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75 forsyth'ckty pub lib nston-Salem ? Greensboro ? High Poin Vol.XXIX No. 38
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Ml WINSTON SALSU NC 27I0I-H3? ??????
West Point state of mind
Photo hy Kevin Walker
Maj. John Gregory III stands near picture of
one of his role models, O.H. Leak.
Respected
officer
headed to
Rock Hill
John Gregory will become city's
first African-American police chief
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
HIGH POINT - Maj. John Gregory III is
about to leave behind the city in which he was bom
and raised and the only job he has ever known. But
with an office filled with partially stuffed cardboard
boxes and phone calls every minute from well
wishers and old friends, Gregory has had little time
to contemplate what he is giving up in order make
history 150 miles away.
"I am too busy right now to realize the impact.
This police department is the only job and only
career that I have ever had," Gregory said Monday
from his office at the High Point Police Depart
ment.
Last week Rock Hill. S.C., a burgeoning city
just outside of Charlotte, named Gregory its new
chief of police, ending a months-long intense
search process. Gregory, who spent 30 years in the
High Point departmenL will be the city's first
African-American chief.
"Each candidate brought strengths, and I just
felt that John Gregory was the best fit," Rock Hill
City Manager Carey Smith said in a statement. "We
are bringing to Rock Hill a superb professional
whose proven leadership skills and human qualities
will propel our policing services into a new era."
Gregory, a 48-year-old with a youthful face and
down-home disposition, feels he was destined to
end up in Rock Hill. He was offered the chief's
position in a small Texas town when he found out
he was one of the three finalists in Rock Hill. He
held off on the Texas job and put all of his energy,
into securing the Roclt Hill position.
"(Rock Hill) is a good place to live." Gregory
said. "It fit all that I said I wanted."
Sec Gregory on A4
Pholo by Bruce Chapman
Alberto Marquex has excelled in the JROTC program at Carver High School.
Student receives appointment
to prestigious military school
BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN
COMMI \ 11 Y CORRESPONDENT
Carver High School senior Alberto Marquez
is a native of Mexico, but his love for JROTC has
fueled his desire to serve in the armed forces of
the United States. For Marquez, his native coun
try and his country of residence offer no conflict
of interest.
"I look at it as I am a citizen of the United
States. My father has been a citizen for a long
time. You grow to love the place you live in,"
Marquez said. "I have great respect for the Unit
ed States although I am a native of Mexico. I find
no contradiction in serving my country. I have a
true love of this country."
Marquez's love of country has opened a door
for a free college education at the U.S. Military
Academy in West Point. N Y. For Marquez to be
accepted into West Point, he had to be a U.S. cit
izen. West Point adheres to its motto "Duty.
Honor. Country" by preparing young men and
women to serve their country.
"The nation's conflict with Iraq has had no
impact on my decision to serve my country. I am
still determined to join the U.S. Army." Marquez
said.
His motherCMaria Cook, is a legal resident of
the United Stares, having moved from Mexico in
1995. However, she is "100 percent Mexican."
she said. "My son is an American and his father
See Marquez on A10
ooard not
done with
talks over
VIP plan
Program spurs communication
between teachers and parents
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
The two African-American members of
the city-county School Board said the bene
fits the school system's VIP (Victory in Part
nership) program pro
vide are worth the
extra efforts that teach
ers have to give.
The School Board
voted Tuesday to once
again discuss the fate
of VIP. The vote came
after a recent vote
when the board decid
ed to limit the scope of
VIP. a program that
keeps parents and
teachers in contact
through a series ot reports that teachers are
required to complete about student's*
progress.
Some members of the board say that it
has becdme too time consuming for already
taxed teachers to complete the reports, and
those board members favor letting individ
ual schools come up
wi|h their own ideas
for building a iine of
communication
between teachers and
parents. But board
member Geneva Brown
fears that if the School
Board leaves that up to
individual schools,
some parents will be
kept out of the loop.
"Some schools will
uo u anu some won i.
she said. "I think (VIP) is critical. This is a
program that works."
School Board metnber Victor Johnson
said the board has had a lot of complaints
from teachers frustrated over the regular
progress reports. But he said if VIP dies,
minority kids will feel the effects. Johnson
said that he would favor a move to keep the
program at only schools with high African
American populations, if it comes to that.
"Getting parents involved in the kids'
education is key," he said.
Johnson and Brown^went to bat to save
VIP more than a year ago when the School
Board also was considering doing away with
the program. The School Board will further
discuss the VIP program at a meeting next
month.
-i
Johnson
Brown
Teens called cure for blacks' problems
YMCA graduates another
crop of black achievers
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
III! CHRONIC! I
John Foxworth and his teenage
daughter Chanel were both honored last
week at the Winston Lake Family
YMCA's Black Achievers in Business
and Industry Awards Gala at the Benton
Convention Center.
John Foxworth. a manager in the
tax system and depreciation department
at R.J. Reynolds, was one of 41 black
professionals honored for the commit
ments they have made to serve as rol&
models to high school students for the
next year.
Chanel Foxworth and 24 other teens
received awards for taking part in Black
Achievers over the past year. This fall
she will attend Winston-Salem State
University, where she plans to study for
a year before transferring to Johnson &
Wales to study fashion merchandising.
Chanel Foxworth said the Achiev
ers program, which matches adults and
teens for mentoring purposes, opened
up doors of opportunity and helped
improve her communications skills.
She thinks her father will he a perfect fit
for the program.
"I think he will do a great job."' she
said as her father, standing by her side,
grinned.
John Foxworth is no stranger to
Black Achievers, which began at the
Sec Achievers on A9
PhtXo by Kcxin Walker
Shonnette Gardner uses a program to help get teen achievers Brandon
Davis and DeVonn Crumpton, right, in order for the procesiion.
Deacons with degrees
New York City mayor gives grads send-off message
BY COURTNEY GAILI.ARD
. THE CHRONICLE ? ' ?'
Derrick Thompson and
Melissa Hubbed were among the
more than 60 African-American
students who graduated from
Wake Forest University Monday.
Thompson, a Lumberton
native, said his overall experience
at Wake was worthwhile and
challenging. Having come from a
high sch(x>l that was predomi
nantly African- and Native-Amer
ican, Thompson, who received a
bachelor of science degree in
information systems, said that
' during his freshman year at Wake
he experienced a slight culture
shock with a le>s than 10 percent
minority student population.
"I think Wake has prepared
me for a lot of challenges. Some
people are averse to change. I
think the biggest thing that Wake
has done is just allow me to adjust
to changes and prepare myself for
See Wake on A4
Ph?Mo courtesy of Wake forest Pntvcrsity
Derrick Thompson prepares to walk across
the podium to receive his degree.