Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Feb. 14, 2002, edition 1 / Page 5
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Summer fun in jeopardy for kids BY T KEVIN WALKER I lit ( HRON1CLK J_ It is the dead of winter, but summer is already .on Tameka Carter's mind. The I i-year-old lives in Happy Hill and each summer competes on the neighborhood swim team. "We have fun at the pool," she said. "We can't go to a hotel pool or a private pool. This is the only place we have to go to swim." But this year the romps in the Happy Hill pool enjoyed by Carter and her friends are in jeopardy as leaders consider whether to temporarily close that pool and others to help to balance a city budget that got much tighter last week after it was announced that Winston Salem would not be getting an expected $8 million from the state. In all. Gov. Mike Easley decided to withhold more than $200 million in payments from dozens of local governments to try to make up for the state's budget shortfall. Like their neighbors to all directions, Winston-Salem offi cials spent part of last week crunching the numbers to devise ways the city could make up for the loss, although Mayor Allen Joines and members of the Board of Aldermen still hope to sway the governor into rethink ing his decision. But until that happens, sever al cutbacks have been proposed, including closing the pools at Happy Hill. Mineral Springs and Reynolds Park for the summer; eliminating late-night programs at city recreation centers; and permanently closing the Northampton and North Hills recreation centers. The city's Park and Recre ation Department isjiot the only department that could feel the heat. Other proposals include canceling the upcoming police recruit class and eliminating bulky item pickup until the sum mer. Alderwoman Vivian Burke said everyone should keep in mind that at this point nothing is written in stone. She said she has not ruled out the possibility that Easley could change his?mind and forward the city's millions so that no services will be affect ed. Burke also said that it is pos sible that some private money could be secured to help save some of the recreation programs if the city was forced to enact some of the proposals. The directors at . the Northampton and Northrlills centers chose not to comment on the proposals. Nick Jamison, the director of parks and recreation, said the two centers were proba bly proposed for closing because they are smaller than most cen ters and have limited hours and programs. Jamison is also keeping in mind that the proposals are just that - proposals. "No final decisions have been made....Nothing is a given." he said. He added that whatever the I'iriure holds for his department, the staff will forge ahead and work hard with what they are given or left with. "There are no easy answers (in the budget crisis). We have to leave this to the elected offi cials." he said. At least one of those officials is not happy about the proposals that have been made so far. Alderman Vernon Robinson held a news conference a day before the proposals were made to announce ways he thought the city could make up the differ ence. Robinson hoped that his col leagues would be led by the budget crisis to end what he calls corporate welfare (city money given to private businesses to spur the city's economy and cre ate jobs) and the practice of awarding nonprofits hundreds of thousands of dollars in city money. Robinson also suggested that Easley dip into the cash-laden Golden Leaf Foundation, which was established with money the state received from the tobacco settlement. Regardless of what the alder men decide. Robinson, a Repub lican. said anger shouht not be" directed at the board but at Democrat Easley: "Many of the people that supported the governor the most (during the 2(XX) election) are being hurt by the pool' closings and the rec. closings." Robinson favors the idea of encouraging residents to lobby Easley. There is talk of putting a postcards inside of water bills that residents can use to com plain to Easley about the deci sion. Robinson is planning meetings with governmental bodies in towns in Forsyth County to discuss other plans of action. As of press time, the Board of Aldermen was planning to further discuss at a public hear ing Monday at 7:30 p.m. ? ?i 1 The North Hills Recreation Center is one of the smallest recs in the city. ?m Jones from /hift? AI ing from Duke in 1992. Randy Jones won a national push competition to earn a spot on the two-man team. Jones and Brian Shimer fin ished in 13th place at the 1994 Olympics. Jones was also part of the four-man team that was favored to pick up a medal, but the team was disqualified mid way through the competition. Before the 1998 Olympics the team fared well and apffcired headed for a medal. However, it finished .02 sec onds short of the bronze. Jones took some time off from the sport, started a computer busi ness in Atlanta and got married to his fiancee, Cheri. Shortly thereafter he began training for this year's Olympic Games. "He's not a quitter." the elder Jones said. "He never considered not coming back. Randy has always been driven to complete whatever task is at hand." The Joneses, who have been there to support their son at each of the previous two Winter Games, are hoping the third time is the charm. The United States is hoping to cap ture a medal and break a -drought that has existed since this country's last medal in 1956. The prospects look good, Jones' team stood atop the ' World Cup standings for most ' of this year before pulling out | of the final two events. But it { has been surrounded by contro- | versy recently because team ( member Pavle Jovanovich was recently disqualified from the Olympics for failing a drug , test. But that hasn't diminished j Jones' hopes. "I think they still have a good chance to win," the elder Jones said. "He's very opti mistic and we are also." It seems really odd that an , athlete from Winston-Salem < would be part of the Winter Games, especially considering*' that Jones was introduced to bobsledding so late in life. > Jones grew up with the{ dream of playing professional football or enjoying an interna tional track career. Jones began playing foot-f ball in the Winston-Salem Tiny) Vikings Pop Warner program. He allso ran track for the Road runners Track program. By the, time he arrived at Glenn High* School a reputation as a top flight athlete had preceded him. At Glenn. Jones helped, lead the Bobcats to a state 4-A track championship. Jones also claimed state titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. He led Glenn's football team in rush ing for two seasons and earned a football scholarship to Duke. . C At Duke. Jones played tail hack and is the school's leading career kickoff returner with ? 1.890 yards and three touch-, downs. He was also the MVP in track, scoring in the ACC meet in the 100-meter dash all four seasons He also holds Duke records in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 60-. meter dash. He also excelled in the classroom, earning a degree' in mechanical engineering. Although Jones has used. his technical background to. establish himself in the com- < puter business, athletics is where his passion lies. Win ning an Olympic medal would do much to satisfy him in that area. Jones, now 32 years old,, realizes that his career hence forth is coming to a close, and :hat makes for a sense of argency at this year's Dlympics. The 1998 competition fig- < jred to be the coming-out party 'or the U.S. Bobsled Team. Although the fourth-place - inish might have been satisfy ng for some, it wasn't enough o satisfy Jones. ?! "He wants to get that nedal." said John Jones, who' etired from R.J. Reynolds. 'He's always been very goal iriented." center fnmi puyc A1 the community set the plateau for which the center can begin an extensive probe into multi faceted approaches of minori ty health care research and solutions. After greeting those in attendance in songs of various languages. Angelou explained that if ever she got the chance to compose music she would write about "daybreaks in Winston-Salem. North Caroli na." Angelou shared her inten tion to wholeheartedly partic ipate in the molding of the center, stating that when advi sory board member Velma Watts approached her about the idea for the center two years ago. Angelou said that she wanted to use her name for the center "only if all of me can be engaged - my thoughts, my hopes my ener gy. my intelligence." "How can we really make this country more than what it is today?" Angelou said about her hopes for the center and _ its promise to focus on the quality of health care needs for SH people of color. "Let us bring our best to our best for our best." Richard Dean, president of health sciences at WFU. said the creation of the center and its purpose of formulating a model for minority health care will set the national tone and trend for the medical field at large. "We are a perfect commu nity to initiate a new approach to solving these issues." Dean said. "I look forward to becoming the leader in creat ing successful solutions to these disparities rather than remain behind or even in the path of followers to failed quick fixes to these unful filled promises in our socie ty." Dean went on to comment on the lack of minority stu dents and faculty at the School of Medicine, saying that he hoped to extend the racial makeup of the local medical community so that those seeking medical assis tance can find researchers, educators and doctors who look like them. With Angelou's longtime commit ment to minorities and the unde'rserved. Dean expressed hisJiope that she will serve as a g'reat link to thjjse who are often overlooked. "I believe that the recogni tion of one's own ignorance is the first step through (the) path of knowledge to help others. Dr. Angelou has com mitted to bring that knowl edge to all of us. to give us an avenue of learning and to be the bridge to provide a con nection between the con stituency and our commit ment to discover and imple ment those solutions," Dean said. 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Feb. 14, 2002, edition 1
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