Opinion
K'
Winston-Salem Chronicle
NDUB1SI EGEMONYE, Co- Founder ERNEST H. PITT, Publi*her/Co-founder
Richard L. Williams, Managing Editor
ELAINE Pitt, Director of Community Relaiioru
MICHAEL A. PITT, Adverting Manager Mel White, Circulation Manager
' VlPAPORN RaTANATAMNCHERI, Office Manager
Keeping LIFT Afloat
Unquestionably, LIFT Academy provides a special and
unique service in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County com
munity. The school s director, County Commissioner Earline
Parmon, for 11 years now has put forth a gallant effort to
help redirect those students who for one reason or another
have failed in conventional classroom settings.
When no one wanted to or saw the needJto help these
students that society has chosen to call "at-risk," Ms. Par
mon had a vision. And it mustn't die.
As school opens next week, LIFT is at but a third of its
projected budget, some $200,000 short If more money does
not come in soon, the ^cademy will have to turn away some
students. And that would be a major loss ? not only for the ?
students but for the entire community.
If students are forced to be turned away because of lack
of funding, the number of students reached will dwindle.
According to Thomas Allen, the Academy's education coor
dinator, the school is only able to reach about 2 percent of
the total number of students who are removed from main
stream schools. A good portion of the other 98 percept falls
by the wayside.
LIFT is mostly funded by donations from United Way
(which has cut back the size of its gift) and Community
Based Association. (Just this week, an additional $15,000
Because LIFT Academy serves as the safety net
for the city I county school system ... the
citylcounty school system should help to fund the -
academy .
became available from CBA, and five agencies, including
LIFT, were chomping at the bit to receive it)
LIFT is in dire financial need. This year, the Academy
was forced to layoff two full-time staffers, beginning the
year with only Gary Madison, deputy administrator, along
with Mr. Allen and Ms. Parmon. But all must wear multiple
hats. Mr. Madison has to double as office manager; Mr.
Allen as guidance counselor; and both will have to be
responsible for teaching all of the middle- and high-school
subjects. Ms. Parmon, too, will have to assist in the office
area.
Because LIFT Academy serves as the safety net for the
city/county school system, and because often times than not
when a letter to a parent ot an expelled student comes with a ?
recommendation that the student seek LIFT, the city/county
school system should help to fund the academy.
Last year LIFT had 65 full-time students and 60 part ?
time. Independence High and Petree Middle schools are in
place to assist these "at-risk" students. But, according to
LIFT officials, the Academy received 35 students from
Independence and another 30 from Petree. If not for LIFT,
these 65 students would not have had the opportunity to
work their way back into the mainstream. The bottom line is
that LIFT is providing a community service and needs fund
ing from whomever can help, including the city/county
school system.
Credo of the Black Press
The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world
away from antagonisms when it accords to every person ? regardless
of race or creed ? full human and legal rights. Hating no person , the
Black Press strives to help every person, in the firm belief that all are
hurt as long as anyone is held back.
How To Reach Us
722-8624
Production
Kathy Lee, Supervisor
Karen Hmnon
Doug Ritz
Reporters
Mark R. Mots
Deby Jo Ferguson
David Dillard
So?"< C
pttl
Circulation
Walter Mickle
Varnell Robinson
Todd Fulton
Patrick Edmunds
Business Office
LaCheryl Mitchell
Crystal McNair
?Advertising
Cliff Hunt
Judie Holcomb-Pack
Attorn**
tdit Bureau JL
Audit Bureau
of Circulations
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Being Gay Should Not Deny Right to Serve
- To the Editor:
Regarding the comments in
your July 29 "Voices of the Com
munity," I offer my statement.
Mssrs. Roper and Carter made state
ments that hearken back to the days
of slavery. The white men (slave
owners) argued that African Ameri
cans did not have toe intelligence to
survive freely. They were wrong!
Must I cite examples? Malcolm X,
Dr. King, Maya Angelou.
I argue that being gay in no
way determines strength or weak
ness. Look at heterosexual males.
Do they all appear to possess great
strength? I don't think so. Such
responses further the stereotyping
that keeps us oppressed.
Being homosexual should not
deny a person the ability to defend
the Constitution by which we are all
protected. Inappropriate behavior,
both "homo" and "hetero", should
be the key to service.
Mr. Jones, on the other hand,
must be a very spiritual person. 1 ask
that he remember to hate the sin and
love the sinner.
Jeffrey Allen Alsbrooks
United States Air Force
Thorough Coverage
To the Editor:
On behalf of the 1993 National
Black Theatre Festival and Larry
Leon Hamlin, I would like to
-express my sincere appreciation to
the Winston-Salem Chronicle for
its help in making the festival a suc
cess. Your coverage proved to be a
pivotal contribution.
The Chronicle exemplifies how
business can work effectively to
support the arts in our community.
Lee Com,
National Black Theatre Festival
US. Attorney General Janet Reno said the key to reducing crime is to invest in children while they are young
and not after they've turned to a Hfe of crime. Reno spoke to about 400 people last Friday at the Dixie Classic
Fairgrounds. She was invited by Black Men and Women Against Crime.
tributed in making the convention God bless you abundantly!
be a time of spiritual renewal and
Thank you refreshing for the more than 5,000 Rev. and Mrs. J.C. Hash,
: attenders from all over the world. St Peter's World Outreach Center
Rev. and Mrs. J.C. Hash
.. . ?
To the Editor:
The 89th Annual Girieral
Assembly of the Church of God
Apostolic Inc., which was held Aug.
2-6 at the Benton Convention Cen
ter, was a tremendous success!
Thanks to all pastors, busi
nesses and individuals who con
About letters .. .
. * I
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Columns must follow the same guidelines and
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Submit letters and columns to
Chronicle Mailbag
P.O: Box 1636 : ? ?
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. -fi;
Guru of Wall Street Sees Bad Times
opinion polls taken after the
Democratic Party's bill passed
showed that most Americans don't
believe the plan will help the econ
omy, and a majority have no confi
dence in President Gin ton's ability
to solve our economic problems.
However, one apologist for
Clinton said most Americans don't
trust Clinton because people in the
media, like me, have poisoned them
against him. In other words, most
people who don't like Clinton's
new taxes are too stupid to figure
out the loss of income for them
. selves.
The Clinton lovers, however,
will have to come up with another
excuse to answer Dr. Lacy Hunt,
who makes a living being fair and
objective about the future direction
uf Uie American economy.
Dr. Hunt, Ph. D. from Temple
and MBA from Wharton, is the new
guru of Wall Street. "Of all the
economists making predictions
about the sorry state of the Ameri- -
can economy, Lacy Hunt has been
the only one lately to hit the mark
consistently," wrote Paul Tharp in
the New York Post.
~He predicted the Crash of
1987. While other leading econo
mists were predicting a 4 percent,
he predicted a paltry 1.5 percent.
Two weeks ago, commerce
announced a paltry 1.6 percent
growth rate.
Needless to say, this kind of
accuracy in the money world
attracts big money .ooking for
advice on the future of the econ
omy. What is Dr, Lacy predicting?
He predicts second-half *93
growth for the economy well under
one percent because Clinton's tax
plan passed.
What worries him the most is
F.jgf.nhnwftr. Tax reductions stimu
late the cconomy," he said. Tax cuts
worked for JFK in the 1960s and
Reagan in the 1990s," he added.
There's no "reason or explana
tion why the biggest tax hike in his
TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist .
the damage he sees from Clinton's
lax hike proposals. "When taxes
rise, the whole curve shifts and the
GDP falls; when taxes fall, the GDP
rises," Lacy believes.
"It's been that way since before
tory will change the facts of eco
nomics," Dr. Lacy concludes.
Without the media, most tax
payers know that That'i why most
Americans don't believe in the
Democrats' tax plan.
Where 11m Coming From
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