Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Jan. 23, 1997, edition 1 / Page 22
Part of The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
SB York/tKJje Cljarlotte ^osit/Rowan REGIONAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1997 East Spencer deals with financial freeze By Brian Powe FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST EAST SPENCER - East Spencer is in a financial deficit so severe that officials have decided to put a freeze on the town’s money. As of Jan. 10, the town will be on a six-month spending Rowan tackles homelessness By Brian Powe FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST SALISBURY - Rowan County has a huge problem vrith homelessness. So, a local group and county officials have joined forces to tackle the problem. A year ago. Rowan Coimty commissioners proposed a Blue Ribbon Committee on housing create an organization geared toward eradicating the problems the county faces with homelessness. As the organization’s plans continue to emerge, Frieda Nikolai, the coordinator of the yet-to-be-named organization says the “big picture” is taking people from a homeless state to home ownership. “The basic principle is taking homeless people, putting them in transitional housing, and giving them the support they need to move on and get their own house,” Nikolai said. “You should not take a per son who is homeless and place them in a rental property and walk away from them. If they need a job, if they need trans portation, help in finances, let’s help them understand that.” 'The organization is expected to benefit many African Americans in the area who have found out that Salisbury can be a difficult housing mar ket for the homeless. Nikolai sees the homeless situation as something much larger than people who are living on the street or in shelters. “Homeless can mean more than the people who stay at the homeless shelter,” she said. “You might find people living with other members of the family. “Tm not sure that the only people we are talking about are ones who go to the shelter,” she continued. “There are peo ple who stay at the family cri sis center, and there are senior citizens who may be living under one duress, who might be happier hving alone.” Gunnar Fromen, who also sat on the Blue Ribbon Committee, offered some con cerns and considerations about the program. In his report on available funding, the Central Carolina Bank officer said that low- income families can get loans to buy houses if they have dependable employment and good credit. But Fromen claims that this is not where the notable prob lems begin. “The people expe riencing problems are those who haven’t had steady employment and are often overextended on credit,” he said. “We believe that the local financial institutions have a need to assemble a pool of loan funds for qualified first-time home buyers. “A lot of people either per ceive themselves as not quali fying, or they feel intimidated by having to come in and approach a bank about bor rowing money. We have put on programs about how to borrow money. You advertise it and the turnout is modest.” According to Fromen, some See HOMELESS on page 9B freeze. Until the end of the fiscal year, June 30th, there will be no money spent, saving that which is for “police cars and any materials needed by the water-sewer department.” Diane Cotton, town adminis trator, told the East Spencer Board of Aldermen last Monday, “We’re not buying anything we don’t need to buy.” She said, “Until I can go back to the board and say we have money again, the freeze is on.” Cotton said that cuts will be severe. She explained that the long-distance phone service of many town offices will be cut off until they are able to han dle the cost. Pete Teague of the Dixon & Odom Accounting firm in Sahsbury, shared some infor mation about an audit of the town’s finances. 'Teague said that this is East Spencer’s third consecutive year in the red and the auditor’s report read a “growing concern” opin ion. “Again, the numbers and trends call into question the town’s ability to continue as things are going,” Teague said. “It’s a solvency issue. The town is not going under but it also could not continue indefinitely with these trends.” Some of the prevailing prob lems were discussed at MondaYs aldermen meeting. The reports show that the town has an low fund balance, is losing more water than it is earning back in charges, lags in tax collections and seems to rely too heavily on Powell Bill See DEFICIT on page 9B Art fit for a King PHOTO/SUE ANN JOHNSON Portland Abel, 11, tries her hand at art Monday during Kids Day Out, part of the Martin Luther King Day celebration in Saiisbury. Professional women still face barriers By Brian Powe FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST SALISBURY - Are professional females still trying to solidify prominent, permanent positions in this nation’s workplace? A female instructor at Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury says that the corporate respect level for the professional African American woman is still in question, even in the ‘90s. Professor Dora Mbuwayesango, originally from Zimbabwe, thinks that the professional woman is ever attempting to validate herself in America’s male-dominated work force. 'The Ph.D. candidate from Emory University said “As a woman, I am constantly having to validate myself. And furthermore, my dilemma is triple-fold. I must validate myself first because I am a woman, then because I am a foreigner, and lastly because I am young.” The professor of Hebrew Bible and Old Testament Literature believes that although her particular situation is unique because she teaches biblical hterature and about the things of God, never theless the same dilemma is present regardless of what a woman’s profession is. As the struggles of pioneering women continue to change every aspect of American life, the woman’s liberation movement of the late ‘70s not only concerned itself with social equity, but altered changes within the church and its theological issues as well. Since that time, women have demanded to have a say about their theo ries about God without settling for gender-orientated ideas. “I studied biblical issues, initially because I thought it was inter esting,” the graduate of Harvard Divinity School said. “Religion and the Bible was fascinating to me, especially the Old Testament, because it spoke more to me culturally.” Mbuwayesango, who has taught at several colleges and univer sities from South Afnca to Atlanta, says that she is constantly con fronted by propaganda against women. “The males of this society would be surprised if they would give more women a chance. Coming from being a majority in South Africa to a minority status here was an educating thing for me,” she said. “Although we went through our experience with colo nialism in Afiica in the ‘80s, I never thought I was considered infe rior, and I never had to compete with males or whites who had a separate education. In Africa, it didn’t matter how I looked or what gender I was, but when I arrived in the United States, my race and gender mattered very much. I felt like I was intruding in a world where I was not supposed to.” Mbuwayesango, who speaks five different languages, says the worse thing that could happen to an individual is to allow himself or herself to be contained. “A lot of my professors would tell me. You’re not going to make it in this class.’ Or they would look at me with disdain because I was an African woman,” she said. “The only thing that saved me was that I knew this is what I wanted to do. I guess I wasn’t supposed to surpass an American, a white person, or a male. But through it all, I would not allow myself to be contained nor let the oppressive situations that I faced dictate how far I would go in life.” Martin Luther King Day brings out best for parade By Brian Powe FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST SALISBURY - Hundreds of Rowan County residents crowded the streets of Salisbury Monday for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. parade. Representatives from area schools and businesses marched through the commu nity commemorating the life of the slain civil rights leader. Old and young clapped and cheered with pride as they walked the streets under this year’s theme, “Helping Somebody - We Can All Make A Difference.” Jerome Banks, leader of the Trojan Legion Drill Team from Knox Middle School, said the event was an enlightening for African experience Americans. Banks, whose 65-member drill team led this year’s parade, said he felt honored just to he asked to participate. To lead the event was exhila rating, he said. “It made me feel good,” Banks said. “I did not realize that the community had so much respect for me and the drill team. “It’s great just knowing that all these parents trust me as the leader of their kids. This makes me appreciate what I’m doing when some of my old students recognize me and the team and come up to speak to us.” Banks also led his drill team in a call and response chant See MLK on page 9B Attorneys to present case m S.C. death row mmate’s request for a new trial By John Minter THE CHARLOTTE POST Attorneys on both sides of S.C. death row inmate Sterling Spann’s case are scheduled Friday to have all written arguments to Circuit Judge John Hays so he can issue a final ruling on Spann’s request for a new trial. Spann, 34, denies killing Melva Neill 15 years ago and presented evidence in a November hearing indicat ing another S.C. inmate committed the crime. Spann contends the mur der he was sentenced for was committed by a serial killer. The murders occurred within 12 miles of each other in western York County in and about Clover. All three victims were stran gled and sexually assaulted. Spann was already in jail on charges in the Neill mur der when the third murder occurred on Nov. 16, 1981. Spann, then 19, was sen tenced to die for the Neill murder and has been on death row for 15 years. Supporters plan a vigil Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church in York. The vigil is sponsored hy David Miller, a student from Presbyterian College, who has joined forces with the Sterling Spann Task Force. Miller said he wants all interested groups and indi viduals to come to the vigil Saturday. Spann’s attorney, John Blume of Columbia and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald Zelenka will each provide Hays a brief on the hearing before the judge rules on the new trial request. In the November hearing in York, two forensic pathol ogists and forensic psychia trist testified that Neill’s murder was one of three 1981 murders of elderly white women in a four- month period done bv one serial killer. Pathologist Werner Spitz and psychologist Emanuel Tanay concluded the three murders were committed by the same serial killer. See SPANN on page 9B
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 23, 1997, edition 1
22
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75