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Winsion-Salem Greensboro High Point Vol. XXVII No. 28
CH RON - E
The Lhoice for if 7can- imerican Aews ,ron>
Small wonder serving
as agency's ambassador
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
llll CHRONM I I
Charlean Wright admits that she
knew little about the March of
Dimes until birth defects hit close to
home more than five years ago.
Expecting her first child, Wright
drove herself to the hospital with
what she was sure were labor pains
only 26 weeks into her pregnancy.
Hospital officials insisted that she
was mistaken, but further examina
tion proved her right. Her labor
could not be halted and Wright
delivered her son, Jeremy Gregg, on
April 17, 1995. He weighed a little
less than 1.8 pounds, so small that he
could fit in the hands of his mother.
The first few months of his life
were spent under intense scrutiny in
I
a hospital neonatal intensive care
unit. His mother was never far ofT.
"They said if he made it past the
fifth day he would have a good
chance of surviv ing," she recalled.
Wright and her family prayed
heavily up until that fifth day; their
prayers increased once Jeremy made
it over the hump. It was an opti
mistic. yet sad time. Wright remem
bers. because while she and her fam
ily hoped that Jeremy would pull
through, other babies in the unit
were slipping away..one by one.. ?
"I was thinking that my child
could be next," she said. "The only
thing that you could do was pray."
The family's prayers were
answered. But as Jeremy was grow
ing stronger, he was hit with another
.See Gregg on A2
i-noio oy Kevin walker
Wake Forest students light candles as they prepare for a vigil to
honor the life of Willie Fisher and the women he murdered.
Execution 1,
Opponents 0
Death penalty claims first life of the year
BYT KEVIN WAI.KI R
THE CHRONICLE
Prayers were answered for a
group of mostly Catholics that held
a vigil last week a few hours before
a Winston-Salem native was sched
uled to be put to death at Central
Prison in Raleigh.
As they lighted candles and
sang spiritual tunes on the steps of
Wait Chapel on the campus of
Wake Forest University, a Superior
Court judge miles away halted the
scheduled execution of Willie Ervin
Fisher, who was convicted of the
savage stabbing death of his girl
friend, Angela Johnson, in 1992.
Fisher's execution was sched
uled for 2 a.m. March 9, but Judge
Howard Manning of Wake County
delayed the execution, stating that
Gov. Mike Easley's prior position
as attorney general jeopardized
Fisher's right to due process. F.as|ey,
who as attorney general represented
the state in Fisher's many appeals,
had denied Fisher's clemency plea
early last week after meeting with
the victim's family. Fisher's family
and several community and reli
gious leaders from Winston-Salem.
"After a careful review of this
case, I conclude that the jury's rec
ommendation of death is attribut
See Vigil on A5 I
A student, center, at Santana High School in Santee, Calif., is
embraced after a shooting spree at the school recently.
Clifford: Youth
anger must not be
ignored by adults
BY P^UL COLLINS
rur CHRONIC! I
fteeent school shootings across
the United States are a wake-up
call for this country, said Dean
Clifford, Ph.D.. executive director
of Forsyth Early Childhood Part
nership.
"Violence can happen any
where any time," she said.
In many cases, parents are not
spending enough time loving their
children, especially in early years,
she said. As long as parents con
tinue not to give the loving, nur
turing training that children need,
acts of violence are likely to con
tinue to happen, she said.
The problem knows no socioe
conomic lines. "I don't care how
much money the family has. if
there is a lot of yelling, not much
warmth (in the home), you are set
ting the stage for poor social inter
action (for the children)." Clifford
said. "Recent shootings at schools,
I can't think of one that wasn't
done by a white middle-class kid,"
she said.
Recently, a kid accused in a
school shooting felt picked on by
other students and felt like a loner.
But most people can site instances
in their lives when they felt picked
on by other people, Clifford said.
For example, she felt that way her
self at times when she was growing
up "but I had an inner conviction
that I was OK, and I had inner
equipment to deal with that."
All of us are going to feel
anger from time to time, but par
ents need to help their kids grow
up with the tools for recognizing
anger and for dealing with anger
in positive, nonviolent ways, she
said.
The first few years of life are
critically important in setting* the
stage for that, she said.
See Youth anger on A4
Photo by Kevin Walker
Charlean Wright holds her two children, Jacora and Jeremy, the
March of Dimes ambassador for the area.
Got Game?
Forest Park Elementary School teachers, from left, Teresa Cranfill, Vicki Sweitzer, Betty Collins and Deborah Andrews warm up for a
game that matched them against some of their students. See page A10 for complete story.
Samaritan Ministries celebrates 20 vears
Organization has
served more than a
million meals
BY CORTNEY L. HILL
THE CHRONICLE
It's been 20 years since the
Samaritan Ministries opened its
doors and hearts to the community.
On the day it began, peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches were served to
26 people. Today, Samaritan Min
istries serves almost 225 people
daily, totaling more than 1.796,032
people served to date.
On Friday. March 2, Samaritan
Ministries celebrated 20 years of
serving food, hope and healing.
With plans of celebrating the sup
port and hope throughout the year,
in the fall, the ministry wilMtonor
the volunteers who have supJWted
and contributed to help fulfilbits
mission of serving hope, healing
and love.
Sonjia Kurosky. executive direc
tor. has been a part of Samaritan
for four years. Working with the
_ ? J
community has a had a profound
effect on her. "Working here has
taught me that you don't need
much to live and that you only need
the simple things in lite to get by."
she said.
Samaritan Ministries is a Chris
tian organization that is mostly sup
ported by; more than 400 churches.
Si'c Ministries mi Afl
Moon to headline unity conference
Winston-Salem only N. C. city
on reverend's 50-city tour
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
The Rev. Sun Myung Moon is
slated to make an appearanee here
early next month as part of a 50
state tour to unite families and peo
ple of various religious denomina
tions.
The "We Stand Together! Tour"
is part brainehild of Moon's Family
Federation for World Peace and
Unification Church, a sometimes
c iticized sect Moon founded.
The tour has been billed as a cel
ebration of faith and a call for rec
onciliation. It has been endorsed by
an impressive list of religious lead
ers, of many different denomina
tions. from across the country. Win
ston-Salem will be the tour's only
stop in the state.
Local religious leaders like the
Rev. Seth O. Lartey of Goler
Memorial AME Zion Church: the
Rev Fermin Bocancgra of lglesia
Cristiana Wcsleyana; The Rev.
James Fullwood of Saint Mark
Baptist Church; and Min. Mikal
Muhammad of the local Nation of
Islam Mosque have endorsed the
tour and are taking active parts in
promoting it.
St'i Moon ?n A11
Photo by Knight Ridder
Moon is perhaps best known for the mass wedding ceremonies he
has performed, like this one in Korea last year.
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