The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County J?
Volume LXXV Number 45 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS
Thursday, March 1, 1984
?Hoke College Decision
Waits On Course Survey
By Sherry Matthews
~ Sandhills College officials had
W not reached a decision Tuesday on
the feasibility of a satellite branch
of the school in Hoke County, but
a spokesman said efforts were be
ing made to hasten the matter.
"We are getting ready to poll
students at Hoke High School and
try to hit a number of the larger
employers in the Raeford area,"
Sandhills Assistant to the Presi
) dent George Lewis said.
Included in the survey will be
Hoke High juniors and seniors,
Burlington plant employees and
Faberge plant employees as well as
staff members from within the
Hoke school system.
"I don't know if we will poll the
House of Raeford turkey plant,"
Lewis said.
"We may do a survey there... I
9 am just not sure at this point."
According to Lewis the surveys,
which are expected to begin next
week, will help Sandhills officials
gauge how "strong a demand"
there is for a college satellite and
what type of courses such a college
extension would provide.
"I think the surveys will provide
us with a lot of needed informa
tion," Lewis said.
A In addition to the surveys car
ried out at the high school,
students will also be given a sample
survey to take home.
"Those surveys will go to the
parents for their comments,"
Lewis said.
Lewis "anticipates" that all the
forms should be filled out and pro
cessed within "the next two
weeks."
"Once we examine the surveys,
we will know what we have to do,"
Lewis said.
"We are going to wait and get a
clearer picture of the feasibility of
a satellite before we check out the
building and its needs," he added.
Raeford's Main Street Branch of
United Carolina Bank (UCB),
which is slated to shut its doors in
March, has been offered as a possi
ble site for the proposed college ex
tension.
"We have not looked at any
other sites," Lewis said.
"It is pretty clear that the
Chamber of Commerce and other
residents prefer the UCB
building," he added.
Hoke Chamber of Commerce
Director Earl Fowler agrees with
Lewis' comments.
"We would like to see the
satellite put in the UCB building,"
Fowler said.
"1 think it would help
downtown revitilization efforts,"
he added.
Lewis agrees.
"I think it could help pick
downtown up," Lewis said.
"If you have 250 students com
ing through, for example,... that
would be a lot of traffic in the
downtown area," he added.
"I don't think a satellite on
Main Street will work miracles but
it can help," Lewis said.
"There are definite advantages
to having a satellite college and
placing it on Main Street,"
Chamber of Commerce President
Steve Parker said.
"I think it is a means of
upgrading education. We can
move semi-skilled workers up to
skilled workers and give unskilled
workers a chance to advance as
well," Parker said.
"In my opinion, it is a prere
quisite to attracting industry to our
community," he added.
"We need this satellite. It can do
this county a lot of good," Parker
said.
Parker, Fowler and Lewis are all
hoping that the survey results will
reflect a "positive" attitude
toward the college satellite.
"We need to know that we can
expect 15 to 18 students enrolled in
each class that is offered," Lewis
said.
"Any less would be a money los
ing situation. ..that would not
benefit anyone," he added.
Although no decisions will be
reached until "after the surveys
have been studied," Lewis does
not anticipate any problems.
"1 think things are moving along
very well," Lewis said.
Some days nothing goes right
The Beagle puppy seems to be finding a leisurely
afternoon walk along a Rockfish Creek tributary a
difficult task. While trying to cross the water on this
log, the pup lost his footing and went swimming.
However, the mishap occurred before the weather
returned to winter and pup dried easily in last
week's warm 60? temperatures.
Food Stamp Early Reporting Cranks Up Again March 1
a By Sherry Matthews
^ The three-month state reprieve
from the early food stamp monthly
reporting program will be lifted
March 1, and the Hoke County
Department of Social Services
(DSS) must again process the revis
ed client forms.
Hoke and the other 99 counties
were given the stay while changes
and improvements in the program
were made, Hoke DSS Food
0Stamp Supervisor Delores McLeod
said.
"There have been changes in the
requirements. 1 am not sure those
changes will help ease our staff's
workload," McLeod added.
When Hoke became a test coun
ty for the monthly reporting pro
gram, hundreds of clients got "lost
in the shuffle and left waiting for
services" and DSS workers got
"bogged down with too much
paperwork."
According to McLeod, the new
ly revised monthly reporting
retrospective budgeting program.
Around Town
By Sam Morris
^ Winter has returned to Hoke
V County after a week or so of
Springtime.
* * ?
In this Column last week we
stated that it was hard to get dates
and facts about the Raeford
Kiwanis Club because all the
Charter members were deceased.
Lo and behold, this was not the
? case.
After the paper hit the
newsstands on Wednesday, it was
brought forth that Dr. K.B. Ged
die, a charter member was still
alive.
J.B. (Jaybird) McLeod called
me Wednesday night and said that
he had visited his sister, Mrs. Bill
Davis, nee Catherine McLeod in
High Point a couple of weeks ago
and that she was talking to him
Wabout seeing Dr. Geddie recently.
He is still practicing medicine at
the High Point Medical Center.
Jaybird called his sister and got
me the address of Dr. Geddie. I
have both his home and his office
address.
Dr. Geddie left Hoke County in
the 1920s and he was replaced by
the late Dr. R.A. Matheson.
John Howard, who gave the
^history of the Club at their ban
^quet last Thursday night, announc
ed that Dr. Geddie was still alive.
He stated that the club would have
liked to have had him present for
the 60th Anniversary.
Details of the event are
elsewhere in the paper.
We want to thank J.B. McLeod
for bringing this Correction to our
attention.
(See AROUND, page 13)
requires "less paperwork" yet
places "more burden on the social
worker.
"Before clients were given a
five-page form to fill out, now they
only have two pages to fill out,"
McLeod said.
The "lack of information" ac
cumulated by the newly revised
forms only adds to the eligibility
workers load, according to
McLeod.
With the new forms, social
workers must now "get in touch"
with the identified household to
verify information.
"I have no idea how long each
verification will take," McLeod
said.
"March will be a test month for
everyone. ..we will be able to get
some feel for the time each form
will take," she added.
In addition to the reduced form
pages, McLeod said other changes
in the monthly reporting program
will take place..
Of the 1,414 households that are
Not an easy escape y
For those hospital inmates that might plan an escape, fence that surrounds the old McCain TH facility,
prison officials have erected a double barbed-wire
McCain Seeking Community Support
By Sherry Matthews
Although over 75 years of tuber
culosis (TB) care is now a faded
memory and double-wired fences
surround the once public entrance
to Hoke County's McCain
Hospital, state officials and
hospital personnel feel the revamp
ing as a prison unit was "a move in
the right direction," and are trying
to rekindle community support for
the facility.
"I hated to see the TB hospital
go, but 1 believe we have bettered
ourselves with this move," State
Representative Daniel DeVane
said.
"I think this has been a shot in
the arm for the area," he added.
In October, the TB hospital clos
ed its doors for the last time after
state legislators voted to'shut down
the facility.
Just last week, the facility re
opened to give the public a view of
the new 300-bed prison hospital.
"Everything is going
smoothly," McCain Superinten
dent Nancy Lowe told the nearly
300 guests assembled Wednesday
afternoon for tours of the facility.
"I couldn't be happier with the
transition," she added.
Since the state prison system
took over in October, 1 10 inmates,
and 225 staff members have been
moved into buildings that were
erected iq the early 1920's.
When the hospital reaches its
maximum capacity, 300 inmates
and 213 employees will be housed
within the walls, according to
Lowe.
"We are going to eliminate some
positions as our employees retire,"
Lowe said.
"Wc plan to maintain a staff of
about 215," she added.
Although a lot of changes have
already taken place, including a
barbed-wire fence complete with a
24-hour posted guard, Lowe said
there were "still some major
renovations to be finished."
"We should have our total
population here by June or July. I
think our renovations will be com
pleted by then," Lowe said.
"It is going to take a while, but
we are getting there," she added.
The new McCain prison hospital
will serve minimum custody pa
tients from all the state's 8J) prison
units.
In addition, some medium
custody paraplegics and
quadraplegics will be housed
within the hospital walls.
(See McCAIN, page 13)
presently certified for food
stamps, only those households
with six or more members will be
targeted by the monthly report
forms.
"Before, the forms were sent to
all the households who had any
earned income," she added.
The new plan requires only six
member or more households with
or without earned income to fill
out the food stamp forms.
"The total number of
households has been greatly reduc
ed. That will ease some of the
problems we had before,"
McLeod said.
"In the past we were dealing
with 595 to 625 client households.
With the new regulations we an
ticipate working with 195-200
households," McLeod said.
Another improvement to the
monthly reporting program is the
addition of the Hoke DSS to the
state computer system.
"We will feed the computer
(See EARLY, page 12)
Precinct Meetings
On Tap Thursday
Hoke County Democrats will
meet Thursday March 1 at 13
precinct polling places to elect
delegates to the county party con
vention.
The county-wide convention is
scheduled to be held March 14 in
the Hoke Court House.
During the precinct meeting,
members will also discuss and pass
resolutions on issues that concern
them and could strengthen the
state Party's Party to People pro
gram.
"These precinct meetings repre
sent grass-roots democracy in ac
tion," Hoke County Democratic
Party Chairman Harold Gillis
said.
Gillis also stressed that the
democratic party "is seeking"
broad participation in its meetings
at both the precinct and county
level.
"It is our goal to hold meetings
in every precinct in the county and
to continue to build on this
strength at the county
convention," Gillis said.
"We urge all democrats to at
tend these meetings and to show
their interest in good government,
he added.
The meetings will be held at
these locations: Allendale, Com
munity House; Antioch, Com
munity House; Blue Springs,
South Hoke School; Buckan,
Pinehill Fire Station; McCain,
Shiloh Presbyterian Church; Pup
py Creek, Wayside Community
House; Raeford 1, Courthouse;
Raeford 2, Old County Office
Building; Raeford 3, Hillcrest Fire
Department; Raeford 4 Hoke
Civic Center; Raeford 5, Upchurch
School; Rockfish, Community
House; Stonewall, Community
House.
I ? 1 31 1
Marion Gatlin
Marion Gatlin
Man Of Year
Former City Councilman
Marion H. Gatlin was named the
winner of the "Citizenship
Award" by the Raeforu Kiwanis
Club last Thursday night during
60th Anniversary festivities.
Gatlin was cited for working
more than 40 years to try to im
prove the quality of life in the
Hoke County community.
During the period he was a
teacher in the Hoke County school
system for 18 years and served on
the Raeford City Council for 10
years.
He was Mayor pro tem under
two mayors while serving on the ci
ty board.
During the fiscal year 1956-1957
he also held the position of Presi
dent of the Hoke County Chamber
of Commerce and was president of
the Kiwanis Club in 19S2.
The "Citizenship Award" is
made each year to individuals who
have made a significant contribu
tion to the community.
(See GATLIN. page 12)
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