BOE
from page A1
black, struck his gavel and
told them to stop, saying he
could clear the room as the
chant grew loud enough to
drown out the board mem
bers. El-Amin calmed the
crowd down, telling them
to not be discouraged, and
to come out and take
advantage of the Saturdays
(luring early voting. The
audience applauded and
was silent as the board
moved on to the next item
and a security officer
arrived. The students in
the audience promptly left
after that.
At the end of the meet
ing, Russell said he was
disappointed a "racial slur"
was directed at Raymond,
even if it was by black stu
dents. Raymond said he
felt it was part on an atti
tude that all black people
have to think alike and can
not be Republicans.
Fleming said Raymond
handled the situation well,
not telling security to arrest
anyone or make them"
leave, which he has the
authority to do under
statute.
The two Republican
board members said they
wanted to keep Sims as the
polling site because N.C.
DOT assured them that
traffic access across 52
would return to normal
after the construction,
which is scheduled to end
next summer. They said
they didn't see a reason to
permanently move the site
for a temporary situation.
El-Amin said that doesn't
help the majority of voters
in the ptecinct, who live on
the other side of 52, in this
election.
"It's not going to be
open for November at all,"
he said.
El-Amin also argued
that the board should listen
to the overwhelming public
outcry for the site, and that
"prejudice" against WSSU
was the only reason he can
think of for continuing to
deny a voting site at
Anderson.
The other site changes
the board considered went
off without incident. The
board voted unanimously
to keep First Alliance
Church in Precinct 602
when a suitable alternate
site couldn't be found. The
board voted unanimously
to move the polling place
in Precinct 709 from Ward
Elementary School to
Hope Moravian Church
because it has better traffic
access and parking.
Playground
from pageAl
K>
Hawkins, who serves as the president of the Rose of
Sharon/Dreamland Neighborhood Association, said after
running into a few road blocks in the early stages of plan
ning, key partnerships with the Kate B. Reynolds
Charitable Trust, the City of Winston-Salem and
"KaBoom!", a non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced
and active play into the daily lives of all kids, helped turn
his idea to bring a play area to East Winston into reality.
"Although we started slow, we just kept moving for
ward. When you have a goal, you don't stop because you
run into interference," he continued. "You're always
going to run into interference, but we stayed persistent
and continued to push."
While most of the overhead expenses have been taken
care of by the City and Kate B. Reynolds, the neighbor
hood will have to raise $8,500 to complete the project.
According to Hawkins, although they are still working to
reach their goal, a number of oiganizations and individu
als in the community have already pledged to make dona
tions. During an interview with The Chronicle earlier this
week, Hawkins noted Neighbors for Better
Neighborhoods is one of the oiganizations that has
stepped up in a major way.
"I can't say enough about the help we have received
from Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods. They have
done everything to make sure this project is a success," he
said.
A number of organizations have also volunteered their
services for construction duty on the morning of the
event. Crosby Scholars, the Salvation Army Boys & Girls
Club, the East Winston Neighborhood Association, Slater
Park Neighborhood Association, and countless others
have already inked their names to help put everything into
place on Playground Build Day.
Hawkins said, "We want everyone to be a part of this.
Although the playground is at 14th Street, we want it to
serve all the neighborhoods in that area.
"Although we live in different neighborhoods, we are
all working to make East Winston a better place," he con
tinued. "This is going to benefit a lot of people. I'm excit
ed to be a part of this project."
Later that day, after construction is complete, city
officials will join more than 200 volunteers to hold a rib
bon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the proj
ect. Playground Build Day is set to begin at 7:30 a., on
Saturday, Sept. 24. On Thursday, Sept. 22, volunteers will
meet at the site to make necessary preparations for the
event.
To volunteer for Playground Build Day or to make a
donation, contact Sean Hawkins by email at dreamland
parkassoc@gmail.com.
L to R) Dequantez Wilson and Jashawn Robinson work on their bricklaying
technique during class on Friday, Sept. 16. Wilson and Robinson are enrolled in
the Construction and Design Academy offered at Kennedy High School.
Students in the ProStart Academy at Kennedy High School prepare food during
a recent class. The ProStart Academy gives students a taste of what it's like to
work in the food industry.
Photos by Tevin Stinson
Kaitlin Krossman, a teacher
in the Creative Education
Academy at John F. Kennedy
High School, leads an art les
son on Friday, Sept. 16.
Small classroom sizes allow
teachers at the school to
focus more on the needs of
the students.
Kennedy
from page Al
Thanks to a grant,
Kennedy now operates
under a new educational
system that focuses on
Career and Technical
Education (CTE) that
offers hands-on experi
ences and the opportunity
to receive a technical certi
fication to go along with
their high school diploma.
Although students still
have the same graduation
requirements as other high
schools across the state and
county, incoming ninth
graders at Kennedy have
the opportunity to choose
between four Career
Academies: Creative
Enterprises, Construction
and Design, Health Science
(Pharmacy Technician) or
ProStart (Restaurant
Management).
The ProStart academy
created by the National
Restaurant Association
gives students a taste of.
what it's like to work in the
food industry, one of the
fastest growing industries
in the country. Students
who choose the Creative
Enterprises academy
explore the creative arts,
such as graphic design,
photography and other
visual media.
Construction and
Design exposes students to
a number of facets of the
construction industry,
while the Pharmacy
Technician pathway pre
pares our future doctors
and nurses to take on the
ever-changing world of
healthcare.
Senior Krista Gomez
who is currently enrolled in
the Health Science
Academy said she decided
to attend Kennedy because
she wanted to get a head
start on reaching her goal
to become an anesthesiolo
gist.
During an interview
with The Chronicle last
week, Gomez said now that
she has taken courses in the
field since she was a ninth
grader, she is confident that
she has the background
knowledge to achieve her
goal.
She also noted that the
small class sizes was
another reason she decided
to attend Kennedy. Gomez
mentioned the smaller class
sizes allow teachers and
students to really connect
with each other.
'The teachers here
have grown with us," said
Gomez 'Teachers here get
to know students on a per
sonal level. They're not
only our teachers, but they
are like our mentors as
well."
The school's principal
Keisha Gabriel said when
she got the word that she
would be leaving her posi
tion as assistant principal at
East Forsyth earlier this
school year, she was excit
ed about joining the
Kennedy Family.
"I got lucky to be here
with this wonderful staff,"
said Gabriel. "The faculty
and staff here have worked
tirelessly not only to
change the image of the
school, but to change the
students as well."
"Everything we do here
at Kennedy is student cen
tered. Our new focus as a
district is on the core val
ues and one of those values
is to be more student cen
tered, but Kennedy already
has that here," she contin
ued. "Whatever works best
for the students is what we
do. The staff here will go
out of their way to make
sure students have what
they need to be success
ful."
Gabriel mentioned she
identifies with the students
at Kennedy because as a
high school student in
Atlanta, she was just like
them.
"I was that at-risk child
in every way you could
imagine," she said. "If it
wasn't for the support of
teachers who took me
under their wings and
showing me different
options, then I don't know
where I would've been.
"Working here at
Kennedy is a rewarding
experience. It's the work I
know all parents would
want their children to expe
rience. All schools in the
district do their best to
reach students, but
Kennedy is a great place to
be to see students grow."
City
from page A!
Public Relations Manager Tiffany Wright.
The city's Emergency Management
Director Mel Sadler offered similar advice
to local drivers. He said, "We want to
remind everybody to not be overly appre
hensive and start hoarding gasoline.
"We don't want anyone storing gaso
line in your home or in your automobile.
That could lead to a very dangerous situa
tion," he said. "We want to ask everybody
to be careful and not be too apprehensive."
At least one gas station in Winston
Salem has been accused of price gouging
and is subject to prosecution.
Assistant City Manager Derwick Paige
said about 1,000 city owned vehicles
would be parked until a shipment is
received. Paige noted while police officers,
first responders and sanitation workers will
not be affected by the gas shortage, non
essential services such as inspectjons,
recreation and paries field maintenance,
r
and minor street and building repairs
would be suspended as a result of the gas
shortage.
"With the current fuel we have on
hand, it will get us through the next three
days," said Paige. "We expect those servic
es to be back in their normal routines after
the next shipment we are expecting as
early as Wednesday."
Paige noted although the city has
enough gas to last, they wanted to be pre
pared and felt the need to take precaution
ary measures. As of Monday, the city had
91,000 gallons of fuel. He mentioned
police and sanitation only use about 11 /XX)
gallons a week, while fire trucks and other
similar vehicles use diesel fuel.
According to Paige, the line that sup
plies diesel fuel was not damaged.
"We would rather be safe than sorry,"
he said.
* 1
A member of the police department fills his tank at the City Yard on Monday,
Sept. 19. While non-essential services were suspended as a result of the pipeline
break, police, first responders and sanitation were not impacted.
I ef t