Winston-Salem Ch
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1993
"Power concedes nothing without o struggle.' ? Frederick Douglass VOL. XX. No.
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Womble, Newell:
A Farewell Bid
? . * . , . ? ? ^ . ? * ' - i
A Stacks fuse power un board, cattfor members' unity]
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
The loss of Virginia Newell and Larry Womble
from the city's board of aldermen means African Amer
icans will no longer have half of the votes, but Newell
said the black aldermen didn't always vote in unison
when they had the chance.
"I didn't see us having that kind of power during
the time when we should have had it," Newell said.
"But if they work together and are committed to the
African-American community, they can get a lot done."
Newell, who retired after 16 years as East Ward
alderman, said Vivian Burke's vote to become mayor *
pro-tempore four years ago hurt the power block ;
African-American aldermen had.
"I thought for a democrat and an African American
it was a poor move," Newell said. "We've been set back
for a number of years. It's been a tug-of-war, but if peo- :
pie forget about party and think about the people the
see WOMBLE page A3
Oil Co. to Move Tainted Soil
- From New Walkertown Rd.
Lexington firm to begin cleaning contaminated soil
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
A state environment official said A.T. Williams
Oil Co. will have its petroleum-contaminated soil
moved to Lexington next week where it will be
cleaned.
Leesha L. Fuller, regional manager of the Win
ston-Salem office of the state Department of Environ
ment, Health and Natural Resources, said the oil com
pany will have the soil moved by Cunningham Brick
Co. of Lexington, who will test the soil for further cont
amination.
Williams Oil is replacing underground storage
tanks at the Wilco Gas Station on Akron Drive because
leaks in the tanks contaminated the soil with petroleum.
The soil was. transported from the store at 653 Akron
Drive, a predominantly white neighborhood, to the
Wilco store at 2500 New Walkertown Road, an area
inhabited mainly by African Americans
Residents near the Wilco Gas Station on New
Walkertown Road caused an uproar last week and their
actions forced the company to stop cleaning the soil in -
their neighborhood. The oil company had to register
with the Department of Health, Environment and Nat
ural Resources before the soil could be moved.
Fuller said the state allowed the soil to be moved
their because the other site in consideration, 3331
Thomasville Road, was closer and would save money.
"They had more room on the New Walkertown site
and there they had pavement," she said. "Since New
Walkertown was closer, it was much cheaper and prob
ably could have saved taxpayers' money. All of that
was taken in consideration."
The sites at New Walkertown Road and
Thomasville Road were the only sites considered, but
Williams Oil has 1 1 Wiko stations across the city.
Fuller said she visited the site at New Walkertown
Road but didn't smell any harmful fumes. She said
environmental racism does exist, but there was no dan
ger to the residents from the soil cleaning.
"Environmental racism and other types of racism
does exist," she said. "But I don't think this was a case
of it ?
Steve Williams, vice president of Williams Oil,
ut OIL pag*A3
NEWS WEEK
WHERE TO FIND IT
Business . Bit.
Classifieds .'...B14
Community News A4
Editorials A 10
Entertainment BIO
Obituaries B13
Religion B12
Sports B 1
Tuts Week In Black Hrrronr
On Dec. 12, 1963, Kenya gains independence from Great Britain.
Some Residents and Business Owners Say City
Officials Neglect Some Black Neighborhoods
By DAVID L. DILLARD y
Chronicle Staff Writer ' ?? ? ? ^ """H
Some African-American business owners and resi
dents are upset with excessive trash and dilapidated
buildings in their neighborhoods.
Ed McCarter, co-owner of Special Occasions
Bookstore and Gift Shop, 112 Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive, is upset about a few houses near his store that he
says breeds miscreants.
"They come to this house and drink (alcohol) and
do all sorts of unacceptable behavior," McCarter said.
"It's bad for the neighborhood and the only two black
businesses on the block."
McCarter said the drunkenness and trash in the
neighborhood hurt his business.
Special Occasions and Forsyth Seafood Market are
the only two black-owned business in the area. But area
residents also want something done. Some, like Pauline
Jackson, also feel the houses need to be occupied, but
that the city needs to better clean up the trash and glass
from the area streets.
Jackson, who has lived at 1317 Lawrence St. for
more than 30 years, said the neighborhood has gotten
worse in the last five years.
"The corner is a spot for disaster," she said. "Peo
ple come from other areas to drink and they throw bot
tles and trash out in the street It's just an eyesore for
older people who has to live with this sort of stuff."
Jackson said their efforts to beautify the neighbor
ill ti IT i
Residents say these abandoned houses on Lawrence Street is fodder for drunkeness and vandalism.
hood are in vain because the city allows trash to build
up.
Cynthia Watlington, who has lived in the area
since 1985, said she and others have to clean up the
streets because the city sometimes take up to a week to
respond to her calls.
"There's a lot of broken glass on the streets from
people who get drunk and throw bottles," she said.
"What's left (after the city comes by) we end up getting
it up." *
Former Alderman Virginia Newell, said she has
urged the city to clean up the streets in that area for
see RESIDENTS page A3
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