Robesonian (Newspaper) - December 16, 1992, Lumberton, North Carolina THE ROBESONIAN Serving Robeson County Since 1870 1992 Park Newspapers cf Lumberton Inc Lumberton NC Wednesday December 161992 Vol No 250 28 pages 25 cents BROUGHT IN MISTLETOE 1958 Feature Inc 9 shopping days to Christmas Christmas trees required to be flame retardant The Fire Prevention of the Lumberton Fire Department das been notified by the NC Department of Insurance that Sec tion 410251 of the NC Fire Prevention Code requires that natural cut Christmas trees not located in buildings with automatic sprinkler systems must be treated and maintained flame resistant This requirement is effective im mediately and applies to all oc except one and two family dwellings and townhouses The Lumberton Fire Depart ment is asking that all occupancies within the city comply with the Fire Code in order to maintain maximum fire safety for our citi zens during the holiday season For more information concern ing ghe treating of natural cut Christmas trees contact the Fire Marshalls office at 6713861 Christmas opera offered by church First Baptist Church in Lumber ton will present the Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors Saturday and Sun day night at 7 pm in the church sanctuary No admission will be charged and the public is invited to attend Bladen Community College reports record enrollment The trustees of Bladen Community College during a meeting Tuesday reviewed a state of the college report that included an an of the schools re accreditation and news of the highest winter quarter enrollment in the colleges history According to reports figures for the winter quarter at the school were 86 percent higher than the previous record enroll ment which was set during the previous winter quarter Gains in general education and technica areas are said to have more than offset declines in vocational areas The by the Southern Association of College and Schools caps three years of preparation by the school Ac is for the school to receive federal funds am to issue accredited degrees and diplomas Officers complete training program Vance Bass of the Robeson County Sheriffs Department and Sgt Jeffrey M Martin Training officer of the Robeson County Detention Center recently com a course of instruction on Investigations at the North Carolina Justice Academy at Salemburg The course is designed to famil the uniformed non investigative officer with the basic of preliminary in techniques and pro to ensure the security and preservation of a crime scene Topical areas included crime scene and security in notes and evidence and interviewing The N C Justice Academy is a division of the North Carolina Department of Justice under the administration of the Attorney General NM INDEX Remoter Sports Whats Happening World 2A TO SUBSCRIBE C ALL 7394322 Jubilant Somalis greet troops in Baidoa BAIDOA Somalia AP Jubilant Somalis and relief workers cheered the arrival of US and French troops in this desperate town today expecting it to end a looters reign of terror that has kept food from the starving With the Marines to ensure the safety of the road from Mogadishu and secure air field for big cargo planes aid agen cies prepared for an influx of hun dreds of tons of food In Mogadishu today the UN was Swett signs county school chief contract SCOTT Staff writer As promised Tommy Swett step ped down Tuesday night as school board chairman moments after announcing his brother Purnell Swett had signed a contract to become the next superintendent of the merged county school system Angus Thompson of Lumberton was unanimously elected to replace Swett for the six months remaining on his term and Abner Harrington of Fairmont was elected vice chairman Swett will remain on the board In his first act as chairman Thompson ushered through a change in the new superintendents contract Swett will start work on Jan 19 instead of Jan 15 so that he may attend a state education con ference in WinstonSalem the week before Swetts contract will make him the 5th highest paid superintendent in the state at per year However he must earn incentives written into the by meeting key educational goals that include reducing the county dropout rate by 10 percent each year The contract is set to expire on June 30 1995 one day before the state has set as the target date for school Because of poor performance and failure to show adequate improvement the state placed Robeson County schools on its short takeover list along with four other systems In other action toe school board approved paying retirement costs of state Rep Frances Cummings while she serves in the General Assembly Cummings who will take leave as Please see SCHOOL page Youngster has lucky brush with bus NORM MORTON Staff writer A Gibson Grooms 11 of 313 West 15th Street Lumberton caught a school bus Tuesday morning and his effort resulted in a broken arm The youngster was waiting for his school bus to arrive near the in of Charles and West 15th Streets According to reports he spotted his bus coming west on West 15th and he grabbed his and ran to cross the street Allegedly failing to look both ways before crossing he missed seeing a school bus traveling east on 15th Street driven by Mary Dial Britt and containing twelve students Gibson running to cross the Please see ACCIDENT page We are here to get relief convoys out as soon as possible and were going to do whatever it takes Marine officer flying a fleet of trucks that will be used haul food to Baidoa bypassing a Somali firm Children stood along the roadside and waved as the convoy the US flag flapping on the lead Marine armored vehicle entered Baidoa at about am Cobra and Huey helicopter gunships flew cover As on the coast a week earlier the international press also greeted the force as it peacefully took its latest beachhead Three hours later Col Werner Hellmer a Marine liaison officer was mobbed by Somalis trying to shake his hand as he arrived for his first talks with aid workers We are here to get relief con voys out as soon as possible and were going to do whatever it takes Hellmer said as he maneuvered around armored cles surrounded by Somali children With several motorized Marine ri fle companies in town and ample Eton Photo Southern National Bank made a contribution to WH Knuckles Elementary School ths week which will be used in its yearround program Shown here are from left James F Byrne senior execute wee president of SNB Jack Ashley senior vice president of SNB Dr Robert Jones WH Knuckles principal Angus Thompson and Betty Mitchell program coordinator for the yearround program Contribution boosts program at local elementary school ELLEN CHURCH Staff writer A contribution of to WH Knuckles Elementary Schools yearround program will give stu dents there a chance for educational experiences they otherwise would not have according to school of Southern National Bank presented the check to program coordinator Betty Mitchell and principal Dr Robert Jones during an informal meeting Tuesday afternoon Dr Jones was delighted to receive the money that he said would affect the entire education program in Robeson County Any contribution given to this program will benefit all children di or indirectly he said All of the students here have already reaped the benefits Knuckles yearround program was established this past summer and is a pilot program It gives stu dents 180 days of instruction as does a traditional school however Knuckles offers extra scheduling which separates it from the tradi tional system Ms Mitchell said parents may choose the yearround program for their children it is not a require ment We are open from July to July she said Each school quarter we have one week of enrichment one week of remediation and one week of total vacation is for students who are not doing well in class studies Ms Mitchell said this allows for immediate attention to the problem Tomorrow Wednesday will be the end of the second quarter of in struction said Ms Mitchell We have cut remediation in half from the first time According to Ms Mitchell the money donated by Southern Na tional Bank will go toward enrich ment week programs Such pro grams involve trips to the beach or museums visits to the school by certain professionals or groups said Ms Mitchell She added that these enrichment projects give students educational opportunities and expe they may otherwise not receive We are grateful to SNB for adop ting WH Knuckles yearround program she said as we seek to offer children in South Lumberton the educational opportunities they deserve Because of the economic condition of the shcool population we must depend on such people as SNB as well as other business and industries Services offered by Knuckles are at no cost to the parents although Ms Mitchell said in other programs parents have to pay We are offering an educational environment 12 months on an op tional basis she said It cuts employees absentees it gets children off the street and helps curb drug trafficking Please see CONTRIBUTION page Settlements made in Hamlet fire ROCKINGHAM AP Lawyers survivors and relatives of the 25 vic tims of the September 1991 Hamlet plant fire have agreed to terms of a settlement Many will receive their checks just days before Christmas another painful reminder of lost loved ones Its going to be hard for me to spend this money said Brenda Chambers whose daughter Rosie died in the blaze at the Imperial Food Products plant Mrs Chambers will receive a settlement Its not like I went out and work ed for it This money is coming from my daughters death The settlements were finalized Tuesday in a Rockingham court room The News Observer of Raleigh reported The settlement amounts varied with one family getting nearly and another getting before the at fees The fire began the morning of Sept 31991 when a hydraulic line undergoing repairs sprayed fluid in to burners beneath a fryer Toxic smoke swept through the building Fleeing workers were trapped behind locked exit doors The plant owner Emmett Roe pleaded guilty to involuntary man slaughter charges and was ed to 19 years and 11 months in pris warning given the vehicles known as and their outlaw riders had quit Baidoa for the bush Not a gunshot was heard Col Fred Peck the Marine spokesman in Mogadishu said Baidoa was declared secure 40 minutes after the first 530 Marines and 140 French soldiers completed the trip from the capital in armored vehicles trucks and humvees Booms origin unknown SCOTT WITTEN Staff writer Was it a bird Was it a plane Or was it Santa Claus making a test run There is one thing local officials and residents do know for certain about a boom heard in the Lumber ton area Tuesday It was loud Most people reported hearing the noise about am Tuesday I have no idea was it was said Bonnie Kelly a biology professor at Pembroke State University I assume it was Fort Bragg stuff If thats not the origin I wouldnt even begin to think what it would be Dr Kelly a Lumberton resident said she heard the boom while preparing for work The noise was so loud that when I got out of the shower I thought house had exploded she said I looked window to make sure Shelly Bridgers who also teaches biology at PSU said she heard a radio report about the noise but had no idea where the sound originated I dont know where it came from and I dont think anyone has said where the noise came from she said A local radio station reported that Please see BOOM page Council seeks nuisance study NORM MORTON Staff writer The Lumberton City Council ask ed the Committee for its recommendations for limiting the use of minibikes mopeds motor bikes and motorcycles in residen tial areas of the city In a matter originated by Coun cilman Wyatt Johnson the request for city council action said the operation of minibikes motorbikes mopeds and motorcycles in residen tial area can create a nuisance to the neighborhood Regulation of this ac by the City would be ap The FAIR Committee recom mended the council act on the pur chase of a new car for the City Manager in the amount of to be allocated from auto allowance funds in the amount of and unexpended Manager in the amount of to make the purchase In other business the budget was amended because the NC Dept of Environment Health and Natural Resources funded the mosquito con trol grant program for the city The Please see COUNCIL page Rural Justice project honors legal community TIFFANY Staff writer The Rural Justice Project held its First Annual Awards Banquet to honor the achievements and outstanding contributions of the Robeson County legal community We are here to celebrate the Projects accomplishments the im provement of social and legal justice of Robeson County said Clifton Sampson Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rural Justice Pro ject We are proud to be a catalyst for such fundamental change Cora Brewington of the Robeson Community Colleges English as a Second Language Program honored Hispanic members of the communi ty who have successfully learned to speak English Jason Jacobs their teacher presented the certificates Jennifer Mickles Executive Director recognized the Projects volunteers who attend hearings and monitor court proceedings and recommend improvements in the system The Distinguished Service Award went to Cheryl Canady and certifi cates went to Sr Freddie Mae Margaret Stowe Karen Chavis Jason Jacobs and Agnes Lilly Sampson then presented the Court Awards The Distinguished Clerk Award went to Nancy Lloyd David Branch received the Defense Attorney of the year Award for consistent good work and for be ing one of the brightest lawyer Its an honor and a to be awarded this plaque said Branch of Mclntyre and Branch For what it stands for and for what you feel lam you are to be commended Gayla Biggs was honored with the Please see LEGAL page The Rural Justice Project honored several members of the local legal community and their achievements Tuesday night during the projects first annual awards banquet Among those honored were left to right David Branch John Carter Cayla Biggs Judge Dexter Brooks Judge Stanley Carmichael and on the far right Sister Freddie Names were not available for the remaining winners
