ews
Journal \
See page 1B
The 3rd issue of our 86th year
RAEFORD, NORTH CAROLINA
25 CENTS
Wednesday, April 27, 1994
Man injured
wlien chase
ends in wreck
A man was seriously injured
when he wrecked the stolen pick
up truck he was driving Sunday
morning while being pursued by
Hoke County sheriffs deputies.
Angelo Elliott of Route 1, Bunn
Level, was driving a 1978 Ford
pickup truck about 4:20 a.m. when
Sgt. P. Brock of the sheriffs de
partment chased him, Trooper Ken
neth Weston of the state Highway
Patrol said.
Sheriff Wayne Byrd said depu
ties had questioned Elliott earlier
that morning while responding to a
tip on a “suspicious person.”
He said Elliot was with the per
son the deputies were checking out
and that Elliot gave deputies sev
eral names, none of which could be
verified.
“It took me until twelve-thirty
last night to ID him,” Weston said
this morning.
Deputies then discovered the
truck was stolen when they checked
its tags early in the evening and
told Elliott he could not drive it
anymore. Later, he apparently
passed Brock in the truck at a high
speed, at which time Brock turned
around, and followed him, Byrd
said.
Weston said Brock was “about a
quarter of a mile away—it was not
a right on the bumper chase.”
Byrd concurred, saying Brock
was following the department’s
policy of staying back from the
bumper of the vehicle being chased.
In a curve on Balfour Road near
N.C. 20, Elliott lost control of the
pickup truck and wrecked.
Weston said Elliott was taken to
Southeastern Regional Medical
Center in Lumberton for treatment,
then to a hospital in Chapel Hill
where he underwent brain surgery.
The truck was destroyed.
Man charged with
armed robbery
A man suspected of robbing a
convenience store clerk Thursday
afternoon was arrested less than
one hour later, according to a
sheriffs department report.
Jett Howard Adams Jr., 24, of
(See CRIME, page 12A)
Fund-raiser
kicks off
for area stage
While some of the groundwork
literally has been laid for Hoke
County’s new Community Per
forming Arts Stage, the real work
begins today.
Stage planners kick off a fund
raising drive today seeking to gather
the remainder of the $60,000 in
materials and services it could take
for the stage to come together.
“The total with every item —
contracting costs, labor, materials,
is $60,000,” said planning com
mittee member Lynn Worley.
“We’re hoping with in-kind ser
vices and supplies that might be
donated that we’ll be able to come
in under that amount.”
Hoke commissioners recently
added their $5,000 commitment to
an existing $5,000 commitment to
the effort and gave a nod to budget
ing $3,000 in the next fiscal year.
Commissioners will vote on that
additional funding at budget time
this summer. The City of Raeford,
who will provide in-kind construc
tion services, will budget $4,000
for the effort in fiscal year 1994-
95, which also will be voted on this
(See STAGE, page 8 A)
Dog gone
Eric Walters, a fifth-grader at Scurlock Elementary enjoys a hot dog at D. A.R.E. Day Thursday. Drug Abuse Resistance Education
students — both graduates of and students in the current program — were treated to a celebration at McLauchlin Park complete
with food and demonstrations by area emergency personnel. Students celebrated in conjuction with a national D. A.R.E. Day. See
related picture, page 13A.
County honors volunteers at banquet
Five citizens, one business and one
organization were awarded plaques for
being outstanding volunteers of the year
for 1994 at Tuesday night’s volunteer
dinner given at the Hoke County Civic
Center.
One volunteer was chosen in each of
seven categories: Daphne Beatty, youth;
Pauline Oxendine, direct services; House
of Raeford, business; Hoke County Ex
tension Homemakers, group; Raz Autry,
senior citizen; George Shook, general
support; and Robert Curry, leadership.
The seven winners of the 1994 Out
standing Volunteers awards will go on to
meet with the governor as part of their
recognition, said Carol Birckhead of the
N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.
The dinner, sponsored by the county
government, featured Dr. John Ropp as
keynote speaker, who called attention to
the “twenty and a half billion hours in one
year” given by American volunteers.
Hoke County commissioners’ Chair
man L. E. McLaughlin thanked the vol
unteers in his greeting before the dinner.
“Without you, we could not exist,” he
said. “We plan to put Hoke County on the
map with your help, with your success.’
Bob Mercer, director of the Hoke
County Department of Social Services
lamented the recent deaths of prominent
community volunteers Kay Thomas,
Mabel Riley and Bertie Hardin. All have
died this year, Thomas in an automobile
accident and Riley and Hardin from ill
ness.
Recognition certificates and plaques
were presented by Barbara Buie, director
of the Hoke Reading/Literacy Council,
Kristi Posey, director of the Community
Schools Program, and County Manager
Mike Wood.
The following volunteers received cer
tificates :
•Youth: Daphne Beatty, Tamieka
Bruton and Mark McNeill.
•Direct services: Barbara J. Buie, Shelia
Felder, Diane Jones, A1 Keller, John
Magee, Emma Mims, Lucille Pen-
(See BANQUET, page 6A)
UNC documentary
features Hoke natives
A new documentary about the history of the Uni
versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill features the
late Paul Dickson III of Raeford as one of the key
players in the development of the university as a
center of free speech and intellectual inquiry. Also
featured is the late Rep. David Scott Poole of Raeford.
The 9()-minute “Crossroads on the Hill” aired on
University ofNorth Carolina Television Sunday night
and will repeat at 10 p.m. Friday. Produced by Gary
Hawkins of the North Carolina School of the Arts, it
recounts the struggles the university encountered along
the way to its current prominence as a leading institu
tion in American higher education.
Dickson was president of the UNC-CH student
body when in 1966 he led the challenge against a law
banning Communist speakers on campus.
The law stated that no state-supported college or
(See UNC, page I2A)
Trailer paiic
sign given
‘attention’
A developer whose plans for rezoning a King Road
tract were denied recently erected a sign saying a
trailer park would be placed on the land. The devel
oper, who would have built a 14-home subdivision,
later said the sign was put up “to get attention.”
Neighbors voiced opposition to the subdivision,
and the subsequent commissioners’ denial of the
rezoning last week ticked off Julian Mann, owner of
Mann and Co. and partner in T&M Investments,
which owns the wedge-shaped, 7.97-acre tract near
Rockfish.
The sign, sporting bright pink and purple letters
announcing a federally subsidized trailer park, upset
King Road-area residents.
Residents who called a number given for informa
tion on the sign were informed the developer would
place a trailer park on the land because of opposition
to “nice houses” being built there.
Mann said the request for rezoning was denied
because of a lack of understanding about zoning on
the part of the opposing residents and commissioners
who voted for the denial. Commissioners Tom Howell
and Riley Jordan voted against denial of the request.
“We bought that property to develop, and we in
tended to build nice homes,” Mann said. “They (resi
dents) weren’t upset at the zoning, because they really
didn’t know about zoning. All they want is nobody to
build nothing.”
He said rezoning of the property from RA-20
(allowing two lots per acre) to R-15 (up to three lots
per acre) would be a more restrictive zoning that
would keep houses away from the “tiny bit of what I
call wetlands” along the back of the property. R-15
zoning would require the subdivision to go onto a
public water system.
The wetlands were among concerns of the residents
who spoke up against the rezoning at last week’s
commissioners’ meeting. They fear the installation of
14 or more septic tanks will ruin the quality of the
water in the area.
Mann said he understands the residents not wanting
homes to be built on the land, now woods and fields,
(See DEVELOPER, page 5A)
Days Irai motel
to locate in Hoke
A Days Inn motel will soon be under construction
at the intersection of U.S. 401 Bypass and Teal Drive
in Raeford.
Dottie Meacher, executive director of the Raeford-
Hoke Economic Development Commission, said P&S
Investments Inc. out of Richburg, S.C.. will build the
50-room franchise.
“I really feel fortunate. It’s going to be a beautiful
motel,” Meacher said.
She said grading by another company had begun on
what was to be a 32-room Days Inn behind the ABC
store at U.S. 401 Bypass and College Drive, but Days
Inn wanted a 50-room franchise. The 32-room project
has stopped.
A groundbreaking ceremony forthe motel was held
on the site today at 11:30 a.m. Among those making
remarks will be P&S Investments President Paul
Singal.
Meacher said the motel should be completed by
Christmas.
Around Town
/
In 1966, Raelord native and UNC-Chapel Hill student
body president Paul Dickson III (left) talks with banned
speaker Frank Wilkinson during the Speaker Ban con
troversy.
By Sam C. Morris
The weather Friday and Saturday
made you think that winter was return
ing. The highs were in the low 60s and
the lows were in the 4()s. It warmed up
on Sunday and the highs were in the 8()s.
Monday the temperature went into the
80s again. The small amount of rain
Friday night didn’t help settle the dust.
The remainder of the week, accord
ing to the forecast, calls for summer-like
weather. The highs Wednesday through
Saturday will see highs in the high 80s
and low 90s and the lows for this time
will be in the 60s. We could have some
rain on Friday.
Maylie the cold weather is gone!
*****
This is the last column before the
primary. Thedateof the primary isTues-
day. May 3. The polls will be open from
6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. There will be,
for the first time in Hoke County, voting
machines in Raeford Precincts number
one and five.
Scott Poole, chairman of the Board of
Elections was by the office Monday and
he said that the machine company would
have instructors at the two precincts to
assist people with the machines. PrH)le
also stated that the ballots of these two
precincts would be different from the
other 11 precincts.
The posters of the candidates have
increased over the past week and politi
cal literature is also arriving in the mail.
There have been and will continue this
week many feeds put on bv the hval
candidates.
The talk, posters, etc. are all expected
in the county during an election year.
But they don’t mean a thing unle.ss the
people go to the polls and VOTE. If you
don’t vote, then don’t go around com
plaining how things are being run in the
(See AROUND, page 4A)