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A2 March 19, 2020 The Chronicle McCoy looks to provide “a new way forward” for the NE Ward BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE Earlier this month, longtime city native Paula McCoy announced her plans to run as an unaf filiated candidate for the Northeast Ward on the Winston-Salem City Council. In a press release sub mitted to The Chronicle earlier this month, McCoy, who is the former execu tive director of Northwest Child Development Cor poration and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods Submitted photo Paula McCoy (NBN), said her campaign is about offering Win ston-Salem a “new way forward.” McCoy men tioned that she had a con versation with incumbent Council Member Vivian Burke sometime last year and was asked if she had “If government was the answer, if the institutions had the answer, if philanthropy had the answer, we wouldn’t be here. I think it requires the people to help move the needle. ” considered running. “She asked me if I had considered running for the ward and I told her I would not run as long as she was running ... I didn’t find out she wasn’t running until she announced it the day of the filing deadline, so I didn’t have enough time to file,” McCoy said. McCoy said after Burke decided not to run for re-election, and receiv ing multiple calls from cit izens, she decided to run as an unaffiliated candidate. As an unaffiliated candi date, McCoy must submit a petition with more than 280 signatures from regis tered voters to the Forsyth County Board of Elections to appear on the ballot in the general election. When discussing her platform, McCoy said the most pressing issue fac ing the Northeast Ward is poverty. She said the poli cies that are currently in place keep people from being able to be “mobile economically.” And as a member of city council, her plan is to change that. “I think it’s the econ omy and the policies we put in place over the years have kept people from being able to be mobile economically and so be ing on the council, I think there’s an opportunity to help change some of those outdated policies that keep people from being eco nomically mobile,” Mc Coy continued. “Poverty is all over the country and the fact that it’s so high here is linked to the fact that people have not had the opportunity to help solve the problems. The people who are impacted by poverty need to have a voice in how we solve this issue. If government was the answer, if the in stitutions had the answer, if philanthropy had the answer, we wouldn’t be here. I think it requires the people to help move the needle.” Other items on Mc Coy’s list of things she plans to address if elected are all related to poverty, including the affordable housing crisis, low-per forming schools, and a complete overhaul of the transit system. McCoy said what will help her most in the general elec tion is her track record of working to uplift the community. Along with her stints with Northwest Child Development Cor poration and NBN, Mc Coy has also served on a number of boards includ ing the Winston-Salem Foundation, Black Phi lanthropy Initiative (BPI), Arts Council of Winston- Salem and Forsyth Coun ty, Habitat for Human ity of Forsyth County, and several others. “The thing that will help me most is the fact that I have been work ing in the community and I have been working to help people realize their power,” she said. “A lot of the time you hear people say Tet’s empower peo ple,’ but you don’t have to give people power, they already have power. We have to help them realize the power that they have.” If she gets the signa tures needed to be added to the ballot in the gen eral election scheduled for Nov. 3, McCoy will face off against Barbara Hanes- Burke, Vivian Burke’s daughter-in-law, who won the Democratic primary election earlier this month. When discussing her chal lenger, McCoy said she believes Hanes-Burke is running on a name and that it’s time for a change. “I decided to run after getting many calls from people who encouraged me to run and so for me, it was a call to lead and I simply answered the call. People feel like they didn’t have a choice and so they needed another choice,” McCoy said. For more information on Paula McCoy and her platform, visit www.pac- 4new.com or visit “Paula McCoy” on Facebook. COVID-19 From page Al *Increased use of al cohol, tobacco, or other drugs People with preexist ing mental health condi tions should continue with their treatment and be aware of new or worsening symptoms. Additional in formation can be found at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website at https://www.samhsa.gov/ disaster-preparedness. Taking care of your self, your friends, and your family can help you cope with stress. Helping others cope with their stress can also make your commu nity stronger. Things you can do to support yourself: *Take breaks from watching, reading, or lis tening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pan demic repeatedly can be upsetting. Despite life’s obstacles, Monique Johnson continues to inspire others BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE Her entire life, Mo nique Johnson has been proving people wrong. Born with dystrophic dys plasia, the rarest form of dwarfism, doctors only gave her six years to live. Thirty-three years later, she has accomplished goals that quite frankly, some can only dream of, and uses her life’s obsta cles to inspire others. Despite only being two feet tall, Johnson is a law school graduate, entrepre neur, a published author, and a dynamic artist. “I wear a lot of hats - I like to stay busy,” Johnson laughed while chatting with The Chronicle. “But to me, having all those ac Submitted photo Monique Johnson poses with her hand-painted photo of Kobe Bryant. Dispite being born with dystrophic dystpasia, Johnson has made it her life’s mission to inspire others. colades really helps in my mission to show people that you can overcome any obstacle, that you can achieve your dreams and you can achieve great things ... It’s really not about having the acco lades, it’s more about the impact it can have on oth ers and how others can be inspired by that.” A graduate of Glenn *Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs. *Make time to unwind. Try to do some other ac tivities you enjoy. *Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. *Call your healthcare provider if stress gets in the way of your daily ac tivities for several days in a row. Reduce stress in your self and others: Sharing the facts about COVID-19 and under standing the actual risk to yourself and people you care about can make an outbreak less stressful. When you share ac curate information about COVID-19, you can help make people feel less stressed and allow you to connect with them. Doctors nationwide are High School, Johnson went on to attend NC A&T State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in business admin istration. After undergrad, Johnson went on to earn her law degree from Elon University School of Law. And that’s also where Johnson said she found her true calling. She said after her story aired on the NBC Nightly News with Katie Cou ric, she starting receiving calls to speak and fell in love with it. “I fell in love with seeing people’s lives change right before my eyes,” Johnson said. She went on to discuss one particular time when she was speaking at a high school and a student came up to her in tears and told her how much she inspired him. “I went to speak to a JROTC group and I mean he literally was in the back of the class and he looked disinterested, he looked like he didn’t want to be there, and afterwards he came up to me in tears,” she continued. “I could see the tears in his eyes and I knew that he had seen recommending daily ex ercise routines. There are many fitness sites offer ing free at-home workout routines. Not only will a healthy exercise routine help keep your stress lev els down, it will also boost your immune system, which, in turn, will help you reduce the risk of in fection. A new normal has come upon us. It is the hope of The Chronicle that you and family remain safe during these challenging times. Remember to wash your hands, avoid touch ing your face, and if you feel sick, self-isolate. This will help keep your loved ones healthy and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Feel free to contact us with your “survivor” sto ries. We would love to hear them and may possibly publish them in a future issue. We can be reached at 336-722-8624 or email news@wschronicle.com. someone who had given him hope, and to be able to see his life transform right before my eyes helped me understand how I could impact others.” Johnson’s success as a motivational speaker led to her becoming a pub lished author. In her first book, “Soaring: 7 Lessons to Help You Soar Into the Life You Were Meant to Live,” Johnson shares the principles that have guided her through life. While studying law, traveling the country speaking at schools, col leges, and countless other places and events, and writing books, Johnson still finds time to practice painting, something she’s enjoyed doing all her life. She said although it’s something she’s always loved to do, it wasn’t un til recently that she saw it as a way to make a living. What Johnson enjoys most about painting is the op portunity to take a blank canvass and turn it into something beautiful. She said she also enjoys seeing the reaction on people’s See Monique on A8 CONTACTING THE CHRONICLE www.wschronicle.com 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston Salem, N.C. 27101 Main Phone Number: 336-722-8624 Advertising: Ext. 113 Circulation/Subscriptions: Ext. 100 To send news items: email news@wschronicle.com To send a Letter to the Editor (350 words or less) or column (550 words or less): email letters@wschronicle.com For advertising: email adv@wschronicle.com For subscriptions: email plewis@wschronicle.com Like us on Facebook: facebook. com/WSChron- icle Follow us on Twitter: WS Chronicle The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every Thursday by Chronicle Media Group, LLC, 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. An nual subscription price is $30.72. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636 Editor: Ext. 108
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