25'
TheHoke County News - Established 1928
eu?4
LXX1V N? Wr43 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
25"
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S10 PER YEAR
Thursday, February 17, 1983
Death Probe
Awaits SBI
Lab Report
By TWiij THallhi m i
Hoke County authorities were
optimistic earlier this week that
pre&nary lab reports from the
State Bureau of Investigation (S&I)
will provide new dues into the
death of a Fort Bran soldier .
found stabbed to death here
February 8.
The body of Sgt. Roger Keith
Shannon. 43. of Fort Bragg was
found in a wooded area bet?em
Rock fish and Arabia.
Authorities have said a rope was
. found near the body, leading them
to believe the victim had been tied
prior to death.
According to Hoke County
sheriff, Dave Barringtoo. the vic
tim's body was found by a hunter
around 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday.
February 8.
After arriving at the scene, the
sheriff found that the victim had
been stabbed 10 to 12 times in the
' chest, back and legs, he said.
Shannon was wearing jogging
pants and tennis shoes. A jogging
shirt along with the rope were
found a few feet from the body.
Barrington said.
Also found some distance from
the body was the victim's wallet
which held a Fort Bragg identifica
tion card and a driver's license, the
sheriff said.
' Identification of the victim's
body was made through finger
prints and later verified through
the information found in the
wallet, he added.
According to the sheriff, all the
physical evidence found on and
around the body has been sent to
the SBI lab in Raleigh for analysis.
The investigation of the stabbing
is continuing, Barrington said.
ky Saa fenfc
As one weather announcer said
on the news Monday, it seems that
this part of North Carolina is in a
bubble that keeps out the snow and
' sleet. This is the third time this
year that the conditions have been
perfect for a large snow and the
temperatures would go above the
freezing point and we would
receive rain. Of course this is just
fine for me because I have seen
enough snow and sleet during my
lifetime. On the other hand many
people like the snow and they were
disappointed once again.
' Robert Gatlin, Hoke County
observer for the National Weather
Service, told me Monday that the
temperature got down to 31
degrees at 10: 15 Sunday night and
then started to rise and went to 38
degrees, by morning. If the
temperature had dropped the seven
degrees, we would have had about
a foot of snow or sleet by
daybreak.
' The forecast is for the sun to
shine Tuesday and the temperature
to rise into the 50s. Then another
storm should make its way into
North Carolina by Thursday. So
we could be looking for another
wet weekend.
If this cold and wet weather
keeps up for many more days, I
will have to start putting on the rug
in the living room. Of course my
' wife might not like it and then I
will have to find something else to
occupy my lime.
? ? *
Chuck Davis, who works at
Heritage Savings and Loan, asked
me to write something in this col
umn about a High School class
reunion that he is trying to get
- started. The reunion is foe the
' Class of 1973 of Hoke County
High School.
It seems that the word hasn't
gotten around or that members are
not interested, because he has had
little response to other efforts of
obtaining names and addresses of
class members.
In I9t5 my class will have their
50th reunion and this will be the
I third tine we have gotten together.
(See AROUND TOWN, page 12A)
? ? ' ' ' "-V '? i
DOG DA Y AFTERNOON ? Firn on a ooM and rainy day like Monday, a dog must gel his exercise.
FA A: Zoning Needed At Airport
B) Sk?) Matthews
In order to make the Raeford'
Hoke County Airport economi
cally viable, local officials must
establish zoning regulations which
would govern the development of
the surrounding area and must set
up tighter regulations for the
operation of the facility, members
of a Blue Ribbon Study Committee
were told Tuesday night.
Committee members met with
representatives from the state
Department of Transportation
Aeronautics Division and Federal
Aviation Authority (FAA) and
were told that zoning around the
airport would insure future expan
sions of the facility and could
lessen the chances of law suits
from non-compatible develop
ments.
"You have a good airport that is
capable of expanding if you set up
some sort of zoning laws," FAA
official George Attman said.
The airport's potential would
also be improved by establishing
an airport commission which could
set up rules and regulations for the
facility and could enforce them,
Ahman said.
According to state Aeronautics
Division official Bill Maslyk, "air
ports that run the most efficiently
are the ones supervised by an air
port commission. If the airport
itself benefits from this type of
commission, then the community
too will benefit."
Both Altman and Maslyk believe
that in order to attract industry
here, a wdl run airport with good
facilities is essential.
An airport is the front door to a
community, and if it is not well
. ?
represented, then it reflects on the
community and could possibly
discourage potential industries
from locating there, Altman said.
The state and federal officials
along with committee members
agree that the airport is one of the
key elements to economic and in
dustrial growth here.
Committee Chairman Tom
Cameron noted that with the ex
pansion and the development of
rules and regulations, the airport
will be well represented and
therefore more attractive to poten
tial industries.
On another matter, both federal
and state officials said a parachute
jump school located at the airport
would not hurt the facility's
chances for future grants.
"Some airports would be glad to
(See FAA, page 11 A)
THF LtGHTER SJDE-A lighter moment dbrin last weft's meeting between members af ammkporl Bhte Rib
bo n Stmdy Commit tee and officials from Ik e state aeronautics division and the rtdtral Avimtkm Authority
(FA A I. From trft to right are. Ron Matthenes, Raeford City Manager, George A It mam, FAA official from
Atlanta. BM S4asM(. official of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Jay Pate also with the
Coop Group Quiet,
Considering Action
By Sherry Matthews
Leaders of a membership action
group were keeping "mum" Tues
day about future plans to oust the
present board of directors of the
Lumbee River Electric Member
ship Cooperative.
Action group leader, Carl
Branch said Tuesday that the mat
ter had been turned over to the
group's attorney, and members
had been advised not to make any
statements about a bid to remove
the directors.
"It is totally out of the group's
Shands now," Branch said.
A press conference scheduled
for Red Springs Tuesday night was
also cancelled by the group follow
ing the meeting with the attorney.
The Action group has been con
sidering how to react to a vote
Thursday by the board to not
? allow coop members to hold a
f recall election on March 3.
Board members met Thursday in
a closed door session for several
5 hours before ruling that the
* charges listed on a recall petition
were not sufficient reasons for
allowing the special meeting.
The high cost of holding the
special meeting, which has been
estimated at $15,000 to $20,000,
apparently played a part in the
board's decision.
Prior to meeting with attorneys
Monday night, Branch said several
options may be open to dissatisfied
^ coop members.
One option might be to go ahead
with the March 3 meeting without
the approval of the board.
"If they are not there, we can
still vote them out." Branch said.
Another coop member noted
that legal steps might also be taken
to force the board to hold the
meeting.
The Action group which is head
ed by Carl Branch collected more
than 2,000 names on a petition
calling for the recall, but the board
still rejected the special meeting on
the grounds that the petition did
not have enough cause.
The petition lists two reasons for
seeking a recall meeting; the
"improvident" dismissal of Gen
eral Manger Deri Hinson last
November and the board's alleged
mismanagement of the electrical
corporation.
Branch and other coop members
do not appear to be taking this rul
ing as the final word, the Action
group leader said.
Action group members have
come under fire from the board
because few members of the group
cast ballots in past board elections.
"That was our mistake."
Branch said.
"However, it's a mistake that
we don't believe we have to live
with forever," he added.
The action group's major com
plaint seems to be that the board is
spending to much money on
themselves out of the expense
allowances permissible under the
coop's bylaws, policies and pro
cedures.
The coop is a non-profit cor
poration providing electric service
to 20,000 rural customers in areas
of Robeson, Hoke. Scotland, and
Cumberland counties.
Youths' Vandalism
Nets Stern Terms
Five Raeford youths were ar
raigned last week in Hoke County
District Court on charges of van
dalism and injury to real property.
Richard Mark Ivy, Robert
Palmer Willcox, Jr., John Timothy
Helbling, Reginald Scott Pickler
and John Howard Reedy, all of
Raeford, had been charged earlier
this month with the destruction of
vehicle windshields, broken win
dows in storage sheds and the pull
ing up of stop signs and railroad
signs throughout the city, court
records show.
Judgement on these cases was
deferred until July 29 on condi
tions set by District Court Judge
Joe Dupree.
Court records show that each of
the youths must report to the
Raeford City Manager's office ap
proximately one week from the
trial date and work a full 40 hours
for the City of Raeford and pay
full restitution for the damage they
inflicted.
In an unrelated incident, four
other youths who allegedly escaped
from the Sandhills Youth Center
and were arraigned on charges of
misdemeanor escape.
According to an official from
the youth center, the four escapes
this month all involved youths
charged with misdemeanor crimes
and who were brought almost
directly from the courtroom to the
center.
It appears that those youths who
have only been at the center a short
time and have not gone through
the orientation adjustment period
that most of the other boys have,
are the boys that often will try to
escape, according to the official
from the center.
Lindsay Rennick, Berry Mur
phy, Steven Feltner, and Calvin
Moore were all captured within 48
hours of their escape and arrested,
the court records show.
Each of the youths were found
guilty in district court and sentenc
ed to 90 days at the center which is
to begin at the expiration of the
sentence they are now serving.
In other unrelated incidents in
district court this week, the follow
ing judgements were issued:
-Bobby Dean Anderson, For
*
rest Street, Raeford, was found
guilty of driving under the in
fluence and given a 90 day
suspended sentence for 12 months.
He was fined $150 plus costs and
was instructed by the judge to
enroll and complete the Alcohol
and Drug Abuse School.
? James Everett Freeman,
Sanders Street, Raeford, was
found guilty of driving under the
influence of alcohol and given a 90
day suspended sentence for 12
months. He was fined $150.00
plus cost
--Gloria Smith Ingram of
Fayetteville was found guilty of
driving under the influence and
given a 90 day suspended sentence
for 12 months. She was fined
$150.00 plus cost.
--In still further unrelated in
cidents, William Welton Bass of
Hope Mills was found guilty of
speeding (70-55) and was fined $15
(See ESCAPES, page 11 A)
Inside Today
Man <>/ Year -- Neill McFadyen
Wight) wa.\ awarded ike honor
of being named Kiwants Man
Of Year by HartUd Gtllis \left\
during ike annual Ladies'
Nigkl function Thursday See
complete story on page 6A of
l?di>a\ s Nw Joomil.