The News-Journal
The Hoke County News - Established 1928 ^ Tl- ^ ' *
Volume LXXVI Number 29 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR
Raging out of control
The home of County Commissioner Neill McPhatter raged uncon
trollably well into the afternoon Tuesday. No one was home at the
residence when the blaze started. The dwelling was destroyed in the
fire. Commissioner McPhatter said on the scene that there had been
an electric heater plugged in at the home during the early morning, but
he had taken the heater with him when he left. The blaze was reported
around 9 a.m. This is the second fire to strike a Hoke County Com
Photo by Pom Frederick
missioner this year in a area of the county where there is no rural fire
department. An apartment house owned by Commissioner James
Albert Hunt burned in the same area of the county earlier this year.
Firefighters from Antioch, West Hoke, North Raeford, Raeford and
Wagram assisted in fighting the blaze. Members of the Hoke Rescue
Squad were also on the scene. On Tuesday the cause was still under in
vestigation.
McNeill, Gibson
win board seats
Two political newcomers received the most ballots Tuesday for
the two vacant seats on the Hoke County Board of Education, after
about 63% of the local voters went to the polls.
Former school teacher Shirley Gibson and grocer Eddie McNeill
out polled incumbent Ruth McNair and Social Services worker
Charlotte Kelly to win the seats on the board.
McNeill captured seven of the county's 13 precincts and received
the most absentee ballots to lead the race with 2,945 votes.
Gibson finished 341 ballots behind McNeill with 2,604. Gibson,
who ran well countywide, was winner only in her home precinct at
Antioch.
Although she got the most votes in four precincts, Kelly was third
in the overall balloting with 2,296 votes.
McNair, who was seeking her third term on the board was last
with 1,908. She took the most votes only in the Buchan Precinct.
McNair was the only black on the board. Both Gibson and
McNeill are white.
"I was pleased with the turnout and with the support I received,"
McNeill said Wednesday.
"1 am going to work to serve all of the residents in Hoke
County," he said.
The final tally on the race did not come in until around 1:45 a.m.
Wednesday, when the returns from predominantly black Raeford
Precinct 5 were counted.
Raeford 5 had the second highest percentage of voters in the
county to turnout for the election. In that poll, 70%, or 620, of the
885 registered voters casts ballots Tuesday.
Both Kelly and McNair lead the voting in Raeford 5.
McNeill won the predominantly white Raeford Precinct 2, which
had the highest voter turnout. There, 74% of those registered voted.
The most voters cast ballots in the county's largest poll, Raeford
1.
(See DEMOS, page 10A)
By Ed Miller
The Hoke -County Board of
Education terminated the employ
ment of former Teacher of the
Year Ethelyn Baker Monday night,
noting that she had "neglected her
duties."
Tuesday morning, the former
West Hoke teacher said she will
appeal the decision.
The vote came after a two-day
closed hearing last week and one
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The summer weather left over
the weekend and most folks had to
turn the heat on in their homes. It
was still a little cooler than ex
pected all day Monday. There still
hasn't been much rain in the area
and it is still dry around the coun
ty.
Maybe the hot weather has gone
for the year and we can get used to
the cooler weather. In talking to
some people that attended the
football game over the weekend
they said it was cold and one per
son said that he came down out of
the stands and stood away from
the wind. I believe the temperature
at Chapel Hill was a high of 51
degrees Saturday.
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I hope by the time you read this
column th*** all the political ads
(See AROUND, page 12A)
Thanksgiving 1W-J early
The News-Journal will be
printed one day earlier during
the week of November 19, so
that the staff can be off for
Thanksgiving.
In order to make the change,
all deadlines will be moved up
by one day.
Classified advertising must be
received by Friday, November
16 at 4 p.m. Legal advertising
must be turned in at noon on
the same day.
Weddings and engagement
announcements must be in the
office by Wednesday,
November 14, at 5 p.m.
Other news items will be due
on Monday, November 19, by
noon.
Deadlines for display adver
tising will be noon on Monday,
November 1.9.
The office will be closed on
Thanksgiving, but will re-open
on Friday.
hour and IS minute executive ses
sion Monday.
Prior to the two-day closed hear
ing last week in which testimony
was heard for and against Baker, a
Professional Rights Committee
(PRC) had recommended that
Baker's employment not be ter
minated.
"In my opinion, this is what
teachers throughout the state are
facing. I'm just an example of the
A new face
New Hoke County Manager,
William K. Cowan, attends his
first County Commission meeting.
Cowan, formerly of Concord came
here as County Manager on
November I.
kinds of problems that are happen
ing statewide," Baker said Tues
day.
According to Board of Educa
tion members. Baker's employ
ment with the system was ter
minated because of "inadequate
performance, neglect of duty and
failure to fulfill the duties and
responsibilities imposed upon
teachers by the General Statutes of
this state."
A hearing was held last week on
the Baker case during which the
Board of Education acted as a
jury, said Board member Walter
Coley.
During that hearing, 73
documents and 24 witnesses were
presented by Superintendent Dr.
Robert Nelson, Board Chairman
Bill Cameron said.
Baker presented four documents
and 17 witnesses, said Cameron.
Many of those documents
presented by the superintendent at
the hearing were not presenied
before the PRC, said Baker.
Also, many of documents
presented by the superintendent
had no original copies to back
them up, Baker charged.
West Hoke Principal Milton H.
Williams was keeping a file of
notes and sending memorandums
to Baker for the last two years,
Baker said testimony given during
the last hearing revealed.
She never received those
memorandums, Baker said.
None of those original notes nor
the file could be produced during
last week's hearing, Baker said.
Baker quoted Williams as saying
the original notes had been
destroyed after they were typed.
Williams made his recommenda
(See FORMER, page 11 A)
No action taken on development group
By Ed Miller
For the second straight month,
the Hoke County Commission fail
ed Monday to make appointments
to a proposed development board
which will take on the industrial
recruitment effort for the county.
"We can't make up our minds
who we want to appoint," Com
mission Chairman John Balfour
said, when asked why the question
was not considered at the meeting.
Two appointments were made
by the Raeford City Council Mon
day night to accompany appoint
ments already made by the
Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Com
merce.
"I think some representation
should be from out in the county,"
Balfour said.
"This is a county as well," he
said.
There has been concern in
previous county commission
meetings that the interests of the
county may not be fully
represented among a group mainly
composed of in-town Raeford
residents.
Some out-of-town dwellers feel
the City of Raeford gets
everything, and the county gets
nothing, Balfour said.
If the residents in the county do
not feel they are being well
represented, it is going to be hard
to sell some of them on the idea of
an Industrial Commission working
for the common good, Balfour
said.
According to the Chairman, the
County Commission will make ap
pointments to the industrial group
at their November 19 meeting.
Park phased
In other action at the Monday
meeting, the commissioners voted
to refuse all bids received recently
on the construction of Burlington
Park.
"I guess we did not accomplish
much in the re-bidding," Balfour
said, noting that recent re-bids
totalled to more than was budgeted
for the proposed baseball-softball
park scheduled to be constructed
on state Highway 211 West.
The lowest bids would bring the
cost of the park to $48,137,
(See BURLINGTON, page 11 A)
TV cable rate hike rejected
Following a lengthy debate,
members of the Raeford City
Council refused to take action
Monday night on a requested rate
increase from the city's cable
television franchise.
Alert Cablevision is asking for a
rate increase and is decreasing pro
graming, council members said
following a second request from
the cable firm to increase the basic
rate from $8.60 to S10 per month.
"I might be willing to grant the
increase, if you left ESPN (the
sports network) on the air and cor
rect the reception problems,"
Councilman Bob Gentry said.
In addition to the basic rate
hike, Alert is removing ESPN and
the Cable News Network (CNN)
and offering the programming as a
premium option for a separate fee.
With the cost of the premium
channels added to the increased
rate, the new charge for cablevi
sion would be 51 *1% higher than the
current price. Gentry said.
"I think it is too high," the
councilman said. "A 51% increase
bothers me."
ESPN and CNN have .been
replaced as of Monday with Chan
nel 18 from Charlotte and with the
Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN), Alert spokesman Harrison
Daniels said.
Daniels said the firm had been
receiving "a number" of calls
from other areas requesting CBN.
Alert serves five municipalities
in this area and decisions about
programming were based on what
the company believed the majority
of viewers wanted, Daniels said.
Local calls indicate that Raeford
viewers want ESPN and not CBN,
Councilman Vardell Hedgpeth
said.
Council members will review
recently passed federal legislation,
which allows cable companies to
raise rates by 5V? each year.
The new law does not allow a
firm to put in a rate hike in viola
tion of an ordinance like the one
which governs the agreement be
tween Raeford and Alert, City
Manager Tom Phillips said.
Another attempt for the increase
is expected to be made by Alert
during" the December council
meeting.
In other business, Franklin Teal
and Hedgpeth were appointed to
hold the city's positions on the new
industrial development commis
sion.
Teal and Hedgpeth will join
Gerald Wright and Tom Howell,
who were named by the Chamber
of Commerce as that group's
representatives.
During Monday's meeting,
members of the Hoke County
Commission failed to act on ap
pointing members to the group.
The commission is expected to
act on the matter during the
November 19 meeting.
In addition to making the ap
pointments to the new board, the
city council members also voted to
recommend that the city manager
and the county manager serve on
the body as ex-officio members.
Other business
In other business, the council
took action on these matters:
?Approved the new ordinance
governing the joint operation of
(See CABLE, page I2A)
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Welcome to my nightmare
Imagine waking up in the middle of the Might and seeing this horrid
face above your bed. It happens. There Is no body to accompany the
face , Ut fact, there Is no head to put the face on. There is just black
with the face of the demon glowing. That time of the year around the
end of October Is when one might expect to see the face. According to
reports, he is seen only around Halloween and not again until next
year. We take a look at other Halloween madness on page one In sec
tion B of today's News- Journal.