Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / July 25, 1985, edition 1 / Page 1
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The News-Journal The Hoke County News - Established 1928 The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905 Volume LXXVII Number 14 RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, July 25, 1985 Rockfish building being eyed by school board ; By Ed Miller Members of the Hoke County Board of Education will soon tour an old manufacturing building in Rock fish with considerations of reconverting the facility into a school. In a meeting called Tuesday to rev'f* the county's school facilities, the board of education members were told there is a lack of school space, and the problem must be addressed soon. Hoke is one of the few school systems predicted to grow in the next school year, said Superinten dent Dr. Robert Nelson. "One of the things affecting us is the situation in the northeast part of the county," said Nelson. "Rockfish is moving at a rapid rate that I didn't expect two years ago," he said. A surge of students at the lower level grades now will mean a surge at Upchurch Junior High School and Hoke High School in future years, Nelson said. The high school is nnui '*lilr? that cup of coffee, filled to the brim." Crowded conditions are further complicated by new standards handed down from the state re quiring fewer students to be placed in a classroom, said the superinten dent. Under recent regulations, kindergarden through third grade classes may contain 26 students; fourth through eighth grade rooms may have 33 students; grades nine through 12 may have 35 students, said Nelson. Within the last three weeks, the state has changed those regulations to say that K through eighth grades can have only 26 students; grade nine may have 27.5; and grades 10 through 12 are allowed 31 students per classroom. J.W. Turlington School and Up church Junior High School prin cipals will have trouble finding places to put students, said Nelson. "That in itself complicates things in the short run,'* said Nelson. Within the next eight years, the numbers are expected to drop to: K-3, 20 students per class; 4-6, 22 per class; 7-8, 21 per class; and 9-12, 24.5 per classroom. "We'd need the equivalent of another MacDonald Building at the high school by 1993," said Nelson. Elementary schools in the coun ty are already crowded. As a possible remedy to that problem, educators are consider ing the old Rockfish School building which is now a 36,000 square foot structure that was used as a textile manufacturing opera tion. The asking price for the building is $500,000, according to Nelson. If a stranger could look at a map of Hoke County and put a school where it was needed most, the school would probably be placed in the Rockflsh area, said Nelson. "If I had opportunity to create an ideal solution to the thing, I would build a new middle school," said the superintendent, adding that he would eliminate Turlington and Upchurch Schools. Storm damage CuHm&&rvtt* GnK*y m<rmrdKdiTtfrihe old Dundarraeh Trading Company building was struck by lightning during Monday's heavy thunderstorms. Only slight damage was caused to the of/Ice area of the building, a store spokesman said Tuesday. Here, members of the Stonewall Volunteer Fire Department, who responded to the fire, are attempting to find the location of the blaze. The store was in full operation on Tuesday. Elsewhere in the county, tobacco was reported to have been damaged and power outages were fre quent during the storm, which dropped about three inches of rain. Man charged with cutting wife's throat A 24-year county resident, John Junior Clark, is still in the custody of the Hoke County Sheriff's Department under $8,000 after be ing accused of cutting his wife's throat and also injuring his sister in-law. Neither of the women were kill ed, but both were taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for treatment after the incident which happened July 13, sheriff's reports say. The report says Linda Ann Clark, 19, was cut on the right side of her neck and her right chest while Susan Dial, 25, was cut on the left hand while trying to stop Clark. Around Town By San Morris The weather over the weekend was hot and the thunderstorm Monday cooled things off somewhat. Before the storm hit late Monday afternoon the reading on my thermometer was 98 degrees. Now this is summertime. The storm Monday brought forth over three inches of much needed rain for the county. Also along with the rain was wind and some hail. The thunder and lightn ing was terrific for about two hours. The only thing missing was snow. I can't remember the power be ing off for so long in recent years because of a storm. The electricity was off at my house for 50 minutes. I believe it was off in most of Raeford. A CPAL repair man told me Tuesday morning that the power was off down near Arabia for over five hours. It was (See AROUND, page 9A) Clark has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious in jury, reports say. According to John Clark's state ment, his wife cut him first, and he knocked the knife out of her hand and hit her with it. No official reports mention the man being injured. Clark also told deputies that the weapon fell on the ground, and he has no idea where it is, reports say. Levern Dial, the other injured woman's husband, tried to chase Clark after the alleged cuttings but could not find him, say reports. Clark was taken to Dorthea Dix Hospital in Raleigh Monday, a Lunch time These migrant students at South Hoke School are tak ing a break from their sum mer program to eat. This week in The News- Journal, we take a look at the summer school programs being of fered in Hoke County. See page one of section R. spokesman for the sheriff's depart ment said. In an unrelated case, Hoke County juvenile authorities are considering pressing charges against a 14-year-old girl who allegedly hit her father with a bot tle, according to reports. The report also says that the girl's father, Orell McLean, allegedly beat the girl with an ex tension cord while^ two of her uncles held her. On July 13, McLean's daughter was reported to be in the yard of their home with some other family members. The girl allegedly started yelling at and cursing one of the visitors in the yard, the report says. McLean came out of the house and told her to stop her verbal assault and come into the house. Although statements conflict in detail about what allegedly went on inside the house, the girl claims to have been beat with a drop cord and hit the man to get away. In still another unrelated domestic case, a court date has been set for Friday, July 26 in the case of a wife cutting her husband. Helen Douglas, 38, allegedly cut John Henry Douglas on the left arm on July 15, sheriff's reports show. The woman signed a $300 (See DOMESTIC, page 9A) DeVane named to head 1st Hoke stock sales Incorporators of First Hoke Savings and Loan Association, Inc., (Proposed) have planned a full fledged campaign to attract in vestors for a locally owned finan cial institution in Hoke County. The Board's plan is to sell the amount of stock required to obtain a charter by August 14. The Incorporators of the proposed institution have filed an application for a charter which is scheduled to be heard by the N.C. Savings and Loan Commission on August 15, in Raleigh. R. Palmer Willcox, the proposed Chairman of the Board, announced that Incorporator Dan ny DeVane has been appointed to direct the Board's campaign until the Offering of up to 230,000 shares is subscribed. "The Organization is very pleas ed that a person with the proven ability of Danny DeVane will be leading us in this effort," Willcox said. DeVane has accepted the addi tional responsibility as the Association's Public Relations Of ficer. DeVane said, "I will be devoting full time toward this project to see that everyone has the opportunity to invest in First Hoke. "Traditionally, good financial services have enhanced the quality of life for the people of Hoke County, and we believe the services that can be delivered from a locally managed financial institution will add greatly to this tradition." DeVane will be working directly with the Association's Executive Committee composed of Palmer Willcox, John Balfour, Tom Howell, Clayton Buoyer and Franklin Teal as well as the other members of the Board to promote the Institution. Teal, the proposed President and Managing Officer, served for (See 1st HOKE, page 9A) 25 taxpayers anteing up over one-third of budget By Warren Johnston Out of the $2.5 million in real property tax revenues county of ficials hope to receive during this fiscal year, more than one-third will be paid by the top 25 taxpayers in Hoke County, a recent survey showed. Almost $900,000 in taxes will be billed to the top 25 firms and in dividuals, who make up $110.8 million of the county's $340 million tax base, figures furnished by the Hoke County Tax Office show. Burlington Industries leads the list of top taxpayers with a real property valuation of over $33 million. That firm pays about 10% of the county's total tax bill and 27.9% of the City of Raeford's budgeted ad valorem revenues. Faberge Inc. owns property valued at $24.1 million for second place, and is followed by The House of Raeford, which has pro perty valued at $9.5 million. In addition, the top three manufacturers, along with JRA Industries, pay over $388,000 of the city's $650,000 ad valorem revenue or about 59% of the budgeted amount. Burlington, Faberge and The House of Raeford also pay 65% of the total city water and sewer bill, Raeford collection figures show. Industry Collectively all the industries just in the top 25, including JRA, Carolina Galvanizing, Tar Heel Turkey Hatchery, Farm Chemical and Raeford Oil Company have a tax value of more than $75.8 million and pay over $614,000 in taxes or about 24.5% of the coun ty's $2.5 million total collections. Other industries like Hoke Con crete and Commercial Products, which have values smaller than those in the top 25 are not includ ed, but contribute substantial tax payments. Farming If valued as a single taxpayer, farming would have property assessed at about $35 million, Tax Office personnel say. The top 194 farmers in the coun ty have property assessed at $33.3 million, but sources say when smaller farmers are included the value would exceed $35 million. Using the $35 million value, farming would contribute about $283,500 in taxes or approximately 11.3% of the total collections. Utilities The four utility firms that own property in Hoke County are valued at about SI 8.2 million and pay around 5.8% of the total col lections or over $147,500. Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) owns property valued at $9.3 million and is the fourth largest taxpayer in the county. Carolina Telephone is ranked fifth with a value of $5.15 million. Lumbee Electric Cooperative has property valued at $3.1 million and a seventh ranking. North. Carolina Natural Gas Corporation is ranked 26th in the county and owns property assessed at $579,284. Railroads The "Ldurinburg and Southern Railroad and the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad are among the top taxpayers in the county with a combined value of $2.13 million and pay about $17,000 in local taxes. (See TAXPAYERS, page 9A) New business Workers are striving to complete construction of Price-Rite Building Sup ply in order to meet a September I planned opening. The main building of the new Rock fish area facility will be 14,000 square feet and will serve Hoke County and the nearby Fayetteville metropolitan area. Building supply opening By Ed Miller A new business, a building sup ply company, could open in Hoke County as early as mid-August, a co-owner of the business said Tuesday. Price-Rite Building Supply, now under construction in Rockfish on State Road 1418, will definitely be open by September 1, but owners of the business are pushing for an August 15 opening date, Jackie Price said. "He's committed to helping Hoke County get going," said Price of his partner, Adrian Williams. Williams owns the land that the supply house is being built on, Price said. Williams and Price are building Price-Rite in Hoke County because of the way Cumberland County and Fort Bragg are growing. "With growth the way it is now, we will be in a central location," said Price. Another reason for building in Hoke County is the number of zoning restrictions placed on builders in Cumberland County, said Price. When completed and fully stocked, the business will have an inventory of "roughly," $250,000 said Price. The warehouse will be serving the whole area. "We believe that a good portion of our business will come from Hoke County," said Price, adding that he hopes to get business from builders in Cumberland County who are working nearby. There is not much choice now for the residents of Hoke County. They either buy from one of two supply houses in Raeford or they have to travel to Cumberland, Scotland or Moore counties, Price said. Price-Rite hopes to keep prices under those of competitors by hav ing low overhead and careful marketing. The company will employ about six to eight people when it opens and will add employees as business improves, said Price. "There won't be any un necessary employees," he said. Prices will also be kept low by the company not carrying unneed ed inventory. "We plan to buy what the com munity needs rather than what's (See NEW, page 9A)
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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July 25, 1985, edition 1
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