The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXV Number 38 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, January 12, 1964
.DOT: Public Can Get 401
Dual-laned
By Skerry Matthews
Public demand could put tabled
plans to widen U.S. Highway 401
between Raeford and Fayetteville
back on the project construction
lists, state Department of
Transportation (DOT) officials
said this week.
The highway has one of the
deadliest records in North
' Carolina and a fatality rate which
is almost 10Vo higher than the state
average, DOT records show.
"If there was a great push for
widening the highway, the Board
of Transportation might consider
putting it back in the program,"
DOT Division Engineer E.J.
Butler said.
However, despite the carnage on
the highway, there has been little
demand in the past from local
residents and elected officials to
correct the problem, the engineer
said.
According to Butler, plans to
make 401 a "dual-lane" highway
had been considered, but a short
age of funds placed the project on
the back burner.
"It was included in the highway
program at one time. ...before
money got scarce," he said.
"The board is aware that there
are many highway needs. They
must be prioritized," he added.
Although widening 401 would
cost "several million dollars",
Butler believes it could get funded.
"There has not been a lot of
public demand to widen the road,"
he said.
"If the county commissioners or
residents felt it was necessary to get
the road widened, they should
make us aware of that," Butler
said.
"We can't do them all at once,
but we can put them in the pro
gram," he added.
"The board is aware of the
problems. We are weeding them
out to fit the funding," Butler
said.
The original plan called for 401
to be expanded from Fayetteville's
Seventy-First High School to
Raeford's 401 by-pass, DOT Traf
fic Engineer Jim Stamp said.
"There was a proposal in the
works," Stamp said.
Although plans to widen 401
were placed on the back burner
due to the apparent lack of fund
ing, both Stamp and Butler agree
that the road needs improvements.
"I believe that highway needs
expansion," Butler said.
"In my opinion, widening is
necessary. It needs to be widened
to a dual-lane road," Stamp said.
According to Stamp, 401 has
"passing problems" and "a lot of
hills" that could result in hazar
dous conditions.
"With the alignment of that
road, there are very few passing
areas," Stamp said.
"We have placed a lot of no
passing signs and pass with care
signs up to attempt to get people to
better adhere," Stamp said.
"I would say that there are
bound to be some hazards on that
road," he added.
DOT accident data for the past
year shows that both Hoke and
Cumberland County have higher
fatality averages than the statewide
U.S. rural two-lane highway's
average.
For the year, Hoke has a 10.4%
fatality rate on Highway 401 while
Cumberland shows a 12.3^
average.
The statewide fatality average
for rural two-lane roads is only
2.6%.
"The state average is much less
than both Hoke and
Cumberland's," DOT spokesman
Glenn Craig said.
Since October 1982, there have
been 27 wrecks on Highway 401 in
side Hoke County.
Two of those wrecks resulted in
fatalities. Thirteen carried per
sonal injuries and 12 resulted in
only property damage, Craig said.
Of the 27 wrecks during the
(See DUAL 401, page 12)
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The weather for the past week
has been as we usually have for
Hoke County winters. Cold nights
and then warm days make for a
Qnice winter. The Arabia Golf
Course has been filled with golfers
and you could see that the course
took a beating from the severe cold
weather of a couple of weeks ago.
The forecast is for rain Tuesday
and colder weather on Wednesday
and Thursday. The forecasters
have been wrong many times this
year and so we must wait and see
what the weekend ahead has in
^ store for us.
The two pro football games this
weekend were closer in score than
the games last weekend. The
Raiders were superior to the
Seahawks, but the Redskins had a
tough time with the Forty-niners.
The Super Bowl will be played in
^Tampa this year, so the weather
Vshould not be a factor in the out
come of the game. We will be pull
ing for the Redskins, but have the
feeling that the Raiders will pull
the game out of the bag. No reason
for this feeling, just think so. Time
will tell.
* ? *
As most writers and basketball
^ fans have been predicting since the
? openfng of the basketball season,
the ACC teams will ruin the record
of their members. Last Saturday
Virginia and Wake Forest took
undefeated records in their games
with Duke and Georgia Tech and
they came away with a blemish on
their record. Carolina defeated
N.C. State and remained
undefeated, but must face
-Maryland at College Park Thurs
wday night. This should give the Tar
Heels a real test and it could mean
another blemish for the
undefeated.
The next two months will be a
hard road for all the ACC teams as
they face one another. It is unlikely
that a team will get through their
schedule undefeated.
^ In December I was told that Jim
my Greene, a Raeford native, had
died in California. As I don't
figure much in the running of this
newspaper anymore, it slipped my
mind that the obit never appeared
in the paper. Last Saturday Mrs.
Jean Johnson called and asked if I
would mention it in this column.
Jimmy Greene died December 6,
1983 in Riverside, California. He
^was 62 years of age and finished
Hoke High School in the Class of
1939. After high school he joined
the armed services and then went
to California to live. He married
while in the service, but didn't
have any children.
Jimmy was the son of the late
Judge Harry Greene and Mrs.
Thelma Johnson Vann. Mrs. Vann
is still living in Riverside, Calif.
He was the grandson of the late
Qj. Worthy Johnson, the first chair
man of Hoke County Commis
sioners. Frances Ward Greene is a
half sister. He has many first
cousins in the county including:
Clyde, Bill and Joe Upchurch,
Agnes Mae Campbell and Paul
Johnson.
We knew Jimmy in high school;
(See AROUND, page 13)
Trying to avoid the rain
Shirley Hoyer, armed with hoots anil a umbrella, tries to avoid the
pouring rain that fell on Raeford Tuesday bringing with if chilly
temperatures.
FBI Nosing Around
Airplanes' Sabotage
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents are checking into the
possibility that federal laws may have been broken when two passenger
airplanes were sabotaged recently at the Raeford Airport, North Carolina
FBI Agent In Charge Robert L. Pence said.
The FBI "was not" conducting a full scale investigation, but was check
ing to see if the sabotage fell under the bureau's jurisdiction, Pence said.
"We will get involved if we find out any federal laws have been
broken," Pence said.
On the surface, the apparent sabotage did not look like a federal viola
tion because the aircrafts were not used for interstate flight.
At present, the FBI is just "checking;" into the situation, Pence said.
"Normally we don't get involved but if a federal law has been broken, it
will be investigated," Pence said.
Parachute jump school owner Gene Paul Thacker, who owned both
planes, said Wednesday that neither plane was used for out-of-state travel.
The craft are used primarily to take up parchutists, Thacker said, noting
that the craft rarely cross state lines.
The two planes were apparently tampered with during the late night
hours Wednesday, December 14.
Pilots were reported to have been readying for takeoff when the damage
was discovered.
Sheriff's reports indicate that pennies were dropped in the oil reservoirs
and sugar was placed in the gas tanks on Thacker's planes.
Thacker also noted in his report to county authorities that the oil sticks
had been broken off so the caps could not be replaced.
According to an aircraft manufacturing expert, although sabotaged, the
planes probably would have taken off and would have malfunctioned in
flight.
Hoke County authorities have left the case open for investigation, but a
spokesman for the department says it could be difficult to solve because
there were no witnesses to the alleged sabotage. '
in U1tlits\
By Sherry Matthews
A sewer moratorium, placed on
Raeford nearly eight years ago,
may soon be lifted, members of the
city council were told Monday
night.
If the city stays below the state
mandated sewer discharge level,
the state ban on additional in
dustry could be removed, Raeford
Mayor John K. McNeill said dur
ing the board's regular monthly
meeting.
"The city has been in com
pliance for the past four months,"
McNeill said.
"If we can stay in compliance
through January, I believe the
state will lift the moratorium," he
added.
Acting. City Manager Bill Sellers
said Tuesday that state authorities
have been "running their own
tests" at the city's sewer plant.
"They are planning to perform
those tests again during January,"
Sellers said.
"I am hoping that they will
decide to lift the moratorium at
that time," he added.
Although Sellers "would like to
see" the ban on industry here
lifted, he believes the state needs
"proof" that the city will "stay in
compliance."
"We are going to have to show
them that this is going to be a con
tinuing thing," Sellers said.
In addition. The House of
Raeford turkey processing plant is
also meeting mandated require
ments on the firm's discharge into
the municipal sewer system.
"They have been in compliance
for a good while now," Sellers
said.
Sellers credits the turkey plant's
"in-house improvements" and
iheir outside pre-treatment unit for
Ihe adherence to the city sewer re
quirements.
"They have been working to get
in compliance for a long time,"
Sellers said.
"1 think they have come up with
a money saving thing now," he
added.
If the city remains in com
pliance, McNeill believes the state
will be prepared to lift the ban on
industry here.
"They are going to have to take
another look if we continue to
meet the requirements, " McNeill
said.
"I think we are going to stay in
compliance this time," he added.
"It has been a long hard pull,
but I think we are almost there,"
McNeill said.
In other business during the
meeting, the city councilmen
unanimously approved the first
reading of an ordinance designed
to transfer the municipal cable
franchise to another company.
A second reading on January 30
must be approved before the fran
chise transfer is allowed, City At
torney Palmer Willcox said.
If the plan is approved, Raeford
residents, along with others living
in five neighboring communities,
may be getting expanded cable
television coverage within the next
three to six months. Alert Cable
(See MORATORIUM, page 12)
By Sherry Matthews
State and local authorities have
apparently reached a "standstill"
in the investigation of the
December slaying of a Raeford
business man, Police Chief
Leonard Wiggins said Tuesday.
However, despite the slow pro
gress, Wiggins says he is optimistic
that the case "will be solved."
"This case is still our top priori
ty," Wiggins said.
"Everything is basically at a
standstill right now," Wiggins
added.
"We have talked to several more
people since the roadblock, but we
don't have anything solid yet,"
Wiggins said.
State Bureau of Investigation
(SBI) agents, city police, highway
patrol and rescue squad members
set up a roadblock at the intersec
tion of Harris Avenue and Bethel
Road, in front of Morrison's
Grocery where William Daniel
Morrison was found shot to death
around 9:30 p.m. on December 22.
"The roadblock was a success,"
Wiggins said.
Murder Probe At Standstill
"I think we got some good in
formation," Senior SBI agent
Frank Johnson also said.
"Everything is still about the
same, but we are definitely conti
nuing our investigation," Johnson
added.
Although Wiggins and Johnson
would not comment on possible
leads they had uncovered during
the four-week old probe, the police
chief did admit that some new in
formation had been uncovered.
"We got a few things from the
roadblock, but we really have not
come up with anything new," Wig
gins said.
"We are working very hard to
come up with some leads in this
case," he added.
The body of the 54-year old
Morrison was found around 9:35
p.m. by a customer. He had been
shot to death.
Hoke Medical Examiner Robert
Townsend said earlier that Mor
rison died from multiple gunshot
wounds.
Wiggins still believes that "rob
bery" is still a strong motive in the
case.
"Nothing is definite," he said
"I still believe that we will get a
break in this case. We are not giv
ing up," the chief said.
In an unrelated matter, SBI
agents and county authorities are
still seeking information that will
lead them to the owner of an
airplane, loaded with marijuana,
uhich was confiscated at the
Raeford Airport over a month
ago.
"We are still investigating,"
Johnson said about the probe
which netted authorities over
$750,000 in marijuana and a twin
engine aircraft.
"We have got plenty of leads to
follow in this case," he noted.
"We are working on this case.
We are not just sitting around,"
Johnson said.
"Right now, the murder is our
number one concern," Johnson
said.
"We want to see both of these
cases solved," he added.
Old Newspaper Editions Sought
Efforts have been launched by
the Hoke County Library and
The News-Journal to locate miss
ing editions of past county
newspapers.
Residents who may have past
editions of The News-Journal
during the 1930's, The Hoke
County Journal prior to 1918 or
copies of Fads and Figures are
encouraged to contact the
newspaper or a member of the
library staff.
The past volumes of the
newspapers will be microfilmed
and then can be returned to the
owners.
Presently the library only has
volutnns of the newspaper dating
from 1968 which were provided
by The News-Journal .
Under a program now under
way the newpapcr and the library
are microfilming copies of past
editions from the files of The
News-Journal.
It is hoped that missing
volumes of Hoke County's
newspapers can be found to com
plete the written record of the
county's history.
The News-Journal is giving the
library access to all volumes of
the newspaper, dating from 1918.
Through a federally funded
LSCA grant, the Hoke Library
will be able to microfilm all the
volumes of the newspaper.
The News-Journal is presently
working with the library to
establish a complete set of
newspapers that were published
in this county, beginning with
Facts and Figures.
Fads and Figures was started
four years after Editor D. Scott
Poole began the paper in 1904.
Poole continued to publish un
til 1929, when Paul Dickson,
who owned the Hoke County
News bought the newspaper.
For a lime, Facts and Figures
continued to be published, but
was eventually turned into The
Hoke County Journal.
In 1930, the paper merged into
The News-Journal. Poole stayed
on as editor.