain Hospital open as a
tuberculosis treatment facility.
However, District 16 Rep.
Daniel H. DeVane hinted that in
order to justify keeping the
70-patient facility open, some of
its buildings might have to be
shared with other state services.
DeVane's prediction was ap
parently born out Monday, when
the state Department of Correc
tions announced that its regional
office would be moved from
Fayetteville to the former staff liv
ing quarters at the hospital.
The move has been prompted by
budget cuts and is expected to save
the state rental fees and travel ex
Delegation members, who met
here Saturday with Hoke County
residents, said they would use their
committee positions to keep the
hospital functioning as the only
state operated tuberculosis facility.
Efforts have been made by state
Department of Natural Resouces
and Community Developement
(NRCD) Director Dr. Sarah Mor
row to close McCain and transfer
patients to local care units in com
munity hospitals.
"We have our guns loaded, and
we are ready to defend McCain
Hospital," District 30 Sen. David
R. Parnell said.
"We're convinced that it is in
the best interest of the state to con
tinue its operation," Parnell said.
A recent survey of doctors and
(See LEGISLATIVE, Pg. 7 A)