iWSSU Graduate Battles Leukemia; Donors Sought in Bone Marrow Drive
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.tpMW afifd no relation to Juan
tWilson. "We just want people to
*{ake a blood test and put them on
?the national registry for bone mar
^Jrow donors." Healthy adults age
>18 to 55 are encouraged to partici
'^pate in the event.
>. Juan Wilson, a native of
??Wilmington, graduated from
>*WSSU last May with a bachelor's
??degree in computer science.
X "The entire WSSU family is
^involved with the bone marrow
?tdrive," Juan Wilson said.
The event is being sponsored
?i>y seven black fraternities and
^sororities as well two student
^organizations at WSSU.
I* Juan first noticed that he was
ill when he began losing weight
earlier this year. After losing 38
pounds, he now weighs 185
pounds and stands 5 feet six
inches tall.
Leukemia is a disease that is
characterized by an abnormal and
persistent increase in white blood
cells and the amount of bone mar
row, with an enlargement of the
spleen.
"He has two job offers since
he graduated," said Reginald Wil
son who learned of Juan's illness
during a recent bone marrow
donor drive. "But he is unable to
work now."
The Juan B. Wilson Bone
Marrow Transplant Fund has
been established to raise mpney
for his transplant operation that
will cost nearly $100,000. He will
undergo the operation at N.C.
Baptist Hospital in Winston
Salem.
His mother, Linda Wilson,
said that her son was in good spir
its.
"He is a very strong man, and
he keeps us going/* she said. "We
are hoping and praying that the
bone marrow transplant will hap
pen soon."
Juan Wilson has put his faith
in God, his mother said. "He
knows that everything will be all
right," she said. "He knows to
have trust in the Lord."
His fight with leukemia
highlights the lack of African
Americans who donate bone mar
row. The Bone Marrow National
Registry only lists six percent of
its 1.7 million donors as blacks.
More than 3,000 blacks in
North Carolina have been added
to the national registry.
"It is too small," said Regi
nald Wilson, a recruiter for the
National Bone Marrow program.
"There is a lack of education.
Fear is also a big factor. When we
educate, the barriers come down."
There are 6,000 new cases of
leukemia among African -Ameri
cans. "I want to stress the fact that
African-Americans must get
involved in bone marrow drives,"
Juan Wilson said. "There is a lack
of education, and I was guilty of
that myself. But now it has hit
home." t
Linda Wilson said that many
blacks that have leukemia need
bone marrow transplants to sur
vive.
Reginald Wilson
"It really hit us hard when
Juan told us he had leukemia,"
she said.
"You realize that this disease
is very serious."
His parents, John Wilson, a
retired school teacher, and his
mother, Linda, a owner of day
care center, are supportive of their
son.
"We trust that everything will
be okay/- Linda Wilson said. "We
trust in the Lord."
Donations can be made to the
Juan B. Wilson Bone Marrow
Transplant Fund by contacting
John or Linda Wilson at (910)
763-4466 or Reginald Wilson of
the Bone Marrow Wanted Inc. at
(704) 545-2083.
"We believe in the Lord, and
that has kept us going, " Juan
Wilson said. "I'm being strong.
We have a strong knit family."
[Federal Cuts May Hurt Legal Aid Society; Agency May Lose 50 Percent of Services
?5 from page 1
considering the Legal Aid Act of
C 1995, which would abolish the
?2; Legal Services Corp. and provide
v the states with the money to fund
block grants for legal services.
.?? Under this bill, the corporation
^?1 would be eliminated in six
months and the grants would be
made to states according to the
- X poverty populations.
Z* It is likely that the agency's
budget will be reduced from
?? $944,131 in fiscal year 1995 to
?*$516,676 in fiscal year 1996.
C*This reduction represents a 54
K percent reduction its annual bud
?
get
"I don't know what they are
thinking about in Congress/'
House said. "It's the govern
ment's job to make the court
house available to poor people."
Because of the expected cut
backs, the Legal Aid Society is
planning to layoff seven of its 17
staff members - attorneys and
paralegals.
The layoffs will be effective
Dec. 31, 1995. "It's an awful
thing for them to lose their jobs,"
House said. "The staff is more
concerned about what is going to
happen our clients than to them."
The Legal Aid Society han
died 2,000 cases last year.
Because of the reduced funding,
the agency will be able to deal
with 1,000 cases in the fiscal year
1996-97.
"We will do the best we can,"
House said. "We will be too busy
keeping people off the streets to
deal with cases involving unem
ployment benefits or unfit hous
ing conditions.'*
The agency's board of direc
tors approved the staff reductions
at its recent meeting.
"It was not a pleasant board
meeting," House said. "They
were distrssed about the loss of
client services."
U.S. House of Representa
tives approved this summer the
proposed cuts in the Legal Ser
vices Corp. as part of its $9 bil
lion of cutbacks in federal spend
ing to balance the nation's
budget.
"There is an awful lot of
poor bashing in Congress,"
House said. "They believe that
poor people want to be poor. Peo
ple are poor because life keeps
hitting them in the face."
Hazel Z. Mack of Winston
Salem is the agency's managing
attorney who wiU lose her job
because of the expected federal
cutbacks.
"The cuts are real, and the
public should have a righteous
indignation into what Congress
have determined for the poor in
the legal system/' Mack said.
"Congress has decided that if you
are poor, you shouldn't have
equal access to justice."
A staff member who
requested anonymity said that
layoffs were unfair.
"There are some people who
have long service and a obvious
commitment to this type of work
who are being asked to leave/'
the staffer said. "Others with less
experience and skill level will be
left to serve the clients."
The Legal Aid Society pro
vides legal services to poor resi
dents in Forsyth, Stokes, Surry,
Iredell, Davie, and Yadkin coun
ties.
There are 72,884 financially
eligible resident those counties.
The agency was founded in 1962
by the Young Lawyer's Division
of the Forsyth County Bar Asso
ciation.
. It gets most of its funding
from Congress through the Legal
Service Corp. The Legal Aid
Society also receives funding
from the N.C. General Assembly
and through fund raising efforts
among lawyers.
^County Seeking Ways to Improve 911 Services; Malloy Express Concerns to Commissioners
fc/rom page 1
? *
_ ??
?-^cations know," Graham said.
According to Graham, the
JTom Higgs crew did not call
[?communications and report the
?delay.
Graham said there will be no
?further investigation on the mat
iter, but he does plan to meet with
t franchise personnel to make sure
! procedures are followed in the
I future.
J Concerned resident have
; taken what started out as a side
J walk protest a step further.
; Residents addressed the
I Forsyth County Commissioners
at their bi-monthly meeting,
Monday night.
"We think this is something
the County Commissioners and
other citizens should be made
aware^ of," said Anthony
McDowell, a community resi
dent
After describing the events,
which took place Mc Dowell and
other residents told Commission
ers that "911 Sucks".
Alderman Nelson Malloy
also addressed the commission
ers concerning the delay in 911
service.
I'm here to address the con
cerns of the residents of the
Cherry Hill Apartments who are
also my constituents," Malloy
said.
Malloy asked commissioners
a series ^of questions concerning
response times and procedures of
the ambulance service.
Commissioners were not
able to answer some of Malloy's
questions, but said they will find
out the answers and communi
cate them to him.
Malloy also asked if there
was a residency requirement for
the franchise personnel.
According to commissioners,
drivers for the franchise services
do not have to live inside the area
they provide service to .
"I think this may be a hurdle
concerning the time lapse,
because the drivers may not
know where they're going, " Mal
loy said.
"When we were on our way
to the hospital, I heard the driver
ask the other man how to get to
the hospital," Lindsey said.
Lindsey, a diabetic and heart
patient suffered from a diabetic
comma, on Sept. 2, while wash
ing her clothes.
"I was just sitting there in the
chair, talking to a lady and then I
blacked out," she said. "I've had
problems with diabetes before,
but this is the first time I ever
blacked out."
McDowell made the first call
to 911 concerning Lindsey's ill
ness.
"The first call came in at
1:36 p.m. and Forsyth Emer
gency medical was on the scene
at 2:07 p.m., " Graham said. ?
"It was reported that it took
31 minutes, but I and other resi
dents know that it took at least 45
minutes," McDowell said.
According to McDowell a
total of eight calls were made to
911 before an ambulance arrived.
"1 called them (911) three
times, and they never came," said
Carleta Hauser, a resident at
Cherry Hill Apartments. "I said
they must be coming from New
York, so I gave up." .
Other residents said they are
not surprised, but fed up with the
911 service in their community.
"I've seen the ambulance park in
front of my house and wait for
the police to come before they go
any further up the street," said
Marilyn Thompson, a commu
nity resident.
Graham said he never heard
of that happening and it is not a
procedure that drivers wait for
police officers.
Lindsey said she still has
faith in the ambulance service. " I
haven't lost faith in them, I just
wish they would come when you
call them, " she said.
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