Vol.XXXVUNo.19 -WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, ^January 6, 2011
wssu
coach,
player
earn kudos
-See Page B8
Program
to push
for more
gardens
-See Page A3
Freedom
celebrated
on first
day of '11
-See Page HI
75 cents
0^%
? M i
?>> $
' %0i,y
WSTA embracing technology
Customers can soon track exact location of their hybrid bus using cell phones
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The wait is almost over for those
who use public transportation.
Winston-Salem Transit Authority
(WSTA) riders will soon be able to
track the arrival time of their bus
down to the minute through smart
phones, the WSTA Web site, and
even by using on-site computer sys
tems that will be set up at select
locations.
All of it will be made possible
when WSTA starts using the Real
Time Passenger Information System
(RTPIS), which should be fully
operational by the end of 2011.
WSTA General Manager Art Barnes
anticipates that the high-tech system
will allow riders to better plan their
activities without having to factor in
variables such as a bus that is run
ning late due to heavy traffic.
Although Barnes said that WSTA
has a 98-99 percent on-time rating,
he believes the RTPIS will enhance
Photo by Lay I a Farmer
One of the city's 20 hybrid buses docks at the Clark Campbell Center.
potential customers' overall percep
tion of the bus system and willing
ness to utilize it. ~ y.
"It'll make people a Jot mbre
comfortable in respect to catching
the bus and knowiftg that it will be
on time," he said. "I thinTr it'll have
a positive effect in terms of people
utilizing the system and depending
on it."
The idea appeals to 26 year-old
Tremaine Springs, a business admin
istration student at Forsyth
Technical Community College who
uses the buses several times a week
to get back and forth to school and
work. Springs, a city native, says he
sometimes waits as long as 30 min
utes to catch the bus. He said that
being^able to check the exact loca
tion of his bus using a computer or
cell phone could cut his wait time.
"It will help a whole lot, for the
simple fact that, with the weather
changing, you won't have to stand at
the bus stop (for long)." he related.
"It'll make me feel a lot better about
riding the bus."
WSTA is one of four Triad-area
transit systems that will adopt the
RTPIS software, which was devel
oped by NextBus Inc. The
Greensboro Transit Authority,
Piedmont Authority for Regional
See WSTA on A5
Photos by Todd Luck
Lee Tompkins holds one of his watercolor prints.
Noted artist Tompkins
relocates to Twin City
Lee Tompkins, who is also an acclaimed musician, moved to the
Twin City last year. The 47-year-old said that he was looking for a
change of pace from his native New York City.
Tompkins' road to artistic fame began in Brooklyn, where his moth
er raised him and his seven siblings. His family's modest finances did
n't stop him from pursuing his love of art. Pencils and paper were
always the first
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
America's greatest pencil art,
'W calls Winton-Salem home.
things on his
Christmas wish
list.
"That's all I
wanted was a
number two pen
cil and a blank
sheet of paper,"
said Tompkins. "I
didn't want a
bicycle. 1 knew
we couldn't afford
it."
His mom did
buy him the art
supplies that he
needed, including
a pencil set that
Tompkins uses a keyboard generator to create his
instrumental music.
came in its own
little box. Today, he still uses that box to hold the pencils that he uses
to create black and white drawings that sell for thousands of dollars.
Tompkins is best known for his popular photorealistic black and white
work with pencils on tile board, but he has also created watercolor por
traits, still Jjfes and landscapes on paper.
Growing up in the Big Apple gave Tompkins the opportunity to
Sec Tompkins on A2
New
magnet
schools
to launch
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
When the magnet school
enrollment period opened
Jaq.. I . parents and students
in the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
School system had more
choices than ever before.
Three new schools
Kennedy [.earning Center.
Konnoak and Brunson
Elementary schools - will
offer magnet school curricu
lums beginning in the 2011
2 0 12
school
v e a r , i
Magnet
schools
are
equipped
with
unique
e ourse s
and pro
grams
designed
Morrison
to draw a wide array o ('stu
dents ffom throughout the ,,.i
coOtity. W
Kennedy, which began a
restructuring process this
school year, will offer a
Career Technical Education
(CTE) program focused on
restaurant management,
health care, construction and
design and creative enter
prises.
Konnoak will adopt a
theme of international lan
guages and technology and
offer a Mandarin Chinese
language immersion pro-,
gram, a first for the school
system at the elementary
level. Brunson will become
a science, technology, engi
neering and math (STEM)
magnet school.
Each school will use fed
See Schools on A9
Photos by Layla Farmer
City native
LaShonda Stone
(right) with her
daughter
LaQuisha, 18.
Far right:
LaQuisha poses
on Mt. Everest in
this photo at the
start of the "O"
article.
Mother, daughter featured in Oprah's magazine
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE C HRONICLE
LaShonda Stone started off 20 M .
with a bang.
Stone, a full time student at
Salem College, and her daughter,
LaQuisha Stone, a senior at Carver
High School, are prominently fea
tured in the January edition of O:
The Oprah Magazine.
The three page article by
Stephanie Pearson details the moth
er-daughter team's trip to Mt.
Everest, the world's highest moun
tain, last spring. The trip was fund
ed by Hanesbrands, Inc. which foot
ed the bill for Stone, LaQuisha and
Carver Guidance Counselor Theresa
Hamer to trek to the mountain's
base camp - at an elevation of over
17,000 feet - as part of its
Expedition Hanesbrands. LaQuisha
was chosen based on an essay stie
authored detailing her "personal
Everest," becoming a successful
music producer.
Stone, a single mother of two,
agreed to accompany her daughter
on the 21 -day excursion in remote
Nepal.
"I had to kind of prepare myself
mentally for it because neither one
of us knew what we were getting
into." she admitted, "but I was still
anxious to g<^t there."
. The team, which included
Pearson and^ii 'handful' "OT native
Sherpa guides, trekked for 13 days
through the treacherous terrain to
reach the base camp. It was not an
easy journey for Stone, who suffers
from an irregular heartbeat and a
thyroid condition that can cause
shortness of breath.
"(They had to get \ horse for me
(to ride) because I was struggling,
but I didn't care." related Stone, an
interior design major. "If one per
son couldn't make it. the whole
See Stone on A2
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