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North Carolina Room ,
Forsyth County* Public tilKry
660 West f ifth St,;pet
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The Choice for African-American News and Inform.
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6 e?0' W 5TH ST
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75 CENTS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1994
Power com cclcs nothing without </ stim^L
/red crick Douglass
VOL. XXI, No. 10
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A African-Americans are targeted in missing monejiprobe^and EEOC
complaints have been filed by Postal Service worlcers against management
By RICHARD L. WILLIAMS
Chronicle Executive Editor
Several African-American employees at the
U.S. Postal Service iri Wiristomsaiem say they
have been targets of racial discrimination, verbal
intimidation by management, and have been
unfairly targeted in investigations into the disap
pearance of thousands of dollars.
Over the past several weeks, the Chronicle
has
mer Postal Service workers, mostly from the
North Station on Patterson Avenue. All of the
employees interviewed were African-American,
and all of them shared a common complaint:
African-American Postal Service workers are the
targets of a bevy of discriminatory practices by
management
As expected, the current employees did not
want their names printed for fear of reprisal from
their supervisors. However, many of them during
theiriterviews supplied the Chronicle with hun
dreds of pages of court documents, internal mem
orandums and numerous letters stemming from
. congressional inquiries over the past two years.
Postmaster J. Mark Matics refused to answer
~ a reporter's question when he was contacted about
two weeks ago about whether an investigation
was under way to address some of the workers'
allegations.
"I don't have any comment," he said. "I'm not
" ?.
see BLACK page 10 ?
Discrimination
Workers at North Station have complained about post office management
Road Improvements Vital to Economic Development
: . . . . : : m . ... ? . .? ? ' r ? ?
Assistant City Manager Al Beaty , Alderman Vivian Burke and director of transportation Brent McKinney
stop to look at some of the streets in eastern Winston-Salem last week.
Jk Alderman Vivian Burke and other- city officials
toured roads in eastern Winston-Salem last week
i By DAVID L.DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
Northeast Ward Alderman Vivian Burke wants
safer streets and better housing in eastern Winston
Salem . * V "? M I. ?? ' *
She has monitored the area for years and has
stepped up her push for. better living since 9-year-old
Kenneth William Wright was struck and killed by a
vehicle while crossing the street trying to get to his
school bus stop in August
Last week, she toured the area with city officials to
show them specific concerns of many residents. Burke,
who is chairman of the public safety committee, said
that 011 New Walker town Road areas aiuund the 2000
block near Second New Bethel Baptist Church and' the
2500 block near the Wilco service station are hazardous
areas where accidents can easily occur.
? ? Just two weeks ago, a woman was killed in a traffic
accident while pulling her car onto New Walkertown
Road
"It's hard for people to see coming out these areas,"
Burke said. 'X.^se are busy intersections, and "with so
many people traveling the street now, we need to give
drivers a better view." \ ' ^ ?%. -i
dominantly black eastern side of the city while similar
streets are turned into cul-de-sacs on the predominantly
white western side.
East Ward Alderman Joycelyn Johnson said the
roads are improving, such as the revitalization of 14th
Street. However, she said in general the roads in the east
compare unfavorably to those on the west side. *
"I think the area is beginning to look better," John
son said. "There are still a lot of infrastructure improve
ments that need to be made, but things are improving."
North Ward Alderman Nelson Malloy also said the %
streets in the west are also kept up better, but added that
problems go beyond the streets. He said the streets are
representative of the city's neglect of the eastern section
of the city. ?
"I ggt a lot of galls about streets not being paved," ?
he said. "When you ride through the east you see dirty
roads and there's trash everywhere, but on west side you
see ROAD page 11
; ? : ? - ? 5 ? ? : : : ?
. . ?. ? ? ? t ' ? . '
Church, Cops Work to Rid Area of Drugs,
Prostitution
By DAVID L. DO-LARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
. . ?
* . ' . \
The Rev. Seth O. Lartey says
he is tired of seeing prostitution,
drug activity and trashy areas
around his church.
Lartey, pastor of Goler Memor
ial AME Church on Patterson
Avenue, feels the church members
have a resjx>nsibility to that neigh
borhood as if they live there.
?-T He held a meeting last Wednes
day with church members and
police officers and urged them to
adopt Patterson Avenue from Sev
enth to 10th streets. ? ' v
"We want to adopt this area,
and that includes everybody and
everything in this, because we are
one big community," Lartey said.
"Anything in the area that's not
wholesome, we want to get rid of
it."
Lartey coined the program
"Outreach Jerusalem" as an attempt
the take the gospel outside church
doors and spread it throughout the
surrounding community.
He also met with police officers
to see how they could work together
to help clean up the area.
Sgt. Jerry Pegram of the Win
ston-Salem Police Department, who
commands a unit in the area, said
prostitution and crime have gone
down, but he said the police and
community must work together to
more community involvement
because you are the eyes and ears of
the police department when we're
not here."
"We know it will work because we have prayed
about it. We have God behind us and that's the
only thing we need
completely erase the problem.
"This area is notorious for pros
titution and drugs. It always has
been," Pegram said. "We need to get
Pegram said the number of
prostitution arrests has declined due
to sting operations with women .
police officers posing as prostitutes.
He said the sting has enabled
police to arrest from four to 21 peo
ple a night. But the problem hasn't
disappeared; it only moved to Ivy
Avenue or 13th Street, he said.
"We targeted the Johns, or men
coming for whatever they come for,
and that has made an impact,"
Pegram said. -
"We can stop them, but it has
This problem has been around for a
long time."
Frank Stowe, president of Od
er's men's ministry, believes that by
going on the streets and confronting
the problem, they can eventually
drive it out pf the city.
Stowe plans to put between 25
30 men on the street at night to wit
ness to prostitutes and drug users.
He believes others across the city
will follow and they will force the
illegal activity to cease.
"It's time to come out of the
(church) building and get out here
and do something," Stowe said. "We
know it will work because We have
prayed about it. We have God
behind us and that's the only thing
we need."
Stowe said the men may begin
patrolling the streets as early as next
week.
Education, Crime Key
Issues in At-large Race
A Plyler, Whi taker seek commissioner's seat
By VERONICA CLEMONS
Chronicle Staff Writer
After serving in many leadership posi
tions oh volunteer boards in Forsyth County,
Dave Plyler said he felt it was time to run for
public office.
! "I felt I've reached a point where I've
done everything I can do in the non-profit
sector," he said
? ; Plyler's opponent. Democrat Garry
Whitaker, said Plylcr's community scrvice
record docs not necessarily make him the
best man for the commissioner position.
"Experience is a wonderful thing to
have," he said, "but without a vision it's not
particularly helpful.
"There needs to be leadership for
change in our diverse community. I firmly
believe I have the perspective needed at the
see EDUCATION page 4
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Political Newcomers Vie for
Clerk of Superior Court Seat
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
Forsyth County will have a new clerk of
superior court after Nov. 8, and the race is full
of political neophytes who feel it's time for a
chpnge.
Dean Kutlcdgc,, an independent, has prptv
ticed law for 12 years, specializing in family
and criminal law. Rutledge, 40, says the job is
perfect for a lawyer because in many instances,
the clerk is a judge. The clerk of superior court
presides over probate court, determines the
' *
validity of wills and nominates the county's 14
magistrates. - ?' ' '
The clerkis responsible for handling the
public administration relating to many mone
tary domestic orders, maintains records pertain
ing to real estate, participates in the issuance of
papers and participates in the enforcement of
domestic ordu &.
"I think the clerk ought to have legal train
ing, and I'm the only candidate who has that,"
see POLITICAL page 5
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