Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / July 25, 1985, edition 1 / Page 2
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Viewpoints Hoke County needs help rather than paternalism Carolina Telephone Company President D. Wayne Peterson naively came to Raeford last week prepared to convince about 60 Hoke County leaders that Extended Area Service (EAS) with Fayet teville was not what this county needed for a better quality of life. Peterson, who is concerned that the effort being made to link the Raeford exchange with Fayetteville at a fair price will jeopardize a companywide rate setting method, told the audience EAS would not attract new industries or more jobs. Local efforts would be bet ter spent working towards widening roads, revitalizing downtown Raeford, improving schools and establishing a community college, -Peterson said. The Carolina Telephone president dodged questions with an air of paternalism, and patronized those in attendance with promises of economic development assistance. However, the soothing words of harmony did little to weaken the resolve of those supporting EAS, and it is hoped Peterson gained a clearer perspective of Hoke County before he went back to his Tar boro office. EAS is a not a whim, but is part of a well-researched plan for the future. It is a vital connection for Hoke County's economic sur vival. An improved telephone system is not a means to attract new industry, but is an incentive to attract more residents, who can af ford to pay ad valorem taxes. The firm's chief executive officer seemed to learn Hoke County is addressing other problems on an equal footing with EAS. Efforts are underway to improve schools. The restoration of the Aberdeen & Rockfish depot, along with the North Carolina Turkey Festival are the first steps toward downtown revitalization. U.S. 401 is on schedule to be widened in the next four years, and a community col lege satellite will be started this year. This county is moving toward a better future, and EAS is essen tial to keep us on course. Hoke County needs EAS, and now that Carolina Telephone's president knows where we stand, it is hoped the firm will earnestly join our effort to improve the service. Paternalism is no longer needed in Hoke County, but we can use all the help we can get. Kudos for delegation Hoke County did well in this year's round of legislative "pork barrel" grants, and the credit and appreciation goes to a responsive local delegation. The county garnered over $49,000 this year to help fund projects, which are designed to raise the standard of living of all residents. Rep. Sidney Locks, Rep. Pete Hasty, Rep. Danny DeVane and Sen. David Parnell should be commended for obtaining the funds for the local projects. Their efforts will make life in Hoke County a little nicer. Civic hall a priority During the last two weeks, local events have made it painfully ap parent that Hoke County needs an air conditioned public building large enough to accommodate more than 100 persons. In a meeting this week, members of the Hoke County Board of Education discussed plans for future renovations of the schools, and on the agenda was the closing of Turlington School. Although the school is obsolete as an elementary school, the auditorium of the facility is in sound shape and needs little more than air conditioning, stage support facilities, patching and paint ing. The Turlington Auditorium is an existing building in the downtown area. For an affordable amount of money, say $30,000, the facility could be renovated to make it satisfactory for plays, meetings, the symphony and other community gatherings. If fees were charged to users, the building might even become self-sustaining. Hoke County needs a larger civic facility. The Turlington School auditorium would make an excellent one. The News-Journal mm, Published Every Thursday by Dickson Press, Inc., Paul Dickson, Pres. 119 W. Ehvood Avenue, P.O. Box 550 Raeford, N.C. 28376 Subecriptioa Rates la Advance la Coaaty Per Year? $10.00 6 Moaths? $5.00 Out of Coaaty Per Year ? $12 00 t Months? $4.00 LOUIS H. FOGLEMAN, JR WARREN N.JOHNSTON . Publkher Editor . . . . Production Supervisor Contributing Editor Advertising RepracatHht HENRY L. BLUE SAM C. MORRIS ANN N. WEBB. . Sscsai Claas Pnrtags at Raefard, NX. (USPS 3M-1M) Letters To The Editor World's hungry need local help To the Editor: Hunger is a major concern of all of us who watch TV or read the newspapers. In over 43 countries while you read this article someone will die from starvation, hunger, or a hunger related illness or disease. There are 26 countries in Africa, 17 in Latin America and the Carib bean affected by the lack of ade quate food. At the Raeford United Methodist Church recently, everyone was given a Hunger Bank to help fight World Hunger. It is hoped the congregation will take these banks and make some daily sacrifice or act of self-denial and put the money saved in the Hunger Bank. The money will be channeled to meet the needs of the world's hungry through UMCOR (The United Methodist Committee on Relief). Above 8OV0 will go to overseas countries and 20% stays here in the U.S. to fight the terrible effects of hunger. One of the great things about UMCOR is that for every penny given for hunger, a penny is used for hunger projects. There is no money taken out for administration, salaries, transpor tation, etc. I don't know of another organization in the United States that can make this boast! Many hunger related organiza tions use up to 75ft of funds received for administration, etc. UMCOR money and projects ride piggy bank on the benevolent program of the United Methodist Church, so that each penny given goes to the designated project. Money given for hunger projects includes not only food, vitamins, and in some cases medicine, but it will be used to teach nutrition, bet ter farming methods, sanitation, co-ops, and the like, to not only feed folks, but to teach them how to better feed themselves, and to raise their standards of living. Everyone can help these pro jects. You don't have to be a United Methodist to take advan tage of this 100V# given, 100^? used for hunger relief. If your church or organization does not have such a project, you ' ? can mark your gifts "UMCOR- ' HUNGER," and send them to a local United Methodist Church; the Annual Conference Treasurer, Herb Stout, P.O! Box 1095S, Raleigh, N.C. 27605; or the General Board of Global Ministries, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1439, New York, N.Y. 10115. You'll be glad you did; the Lord ? will bless you. You will know your . money is being used in the best principles of Christian Steward ship and some persons somewhere in the world will be better off because you cared enough to give. ?wr m ?* "? - ? ? Lost farms bad for business By W.B. Jenkins N.C. Farm Bureau Federation When farmers go out of business we not only lose producers... we lose consumers. ..big consumers. For example, farmers may take n about Si 38 billion a year from :he sale of crops and livestock, but they spend about SI 35 billion for goods and services to produce these crops and livestock. Collectively, farmers also spend Dig money for the same consumer items bought by urban residents, rhe total figure for these items. plus personal taxes and in vestments, comes to about $45 billion. In addition, it's hard to conceive that farmers annually spend $16 billion for fuel and equipment maintenance... $22 billion for feed and seed... $7 billion for fertilizer and lime. ..plus $10 billion on pur chases of farm tractors and other farm equipment. And think about the jobs involv ed as you realize that products farmers buy in a year contain 7 million tons of steel and 360 million pounds of rubber. ..that's enough rubber to put tires on near ly 8 million automobiles. Enough with figures. ..what's the point? Well, like everything else, farmers are not only consumers ... they're big consumers ... and when their income drops or as some go out of business ... consumption drops not a little ... but a lot. In fact, it drops enough to sever ly injure a small rural town and even affect the entire U.S. economy. Rev. Frank -Lloyd Minister Raeford Methodist Church Letters Policy Letters to the editor are encouraged ?nd welcomed. Writers should keep letters as short as possible. Names, addresses and telephone numbers should be included and all letters must be signed. Names will be printed, however, other information will be kepi confidential. We reserve the right to edit letters for good taste and brevity. Letters should be received by ' ] The News-Journal by noon on the Monday of the publication week. New car prompts youthful antics We were riding around town the other day in our new car. I was acting like a 12-year-old. "You're acting like a 12-year-old," my wife said, encouraging me to relax and enjoy the ride. It had been a number of years since 1 had been 12, but a new car brings out the kid in everyone, particularly me. My wife was driving, so I wasn't getting into much trouble acting like an adolescent. I was just hovering in the front passenger's seat, impatiently waiting for my chance to drive. We had had the car for three weeks, and my wife had refused to relinquish her place at the wheel. The purchase came just before our last trip to the mountains. We had started out in the old Ford. The weather was hot, and the four window air cooling system was not working very well. After three blocks we stopped at a local hamburger place to get one of those ice filled drinks and to cool off in the air conditioning. Six hours on the road in the Ford was not appealing. We went back home. We called the dealer and bought the car over the phone. I felt pretty good about the purchase. We rode to the mountains in air conditioned comfort while listening to banjo picking on our new radio. Besides, we were also doing our part to help sagging con sumer spending. My wife wanted to drive first. I let her. It was a mistake. She has been driving ever since. "Relax, and quit being so antsy. You'll get your chance to drive," she said, as I continued to hover during the recent trip around town. "Hovering" is a good local word, which dates back to the early 1950*a and can be traced to the two-season television show called "Whiriybirds." The term is now used by 40-year-old local members of the legal profession to describe contractural arrangements be tween partners in a frog gigging operation. When one partner leaves the other waiting for the boat in the snake infested grass on a pond bank, then the waiting partner is said to be "hovering." Hovering is also something 12-year-olds do when they are sitting Warren Johnston The Puppy Papers on the back porch after supper, listening to adults tell the same stories for the sixth time. "Antsy," on the other hand, is a word, which came into use after a 12-year-old, who grew bored with the stories on the back porch, wandered off into the yard about dusk dark to watch a group of ants try to drag a watermelon through the small opening into their hill. Having carried the melon for more than 300 yards, the young ants were understandably frustrated when they were unable to get the prize through the entrance to their home. The creatures were so upset by the dilemma they began to impa tiently tap their toes, play distractedly with valuable curios on the living room table and to ask their elders questions like: "How come?" and "why not?" Once the 12-year-old saw this activity by the ants, he began to im itate them. The word "antsy" came into use. In addition, while he was investigating the melon incident, ants crawled up the youth's leg and got into his pants, thus making the term, "ants in the pants," a reality. Although the phrases are similarly descriptive, "ants in the pants" should not be confused with "crab in the pants," which my grandfather got one time at the beach and was forced to shed his bathing suit in public. I was so anxious to drive our new car, I felt much as my grand father must have that day on St. Simons Island. After about an hour-and-a-half of circling the town, my wife finally turned over the wheel. It is hard to explain the thrill of driving a new car for the first time. It's a lot like being a kid again. <
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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July 25, 1985, edition 1
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