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Vol. XXXV No. 28 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? TH I RSI) AY, March 12,2009
Coach of
Lady
Aggies
honored
?See Potfe ft.S
March 9 - t*
Welcome MEAC Fans
Students 75cen,s
prepare *
,\eb mi,t
? O / ?
to fWth Carolina
1 1 , P' oi^ library
the ^^' 660 West Fiftn Street
? Winston-Salem, NC 27101
High hopes
for hoops
tournament
City puts best foot forward
for MEAC
BY LAY I.A FARMER
rHE CHRONICLE
The MEAC Basketball Tournament has landed in Winston
Salem and local leaders have rolled out the red carpet.
The city and local business community lobbied hard last
year to catch the eye of MEAC officials who were in search of
Photo hv I jyla Farmer
Morgan State's Todd Bozeman accepts
Coach of the Year honors from ESPN's Jay
Harris, right, on Monday night.
a new heme lor
the tournament.
W i h s t p n -
Salem hosted
the ME AC
once before, in
the. early 1980s,
and the CIAA
Tournament for
several years in
the 1990s. Both
.tourneys aban
doned Winston
for larger cities
with larger are
nas .
M a y o r
Allen Joints
said Monday
during the
MEAC Kickoff
Banquet that
the return of
the tournament
could not have
come at a better
time.
"It fits very
well with what
we're trying to
do with otir
economy," he
s a i d
" T r a v e 1 i n g
tourism is a
key part of how we're trying to keep our economy strong.
Thousands are expected to be in town this week for the
tourney, which not only includes games at Joel Coliseum, but
also a plethora of social events. MEAC events actually began
on Sunday with a Community Day at Hanes Hosiery
Community Center that was attended by more than 6(H) peo
ple.
"It was a great turnout; we had a good time," Center
Director Art Blevins said of the event, which included MEAC
officials, games and lots of giveaways.
Last month, the MEAC announced its READ with MEac
initiative, a challenge to local school kids to read more books.
Hall-Woodward Elementary, the school that won the competi
tion, was rewarded on Monday with a visit from players from
MEAC men's and women's basketball teams. The community
projects MEAC supports are every bit as important as the ath
letic competition it fosters, said MEAC Commissioner Dr.
Sec MEAC on A7
I KFRNfRSl/ILLE FAMILY YM.CA
_ r? i ,, ? ? ? i ? , ' DM6hfl,iykfanM
l)r. Ruby Strickland prepares to walk into the Kernersville YMCA.
Creating tech-sawy seniors
has become volunteer's mission
BY LAYLA FARMER
TW-uutONCi i:
Senior citizens are being brought into
the 21st century through a free technology
skills program ottered at the Kernersville
Family YMCA.
Backed by an Accelerator grant from
AT&T, Y Wired is an eight-week course
designed to promote computer literacy
among those 50 and older. Classes meet
weekly at the Y on West Mountain Street,
and cover the basics of everything from e
mailing to creating word processing docu
ments and even surfing the -Internet.
Ruby Strickland, Ph.D. is the lead vol
unteer for the program. A retired a'dminis
Y Wired is open to local
residents 50 and older
trator from the Prince William County
School system in Northern Virginia,
Strickland has taught Y Wired for more
than two years and estimates she has led
more than 40 groups of students to date.
"I enjoy people. I think that's why I
stayed in some phase of teaching for so
long," said the Livingstone College alum
na who joined the Y three years ago and
has since volunteered in several capacities
since.
"I like to help I'm always w-illing to
help somebody else I'm grateful for what
1 have, and I'm grateful that somebody
gave me a push in the right direction.
That's what you do in gratitude - you pass
it on."
Though it is a program of the
Kernersviile YMCA. a Y membership is
not required to participate in Y Wired.
Strickland has even led classes away
from the Y facility, including some at
Kernersviile 's Robinwood Senior Living
Center.
Strickland's students say the instruc
tion has been beneficial. Ken Swift is cur
rently enrolled in a class. A retired process
See Y Wired on A 7
Liberians fighting once again for citizenship
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
f or most people here in
Winston-Salem, and across the
nation.,. March 31 is likely to be
an unremarkable day.
However, for Liberian nation
als under Temporary
Protection Status (TPS) from
the U.S. government, it is a
date that looms over them,
casting a dark shadow over
their lives.
Temporary Protection
Status is extended to immi
grants who flee to America in
I ? . *
James H under
order to escape civil unrest,
environmental disasters or
other designated dangerous
conditions in their native
lands.
Thousands of Liberians
who call the United States
horn? came here in the 1980s
and 1990s to escape a blood
civil unrest in the West African"
nation.
John Crawford is one such
person. Crawford, who served
as a pastor in his native coun
try, set his sights on America
two years ago, believing the
Land of Opportunity indeed
had something valuable to
offer him. Today, he is among
the unfortunate lot of
Liberians and other foreign
bom U.S. residents who will
face deportation at the end of
this month, unless the federal
government grants them
extensions on their TPS status.
"I don't really know what
we would do," said Crawford,
who supports his wife and
seven children back home "I
have no hope anyway; I just
have my faith in God."
See Liberians on AH
Stoves reignited at popular cooking school
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The famed Chef Don
'McMillan is ready once again to
teach local folks how to prepare
culinary delights.
McMillan has reopened The
Stocked Pot, which taught popu
lar cooking classes for more than
two decades beginning in the
1970s. He closed the business in
1998 to focus on other ventures.
It reopened last December, and
just in time. McMillan believes.
"People, when they're on a
budget, had rather be at home
more than eating out at restau
rants." he said. "Now we find
most people want to eat their
meals at home and they can
come to the cooking school and
learn how to cook good meals."
The Stocked Pot offers class
Photo hy TtxJd Luck
Chefs Don and Andrew McMillan work in the classroom kitchen
at The Stocked Pot earlier this week.
es mostly on weeknijihts and
Saturdays. McMillan and his
son. Chef Andrew McMillan,
each teach classes on everything
from general cooking techniques
to how to prepare specific itishes.
Classes cost between $22 and
$85. Some involve simply
watching the chef prepare the
meal, while others are hands-on
experiences. No previous cook
ing experience is required. There
are even classes for children.
"Our lust sell-out class wm
how to use a knife ... something
as basic as how to hold a knife
and how to use it." said Don
McMillan
Technology has advanced
greatly since rhe The Stocked Pot
was last open. Students can now
view' and sign-up for classes
online, and ask the chefs follow
up questions via e-mail The tra
ditional ceiling mirrors that once
gave students an overhead view
-of food preparation have been
replaced by ceiling-mounted
cameras and a large-screen tele
Sec McMillans on A4
Guard Unguarded
Photo by Todd I tick
Jim Albright, a former guard at Alcalraz,
holds one of the cell keys from the infamous
prison. Read more about him on page A3.
I DON'T
PASS
THE BUCK
BUY LOCAL
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