-Volume 10. Number 15 THE CHARLOTTE POST ■ Thursday. September 20. I»M--^
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Dr. Humphrey
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MOB4; Banquet Post Salutes The 1984 Achievers Are Heroes
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When Does The Election End? Romance Novels?
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CONNIE BARRINO
....“Beauty of the Week”
Connie Barrino Wishes Ail People
ik-__‘‘Sttfinfe Love* For God!
i r Bysaiyne Strong
j ' Post Staff Writer
It’s been said that the true
powers behind major business deal
ings in the U.S. are the secretaries.
These women, and sometimes men,
are known for carrying out the most
detailed responsibilities that make
all transactions run smoother. And a
secretary like Connie Barrino, who
loves her job, is certainly an asset.
Says Barrino, “I enjoy the respon
sibility of taking the pressure off ray
boss.” Employed with Barclay’s
American Business Credit, she adds,
take the initiative to do things
before I’m asked. ”
Though she thoroughly enjoys her
work, Barrino intimated that for a
while she felt there was a missing
link in her life. Recently married,
she claims that her husband,
-Ejyinis, has -filled that void ‘Td
recommend marriage to anyone,”
enthused Barrino, adding that her
marriage is one of the finest things
Two-Day Workshop
Sandra Martin, director of the
Family TLC Center, announced a
two-day workshop will beheld at
Johnson C. Smith University, Sep
tember 27-28.
Entitled “Developing A More Pro
ductive Child,” the purpose of the
workshop is to bring parents in
con tact with community people and
school personnel who can help them
explore causes and solutions to non
productivity among children.
Ms. Martin noted the workshops
will feature speakers in the school
and community counseling system.
Soane speakers will be Dr. David
Long. Mt. Airy Schools; Dr. Mary i
Thomas Burke. UNC-Charlotte; Dr.
LJames Wooten, Davidson College;
' Bob Alston, Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Urban League; and counselor Joe
Champion.
Thursday 's workshop will be held
9 a.M. 3 p m. Another session for
parents will be held Thursday
evening from 841. The workshop will
reconvene Friday at 9a.m ending at
noon A limited number of scho
larships will be available to toach
ert, according to Martin. For more
information about the workshop*
call 372-3484
f wntMtf*
.i iiimii it, m i.»' .
The modem housewife's meals
ere well THAWED OUT
in her life.
"You must put God first,” she
advises on what constitutes a good
marriage. Shared interest and
communication are also extremely
important, Barrino emphasizes.
“You have to make each other the
center of each others life.”
“To be a wife is not always easy,”
Barrino admits. But she gladly
relates that her mother's help sees
her through any rough spots.
“She’s there for me at all times,”
she assures.
The daughter of Rev. J. C.
Robinson, Barrino relates that her
father has also been an inspiration in
her life. He is in fact the one person
she most admires. “He’s a fair
minded, Christian man,” she
describes, "any hurts or knocks he’s
experienced in life have not stopped
him from preaching andjgafihmg
He often neglects himself for
others.”
Her father's influence is reflected
in Barrino's active involvement in
his church, Mt. Moriah Baptist in
Matthews. She is the church’s part
time secretary, general secretary of
the Ushers department, an usher,
adult choir member and Sunday
School teacher of the primaries. “In
order to serve God you must be
active in his work," this week's
beauty explains
“I want to stay busy in the
church,” Barrino confirms, "An idle
mind is the devil's workshop.”
She also feels that her presence in
the church serves to uplift others.
"Sometimes just being there
offering a smile and pleasantness is
all that is necessary to help
someone,” she tells,
v For hobbies Barrino enjoys
bowling, shopping and decorating
her apartment and househunting
with her husband. She and her
husband also enjoy taking vacations
together. They’ve traveled to Gatlin
burg, Tenn., Disney World in
Florida and the Blue Ridge
Mountains. Barrino admits that her
dream vacation is to languish on a
cruise to the Bahamas.
Her dream for life, she says, is to
-one day have a nica noma, start B
family and continue to live as a good
Christian. “And finally to reach
Heaven and hear God say, ‘Well
done,’” confessed Barrino
“I’d hope that all people could
possess the same love for God that I
have,” she concludes concerning the
state of the world. “If that was
possible then they would realize not
to judge others by color, race or
background and God’s love will
abound throughout the world.”
Ruby Houston Assumes Responsibilities
For Controversial Head Start Program
By Teresa Simmons
Post Managing Editor
For the first time September 17
Ruby Houston faced the responsibil
ities of being Director of the Bethle
hem Center Head Start.
With six components: Education
Career, Social Service, Parent In
volvement, Transportation and
Maintenance, Health-Nutrition and
Handicapped; and the responsibility
of organizing classes for over 400
children in the Charlotte-Mecklen
burg area Ms. Houston was faced
with a hectic but rewarding task.
Ms. Houston replaced Gerald
Horn as director. Horn resigned for
personal reasons
She would like to continue
implementing as -many,
improvements in all Head Start,
components as possible Prev.oudfir,
Ms. Houston was director of the
Pducatiea*Career Development
department of Heed Start. She
began working with tips program in
1M1 In 19*2 the program closed and
Bethlehem Center became the new
sponsor. She assumed her same
position In February of 19*3
She has always been Interested In
the welfare of young children At
Barber-Scotia College she received
her B.A. De£ee in Sociology Prom
Ruby Houston
Head Mart Director
there she earned her Master's
Degree in Education from the
University of N.C. Charlotte. She
has worked as director of the
Davldaon-Cornellua Day Care
Center and as instructor in the
Central Piedmont Community
College Title XX Child Care'
Training Project.
As a child her play often invoked
A Real Concern
City Tends To Have
Two Shopping Groups
By Audrey C. Lodato
Post Staff Writer
Amidst the upheaval of downtown
construction and dislocation, there
have arisen charges that minority
businesses have been discriminated
against and that the city is trying to
establish a two-tiered society in the
downtown area - the affluent who
work in the office buildings and shop
in the Overstreet Mall, and those
on the street level who rely on public
JxanspQrtaitpn_ Js this, in fact, the
plan for downtowm Charlotte?
“Just the opposite," insists Mike
Schneiderman, Director of the
Charlotte Uptown Development
Corporation. The £UDC, which be
came operational in 1979, contracts
with the city to spur economic
growth in the area made up of First,
Third and Fourth Wards - "every
thing within the loop of Indepen
dence, BrooRShire, and 277," ac
cording to Schneiderman, the
CUDC’s first and only Executive
Director.
Although he admits that the city
has recently tended to have two
different shopping groups - the
affluent Overstreet Mall shoppers
and the less affluent bus riders on
the street- Schneiderman maintains
the trend evolved without pre
planning and is now "a real Con
cern” for the city.
In fact, it was this concern that led
to the development of the transit
mall project in an effort to bring
people back into the street, accord
ing to the Development Director.
“One of the prime reasons for the
present activity,” Schneiderman re
veals, “is to get it back in focus, to
get people on the street so there
won’t be two societies. We’re trying
to make downtown more people
oriented, more so than it has been,
as-well as. bring..prosperity lo..tbe_
community.”
He blames poor communication
for the notion, held by some, that the
city wants to "hide the people who
ride the buses." "Communication is
important,” Schneiderman main
tains. "If people are thinking the
idea was to move people away, that
is a misconception.”
• The move to separate pedestrians
from vehicles began in the sixties,
according to Schneiderman The
Mike Schneiderman
...Development director
prime reason for the thrust, he
explains, was to make the street
more usable for cars and safer for
people. Over time, people moved
inside, but this was not a planned
occurrence, he insists.
The transit mall, originally not
scheduled for completion until 1985,
is now expected to be ready by
Thanksgiving Day. The mall area,
encompassing nine blocks on Tryon
from Stonewall to Eighth and two
blocks on Trade from Church to
College Streets, will feature wider
sidewalks for increased pedes
trian traffic, attractive bus shelters,
_information kiosks, and benches
There will be one bus lane and one
automobile lane in each direction
This is expected to facilitate the
movement of traffic through the
downtown area Bus stops will be
dispersed up and down the street
rather than congregated at the
square to lessen congestion
The Central Charlotte Association
is under contract with the city to
promote the new mall The Asso
ciation. a division of the Chamber of
her being a leader. Today her work
involves children and her goal is to
assist them in becoming special
leaders in their own rights, as well
as developing potential talents
“ "I've always been interested in
young children and helping people
help themselves. I feel very strongly
about helping to develop young
minds."
At various times in the Head
Start's history critics have
questioned its specific needs and
viability. But time has shown that
children do benefit from early
instruction.
"The most important developmen
tal years tor children are between
the ages of one and six (Head Start
children are ages three to five). It is
very important that children are
offered various experiences such as
Head Start. They can be better
prepared academically and for
community life," Ms. Houston com
mented
The staff of 22 teachers and 22
teachers' assistants focus on
meeting the total developmental
needs of each child, Ms. Houston
emphasized Teachers have two
years of experience and-or a de
gree in child development Assist
ants have dhe year experience in a
pre-school setting This week leach
ers and teachers’ assistants are
involved in a series of classes
including self awareness, child
abuse, training on students with
special needs, safety training,
dental education and staff parent
relations, Ms Houston continued
Next week beginning September
24, the 10 Head Start Centers will
open on a staggered basis Classes
will be held from 8 30 a m until 2
p.m.
The majority of the children at
tending classes and gaining from the
knowledge acquired are black chil
dren. The overall goal of the Head
Start program is to bring about a
greater degree of social competence
in children of low-income fami
lies - to increase the_ children's
everyday effectiveness in dealing
with both present environment and
later responsibilities in school life
Not only does Head Start provide
comprehensive educational and
social services, but also provides
parent involvement, health services
to pre-school children and 10 per
cent of the children enrolled are
handicapped. “We provide special
needs and benefits for handicapped
children We provide special edu
cation and related services as well,"
Ms Houston s£gted *
Third in scries
Commerce has met with area mer
chants and has attempted to mini
mize the negative effects of present
construction on business
Dorothy Waterfill. Mall ( oordi
nator for the Central 'hariotte
Association, admits that some bu
sinesses initially experienced con
struction-related problems, but
that seemed to ease with better
weather," she says "It's been in
teresting, the Mall Coordinator
remarks "It’s been mixed Some
'businesses) are having their best
year ever,"
The AssociatiorTRaiTFeen behlhVni
variety of activites designed to bring
people into the construction area
"We want to make it fun to be
uptown, Waterfill notes Among the
activities the Association has
planned have been the St Patrick's
Day Parade, the SummerStage
series, and the "VolleyMall games
onTryonSt every Wednesday
In addition, the Association has
put up signs reminding people in and
around the downtown area that
businesses are open Merchants
have been working together to do
some extra advertising. Waterfill
reveals She also keeps businesses
posted on upcoming activities so
that they can coordinate themes in
their advertising
What does the future hold for
downtown Charlotte’ Will the open
ing of the transit mall on Thanks
giving Day mark a new beginning in
the economic history of the city, or is
it already too late to revitalize the 1
area one merchant referred to as 'a
waste retail-rise”’ A year ago a
zoning ordinance encouraging store
front retail in new construction was
passed This will eliminate any
additional blank walls going up
without pedestrian access
If it’s not already too late, the
transit mall will increase retail
trade on the street The city s
concern about the existence of "two
societies’’ downtown will be eased
Arid the hopes of planners and de
velopers will be realized But the
creation of a classless downtown
society is highly unlikely
For Al Rousso of Brownlee Jewel
ers, who continues the fight to keep
his business, there is still hope For
the many others who have been ilk ,,
affected by the odyssey of progress
in the downtown area over the past
decade, the vision of the mall is not
their vision. It can only he hoped
that the benefits to be derived from
the upheaval of central Charlotte
will accrue to the city as a whole,
and not to a privileged few