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Page 8
November 1995
Employees Sharpen
English Speaking
After nine hours of
demanding work at
Kernersville Knitting,
My Vuong, Kieu Nguyen
and Tuan Nguyen were
still in high spirits. They
were participating in a
class sponsored by
Adams-Millis to help
employees who speak
English as a second
language.
They are among
around a dozen Vietnam-
ese residents of the
Kernersville area who
have been participating
in the English class since
the middle of September.
They attend class for two
hours each day Monday
through Thursday imme
diately after work, except
when their jobs require
overtime work. Their
participation is strictly
voluntary.
“My and Tuan can speak
English well enough that
they can help others in the
class who may have trouble
understanding a meaning,”
says Stacey Stackhouse,
who teaches the class.
Stackhouse completed
work on her master’s de
gree in adult literacy at
Appalachian State Univer
sity in December and is
certified to teach English as
a second language. Origi
nally, she approached
Guilford Technical Com
munity College about
teaching English to adults.
When a program for
Adams-Millis’s High
Point locations didn’t work
out, she was referred to
Forsyth Technical Com
munity College and that
referral led to the beginning
of the class in Kernersville.
When she started the
Instructor Stacey Stackhouse uses household items to generate discussion.
class, she took a serious
approach like helping the
students learn how to do
practical things like order
food at a restaurant. “Most
of the students speak
English well enough to
do that, so in recent class
es I’ve attempted to be
more fun oriented,” she
says. “Their response has
been very good.”
In a session in mid-
October she divided the
class into two groups. One
group was given a familiar
household item which the
other group had to identi
fy from clues provided.
The game used objects like
a bar of soap, a candlestick.
a hammer and a roll of
masking tape. The relaxed
situation encouraged the
students to use English
without hesitation.
“My goal is to help them
become more confident
in their ability to speak
English,” Stackhouse
says. She said the stu
dents appear to be shy,
but she believes that it
may be caused by their
lack of confidence in
their English.
“We work on pronun
ciation because poor pro
nunciation often is the rea
son for miscommunication.
During one lesson we had
the students say tongue
twisters to help them con
centrate on saying words.
I don’t speak Vietnamese,
but I have become famil
iar enough with their
speech that I can identify
words that some people
in the plant may have
difficulty understanding.
“All of the students are
nice, and, from what 1
hear, they are very good
employees. One Monday
they threw a party for me
and brought traditional
Vietnamese foods for us
to eat. They’re very good
in class and they’re
appreciative of what
Adams-Millis is doing
for them.”
Adams-Millis Responds to United Appeals
Many people will benefit
from the generosity of
Adams-Millis employees
who contributed to 1995
united appeals.
Employees at the
Kernersville knitting and
distribution centers raised
$23,000, an increase of 33
percent over last year. In
fluential plant employees
raised $15,362. Results
will be available later for
other locations.
Carlton Brady worked
on the campaigns in
Kernersville and at Influ
ential. He was joined by
Deby Earnhardt, Glenn
Hawkins and Barbara
Joyner in Kernersville and
by Kathy Duncan and Pat
Owen at Influential.
Many givers in the cam
paign received incentives.
Annie Baker won a trip to
Myrtle Beach as the grand
prize in Kernersville. Other
winners in Kernersville
were;
Day Off WUh Pay
Peggy Shore, Manny Perez,
Jason Southern, Katherine
Taylor, David Jones and
Latonya Cole.
Sagebrush Gift Certificate
Linna Bums, Annette
Johnson, David Branch,
Charlie Brown, Shane Sartor,
Pat Callahan, Kay McDonald
and Mike Lovelace.
K-Mart Gift Certificate
Bobbie Mullies, Rodney
Norman, Mary McLaurin, John
Mabe, Ernest Smith and Danny
Pack.
Food Lion Gift Certificate
Ron Bristow, Alberta Rivers,
Debra Martin, Connie Hood,
Judy Mooney and Gil Lopez.
Hanes 500 Tickets
Sylvia Morrison, Lan Vo,
Faith Burnette, Kum Lee,
Timothy Allen and Pat Baum.
The winners at Influential
were:
Day Off With Pay
Jennifer Carter and Glenna
Curd.
Oak Hollow Mall Gift
Certificate
Rhonda Grace, Mary
Owens, Robin Cmmbley and
Brenda Hill.
Day at Spa
Judy Watson.
Dinner at Applebee’s
Mitchel Tyson, Dianne Bull,
Gladys Eccles and Lee Roy
Dingle.
Dinner at Long Horn
Dawn Gill, Mary McEachin,
Brenda Taylor and Nora Davis.
Facts You Should Know About AIDS
By Jeanne Smith
Health Services Manager
Slightly less than a de
cade ago, few people had
heard of the disease now
called AIDS (Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syn
drome). Today, there is
hardly anyone who hasn’t
heard of it. Knowing about
the disease and under
standing the disease, how
ever, are two different
things. Misinformation
creates fear and hysteria.
Understanding what
AIDS is, how it is trans
mitted, and who is at risk
can alleviate fears and
misconceptions and can
actually help us all win the
war against AIDS.
What Is AIDS?
AIDS is a disease caused
by the Human Immunode
ficiency Virus (HIV). HIV
cripples the immune sys
tem, leaving the person
SMITH
defenseless against numer
ous infections and certain
cancers. In addition to the
skin tumor, Kaposi’s sar
coma, and the lung infec
tion, Pneumocystis carinii
pneumonia, other previ
ously rare infections are
counted among the diseases
that constitute a diagnosis
of AIDS.
Some symptoms appear
early in the course of
aids and don’t fit the
official definition. Persis
tent, sometimes painful,
swelling of lymph nodes’
oral yeast infection, leuko
plakia (white patches in the
mouth or on the tongue).
shingles, and extreme fa
tigue are some symptoms
of AIDS Related Condi
tions (ARC). Many people
with ARC develop AIDS
within a few years.
Some persons who have
been exposed to HIV
produce antibodies to the
virus, but show no signs of
ARC or AIDS. These per
sons are called “HIV posi
tive.” It is likely that many
HIV positive persons will
develop ARC or AIDS in
the future. Fortunately, ex
perimental drugs are be
ing tested at this stage
with the hope that damage
to the immune system can
be averted.
Most treatments for
aids focus on controlling
the infections and tumors
that result from immune
deficiency. At present,
there is no “cure” for AIDS
itself. Attempts are under
way to develop a vaccine
that would protect those
not yet exposed to the
AIDS virus (or, possibly, to
boost the natural resistance
of persons already in
fected). However, many
more years of testing will
be needed before a vac
cine can be shown to be
both safe and effective.
HIV is transmitted al
most exclusively through
unprotected sexual inter
course, the sharing of IV
needles, and through child
birth (when the mother is
infected with the virus).
Persons who have had
mutually monogamous
relationships since 1978
(and continue to do so) or
whose partners have not
received blood or blood
products between 1978-84
have little to fear. If you
have multiple partners, or
do not fit into the above
groups, using condoms
with a nonoxynol spermi
cide may offer protection
against HIV.