Obama from page Al state for Obama's May pri mary win. "We made Winston-Salem Obama country," said Ellison. But he told the crowd that they have a hard road ahead. He said the Republican politi cal attack machine is going after Obama hard. Ellison also acknowledged that there are many myths and about Obama designed to hurt his chances. One popular myth claims that the senator is a Muslim who was sworn into the Senate 'using a Quran. Ellison does have first hand knowledge of an African-American member being sworn into Congress with a Quran, but it wasn't Obama. "The person who got sworn in on the Quran was my brother, not Barack Obama," said Ellison, whose brother is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim in Congress. The last Democrat to win North Carolina in a presiden tial election was Jimmy Carter, who was aided by-the fact that he was governor of neighboring Georgia. Obama seems to believe that he has a shot at the state. His campaign spent $2 million in advertis ing in the state between June 3 and July 26. Ellison told the crowd it's time to turn the state "Barack Obama Blue." Obama is also eyeing other traditionally Republican prizes, such as Virginia. His Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain doesn't yet have an operation in the state, but The Associated Press reported last week that the McCain Campaign is sending a team into North Carolina. David Crawford urged the crowd to take Obama buttons and bumper stickers and put them to good use. "Wear the buttons proudly. If you don't have a bumper sticker on your car, put one on your car. Let people know it's okay to be for Barack Obama," said Crawford, a for mer candidate for Congress and a prominent area' Democratic Party official. Tawanda Treadwell is among those vowing to take an active role in the Obama campaign. She has already volunteered to pass out but Photos by Todd Luck Tawanda Treadwell is excited about Obama candidacy. Chris Johnson tons at the new Obama head quarters in downtown Winston-Salem. Friday, she signed up to work the phones and take part in voter registra tion campaigns. She says the Illinois senator's campaign theme is appealing to her. "I like what he's saying - change. It's time for a change," said Treadwell. The Obama Campaign has also brought out the enthusi asm of Chris Johnson, who travelftl to other states during the primaries to campaign for Obama. Johnson, who's regis tered as an unaffiliated voter, said that Obama has appealed to him in a way past candi dates have not. "I voted two times for Clinton, then Gore, then Kerry, but none of those can didates eyer really spoke to me. I was never really caught up in what they had to say and really inspired by them," said Johnson. "This is the first time I've sort of felt this is someone I've actually liked beyond just *... the lesser of two evils."' Photo by Layla Fanner Officials from local churches take part in the ceremony. Service from page A1 of one man in a church not so different from the place where they now sat silently. On that tragic Sunday in Knoxville, 58-year-old Jim Adkinson, an unemployed truck driver, allegedly opened fire at the church as children were performing the play, "Annie." Two church mem bers were killed; seven others were wounded, before congre gants wrestled Adkinson to the ground. According to law enforcement officials, Adkinson targeted the church because of its liberal policies and open acceptance of gay members!" The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem has the same wide-embracing policies that allegedly drove a man to hatred and then mur der. "This is a community of acceptance and tolerance and people who work together for the common good," said Carol Stuart, who joined the church more than two decades ago. "We're trying to respect other people's beliefs, but you can't respect, you can't tolerate, violence... Someone who thinks they're a Christian doesn't take out their anger with a gun." The tragedy hit home for many in the local congrega tion. "My heart just broke when I saw how many had been killed and had been hurt," declared UUF member Michael Helein. "I wish we could just go there and put our arms around those people and say, 'We understand what you're going through.'" Lopal church leaders took time out Sunday to talk with the youngsters of the congre gation and address their con cerns about the shooting, Zurek says. The children expressed a question that has been on everyone's mind since the shooting - "Are we safe?" Zurek tackled the compli cated query in her remarks Monday evening. "Are we safe? No, but not because some angry and con fused individual may cross our door," she told the group. "We are not safe because we choose not to be complacent ... because we will continue to work for social justice and peace." Strangely, the shooting has actually strengthened her resolve to work for the ideals upheld by the Fellowship, Zurek said. "It's funny because in a way I feel I have to do even more now, not only for me, but for that church too," she confessed. "As important as it was before, it's even more important now. It ... lets the world know that you can't intimidate people away from the fight for justice." Tracey Maxwell, who founded Vigils for Healing to recognize local victims of violence, helped publicize Monday's event. She said although this city and the local congregants are hun dreds of miles away, their actions and voices in response to the killings are powerful. "These public statements are extremely important in supporting and strengthening the fabric of our community," said Maxwell. "I think this was a really important gesture that needed to be done, and it was done with grace and with style and with respect." State has plan to fix deficient bridges CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The state has more than 17,000 bridges that are at least 20-feet long, and most of them are overseen by the state's Department of Transportation. in me waice 01 tne collapse of a bridge in Minnesota a year ago that killed 13 people, N.C. DOT is taking a more proactive approach in maintain ing the safety of North Carolina bridges. The department announced a compre- hh hensive bridge man agemcni program lasi week that focuses on timely maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement. It also places a greater emphasis on preserva tion activities to extend the life of bridges and help prevent cost ly future repairs. "Our bridges are safe and we are committed to keeping them that way for the ever increasing demands on the highway sys tem," Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett said. But nearly 2,500 N.C. bridges have been deemed "structurally defi-^ cient," which means the bridge is either in relatively poor con dition or has insuffi cient load-carrying capacity. Another 2,878 bridges have been labeled "func tionally obsolete" because they were Tippet t built to standards that are no longer used. NL'DU I insists that these bridges are not neces sarily structurally deficient or inherently unsafe. NCDOT will target about $20 million a year towards pre ventative maintenance activi ties, which include painting structural steel, cleaning bear ings, repairing and replacing expansion joints, applying mate rials that slow corrosion, and waterproofing and resurfacing decks and approaches. Additionally, North Carolina received about $25 million of the $1 billion the U.S. Congress provided earlier this year for bril>i Specials throughout the week include: ? 30" o discount on in-stock Activa Slot kings and FLA Orthotics ? Free Diabetic meter kit with purc hase of 5 boxes test strips ? Free medical tag with purchase of Medical ID Jewelry f Register for "Care Basket " - drawing on Friday I II I (ON z a i o I II I V I \ H