Summer work picture cloudy
By RUDY ANDERSON
Chronide Managing Editor
Winston-Salem's teens and
young adults will have a brighter
future finding jobs this summer
than many of their parents will, .
__ according to city officials who say
they have more money to help them
find employment than they have
had in the last three years.
But the Employment Security
Commission (ESC), the other agen
cy that will see a lot of those youths
is not painting an optimistic picture
for what they are likely to find.
"We anticipate this summer's
employment program being parallel
to last summer's program/ said
Walter Farabee, director of the city's
Workforce Development program.
"We are going to have high num
bers of youth needing employ
ment." ? - '
? : But Farabee said Workforce
Development programs will be able
to offer more because of an increase
in federal allocations to the city
through the U.S. Department of
Labor's Job Training Partnership
, Act.
; This year's appropriation to the
City for Workforce programs is
more than $32 1 ,000. That is up by
$85,000 over the previous year. The
city ; program is one of only a few
operating trying to place youths for
the summer.
Ltberians set
Solidarity Day
Extravaganza
Chronicle Staff Report
The Liberian Organization of
the Piedmont was established ir
1988 to advance human relations,
unity, education, international
understanding, and brotherhood.
The organization assists other
community service groups, serves
people in need, and helps in the
reconstruction, rehabilitation, reset
tlement, and relief of Liberian Civil
War victims.
The members o? the Liberian
Organization will hold their first
Annual African/American Extrava
ganza Saturday evening, April 27,
from 8 p.m.-l a.m. at the M.C. Ben
ton Convention Center. The event
will feature an African/ American
Queen Pageant, an African Fashion
Show, and Mr. Bill's Production
Disco Show. Patrons are permitted
to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bever
age).
Individual donations are $10.
Tables are available for a donation
of $100 per table (ten seats per
table). For students over 18 with ID,
- the donation is $5. Donations are
tax deductible, and proceeds will
benefit Liberia Civil War victims
and other tax exempt organizations
in our communities.
Mayor Martha S. Wood has
proclaimed the day of the celebra
tion, Saturday, April 27,
"African/ American Solidarity Day"
in Winston-Salem. She urges the
city's citizens to support the special
celebration by the Liberian Organi
zation with their enthusiastic partic
ipation.
For ticket information, please
call: (919) 922-2913, (919) 724
2099, or (919) 722-0063.
Belk store exec
pleads guilty to
lesser charge
By Chronide Staff Report
A former assistant Belk Depart
ment Store manager, facing a charge
of embezzlement, pled guilty to a
lesser charge Friday and was placed
in the Forsyth County deferred-prose
cution program.
Robert D. Rhoad, 45, of 6075
Styers Ferry Road, had been charged
with one count of embezzlement.
Investigators said Rhoad had taken
$1,010 from the department store at
Hanes Mall from Oct. 6 through
March 28. Rhoad admitted to a
charge of misdemeanor larceny.
Completion of the deferred-pros -
ecution program by Rhoad would
mean the charge would be disimissed
and he'd have no criminal record.
Rhoad was also ordered to do 50
hours of community service. He was
' not required to pay the money back,
. according to the prosecuting attorney,
because store officials said he had
already done that.
"With the funds available we'll
be able to give from 230 to 250
youths-opportunities for work," said
Farabee. The bulk of that group,
Farabee said, will be placed through
Workforce Development's Summer
Youth Employment Service
(S YEP) Youths who are 16-21
years old and qualify are eligible for
this program.
The rest, he said, will probably
be placed through the Triad Youth
Service Program (TYSP). This pro
gram is a collaborative effort by
United Way, the Chamber of Com
merce, Workforce Development,
and the Urban League. This collab
orative effort in placing youth in
summer jobs is an outgrowth of the
violence of last spring and summer
that left two youths dead or others
on the wrong side of the law.
In this program youths as
young as 14 are placed in jobs. Last
year, of the 119 people to register
with the program, 58 actually found
work with various companies. And
last year the program was rather late
in getting started for programs of its
type.
"Kids needing jobs are sent to
companies needing people, and the
company works out the pay sched
ule," said Reginald McCaskill,
youth coordinator for Workforce.
"This is a referral and pre-employ
ment program to prepare kids for
the initial interview and the actual
work site."
McCaskill said he was hopeful
that an earlier start this year will
help place more youths.
While those efforts are
admirable, more than 10,000 work
ing age youths fresh out of the Win
ston-Salem/Forsvth County Schools
will be out on the streets in the next
few weeks. That figure does not
include college students returning
who will also be looking lor work.
"It's tough right now," said Cur
tis Mitchell, manager of the ESC.
Mitchell said there were some
opportunities available that he felt
some youths would not want to do,
like yard work. He said there are
possibilities in the fast food indus
try but that they are not as plentiful
as they once were.
"In the manufacturing, comput
er, and service-oriented industries,
jhose companies will be looking for
the children of company employees
to fill their vacancies first and then
look outside to fill the positions
left," said Mitchell.
"It is not going to be a great
summer for kids generally in the
workforce this summer. But if they
use their ingenuity, it is possible to
find something. They just can't give
up if they don't get the job they
originally go after." Mitchell said.
Youths will also be competing
with the adult population for the
jobs that are available in this area.
Reginald McCaskill, youth coordinator for Workforce, instructs
up for summer employment.
borsyth County's unemployment are looking tor iulltime employ
rate stands at roughly four percent, ment. ESC places about 1,000
Some would argue that figure is ?youths a year, under age 22, in full
extremely conservative. time jobs.
Even so, that represents five to Mitchell suggested youths
six thousand people in the four- begin their job search early to take
county area served by the ESC, who advantage of the few opportunities
Photo by L B. Speas Jr.
youth on procedures in signing
available.
"If adults are having difficulty
finding jobs, you know young peo
ple are," said Farabee, "That's why
we're going all out to give the total
family all the assistance they can
get."
Sizes to 24
Location: Corner of 5th & Liberty (Across from Downtown Post Office)
Honrs: 10 am-5^0 pm Terms: Cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Check. TES Open Acct.
724-1580
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