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Volume41,Number22 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, February 5, 2015
Photos by Todd Luck
Rev. Dr. Paul Lowe Jr. walks to the podium after his victory at Kennedy High School last Thursday.
Lowe Succeeds Parmon
Local pastor is now a state senator
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Last Thursday night, a preacher
became a politician as Rev. Dr. Paul
Lowe Jr. was elected by the Forsyth
County Democratic Party to replace
N.C. Senator Earline Parmon.
Lowe was sworn in Sunday at
Shiloh Baptist Church, where he has
been pastor for more than two
decades. He now represents the 32nd
District, which Parmon represented
since 2013. Parmon, who was state
representative for the 72nd district for
10 years before her election to the^
senate, resigned her seat last tnoiprto
take a job working for newly-elected
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC).
Local Democrats held the election
to pick Parmon's successor on
Thursday, Jan. 29 in the gymnasium
of Kennedy High School. Parmon
was in attendance as Forsyth DNC
Chair Susan Campbell presided over
the vote.
"We know she's irreplaceable,
and whoever we elect tonight will
have some very big shoes to fill,"
Campbell said of Parmon. "She'll
always be our senator."
Though a number of people had
expressed possible interest in the
position, only two were nominated.
Joycelyn Johnson, who represented
the East Ward on the City Council
from 1993 to 2009 before losing a re
election bid to cunent City Council
Member Derwin Montgomery, was
also in the running. She was nominat-'
ed by Beverly McFadden; City
Council Member Molly Leight sec
onded her nomination.
Johnson handed out fliers touting
her experience and ideas. She said if
elected, she would work with local
officials to better the community.
"I ask for you to stay focused, stay
focused on who will bring to you
strength, wisdom, work in this com
munity," said Johnson.
Lowe was nominated by
Constance Bradley and seconded by
City Council Member Dan Besse.
"I am supporting Paul today
because he will bring to this difficult
task an especially strong and clear
voice speaking for the needs for the
people of Forsyth County and our
state," said Besse.
Before the vote, Lowe spoke, talk
ing about how both he and his mother
were able to go to college because of
the Basic Education Opportunity
See Lowe on A9
Earline Parmon and Paul Lowe at Forsyth DNC Headquarters.
Schools work
to assess their
own progress
BY CHANEL DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Both private and public schools are preparing to
explain to parents the strides they've taken to improve stu
dent performance as the state gets ready to release report
cards for schools.
Per a recent law passed by the General Assembly, the
N.C. Department of Public
Instruction wilt be assigning
each school a letter grade, A to
F, based on the school's per
formance. Supporters of the ini
tiative believe that the grades
will make it easier for parents to
understand how local schools
are doing.
For elementary and middle
schools, a majority of the grade
is based on student proficiency
on state tests in grades 3
throueh 8. and the rest is based
on student growth. In high
schools, DPI uses graduation rates, ACT performance and
ot^er indicators, along with state tests to calculate the
school grade. Those grades will be released today (Feb. !>).
Carter G. Woodson school, a charter school located in
southeast Winston-Salem, is formulating its own grading
scale. The school has adopted the state's guidelines but has
also added other factors.
"We chose to do one when we got what the state was
measuring us by. We really felt that it was sterile (the
guidelines) with all the practices we've had to put in," said
Ruth Hopkins, executive director at Carter G. Woodson.
"We don't feel that we are a failure school or that our chil
dren are failing because we honored the law and our chil
dren showed expected growth. We didn't want to send the
wrong message to parents that expected growth still means
you failed. Expected growth does not mean you've failed."
While the state looked at schools' performance,
achievement and growth, CGW would also include factors
such as economically disadvantaged students, school size
and make up, and students with limited English proficien
See Grades on A9
Emory x
Go Red For Women campaign targets heart disease
BY CHANEL DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
The American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement
encourages everyone to wear red tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 6) to support
women's heart health, a topic Vera Jordan talks about wherever she goes.
The 59-year-old woman was named a Go Red For Women ambassa
dor for Forsyth County in 2005 after surviving a heart attack.
"All of a sudden my chest started hurting, my backing was hurting a
little bit and I was having a hard time breathing, and then I passed out."
said Jordan, who was rushing to get to work at the time.
Her husband, who typically would have been out of the door to work
before her, was home and called 9-1-1.
"I had a heart attack and a 90 percent blockage. They put a stent in,
and now I'm still here to talk about it," she said, crediting God for the
miracle.
After her heart attack and cardiac rehabilitation, Jordan was adamant
about changing her lifestyle. She went on a diet and began to exercise.
"Exercise includes sweeping the floors, mopping or anything that
you do that involves moving your body," she said. "You just need to do
some sort of exercise 30 minutes a day."
She is eager to share any information she can to help others, both men
and women, prevent a heart attack.
"I do it everyday. When 1 talk to someone I talk to them about limit
ing bad things," she said.
Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the nation, affect
ing one out every three women, according to the AHA.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for African
American women, killing nearly 50,000 annually, according to the AHA.
The organization said that only 43 percent of African-American women
know that heart disease is their greatest health risk, compared to 60 per
cent of Caucasian women and 44 percent of Hispanic women.
It is believed that Alfican-American women 20 and older have an
almost 49 percent chance of cardiovascular disease, while only 50 per
See Go Red on A9
Photo by Chanel Dav is
Vera Jordan -
N.C.'s Sharia ban biased and harmful, says panel
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
A panel of local Muslims last week denounced
the state's ban on a foreign law designed to bar
Sharia or Islamic law.
"Folks were in this hysteria thinking that the
minority Muslim Community here in North
Carolina could somehow impose our laws, laws
taken from the Sharia," Imam Khalid Griggs of
Community Mosque said at a forum on the subject
held Tiiesday, Jan. 27 at the Polo Recreation Center.
The discussion took place at the monthly meet
ing of Americans United for the Separation of
Church and State. In addition to Griggs, the panel
included Imam Leonard Abdullah of Masjid A1
Muminun and Dr. Darlene May. an associate pro
fessor of Arabic at Wake Forest
University. Fleming El-Amin, an Americans
United for the Separation of Church and State board
member and a member of the local Board of
Elections, acted as moderator.
See Sharia on A9
Photo by Todd Luck
'mam Leonard Abdullah makes a point.
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