Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 22, 2009, edition 1 / Page 11
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Film to be screened explores homosexuality, religion CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT A screening of the film. "For the Bible Tells Me So," is slated for Wednesday, January 28, at 6 p.m. at the Dillard Auditorium in the Anderson Conference Center on the campus of Winston-Salem State University. * The 2007 documentary by Daniel G. Karslake explores homosexuality and its perceived conflict with religion, as well as various interpretations of what the Bible says about same sex sexuality. It also includes lengthy interview segments with several sets of religious parents - incJud ing former House Majority Leader Dick E vtrsley Gephardt and his wife, Jane; and the parents of Bishop V. Gene Robinson - regarding their homosexual chil dren. and also inter views with those (adult) children. The film pre miered that the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion, featuring Dr Cednc Rodney. James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religion and Ethics at WSSU; Rev. Carlton A. G. Eversley, pas tor of Dellabrook Presbyterian Church; Rev. Roger E Hayes, pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship; and with special guests B rendu and David Poteat. both of whom appear in the documentary. The event is sponsored by the Gay Straight Student Alliance, the newly formed organization on the campus of Winston-Salem State that boasts more than 100 members. Chamber from page A1 Joines at the Chamber offices. "We've been doing a big push,., on buy local' and we also want people to hire locally," said Ashley Darr, the Chamber's member services manager. The new site does what the old one did, only better, according to Darr. It < still has familiar features - a member directory that's updated daily; informa tion for visitors to the city; and updates on the many events held by the Chamber. Job postings have also been a fixture on the site since 2001. It has hosted more than 7.500 jobs ads over the past eight years. The new site makes the process eas ier for employers and job hunters. Dan fields questions from users who are hav ing difficulty with the site. She says she doesn't get them as often now as she once did. "It's... down quite a bit from the old site," said Darr. "This one is much easi er to use." Employers who are members with the Chamber simply register, log on and post their own job ads. The site gives the employer many options foT posting jobs and receiving applications. Employers can accept resumes directly through the JobNet site or they can direct applicants to their own Web sites. The employer can even include ques tionnaires to help determine if a poten tial applicant is right for the job. "It they're looking for specific things, it just helps them to narrow it down," said Darr. Job seekers can register and post their resumes. The site will let them for search jobs while potential employers search for them. There hasn't been a big push to inform job hunters about the site, but many have found it and are already using it to find local employ ment. "People are looking for jobs, they're I Photo by Todd Luck The Chamber of Commerce's Ashley Darr makes updates to the new jobs Web site earlier this week. ' ?' eager to do what they can," said Darr. "It's been one month since the site's relaunch and, as of Tuesday, there were 36 job listings. 22 active employers, and 65 resumes posted. Openings in every field, from healthcare to accounting, can be found there. Forsyth Technical Community College. TVG Staffing and Hospice Palliative Care Center are among the employers that have already begun tak ing advantage of the new site. Thomas Moore of Hospice said his organization has posted several health care positions on the site. .Hospice has 330 employees who care for more than 400 patients. Moore said they are con stantly hiring. Hospice plaecs job ads in several places, including newspaper classifieds and online listings on Monster.com. He said he's been very impressed with the ease and speed of putting up or taking down an ad on the Chamber's site. Not being restricted on how much information he can include in the' ad is also a plus, he added. In the rare, instance he does need assistance on the she. Moore says the response he gets to his inquiries is very prompt. Moore said he would definitely rec ommend JobNet to other Chamber members, "It's a great way to let people in the community know that there are jobs here in Winston-Salem." said Moore. The potential for growth for the site is great, since the Chamber's member roster boasts nearly 2,000 businesses and grows daily. The Chamber's new site can he found at www.winstonsalem.com. To go directly to the Triad JobNet section, go to jobs .winstonsalem .com. New strategy to better community and police relations CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The Winston-Salem Police Department is hoping that a new method of patrolling will reduce crime in the city and make residents safer. Under the new plan, which was unveiled by Police Chief Scott Cunningham on Jan. 5, officers will step up patrols in three geographic districts, each with two zones and four beats. Although no additional officers are required to imple ment the new plan, the new strategy will mean that there will be more officers on the street around the clock, according to Cunningham. The officers will keep the same zone/beat for a year, which the department believes will allow them to become bet ter acquainted with the area and the resi dents and businesses in it. "With five shifts (under the old plan), two or three officers were in the same beat and there was little direction as to how to patrol it and who was ultimately responsi ble," said the Chief. "Under the new plan, one officer will be responsible complete ly for that smaller beat during their shift. "We'll expect File Phot.' Chief Scott Cunningham implement ed the new model on Jan. 5. them to build relationships w{th the citizens, to find out what the problems are and to reduce crime and solve problems. This will create accountability and ownership on the part of the police officer, and allow citizens to know who their offi cer is." ?" v i Vv Cunningham, who was hired last summer, has made it a priority to build better relations between the Police Department and the residents it serves. Although crime reduction is a key thrust of the new strategy, community relations is also a major consideration. "1 also think we'll see a better level of trust and interac tion between police officers and citizens," Cunningham said. "With the ability to have the same officer there over and over, those officers will get to know the citizens and the cit izens will get to know the officers, so they'll be able to iden tify some of the problems and solve some of the problems that maybe we didn't hear about before because the officers were moving through there so fast." FREEDOM OF CHOICE FOR GROWN FOLKS Who Should Make Our Choices? Recently, some self-appointed activists have proposed a legislative ban on menthol ciga rettes in a misguided effort to force people to quit smoking by limiting their choices. So far, wiser heads have prevailed and : tne Dan on mentnoi nas noi passed. It could come up again. It shouldn't. When government "reforms" intrude into our lives to the point of restricting freedom of individual choices on what we __ can enjoy, our basic concept of liberty is threatened. How Should Our Choices Be Made? In the American tradition, laws restricting freedom of choice must be based on sound reasoning, rational public policy and verifi able data while allowing for a minimum of governmental intrusion. Menthol js a matter of taste and preference. The body of scientific evidence does not support the conclusion "Informed grown ups who decide to smoke should have the freedom to choose menthol cigarettes" that menthol cigarettes increase the known * risks from smoking. The effort to ban menthol is just another in a long series of attempts by the politically correct crowd to force Americans to give up their freedom to choose to smoke a cigarette. Shouldn't People Keep Fighting For The Freedom Of Choice? The history of African Americans in this country has been one of fighting against paternalistic limitations and for freedoms. We all agree that children should not smoke, but grown-ups who can and should assess the risks of smoking should have the freedom to choose whether to smoke or not. If they choose to smoke, they should have the freedom to choose to smoke regular or menthol cigarettes. Please visit www.mentholchoice.com and learn more about how you can help prevent this ban on menthol from being considered.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 22, 2009, edition 1
11
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75