ews
Journal
The 15th issue of our 84th year
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Wednesday, July 22,1992
Medical Center gets building; now board will see if price is right
The proposed Hoke Family Medical Center
finally may have a home as members of two
medical boards reached a preliminary compro
mise last Thursday.
The compromise ends several weeks of contro
versy revolving around Hoke's doctor shortage.
Younger Snead, president of the Hoke County
Medical Complex Inc., addressed the new board
appointed by the county commissioners after a
series of meetings with representatives from the
new organization, the county commissioners, and
his own board.
"We met Tuesday night and put together a
proposal everybody'll like," he said.
Snead said the HCMC would lease the build
ing currently housing Dr. Bob Townsend's office
for $3,500 per month for 36 months, a substantial
increase over the current rent rate of approxi
mately $1,000 per month.
Snead, who only weeks ago said the HCMC
was "not interested in renting that building,” said
the old board would "help in any way we think
we can."
Snead requested one member be appointed to
serve on both boards simultaneously, other than
Walter Coley, as a permanent member. They
selected Kay Thomas to fill the position.
The HCMC also requested any structural
changes to be submitted to the old board for
approval.
"At the end of three years, if successful like we
(See MEDICAL, page 5)
V
■ -i
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Norm Farnham maintains the pet cemetery.
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Animal lover provides
resting place for pets
“Zero,” “Cocoa,” “Bambi” — names you wouldn’t normally
expect to find on tombstones.
But pets are loved ones too, as Norm Farnham will attest.
He’s the owner of Small Pet Animal Cemetery and Crematory,
Hoke County’s only pet cemetery.
About three years ago, Farnham bought five and one-half
acres of land adjacent to Ashley Heights Baptist Church’s
cemetery at the comer of Reservation and Strother roads. Since
then more than KX) pets — cats and dogs mostly, but even a
rabbit and duck — have been buried there by grieving owners.
Other people have reserved plots, just like people do for their
human loved ones.
“It’s very therapeutic,” he says when asked why some people
go to the expense of funerals for their pets. “It’s just like visiting
the grave of a loved one — it is a loved one, just like a husband
or a wife,” he said.
People who use the cemetery, he said, “feel it’s absolutely
(See PETS, page 4)
A canine grave marker.
Judge: girl can’t visit uncle with AIDS
Courtney Rogers dotes as do most uncles
in Hoke County. But unlike most, Rogers
carries the HIV virus, and a judge denied
him visitation rights for his niece.
Last week a judge ruled the 10-year-old
girl cannot spend time at her paternal
grandparents' home shared with their
AIDS-infected son in Antioch.
"We'll see this thing through to the end,
until we can see her again," Rogers said.
"We're not trying to take her from her
Boys debut
in Big Apple
1 f you see people gather! ng around
four youths harmonizing in Cross
Creeic Mall, don't expect to find a
stage. It's just some Hoke County
boys having fun and testing their
talent.
The four boys, aged 15 to 18,
practice their vocal skills just about
anywhere for their upcoming perfor
mance at the famed Apollo Theater
in New York.
The young quartet knows the per
formance is a one-time opportunity,
but excitement overwhelms any ner
vousness.
"We're looking for a career in
singing," 18-year old Kenneth Davis
said. "But if it doesn't workout we'll
still have something else to fall back
on."
"We'll still sing." Elvin McCollum
said.
McCollum, a rather shy 17-year
old, said he plans for a career in
(See SINGERS, page 4)
family." Rogers, who tested positive for the
HIV virus about five years ago said the
decision has tom his family.
"It's just devastated my family," he said.
"This is the first time I've been persecuted
for the thing."
Although Rogers said the reality of
AIDS frightens people, he feared the
resulting discrimination more.
"What's happening is exactly what I was
afraid of," he said.
Rogers said he was reluctant to tell
anyone when he discovered he carries the
fatal disease for fear of persecution and
confusion in the family.
"The physical pain of this disease is
nothing compared to the emotional part,"
he said. "Physically I feel fine, emotionally
I'm distraught."
The batde began when Rogers' former
sister-in-law and her new husband, Frankie
(See AIDS, page 4)
Cumberland County man
arrested for wife’s death
They sing on the basketball court,
too.
Hoke detecti ves arrested the husband
of a slain Cumberland County teacher
last Thursday for her murder near Twin
Oaks.
Eric Fernando Murillo, 42, of 1101
Paddington Place, Fayetteville, is being
held without bond for the shooting death
of his 35-year old wife Beth Marie.
Mrs. Murillo, his fourth wife, was
brought to Cape Fear Valley Medical
Center on June 24 for treatment of a
gunshot wound to the head.
According to the initial Sheriff's re
port, Murillo said he accidentally shot
his wife.
Murillo pleaded guilty 21 years ago
to involuntary (accidental) manslaugh
ter in the death of his first wife in Los
Angeles County.
According to her friends, the couple
experienced marital problems prior to
the shooting.
Mrs. Murillo's friend, Beth
Denelamp, said the teacher at J.W. Coon
moved to the couple's Hoke County cabin
behind the Twin Oaks Subdivision to
separate from her husband.
"They had problems from the begin
ning," Denelamp said. "People that were
around her knew how violent he was. It's
not surprising that it happened, but it's
devastating."
Denelamp saidshe saw Murillostrike
her, and she and her friend tried several
times to report him for wife beating.
According to Cumberland County
Sheriffs reports, several incidents be
tween the couple were reported from
1987 until 1992.
In 1987, according to one report, she
did not press charges against her hus
band after authorities responded to acall
for assault by pointing a gun. Also, in
July of 1989, Cumberland County law
enforcement responded to an assault on
a female call, but Mrs. Murillo again did
not press charges.
Claire Cannon, mother of the de
ceased who recently fought her son-in-
law for her daughter's remains, declined
to comment on the case except to say,
"Both my husband and I believe in the
judicial system and the people of North
Carolina to see that Justice is done."
Utilities dir.
reprimanded
for sewer tap
R aeford’s utilities director will be disciplined for author
izing a contractor to tap a county sewer line to serve
property he co-owns and is about to develop.
Jerry Jackson is being disciplined by City Manager Tom Phillips
for his role in getting sewer service to a piece of property he owns
with Frankie Gilbert.
The tap came to light when Jackson and Gilbert approached
Raeford City Council last week to get the property annexed into
the city, saying they wanted police protection for a convenience
store, laundromat and car wash they are planning to build. The
property is at the comer of Hwy. 401 Business and Rockfish Road.
The annexation was voted down.
At that meeting Gilbert told council members a tap had been
made by Gilbert’s and Jackson’s contractors, with county authori
zation, to the pressurized sewer line serving a new military housing
development a few miles down Rockfish Road. Gilbert said they
had hired engineers to check the feasibility of the tap and were
assured it would work.
News of the tap clearly angered City Manager Phillips who said
at the meeting he was still trying to get the County to work out
details of an agreement to give Raeford authority over taps to the
line, because the City is ultimately responsible for effluent going
into the City’s waste treatment plant. He said the County shouldn’t
have authorized the tap.
After Monday’s meeting, Phillips checked out the tap with
County Manager Barry Reed and took disciplinary action after
Reed said neither he, nor any county official, authorized the tap.
Because of confidentiality rules, Phillips wouldn’t identify
Jackson as the employee disciplined in the matter, nor would he
say exactly what sort of action was taken. He did say he “contacted
the property owner and confronted him with my concern.” Phillips
said the property owner, who was also a City employee, said he
had talked to County Manager Reed and left with the understand
ing he had the authority to authorize the tap.
Jackson told The News-Journal he handled the tap “above
board” from the beginning. He said he went to Reed, who ex
pressed concern about the line being pressurized and who referred
him to the County’s engineers. Jackson said the engineers assured
him there would be “no problem,” so he proceeded with the tap.
“What I told him,” Reed said yesterday, was I would check with
engineers and we’d work with them based on what the engineers
said would be possible.
“No one with the County ever authorized the tap. Period. Excla
mation Point,” Reed said.
“He’s the utilities director and he understands you can’t just go
to the contractor and get a tap put in,” he said. “TTiere are formal
procedures in the City to get a tap, and we’re going to have them in
the County eventually.”
(See TAP page 12)
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
The temperatures did drop last
week, but the drop wasn’t as low as
most forecasters had predicted. They
dropped from the 100s to the low
90s. We did get some rain, but it was
spotty; about one inch to just a trace
of rain in di fferent parts of the county.
Whatever we got and wherever it
fell, it was welcomed, because the
ground was extremely dry.
The forecast for the coming week
calls for the temperatures to be in the
90s Wednesday and Thursday and
the lows at night in the 70s. Friday
and Saturday we will see tempera
tures in the high 80s and the lows
will be in the high 60s. There is a
chance of the thundershowers any
afternoon.
that the butterbean crop might not
make it because of the dry weather.
Maybe some of the late gardeners
will come through with a good crop
of peas and beans.
♦ ♦
* t *
I don’t know if the rains came
soon enough to save many of the
gardens that are around the county.
Monday I went to Allendale Town
ship to get some peas and I was told
that these might be the last this farmer
would have this year. I was also told
Last week in an item in this col
umn I incorrectly stated that W. R.
Barrington was hired by the County
Commissioners as the first rural po
liceman of Hoke County. The
Barringtons moved to Raeford in
1926 just before the big snow.
Mr. Barrington was later hired as
a deputy sheriff by sheriff D. H.
Hodgin and he also was jailer of the
county for many years—Thanks,
Bootsie, for the correction.
« *
The Democratic Convention came
to an end last Thursday night and
from the looks on TV they were all in
agreement on every issue. It must
have been a 4-star affair, because
after the convention, the polls showed
the Clinton-Gore ticket around 22
points ahead of the Republican ticket.
(See AROUND, page 12)