Police ptmpaiiAl because they are more like ly to stop the threat. "If we aim low they still have the ability to get a round off or get close enough to stab someone," he said. "So they teach us to shoot for the center." Anthony said that he has never had to fire his weapon and that it is always a last resort. During the forum, Anthony also instructed the citizens on what to do when they are being pulled over. Anthony said if you don't feel comfortable pulling to the side of the road, drive to a parking lot or well-lit area that they ? believe is sale. He also told those in attendance not to move around a lot or make any sudden movements. "We don't know what you have inside your car," he said. "So if you are pulled over, just keep your hands on the steering wheel and do not reach for anything that is out of the officer's line of vision." Other topics discussed during the forum included: what are the rights of a school resource officer, what are the rights when filming a police incident, why are citizens still deal ing with these issues, and where do we go from here. Community activist Yusef Suggs-el urged members of the community to learn their rights when it comes to dealing with law' enforcement. Suggs-el said, "Many of the situa tions that we are faced with, we just don't know what to do. "We have to be empowered with knowing what our rights are," said Suggs-el. "It's up to you in the community; ignorance of the law is no excuse." "We must keep our selves in a mode of want ing to learn, because if we don't, we will never be able to educate the younger generation on how to han dle these types of situa tions." The Building a Safer Community Forum was designed to allow members of the community an opportunity to have an open discussion with sev eral city officials op a vari ety of topics. Center director Andrea Walker said she decided to host the forum because she believes building a safer community begins with working together. "We wanted to give the public a chance to voice their opinions on some of the issues they are facing," said Walker. "We want to make sure we are all on the same page and working together." New Forsyth elections director ready for challenges BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE ' Tim Tsujii, the deputy elections director in Guilford County, has been hired as the new director of the Forsyth County Board of Elections. The 34-year-old has worked with the Guilford County Board of Elections for the past decade, starting as early-voting manager and becoming the deputy elections director in 2014. He said he applied for the director position because it was close by and because he respected the staff at the Forsyth BOE. "Just knowing I'm going to get to join them and work with them, I'm really looking forward to that opportunity," he said. The Forsyth BOE voted unanimously to hire Tsujii, who will begin Feb. 29. The board has been looking for a director since August when Steve Hines left the position to become elec tions director in Greene County. Deputy Elections Director Lamar Joyner has been serving as interim director. Tsujii, who was born and raised in Greensboro, ' said he was drawn to serv ice in local government from an early age. "I developed a passion and interest for helping people," he said. Tsujii will begin only days before early voting starts. He expects the tran sition to o e seam less since all BOEs in the state are "in the same boat" with the Tsujii changes in elec tion regulations, like the new voter ID requirement that goes into effect this year, and the court chal lenges that continue to cause twists and turns in this year's election. The lat est change is that after a court ordered redrawing of congressional districts, put ting all of Forsyth County in the 5th District, the General Assembly has now voted to delay U.S. House primaries until June 7. Tsujii said he's devoted to being transparent and open to the public and is focused on making voting as efficient as possible. "I personally set a very high standard for servicing the voters, whether its Guilford County or Forsyth County ... so that if there's a need for assis tance in being able to carry out their right to vote, I'm going to do my best to uphold that right and help them as best as possible." Forsyth BOE Member Fleming El-Amin said that the board was looking for a director who is qualified for the job, is familiar with state election laws, and will stay in the position for the long term. He said he was impressed with Tsujii's work in Guilford County. "What stood out for me more than anything else, his commitment to make the process work more effi ciently," said El-Amin. El-Amin said the staff already has made the preparations for early vot ing, so he also expects the transition to a new director to run smoothly. K'kIIC1] | M il I ? I'i'M*/1V1 A I ?? PI A I 1 P f ? 111 1 b! 1 I' j P&a 1 I'i I I wmmammmdmmMm I ??hhhhh^HH^HHHBHP King for City Cornell Northeast Ward Keith King "We Are Better 2GethcT 4 336-722-4170 No matter how overwhelmed you feel, know that you are not alone. We have been serving our community for over 30 years, and we've learned a lot about the needs of friends, neighbors and family members facing life-limiting illnesses. Annually, we help nearly 800 patients and families, and we're here for you. JOSPICEo/ Davidson County 200 Hospice Way ? Lexington, NC 27292 336-475-5444 ? 1-800-768-4677 ? HospiceOfDavidton.org CLEVELAND AVENUE DENTAL CENTER 501 N. Cleveland Ave. 336-703-3090 Monday - Thursday: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm FonyA Comr Friday: 7:30 am -11:30 am The WSSU Rams are coming to you this spring! Saturday, March 19 Charlotte, N.C. Saturday, April 2 Wilson, N.C. Saturday, April 9 for the official Spring Football Game! Atkins High School, Old Greonsboro Rd., Winston-Salem There will be prizes, giveaways and games. Bring a canned good for entry and in support of the Harvest Food Bank ; g

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view