The Hoke County Nf^rs -
The News-Journal
Established 1928 ? - - -
The Hoke County Journal - Established 1905
Volume LXXVI1 Nfcpber 16 ' ? RAEFORD, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA $10 PER YEAR 25 CENTS Thursday, August 8, 1985
County puts housing project on hold
By Ed Miller
Members of the Hoke County
Commission passed a motion
tabling the signing of a contract
that would give Hoke County
another 40 units of federally sub
sidized housing in the Antioch
area.
The contract must be signed by
September 1 or the money will be
lost, said Raeford Housing
Authority Chairman J.H. (Buddy)
Blue.
Funding for the housing is com
ing through the North Carolina In
dian Housing Authority from the
U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), Blue
said.
Commission members delayed
signing the contract because of
wording that would make the
county responsible for non-county
activities such as paving streets and
installing water and sewer lines.
"The county is not in the water
and sewer business," said Hoke
County Manager William Cowan.
Cowan added that the City of
Raeford does deal with water and
sewer systems!
Money has been budgeted to run
water from Raeford to the project
if needed, said Blue.
Also, according to the manager,
the county is not allowed by the
state to pave roads.
"That is a state activity," said
Cowan.
"We need to watch ourselves to
make sure we don't get in a liabili
ty situation," Commissioner
Wyatt Upchurch said.
County Commission Chairman
John Balfour said he would not
sign the contract as it is currently
written.
County Attorney, Duncan
McFadyen is to work on clarifica
tion of the contract's wording for a
presentation at the mid-month's
meeting.
According to Commissioner
James Albert Hunt, HUD gave the
Indian Housing Authority $2.25
million to build projects with.
The project, when completed,
will give preference to indian oc
cupants, but anyone with limited
earnings is elegible, said Blue.
Grant discussed
In other action, commissioners
passed a motion allowing Balfour
and Cowan to confer with Raeford
City Manager Tom Phillips and
Raeford Mayor John K. McNeill
on applying for a grant that could
give the county $179,339 for two
years to pay the "nonfederal costs
for water and sewer construction
projects."
Members of the commission
discussed turning the grant money
over to the City of Raeford
because the county currently has
no water or sewer system under its
control, according to Cowan.
The county must provide a 50*%
match for the money and federal
money cannot be used, said
Cowan.
Raeford is interested in
upgrading the current sewer plant
and perhaps repairing some old
sewer lines, said Cowan.
In Monday night's meeting of
the Raeford City Council, Phillips
said the money could also be used
to extend water and sewer lines to a
planned motel site outside of
Raeford.
The amount of money allocated
Hoke County is dictated by
population of the county, accord
ing to a memorandum from the
North Carolina Office of State
Budget and Management.
The 1985 General Assembly ap
propriated $60 million each for
(See COUNTY, page 2A)
Almost new
Two old cars and a new car, used for comparison,
were on hand for Monday night's meeting of the
Raeford City Council. The two old cars have been
rebuilt by the city's shop and are as good as new,
according to City Manager Tom Phillips. Tax
payers saved over $7,000 per car by rebuilding in
stead of replacing the cars, Phillips said. Pictured
(R to L) are Police Detective Robert Murdoch.
Raeford Fire Marshal Terry Tapp, Phillips, Coun
cilman Bob Gentry and Police Chief Leonard H ig
gins.
Board of Education decision
upheld, Baker terminated
By Ed Miller
A Special Superior Court Judge,
James A. Beaty Jr., has found in
favor of the Hoke County Board
of Education in a case where a
teacher appealed her dismissal
from the school system.
Ethelyn H. Baker, whose con
tract was not renewed before the
1984-85 school year, appealed the
decision of the Board of Education
up to the superior court level.
The case was heard on July 10.
In a summary of his findings,
Beaty said "the evidence presented
to the board substantiates its' con
clusions that Mrs. Baker's actions
and reactions constituted inade
quate performance... when review
ed in the light of the reasonable ex
pectation that teachers are held 'to
a higher standard of personal con
duct given the youthful ideas they
are supposed to foster and
elevate.' "
"The findings of facts made by
the Hoke County Board of Educa
tion on November 5, 1984 are
substantially supported by the
evidence presented during the
hearings of October 29 and 30,
1984.
On those dates, the school board
met in closed sessions to hear
testimony as to the reasons for the
teacher's dismissal.
Before those meetings, on
August 13, 1984, a Professional
Review Committee found
unanimously that Baker should be
reinstated.
According to Beaty, the commit
tee did not give enough considera
tion to "the effect which Mrs.
Baker's inability to get along with
her fellow faculty members had
upon the maintenance of order and
respect for adults among the
children who witnessed or were af
fected by the actions, statements
and relationships which Mrs.
Baker exhibited with others.
"Mrs. Baker's sometime in
sulting remarks to teachers and
abruptness with parents is not the
type of behavior that teachers
should use for children to imitate
or emulate," Beaty said.
"Mrs. Baker, through her
evidence and testimony does not
dispute the substance of the facts
found by the board, but rather that
she offered her own characteriza
tion or explaination of what hap
pened," he said.
According to testimony given in
the court hearing, Baker's at
torney, Yvonne Mims Evans, told
Beaty that some of the incidents
for which the teacher was fired did
not happen the way the Board of
Education said they did.
Baker is alleged to have verbally
abused students, walked out on
parent-teacher conferences, been
abusive to other teachers and been
so intolerable to get along with
that three teacher aides walked out
on her in one year, according to
Martin N. Erwin, attorney for the
Board of Education.
Although Judge Beaty found in
favor of the school board, he also
(See BOARD, page 2A)
T urkey fest plans
Miss North Carolina and the
rock band Nantucket have been
signed to take part in the first
North Carolina Turkey Festival
scheduled for Raeford September
18-21.
Joni Parker, who was recently
crowned Miss North Carolina, will
ride in the first Turkey Parade 6n
Wednesday evening, and national
ly known recording stars Nan
tucket will perform Saturday on
Main Street.
The Nantucket performance,
which is scheduled from 2 to 3
p.m. will be part of the day-long
continuous music and entertain
ment on Saturday.
The rock group is being spon
sored by Carolina Turkeys and
The Tarheel Hatchery and will be
free to the public.
Opening ceremonies for the
festival will be held Wednesday
morning. North Carolina
Secretary of Agriculture Jim
Graham, along with local elected
officials, are expected to take part
in the festivities.
Chef Louis Osteen of the
Pawleys Island Inn in Pawleys
Island, South Carolina, who has
gained a nationwide reputation for
his skill in preparing Fine food, will
conduct a seminar and turkey
cooking demonstration following
the opening ceremonies Wednes
day.
While Osteen is on the podium,
five cooks, who are finalists in the
North Carolina Turkey Cooking
Contest, will begin preparing
red pes and competing for more
than SI, 000 in prize money.
Golf, tennis, bridge, eating,
square dancing and turkey
shooting are on tap for Thursday.
As part of the activities, the
festival will present the Embers in
concert for a three-hour perfor
mance at the first Turkey Park Ball
to be held Friday night at Armory
Park in Raeford.
Hoke County, the festival and
North Carolina received national
recognition a week ago when
weatherman Willard Scott donned
a turkey hat and broke the news on
the NBC Today Show about the
events planned for Raeford.
Scott's notice of the North
Carolina event was a result of con
tacts made with the show by
Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Com
merce Executive Secretary Beverly
Pasternak .
CBS and ABC were also con
tacted by Pasternak and future
coverage from those networks is
expected.
Additional promotion for the
festival includes billboard, radio,
televison, newspaper and magazine
advertising, coordinated through
Hodges Advertising in Fayet
teville. ?
(See TURKEY, page II A)
Main Street to be closed
By Ed Miller
Raeford's Main Street will be
closed on the day of the First An
nual North Carolina Turkey
Festival if the merchants involved
agree to the closing, according to a
motion passed Monday night by
the Raeford City Council.
Councilmen agreed to the clos
ing from 10 p.m. Friday,
September 20 to 6 p.m. Saturday,
September 21.
The street needs to be closed on
Friday night to allow time for
booths to be set up on sidewalks
along the strip, said Beverly
Pasternak, Executive Secretary for
the Raeford-Hoke Chamber of
Commerce.
Pasternak gave councilmen a
rundown of scheduled events for
the five days of the festival.
Representing the Chamber of
Commerce, Pasternak also gave
- councilmen a packet containing
festival paraphernalia including a
shirt and balloons.
"Preserving the past... Creating
the future" is the new slogan
recently adopted by the Raeford
Hoke Economic Development
Commission, according to
Development Director John
Howard.
In a presentation to councilmen,
Howard said that he is currently
working with three industries hop
ing they may choose Hoke County
as their home.
Although Howard could not
comment on the nature of the in
dustries or their names, one of
them would employ 50 people and
require little from the county or
city in the way of special utilities,
said the developer.
Searching for industry is a major
portion of Howard's job, he told
councilmen.
Also important to the future of
Hoke County's economy is
"significant business," said
Howard,
The new Price Rite building sup
ply center, currently being built in
Rockfish, and the new First Hoke
Savings and Loan were deemed
significant businesses by Howard
because they are specialized and in
volve area and community sup
port, he said.
Howard also listed supportive
projects ongoing that will help to
insure the economic future of the
county.
Extended area telephone service,
the four-laning of Highway 401,
the establishment of a community
college, downtown revitalization,
and1 finding funding sources are
just a few of the projects Howard
listed.
"Animation in the community"
was cited by Howard as being a
drawing card for attracting outside
interests.
"The Turkey Festival is a
wonderful example of animation
in the community," said Howard.
(See MAIN, page 2A)
The wait
This is the meal line at 4-H camp. Sure, one has to stand in line, but
thtre is much fun to be had in line when no one is looking. For more
about this summer's 4-H camp, see page one of B of today's News
Journal.
Incubator could
draw businesses
B\ Kd Miller
Raeford and Hoke County
could become an attractive loca
tion for small business owners if a
"business incubator" is incor
porated, Economic Developer
John Howard told members of the
Raeford-Hoke Economic Develop
ment Commission.
In Tuesday's meeting of the
commission, Howard explained
that a business incubator is a large
facility that will house a number of
small businesses under one roof.
The incubator concept began
when the 1983 North Carolina
General Assembly formed the
N.C. Technical Development
Authority, a groap charged with
research and development of ac
tivities in small business, said
Howard.
The authority also makes special
offerings to help areas start in
cubators, said the developer.
Through state funding, one-time
grants of up to S200.000 are of
fered to begin an incubator.
The money must be matched
with cash or real estate, said
Howard.
An incubator must be operated
by a non-profit corperation, the
developer said.
Once the incubator is establish
ed, the state takes the deed to the
building, he said.
An incubator arrangement will
provide small business people with
low rent spaces, lower than they
could find elsewhere in the town,
shared support services and basic
equipment, such as copying
machines, commissioners were
told.
The system offers participants
access to technical, management
and business assistance.
Currently, there are 14 in
cubators operating in North
Carolina, but they have been in ex
istance for such short times that
only one is operating to potential,
said Howard.
Another benefit to Raeford and
Hoke County is that there ire no
incubators close by, he said.
According to the developer, a
prime example of the type people
who would be attracted to an in
cubator in Hoke County would be
a man or woman currently in
(See ECONOMIC, page 10A)
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The weather has been perfect for
the past few days. The temp
eratures have been in the 80s dur
ing the day and in the 60s at night.
It does seem a little strange for this
type of weather in August.
The forecast is the same for the
remainder of the week, but it could
get in the high 80s by the weekend.
? * ?
We folks that have lived in
Raeford all our lives don't think
much about the changes that are
taking place every year. We just
change with things and accept
them as either progress or going
backward.
Luke McNeill, who retired
several months ago, has taken up
the hobby of making TV cassettes
of people and pltfces in Hoke
County. He has also put together
some old pictures and films of
things around Raeford many years
ago. Luke has mailed many of the
cassettes to friends that live away
from Raeford. He has received
many letters thanking him for
bringing back fond memories of
Raeford and Hoke County.
1 have chosen one of these letters
to run in this column this week that
will speak for all these former
Hoke natives.
This first letter is from Mrs.
Thelma Johnson Vann of River
side, Calif. She is an aunt of many
people in Hoke County, including
Agnes M. Johnson Campbell and
all the Clyde Upchurch family.
Her letter is as follows;
"Don't faint, Luke dear, it is
Aunt Tee. 1 don't know if Jimmy
ever thanked you for the wonder
ful tape you made him, for he was
a very poor letter writer, and as
you know he did not live too long
after receiving the tape, and too,
he had no video machine, but he
was thrilled and so longed to see
the tape ... well, when Frances was
getting ready to leave California
and Van and I were helping her
sort out and get ready to sell, the
tape came home with me ... At that
time I was too numb to think, so
put the tape on the shelf with all
Van's movie equipment ... yester
day, out of a clear but windy sky,
he said I am going to buy a video
(See AROUND, page 10A)