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CIAA banquet coming!
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Glenn soccer squad
on a roll
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Big 4 brings
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Comedy club brings
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Tuc Chronicle
Winston-Salem * Greensboro ? Hii.ii I'oini xxiX No.9
Greg Tiirner
ready to take
on new duties
With two decades of experience under his
belt, official is set to oversee public works
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Greg Turner, a 20-y^r
employee of the city and current
ly the city's director of trans
portation. has been appointed
assistant city manager for public
works. City Manager Bill Stuart
announced. Turner will assume
his new role Dec. I. He will suc
ceed Tom Griffin, the outgoing
assistant
city man
ager for
public
works,
who is
retiring.
?ZTurn
er; began
viith the
c-j t y
when he
did a
summer
intern
W A
Turner
ship with the city's traffic engi
neering division when he was
finishing up his requirements for
a bachelor of science degree in
electrical engineering from N.C.
State University. After he gradu
ated from N.C. State, the city
hired him in 1982 as a traffic sys
tems engineer (responsible for
traffic control computer room I.
Subsequently, he served as traffic
operations engineer (responsible
for the traffic maintenance shop
and computer room), assistant
director of transportation
(responsible for traffic plans,
computer room and the shop)
and, since September 2001.
director of transportation
(responsible for the four divi
sions of the transportation
department: transportation plan
ning, Winston-Salem Transit
Authority, traffic operations or
traffic management, and park
ing/safety).
Stuart said in a news release:
"The selection of the new assis
tant city manager for public
works could not have worked
out better. Greg has distinguished
himself as transportation director
for the city. He is a very capable
person, he comes from within our
organization, and (he) grew up
here in Winston-Salem. He can
hit the ground running. We look
forward to great things from
Greg."
As assistant city manager for
public works. Turner will be
responsible for providing man
agement leadership over a num
ber of public works functions,
including transportation, streets,
solid waste collection and dis
posal. stormwater management,
roadway appearance, cemeteries,
engineering, building inspec
tions. and water and sewer. He
will be responsible for more than
900 city employees, compared
See Turner on A10
Photo by Kevin Walker
Candidates for District Court judge: Denise Hartsfield (from left). Dean Rutledge, Lisa Menefee and James Davis.
You Be the Judge
Hartsfield asking
voters to consider
more than her race
BYT KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Denise Hartsfield got a small
taste of political mudslinging
when she was elected president
of her freshman class in college.
Those days seem like a walk in
the park now for Hartsfield. a
candidate in one of two local
nonpartisan races for District
Court judge.
Hartsfield has steadily been
building momentum since she
officially announced her candi
dacy earlier this year. Someone
tried to stymie that, momentum
last week by sending a package
of documents to loca^ media
organizations that the person
hoped would be bombshells. The
package, however, contained
only minuscule details, such as a
document showing Hartsfield
paid her bar association dues late.
Hartsfield's opponent. Dean
Rutledge. has denied sending the
information, and Hartsfield says
*
she doesn't believe that Rutledge
is behind the mailing either.
But Hartsfield believes that
the fact that someone or people
are trying to shoot her down so
close to the election is evidence
that she is doing something right
and is on course to claim victory
Nov. 5.
"When you are trying to give
something back, when you are a
belonger, w hen you are a contrib
utor. people will try to pick holes
in you." she said. "But no
weapon formed against me will
prosper. It just is not going to
work."
Hartsfield has worked as an
assistant Forsyth County attor
ney for the last nine years. She
handles child support and other
family-related cases. Bom and
raised in Winston-Salem, Harts
field graduated from Spelman
College and Wake Forest Univer
sity School of Law.
Hartsfield decided to go to
law school late in life. Her oppo
nent is campaigning on his more
than 20 years as a family law
attorney. Rutledge says he is the
best candidate for the job
because of his years in law.
Sec Judge on A9
Airport, residents
struggle to find
common ground
Smith Reynolds officials say landfill is
necessary to survival of struggling airport
BYT KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE ?
Smith Reynolds Airport offi
cials are now telling residents in
communities that surround the
airport that without a proposed
runway safely area, jobs at the
airport may be in jeopardy.
Smith Reynolds will go
before the city's Zoning Board of
Adjustment next month to push
for a special-use permit so that
an inert debris landfill can be
established on airport properly.
Up to a million yards of debris
from demolished buildings
would be dumped in a hole at the
end of the airport's main runway.
After the hole is filled, which
officials estimate could take up
to five years, the debris would be
covered with grass and serve as a
safety area, which would give
aircraft a cushion of sorts if they
were to overrun the runway.
The Zoning Board of Adjust
ment was to decide on the spe
cial-use permit in early October,
but the board tabled the matter
because of concerns of people
O who live around the airport. Ed
K _ I
Photo by Kevin Walker
Leon Kay asks a question at
last week's meeting.
Cox. director of the airport, and
Chris Veal, the deputy airport
director who is leading the safety
area project, met with concerned
residents last Thursday at Solid
See Airport on A4
Polite looking forward to making history
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
If all voters in Forsyth Coun
ty would consider only experi
ence when they go to thd polls
Nov. 5 to cast their ballets for
sheriff. John Polite would have a
worry-free Election Day.
Polite, the Democratic nomi
nee, was bom and raised here and
has spent nearly 30 years in the
Sheriff's Office. His Republican
opponent. Bill Schatzman. has no
ties with the department.
Polite is keeping his fingers
crossed that voters will look at his
experience and his plans for the
Sheriff's Office, but he knows
that politics has never been as
simplistic as that. In this match
up. there is a factor of race to con
sider.
Polite would be the county's
first blaek sheriff. No other
African-American has gotten as
close as Polite, who received
more votes than any candidate.
Republican or Democrat, in the
primary.
However, almost is not good
enough for Polite, who believes
Forsyth County has grown
tremendously over the years and
is ready to look beyond skin
color.
"I think it is a test for Forsyth
County, a test about whether or
not they want a qualified sheriff."
he said.
Polite, who was born and
raised here, says that his experi
See Polite on A9
Photo hy Kevin Walker
John Polite speaks as Bill Schatzman looks on.
Unshackled?
Religion scholar says blacks still in ideological slavery
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRONICLE
The Apostle Paul tells the Gala
tians that they are "no longer slaves"
in the Bible, and Brad Braxton,
author of the new book "No Longer
Slaves: Galatians and African Amer
ican Experience." wants the black
community to hear and understand
that very same message.
Braxton, assistant professor of
homiletics and biblical studies at
Wake Forest University's Divinity
School, explores the New Testament
message of Paul to the Galatians
through the perspective of the
African-American experience in his
new book published by The Liturgi
cal Press.
Braxton has been a WFU bibli
cal studies expert for the past three
years.
While touring slave routes in
Gambia 10 years ago. Braxton said,
it became clear to him how neces
sary it was to communicate to blacks
today what Paul's message to the
Galatians was during biblical times.
"Even in 1992 it was so clear
that African-Americans are bound to
ideological slavery and tied to white
ways of thinking and being," said
Braxton, who feels that many fail to
realize that Paul was dealing with
See Braxton on AS
Photo bv Kevin Walker
Brad Braxton delivers a sermon at First Calvary Baptist
Church last vreek as part of the church's revival events.
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