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? WINSTON SALEM NC
PHOTO BY PATRIC K SCHNKIDER/C HARLOTTI OHSI RVI R
Carolina Hurricanes' goalie Kevin Weafces leans on a shot on the goal by the Montreal Canadians during the second period
of action in the second round of the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Black Ice
National Hockey
League makes push
to get more minorities
interested in sport
BY SAM DAVIS
llll CHRONICLE
Hockey fever has hit the Car
olinas. This weekend fans of the
Carolina Hurricanes will get a
chance lo show the nation and the
world just, how much they have
come to accept the team when
they play their first home game of
the Stanley Cup championship in
Raleigh.
In just five short years the
Hurricanes have reached the
championship series of the
National Hockey League. No
other major professional sports
franchise has accomplished that
feat in such a short time.
When Game 3 of the series
faces off on Saturday at the sold
out Entertainment and Sports
Arena the vast majority of fans in
attendance will be white. African
Americans, especially in the
South, have not embraced the
sport the way their counterparts
have in this area. But the NHL is
reaching out in an effort to draw
more minority fans.
One reason is because the
face of professional hockey in the
United States is changing. At the
start of the 2001-2002 season,
there were at least 30 minority
players in the NHL. That is the
highest number of minorities
everforthe league. It includes 13
players of African descent.
One of them is Kevin
Weakes, who plays goalie for the
Hurricanes. Weakes is one of the
new breed of NHL players.
Weakes came over from the
Tampa Bay Lightning midway
through the season and has
played a key role in the Hurri
canes' march to the Stanley Cup
championship.
"We are the most multicultur
al sport," Weakes said. "We want
to celebrate our differences. This
is not just a black-white thing."
That point is brought home
by the fact that NHL players
come from countries throughout
the world. Canadians, Russians,
Finns, Swedes and Czechs skate
alongside Americans on most
NHL teams.
Weakes is trying to follow in
the footsteps of perhaps the most
famous black hockey player,
Grant Fuhr. Fuhr. who was adopt
ed by a white family in Edmon
ton, enjoyed a 19-year profes
sional career and helped lead the
Edmonton Oilers to five NHL
championships, setting the stan
dard for NHL goalies. During his
career, Fuhr who was nicknamed
"Cocoa" by his teammates, was
one of a handful of black players
in the NHL but was one of the
most popular, not only on his
team but throughout the league.
Willie O'Ree is considered
the first black player in the histo
ry of the National Hockey
League. O'Ree, a 5-10, 180
Sec Hockey on A4
Tool for fighting terrorism unveiled
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRONICLE
Very soon combating terror
ism will be as easy as dialing 2
1-l for North Carolinians.
Richard Burr. U.S. representa
tive from North Carolina's 5th
District, announced last week
that the passing of the Public
Health Security and Bioterror
ism Preparedness and
Response Act of 2002 will
allow states to incorporate the
2-1-1 phone service to assist
citizens in the event of a terror
ist attack.
United Way of Forsyth
County President Ron Drago
was also on hand for the
announcement.
Burr was a key sponsor of
the Bioterrorism Act (passed in
both houses of Congress) that
i s
desianpd ? 1
to equip
and train
first
respon
ded in
the coun
t r y
against
future
bioterror
i s m
attacks.
President Bush is expected to
sign the bill into law once he
returns from Europe next week.
It will allow funding to be
made available to the 2-1-1
service in 2004 to enhance
security and response efforts.
"I can't tell you how impor
tant it is to make sure that we
have in this country a clearing
house for those nonemergency
needs and questions, what
every family is potentially
faced with about the best
course of action to follow,"
said Burr, who serves as vice
chair of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee.
The local 2-1-1 hot line,
Call United Way 2-1-1, was
activated in February and is a
joint initiative between United
Way of Forsyth, Greater
Greensboro and Greater High
Point. Residents in Forsyth.
Guilford and the
Archdale/Trinity area can now
access the free and confidential
phone service by phone or via (
the Internet.
Similar to 9-1-1 and 4-1-1.
this new nationally-authorized
three-digit phone number will
also provide more than 6,000
health and human service infor
mation and referrals on a 24/7
basis. Answers to questions
concerning child care, volun
teering. family illness, troubled
teens and credit problems can
be found 365 days a year just
by calling 2-1-1.
No longer will citizens rely
on 9-1-1 for non-emergency
See 211 on A9
Burr
Someone to look up to
Fifth-grader graduates
with basketball player
mentor at his side
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Trenton "T.J." Miller has
always been there for his friend
Kamal Oliver, a former standout
on the Winston-Salem State Uni
versity basketball squad. T.J., a
rising sixth-grader, has been by
Oliver's side in the locker room
before big games, and even
served as a water boy on occa
sion. When Oliver received his
degree from WSSU last month,
T.J. made a sign out of construc
tion board and hoisted it proudly
as Oliver walked across die podi
um.
Oliver returned the favor last
week when T.J. graduated from
the fifth grade, traveling hundreds
of miles to support the kid he has
been mentoring for about a year.
"I have always told him about
how important education is and
the rewards that it can bring."
Oliver said. "I wanted to be hem
to see him get this accomplish
ment."
Since leaving WSSU. Oliver
has been exploring the job market
in his native Atlanta. He dropped
his job search and everything else
temporarily to travel back to Win
ston-Salem to see T.J. graduate
from Konnoak Elementary
School.
For the past three years 'the
school has had a unique relation
St v Konnoak on A4
Photo by Bruce Chapman
T.J. Miller, left, is congratulated after his fifth-grade gradua
tion by Kamal Oliver and T.J. 's grandmother Gloria Smart.
School kids
.
get kind
words from
Ground Zero
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE ? ?
On Sept. 11. the faculty and staff of Petree Elementary School
decided not to share with students how drastically the world had
changed. Although the adults roamed around the halls of the
school in disbelief, it was business as usual for the children, who
were required to take a , i
mandatory quarterly test
on that day.
At the end of the
school da>#some teach
ers told their students
that they would be see
ing and hearing about
disturbing events once
they left school grounds.
The events of that
memorable day spurred
a slew of emotions for
students at the school,
like many young people
across the country.
Some of those feelings,
especially those of grat
itude aimed at rescue
workers, were expressed
in cards and posters of
support the Petree stu- <
dents created for those r
who worked tirelessly
to search for survivors and clear away the ashes.
"I thought it would he a great idea for our children to be able
to send their thoughts and wishes to the police officers and fire
fighters." said Connie Allen, a fourth-grade teacher who suggest
ed that the kids at Petree make the cards.
The choir of Calvary Baptist Church, of which Allen is a
See Petree or A11
PfcotO by Kevin Walker
'onnie Allen posts pictures from her
ecent trip to New York City.
N.C. gospel
legend releases
first solo project
BY S.I. LYNCH
"THE CHRONICLE
After 20 years in the busi
ness. countless awards and
legions of fans. Luther Barnes
doesn't seem the least bit ready
to rest on his laurels. "Come Fly
With Me" marks a milestone for
one of gospel's premier male
vocalists. With an insatiable
urge to continue spreading the
r.?,nai
*juspv I
through
s o tug ,
Barnes
and his
new
project
are a cul
mination
of his
love of
the tradi
t i o n a 1
mixed
with the contemporary.
Speaking with Barnes by
phone from his home in Rocky
Mount. N.G.. one can only imag
ine the pressures he must have
been under to step totally out on
his own. After all. many of us
equate Luther Barnes with the
Sunset Jubilaires. The Redd
Budd Gospel Choir and of
course the Barnes Family aggre
gation.
Barnes said. "We're very
proud of 'Come Fly With Me.' It
has been a long time coming,
and we're very glad it's finally
here. It's a solo project, but I
guess I had more company this
time than-1 normally have. I had
a lot of friends and family that
assisted me. It's a solo project,
but it's more of what I wanted to
do."
With so many new facets of
gospel on the horizon. Barnes
insists. "You have to love both
styles, appreciate the contempo
rary and not turn your back on it
like. well, this is a bunch of hog
wash. You have to appreciate
that, hut you have to also like the
old style and be able to mix it up.
I still love the hymns and will
always have them on any project
I do."
On "Come Fly With Me" the
message is very clear and the
words are right on time. Spread
ing the Gospel through song can
be done in a "unique way to
catch someone's attention. If you
keep things in perspective, keep
praying, stay humble with the
Lord and stay in touch with what
the people are going through,
you will be successful in gospel
and in anything you do," Barnes
said. *
This project has been called
a "blessing." Barnes has hit a
milestone that many don't cele
brate - 20 years committed to
and enjoying his ministry while
exercising his faith, by doing and
calling on some friends to come
along for the ride. As an advo
cate of the complete spectrum of
gospel music tastes, according to
Air Gospel (his record compa
S., Barnes on A5
Barnes
I ? FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL (336) 722-8624 ? MASTERCARD, VIS AN EXPRESS ACCEPTED ?