THURSDAY, AUGUST 15,
NAACP GOLF TOURNY THIS WEEK AT WINSTON LAKE
32 PAGES THIS WEEK
forecloses on ABC store in
Center
vt By SHERIDAN HILL
t Chronide Staff Writer
? ^ . ;
v * ?' ; ? ' -*
New Walkertown Shopping
; - Center has had its share of prob
. ; ?lems. For the past three years,
feast Winston Community Devel
? opment Corporation (CDC) has
: ? tried to develop the shopping cen
ter, and only recently was able to
secure the first major tenant,
Lowe's Foods.
? . : ?. ?
And now Southern National
* Bank is foreclosing on Phase I of
the project. According to sources
close to the project, it seems that
Turner Development Corporation
(owned by developer Herman
Turner) has defaulted on the
$500,000 loan it received to devel
op the initial phase of the shop
ping center. Phase I involved con
structing the A3C (Alcoholic Bev
erage Control) store, building con
Neither
Grace (left)
nor Turner -
(right) would
comment on
the issue.
nector roads, turn lanes and land
scaping.
Turner's loan came due early
in June. The bank filed notice of
foreclosure on August 1f and a
hearing on the foreclosure is
scheduled to be held September 3
in Superior Court. Named in the
foreclosure notice as borrower
and landlord are Turner Develop
ment Services of Durham and
legal representative Winston
Salem Attorney Michael A. Grace.
Both Herman Turner of Turner
Development in Durham and
Michael Grace have refused com
ment. James Grace, CDC execu
tive director and brother of
Michael Grace, declined to pub
licly address or clarify the situa
tion.
k Allen Joines, development
director for the city, said emphati
. Please see page A3
ON THE
AVANT-GARDE
By "TANG NIVRI
?ten. Is it doing to be another one 61 thdiJone
night stands or are we ready to get married?
Where do we go from here? iff; -if J# MiMi
host to the
Festival
impacts ?
on local
economy
By SHERIDAN HILL
Cftfgwgfe Staff Writer
Performances were sold out.
Throngs of happy visitors filled
downtown restaurants. Three of
the city's largest hotels were 95%
filled during an otherwise obscure
week in August which is tradition
ally slow. Area merchants gerrcf**"~
ally agreed that no other event
brings more out-of-town visitors to
Winston-Salem. - ? ~
The National Black Theatre
Festival brought 42 workshops
and performances Monday
through Saturday last week. More
than half of the shows were sold
Please see page A9
Photo by Mike Cunningham
National Black Theatre Festival brings mors out-of-town visitors
to town than any othsr arts event.
UNC's Spangler supporting WSSU's Thompson
By YVETTE N. FREEMAN
Chronide Staff Writer
Winston-Salem State University's Chancellor,
Cleon Thompson Jr. has the support of the president
of the UNC system, who announced late last week
that Thompson should remain as the university's top
official despite a federal investigation into allegations
of misuse of federal money.
Thompson is accused of using nearly $5,000 in
federal money to pay for rent and utilities for universi
ty football players. But, ever since the state auditor's
report discovered the alldge^d discrepancy several
months ago, Thompson has denied any wrongdoing,
saying that he earned the money from consulting
work, and it was a former employee, and not he, who
Although there has been speculation over
whether Thompson would be asked to resign from
his position at the university, C.D. Spangler, presi
dent of the university system, gave his full support to
Thompson at a closed session with the UNC board
of governors last Friday.
*1 appreciate the fact that there are conflicting
thoughts about what happened and conflicting
reports. But it is my feeling that what is best for Win
ston-Salem State is for Chancellor Thompson to con
tinue his role there and for me to provide what sup
port I can from this office,' " said Spangler.
In providing support to Thompson and Winston
Salem State, Spangler said that he plans to send
Gerald McCants t<Mhe university to take on the posi
tion of special assistant to Thompson.
He will also fill in for Willie E. Grissom, who
lor of business affairs. In addition, McCants will work
Stemming the tide of doubt
Sumler proclaims his innocence
By SHERIDAN HILL
Chronicle Staff Writer
colm X, and Marcus Garvey who, he says, got no
respect until after their death. "As whites choose who
they think our leaders are, they also choose to
Rodney Sumter is a serious man these days. Not endorse or destroy them. Too many black people are
what you'd call charismatic: rather, there is a quick to believe what whites say about who our lead
* ers are ?
Sumler wants to
stem the tide of public
disdain for the Winston
Salem Four, of which he
is one.
He is a political con
sultant who also publish
es The Phoenix, a local
monthly tabloid. Sumler
is one pf the main propo
reserved quality about
him. He is careful with
each word, his responses
are measured.
?I don't consider
myself a leader," he says,
sitting in the cozy den of
his large, comfortable
home on Patterson
Avenue. "The black com
munity has not chosen me
"People are doing us just
like Peter did Jesus when
he denied knowing him. *
- Rodney Sumler
? - " ? V T- ?
as a leader. The white community has chosen me as nents of the theory that the recent FBI charges of
a leader, and I resent that." political orruption against him and three other black
He explains this remark by comparing himself to * ? ' *" ? ?
black leaders such as Martin Luther King and Mai- - Please $ee page A9
FOR HOME DELIVERY CALL ? 722-8624 ?
Board votes
to reinstate
ousted Smith?
By SHERIDAN HILL
Chronicle Staff Writer
Two weeks ago, Win
ston-Salem Urban
League's new board of*
directors voted unani
mously to reinstate former
executive director Dee
Smith, who was ousted
last November by the old
I board.
Smith coufd not be
reached for comment at
presstime. Nat Irvin, chairman of the Urban League '
board, had little to say about the issue.
"I think it would be irresponsible to comment on
any action that the board may or may not have
taken," said Irvin Wednesday. "We are dedicated to
not discussing personnel matters in the newspaper.
We are part of the National Urban League, and there
* * J*
Please see page A 13
with a new scholarship program at WSSU, similar to
one he has supervised at Elizabeth City State Uni
versity, where he is currently the director of academic
development.
* Nearly all of the board members at the session
agreed with Spangler's decision to Keep Thompson
on at WSSU.
According to board member Roderick Adams,
Thompson's cooperation in tne investigation and sin
cerity in correcting the situation were factors in Span
gler's and the board's support. "The board considers
this to be a very serious matter, but, by the same
token, most board members felt he had rendered
great service to that university. While we didn't vote,
we tended to agree with the president that he
(Thompson) was a man who could be salvaged,"
Please see page A9
Photo by Mike Cunningham
Rodney Sumler faces Mvtral charges and Is
scheduled to go to trial In October