RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
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Volume LXXIX Number 4
Thursday, May 14,1987
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Nursing home
plans delayed
By Sally Jamir
News-Journal Staff Writer
Plans for a Raeford nursing home have been
delayed due to a backlog of plan approvals at the Divi
sion of Facilities Services in Raleigh, a spokesman
from the Autumn Care Corporation said last week.
Doug Suddreth of the Autumn Care Corporation
said Thursday that the company was waiting on the
DFS construction section to approve architectural
plans for the home before beginning construction.
“We’re waiting for the bureaucratic red tape to be
cut so we can go forward,” Suddreth said.
“We’re moving as quickly as we can.”
He said the plans need to be approved as well as tests
on sedimentation control by the Environmental Pro
tection Agency.
The John M. Campbell construction firm in Monroe
will be building the 70-bed nursing home. The zoning
for the home was approved by the city council last
year.
In late January, Suddreth said that he hoped they
could begin construction within 60 days. But delays
arose due to the numerous appeals made in the DFS
office by corporations when the state denied them per
mission to build nursing homes in a specific location.
Autumn Care had originally not been able to pro
ceed with construction because another nursing home
company (Britthaven) had appealed a decision made
against them by the state.
Construction of the $1.4 million home will be over
seen by the architectural firm of Wilmot and Bower,
represented by Ed Williams and Jim Turner.
The building will total 22,000 square feet, have two
nurses stations, a physical therapy room and a recrea
tional area, Suddreth said.
Of the 70 beds, 24 will be reserved for those who
need skilled care, eight will be for those who need rest
home care and the remainder will be for those who
need intermediate care, Suddreth said.
■Local beauty-
Roses grace A.D. Austin's yard at 151 W. Edinborough Street. Abundant rain and
pleasant weather this spring have helped produce jumbo roses with exquisite blooms.
Agriculture
in ‘good shape’
By Sally Jamir
News-Journal Staff Writer
Agricultural activity in the area
is in “good shape” according to
Hoke County Extension Director
Willie Featherstone.
“The climatic conditions are
good and the soil is warm and has
moisture,” Featherstone said. “If
weather conditions stay the same,
we’ll be doing good.”
Featherstone said that close to
50 percent of the tobacco crops
had been planted through last
week.
The planting schedule for tobac
co crops was about two weeks
behind, Featherstone said, because
the young plants were slow “grow
ing off” or in getting their length
and size.
He said he is not sure of the
reason for this but that he noticed
some cold damage on some of the
plants.
“One farmer in the area, James
Warner, has clipped his tobacco
four times this season,”
Featherstone said. “This will allow
him to pull 20 percent more of the
young plants for setting in the
field.”
Warner said this week that he
was able to plant his 35 acres of
tobacco in about two weeks after
weather conditions were suitable.
“It stayed wet for a while,”
Warner said, “But when it dried
up we could get the land prepared.
“We were able to move across it
(the field) pretty quick and pro
gressed real well.”
Warner wasn’t able to comment
on what kind of growing season it
might be, but admitted that “most
of the crops look good” and that
farmers in the area “need a good
year.”
Besides cotton, Warner also
grows corn, small grains and soy
beans.
Another farmer in the area, Earl
Hendrix, has used greenhouse-
grown plants rather than thoK
grown in beds in the field.
Featherstone said the plants for
this kind of tobacco production
are more expensive but that it may
save the farmer some labor costs in
pulling the plants and setting them
in the field for the growing season.
“Most things were behind this
year,” Hendrix said, commenting
on the start of the season, but says
that progress in the field is good.
Hendrix also grows corn and
soybeans as well as raising hogs.
“Most of the cotton is set and
looks pretty good,” Hendrix said.
“Most of the corn is planted. A
few of the corn stands of growth
had to be replanted but most of it
looks pretty decent.”
Featherstone said that over half
of the cotton is planted, about 75
percent of the tobacco is in and
roughly 95 percent of the corn is
planted.
Hendrix said the crops now need
just enough moisture to get a good
stand. The crucial time of the
season when crops need water is
June for com, July for cotton and
tobacco and August for soybeans,
he said.
Commenting on the tobacco
program, Hendrix said that a lot of
farmers were disappointed this
year because of the loss of lease
and transfer program.
Raeford gets
new postmaster
Clara Robinson has been ap
pointed Raeford’s new postmaster.
Robinson, 42, has served as
postmaster in Wallace for the past
four years.
“Since I’ve been told 1 was the
Raeford postmaster I’ve been on
cloud nine,” Robinson said.
A native of St. Pauls, Robinson
began working with the postal ser
vice in Patterson, N.J. as a
distribution clerk in 1%9. She was
transferred to Fayetteville in 1974
and continued her work as a
distributor. In 1975 she became a
sorter machine instructor at the
sectional center. Later she became
a mail processing supervisor.
Robinson was acting postmaster
in Maxtcn in 1979 and in
Elizabethtown in 1980. In 1981,
she moved to the system manager
position at the Lakedale Post Of
fice on Owen Drive in Fayetteville.
She was acting postmaster in
Hope Mills for six months and in
1983 became postmaster in
Wallace.
She is a graduate of Ann
Chestnutt High School, Fayet
teville, and attended North Jersey
Training School in New Jersey
where she studied nursing.
Robinson has completed
numerous postal courses. She is an
advisory board member for the
James Sprump Technical College
in Kenansville.
She vows to be of service to the
community saying that “if people
are having trouble with their mail,
I want to know about it.”
“I keep an open-door policy,”
Robinson said. “If people want to
see me, they can see me. I believe
in pleasing the public.”
Cummings sentenced to death
Jury reaches decision after over two hours of deliberation
Clara Robinson
Robinson has two daughters,
Tracy Douglas, 18, and Gail, 22.
She also has one grandson, An-
toinne.
Postmaster selections are made
on the basis of merit from a list of
qualified candidates submitted to
the sectional center manager by a
review committee.
The courtroom was completely
silent as each of the twelve jurors
stood last week to deliver the death
sentence to Edward Lee Cumm
ings, convicted of first degree
murder in Hoke County Superior
Court.
The sentence was handed down
last Wednesday after Cummings,
45, of Wake County, had been
found guilty on May 4 of the 1986
slaying Karen Marie Puryear, 22,
of Raleigh.
Judge Robert Farmer received
the recommendation from the jury
after two and one-half hours of
deliberation.
Judge Farmer set July 10 as the
execution date but defense lawyer
Michael Boose said “nothing will
happen” on that date, the execu
tion being postponed until the case
can be reviewed by the N.C.
Supreme Court.
Cummings appeared to show no
emotion while the sentence was be
ing read, though earlier that morn
ing during Farmer’s charge to the
jury, he appeared restless, quickly
moving back and forth in his chair,
causing Sheriff Dave Barrington
and deputies in the courtroom to
lurch forward in readiness on two
occasions.
Faye Puryear, Karen’s mother
cried softly into the shoulder of her
friend Carl Belch, having said
earlier that the trial was a very
emotional experience for her.
Prosecution lawyers Jean Powell
and John Dickson were pleased
with the outcome. They did not
know at the time of sentencing
what would be done with the trial
for the murder of Teresa Puryear,
Karen’s sister.
Cummings was charged with
slaying both Karen and Teresa last
January after the bodies of the two
women were found in shallow
graves near McCain.
Before sentencing deliberations
Lot size ordinance approved
By Sally Jamir
News-Journal Staff Writer
Members of the Hoke County
Planning Board last week approv
ed a lot size ordinance for residen
tial areas of the county.
The ordinance sets standards for
residential development which are
not covered in the subdivision
regulations or the mobile home
park regulations, according to Jim
Doughtery of the N.C. Depart
ment of Natural resources and
Community Development.
Doughtery and County Manager
William (Bub) Cowan were in at
tendance at the meeting in which
board members approved of the
ordinance and moved to pass it on
to county commissioners for their
review and action.
Doughtery said the ordinance in
cludes zoning regulations relating
to “how you can use land and how
you can’t use land” in residential
areas.
The ordinance seeks to “prevent
conditions which are a detriment
to the public good” by including
requirements for lot position, lot
size, septic tanks and public water
and setback lines.
The ordinance requires that
“every lot or space shall abut or
front a street.” The requirement,
Cowan said, prevents developers
from selling landlocked property.
Cowan said the ordinance re
quires soil conditions to be tested
in order to make sure conditions
are right for a septic tank. He said
this requirement would need to be
fulfilled before the deed for the
land is recorded and would prevent
the purchase of land before
healthy sanitation conditions are
guaranteed.
Requirements in the ordinance
are “for the person’s own protec
tion”, Cowan said.
“Health is the main concern” of
the ordinance, Doughtery said in
agreement. “The purpose is to set
standards to protect people where
they live.”
In other business, board
members considered a private
roads provision as a revision to the
(See LOT, page 2A)
Chamber of Commerce
Motivational speaker Kirk Woodward, left, front,
speaks with city and county leaders Tuesday after
noon at the Chamber of Commerce office. H ood-
ward was speaker at the annual Chamber Banquet
Tuesday evening at the National Guard Armory. Pic
tured left to right are: Mayor John K. McNeill,
Woodward, Economic Development Commission
Director John Howard, County Commissioner Tom
Howell and past chamber president Terry Houston.
began defense lawyer Michael
Boose and James Parrish made
motions to submit to the jury
character statements on behalf of
Cummings.
Farmer denied the motions and
sentencing started at 10:30 a.m.
Before reaching a decision, almost
two hours into deliberations the
jury came into the courtroom and
asked Farmer if their decision had
to be unanimous. Eleven out of 12
jurors had at that time favored the
death penalty.
Boose stated later that he was
surprised that “after 42 minutes
they (jury members) went through
150 pieces of evidence and hours of
testimony...and found him guilty
of first degree murder”.
Boose said that the sentencing
decision was as equally surprising
in that the jury “found that this
murder was heinous and cruel
(See TRIAL, page 2A)
Around Town
By Sam Morris
The weather has been nice for
the past week and it seems that the
cold weather has moved on for the
time being. The 80-degree weather
during the day and the
50-60-degree weather at night is
fine.
According to some of the green
thumbs people, we could use some
rain. It seems that the top soil is
becoming dry and a shower would
help. All in all, the season has been
very good.
Raz Autry said that his peach
crop is tops and that he should
have a record harvest. Of course
this means that his golf partners
will have peaches and cream this
seas,on.
The forecast is for maybe some
rain Wednesday morning with
cooler temperatures and then it
will get back to the 80-degree mark
(See AROUND, page 2A)