Robesonian (Newspaper) - June 16, 1993, Lumberton, North Carolina THE ROBESONIAN Robeson County Since 1870 1993 Park Newspapers of Lumberton Inc Lumberton NC Wednesday June 161993 Vol CXXIV No 93 26 pages 25 cents Increased hiring boosts Robesons job picture CHANCE OF Personnel changes announced by board of education The Public Schools of County Board of Education an two central office person nel changes during a meeting Tuesday Douglas Yongue current in terim deputy superintendent of schools will become a parttime employee of the system in the next school year Yongue was interim superin tendent between the terms of William Johnson and Purnell Swett His duties during the com ing school year have not been defined but Swett said that expertise in many areas is valuable to the system Ruth Dial Woods associate su will be program administrator for Indian Educa tion in 199394 She will continue at her current salary plus a 10 per cent supplement Both contracts are for one year HC Humphrey associate su and John D Jones system athletic director had an their retirements earlier this year Jones position will become a parttime position during the next school year John dead at 76 HOUSTON AP John ly was a governor former Cabinet member and a business ty c o o n w h o made and lost a fortune Tall handsome and a war hero he cast a long shadow But to a cans he was always the man wounded in the gunfire that killed President Kennedy that fall day in 1363 died Tuesday of pulmonary fibrosis He was 76 He and his close friend and polit ical partner the late President Lyndon B Johnson were domi nant forces in Texas politics for decades until the early 1970s Above all else friends say the was a Texan from his silver mane down to the tip of his Western boots He personified what the people of Texas wanted their governor to look like said Ben Barnes Con former political protege and business partner He looked Texas He sounded Texas He ex confidence John was some thing Texas definitely needed at was in his first term as governor when a sniper fired on Kennedys presidential motorcade as it passed through downtown Dallas Dealey Plaza on Nov 22 1963 He was struck too and the bullet passed through his body leaving him with scars on his back chest wrist and thigh Reflecting 20 years after the assassination said It made you realize in a fleeting se cond you could be gone so you really dont have any time to waste to fritter away on petty things or frivolities AREA DEATHS Julia G Timothy R Dover Pembroke Bobby C Locklear Charlotte Edward Dicie McRae Maryland Polly A Powell Red Springs Rosa M Powell Fayetteville Gertrude B Taylor Garner Ardell Thompson Pembroke INDEX Whats SCOTT WITTEN Staff writer Robeson Countys jobless rate for April is the lowest it has been in three years according to the manager of Employ ment Security Commission office Robeson Countys rate dipped to 78 percent for April according to Anderson Jones manager of the Lumberton ESC Jones said the jobless rate has not been under 8 percent since 1990 This is a significant change he 2 plead guilty in tax office thefts TIFFANY Staff writer The two employees indicted for embezzlement in the Robeson Coun ty Tax Department have both plead guilty through plea bargain agree ments with the district attorneys office and have received proba sentences Peggy Sue Jacobs was the clerical supervisor in the tax department before she was arrested on May 24 1991 for stealing She had been with the department since June of 1884 Jacobs plead guilty to the charges and chose to participate in the Robeson County Community Penalties Program The Community Penalties Program is designed to develop alternative plans for non violent offenders who are faced with the possibility of going to prison It is with great sorrow that I write this statement because I know it was unlawful what I did said Jacobs in her Community Penalties client profile At the time I felt it was the only possible solution It was my intention to put the money back at a later date I never intended to keep the money I used it for medi cine and to pay doctor bills for my child Jacobs has a daugh ter whose father Burnis Wilkins former chief of detectives of the Robeson County Sheriffs Depart ment has not taken an active role in the rearing of the youngster Jacobs also stated in her profile that the a month child support was not enough to pay for the costs of Please see THEFTS page There seems to be a general snowballing effect out there Industries are hiring small business are opening there are more service industry jobs there is a big push from every sector that is driving this Anderson Jones ESC manager said Not since September 1990 we seen these kinds of figures when the rate was 57 percent have The countys jobless rate jumped from 57 percent in September 1990 to 9 percent in October The next two years the rate hovered between 8 percent and 9 percent Robesons unemployment rate just last month was 82 percent Jones credits increased hiring in all segments for the boost in the employment picture in the county There seems to be a general snowballing effect out there he said Industries are hiring small business are opening there are more service industry jobs there is a big push from every sector that is driving this North Carolina ESC officials add ed that May may also be a banner month for the state Ann Duncan ESC chairman said the seasonally adjusted unemploy ment rate was at its lowest level in more than two years in May going down 4 percent from 55 percent to 51 percent The last time North Carolinas rate was at 51 percent was January 1991 Jones said his office did not yet Please see JOBS page Water sports Photographer This foursome found a cool retreat from the recent high temperatures Phoebe McLean 2 Ivy Whitcraft 9 Melanie Fore 7 and Anita 7 took a dip in the poo Monday They were playing on Hiawatha Road in Pembroke RAE gives board transfer policy Some teacher transfers seen as punitive whimsical Staff writer Some Robeson County teachers believe the board of educations transfer policy is unfair and some transfers are punitive Glenna Hicks current president of the Robeson Association of Educators presented the board with an RAE recommended policy at the board Tues day Is there a perception that all transfers are punitive board member Tommy Swett asked Hicks She told the board that some transfers are perceived as punitive and that some are whimsical Teachers attending the meeting applauded with a resounding yes when board member David Green asked Hicks Are you saying that our system is not fair The recommended policy accor ding to Hicks is based on a point system and is used in Forsythe and Wake counties and WinstonSalem An employee involuntarily reassigned would have the to appear before the board in an informal hearing with the right to representation and to call witnesses Board Chairman Angus Thomp son was concerned about the number of hearings such a policy would generate If we had a system that was fair and equitable I doubt that we would have that many hearings Hicks told him The board requested more infor mation on the recommended policy as it exists in other counties and will be put on the agenda for a work ses sion The results of the work session Please see TEACHERS page Rally aims at day care legislation RALEIGH AP Just when opposition to Gov Jim Hunts early childhood initiatives seems to be gaining strength leading lawmakers are indicating that its all for naught An estimated 400 people attended a rally Tuesday out side the Legislature to draw attention to their concerns about the governors prized legislation which seeks to provide quality day care to all North Carolina children The rally was organized by Republican lawmakers and members of the religious right including the North Carolina Christian Schools Association Speakers told the crowd that Hunts proposals to improve day care for children known as Smart Start will result in gov intrusion into the home Public opposition was sparked by three radio spots aired across the state last month but the movement was slow to form Both the House and Senate already have approved the legislation Were going to proceed with Smart Start Both sides have agreed to it said Rep Martin Nesbitt Please see DAY CARE page House OKs Suttons to put race on license RALEIGH AP The state House approved a Robeson County lawmakers Tuesday to return a persons race to drivers licenses The change has been sought by American Indian leaders who argue that it will improve racial identity and cut red tape for people seeking to take advantage of education employment and con programs targeted toward minorities There are some grave concerns about the fact that it was removed from the drivers license said state Rep Ronnie Sutton D and the only Indian in the General Assembly The Native Americans have used it as a form of identification in many ways scholarships applications for federal programs The state Division of Motor Vehicles removed race from licenses beginning in January 1990 Officials argued at the time that hair and eye color listed on the license were sufficient to meet state law that the license contain a brief description of the person Some officials noting that North Carolina was then one of only four states to carry race on the license Please see SUTTON page Associated Press Peggy Cuddy of Raleigh carries an umbrella to Tuesdays rally for those who are opposed to the Governors Smart Start program The words on the umbrella are Part make poor parents AIDS toll high in NC Survey notes deaths among young men Bosnian peace talks begin GENEVA AP Leaders from the former Yugoslavia started a new round of talks today to try to end war and possibly mull changes to a peace plan that Bos nian Serbs refuse to accept Presidents Fran jo Tudjman of Croatia Slobodan Milosevic of Ser bia and Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia were to meet this afternoon with mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg The mediators planned morning talks with Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic ac cording to Fred Eckhard spokesman for the peace con ference Bosnian Croat chief Mate Boban was also due to take part in what was the first gathering of all the leaders since a session in Athens at the start of May Owen and Stoltenberg avoided reporters as they left UN head quarters this morning on the way to a secret location The mediators want a total news blackout on the talks At a conference on the eve of the meetings Owen said the mediators were open to any suggestions for adjustment but said they had not come up with a new plan to replace the one that was overwhelmingly rejected by Serbs The plan drawn up by Owen and former UN envoy Cyrus Vance proposed 10 autonomous provinces RALEIGH AP Public apathy about warnings to avoid behavior that can lead to infection with the AIDS virus is as notable as the fact that more young men in Raleigh and Durham die from AIDS than from any other cause a state health of said If we had a smallpox epidemic and you brought that to the attention of the people that would be on the tongues of everybody said Wayne Babbitt control branch head for the state Department of Health Environment and Natural Resources For some reason AIDS for sometime was a fearful disease But why do people run around and take these risks and be exposed to this deadly disease I do not unders tand that but I dont understand human behavior anyway Federal researchers have discovered that in Raleigh AIDS was the cause of death for 25 percent of young men in Durham the figure was 18 percent The statistics are based on a survey that analyzed underlying causes of death for adults ages 25 to 44 by using data prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics The numbers demonstrate a need to stress the dangers of the disease Babbitt said Tuesday We fully expected this to occur and to catch up with us because it has been occurring in other parts of the country he said I guess its not a surprise but its a very serious Please see AIDS page
