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Vol. XXXVII No. 35 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, April 28,2011
Rams
claim
three
CIAA titles
-See Page B8
Summit
focuses on
housing
concerns
-See Page A2
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Critics: Brown bowed out too late
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Geneva Brown is being criticized by for
mer election rivals who are dismayed by her
decision to resign from the School Board five
months after she won another term.
Brown, who has fought lung cancer, said
she stepped down from the School Board last
week because of declining health.
"I think it's unfortunate that since this
information (about her health) was known
prior to her candidacy that she went ahead and
put her name in there," commented Chenita
Barber Johnson, who came in fourth place in
the District 1 race, behind Brown, incumbent
Vic Johnson and challenger Jimmie Bonham.
"There were a lot of viable, qualified candi
Bonham
I .
Barber Johnson
Johnson
dates for District 1
Prior to her re-election bid in November
2010, the 81-year-old Brown had been criti- .
cized for missing too many School Board
meetings dkie to her health. Many believed she
would not seek a fifth term last fall. The two
seats in District 1 were hotly contested, but in
the end. Brown and fellow incumbent Vic
Johnson came out on top and returned to the
Board.
State statutes mandate that Brown's
replacement will be chosen by members of the
School Board and must live, in District 1.
State Reps. Larry Womble and Earline
Parmon recently introduced a bill that would
award the vacated seat to the closest competi
tor in the primary race, but the bill has not yet
made it to the House floor.
Although she believes she is just as quali
fied. Barber Johnson said Bonham, who trailed
Brown by less than 100 votes in the primary,
should be the Board's first choice for Brown's
replacement. She frowned on the idea that the
Board could select at will a person who may
not have even run for the seat.
"I just think that representation is impor
See Brown on All
Photos by Layla Farmer
Wesley Curtis addresses the group.
Smooth
population
growth aim
of Legacy
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE _ '
Forsyth County is expected to acquire
120.000 new residents over the course of
the next two decades, bringing its total
population to nearly half a million.
While the influx will likely create
jobs, boost the economy and create an
even more racially diverse populace.
Suees
without the proper
planning, that kind
of growth could
negatively affect the
quality of life for
everyone concerned
as traffic congestion
and other problems
will likely worsen,
city-county planners
say.
Luckily, they are
already hard at work mapping out the
future of the Winston-Salem / Forsyth
County area. On Tuesday. City-County
Planning staff members began soliciting
the support and input of local residents in
creating a comprehensive plan for growth
and development in the area, during two
Legacy 2030 Update Kick-off events at
the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts.
']?ach success moves us one step clos
er to our community vision." said Wesley
Curtis Jr.. vice chair of the City-County
Planning Board. "...How we grow will
determine our quality of life and the
degree to which we can sustain our eco
See Legacy on A12
Photos by LayU Fanner
Brittini Foster dreams of becoming a N1CU nurse someday.
Year of triumphing over grief earns
Foster 'Student of the Year' honor
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
At age 15, Brittini Foster has overcome
challenges far beyond her years.
The East Forsyth High School sophomore
experienced motherhood before she was old
enough to drive. Then, less than five months
later, she weathered the heartbreak of losing
her newborn son, Izayah, who was born pre
mature.
When she became pregnant at the age of
14, Brittini, the youngest of four children,
said she was too afraid to tell her parents, so
Watson
she navigated through much of the pregnancy
without the guidance of an
adult. Last spring, the
teen developed preeclamp
sia - a condition where an
expectant mother develops
severe hypertension - and
on March 13, 2010,
Izayah was born, weighing
only a pound. In the
months that ensued,
Brittini's life became a
balancing act as she struggled to keep up with
her home school curriculum, while nursing
and nurturing her tiny son as much as possi
ble.
"I experienced running to the hospital
everyday in the mornings and afternoons," she
related. "I was just there all the time, chang
ing his diaper and breast feeding him."
It was a difficult time for the whole fami
ly, said Brittini's mother. Sandra Moxley.
"We've held it together," said Moxley, a
Wilkesboro native. "We've had our ups and
downs."
Through homeschooling, Brittini was able
See Foster on AIO
True MVP
Photo hy Todd Luck
Wake Forest University Baseball Coach Tom Walter poses with
his son, Chase, at BB&T Ballpark, where he was honored at a
luncheon last week. Read more on A3.
Opportunities knock for Dickenson
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Ramon Dickenson is one of
10 finalists in a national contest
that will land the winner a part on
a STARZ network series.
Last month, Dickenson, the
former assistant fitness program
coordinator at Winston-Salem
State University, received word
that a video he submitted of him
self performing gravity-defying
stunts and exercises had been
selected as one of the 10 best in
nutrition products giant Met-Rx's
nationwide Warrior Workout
video contest.
"I was actually really blown
away when they called me," said'
the 24 year-old St. Ann's Bay,
Sec Dickenson on A 12
File Photo
Ramon Dickenson is getting national attention.
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