Robesonian (Newspaper) - March 30, 1995, Lumberton, North Carolina Thursday March 301995 Wednesdays Temp at 7 Rainfall as of 7 Sunrise ara Sunset pm Lumber River River Forecast Variably cloudy are expected tonight The low will be in the mid 40s and there will be a light northwest wind Some cloudiness is forecast for Friday The high will be in the upper 50s Full details page 2A THE ROBESONIAN Serving County Since 1870 Volume No 26 30 Pages Today Copyright 1995 Park Newspapers of Lumberton Inc Cents Daily 75 Cents Sunday DOT public hearings offered this evening The NC Department of Trans will conduct a public hear ing tonight from to in the Gilbert Carroll Middle School cafe teria in Lumberton The hearing will cover a number of areas US 1997 Widening Southbound Lumber River Bridge Relocating Service Road Connec tors to US 301 thereby eliminating twoway ramps improve north bound and southbound ramps NC 211 Widen NC 211 to MultiLane Roadway from McMil lan Avenue to Lackey Street Re place and Widen Bridge Over 195 Add Loops in NW and SE Quad rants Realign Service Roads NC 727 NC 711 Widen NC 711 to a MultiLane Road way from the NC 711 in to NC 72 West 5th Replace Bridge over 195 Realign Service Roads Additional right of way and the relocation of two businesses one at NC 2111 and another at NC 711 will be required for these projects Maps detailing the proposed changes will be available at NC DOTs Lumberton office St Pauls High School PTSA to meet April 10 The PTSA Parents Teachers Students Association of St Pauls High School has scheduled a meet ing for Monday April 10 7 pm at the St Pauls High School Cafeteria All interested persons are urged to attend since discussions at the meeting will center around fund raising efforts for the PTSA Art show performance set for Saturday in Clarkton CLARKTON An art tion will be held on Saturday from 10 am until 4 pm at the Clarkton School of Discovery The event will include an art show a performance by the Chorus and an awards presentation Food will be available for sale Crime Stoppers needs your help in apprehending the re sponsible for a shooting that occurred on Friday night March 24 1995 at approximately am on Martin Luther King Drive The victim was walking on the sidewalk when he heard three shots behind him and then saw a dark col ored Mazda or Nissan speed by him The victim had been shot in the back of the neck and was transported to Southeastern General Hospital Crime Stoppers needs your help We do not want your name just your information Crime Stoppers offers up to reward for informa tion leading to the arrest of sub Call 7381133 ARE A DEATHS Gloria White St Pauls Ruth Gibson Granbury Texas Clarence C Davis Lumberton Elsie T Hedgpeth Lumberton Hilda Wilson Red Springs Roosevelt Fairmont Walters Fairmont INDEX Classified 3B Comics Deaths 2A Editorial Entertainment Farm Sports IB Whats Happening 2A Faircloth considers wetlands change ELLEN CHURCH Staff writer An aide for Lauch Faircloth ac knowledged that the Republican Senator is considering cosponsor ing a wetlands that would dereg ulate some land areas but added it is in no way an effort to reduce the number of wetlands now protected from development We would never consider dereg high value areas aide George Howard said Tuesday morn ing Were talking about what they call scientific wetlands These are areas that are dry most of the time and the criteria to classify the area as a wetland is that it is wet at least 14 days out of the year with water with in 18 inches of the surface Howard said many of the farmers who have challenged the decision that classified such areas have had to drill wells on the land to find water Standards for land to be classi fied as wetlands include water PSRC to present concert From staff reports The Public Schools of Robeson County in conjunction with the Arts Education Department will present the 5th Annual All County Chorus in concert Friday March 31 at pm in the Lumberton High School auditorium Betty Neill G Parsons of Fayet will be this years guest di rector Reissner of Lumber ton is accompanist Mrs Parsons choral director and chairperson of the cultural arts de at Cape Fear High School since 1983 received her Bachelor of Music degree from Methodist Col lege in Fayetteville and her Master of Music degree from East Carolina University in Greenville She serves as Honors Chorus coordinator for the North Carolina Music Educators Association Choral Section and of ten as choral clinician and tor for competitions and festivals Mrs Parsons las published several articles on choral performance technique and music education She also conducts workshops and clinics for teachers of the arts throughout North Caroli na Mrs Parsons also performs as soprano soloist for churches and civic military and higher education al organizations In the past PSRC and the Arts Education Department have present ed both a Junior High and Senior school chorus however this year chose to Combine the two groups into one Approximately 90 students from grades 712 will rep resent five high schools and three middle schools in this years All County Chorus Students participating and their respective schools and the choral di rector serving that school are as fol lows Lumberton Senior High School Sopranos Allison Britt Crystal Bland Melessa Hunt Melis sa Mayers Nate Oxendine Ivy Britt Tanaja McLean Buffy John son Amy Tippets Carey Steen Mary Antwi Angela McLean and Natasha altos Barnes Thompson Anita Branch Thompson Sheli ka Dupree and Huggins tenors Anthony McRae and Eric Harriette Floyd serves as choral director for Fairmont High School Sopra nos Rikki Bullard Christina Bur roughs and Lakisha McEachern al tos Jackie McCoy and Felicia Ransom bass Jammie Gaddy Denise Bloomer is the choral tor for FHS South Robeson High School Altos Chiquita Pierce April But ler Melinda McCormick and Melis sa Bartley tenors Peay and Marvin Taylor bass Tyrone Miles Choral director at is Stephen Whisnant Red Springs High School So logged soil types and aquatic vege tation The which has yet to be drafted in its final form could also offer a reduction in the number of organizations that are involved in the wetland classification process according to Howard Eight groups are currently re sponsible for a final decision on wetlands he said including the Army Corps of Engineers USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency Faircloths opponents have ac the senator of using his posi tion to benefit himself since he is a large landowner with interest in a widespread hog operation in North Carolina as well A report in the Charlotte Observ er also pointed out that Faircloth owns several hundred acres of wet lands I think the people in North Car are smart enough to know Faircloth has no conflict of interest just because he is a landowner Howard said anyone who owns land east of 95 is going to have wetlands on it The Senate Ethics Committee re cently agreed that Faircloth could use his position as a Senator to ben himself as long as his work ben others in similar situations Current regulations do not allow farmers to use classified wetlands for any purpose Federal law sites that a farmer who does so is subject to loss of government price supports for crops In Robeson County officials say there arent many other cal purposes for such areas since a majority of the wetlands here are in the countys swamps However a new could reduce the frustration of landowners who are told what they can and cannot do with certain parcels of land Robeson County is full of wet lands said county Farm Service Director John Townsend fanners have no option to clear those areas that are classified as such But as a practical matter its often cost prohibitive to clear and drain those areas anyway A farmer can often go out and buy more suit able land at a lower price The conflicts here usually in volve very small areas where a farmer or landowner may want to expand a field or build a road ac cording to county District Conserva for the Natural Resources Conservation Service Ed Holland I get calls one or two a day for what many may consider very in significant spots Holland said When we check and find out its a wetland the landowner has to go through the hurdles to justify the reason he wants to alter the area Holland said it could be as small as a fringe at the edge of a field or a request to build a road to get from one field to another He added that further frustration erupts when the Corps may exempt the area while USDA has no exemptions The landowner must then show why he wants to built a road or expand all over again to USDA Wetlands are good biological scrubbers Holland continued They are good for wildlife habitat and good reservoirs for holding wa ter which helps prevent water tion Frustration comes in when a landowner wants to go from point A to point B and cant do that which creates a use conflict He added that taxpayers are the ones who ultimately foot the for wetland regulations when a landowner wishes to challenge the law If introduced the is expected to create a major debate among en and property rights advocates Environmentalists say such a would sharply reduce the acreage of wetlands threatening wildlife sanc tions and clean water GOP handed setback in NC House Steve Photographer Lumberton City Councilman Bruce Davis is shown here this week as signs lowering the speed limit on 195 were unveiled The speed lim it was dropped to 55 mph out of safety concerns officials said Abortion opponents mount right to know offensive RALEIGH AP The ture should tackle further abortion regulations this year even if it isnt included in the Republican agenda set before last falls elections spon sors of a new say When something is important you find the time for it co sponsor Rep Charlotte Gardner R Rowan said at a news conference also attended by members of North Carolina Right to Life Except for emergencies women seeking abortions would have to contact providers by telephone or in person and then wait 24 hours be fore the procedure can be per formed Rep Robin Hayes said he didnt think GOP leaders would be distracted from their leg checklist even if the abor tion issue is addressed He is the House GOP leader responsible for counting Republican votes on im portant issues and another co sponsor 1 think the Democrats given their own persona feelings and the political climate will be very anx to vote for this Hayes said I dont see it as being an issue thats going to be contentious Rep Mike Decker is the bills third cosponsor The measure would require that women be given printed informa tion including listings of area adop tion agencies and photographs or drawings showing in stages characteristics of a devel oping fetus Women would have to certify in writing that they had been furnished the information Associated Press RALEiGH The lone Republi can against a House measure to let voters decide whether the state su of schools should be appointed said political expediency shouldnt prompt changing the state constitution The issue for me was If we dont respect that document what will we as civilized people respect Rep Larry Linney said Wednesday after a with the proposed constitutional question fell two votes shy of in a final roll call Linney of Buncombe County joined 39 Democrats to block the in a surprising setback for Re publicans a day after the measure had been tentatively approved on a 7539 vote Wednesdays vote was 7040 in favor of the consti amendments require 72 votes in the House to pass Five Democrats joined 65 of the Houses 68 Republicans in voting for the amendment but eight Democrats either left the chamber or switched their votes from Tuesday I dont know who all failed to vote with them but they deserve credit for voting with people back home said Bob who was elected to his second term as Superintendent of Public Instruction in statewide balloting in 1992 I think the people of North Carolina won today and democracy won I think they struck a blow for the peo Pie The which already had won approval in the Senate would have let voters decide in May 1996 whether to keep an elected superin tendent or make the position ap pointed supporters argued it was a way to bring accountability and a clear chain of command to the states education leadership But opponents already angry with a Tuesday amendment post the vote to 1996 from this fall one of the states Strengths was the permanence of the states constitution The strength of the constitution is in its stability Rep George Miller DDurham said during an debate on the We should be very careful if we want to try and change it Eliminating the office is not go ing to solve the problem of bringing quality education to the state We would be afoul to believe so Democrats also asked whether making the position an appointed one would make the superintendent more susceptible to the whims of the state Board of Education which would make the appointment This isnt simply a vote to let the voters decide said Rep Dan Blue DWake This is a vote to tell the voters that we think they ought to eliminate one of their elect ed officials But House Majority Leader Leo Daughtry told Democrats that times change and that it was a good time to give the people a chance to change the con This is the opportunity for the people to get involved in the debate about whats wrong and whats right with education Daughtry said I trust the people I think the people have a right to de cide will proceed in the future Senator President Pro Tern Marc Basnight who has supported the change for years said he hoped the House eventually could muster two more votes Theyve been defeating it every time weve sent it over there Bas night said minutes after the House vote Its another defeat for people not being allowed to vote on this Daughtry said North Carolina Please see GOP page Red Springs choir to perform Saturday JAMES BASS Staff writer RED SPRINGS The Red Springs Show Choir will perform at Biggs Park Mall Saturday evening at 7 as part of Arts Education Month The choir won honors in national championship competition held in Williamsburg Va Kate Martin chairperson of arts at Red Springs High School is di recting the group Martin said she is excited about the group and ages all to come out for the perfor mance Please see CHORUS page Im very proud of this group its my baby All the members have worked so hard and they want to be good Theyve really achieved a lot she said Since Martin began working with the group four years ago she said she has seen some outstanding pro in their performances and is proud to see the group making preparations for yet another compe tition On May 3 the choir will travel to Florida for the Orlando Music Fest It will be their fourth annual compe tition They are ambassadors for the county and the state and they are up against many different states some of which are also very good said Martin These students are chosen not only for their talent but for their leadership As for the groups Biggs Park Mall performance Martin said audi ence members will get a good show but dont expect the same ol same They arent just going to be standing there in one spot They will be doing a lot of singing and danc ing Its a great show so dont ex to see them just standing there said Martin Among the numbers to be per formed by the group are such well known tunes as Bridge Over Trou bled On The and Imagine as well as a medley of Broadway songs Martin said John Lennons world peace anthem Imagine has been a popular request from listeners of the choir The peace thing has been a pop ular movement so Imagine has been a popular request she said For more information about the Red Springs Show Choir contact Kate Martinat 910 8434211
