Robesonian (Newspaper) - September 1, 1998, Lumberton, North Carolina INSIDE ROBESONIAN Volume 130 No 173 Holdings Inc All Rights Reserved 35 cents SPORTS Mustangs top Fairmont Page IB STATE Short childs traits built on height Page 2A Wildfires rage in California Page Sony were late The Robesonian apologizes for the lateness of todays newspaper Mondays light ning storm caused severe damage to our computer sys tem That forced us to send part of our staff to Clinton to use the comput er system at a sis ter newspaper The quality of todays newspaper has been affected We are hopeful that our system will be repaired for Wednesdays newspaper PHOTO BY STEVE Agreement is reached on billion bond vote RALEIGH AP House and Senate negotiators have reached a tentative agree ment on a billion bond referendum for water sewer and natural gas projects that would be put before voters in November lawmakers said Monday Rep Jim Carpenter said he believed the bonds will win support in rural areas that need help to upgrade their water and sewer systems I think youll see a lot of support in rural areas of the state he said There may be a little opposition in urban areas but I dont think that much Its good for the whole state said Sen John Kerr DWayne who led the Senate negotiations Everybody has really been working hard on it Under the tentative agreement which still must be approved by negotiating com and both chambers million in bonds would be earmarked as grants to local governments for water and sewer projects nother million would be used for loans for water and sewer projects and million would be earmarked to help extend natural gas lines into unserved areas The agreement would use million as matching money to get federal water loans and grants to extend water and sewer lines to industries in poor coun ties million in grants to develop cen tral sewer systems in small poor commu million in extra grant funding for poor counties and million to help communities produce grants or capital improvement plans main interest is economic develop ment said Carpenter who chaired a House study committee earlier this year that recommended a bond issue But there are a lot of people interested in envi health The two go handin hand in this case Carpenter said business interests and envi groups had worked on the ten agreement The environmental groups recognize the danger some of these systems pose to the environment he said And they know that if you keep letting them go they can reach a point where you cant get them back in shape Carpenter and Kerr said private inter ests will promote the bond issue as they did with school bonds two years ago Kerr last year got a water and sewer bond through the Senate but could not get an agreement with the House on a final version This is a better than last year said time to put this thing to bed and go ahead and get ready for the November vote Kerr said the agreement could come to a vote in the House and Senate this week if it is approved by the two negotiating com McLean murder trial begins STAFF WRITERS is no dispute that John Willie McLean stabbed his killed his nephew by stabbing him in July 1997 But defense lawyers say that McLean 39 was defending himself against James Edward McLean when they argued at their Red Springs home at 100 Malpass Ave The murder trial of John Willie McLean began on Monday in Robeson County Superior Court Assistant District Attorney Joe Osmond said during his opening arguments that the two argued over a cigarette Osmond said the nephew swung at his uncle once before fleeing to another room of the house Willie McLean said he was tired of being messed with and went after James Edward McLean Osmond said He picked up a butcher knife with a blade and followed him into the kitchen In his own words he said he stabbed him hard Osmond told jurors that John Willie told relatives staying to call police and then he hid the knife in a cabinet under a bath room sink Defense lawyer Young said during opening arguments that John Willie was afraid because the two had had violent confrontations before One has the right to defend Please see TRIAL page End of the line for Jacks 66 Jack Pridgen seated at right shares some special moments with his wife Rose daughter Jackie Herring and a few friends on the last day of business for Jacks 66 Pridgen has been manning the register as his Lumberton store for 41 years STAFF BY STEVE Old sausage closes after 41 years ELLEN CHURCH STAFF WRITER LUMBERTON Jack Pridgen has sold his last sausage dog On Monday a blackand white sign hung on the front door of Jacks 66 the cinderblock whitewashed store and grill that has drawn people to the cor ner of Pine and 24th streets for 41 years It said Closed A handful of customers had gath ered for a final round of gossip and political debates Pridgen 70 smiled as they took potshots and shared cake during a party I feel sorry for his wife said Tommy Hinds who at age 50 was the youngest member Shell have to put up with him all the time now Rose wife shot back These fellas Feel sorry for me I feel sorry for their wives because their husbands wont have anywhere to go but home now that were dosing But Rose found it hard to hold back a few tears even as the jokes flew Its been a very good 41 years she said This place is landmark for a lot of people Its just terrible said Jackie Herring Rose and Jacks daughter Its like a death in the family Please see JACKS page Wading throng Two cars drive through high water on East First Street Monday afternoon A late after noon thunderstorm dropped a significant amount of rain on the county and forced motorists to drive with extra caution STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE i Stocks surge forward NEW YORK AP The Dow Jones industrials were firmly in positive terri tory at midday after swinging widely in frenetic morning trading following a fierce Monday At noon on Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average was up 19052 at 772959 Just after noon the Dow moved up as much as 22657 to 776564 In the first 65 minutes of trading the Dow moved to a gain of 143 points at 7682 then dropped as low as 7400 down 138 points then climbed decisive ly back into positive territory This brings a new definition to the word said BUI Meehan chief market analyst at Canter Fitzgerald indicators had turned uniformly higher The Standard 500 index was up 2936 at 98664 the Nasdaq composite index was up 5148 at 155073 the NYSE composite index was up 1053 at 49112 and the American Stock Exchange composite index was up 1614 at 58121 The Russell 2000 was up 488 at 34283 Despite recovery in all the indexes advancing issues continued to narrow their lead on decliners beating them by only 9 to 8 on the New York Stock Exchange Volume was heavy at 60332 million shares substantially above Mondays pace of 36554 million On Monday the Dow suffered its sec point loss ever falling 51261 points or 64 percent to 753907 That was a loss of 47 percent for the year and its lowest level since November Traders said the market swings this morning were tied to technical factors in the futures market but the gains solidi fied as institutional and Please see STOCKS page Highway Patrol to keep close eye on dangerous roads RALEIGH AP The state Highway Patrol will put a special emphasis on 25 highway corridors in North Carolina that have had the most accidents on them dur ing the official Labor Day holiday periods for the past five years The roads are in Carteret Onslow Robeson Wayne Wake Johnston Durham Alamance Rowan Forsyth Watauga Catawba Buncombe Gaston Union and Mecklenburg From 1993 to 1997 during the Labor Day holiday period there were 690 crashes 532 injuries and five fatalities on these roads The weekend officially begins at 6 pm Friday and ends at midnight Monday The AAA Motor Club in Charlotte said Labor Day traditionally is a dangerous holiday for motorists Twelve motorists died over the holiday last year and 1194 were injured in 1359 crashes Meanwhile the motor dub and the Travel Industry Association said 768600 North Carolina motorists will travel 100 miles or more from home over the Labor Day weekend Travelers will find the average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Please see ROADS page
