The
ews
J oumal
it happened, it's news to
No. 14 Vol. 94
50 cents
Wednesday, July 4, 2001
-f-
On vacation?
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are on the web
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I his week
Child care providers
go extra mile for
Hispanic charges
page 7 A
Former Raleigh
policeman charged
page 5A
Gas prices
going down
page 3A
IikIc'x H
Births
IB
Calendar
2B
Classifieds
7,8B
Deaths
8A
Editorials
2,3A
Engagements
IB
Legals
4-6B
Public Record
5A
Religion
4B
Social News
IB
TV Listings
2,3B
Weddings
IB
Around Town
By Sam C. Morris
Contributing Editor
1 don’t know what it will be
like in July and August but
June closed out in real sum
mer weather. The humidity
was high for the last week of
June and with the thermom
eter registering in the middle
90s it felt like 100 degree tem
peratures. We got a little rain
in Raeford but not like the
other sections of the state.
The forecast for the remain
der of the week, Wednesday
through Saturday, calls for the
highs to be in the low 90s or
high 80s. The lows will be in
the 60s. There is a chance of
rain on Thursday and Friday
afternoons.
♦ ♦ ♦ * *
If you read this before you
leave to celebrate the Fourth
of July, remember to drive
carefully and if you are at the
beach, watch out for the rip
tides!
As I write this on Friday,
because of the July 4th early
edition, many things come to
mind about the Fourth. It used
to be a day when you would
have speakers talk about how
we got our freedom and what
this freedom should mean to
us today. Now it is a day to go
to the beach or j ust sit at home
and rest.
1 can remember going to
Aberdeen Lake to celebrate
the Fourth. The town usually
hadentertainment allday long.
Then there was a fireworks
display. Every year the Town
(See AROUND, page 8A)
Official: Audit on E-911 Wireless funds ‘questionable’
State requires county justify spending
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
The North Carolina Wireless
911 Board, the agency that moni
tors how funds are dispersed for
E-911 wireless for mobile tele
phones, says audit findings for
Hoke County are “questionable
and not satisfactory,” according
House of
Raeford fetes
international
food festival
By Victoriana Summers
Suff writer
Taste buds of international
food brokers from Mexico to
Canada were working overtime
last Thursday as they flocked to
The Pinehurst Hotel, an historic
Sandhills’ landmark, to sample
gourmet delicacies or succulent
turkey and chicken entrees pre
pared exclusively by the House
of Raeford.
More than 100 brokers at
tended the 21st annual brokers
(See HOUSE OF RAEFORD, page6A)
to Administrator Richard Tay
lor.
“We have found irregularities
in Hoke’s expenditures for E-
911 funds,” Taylor said. “We are
investigating further.”
Taylor said the county was
audited in February 2001 for the
period between January and June
of 2000, and he estimated ap
proximately $50,000 worth of
items purchased by Hoke could
be considered a misuse of funds.
Funds are specifically supposed
to be used for creating or im
proving the E-911 system, he
added.
“They (Hoke) responded back
to our findings on June 20 just
before the deadline we gave them,
A
..It I ‘
.J
Bob Johnson, chief executive officer of House of Raeford, the Johnson
family business.
Firefighters’ request for
tax inaease not received
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
A letter written on June 11 by
chairman Clyde Shepley of the
Rockfish Volunteer Fire Depart
ment to request a tax increase
was never received by the county
commissioners, they say.
Shepley and a group of fire chiefs
—who said they are being short
changed — protested in a heated
manner to the board on Monday
evening. Shepley, on behalf of
the other fire chiefs, questioned
why their plea for more money
to operate the fire departments
was never addressed in the bud
get. One fire chief walked out in
disgust When commissioners’
failed to find a solution.
Commission Vice Chairman
Bobby Wright and County At
torney Neil Yarborough recom
mended the board study if the 2-
1/2 percent administrative fees
formerly charged by the county
to collect the fire taxes could be
advanced as a loan to each fire
district to offset their expenses.
The county voted not to charge
fire departments the fee for next
year, which frees up more money
for the fire departments, Wright
added.
CommissionerTony Hunt also
expressed concern.
“We are not going to let you
hang out to dry,” Hunt said.”We
just cannot print the tax bills
again. Let us contact the Institute
of Government to let us know
what we can do if there is a short
fall.
According to Shepley, The
budget was passed prior to June
30 without including any fire tax
increase for seven out of 10 dis
tricts that were requesting more
money. Rockfish is asking for a
step up to 10 cents rather than the
current 8 cents it received last
Unilever charts new course
By Victoriana Summers
Suff writer
Guests at Unilever manufac
turing plant in Raeford—one of
the world’s largest producers of
deodorant — were smelling the
sweet aroma of success and de
odorant as they toured the facil
ity on Friday to celebrate the
kickoff of TPM, a Total Produc
tive Maintenance plan designed
to achieve business goals. TPM
is a culture change; it includes
all aspects of manufacturing from
production lines to administra
tive offices serving as a compass
in the path to wdrld class perfor
mance, said Steve Kullberg,
Unilever’s Plant manager.
Raeford’s Unilever plant is
one of only three in North
America where the parent firm
utilizes TPM. Plants in
Cartersville, Georgia and
Toronto, Canada also participate
in TPM.
A motivational day included
an opening cerenyony to explain
the purpose of TPM to employ
ees and guests, which is already
established at more than 100
Unilever plants worldwide, and
tours of the facility by visiting
dignitaries. Full-sized racing cars
were on display to signify a race
for high performance is under
way, and team leaders he Id check
ered flags as groups of 10 toured
the departments.
“It was a very inspirational
event,” said Kullberg, who hosted
the tours. “It has been a great
day.”
According to Charles Miller,
local TPM leader, TPM serves as
a compass to success. He said it
originated in the United States
after World War II, and then it
was later utilized by Japanese
manufacturers to enhance pro
ductivity.
Miller said Unilever initiated
TPM at some of its plants in
1989. Many of Unilever’s facili-
(See UNILEVER, page 4A)
\}
and theirexplanation is not good
enough for our board,” Taylor
said. “We are continuing to in
vestigate the expenditures of
Hoke County that were taken
out of E-911 wireless funds.
“The monies collected from
the monthly telephone surcharge
citizens pay isonly tube utilized
for upgrades and repairs in com
puters and technology for E-911
— not for salaries outside E-911
or for other miscellaneous pur
chases. It is illegal to do that.”
Taylor said his agency plans
another site visit to Hoke to con
tinue their inquiry. He said his
agency conducted the audit after
recent state legislation was en
acted that required an annual au
dit be completed to determine if
counties are properly spending
E-911 monies. He sent a letter to
(See AUDIT, page 4A)
Health center planned
Will accomodate newprograms
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
With a Hispanic population
increase of 143 percent, the Hoke
County Health Department is
moving forward with a plan for
the county to construct a new
$3.5 million health building on
the 20-acre tract of land already
owned by the county on Palmer
Street, said Don Womble, health
director.
“1 came here to Hoke County
to make this a good health de
partment for the citizens, to bri ng
in primary care and doctors, and
to get a new building started,”
Womble said. “So far, those
things are on track.
“The health department is used
as a safety net for our citizens
that are not insured or under in
sured.”
Overcrowded administrative
offices with “people on top of
each other,” and lack of space to
expand health services were other
reasons cited by Womble in pro
posing a new building.
“We have had encouragement
from the county commissioners.
County Manager Bernice
(See HEALTH CENTER, page 4A)
City returns rezoning
request to planning board
year.
“We need some help and we
are appealing to you,” Shepley
said. “We do not feel we had a
forum for us to ask you for a fire
rate increase. We missed our
budget by $46,000 last year,
which was about 36 percent. That
is big money.
“Five years ago we got 12
cents and now were are only get
ting 8 cents.”
Rockfish’s letter requested the
county raise their district to 10
cents to adequately cover the
operating expenses in their rap
idly-growing community.
County Manager Bernice
MePhatter said she never saw
the letter. Linda Revels, clerk of
the board, said she included the
letter in the commissioners’
packet on June 18. However, no
one could provide a satisfactory
explanation regarding why the
(See FIREFIGHTERS, page 6A)
By Pat Allen Wilson
Editor
City councilmen sent a con
troversial zoning request back to
the Raeford Planning Board at
the request ofCity Manager Mike
McNeill, who said surrounding
property owners were not prop
erly notified of the public hear
ing held at the June 19 planning
board meeting.
Franklin and Dayne
Crumpler’s request to have 1.88
acres at the intersection of East
Prospect Avenue and U.S. Busi
ness 401 rezoned from R-12
(residential) to Highway Com
mercial will be presented at a
special planning board meeting
held Tuesday, July 24 at 6 p.m.
City ordinance requires that
property owners adjacent to a
particular rezoning request be
notified; however, it is the city’s
policy to notify owners within
500 feet as determined by county
tax registration.
Numerous residents near the
property, at 1213 East Prospect
Avenue showed up in protest.
One resident asked to present a
petition on behalf of 31 residents
in opposition to the rezoning but
was told by Mayor Bob Gentry to
deliver it to the planning board.
At their June 19 meeting, the
planningboard had unanimously
recommended that the city coun
cil approval the request although
there was some opposition voiced
by neighbors. Michael Baker,
who lives in the area, told the
planning board that “allowing
businesses on the lot would cause
other commercial activities to
enter right into the residential
area.”
The Crumplers have been un
successfully attempting to get the
property rezoned for 16 years,
Mr. Grumpier said. He told the
planningboard that he could build
low-income apartments on the
corner lot but it is not desirable
for apartment living. He said the
only suitable use for the property
is for business.
Some of the permitted uses
under the Highway Commercial
zone are auto sales and services;
other vehicle and equipment sales
and services; bus stations; ve-
(See CITY, page 7A)
n
I \
Unilever’s Plant Manager Steve Kullberg (far right) chats with staff at the TPM kickoff on Friday.