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The Hoke County News - Established 1928
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The News-Journal
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The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXVII Number 10
RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
$10 PER YEAR
25 CENTS
Thursday, June 27, 1985
Support given for full tax rate increase
By Ed Miller
Overwhelming support of a
seven-cent tax rate hike greeted the
Board of Hoke County Commis
sioners during a public hearing
Monday night held on the county's
general fund and Revenue Sharing
budgets.
Of 1 1 people who spoke during
the hearing, only two voiced
negative opinions.
Mabel Riley, a former Hoke
County Commissioner, said
money is being wasted in the coun
ty on services such as the proposed
Sandhills Community College
Satellite, the ambulance service
and recreation.
"Every year for the past several
years, taxes have gone up. -It's like
we have a little money tree that we
can pick it off when we need it,"
she said.
Riley also spoke against the opi
nions of the Hoke County Higher
Education Foundation.
Members of the foundation say
county. residents who are presently
attending no classes will go to a
class offered closer to home.
The closest technical colleges or
community colleges to Raeford are
in Fayetteville.
Others are Robeson Tech in
Lumbehon and Sandhills Com
munity College in Southern Pines.
"If anyone wants to go to a
movie or bowling or something in
the same places as those communi
ty colleges, they can manage,"
Riley said.
However, in her argument
against recreation she said, people
who live in the county do not use
recreation facilities because they
cannot afford to drive into
Raeford to get to them.
"Sure we need the services, but
can wc afford them," she said.
According to Agnes Mae Camp
bell, who operates the Johnson
Company and does not want taxes
raised, classes are already being of
fered in adult education at Hoke
County High School, and that is
enough.
Campbell also spoke out against
recreation.
"I think families can go back to
creating their own recreation and
not pay so much for it," she said.
"I don't like paying those high
taxes," she said.
Campbell suggested additional
taxes on beer, wine and cigarettes.
Hoke at crossroads
Raeford-Hoke Economic
Developer John Howard started
the positive comments by calling
for commissioners to approve the
budget as it stands with the seven
cent rate hike.
"Gentlemen, I believe we are at
a crossroads in this county," said
Howard.
Howard commended Hoke
County Manager William Cowan
and his staff in their work with the
budget saying that it was a fiscal
plan of growth that had been
carefully cut where needed.
A person with $30,000 in pro
perty valuation would only pay 21
cents per day in a year for the tax
hike, Howard said.
"People use the services every
day," said Howard.
Howard also called for a study
committee to be appointed from
the general population to look at
the budget and recommend cuts if
they felt them necessary.
College trial sought
Raeford Southern National
Bank Manager Steve Parker,
representing the Hoke County
Higher Education Foundation
asked that the college be funded
for one year.
According to Parker, if the col
lege works, it will be an asset to the
county, if it fails, "we will not be
back."
Juanita Holland echoed
Parker's and other foundation
members' sentiments by saying
that if a college is close, it will at
tract local people.
"We are at a crossroads," said
former Hoke County Commis
sioner and current school
employee Harold Gillis.
"I have always been told that in
similar situations you either go for
wards or you turn around and go
back. As businessmen, you don't
want to go backward," Gillis told
commissioners.
"I think we must look at this
thing realistically."
"We can't always keep a no
growth policy," said Gillis.
The county administration must
move forward by "thinking
toward the future of Hoke Coun
ty," according to Gillis.
"We may have to bite the bullet
and raise taxes," said Upchurch
Jr. High School Prinicipal Allen
Edwards.
During the hearing. County
Manager Cowan told the public
that next year's loss of Revenue
Sharing may mean an additional
13 cents on the tax rate.
"As a citizen, 1 would recom
mend taking seven cents now and
not hitting us with 20 cents next
year," said L.S. Brock.
"I'd like to sit here long enough
(See TAX, page 2A)
Waiting it out
Raeford Police Chief Leonard Wiggins (right) con
fers with State Bureau of Investigation agents, Tues
day as they wait for other members of a special
negotiation team to arrive from different parts of
the state. Wiggins, who went to school with Junior
Long, tried to talk the man out most of Tuesday
afternoon. About 4:30 p.m., Wiggins sent for the
special team. "/ don't call on you very often, but
when I do, 1 need you, " the chief told the leader of
the team.
Gunman holding police at bay
By Ed Miller
A Raeford man, Junior Long,
said by police to be in his late 40's,
was still locked inside apartment
106 of Raeford's Countryside
apartment complex Wednesday
morning.
The man has been in the apart
ment since about 3 p.m. Tuesday
when Raeford Police Chief
Leonard Wiggins tried to serve in
voluntary mental commitment
papers on him, said Wiggins.
Long is in the apartment alone
but is thought to have two guns
with him, said Wiggins.
Just after 3 p.m. Tuesday, a gun
blast blew a hole through the roof
of the apartment as Wiggins was
about to step inside the door to
talk with the man, said the chief.
Police and State Bureau of In
vestigation officers waited on
Long to come out of the house all
Tuesday night and were still
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Long was
talked out of the apartment by
S.B.I, agents. Officers made con
tact with the man when he opened
a door to whistle for his dog, Wig
gins said.
waiting Wednesday morning.
Relatives and church members
tried for hours to get Long to come
to the door or just talk to them late
Tuesday afternoon, to no avail.
Wiggins, who went to school
with Long, tried to get the man to
talk to him for hours Tuesday
afternoon, but no answer came
from inside the apartment.
Residents in the apartments sur
rounding 106 were evacuated Tues
day.
The main objective is to get the
man out safely, said Wiggins.
Test scores show improvement
By Ed Miller
Recent results from achievement
test scores show most Hoke Coun
ty school first through ninth grade
students are improving.
Test scores for 67.5% of the
students made at least one year's
progress in this year's battery of
exams.
According to Hoke County
School Superintendent Dr. Robert
Nelson, traditionally, students in
this county have not progressed a
year in achievement per a year in
school.
Recently received figures from
the state and the region show that
out of 37 places where compari
sions can be drawn, 25 points
showed that Hoke students pro
gressed at least a year.
According to Nelson, 12 out of
37 places, or 32.4% of comparable
points showed that students did
not make the needed progressions
in a year.
"We ought to be concerned that
in one-third of the cases we did not
make a year's progress in a year.
But, in two-thirds of them we did
and that's better than we've been
doing," Nelson said.
In comparison with national
averages, or norms, 30 out of 43
points of comparison showed
Hoke County students to be at or
above national norms.
That averages out to be about
69.76?7o, said Nelson.
"Thirty percent of our groups
are not at national norms, but it's
so much better than it was," said
Nelson.
According to the superinten
dent, in 1983, 41.4% of achieve
ment test scores were at or above
the national norm.
By 1985, that percentage had
risen to 69.7%, said Nelson.
Also, this year marks the First
time the total achievement average
scores for the ninth grade was
above national norms.
This year's Hoke ninth graders
averaged a score of 9.8, translated
to read ninth grade, eighth month,
said Nelson.
The national norm is 9.7, ninth
grade, seventh month, he said.
In comparison with the region,
which contains 17 school systems,
Hoke County is beginning to
favorably compare, said Nelson.
Grades six and nine are begin
(See TEST, page 2 A)
New ideas for improving county offered at seminar
By Ed Miller
New ideas were given and
welcomed at a seminar last Tues
day entitled "Look Up Raeford
Hoke."
"I feel that we accomplished the
objective to acquaint a total cross
section of the people with the
future," Raeford-Hoke Economic
Developer John Howard said.
About 50 people attended the
seminar, said Howard.
Most of those people attended
representing multiple capacities,
said Hoke County Extension Ser
vice Chairman Willie Feather
stone.
"I attended representing the Ex
tension1 Service. Barbara (Buie) at
tended for the Literacy Council
and it just so happens that we're
also black," he said in meeting last
Wednesday to discuss the impact
of the seminar.
According to questionnaires fill
ed out by those who went to the
meeting, industry growth and im
provement on the quality of life
for all in the county are the
priorities to be looked at if Hoke is
to become a thriving county.
"We must recognize social
change, educational change, job
skill change requirements brought
on by advanced technologies,"
said Howard.
"We now live in the information
age where our total lifestyles are
being changed for us almost faster
than we realize," said the
developer.
Different sections of the popula
tion were discussed in the seminar.
"As a community, it appears to
me impossible for any segment of
the community to want to ac
complish something without a full
knowledge and cooperation by all
the other segments," said Howard.
In Wednesday's meeting, the
group also discussed how to get the
population involved with improv
ing Hoke County.
One citizen told others at the
meeting there are about 25 people
in Hoke County that will work on
their own for the good of all.
A pyramid effect was discussed.
If each of those 25 people con
tact four or five other people, a
large number of interested citizens
can be reached, Howard said.
"I believe they call this synergy
when the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts," said the
developer.
"Perhaps the most important
question of all is whether we will
let the future just happen to us
here in Hoke County or whether
we will take steps to shape it with
our values, our resources, our
dreams and our imaginations,"
Howard said.
(See NEW, page 3 A)
Around Town
By Saa Morris
Summer officially began last
Friday, June 21. It was nice over
the weekend, but the thermometer
is now going up. The nights are
also warm. .
We haven't had any rain for the
past five days, so it would be
welcomed. None in the forecast for
the next five days.
According to the forecast, the
temperature on Thursday will be
96 s. Summer is with us to stay.
? ? ? >
The News-Journal will publish a
day eafly next week du? to the July
4th holiday. We must come out on
Tuesday so that the paper will
(See AROUND, page 2A)
Grandfathered under new law
Mobil* Horn e lots In existing parks, like this one, would be allowed to re
main In business under a recently passed mobile home ordinance. New
parks will be required to pax v streets and Increase lot sizes.
Mobile home park law clarified
By Ed Miller
Mobile home park owners will
not have to meet the requirements
of a new ordinance to add
residences if lots were ready for
trailers before June 3, Hoke Coun
ty Planning Board members decid
ed last week.
During a sometimes heated
meeting last Thursday night, Plan
ning Board members voted to
make the allowances only if sewer,
water and electricity had already
been run to the lot before June 3.
Board members also made ex
ceptions for park owners whose
construction was held up by the
county's inspection department.
In the case of Jack Lanier,
owner of several lots in Harmony
Heights Mobile Home Park, con
struction on putting down a septic
tank was halted because of the
passing of the ordinance, he said in
the meeting.
Planning Board members also
faced verbal abuse from one park
owner who claimed the ordinance
was passed in secret.
"Frankly, I want to know who
started all this," said O.D. Ferris.
Planning Board Chairman
Brown Hendrix, Jr. told Ferris
that Hoke County originally
started working on an ordinance in
1974, and that the current or
dinance was first discussed again in
February of this year.
"Don't go telling me how the
hell to run the damn place," Ferris
said.
"Here you go trying to tell me
what to do. I'm telling you this is
just like Russia," said Ferris.
"There's a lot of unfair things in
here," he said.
Another park owner charged
there should have been two public
hearings before the ordinance was
passed.
"You didn't give a chance for
the second public hearing," Floyd
McNeill said.
State law only requires one
public hearing, County Attorney
Duncan McFayden has said.
Other questions were clarified
during the meeting.
According to Hendrk, * park
that is partially filled nowjknd has
lots set up and able to imiMliiMl)r
accept trailers can add-fm<N
under the grandfather clause.
' . ? "