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NEWS
YOU
CAN
USE
In Our 15th Year Issue No. 141
April 1998 Associate Consultants
Serving the Triad
THE
TRUTH
WILL
SET YOU
FREE
Priceless
W-S Black Leadership Set the
Tone for Baseball in the Triad
by Samantha Muhammad
Batter Up! Black leaders in Winston-Salem took to the
plate last week with a list of questions for baseball officials to
answer and define and left with many of their demands met
— with little opposition.
What they accomplished within a short period of time will
be a great deal if the majority of Triad residents vote "y^s" for
Major League Baseball at the polls on May 5. The home run
left baseball team president Don Beaver and Fred Star, who
is in charge of seeing the stadium built, agreeing to "even the
playing field" and open up opportunities for Blacks in
Forsyth County.
Points they agreed on included investing money in Black
banks; involving Black-owned media and marketing services;
hiring senior level Black staff person; including minority ven
dors, contractors and investors; offering a list of minority
Realtors to players; keeping ticket prices affordable; and par
ticipating in charities applicable to African-Americans.
With only a few weeks left, baseball advocates are making
a final push to educate the public to the benefits of baseball
in the Triad. The committee, chaired by school board mem
ber Geneva Brown, is now looking to open an office in the
old East Winston Shopping Center on Martin Luther King
Drive.
Committee member Ricky Wilson said they are already
looking for volunteers to help man the office and spread the
word.
"We are asking for volunteers so we can get the vote out,"
said Wilson, who is also the chairwoman of the Coliseum
and Convention Center Commission.
"We will be hooking up phone lines and equipment and
making yard signs and educational information available to
the public," she added.
Tim Newman, Ricky Wilson, Peter Fisch
Wilson said she supports having a major league baseball
team in the Triad and thinks it will not only boost the econo
my, but also the spirit as well. She argues that the main focus
of this baseball issue should not be the tax, but the children.
After attending the Tuesday baseball game played by the
Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos, Wilson was con
vinced that the Triad desperately needs a team.
"We are going to pay taxes for the rest of our lives. We pay
taxes now and don't know where the money goes. And if
we do know, we don't always agree with how the govern
ment spends our money. I don't see why we would object
to paying an extra one-cent tax, if it means that our children
will experience a better quality of life. That is the least we
can pay to do something for our children, " she said.
If approved, restaurant taxes will increase one cent for
every dollar. That means if you go out to eat at a restaurant
and order a $10 meal, you'll be paying an extra ten cents in
taxes.
Of the 8,000 spectators at the ball game, 2,000 were chil
dren. Peter Fisch, general manager of the Warthogs, said the
children were so excited at the game, they didn't care
whose autograph they received. "I was surprised that we
didn't receive one complaint and that's strange in our busi
ness. Everyone was having a good time and that was the
best thing to see. It's all about the kids getting involved."
Wilson and Brown, both supporters, believe that if we
focus on our children, then the voters will make the right
decision.
"I'm for baseball in the Triad," said Brown, "and I'm going
to support it."
"This is good, wholesome family entertainment," said
Wilson. "This will benefit our children and will open win
dows of opportunity for them," she added.
The committee now hopes to trigger excitement and fuel
interest with Black leadership in Greensboro and
Kernersville. Winston-Salem leaders have taken the lead and
have left no stone unturned in stating the needs of the Black
community. "Hopefully this issue will bring Black leaders
together, putting aside their titles, to accomplish something
for our people," Wilson said.
The Phoenix Embraces
a Phoenix
by Khalida Lovell
"It was Christmas Day, I walked up into the wrong place at the
wrong time and was mistaken for someone else and then I felt the
pain. I knew I was paralyzed. This hideous crime has made me
always count my blessings and give thanks."
This is a story of a young lady, Mrs. Jocelyn Rochelle Conrad, 27,
who was shot while visiting friends on Christmas Day 1996. As a
result, she was left paralyzed from the waist down. When talking to
jocelyn, I sensed such strength and compassion. She remembers
telling her husband when it happened not to move her, but every
thing would be okay. There she was comforting him, but all along
she felt if she closed her eyes, she might not awaken. So she kept her
eyes open the entire time until admitted into the hospital.
Mrs. Conrad's story forces each of us to re-examine our attitude
towards life. I've been told that a thankful state and knows one's
source is a grateful soul, jocelyn is just this.
Recuperation period for jocelyn was about a month and two
weeks. She was not able to complete her outpatient therapy because
Continued on page 2
jocelyn R. Conrad
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