The Hoke County News - Established 1928
The News-Journal
Established 1928 ? -
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXV Number 24 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, October 6, 1983
Hirings Spark Commissioners' Ire
By Warren Johnston
Members of the Hoke County
Commission will file a formal
complaint with the 12th Judicial
District Court over the selection of
a Cumberland County resident to
serve here as the Driving While Im
paired (DWI) coordinator.
Commission members voted
unanimously Monday during a
regular bi-monthly meeting to ob
ject to Chief District Court Judge
Sol Cherry's selection of an out-of
county resident for the post
created by the October 1 Safe
Roads Act.
Cherry said Monday that the
volume of cases in Hoke County
did not justify a selection of a
county resident to fill one of the
three new coordinator positions.
"I didn't get but three or four
applications from Hoke
residents," Cherry said, noting
that of the applications he receiv
ed, none were qualified.
The chief judge did admit that a
qualified Hoke resident had ap
plied, but that her application ap
parently "got lost."
"1 never received it. 1 don't
know what happened," Cherry
said.
The position was apparently not
advertised in Hoke County.
The coordinator will serve in
Hoke at least two days per week
and will work with local officials
to provide public service jobs for
those convicted of DW1, Cherry
said.
According to the law, public ser
vice jobs can serve as an alternative
to spending time in jail.
In response to the commission's
action. Cherry warned that if the
county did not cooperate, local
residents would be serving jail
terms rather than providing com
munity service.
"A lot of Hoke County
residents are going to jail, if the
county government doesn't get in
the spirit of things," Cherry said.
After a check with magistrates,
Cherry said he determined thai
Hoke County had from five to
seven DW1 cases a week.
Cumberland County has about
60 per week, the judge said.
Commission members voted
that Chairman John Balfour
should write Cherry to point out
the county's objection to the ap
pointments.
Prior to the decision Commis
sion Vice Chairman James Albert
Hunt noted that Hoke officials
had not done a proper lobbying
job with Cherry to get a county
resident in the coordinator's posi
tion.
"It's politics. We need to go
over there and lake Cherry by the
hand," Hunt said.
"Let me contact him. I've been
in jail, and I'm mean as a
bulldog." Hunt said.
In accordance with the law, the
commissioners OK'd the use of
vounty office space for the new
coordinator, and agreed to provide
necessary office equipment and the
limited use of a secretary.
"If it is a Cumberland County
employee, we can find the space.
We have some small space," Com
missioner Wyatt Upchurch said.
Cherry said he was unsure what
effect the new law would have on
the DWI case load.
If the case load increases, then
the coordinator could spend more
than two days here, he said.
Both Raeford and Hoke of
ficials feel a local resident would
better understand what jobs need
to be done here and would have a
better rapport with public staffers
overseeing the work.
Raeford City Manager Ron
Matthews also said Monday that
he would have preferred a local
resident in the job.
Cherry was told in a meeting in
Raeford last Friday of the city
manager's objection to the ap
pointment, Matthews said.
The matter did not come up dur
ing Monday night's City Council
meeting.
City Gives Final OK
To Tough Sewer Law
Haggard remains
This piece of rugged limber, lying aimlessly among have been a Hoke County dwelling. The structure
the fall weeds is all that remains of what once could apparently was torn down or burned.
B> Warren Johnston
A new sewer use ordinance
which will give the City of Raeford
the power to force local industries
to comply with discharge re
quirements was passed into la*
Monday night.
Members of the Raeford City
Council voted unanimously during
a regular monthly meeting to give
final passage to the ordinance,
vshich outlines strict requirements
for industrial discharges into the
municipal sewer system.
As a" result of "the action, city
engineers will begin a precise
testing program during October on
discharges from Raeford's three
major industries. City Manager
Ronald Matthews said.
Testing started Monday on
Faberge and the House of
Raeford. Matthews said, adding
that Burlington will be tested later
in the month.
All ot the industries are
cooperating, the city manager said.
City officials believe that
Faberge and Burlington are in
compliance with required
discharges.
Each of the industries will pay
one-third of the cost of testing and
will receive samples in order to
verify city results, Matthews said.
It the industries are not in com
pliance, the firms will be faced
with paying surcharges, the city
manager said.
Prior to the meeting Matthews
said he had met with represen
tatives from the House of Raeford,
and that industry appeared to be
making progress towards cleaning
up its discharge.
The testing will determine if the
turkey processing plant is violating
the new ordinance and the ap
propriate steps will be taken if ex
cess discharges are found, Mat
thews said.
In other action, Raeford has
been approved for a state matching
grant to build a new terminal at the
city-county airport, Matthews told
council members.
The North Carolina Department
of Transportation (DOT) Aviation
Division notified the city Monday
that a maximum of S75.000 in mat
ching funds has been set aside for
an airport terminal, Matthews
said.
A contract on the facility must
be let by June, but that timetable
might fit with the city's plans to
turn the airport over to a joint city
county airport commission, the ci
ty manager said.
In order to put the final touches
(See TERMINAL, page 11)
Differences Brew Over Rockfish Park Deal
B\ Warren Johnston
Following a lengths executive
session, members of the Hoke
County Commission agreed Mon
day to pursue efforts to secure a
park site in the Rockfish Com
munity.
County Attorney Duncan B.
McFadyen was instructed during a
regular meeting Monday to pursue
? the completion of the purchase of
the six-acre site at the agreed price
or to take legal steps to recover the
county's costs in the transaction.
Commission members excercis
ed an option on the Rockfish site
in February, but have been unable
to purchase the land because of the
owner's apparent failure to com
plete his part of the bargain.
Chairman John Balfour said.
The owner. Ray Brock, had
agreed to move a road off of the
property and to get approval for
the move from surrounding pro
perty owners.
In a letter to the commission,
Brock's attorney Charles A.
Hostetler said his client had com
pleted the requirements of the sale.
In addition Brock was also keep
ing a Si, 200 option fee paid by the
commission because the transac
tion had expired, Hostetler said.
McFadven said he disagreed
with the opinion outlined in
Hosteller's letter and believed that
Brock had not moved the road to
the satisfaction of the surrounding
property owners.
The county hopes to use the
park for baseball fields, and the
road in its present location would
prohibit that use, Balfour said.
Brock provided the county vvith
two handwritten notes signed by
two owners saying it was OK to
move the road.
However, when Mc Fad yen
prepared a more binding document
for the two owners, their wives and
a third owner, signatures could not
be obtained.
"They're apparently not happy
with where he moved the road,"
McFadyen said.
All of the surrounding property
owners apparently use the road on
a regular basis, the county attorney
said.
"We should try whatever we can
to get the six acres at the figure we
agreed to pay. Then, if we can't get
it, we should get our SI. 200 back.
No matter what it takes," Com
missioner Wyatt Upchurch said.
In addition, McFadyen was in
structed to go after attorney fees
and interests on the money if the
land could not be purchased.
In other business during Mon
day's meeting, commission
members OK'd a bid from a
private contractor to mail food
stamps to recipients in Hoke
County.
On October 15, Cost Contain
ment Inc. of Raleigh will begin
mailing food stamps to county
residents for a cost of 50 cents per
issuance, including postage.
The commission approved the
hiring of a private contractor in
September following a request
from Department of Social Ser
vices Director Ken Witherspoon.
Cost C ontainment was the only
firm to bid on the contract.
County officials believe that the
approximate S8,4(X) charged b> the
Raleigh firm will be less costly than
hiring additional staff needed to
handle the stamp mailing.
The contract is for the re
mainder of the fiscal year and con
tains an option to renew for
another 12 months.
In still further business, the
commission appointed a interim
committee to studs the feasibility
of adding Moore Memorial
Hospital as a co-sponsoring facili
ty for the Hoke Emergency
Medical Services (IMS).
Cape f ear Valles Hospital is the
sponsoring unit for the ambulance
service. However 50% of the pa
tients from this county go to
Moore Memorial, Balfour said.
Presently the county ambulances
do not have radio contact with
Moore Memorial and must relay
patient information through Cape
Fear, Balfour said.
A committee of the three county
doctors. Commissioner Upchurch
and EMS Director Bill Niven will
look into the co-sponsorship and
report back to the commission dur
ing the next meeting.
In a related matter, County
Manager James Martin said the
new county-operated ambulance
service is averaging about 3.5 pa
tients a day.
(See STAMP, page 11)
Around Town
B? Sam Morris
The weather over the weekend
was pcrfect. Sunny days and cool
nights. This is what to expect in the
fall of the year, but Monday the
temperature got up into the high
80s and it felt like summer was
with us again.
The forecast is for nice weather
for the remainder of the week with
a chance of showers on Thursday
or Friday. If I can run into Robert
Gatlin maybe we can get the
figures for temperatures and rain
fall for September by next week.
Date to Remember:
Athletic Booster Club BBQ Sup
per Friday, Oct. 14, 3:30 to 7:00
p.m. Gibson Cafeteria. Carry out
only, S3. 50 per plate.
? ? ?
Someone called the office last
week after my comments on the
(See AROUND, page 12)
Final hours
State Rep. Daniel H. lie Vane (center) was on hand
for Friday's employee commemoration at McCain
Hospital. DeVane and other state representatives
fought hard to keep the tuberculosis hospital open,
lie Vane also led the fight for McCain '$ employees
fc J I
once the shut down became official. The festivities
Friday marked the final hours of the 75-year-old
sanitorium, which became a iOO-bed prison hospital
on Saturday.
Hoke Judgeship Bid
Riding On Governor
Raeford attorney Warren L.
Pate received the endorsement of
the Hoke County Commission and
the Raeford City Council Monday
in his bid for a seat on the 12th
Judicial District Court.
In a specially called meeting last
Thursday. Pate captured one of
three 12th District Bar Association
nominations for the seat being
vacated December 1 by retiring
Judge Joseph Duprce.
Members of the local govern
mental bodies passed resolutions
Monday during separate regular
meetings The endorsements will
be taken to Governor James B.
Hunt by a delegation from Hoke
Hunt is expected to decide on a
replacement for Dupree within the
next few weeks.
Pate finished sccond in the
balloting before the combined
Hoke and Cumberland County bar
association Thursday.
The 38-year-old Raeford at
torney garnered 80 votes to finish
three ballots behind Cumberland
County Assistant District Attorney
Stephen H. Nimmocks and 10
ahead of Cumberland attorney
Hank Finch.
Pate said Friday he was happy
with the balloting and pinned the
success of his campaign on the ef
forts of Hoke Bar Association
members.
"1 think the voting reflected a
team effort on the part of the
Hoke County Bar, and showed a
sense of fairness by members of
the Cumberland Bar," Pate said.
Raeford City Attorney R.
Palmer Willcox, who serves as
president of the eight-member
Hoke Bar Association, said Mon
day he is optimistic about Pate's
chances to receive the nod from
Hunt.
"I think his chances are ex
cellent He deserves it, and he is
(See JUDGESHIP. paRe 11)