New Director wants North Hills Center to Teach Blacjc History
By DAVfQ L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
Tres Carter likes to spend her
spare time helping other youths at
;the North Hills community along
* Parkwood Avenue.
Carter, 14, said it was hard at
one time because the North Hills
Community Center was once a drug
haven.
"There; was a problem with
crime- and drugs at one time," she
said. "It's not that bad because the ;
. kids can learn something here."
Carter, who is a freshman ad
Mt. Tabor High School, has been
attending the center for four years 1
and says she is beginning to notice a
difference with the coming of a new
director.
Bryant McCorkle, the center's
new director, said attendance is
beginning to pick up again, espe
daily among younger kids,
g McCorkle, 24, informally
teaches African-American history
and plans to start a class with youths J
in the area to offset the influence of
the drug culture.
"1 want this center to be a mecca
for African-American culture," he
said. "Strong programs will stop the
influence of drugs and push positive
images to the kids."
McCorkle, a native of Winston
Salem, grew up in the Kimberly Park
public housing community. He spent
the last three years working at the
Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation
Center and graduated from Winston
Salem State University in May.
He said his family pushed him ..
to be positive along with Alderman
Nelson Malloy and his former pro^
fessor Larry Little.
"The people really created a
good environment there," Malloy
-? *?.?* j ?* - ... . * ... ?' ? ' '
Bryan McCorkle plans to teach black history at the Rec. Center.
said. "Over the years, certain streets
around the center has been subject to
the influx of drugs just like other
pans of the city. But they have donrf
things over there to eliminate thq
problem." J ? v .|
Malloy said although the facility
r is a secondary recreation center, it
still has a major impact on the people
in that area. He also has seen the
community reduce crime and drugs
, and believes that McCorkle can help
steer youtHvin a positive direction.
"He knows most 6f the people in the
area and because he's from public
housing, Bryant has to deal with It
eveiyday." said Malloy. He's a very
energetic young man and has experi
ence with programs. I've seen what
has been there and no one can make
me believe that it cannot be done
again." * ?' ... ?
, Katfina Young, a fourth-trader
at Speas Elementary, said she comes
? - J . ??
to the center because it's safe and has
lots of games.
Young, 9, said she feels more
comfortable now than she has over
the last two years she has come to
the center. ?
McCorkle currently serves as ft ~J
commissioner on the Housing
Authority of Winston-Salem board
of directors and is chairman of the
Martin Luther King Jr. Recreatioi)
Center s voting precinct. He said h t
also plans to introduce flag football,
increase- the tutorial program and ?
start a GED program to get older res
idents into the center. "I want people
from different areas to come in and
be proud of our center," he said.
"Larry (Little) told me 'never forget
where you game from,' and I've been
trying to give back to the commu
nity. I want people to know that no
matter where you come from you
cari make it."
Goodwill's New Look Addresses the Community Need for Welfare Reform
Officials of Goodwill Industries
of Northwest N.C., Inc. positioned
the local Goodwill as a solution to
welfare reform today in a ceremony
that marked the unveiling of the
Employment and Training Center
(ETC) of Goodwill Industries. The
Employment and Training ^Center
concept is an effort to provide "one
stop shopping" to individuals seek
ing job skills. Services at ETC
include evaluation, assessment,
work adjustment, skills training, and
child eare>. bach ot these services is
designed to address issues faced by
welfare recipients, from a lack of
formal training to the availability of
dependable child care.
' Currently, 14 million individu
als in nearly 5 million families
leceive AFDC( Aid 10 Families with
Dependent Children) - a 30%
increase since 1989. The average
monthly benefit is $377 per family,
an amount supplemented py food
stamps, school meals and Medicaid
benefits.
"The job-related focus of the
welfare reform proposal* to move
from the welfare rolls to roles as
taxpayers - has been Goodwill
Industries' mission since its incep
tion in 1926," said Billy Whitaker,
President of Goodwill Industries.
"We give people with barriers to
employment, such as disabilities or
other special needs, the skills to And
and keep jobs. Uur programs at the
Employment and training Center
support the job training aspects of
welfare reform presented by 'the
Clinton administration."
President Clinton's proposal,
the Work and Responsibility Act of
1994, would expand the Job Oppor
tunities and Basic Skills Program
(JOBS), firftt anthnriypH hv fhp Fam.
ily Support Act of 1988. and would
institute a new, mandatory work
program following t'wu years of
welfare benefits. Goodwill Indus
tries advised the Clinton adininistrar
tion on the welfare reform initiative
wliile it was being develop, d. offer
ing four principles which are not
incorporated in the welfare reform
proposal. These principles Mate
thai: 1 ) no individual ~ or i.i.mly
should suffer an economic deciinc
as a result of leaving the welfare
rolls to enter or re-enter the work
force; 2) Employment service* to
AFDC recipients should be based
on individualized plans and stratc
gies to ensure job readiness; 3) Cur
rent demonstration projects imple
menting the "one-slop chopping"
concept should be evaluated and
successful programs replicated; 4)
job training programs should be
0cCupati6n-specific and based on
IochI needs and market conditions. .
"l he tmpioyment and Training
Center will allow ps to be an impor
tant tactdr.jn welfare- reform." spates
ETC Vice-President John Sheldon.
"We can offer evaluation sei vices to
determine a participant^- strengths
and weaknesses and then we can
customize their training to meet
their specific needs. Our skills traii^
i n programs offer edueat fen for
jobs determined to be in demand ill
N.C. and across the nation. Some of
these areas include data processing,
nursing assistance child care, and
health care. And, once an individual
is trained, we have specialists to
help them find competitive employ
ment. ETC really is a one-stop shop
ping center for individuals who are
ready to oecomc independent " ^
Proclaims
Friday as "Unity Day" ,
Winston-Salem Mayor, Martha
Wood, has proclaimed Friday, Sept.
23 as "Unity Day." On this day
members from various different
church and civic groups will hold a
Unity Vigil at the Cl?)?$and
Avenue Homes. ;? v r . - v -
The Unity Vigil is sponsored
by the Housing Authority of the
City of Winston-Salem Prevention
Team and Community Outreach.
The vigil will serve as a memorial
for members of the community who
have been killed since January of
? 1989^ ?? ? ? -
: A wall, with the names of all
the murder victims, will be moved
from Piedmont Park to the Cleve
land Avenue Homes. The ceremony
will get underway at 6 p.m. and will
last until 2 a.m. The program
includes local choirs, soloist, local
ministers and other expressions of
unity. The Community Outreach
Utte Choir will perform a tribute to
x the families oi murder victims.
; The Rev. Clifton Brown, pastor
of the Grace Missionary Baptist
Church of Charleston, S.C., will be
the one of the speakers on the pro
gram, joining him will be Pastor
D.T. Johnson of Divine Missionary
Holiness Church of Greensboro.
Other speakers slated to speak
in dude former State Senator Jack
Cavanaugh of First Assembly
Church of God.
Minister Melvin "Flip"
Wilkins, of Community Outreach, I
says the vigil is designed to produce
a healing effect in the community.
Wilkins said, y'This vigil is dedi
cated Jo every mother who has felt
the horrible pain of losing a loved
one to drugs, violence and the
senseless killings that have taken,
place in our streets. We have found
.out over a period of years that going
into the rmnmnnify u/p ar<? ahl*? fr>
pull people together to join forces
against the drugs, violence and
abuse in our communities and
clfange their lives."
The first community vigil was
held on Nov. 12, 1993 at Piedmont
Park and since that time they have
been held on a regular basis, partic
ularly in areas where crimes have"
repeatedly occurred. The Housing
Commissioner, Bryant McCorkle,
the Executive Director of HAWS,
Art Milligan and Pastor Wilkins
organized the first vigil and have 3
played key roles in continuing to
reach out to the community.
Wilkins said, "These vigils
have helped to unite churches in
terms of helping out in the commu
nity, the visibility of churches in the
community has let people know that
churches are concerned about what
happens in these areas. Wilkins
also says that the churches have?
shown that through uniting in our
neighborhoods we can bring about
positive change." \ V
City Seeks Board Volunteers
City residents are invited to
apply for volunteer positions on the
following city boards-and commis
sions: the Cable Review Committee
(one vacancy), the Convention Cen
ter/Coliseum Commission (two
vacancies), the Emergency Man
agement Advisory Council (two
vacancies), the East Winston
Development Task Force (five
vacancies), the Forsyth County
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
(one vacancy), the Historic District
Commission (three vacancies), the
Minority/Women Business Enter
prise Advisory Committee (one
vacancy), and the Transit Authority
(two vacancies). Historic District
vacancies must be filled by the fol
lowing: a residential property
owner in a historic district or his
toric overlay district, a resident of
the BethaBara historic district Sind a
member of the Winston-Salem
Board of Realtors.
After receiving all the applipa
tions and nominations and review
ing them, the mayor will make rec
ommendations to the board of
alderman, which makes the
appointments.
Interested citizens can obtain
applications from the mayor's
office or they can write a letter
including a resume and qualifica
tions, home address and daytime
phone number, and send it to the
mayor's office, P.O. Box 251 1,
Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102. The
Ciiy of Winston-Salem does not
discriminate on the basis of race,
sell, color, age, national origin, reli
gion, or disability in its employ
ment opportunities, services, pro
grams or activities.
The deadline for application is
Monday, Oct. 10. If you need addi
tional information, ca'l the mayor's
office at 727-2058
Wachovia Adwnt \(;i
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? Your credit record has been satisfactory for
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1 1 You have no uncleared judgments or collections.
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i
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