Sports Week
Tennis club bringing
back holiday dance
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Carver easily wins
championship
1111 See SI
See A4
See CI
Community
Old school gets
a new look
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Local singer gets a
chance to shine
Ikr Chronicle
75 cents VV INSTON-S A L t M ? GREENSBORO ? HlOll POINT Vol. XXIX No.16
Closure
near for
Atkins
location
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Before aldermen agreed to a
deal that would turn over pre
cious pari; land to the schop) sys
tem, aldermen asked School
Board members for assurances
that the new school that is being
proposed for Old Greensboro
Road will live up to the hype.
The park land is needed to con
struct the $25 million Atkins
High
School.
which
school
officials
say will
be a tech
n o 1 o g y
magnet
school
and like
none
other in
the coun
Johnson
W
V
? ? Geneva Brown, speaking on
Behalf of her fellow School
Board members, guaranteed the
'bOard that school officials would
do all they could to make the new
Atkins High School all that: it has
been built up to be.
* The aldermen OK'd a land
Jwap deal Monday night that
would give the school system 21
additional acres off Old Greens
boro Road (the school system
already had a deal with aldermen
for 28 acres in the area) in
exchange for several acres of
school-owned land. Alderwoman
Joycelyn Johnson led the call for
the exchange.
Because of aldermen's envi
ronmental concerns, school offi
cutis had
decreased
t - h e
amount of
acreage
they were
asking for
to as little
as 15
Sores, but
Johnson
said if a
school is
Terry
to be built off Old Greensboro
Road, comers should not be cut.
Only two of the eight alder
men voted against the land swap:
Vernon Rohinson and Fred Terry.
Terry said the school system
should buy some of the land for
the new school from a private
owner.
The board had voted to
change the site of Atkins High
when it seemed unlikely that the
land swap would take place. At
its next meeting, the board will
decide if it will now move the
school back to Old Greensboro
Road.
File Photo
Judge Roland Hayes and his wife, Barbara, smile for the camera at a
fund-raiser for Winston-Salem State University's library last year.
Photos by Kevin Walker
Clay Wilson laces up his dancing shoes before going on stage. He played one of the mice in "The Nutcracker."
Mastering a Classic
Diggs students take on
ambitious 'Nutcracker'
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
l lil CHRONICLE
Dancing sugar plum fairies and fight
ing mice took the stage at J.D. Diggs Ele
mentary School earlier this week as the
students put on a production of "The Nut
cracker." Led by drama teacher Tiffany
Burgess, the holiday production was a
Diggs community collaboration that
brought together students, faculty and
p;irents, who all made the performance a '
success.
Diggs, an arts magnet school, is
halfway through its first year under the
new curriculum that focuses on the arts.
Grace Bennett-Pierre looks the part
of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Students in kindergarten through fifth
grade have been reading the story of "The
Nutcracker" in class in preparation for the
production.
"The Nutcracker" is a holiday classic
based on the story "The Nutcracker and
the Mouse King" written by E.T.A. Hoff
man. It tells the story of a young girl
named Clara, whose nutcracker doll
comes to life in her dream. The Nut
cracker leads the toy soldiers, who have
also magically come to life, in a battle
against an army of dancing mice. The
Mouse King is about to attack the Nut
cracker. but Clara saves his life. The Nut
cracker becomes a prince. Clara accom
panies him on a journey to the Kingdom
of the Sweets. There, Clara is trans
formed into the Sugar Plum Fairy, and a
dance is held in their honor. The ballet
See Diggs on A10 I
Bowing Out Gracefully
Judge Roland Hayes says
goodbye to District Court
bench after 18 years of service
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
*
It has often been said that defendants who
came before Judge Roland Hayds would gel
two punishments: first a stem verbal repri
mand from the judge and then their actual sen
tences. Observers say that both forms of pun
ishments were equally as damning.
"A lot of the times 1 think the people
would have just preferred to go straight to
jail," said Judge Denise Hartsfteld, the
woman who won the District Court seat that
Hayes gave up.
Hartsfield, who argued before Hayes as an
assistant county attorney, and many others say
that Hayes can never be replaced. There are
now voids in the courthouse where his trade
mark humor, fatherly words of advice, and
strict, yet evenhanded, style once reigned.
Hayes' last official day of work was Nov.
27. Hartsfield's first day of work was a few
days later. Hayes' decision not to seek re-elec
tion in the Nov. 5 election was predicated
solely on a state law
that prohibits some
judges from serving
past the age of 72.
Hayes will celebrate
his 72nd birthday in
February.
"1 had to retire,"
Hayes said last week.
"I did not want to,
necessarily, but it was
something that I had
to do."
Hayes was
appointed to the bench in 1984. He ran unop
posed in 1986, 1990 and 1994. By the time
Hayes, a lifelong Democrat, faced his first
opponent in 1998. he was well-established in
See Hayes on A9
Hartsfield
Photographer
to teach craft
to kids via
new program
Urban Shutterbugs initiative will
provide youngsters with cameras
and skills to master picture taking
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
I III CHRONICLE :
Area teens will get the chance to spend
next summer with cameras in their hands as
participants in a new pilot photography pro
gram calied Urban Shutterbugs. This nation
ally focused nonprofit organization is
launching the
program to
introduce inner
city youths to
the world of
photography
right here in the
Triad.
A select
group of 10
young people
between the
ages of 12 and
14 will learn the
art of black-and
white photogra
phy through
special projects, field assignments and
course work. Each "shutterbug." or photog
raphy enthusiast, will be given a brand new
35 mm camera complete with film and flash
along with darkroom equipment. The
youngsters will be nominated by several
agencies/organizations in the area that work
with young people.
Local award-winning photographer
Michael Cunningham, whose portraits of
black women in church hats are featured in
the best-selling book "Crowns," will lead
courses that will focus on basic camera
skills, shooting techniques, lighting and
film processing.
"All I want to do is expose youth to
Sec Shutterbugs on A4
Cunningham
A&T on mission to secure millions
Photo by Charles Watkins/ NCATSU
Janice Bryant Howroyd makes an appeal to graduates at
A*rs fall commencement on Saturday.
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Janice Bryant
Howroyd is used to moti
vating folks. She first
began to hone that skill
25 years ago when she
began a modest staffing
agency in Southern Cali
fornia. That company
would grow to employ
more than 15.000 tempo
rary workers and make
Howroyd the chief of the
nation's largest female
owned staffing agency.
N.C. A&T State Uni
versity is banking on
Howroyd's motivational
skills - literally.
Howroyd, who attended
A&T, is heading up the
university's $100 million
capital campaign. She is
being charged with not
only encouraging alumni
and friends of the univer
sity to open their wallets,
but also corporations and
individuals throughout
the nation and world.
"We are not limiting
our campaign to just peo
ple who have immediate
contact with A&T. If you
have ever been touched
by A&T. A&T is reaching
out to touch you,"
Howroyd said last week.
"With the business I do
today, we constantly
come across people who
See A&T on A4
Phrto by Kevin Walker
A man shields his
candle to keep it lit
last Thursday dur
ing a candlelight
vigil for peace. The
event was held to
advocate a peace
ful solution to the
nation's current
conflict with Iraq.
High school stu
dents organized
the vigil. To read
more about the
event, see A3.
WMSMBUNUUMiiCt^for African-A nwtican ami Community ^leSvs ?