Election
from page A1 4 ;
Deputy BOE Director Lamar Joyner,
who also attended the meeting, said that
the program had been used in several past
elections, but the "overwhelming" amount
of provisional ballots made the amount of
errors much higher.
The provisional ballots in question
were cast when a voter either wanted a
ballot different than their registered party
or were voting out of precinct. There were
also nearly 200 provisional ballots with no
signature for unregistered voters, but those
wouldn't have counted even with signa
tures. Hall said that voters who think
they're registered to vote in their county
but actually aren't is a statewide issue.
Democracy NC is suing both the N.C.
DMV and the N.C. Department of Health
and Human Services, which the group
says is doing a poor job addressing prob
lems with registering their clients and cus
tomers to vote.
Member of the Cleveland Avenue Transformation Team Marquita Wisley talks
about the major differences between thriving and non-thriving schools during
the Transforming Education Community Roundtable on Friday, April 16.
I. i 1^?L i ?J?^?
Photos by Tevin Stinson
Senior Reggie Hines makes a point about the importance of students giving
back during the Transforming Education Community Roundtable on Friday,
April 15 at Winston-Salem State University.
wssu
from page A1
Roundtable Two
touched on a number of
topics including how
schools should go about
connecting with the com
munity, keeping students
interested, early childhood
education and selecting the
right teachers for minority
students, among a host of
other things.
Retired Principal Nora
Baker said the people mak
ing the policies don't
understand what they are
up against. Baker, who
worked in the Winston
Salem Forsyth County
School System for 31 years
before retiring last year,
noted that those who are
making the decision on our
school haven't been inside
a classroom in a number of
years.
"They don't really
understand what our edu
cators are up against."
Baker also mentioned
schools with a large minor
ity population should look
to hire teachers who are
willing to connect with stu
dents and parents outside
the school.
"Back when I was in
school, my teachers and
principals would make vis
its to home to ensure par
ents knew what areas stu
dents should work on,"
said Baker. "Parents have
to be involved to make this
woik. This has to be a team
effort."
The final discussion of
the day raised the question:
what are thriving schools
and what are they doing to
set themselves apart? For
an example, panelists were
asked to consider the dif
ferences between Whitaker
Elementary, one of the
county's most highly
regarded schools, and
Cook Elementary.
Next year, the school
with a majority-minority
student population will
become Cook Literacy
Model School in August as
part of a federal govern
ment's restart model.
Community activist
Marquita Wisley said fund
ing and the lack of expo
sure are two major things
that set schools apart.
"The majority of stu
dents at thriving [schools]
are exposed to a lot more at
an early age, which allows
them to think outside the
box," she said.
"In low-income neigh
borhoods, students aren't
exposed to a lot of things,"
said Wisley. "We have to
start showing our kids that
they can be better than
what they see."
According to the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Schools director of
alternative education, Dr.
Gwendolyn Johnson
Green, more community
schools would be the
answer for closing the gap
between thriving and non
thriving or low-performing
schools in the area.
Johnson-Green men
tioned community schools
would provide the wrap
around services needed in
minority schools.
"Community schools
involve all the stakeholders
in the community," she
said. "Thriving schools
bring together the
resources of the school,
faculty and community.
With community schools,
we will be able to take dif
ferent approaches."
WSSU Provost Dr.
Brenda A. Allen said the
roundtable addressed the
most important issues
badgering the African
American community.
"It's important that we
have this conversation,
especially in a city where
we aren't doing as well as
we should be," she said.
"Having this conversation
here today will greatly help
in the ways we think about
reforms and making the
changes that we need to
make."
Local ministers group
responds to release of
body camera footage
BY TEVTN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Earlier this week. The
Ministers' Conference of
Winston-Salem and
Vicinity (MCWSV) held a
press conference to
respond to the release of
body camera footage of the
incident that led to Travis
Page dying while in the
custody of four officers
with the Winston-Salem
Police Department. ?
According to a police
report, on Dec. 9 Corporal
Robert Fenimore, Officer
Christopher Doub, Officer
Austin Conrad and Officer
Jacob Turtle responded to a
reported discharge of
firearm on Old Rural Hall
Road. Upon arrival officers
attempted to detain 31
year-old Page, who
matched the description of
the reported gunman.
After a brief struggle
with Page, one of the offi
cers used pepper spray in
order to gain control. At
that time. Page became
unresponsive. Officers per
formed lifesaving efforts,
but were unsuccessful.
For months, MCWSV
and a number of other
community organizations
urged District Attorney Jim
O'Neil to release body
camera footage obtained
from the officers present
during Page's death.
During the press confer
ence held at Emmanuel
Baptist Church, MCWSV
president Bishop Todd
Fulton said, after viewing
the videotapes that were
released last month, the
Minsters' Conference feels
that the officers involved
followed professional stan
dards.
"We are proud to say
that this is not Ferguson,"
said Fulton. "This is not
like so many trends that we
have seen transpire across
America."
Fulton also mentioned
the Forsyth County District
Attorney's office released
the footage in a timely
manner. He noted that we
have seen some cases
where it takes more than a
year for footage to be
released.
According to represen
tatives from the district
attorney's office, footage
could not be made public
until an internal investiga
tion by the State Bureau of
Investigation was - com
plete.
"We were pushing for
solidarity in our communi
ty. The only way we are
going to get that is through
transparency," Fulton con
tinued. "We are working to
build a stronger communi
ty"
City Council member
and public safety chairman
James Taylor said,
although the loss of life is
always a tragic event, fol
lowing the death of Page,
everyone involved did their
job. As he stood at the
podium on Tuesday after
noon, Taylor said,
"Although the community
has had issues with the
police department and dis
trict attorney's office in the
past, moving toward the
future we have nothing to
worry about.
"I think we have the
some of the best citizens,
officers, elected officials
and community in this
entire country," he said.
"When it comes to protect
ing this community, I don't
think we have anything to
worry about."
Mayor Allen Joines
said he has every confi
dence in Chief Barry
Rountree and the training
that officers receive. Joines
also said he was grateful
for the body cameras that
were worn by officers dur
ing the incident.
"Thank goodness that
we had body cameras. I
think that was a great
investment made by the
City of Winston-Salem."
Although satisfied with
the handling of the Travis
Page footage, Fulton said
the Ministers' Conference
still has a number of issues
and concerns with state
legislation policies in
regard to releasing body
camera, footage.
Under House Bill 713,
discretion to release
recordings would be decid
ed by law enforcement
agencies. The bill would
restrict all public access by
treating police body cam
era footage as pieces of
evidence in criminal inves
tigations.
"We definitely have
concerns with that bill," he
said. "That is one of our
major concerns right now,
making sure that bill is not
passed and transparency
remains."
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Join lis April 28 for the 9th annual Hospice of Davidson
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with $85 per person entry fee. Team registration of $450
includes recognition as a hole sponsor. Register to
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Presenting Sponsor: Brass Kraft
Gold Sponsors: RCR Racing, Kaufman Trailers, & NH Med Services
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