Mall bus policy under fire con.inu?nrompeg.Ai
Woodyatt said she had her first
meeting with Hanes Mall manager
Thomas Winstead a week ago. She
took over as WSTA manager just a
few months ago, replacing Jim
Ritchey who resigned lo take anoth
er mass transit position in another
city.
She said the meeting with Win
stead lasted about 30 minutes and
that they mainly got to know each
other. She said they agreed to nego
tiate with each other in good faith to
find solutions to accommodate
everyone.
What he (Winstead) and 1
decided to do is start all over again
on this issue. So we discussed what
the mall's needs were and what
WSTA's* needs were/ Woodyatt
said. "We agreed to brainstorm
some ideas to see what can be done.
I honestly think at this point we will
come together on something that
will please everyone."
But indications are that such
negotiations may bear little or no
fruit. Aside from Winstead's original
comments to WSTA ofpcials about
the weight of the buses as cause for
denial of a second stop, he has
declined to make further comment.
At least one other mall owned
by the same company that partially
owns Hanes Mall has also had some
troublesome encounters with transit
buses transporting African-Ameri
cans to the mall. The Chronicle
reported last week that Hanes Mall
and Columbia Mall in Columbia,
S.C., are both owned by Jacobs,
Visconsi & Jacobs, a
Cleveland, Ohio based firm special
izing in shopping malls. :
Several disturbances and some
crimes committed a year ago at the
Columbia Mall resulted in cuts of
bus service from African-American
neighborhoods. Mall officials there
said the action was taken to cut
down on loitering at the mall.
The Columbia chapter of the
South Carolina NAACP filed a dis
crimination suit against the mall^
But that suit was settled out of
court. In that situation African
Americans were reported to have
been fingerprinted, photographed
and detained.
Trouble also occurred at the
Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh
because of an attempt by the mall to
eliminate bus service. African
Americans boycotted the mall,
many interpreting the malt's action
as a way to cut down on African
American access to the mall. C&b
tree is not owned by Jacobs, Viscon
si & Jacobs.
Some bus riders in Winston
Salem believe that the management
at Hanes Mall is attempting the
same thing in here. "I don't think
they want all of those young folks
hanging around the mall,'' said one
lady as she should stood waiting on
the bus Tuesday. "But its not just
blacks making trouble. You ought
see how some of them white chil
dren act out here sometimes."
An African-American high
school student described how he
was kicked out of the mall after he
was refused the use of a restroom
because it was being cleaned at the
time he needed to use it N1 went to
another restroom/ he said, " but a
little later, this security guard walks
up and tells me 1 have to leave for
the rest of the day. I couldn't under
stand that because I hadn't done
anything." '
Some employees at the~mall
said the real problems occur on the
weekends when students are out of
school and come to the mall to find
their friends. "Sometimes on Friday
and Saturday night around here it
seems more like a zoo. You got the
brothers off the block, skinheads,
and rednecks. And they come in
bunches, sometimes they stay in
their own groups and sometimes
they mix with each other," said one
food service handler.
An employee at J.C. Penny,
who%chose not to identified, said a
second stop in the newer section of
the mall might not be a bad idea
because it would keep the J.C.
Penny store from being the conduit
for traffic coming from the older
section of the mall to the new sec
tion. "All the kids raising cain,
police running all over the place.
Some nights its like a war zone," the
employee said.
Still for other employees that is
not a good enough reason to try and
eliminate service or not establish
another bus stop. '
"My mother brings me to work
now, but if her car breaks down then
the only way I can get to work is on
the bus," she said. N1 certainly
would like another stop near the
new section of the mall, so would
other people who work in the new
section and who shop here because
it's a long haul if you have only a
little umc 10 caich the~bus and the?
mall happens to be crowded."
One woman getting off a bus,
when asked about the situation said,
"We need more stops out here
because sometimes the buses are
real crowded."
Currently two routes, numbers
18 and 20 pick-up and deliver more
than 1700 passengers daily to and
from the mall, Both can only stop at
the old mall entrance near
Annabelle's restaurant. One mall
proposal would eliminate route 18
which uses roads throughout the
mall as it heads toward another stop
on Healy drive.
Bill Fullington, director of mar
keting for Jacobs, Visconsi &
Jacobs, did not return the Chroni -
tie's phone calls about the situation
at Hanes Mall.
Need for foster homes chronic com?* from page A1
Patricia Minter, recruitment/
retention coordinator in the Foster
Homes Service unit of the county
social services department, said the
main idea of the foster care program
is to reunite children with their
original birthparents if possible,
Minter said the children com
ing into foster care come primarily
because their parents are unable to
provide for them. "The reason can
be abuse either physical or sexual.
It could be because they were
neglected or because a parent is
incarcerated or on drugs or alco
hol," Minter said. She points out the
foster care parents work in conjunc
tion with the DSS to one day
reunite them with their parents.
She said adoption is a last
resort when children cannot be
reunited. But that has not been a
certainty for those who hive sought
to adopt children in these situations.
"The courts give the original birth
parents every possible opportunity
to be reunited with their children,"
said Minter. "Adoption could take
two years or longer before a par
ents' rights to their children are ter
minated. And sometimes don't
always work out."
Minter said the foster care pro
gram staff does whatever it can to
provide the volunteers of the par
ents association the aid and support
it needs. "That is part of retaining
parents and attracting others. And
we really do need more than we
have right now," Minter said.
At present there are more than
70 homes in Forsyth County
licensed by the state to operate as
foster care homes for over 300 chil
dren. Minter said each household is
averaging about three children in
each home and that some families
already have one or more children
of their own.
Minter explained that the state
requires that a number of rules must
be met by peopld interested in pro
viding foster care for these children.
One of those requirements is that
there must be a certain amount of
space in the home. Another is that
there can be no more than seven
children in the home even if a per
son has the space for them.
DSS officials said some people
put off the idea of providing foster
care or adoption for a needy child
because they are afraid that they or
their families may not be able to
handle successfully the increased
economic impact that a child would
bring. But officials say, costs should
not be the overriding concern
because subsidies are provided to
those families qualifying for the
program to help pay for the care of
the child.
"One of the big things this pro
gram does is to provide the child
with the best environment possible
while they go through a difficult
period in their young lives, n said
Minter.
She said children often bring
with them the emotional baggage
associated with their experiences in
their original homes, and that a sta
NCAA
Continued from page A1
aired commentaries protesting the
treatment of the black media dur
ing the Final Four tournament.
"The NCAA has put up road
blocks and arbitrary guidelines
that no black media can meet, in
the path of the Indianapolis black
media. Both WTLC aitd The Indi
anapolis Recorder wished to have
the credentials necessary to cover
the Final Four - a major news
event in our city. We were denied
and rebuffed," Brown said.
Despite the ban of the NCAA's
credentials committee, The Indi
i
anapolis Recorder has been able
to cover regional tournaments of
the NCAA basketball champi
onships which were held in Indi
anapolis in previous years.
Housel suggested after the tour
nament was over that members of
the black media and David
Cawood, assistant executive
director for communications for
the NCAA, sit down and try to
resolve the problem that denies
access to the black press.
Nelson responded by saying,
"By then it will be too late."
Give
Another Chance.
Give Blood.
' "fr *
American Red Cross ? .
P
Gcxnci
. A.
? ? r . .f- - "I-" ? ... ? ... *
ble environment is a key to transi- Children now in foster care can
tion from a traumatic situation. range in age from newborns to 18.
f
Friende and Burke
Attorney* at Law
? Criminal Law (Felonies ft Misdemeanors) ? Drag
Cases ? Traffic Offenses (DWI) ? Personal Injury Law
? Bankruptcy ? Family Law ? Real Estate Law and
Wills and Estates
548 North Main Street
Winston-Salem. NC 27101
(919) 722-4140
Notice NEW LOCATION
Hair By Larry
is having a
SHEAR IMAGINATION
SPECIAL
Starts April 1st (limited Offer)
SPECIALS NOW
Original Special
Hawaiian Silky 65.00 45.00
Wave Nouveau 85.00 50.00
Leisure Curl 85.00 50.00
Care Free Curl 60.00 40.00
All Relaxes* 50.00 35.00
EVERYDAY SPECIALS!
Senior Citizen* College Student* (with l.D.)
1/2 of original PRICE all year long (Mon. ? Thurs.)
Open Monday ? Appointments Only
Tuesday - Saturday ? 9 a.m. until last appointment
EDITH'S GENESIS Wa,k "* ,_tJ.
. ' _ . BOOTH RENTALS VtLCOHZ
1001 S. Marshall St., Suite 44
For additional $5.00 off bring ad
? f* f"*
?M MK ??? ???
I 1 Lai Lob t
When You Order
1 Year of the
Winstcm-Salem Qironicle
Complete this Coupon and Mail to:
This special introductory offer is for new subscribers only and must
be paid in full in advance.
(Must not have been a new subscriber for past six months.)
Circulation Sales Department
Winston-Salem Chronicle
RO. Box 31 54
Winston-Salem, NC 271 02
Yes, I Want 4 Weeks for FREE!
Stan sending me the Winston-Salem Chronicle for:
52 Weeks Plus 4 FREE Weeks for only $18.52
(My check Is enclosed. ) Please add $ 5.00 for out-of-county subscriptions.
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
PHONE
STATE
ZIP
Winston-Salem Chronicle