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#rom thls library Vol. XXIX No. 37
Plan stirs mixed emotions
Proposed city annexation
raises questions about
fairness, economics and race
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Yolanda Cropps was born and raised in
a rural town, so even mid-sized Winston
Salem seemed like a very big city when
she moved here.
In an attempt to recapture a piece of her
rural upbringing and to escape mounting
taxes, Cropps and her husband. Anthony,
bought a picturesque home off of Old Sal
isbury Road, nearly two years ago in an
area where trees and grass are plentiful and
neighbors are close-by but far enough
away to give homeowners breathing room.
For the Croppses. it was a dream come
true. But if some city officials get their
way, Yolanda Cropps fears her dream will
become a nightmare.
The Croppses' home, which is near the
Davidson County line, is in one of the nine
areas the city is proposing to annex.
"We tribd to get away from the city
because we did not want to pay the taxes,
and we did not like all the busyness....Now
they are trying to make us part of that,"
Yolanda Cropps said last week.
She and many of her neighbors don't
buy the city's arguments that annexation
may bring only about $50 a month in extra
taxes. Since most of the homes in the
Croppses' neighborhood are above
$220,(KK), she thinks her taxes will double
and the serenity of her rural life will all but
disappear.
See Annexation on AJO
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Photo by Bruce Chapman
Anthony and Yolanda Cropps pose on the back porch of their house. They fear
annexation will bring higher taxes and overcrowding.
Photo by Courtney Gaillurd
Jonathan Milner reacts after being told that he is the
Teacher of the Year for Forsyth County. Milner teaches
Advanced Placement courses at the Career Center. He will
now compete for the state title. See A10 for the story.
UNITY
works
toward
change
Concerned neighbors think
youth programs are working
BY SAM DAVIS
FOR tHE CHRONICLE -
How do you effect positive change and
reclaim a community that is riddled by a high
crime rate, alcoholism, drug abuse and high
unemployment?
There may not be an easy answer to that
question, but Mary
Moore and several col
leagues in the UNITY
(United Neighbors
Involved in Transform
ing Youth) neighbor
hood association believe
it starts with reaching
young people.
Moore is president
of the organization,
which targets residents
of Bowen Park, LaDeara
Crest Estates, East 25th
Street, and Ansonia. Machine and Manchester
streets on the east side of Winston-Salem. Moore
has been the driving force behind the movement,
which is designed to help revitalize that commu
nity.
For the past two years, members of UNITY
have sponsored activities to touch the lives of
young members of the community. The projects
sponsored have provided
hands-on experience for
the participants. They
include paint projects,
block-to-block clean
ups. a shared community
garden, neighborhood
reunions and block par
ties.
Now the group is
preparing to take on an
even bigger challenge. It
is working to provide job
opportunities for the area's residents. UNITY has
networked with a host of local agencies to
acquire two houses that will be moved into the
area. A lot has been located on the comer of 26th
and Manchester streets.
The houses, which are currently located on
Polo Road, will be sold for $70,000 to $75,0(X).
The project has been on the table for nearly a
year since UNITY made arrangements to
See UNITY on AIO
Moore
Wall
A new day
Graduates complete rigorous addiction program
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Cindy Dalton and David Lanier
are older than most graduates, but
they are no less full of promise and a
bit jittery about what tomorrow may
bring.
Dalton and Lanier are the most
recent graduates of Prodigals Com
munity's rigorous 15-month sub
stance abuse program. In addition to
certificate!; of achievement, each was
jjiocnicu wiiii a
unique Bible espe
cially designed for
people coping with
addiction.
Prodigals Com
munity - a well
respected sub
stance abuse treat
ment program that
has changed the
lives of hundreds of local people -
held what it calls a "Step-Up serv
ice" Monday in the quaint, old sanc
tuary on the Prodigals' campus on
Waughtown Street. Twice a year, the
program holds Step-Up services to
honor those who have completed the
treatment program, which includes
job training, counseling. GED class
es and an employment program in
which residents of the Prodigals
Community perform lawn mainte
nance and janitonal services.
The organization uses the terftH
"Step-Up" to signify that graduates
are ready to ascend from where they
once were to a whole new world of
possibilities.
"Now they are ready to take a
step up and join their brothers and
sisters who are alumni of this pro
gram (and are) productive members
of society," said Drewry Nostitz, the
chair of the Prodigals board.
The service was emotional not
only for the graduates - who fought
back tears as they addressed the
more than 60 people who came to
celebrate their
achievements -
but also for
those currently
in the program
and those who
successfully left
the program
years ago and
credit Prodigals
for giving them a new lease on life.
A Prodigals alum who is now a
senior at Salem College welcomed
the new graduates back into the real
world. She told them the sky is the
limit and encouraged them to rely on
other alums, if they ever feel the
temptation fo'resort to their old vices.
"When I got here in 1993. you
could not have told me that I could
at a school like Salem," she said.
"I tame here with nothing, and I
havef more than I have ever had."
yMayor Allen Joines was the
?^Keynote speaker for the service. He
See Prodigals on A9
"Now they are ready to take a
step up and join their brothers
and sisters who are alumni of
this program (and are) produc
tive members of society."
- Drewry Nostitz
A Photo by Kevin Walkci
Cindy Dalton sings "Look Where He's Brought Me From" at a Step-Up serv
ice at Prodigals Community Monday. Behind her is Michael Jones.
Sorority gives educators overdue adulation
BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN
THE CHRONICLE .
Mayor Allen Joines declared
Monday as African-American Educa
tors Day in Winston Salem, and more
than 150 educators and their families
came out to celebrate on that day at
the Elks Lodge. The National Sorori
ty of Phi Delta Kappa Inc. Beta
Lambda Chapter sponsored the
Excellence in Education banquet to
recognize unsung heroes in education.
Members of the chapter have
taken the initiative to honor African
American educators as viable
resources in the local community.
Valeria Edwards served as the mis
tress of ceremonies, and the keynote
speaker was Judge Denise Hartsfield.
According to Hartsfield, we need
to go back to the basics. Hartsfield
explained that she grew up with a
hearty love for teaching as a profes
sion because she had so many family
members who were educators.
"When children were having trou
ble reading in my neighborhood, my
Aunt Shirley would say. 'Send him to
Doris (Hartsfield's mother) in the
evening. She can teach a rock to
read."'
The sorority recognized educa
tors in the following categories: Liv
ing Legends (sorors who have
retired). Excellence in Education
(active teachers) and Distinguished
Educators (retired instructors).
These people were selected as
Living Legends: Virginia Allen. Mary
Ellis, Doris Hartsfield, Frances John
son. Helen Johnson. Willie Martin.
Anne Moye, Ruth Reich. Elinor
Spearman, Daisy Staten. Dr. Golden
Wall. Beatrice Watts and Shirley
Werts.
Distinguished Educators awards
-s went to: Sandra Armstrong, Ida
Cathey. Robert Dawkins, Peyton
Hairston, Helen Johnson. Martha
See Educators on A4
Pho*o by Felecia McMillan
Several retired educators received the Distinguished Educators awards.
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