The
ews
Journal
The 45th issue of our 84th year
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Wednesday, February 17,1993
After controversies, commissioners seek adjustment to board
Amid accusations of racism and 3 burseoninp list I'^V ihp linct fh#* iVmir /i — r—i . i'.. .
Amid accusations of racism and a burgeoning list
of requests for conditional use permits for single-wide
mobile homes, Hoke Commissioners again wrestled
with the county’s zoning ordinance.
Alfred Lxicklear and his wife requested a permit to
place a Class B mobile home on property they pur-
cha.scd. The Board previously denied the request, and
last night, repeated their action.
With seven signed affidavits by neighbors (out of
13), the Locklears lost the chance to place their
alrcady-purcha.scd trailer on their land off 211 in
Antioch.
Locklear’s father, Lonnie, an Indian, accused
Chairman L.E. McLaughlin of acting “like a white
man” after the board denied his son’s request in a 3 to
2 vote.
“As long as I’ve been on the board, race has never
been an issue with me,” McLaughlin said. “Any
actions (I take) arc for the betterment of Hoke
County.”
Lonnie l^cklcarmadc the racial accusations after
pointing out that two vocally opposed neighbors are
while.
The commissioners and County Planner Karen
Burd said they need to revamp their methods for
handling the conditional use permits.
The commi.ssion began studying alternatives to
commissioners serving as the board of adjustment
when the number of requests began to bog down the
bi-rnonthly meetings.
Granting of requests seems haphazard at times,
citizens and commissioners alike said, and a better
policy is needed.
A study committee was formed to work out an
alternative Board of Adjustment to deal with the
(See ADJUSTMENT, page 4)
County will
resume work
to-.
A
It’s all over
A North Raeford fireman has done all he can to extinguish a fire at what was
a vacant house at Highway 211 East and Shannon Rd. The structure caught
fire Monday night and again Tuesday afternoon and was destroyed.
on compactor
C onstruction will resume on Hoke’s newest trash conven
ience center in the Five Points area. Monday night, the Hoke
Board of Commissioners decided not to break a $73,000
contract for construction of the Calloway Road center.
The commissioners voted to resume the project which already cost
the county $2,500 in engineering plans, $9,000 in labor and $7,000 in
land.
Only one family near the site protested its construction.
Brothers Franklin and Romus Stephens, who own property adja
cent to the site, said two weeks ago the site would attract flies and
vermin and lead to health problems for Franklin, a two-time kidney
transplant recipient.
Romus Stephens said he and his brother were not told by former
owner Shelby Calloway that the county previously purchased prop
erty next door to build a convenience center.
“When we bought it from Calloway, he didn’t say they’dbuild this
site,” Romus Stephens said. “He didn’t say nothing about no site.”
County Manager Barry Reed said he discussed with the brothers a
compromise with the county, allowing it to purchase their land. But,
Stephens said he and his brother “don’t want to sell it."
The pair said they were never told by the county or Calloway that
a convenience center, which would replace “green box” dumpsters,
would be built within 5(X) feet of Franklin’s planned home.
Several frustrated taxpayers defended the stalled site.
To applause from the audience, spectator Jean Hodges said real-
estate law obliges the fomier owner, not the county, to inform the
purchasers of the adjacent property’s use.
The county purchased its land before the Stephens’ November
purchase.
“Two parties entered into a contract,” Commissioner Tom Howell
(See COUNTY, page 4)
Bill Hefner
j .
Ron Sutton
Richard Conder
Aaron Plyler
David Parnell
Frances Cummings
Danny DeVane
Legislative Brealifast: DeVane urges Hoke Conunissioners to unite
State Representative Daimy DeVane mounted the
proverbial soap box at Saturday’s Legislative Appre
ciation Breakfast, and urged the Hoke County Com
missioners to stop fighting and get on with economic
development.
DeVane said he was distressed after reading a
newspaper account of an emergency meeting called by
commissioners concerning the authority of the county
manager to hire an economic developer.
“It concerned me that the commission was split,” he
said. “You cannot progress if you’re not together.”
“Fire (County Manager) Barry Reed; it doesn’t mat
ter to me. It won’t hurt Danny DeVane,” he said.
He told Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce mem
bers gathered at the Wagon Wheel to honor state and
national elected officials that the chamber “needs to step
in and push commissioners to bury the hatchet.”
"You’ve hired an economic developer and put hand-
cuffsonhcr,”hesaidofnewly hired Dorothy Meacher.
“If she accepts the job it will surprise me. You’ve
not been fair to her.
Three of five commissioners — L.E. McLaughlin,
Riley Jordan and Tom Howell — attended the break-
(Sce BREAKFAST, page 7)
Entrepreneurs fleeing communism
seek American Dream in Raeford
Around Town
w
-a
f4
1. •
Angel Lee and nephew, Kaki
Angel Lee smiles when she
speaks, and with good reason. She
knows her seven-year old son will
awake beyond reach of the Commu
nist shadow.
The fear of living in that shadow
dmve Lee and her family to the
United States to carve their own
American Dream.
In 1997 Lee’s motherland of Hong
Kong will revert to Communist Chi
nese rule, placing her family’s po
litical rights on shaky ground.
So in 1985 Lee and her husband,
Cheong, left Hong Kong and finally
landed in Raeford to build their own
business and lifestyle.
“In Hong Kong, it’s a very open
city and you can do whatever and say
whatever and it’s very differcntfiom
China,” Lee said. “We don’t know
what will happen after the Chinese
government takes over Hong Kong.
Maybe it will mle Hong Kong like it
does China. That’s very «cary.”
With the wounds of the Tien-an
Men Square bkxidletting still smart
ing, the risks of going abroad paled
beside the risks of staying, she said.
‘They say Hong Kong will stay
the same for 50 years but nobody
believes that,” she said. ‘The rich
people already got out. Now over
there it seems like it’s getting worse.”
The less-fortunate middle and
lower cla.sses face an uncertain fu
ture, she said, and when the chance
to leave came, she took it, leaving
her two brothers, a sister and parents
behind.
Altera stay in the Bahamas, where
her husband worked at a casino res
taurant, and a brief stay in Miami
where they found the town was too
big and living costs too high, the
Lees settled in Dillon, South Caro
lina “for a change.”
Three-and-a-half years later, they
heeded the entrepreneur’s call and
scouted locations for their own Chi
nese restaurant.
“If we can work hard for other
people, why can’t we work hard for
(See ENTREPRENEURS, pagc3)
By Sam C. Morris
The weather has been the kind of
winter weather 1 like. It isn’t too cold at
night and then the daytimes are warm
enough for outside activities. If you don’t
leave home mo early m the morning the
frost will be gone from yourautomobile.
The rain has even cooperated by coming
in at night and leaving during the morn
ing. Also we haven’t had to shovel snow
from the driveways. Yes, this is my kind
of winter weather.
The forecast calls for the tempera
tures on Wednesday to have a high in the
5()s and a low in the 30s. On Thursday
and Friday we will see highs in the 40s
and lows in the 20s. Saturday the tem
peratures will rise again into the SOsand
the lows will be in the 30s. No rain is
predicted for these days.
♦ ♦ * *
The following letter was received in
the office last week which 1 think is
interesting and I would like to share it
with the other Scotchmen in this county.
Dear Sir
I am studying the local history of
REAY in Caithness, Scotland. On the
map of North Carolina I noticed the
place called Raeford, and thought there
may be a connection. In some old papers
I have 1 was delighted to find that about
1600-1850 the spelling was RAE. 1
would be pleased to find out if anyone in
Raeford has made a study of the origin
of Raeford. 1 would like to know if this
letter could be forwarded to anyone in-
leresied.
Yours faithfully,
Tliomas Riley
Also with die letter was a postcard of
the Reay Parish Church 1739. Written
on the postcard was the following;
This is the church where many set
tlers would have worshipped. A shipload
(Sec AROUND, page 14)