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The Hoke County News - Established 1928 Th* ? i ? r ....
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
S10 PER YEAR Thursday, April 21, 1983
Lumbee Board Rejects 2nd Recall
By Sherry Matthews
Directors of the Lumbee River
Electric Membership Cooperative
(LREMC) have once again rejected
a members petition seeking a fecall
vote as being "not valid."
At a specially called press con
ference Tuesday, interim general
manager Ronnie Hunt and legal
council for the coop noted that a
petition, signed by more than 10%
of the membership, failed to give
valid reasons to justify the recall
election.
According to Steven A. Benholz,
a Chapel Hill attorney representing
the coop, the charges listed on the
petition did not show "cause" for a
special meeting to be held.
None of the charges listed on the
petition were clear enough or cor
Around Town
by Sam Morris
Maybe it would have been better
if the groundhog had seen his
shadow. The weather on Monday
set records, not only in North
Carolina, but all over the United
States.
The snowfall in North Carolina,
that is in our section of the state,
was a record. According to reports
the latest snow that was on the
ground was on April 4, 1899 and
that was one inch. On April 3,
1950 three inches accumulated in
the Piedmont section of the state.
There was snow that didn't stick in
May, 1939. So you can mark April
18, 1983 as a record snow day on
your calendar.
Editor D. Scott Poole wrote in
the Hoke County Journal April 5,
1923 the following items about
cold weather. He stated that a kill
ing frost came on April 26, 1873.
Another item said the ground was
frozen for two days on March 28
and 29, 1894. At that time the
leaves on the trees were full grown
when the freeze came.
The freezing weather this week
could destroy the strawberry crop,
according to farm experts. The
peach crop could be spared if the
temperature doesn't drop below 29
degrees. It was not expected to do
so.
Tobacco plants are still in the
plant beds and they will be pro
tected from the freezing weather.
Farmers are now concerned about
the wetness of the land which
makes it impossible to get into the
fields. One farmer said Monday
that he was the farthest behind he
had ever been.
The forecast for the upcoming
weekend looks good, but forecasts
haven't been too accurate this
year.
Don't forget that the Hoke
County United Way fund drive is
underway. If you haven't been
contacted, get in touch with the
campaign chairman and he will
send someone to pick up your
money.
Every once in awhile I will read
an article that will cause me to
(See AROUND TOWN, page 12A)
rect enough to show cause within
the meaning defined by the
LREMC by-laws, Bernholz said.
On that condition alone, the
board would have been in violation
of the by-laws had they agreed to
allow the recall meeting, Bernholz
added.
This second refusal came after a
March 15 court ruling was handed
down placing a temporary restrain
ing order on the coop board and
preventing them from hiring a new
general manager and destroying or
refusing to let members view coop
financial records.
The court also approved an In
terim Settlement Agreement which
stated that the board members had
agreed to allow the recall meeting
if 10<?o of the membership signed
petitions asking for that meeting.
According to the coop's legal
council, the interim agreement
was not valid because the directors
withdrew their consent before the
agreement was approved by the
court.
The agreement by its terms pro
vided that it would not become ef
fective until approved by a court
order, Barry Nakel, litigation
council- for the coop said in a
memorandum to the board of
directors.
Another reason for the apparent
denial stems from the fact that
petitions submitted by the coop ac
tion group were not all valid.
"We removed some 400 to 500
names from the petitions because
they were invalid," Hunt said.
According to Hunt some names
on the petitions could not be found
in the member records file, some
names had been duplicated
because both spouses had signed
the petition, and some names were
"clearly and obviously in the same
handwriting."
"All these names were removed
from the petitions," Hunt said.
Other names were removed from
the petition because members re
quested that their names be taken
off the list. Hunt said.
Even with the removal of several
hundred names, the petition si ill
contained enough signatures to
represent 10% of the coop's
membership.
With or without the correct
amount of signatures, coop
Blooming azaleas
Azaleas are in full bloom and gardens are at their peak. Hoke and the surrounding counties are displaying
gardens that can compare with those in the more popular azalea capital, H ilmington. M e take a look at two area
azalea gardens in this week's H-section of The News-Journal.
Alert Raeford Policemen
Grab Man In Main St. Store
A Raeford man was apprehend
ed Friday night and charged with
the breaking, entering and larceny
of a Main Street store.
Henry Lee Legrand of Raeford
was captured around 9 p.m. in the
Western Auto store with the mer
chandise he had allegedly attemp
ted to steal, Police Chief Leonard
Wiggins said.
According to Wiggins, someone
had apparently entered the store by
knocking a hole in the roof and
climbing through the top.
Sergeant Rodney Collins and
Patrolman Junior Ward ap
prehended Legrand in the store
with the assistance of two sheriff's
deputies and other members of the
police department, Wiggins said.
Officers believe the suspect had
allegedly attempted to steal an un
disclosed amount of cash from the
safe as well as a number of guns.
All the property was recovered
and returned to the Western Auto
Store, Chief Wiggins said.
On another unrelated matter, a
Raeford man was charged with
allegedly taking a bottle of
Thunderbird wine from the A&P
food store in the Edenborough
Shopping Center on April 1 1 .
Bill Junior McCain of Raeford
was arrested and charged with
shoplifting. Chief Wiggins said.
The wine was recovered and
turned back over to the A&P,
Chief Wiggins said.
In the county, Robert Fisher of
Rt. 1, Raeford reported that some
one had broken into his home on
April 7. The sheriff's report shows
that two bedrooms in Fisher's
home were ransacked and an un
disclosed amouni of money was
taken. Fisher also reported that
beer and liquor had been spilled on
the floor of the bedrooms.
In unrelated incidents, the
sheriff's department listed the
following crimes:
--Damage to vehicle belonging
to Tony Dean Edge of Rt. 2.
Raeford. The vehicle was damaged
when someone scraped the paint
off the top of the car.
-Larceny of bicycle reported by
Judy Crawley of Rt. 2, Raeford.
-Vandalism to vehicle owned by
Linda Henley. Passenger side of
car had been damaged.
-Larceny of cigarette pouch was
reported by Bcrnice Moser of Rt
1, Raeford.
According to the sheriff's
report, the above eases are still
under investigation.
lawyers felt the allegations listed
on the petition did not show jusi
cause for a special meeting to be
called.
"I think this board showed last
night that they were a very, very
conscientious board." Bernhol/
said.
Board members spent over five
hours reviewing all the petitions
and information dealing with the
recall meeting and had in depth
discussions on the matter. Benhol/
added.
Speaking for the coop, Bernhol/
said he hoped that the entire con
troversy could be settled amicablv
and without further expense to
anyone.
"Our priorities have been
mislaid in the past four months of
this controversy," Hunt said.
According to Bernhob, coop at
torneys and action group attorney
Horace Stacey are attempting to
settle the matter.
"It's going to lake a lot of work,
a lot of effort and a great deal of
compromise to settle this thing,"
Hunt said.
"Personally, I would not and
will not yield to any concessions,"
Action group spokesman Carl
Branch said.
"What you have seen here today
is a total miscarriage of justice, in
my opinion," Branch added
According to Branch, this con
troversy is not o\er, in fact it is just
(See RECALL, page 12A)
Tempers Flare ,
Pound Backed
B> Sherr> Matthews
After a heated debate Monday
night, Hoke County Commis
sioners unanimously decided to go
ahead as quickly as possible with
plans to improve and relocate the
present dog pound facility.
Jack McGinnis, President of the
Raeford-Hoke Humane Society,
made an emotional plea to the
commissioners asking them to
make some sort of decision on im
proving the "inhumane" condi
tions that exist at the present
pound site.
"You appointed a committee to
come up with recommendations on
a building and a site. We did thai
in 30 days and now we are waiting
for your decision," McGinnis told
the commissioners.
"If we (the county) get into the
dog pound business, we're going to
get nothing but complaints, "
Commission Chairman John
Balfour said.
Balfour suggested to McGinnis
that the animal shelter follow in
the footsteps of Scotland County
by letting the Humane Society
operate and financially support the
new facility.
"I would like to see our shelter
run in the same manner," Balfour
said.
"If we get the community in
volved, I think you would get
enough contributions to build a
new facility," Balfour added.
A fund, which was established
late last year for the construction
of a new pound, had received over
$980 in contributions as of f ues
day.
Some members of the communi
ty have complained about ihe ex
pense involved with building the
suggested facility. Commissioner
Wyatt Upchurch said.
McGinnis informed the board
that he had heard no complaints
aboul the recommended site or the
cost of building the shelter.
"1 hear you say people are com
plaining. but I don't hear those
complaints," McGinnis said.
"Ii is not fair to mc to be told
Men Get 14 Years For Armed Robbery
Two Hoke County men were
sentenced to 14 years in jail after
pleading guilty in Superior Court
last week to charges that they rob
bed a local convenience store
March 26 at gun point.
Joseph Melton of Rt .4, Raeford
and Elwood McNair of 1722 Vass
Rnad, Raeford, plead guilty last
^edr^sday to the robbery of
Davis' Cash Mart on U.S. 401
before Superior Court Judge
Robert L. Farmer and were
sentenced to 14 years in the N.C.
Department of Correction.
No suspension was given in
either case, but the court did
recommend that both men be
granted work release when they
had complied with the rules and
regulations of the department of
correction.
The men had allegedly pulled a
pistol on an employee of Davis'
Cash Mart, Harry Carter, and
later hit him on the head with that
weapon.
According to the sheriff's in
vestigation, the two men struggled
with Carter but could not hold on
to him.
Detectives Edward Harris and
James Riley searched the area and
found evidence that, along with
statements from witnesses at the
scene, led to the arrest of the two
men.
The Grand Jury handed down
the indictments last Monday and
the two men, who were scheduled
for motions, plead guilty to the
charges and were sentenced.
In other action during the April
term of Superior Court, a Raeford
woman plead guilty to embezzle
ment charges.
Embezzlement aired
Margaret R Davies of Raeford
was charged with embezzling
money from her employers D.B.
Parker and Davis Parker, owners
of the Carolina Country Mobile
Home Park.
Mrs. Davies had allegedly been
embezzling money since February
of last year.
According to Assistant District
Attorney Jean Powell's reading of
the charges, Mrs. Davies apparent
ly had been falsifying receipts and
in one instance cashed a check that
was supposed to be made to
Carolina Country Mobile Home
Park.
When Mrs. Davies believed her
boss was becoming suspicious, she
told her husband and the couple
staged a break -in at the mobile
home park, stealing the in
criminating evidence, according to
the Powell's report.
Mrs. Davies' husband was also
charged with accessory after the
fact of embezzlement to which he
also plead guilty.
Mrs. Davies allegedly embezzled
over $8,000.
Judge Farmer gave both hus
band and wife a three year
suspended sentence with supervis
ed probation for five years.
The Davies were also instructed
by Judge Farmer to pay a sum of
$9,325 restitution to Carolina
(See SENTENCES, page 13A)
thai there are people against the
shelter, but not tell me who or
why," McGinnis added.
Former Commissioner Mabel
Riley, speaking for the "older
citizens" in the county, informed
McGinnis that the shelter did not
have to be better than most homes
in Hoke County.
To build the recommended
shelter, people's taxes will have to
be raised and that is just not fair,
Riley said.
"We need to move that pound
but it does not need to be built bet
ter than most of the homes that the
citizens of Hoke County live in,"
Riley said.
After Riley's comments,
tempers flared as McGinnis
criticized the commissioners for
buying and renovating the Pilot
Building for counts' use.
"What about the $125,000 ex
penditures used for county office
space." McGinnis asked.
"The Pilot Building is much
better than most houses in the
area." McGinnis said.
"These gentlemen (the commis
sioners) and the people collecting
our taxes will have it much nicer
once they move into the Pilot
Building," McGinnis said.
Buying the Pilot Building was a
move to help create more space for
the jail facility, Riley said.
"There is room in that building
for expansion for years to come,"
Riley added.
In an effort to smooth tempers,
a motion was made to move on the
dog pound situation.
"I think we should better the
present conditions as much as we
can and move it (the pound) as fast
as we can," Upchurch said in his
motion.
The decision was unanimous to
uphold Upchurch's motion.
Ambulance Hoes
In other business, Hoke Am
bulance service owner Jim Henley
told the commissioners that he
(See HHNLF.Y QUITS, page UA)
It that time of year again.
Time to set your clocks up one
hour. Daylight Savings Time
goes into effect Sunday at 2
a.m. So, before you go to bed,
reset the clocks. Although you
might lose an hour's sleep,
look on the bright side, there 's
more time to work in the
garden, play tennis or get a
suntan.
Spring Up
V