RELIGION
EDITORIALS
PEOPLE
God's word
falls on
deaf ears
RAGE C1
'We told you so ...' and
'The Braddy case: What
manner of justice is this?'
PAGE A4
Housing
program
wins award
PAGE A6
Txr*
m-Salem Chronicle
The Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly
VoL XIV, No. 34
U.S.P.S. No. 067910
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Thursday, April 14,1988
32 Pages This Week
1
I
Simmons gets key endorsements
By ANGELA WRIGHT
Chronicle Managing Editor
Ann Simmons (center) is joined by supporters: from left, Logan Burke, Vivian Burke,
Larry Womble and Pat Hairston (photo by Angela Wright).
Ann Simmons, Democrat candi
date for Forsyth County Commission,
picked up four key endorsements Satur
day at a fund-raiser held in her behalf.
Aldermen Vivian Burke, Larry
Womble and Patrick Hairston joined
with state legislator Logan Burke in
endorsing Simmons' candidacy.
'We want everyone to think of Ann
Simmons as a person who is qualified
and capable of holding the position she
seeks," said Alderman Burke, who
delivered opening remarks to the crowd
gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church.
After Burke's remarks, Womble
spoke to the group. He likened the need
for the Afro-American community to
support Simmons' candidacy to the
national movement in support of presi
dential candidate Jesse Jackson.
"It's a poor testament for us if we
can look out for Jesse Jackson and not
look out for our own here in Forsyth
County," he said. "We can't afford to
give lukewarm support We need peo
ple out front saying I am for Ann Sim
mons."
Womble said he supported Sim
mons be''ause he knows "the kind of
person she is."
"She has been involved and
involved extensively," he said. "Ann is
the type of person that has never said
'no' whenever there is some cause or
issue to benefit the community."
Simmons, currently a Wachovia
Bank service representative, has been a
member of the Winston-Salem Human
Relations Commission, the 3rd Vice
Chair of the Mt. Sinai Precinct and
chairman of the Neighborhood Com
munity Watch. She served on the Coli
seum Fact Finding Committee, the Cit
izens for a New Coliseum Committee
and the Shaping Our Future Bond Ref
erendum.
"She's sincere, she's dedicated and
she's a hard worker," said Womble.
"That's enough for me."
Simmons is one of two Afro-
Americans seeking a seat on the Coun
ty Commission. The other candidate is
former county commissioner Mazie
Please see page A13
Community reacts
Health Dept,
should stay in
ast Winston
:NNETH RAYMOND
Staff Writer •
, #aiienis w^o frequently visit the Forsyth County
Public Health Department want the Board of County
Commissioners to stick to the orginal plan and try to
construct a ^ew building in the East Winston area.
fAichitects reported in FetMiiary that the proposed
site, just north of the Health Center, was not large
enough to meet the parking needs. The County Board
of Health then recommended that the facility be built
on the 9.8 acres of land along Knollwood Drive,
which the county already owns.
Many of the patients said they believe that acces
sibility would be the main problem if the new facility
were built along Knollwood Drive.
"I believe it would be a greater problem for older
people," said 60-year-old Floyd Massey, who uses the
department's blood pressure facilities. "It should stay
around here."
LaVeme Samuel, 45, said that the proposed loca-
Please see page A2
THE NATION'S NEWS
Compilet^ From ”AP Wire
^latform chairman comments
-ANSING. Mich. - Jesse Jackson may not w^l to
5wer himseir by skinriishing ovei' the Democratic
atform, said Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, the
chairman of the party's platform committee. He
denied speculation that Jackson will fight to leave
his imprint on the party's blueprint.
Jackstm campaign organizer Joel Ferguson said
'Everybody running for president wants to influence
the pl2Uform to some degree," but declined to com
ment further on Blanchard’s remarks.
King papers debate continues
BOSTON " estate of I^^n Luther King Jr.
will vigorously fight Boston University’s suit
toanding that Coretia Scott King surrender all of
h« slain husband's papers to the school, her attorney
said.
The universaty filed its response to Mrs. King's
suit and also lodged a counterclaim asserting that it
not only owned the 83,000 documents King gave to
BU in 1964 and 1965 but also owned all other papers
he wrote or collected.
Jazz guitarist shot by teens
LOS ANGELES -- Jazz guitarist Larry Carlton,
who was shot in the neck at his home by two teen
agers, was moved to an undisclosed hospital for
aecuriiy reasons as police puzzled over the
itaive for the attack.
The Grammy Award winner, was in srable condi
tion in the new ho^ital.
Martin to ban sale
of rebel flag tags
By KENNETH RAYMOND
Chroriide Staff Writer
Gov. James G. Martin said
Monday that he would order all
state and privately contracted
license plate agencies that sell the
Confederate flag vanity plates to
terminate sales immediately. Mar
tin made the commitment during
an open forum at Carl Russell
Recreation Center last Monday.
The meeting was the last event
on Martin’s "Capitol for a Day"
agenda. He said that he would
order the end of the sales after
Leon D. Kay, a local East Winston
resident, expressed concern about
the recent violence in high schools
because of the flags being dis
played. Martin agreed that selling
the plates helped increase racial
tension and also demonstrated "bad
taste."
"The Confederate flag symbol
has been causing some problems,"
he said. "The sales of the plates
will be discontinued immediately."
There are 126 privately con
tracted offices in North Carolina
and two state-owned agencies. The
contract offices fall under the juris
diction of the Division of Motor
\fchicles, which is also a part of
one of the governor's cabinet
offices.
James Rhodes, director of the
state license division, said he
believes that the choice is in the
hands of the contract agents.
"I think the decision is in the
hands of the people who run the
place," he said. "But the situation
surrounding the Confederate flag
symbol has become very sensitive
and whatever the governor says is
w h a i
Martin
towards
the gover-
n 0 r ' s
decision.
" I
think it's a good decision," said
Freddie Willis, who is white and
the manager of the License Plate
Agency at Parkway Plaza. "Some
tension might decrease and there's
no sense in selling something that's
offensive to people anyway."
Glenda Williams, a title clerk
at the agency in Rural Hall, said
that the decision would not make
any difference to them.
"We slopped selling those
plates a while ago," she said.
Please see page A13
Long pledges support to minority hiring, business
By ANGELA WRIGHT
Chronicle Managing Editor
Gerald Long said Monday that if
he is elected to the Forsyth County
Board of Commissioners, he would
oppose the recent proposal to relocate
the county's health center from its cur
rent site in East Winston to the pro
posed site near Knollwood Hall.
He said also that as County Com
missioner he would do all within his
power to aid minority businesses and to
increase the numbers of minorities
hired in professional capacities at the
county level.
The chairman of R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco USA said that he had taken the
initiative about seven weeks ago to visit
the Reynolds Health Center. He said
that through several visits he had spent
between 12 and 16 hours at the center
familiarizing himself with the services,
the racial break-down of clientele and
talking with the people who work there
and are serviced there.
"The priority should be to locate
the health center within a reasonable
proximity of the current location," said
”1 have heard
that the percent
age of minorities
hired at the county
level Is below what
would be the
norm.
“Gerald Long,
candidate for
Forsyth County Board
of Commissioners
Long. He said that he did not perceive
the issue to be a racial one, noting that
a sizable proportion of the people using
the Reynolds Health Center were while.
Rather, he said it was an issue of access
for the people most in need of the
health center's services.
In speaking of his support for
minority-owned businesses, Long said
that he had been a strong supporter at
R. J. Reynolds over the last five years
and that the number of minorities doing
business with R.J. Reynolds had
increased by five percent.
He cautioned that in order to gel a
reasonable assessment of what more
can be done to aid minority businesses,
"we must first find out what the facts
are in terms of who's doing what."
Long said that the issue of minori
ty hiring was a concern of his. "I have
heard that the percentage of minorities
hired at the county level is below what
would be the norm," he said.
He said that he would collect infor
mation on minority hiring and take ar
in-depth look at the situation as
whole. He said that qualified candidate;
should be assured a fair evaluation.
"I would do that because I believe
it's right," he said.
Long said he had decided to run
for the County Commission for several
reasons including wanting to spend
more time with his family. He said that,
as chairman of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco
USA, he had spent at least 40 percent
of his lime traveling. He said that he
now wants to involve himself in poli
tics at the local level and that he
believed he could contribute a lot to
Forsyth County from a businessman’s
perspective.
Please see page A12