Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 17, 2014, edition 1 / Page 2
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
Photo* by Kevin Walker David K. FJomo with Selena Polson-Mappy and Christian Kolleh. VBCAA California Chapter President Sam Sondah traveled the greatest distance to attend the conference. UBCAA from page AI Officers were elected during UBCAA's three-day national convention at the Winston-Salem Urban League. The gathering - which drew a about 100 attendees, some from as far away as California - included business meet ings on Friday, July 11 and Saturday afternoon; a din ner and ball on Saturday night; and a closing BBQ on Sunday hosted by Flomo and his wife at their home. During his three-year term as president, Flomo said he wants to increase UBCAA's membership from 350 to 1,500 and build bridges between resi dents, schools and busi nesses in this country and Bong County, which, like much of Liberia, is still struggling to regain its footing after a decades long civil war ended in 2005. Tens of thousands of Liberians fled the country during the fighting; many came to the United States. Now that there is peace, Flomo said Liberians from around the world are beginning to move back. "People are going home; they are establishing businesses and helping the country to rebuild," he said. UBCAA gives Liberians who choose to remain in this country an opportunity to do their part to help their families, friends and former neigh bors. A fundraising com ponent of this year's con vention benefited two Bong County elementary schools. The goal was to raise $1,500 for books and school supplies by the con vention's end. "They continue to struggle," Christian K. Kolleh, the outgoing UBCAA national presi dent, said of students in Bong County. Kolleh, a resident of Minnesota, said that while UBCAA helps native Liberians retain their cul tural identity, what largely attracts members to the association is its mission to reach back to help. "There is a great desire of people in our communi ty and association to make an impact on our brothers and sisters back home," he said. Selena Polson-Mappy said help from Liberians living abroad is essential. Polson-Mappy is the superintendent of Bong County, charged with over seeing the day-to-day oper ations of county agencies and services. She attended the conference to give UBCAA members a first hand account of the situa tion back home. She said hundreds of new investors have imbued the county with funds, improving the business clement. Polson-Mappy said there have also been improvements in security - a service essential to war weary residents - and agri culture. But the need is still great, she said. "It's good that we see that there are people inter ested here in lending a helping hand," she said. In the past, UBCAA had a legal component to help members with U.S. citizenship issues. Kolleh said that remains a struggle for many Liberians, even those who have called the United States home for 15 to-20 years. During the height of the civil war, most Liberians were grant ed temporary residency status that had to be renewed regularly. Now that the fighting is over, Liberians who have built their lives and raised their families in this country are in a state of limbo, said Kolleh, who will officially become a U.S. citizen later this month. "It makes anybody with a desire to do some thing in the long-term have doubts," Kolleh said of those with temporary resi dency status. Flomo, a former presi dent of the Liberian Association of the Piedmont, said as presi dent, he will again make addressing residency issues a priority. He alsp wants Winston-Salem to play host to a national gathering of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA). an umbrella organization that includes UBCAA, all the other county associations and dozens of other groups. Bond from page AI bond tax increase. The New South Community Coalition, which is made up of neighbors and neighbor hood associations from throughout the South Ward, is calling on the City Council to adopt what it calls a "no frills" bond referendum that would cap the tax increase to no more than 1.5 cents by scaling back some projects. New South Community Coalition Chairman Robert Leak III said the "no frills" plan was devised after an hours-long meeting of more than 20 residents from various neighbor hoods. During the meet ing, attendees ranked bond items in terms of importance. The Coalition's proposal would cut $10 million from economic develop ment and $13 million from parks and recreation. Leak said economic development dollars should be invested with local, small businesses and companies that com mit to paying their work ers decent wages. "We need to make sure that we are bringing jobs to our city that are going to stay and be able to pay their employees enough to live above the poverty level," Leak said. The Coalition's pro posal would reduce the size of the bond (he por tion that would be voted on) from $139.2 million to $118.4.5 million. Leak said that the ref erendum should be focused on the needs of residents and not just what the City Council wants. But leaders say the bond proposal was designed to address the needs and concerns of res idents. City Manager Lee Garrity said by phone last week that council spent a lot of time hearing from residents. "They had several workshops in March and April discussing all of our capital needs. In May. we had nine public meetings where we went out to dif ferent neighborhoods in different wards to get feedback for the projects," he said. Leight said the council tried to weigh the needs of the city and residents with Itl m ? t 't A/ ? concerns about tax hikes. "There is a balancing act," said Leight, who rep resents the South Ward. "You don't want people to be over burdened to the point that they crash but people demand a certain level of service. Do we stop providing some of those services in order to keep from raising the taxes? That is just substi tuting a fee for part of what your taxes take care of." After the meeting, Montgomery, who repre sents the East Ward, said the issues raised by the coalition are valid. "I think there were some legitimate ques tions." he said. "I think what the (city) council did. and the groups that we had take a look at what we are doing, was take a holistic approach to say, 'What are our needs and how can we accom plish a portion of that with the proposed bond refer endum.'" There will be a public hearing on the proposed bond referendum on Aug. 4 at City Hall at 7 p.m. Read more about the proposed referendum at http://www.cityofws .org/d epartments/budget/2014 bonds. Garrity i ne ^nronicie tusKS uo/-yiU) was established by brnest H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. Annual subscription price is $30.72. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636 Dancing in the Streets Photo by Kevin Walker The Latin rhythms of West End Mambo attracted a large crowd to Saturday's Summer on Trade concert. The band, comprised of musicians from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, played a lively set that includ ed classic salsa, bolero and guaracha numbers. Outdoor summer concerts are held every other Friday from 6-9 p.m. in Corpening Plaza and each Saturday at Trade and 6th streets from 7-10 p.m. V the M Mi K* YOUTH OfVClOPMENT R3HHULTHVLIVM6 ?* soaAi?spotemjrt DONATE ANEW BACKPACK AND JOIN THE Y FOR $1 UNTIL AUGUST 15 , Winston laka Fatuity YMCA J36- 724-920S www.winstontafcoyiKi.org Financial Assistanco Available. [eat local, eat healthyI I ^^18^ Forsyth County w / h jKirjiruni of f*uMk Healrti ^romiiemSlo Promoting Health, Improving l ives V c N?#* Cwro*?w Made possible with funding from the North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 17, 2014, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75