The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXVI Number 16 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, August 9, 1984
It's not trash
In the third marijuana bust in the last two weeks, the
Hoke County Sheriff's Department confiscated 161
pounds and 9 ounces of the illegal substance from
I Robert Turbeville last Thursday. Although
Turbeville was out of jail Tuesday on S 25,000 bond,
he will face a probable cause hearing on August 24 to
determine If he will stand trial on charges if traffick
ing in marijuana.
Red Springs man charged
after marijuana discovered
, By Ed Miller
A Red Springs man was re'eased
from jail Friday on $25,000 bond
after he was arrested the night
before and charged with drug traf
ficking.
Robert Turbeville, 55, was ar
rested after Hoke County Sheriff's
deputies discovered over 161
pounds of marijuana at his home.
Turbeville will face a probable
1 cause hearing on August 24 to
determine whether he will be tried
on the trafficking charges.
Hoke County Sheriff's Detective
Weaver Patterson obtained a war
rant from Magistrate E.G. Inman
and searched Turbeville's proper
ty, sheriffs reports show.
Around Town
By Sam Morris
Let's say that summer has arriv
ed after a few days of fall weather.
The rains have stopped and the
high 90? temperatures seem maybe
hotter than usual.
According to forecasts, the
weather will continue hot for many
days ahead.
? * ?
There will follow two letters that
I think will be of interest to readers
of this column. The first is to
Editor Warren Johnston from
i Congressman Bill Hefner and the
second letter is from W.R. (Bill)
Roberson Jr., Secretary of the
Department of Transportation to
Congressman Bill Hefner. They
follow:
Dear Mr. Johnston:
Because of your interest, I
thought you would like to see the
enclosed letter from North
Carolina Secretary of Transporta
tion, W.R. Roberson, Jr., regard
I bit improvements to US 401 from
Raeford to Cumberland County.
I am very encouraged by
Secretary Roberson's statement
that the Board of Transportation
will give every consideration to
adding this project to the Highway
Improvement Program when it is
updated this fall.
The ddaens of Hoke County can
be assured of my continued in
I (See AROUND, page 9A)
Upon arriving at the Turbeyillc's
home, sheriffs deputies and an
Alchoholic Beverage Control
(ABC) officer first searched a
small building where they found a
large number of empty white
plastic one-gallon jugs, reports
say.
The deputies then moved on to
the smoke house where they found
many plastic bags and some sheets
full of cured marijuana, reports
say.
As Turbeville unlocked the door
to the smoke house, he allegedly
said:"Well, I guess you boys got
what you came for," the report
says.
According to the report, 161
pounds, 9 ounces of marijuana
was found.
Turbeville was arrested and held
for one day before his bond was
paid, a spokesman for the sheriff's
department said.
In the report, Detective Patter
son wrote that Turbeville readily
waived his rights to silence and ad
mitted to growing, harvesting, cur
ing and packaging the marijuana.
A set of electric meat scales were
also confiscated from the
residence, reports say.
The sheriffs department has
been investigating Turbeville for
about three months, a spokesman
said.
Investigating officers included
Patterson, A. B.C. Officer Jim
Madden, Detective Jimmy Riley
and Detective Ed Harris, reports
say.
County takes new bids
for courthouse fixup
By Ed MiUer
Hoke County will take bids
again in an effort to find a contrac
tor to repair the county court
house.
Members of the Hoke County
Commission voted unanimously
Monday to rebid the first phase of
the project to restore the 73-year
old courthouse.
This will be the third time the
county has accepted bids on the
work.
In a previous meeting, commis
sioners had expressed dismay that
only one construction company
had submitted a bid on the work to
be done to the roof, outside
masonry, window repairs and
some indoor plaster repairs.
Although Ellis-Walker & Co. of
Fayetteville has bid both times on
the work, commissioners still hope
to get the total price of the work
lowered.
"Competition makes a better
business," Vice-Chairman James
Albert Hunt said when faced with
the option of reopening the bids.
Ellis-Walker & Co. has submit
ted a bid of S64.500 for the total
cost of the construction, according
to a letter from the architects who
planned the work on the building.
Commissioners also passed a
motion to let the consulting ar
chitect firm, Dodge and
Associates, look at the possibility
of installing a wheelchair lift in
place of one of the sets of stairs
that lead to the third floor court
room of the old building.
The request was sparked by a
letter from Raeford attorney Phil
Diehl asking that the courthouse
be upgraded to meet the standards
of both federal and state laws
which require that handicapped
persons be given equal access to
public buildings.
"We need a means of moving
wheelchairs up and down, to and
from the courtroom," Commis
sioner Wyatt Upchurch said.
Fed ruling appealed
In other action, the commis
sioners voted to appeal the fiud
ings of the United States Depart
ment of Labor (DOL) that say
Hoke County owes the federal
government $10,396 in disallowed
Comprehensive Education Train
ing Act (CETA) funds.
In a letter to County Manager
James Martin, Finance Officer
Charles Davis outlined the options
available to the commission.
The county can repay the funds
in question, appeal the case to the
state or appeal the case to the
USDOL, Davis said.
According to a report by Martin
at a previous meeting, the appeal
process has already been suc
cessfully completed on the state
level a number of years ago, but
now the USDOL is questioning
that decision.
In the letter, Davis recommend
(See MEETING, page 11 A)
Armed robbery being probed
By Ed Miller
An armed robbery, which occur
red last week at a Raeford conven
ience store was under investigation
Tuesday, a spokesman for the
Raeford Police Department said.
The Pantry, on East Central
Avenue, was held up last Wednes
day by two men with a handgun.
The men apparently came into
the store and demanded money of
the cashier, Police Chief Leonard
Wiggins said.
The thieves escaped with an
undetermined amount of money
after making the female cashier lie
on the floor while they left, reports
say.
In other Hoke County matters, a
juvenile runaway was still in the
Cumberland County Juvenile
Detention Center Monday after
being charged with stealing a Fire
track.-sheriff's reports say.
The juvenile is charged with tak
ing the truck from Rockfish Fire
Department last week, reports say.
According to reports, witnesses
saw the boy take the truck and
followed him into Cumberland.
County until that county's
deputies could locate vehicle.
The truck, which is valued at
$55,000 was returned to Rockfish
but had sustained about SI, 500 in
damage, reports say.
~ There was also about $100
damage done to the fire house
(See SUSPECTS, page 10A)
Hunt charged with traffic offense,
says Robeson deputy has wrong man
Hoke County Commission Vice
Chairman James Albert Hunt has
beer served with warrants after a
Robeson County deputy sheriff
alleged that he chased the county
official at "high speeds" on some
back roads of northern Robeson
County.
The South Hoke Commissioner
denied the charges Monday and
said he would welcome his day in
court.
Hunt is alleged to have passed
the deputy at a high rate of speed
and the officer took chase, said
Robeson County Sheriff Hubert
Stone.
According to Stone, the deputy
had warned Hunt on a previous oc
casion about speeding.
As the chase neared the Hoke
County line, the deputy lost sight
of the car he was chasing, said
Stone adding that the deputy saw
Hunt's face in the car even though
he was supposed to be speeding.
Hunt has denied the charges and
will take the case to court, he said
Monday.
According to Hunt, the car he
drives is a different make, model
and color from the one the
Robeson County deputy chased.
Specific charges were not made
available by the Robeson County
Clerk's office.
Zapped it
Last Wednesday afternoon saw the area around
Raeford Presbyterian Church raining wood chips
and splinters ?* lightning struck a tall oak tree. The
electrical storm that raged across Roe/ord for about
an hour, waited to strike the tree until the storm was
almost over. Pieces of wood up 10 10 feet In length
lay strewn all around the old tree and the scar left
by the electric energy wtU be seen for years If It does
not kill the tree. Church workers end Heritage
Federal Savings employees Inspect the damage.
Funeral home approved
for Raeford location
By Ed Miller
Approval was given Monday
night to allow the construction of a
new funeral home in Raeford.
Members of the Raeford City
Council agreed to allow the rezon
ing of a 11.6 acre tract from
residential to commercial.
Property owner T.L. Butler was
given the green light to construct a
proposed funeral parlor-barber
shop-beauty shop complex on the
site which is off of U.S. Highway
401.
Although a number of persons
showed up for the public hearing,
there was no discussion from the
floor when the question was called.
The vote of approval from the
City Council was unanimous.
Sewage rates pondered
In another matter, City Manager
Tom Phillips explained a proposed
new system for figuring the
amount to sewer charges imposed
on a large industry.
The study was put into swing by
Faberge who says they are being
charged too much for sewage.
The firm claims they are being
charged for water which does not
go back into the sewer system.
Faberge uses about 1.4 million
gallons of water per month, but
claims to put only about 70V? of
that water back into the sewer
system, said Phillips.
Under Phillip's plan, the actual
amount of sewage that the plant
puts back into the system will be
metered and a rate will be charged
for that meter reading.
Faberge hopes to save about
$4,000 per year if the system is im
plemented, Phillips said.
The plan is to be put in for six ?
months, and if the city finds it is
losing too much money, the rates
for plants under the system will be
adjusted, the city manager said.
Councilman Graham Clark sug
gested the other large industries be
contacted and told of the plan
before it is actually implemented
for Faberge.
Nursing home endorsed
In other business, the coun
cilmen voted to support an ap
plication by Britthaven Nursing
Homes, Inc. of Rocky Mount to
build a facility in Hoke County.
The council voted to have
Mayor John K. McNeill sign a let
ter of need for the city and endors
ing the facility.
The state has already told the
company of a need in Raeford,
Phillips said.
The new facility, if built, will
pay city and county taxes and
create jobs for about 65-70
employees, Phillips said.
In further business, the council
was told of a meeting with the state
Department of Transportation
Secretary to discuss Highway 401 .
The oounty is asking that some
(See FUNERAL, page 10A)