Smart Start team asks lawmakers for more financial help
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
A local delegation representing
child advocates, child care profession
als, parents and business leaders trav
eled to the North Carolina General
Assembly earlier this month as part of
Smart Start's "Tuesdays for Tots" ini
tiative. The constituents met with
Forsyth County legislators to discuss
important issues facing young children
and working families.
"Smart Start of Forsyth County is
committed to making sure all of our
children start school healthy and ready
to succeed," said Chuck Kraft, execu
tive director of Smart Start of Forsyth
County and a member of Tuesday del
egation. "However, the challenges fac
ing working families in our area are
expanding and. as a result, our partner
ship is being asked to do much more
with much les? Today's meeting was
an important step in helping our local
legislative leaders better understand
the needs of young children and work
ing families throughout our fcommoni*
ty"
"Tuesdays for Tots" is Smart Start's
signature advocacy effort that takes
Smart Start Photo
Sen. Pete Brunstetter (from left), with Smart Start'skaratha Scott, Natasha
Gore and Chuck Kraft.
place every year during the legislative
session. On Tuesdays, local Smart
Start partnerships come to Raleigh for
one-on-one meetings with legislators
to educate lawmakers on Smart Start
successes and discuss challenges fac
ing young children and their families.
The local Smart Start team meets with
Rep Earline Parmon and Sens. Pete
Brunstetter and Linda Gan-ou.
Smart Start is North Carolina's
nationally recognized and award-win
ning early childhood initiative
designed to ensure that young children
enter school healthy and ready to suc
ceed. Smart Start is a public-private
initiative that provides early education
funding to all of the state's 100 coun
ties. Smart Start funds are adminis
tered at the local level through 78 local
nonprofit organizations 1 called Local
Partnerships. The North Carolina
Partnership for Children, Inc., (NCPC)
is the statewide nonprofit organization
that provides oversight and technical
assistance for local partnerships.
Funding for Smart Start is currently
$203.6 million in state funds. But the
agency has experienced $25.7 million
in budgetary cuts over the past eight
years. As a result, the NCPC and local
Smart Start Partnerships across North
Carolina are asking the N.C. General
Assembly for a $44.7 million increase
in funding during the current 2008 leg
islative session to address critical
issues facing children from birth to
five years olds and their families.
N.C. Highway
Patrol gets
new leadership
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Gov. Mike Easley Tuesday
appointed Walter J. Wilson,
Jr. as the next Colonel of the
North Carolina State Highway
Patrol (NCSHP). In addition,
Easlev appointed
Jamie J. Hatcher as
Lt. Colonel. Wilson
replaces Colonel
Fletcher Clay, who
is retiring June 30.
Hatcher replaces Lt.
Colonel Cecil
Lockley who retired
earlier this month.
Both Wilson and
Hatcher, who are
VU1 1 Villi j avi > ntg uo
majors in the Patrol, will
assume their new roles July 1.
"These men have
demonstrated excep
tional leadership
throughout their
careers in the
Patrol," said Easley.
"I am confident the
team of Wilson and
Hatcher, along with
the majors witho
whom they work,
will provide strong
and steady guidance
to the 1,800 officers in the
Patrol who risk their lives to
protect all of us each time
they put on their uniforms."
Wilson, a Tarboro native,
has served on the Patrol since
1980 ? hen he was first
assigned 'o Troop C in Wake
G aaaty He ? a* promoted to
hue tCTgsant to 1989, first
terjsanr .n IWl. lieutenant in
I W ~apram m 2f/)2 and
major in 2T/r,a. Wiitac ?amed
his Bachelor's degree in
Criminal Justice from
Campbell University and is a
graduate of the Southern
Police Institute in Louisville
and the FBI National
Academy0 in Quantico.
Wilsnn is a mem
ber of the
Memorial Baptist
Church in
Greenville and the
Southern Police
Institute
Association.
Hatcher, a
Duplin County
native, joined the*
Patrol in 1982 and
w as nisi asai^ncu
to Troop A in Bertie County.
He was promoted to lige ser
geant in^99f, first
sergeantj in il995,
lieutenam in^l999.
captain il 20C?tM?
major In 12005.
Hatcher ts a gradu
ate of the FBI
National Academy
in Quantico and the
Administc ative
Officers'
Management
Prnoram at N T
State University. He is a
member of Highland Baptist
Church in Garner and the
North Carolina and National
Internal Affairs Investigators
Associations.
Both men are also mem
bers of the N.C. Police
Executives Association, the
FBI National Academy
Association and International
Association of Chiefs of
Police:
Wilson
Hatcher
Safe HaTen
>i?c AT
clally the fiwt one "
The partnership grsw oot
of a federa ( Weed aitd- Seed
pant rhat the CCS received in
2007
"We re glad to have an
opportunity to thow a positive
outcome of thar funding."
Atkinson wid of Weed and
Seed dollar*. ?hich have been
cut by Con gres* recently "It's
a great, great day when you
know of a need in the commu
nity and yoti can get the part
ners to come together and
have a tangible outcome."
A* the name suggests,
Weed and Seed programs seek
to "weed" out problems thai
plague communities and plant
"seeds" of change, through
programming labored for
each specific location.
"My hope is that it really
becomes owned by the com
munity, that they take pride in
it and own the resource and
really begin shaping it for
what they need it to be," said
Atkinson. "We want it to be
an asset that the whole com
munity comes to treasure and
support."
Safe Havens deter crime
and foster positive activity in
high crime neighborhoods
through programs and men
tormg activities designed for a
broad range of age groups.
The Safe Haven at the Austin
Center will employ volunteers
and staff members from sev
eral community organizations
represented in the partnership.
Howard Venable. a long
rime advocate for at-risk
youth and head of his own
nonprofit. Silver Lining Youth
Services, has signed on as
project manager for the Sarah
Austin Safe Haven He will
help Rolling Hills residents
gain access to services in the
community that may improve
their quality of life.
"A lot of the children that
interact in the Rolling Hills
community ... suffer from the
same psycho-social issues ...
It's challenging; it's ever
changing, but it's a great priv
ilege," Venable said of the
work.
Rolling Hills resident
Alicia Malone, lead associate
for the project, moved into the
community two months ago
with her three teenage sons.
Malone's youngest son,
iayni Glenn, II, will accom
pany her on her daily visits to
the Safe Haven.
"When I heard about the
program^ I was very excited,"
she said. "I hope that we
rebuild the community to be a
safer place."
h
Forbes
Magazine
ranks WFU
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Wake Forest University is
ranked 19th among national
universities in a recent higher
education ranking developed
by the Center for College
Affordability and Productivity
(CCAP).
The
rankings
were
pub
lished
last
month in
Forbes
maga
zine and
appear
on the
publication's Web site at
Forbes.com.
According to Richard
Vedder, the director of the
nonprofit research center in
Washington, D.C., the new
CCAP ranking evaluates col
leges on results by measuring
student satisfaction and suc
cess after graduation.
Factors considered in the
new rankings include gradua
tion rates, student satisfaction
with courses and professors,
and the percentage of students
winning Rhodes and Fulbright
scholarships.
"It is likely this type of
ranking" will become increas
ingly important, and we
expect to continue to do very
well precisely because of the
kind of personal attention and
rigorous curriculum we
offer," said Wake Forest
University Provost Jill
Tiefenthaler. (
O
Tiefenthaler
i
Homes, Sweet Homes
Submitted Photo
Phyllis Caldwell, direc
tor of the Center for
Homeownership at
Consumer Credit
Counseling Service of
Forsyth County, accepts
& proclamation from
Mayor Allen Joines last
week that acknowledges
the significance of June
as National
Homeownership Month,
joines was among those
who attended a
Celebration of
Homeownership Friday
in the^Ridgewood Place
Development.
Anesthesiology
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiology
Dermatology
Emergency Medicine
Endocrinology
Family Medicine
Gastroenterology
General Surgery
Geriatrics
Hematology/Oncology
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine
Nephrology
NEUROIOGY
Neurosurgery
Obstetrics and Gynecology j
Ophthalmology
Orthopaedics
Plastic Surgery
JkL " TROUBLE SLEEPING?
WE CAN HELP.
IF YOU ARE LIKE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS, getting a good
night's sleep just isn't that easy. But the specialists at the Sleep
Disorders Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
will work with you and your primary physician to quickly diagnose
O
and treat you.
Our center is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine and has a multi-disciplinary staff of experts in neurology,
otolaryngology, psychiatry, pulmonary, pediatrics - even
orthodontics. And we treat everyone, from newborns to senior
citizens and everyone in-between.
So if you suffer from insomnia. ..narcolepsy. ..sleep apnea. ..snoring...
restless leg syndrome. ..sleepwalking. ..nightmares.. .or even if you
have not yet been diagnosed. ..call us, because you deserve a good
night's rest.
For more information or to schedule an appointment,
'call 336-716-5288 or visit wfubmc.edu/sleep.
KNOWLEDGE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Standing: Dr. Karl Karlson, Pediatric
Pulmonology; Dr. John May, Otolaryngology ;
Dr. William Ml, Neurology.
Sitting: Dr. Sandhya Kumar, Neurology:
Dr. Vaughn McCall, Psychiatry.
Not Shown: Dr. John Conforti, Pulmonary;
Dr. Maria Sam, Neurology; Dr. Cesar Santos,
Pediatric Neurology; Dr. Sara Shoaf, Dentistry.
Brenner Children's Hospital
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest University Baptist
I?
M I I) I ( A I C P. N T I K
Wakr Fornt University Physicians