The N
ews
-Journal
Volume LXXIX Number 14
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Thursday, July 23,1987
Hoke schools
may get funds
for building
By June Lancaster
News-Journal Staff Writer
Hoke County schools have been
designated as second in the state on
a priorities list for critical need
funding, Superintendent Dr. Bob
Nelson reported to the Board of
Education at its July 14 meeting.
As a result, there is a strong
possibility Hoke County schools
will receive more money from the
state for school construction than
was previously thought.
“Within four weeks we will
know how much money,” said
Nelson.
At that time, the board will look
again at the plans for construction
and renovation of the seven Hoke
County schools drawn up by
Boney Architects and possibly
upgrade them.
Meanwhile, the board approved
the schematics submitted by the ar
chitects enabling the company to
proceed with the design develop
ment phase of the project.
In other action, the board con
sidered inquiries from Parent
Teacher Associations at West
Hoke, South Hoke and
McLaughlin schools about the
possibility of the PTAs funding the
cost of air- conditioning ^those
schools.
The superintendent noted that
parents are concerned about the
heat factor in schools and said,
“People are demanding air condi
tioning.” Nelson indicated the
school system will eventually be
forced into total air conditioning.
Board member Shirley Gibson
questioned the energy cost of air-
conditioning the schools. In
response, business manager Don
Steed quoted figures supplied by
CP&L indicating it would cost
$283.50 a year for each unit install
ed.
Steed and board member Eddie
McNeill said they thought the in
creased energy cost would actually
be less than the CP&L estimate.
The board voted to accept the
offer of the PTAs to fund air con
ditioning with two provisions. One
being that the units become the
property of the school board when
installed. The other being that
energy conservation steps will be
taken if costs become un
manageable.
(See BOARD, page 11)
0.
w w
Bountiful harvest
Ireni Autry displays a basket of peaches that were her husband, is one of the two major peach growers
grown in her husband's peach orchard. Raz Autry, in Hoke County.
Peaches
Growers have bumper crop
By June Lancaster
News-Journal Staff Writer
Summertime means peach
time in the Sandhills. Hoke
County has two major peach
growers, Raz Autry and Mar
shall Parks, and for both men
this is a very busy time of year.
Both men report the weather
this year has been perfect for
peaches and they are experienc
ing bumper crops.
What started as a retirement
hobby for Raz Autry and as an
additional business for Marshall
Parks, who operates a store and
a restaurant, has become a full
time occupation for both men
during the peak of the peach
season.
Raz Autry, who started his
peach orchard in Arabia eight
years ago, says peach growing is
a risky business and very depen
dent on the right weather. His
orchard has produced only
three crops in the last six years.
For two straight years, his
crop was killed in the spring by
cold weather. This year the
weather has been perfect.
Autry has ten acres under
cultivation and grows several
varieties of freestone peaches.
Autry has 700 trees producing
1500 bushels of peaches this
year. Some trees average five to
six bushels each, Autry said.
Marshall Parks is in his first
year as a peach grower. He
bought the J.H. Poole orchard
on Highway 211 West in April.
He says the orchard is about
50 years old but has been
neglected. He estimates that it
will take a year or so to get it in
shape. Despite that. Parks
reports an unusually big crop
this year from his 45-acre or
chard.
Both Autry and Parks say
everyone is waiting for the
Georgia Belle peaches to be
harvested.
“There has never been a
peach like it!” Autry said. It is a
tender, soft peach with white
meat and is very popular in
Hoke County.
Peaches on both growers’
stands now are selling for $12 a
bushel, but Autry says the
Georgia Belle peaches will be
$14 a bushel and should be on
the stands the last week of July.
Both growers operate their
stands seven days a week during
the peak season.
(See PEACH, page 11)
County releases
recreation money
for Rockfish Park
By June Lancaster
News-Journal Staff Writer
Mamie Bundy, chairman of
Rockfish Community Committee,
persisted in her efforts to get Hoke
County Commissioners to release
$5,000 from the recreation reserve
fund to begin construction of
Rockfish Park at a commissioners
meeting on Monday night.
After much discussion, the
board voted to release the funds
under the supervision of County
Manager Cowan and Hoke County
Parks and Recreation Director
Denise Rice Melton.
Mrs. Bundy said her committee
had been frustrated in their efforts
to get a park started in their com
munity, said to be the fastest grow
ing area in Hoke County.
The committee had expected to
receive pork barrel funds for the
park but that money was spent on
the Armory Park light renovation
project.
According to a memo to the
county manager from Denise Rice
Melton, the Hoke County Parks
and Recreation Commission
recommended the allocation of the
$5,000 from the recreation reserve
fund to the Rockfish Community
Committee.
During the commissioners
meeting, it was pointed out the
Rockfish Committee had attended
four meetings with the Parks and
Recreation Commission but very
seldom were there enough
members of the commission in at
tendance to have a quorum. Mrs.
Bundy said the chairman of the
commission was not present at
three of the four meetings she had
attended.
An additional concern of the
Rockfish Committee is the use of
the proposed park land as a dump
ster site. Mrs. Bundy said there
were anywhere from six to 16
dumpsters on the site and they
were “nothing but an eyesore in
the community.”
The Rockfish Committee plans
call for the first phase of the park
development to be a ballfield. Ten
nis courts are proposed in Phase II
of the park development.
Jesse Wheeler, a member of the
Residents view North as hero
Oliver North is as much a topic
of conversation in Hoke County as
he is elsewhere in the nation. The
marine lieutenant colonel has
garnered a lot of support and is
viewed as something of a hero for
his role in the Iran-Contra affair.
A group of men who regularly
gather for coffee and conversation
in the Wagon Wheel restaurant
were discussing Ollie North just
last week.
“I’m for him 100 percent!”
declared Frank Bristow.
“With all the popularity he has
right now, he should run for some
office,” said George Boahn.
“He’s not doing anything that
everyone else hasn’t done-he just
got caught!” said Bruce
Beidleman.
D.L. Minshew views the con
Around Town
gressional hearings as an attempt
by a Democratic congress to
disgrace the president. Minshew,
who has watched the hearings on
television, views North as “an in
telligent actor with excellent tim
ing.”
Boahn said North “was given
jobs no one else could do. He’s a
real live Rambo!”
The men at the coffee table say
95 percent of the people they’ve
talked to about North view him as
a hero and are in favor of him.
They see him as a lieutenent col
onel with extraordinary power.
Boahn said he’d heard no
negative comments about North
and added, “One responsibility of
a man is loyalty. He has to follow
orders-legal or not.”
Buddy Blue agreed. “If you’re a
lieutenant colonel on the White
House staff you’re going to do
what you’re told to do and not
question the morality of it,” he
said.
Blue also said he thinks the hear
ing is, “a show trial to embarrass
the president.”
Minshew and Blue agree con
gressional hearings can be staged
and they believe this one is.
At the barber shop next door
most customers think North is tell
ing the truth, according to father-
and-son barbers Matt and Glenn
Thompkins.
Ninety nine percent of their
clients have been for North, the
men said.
Only one of their clients thought
North was lying, the men said, and
that was a woman.
By Sam Morris
The weather last week was nice.
The temperature was in the 80s
during the day and it dropped
down into the low 60s at night. It
felt almost like fall of the year ear
ly in the morning. This kind of
weather kept away the afternoon
thundershowers.
The forecast is for this week to
be different on Motiday, the ther
mometer recorded temperatures in
the mid-90s. Someone said that it
could be near lOf/ degrees on Tues
day. Also the bid qote is that no
rain is in the forecast. Since this is
July, maybe we should be prepared
for this kind of weather.
* • *
Last week in this column there
(See AROUND, page 8)
Elections
Earl McDuffie Jr. (left) and T. Joseph Upchurch filed for re-election
to Raeford City Council last Wednesday. McDuffie is seeking his se
cond term on the council. Upchurch is seeking his fourth term. Both
men will be running for four-year terms. The election well be held
Tuesday, November 3.
Accident
A 1976 Ford comes to a full stop in Mitchell Tyler's yard on Monday mor
ning. The car’s driver, Elizabeth Watkin Allmond, died in Moore County
Regional Hospital.
Woman dies in wreck
Driver had a history of strokes
A 73-year-old Raeford woman,
Elizabeth Watkin Allmond of 1402
Moore Street, died in Moore
County Regional Hospital Mon
day after having been involved in a
car accident on Bethel Road at
9:30 a.m., according to Raeford
Police Chief Zeke Wiggins.
The woman, who had a history
of strokes, was driving erratically
on Dickson Street.
Her 1976 Ford crossed Haris
Avenue, went into the driveway of
Sandhill’s Auto Parts, then struck
a sign pole and a tree on the left-
hand side of the road.
After traveling some 300-400
feet on Dickson Street, the All
mond car then went into the
driveway of Mitchell and Carol
Tyler’s residence at 222 Bethel
Road.
The Allmond car hit the Tyler’s
1986 Mercury before finally com
ing to a stop on the Dickson Street
side of the house.
Mrs. Tyler had just got out of
her car and gone into the house
when the accident occurred.
Chief Wiggins estimated
damages to the Tyler car at $4,000
and to the Allmond car at $3,000.
Rockfish Committee, told the
commissioners that a Fayetteville
contractor said he’d build a
ballfield for $5,000. County
Manager Cowan cautioned that
grading of the site would need to
be done and that could result in
greater expense than realized by
the committee.
At this point, Mrs. Bundy
understands, Mr. Wheeler is going
to obtain an estimate from the con
tractor and present it to the county
manager and the Parks and
Recreation director for their ap
proval so the committee can go
ahead with the project.
Commenting on her efforts to
get the park project off the
ground, Mrs. Bundy said, “It’s for
the people in the community and
to get some sort of organized ac
tivity down here.”
In other action, the commis
sioners authorized the county
manager to make application for
$13,650 in federal funding for the
Highway Safety Project. The
money will cover the cost of name
signs and posts for all intersections
in the county.
Tax Collector Dale Teal
presented a written request from
Ken Witherspoon asking that he be
released from a tax penalty of
$152.07. The penalty was assigned
for non-payment of taxes which
resulted from errors in appraising
Witherspoon’s property. After
discussion, the board voted to
grant the request.
In other action, the board ap
proved giving the Administrative
Review Committee of the Hoke
County Planning Board authority
to act on requests for 50 foot
waivers for minor subdivisions.
Dale Teal presented a report on
fire district tax collections as re
quested by commissioners at a
previous board meeting.
The report shows Crestline and
Rockfish districts have the highest
collection rate at 92 percent of
levy. Next is Puppy Creek with 88
percent, then Pine Hill with 87 per
cent. Tyler Town has an 81 percent
collection. North Raeford 78 per
cent, West Hoke 77 percent, An-
(See COUNTY, page 8)
Summer school
enrollment up
Just because it’s summer doesn’t
mean school isn’t in session. Sum
mer school is becoming bigger each
year in schools throughout the
state and Hoke County is no ex
ception.
At Scurlock and Turlington
schools 242 students are enrolled in
a state-funded summer school
which is part of the state’s basic
education program.
Summer school started July 7
and runs until August 7 for these
students who attend either morn
ing or afternoon sessions of three
hours each. Both schools also pro
vide lunch and transportation for
the summer school students, also
funded by the state.
In addition, there is a federally
funded migrant summer school
program at both Turlington and
Scurlock for enrichment only in
which 14 children are enrolled.
At Hoke High School, 59
students in grades 9-12 are enrolled
in a six-week summer school which
began June 29 and ends August 7.
In high school the students pay tui
tion to attend summer school.
The high school summer school
students are taking remedial
English, social studies or math
classes. There is a summer nutri
tion program at Hoke High also
and about half of the summer
school students are eating lunch in
the cafeteria.
The summer school classes at all
three schools are held in air-
conditioned classrooms.
Barbara Lupo, lead teacher of
the Scurlock summer school, and
Emma Mims, principal at Turl
ington, both emphasized the
“hands-on” activities in which
summer school students are involv
ed. These activities are in part
designed to enhance the student’s
(See SCHOOL, page 8)