Tensions mount over mayor's proposal and appointments
**
"MWOJr
By JERJ YOUNG
Tl*!rHTiMr"'
The fate of the Housing Authority of
Winston-Salem's Board of Commission
ers will be decided July 20, during the
S Board of Aldermen's nest meeting.
Earlier this month. Mayor Jack
Cavanagh proposed that the board's
membership be dropped from the state's
statutory maximum of 9 to 5, the size of
the original board. The proposal would
. eliminate two voting scats once held by
' public housing residents and create
instead an ad hoc position that would
advise the board on resi
dent's concerns.
After impassioned
speeches by several resi
dents of public housing,
the measure was tabled
and will be decided on at
Monday's meeting.
Cavanagh also stirred
controversy when he
reappointed former
board of commissioners
chair Bill Andrews and
Chronicle publisher
Ernie Pitt to seats once
A
held by public housing
residents
And while aldermen
wrestle to decide the
board's future, angry
public housing resi
dents have launched a
campaign to keep their
seats and a nine-mem
ber board, that Alder
men Nelson M alloy, a
resident of public bous
ing, says will "include
any means necessary."
"We'll go as far as
necessary to stop this process," M alloy
said. "Even after Monday night's vote, if
it's not what we want, we have to do
something to ensure that if the board is
five members, residents are on there."
Already, Pitt has received numerous
threats that public housing residents will
launch a boycott against The Chronicle
if he refuses to step down.
"I don't really understand what all of
this about," Pitt said. "I think that's
unfortunate. If they want to boycott or
picket that's certainly their option. That's
Ser HAWS CM A! 1
75 cents WlNSTON-SALEM GREENSIORO HIGH POINT Vol. XXIV No. 46
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Ruffin elected
chair of board
jr
By ARCHIE T. CLARK and JOHN M INTER
roiMSTH inATED MEDIA GROUP
The University of North Carolina Board of Gov
Kuffm
I .gPors elected Benjamin
' |flpfTin to be its new chair
I*Shan Friday, making him
One first black person to
mild the top post.
Ruffin, vice president
of corporate affairs at R.J.
"Reynolds, was elected by
the slimmest of margins,
winning 16-15 over the
chairman Clifford
Cameron of Charlotte.
* After the results were
-announced, Ruffin com
.njervdep. Cameron s two- ?
year stint as chairman and
pledged to continue the
. board's momentum.
"We have a board that will come together," he said,
t - Although RufFin said no sweeping changes are
planned, he added that he and Cameron are two dif
ferent people from two different backgrounds and
that their one common interest may be their intentions
See Rtiffin on A11
L
i puckett and others
in running for vacant
IWSSU coaching slot
By SAM DAVIS
THE CHltONKXE ;
Fayetteville State University's head basketball
coach Ricky Duckett is one of several candidates Win
ston-Salem State University is considering for its
vacant head basketball coaching position.
Duckett, a Winston-Salem native, is scheduled to
meet this week with members of the WSSU search
committee. However, the exact time, location and
nature of the meeting is unknown.
The Winston-Salem Journal reported in its
Wednesday addition that Duckett met with WSSU
officials yesterday and would be offered the position.
However, sources told The Chronicle that there was no
nieeting scheduled yesterday. Sources also said that
while Duckett is the front runner for the job, he would
hot likely be offered the position until Anne Little,
WSSU Athletic Director and the members of the
search committee, have had an opportunity to meet
with other candidates.
? The committee, which consists of six members, has
not met in more than two weeks. At it's last meeting the
committee, after paring a list of 30 candidates to four
finalists who were interviewed, submitted Steve Joyner
as its choice for the job.
. Joyner, also a Winston-Salem native and head
See WSSU on A10
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Organization takes stand
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Iha NAACP aagm m mwr min pton ?hat?rak/atm high athod union touU advar?ly a/fact blatk t?m. Thm organization plana
totakata samaaam ^ailly lo atota lowmedcm-a, who hq*a ahaotfy muMtaJ aoma of lha porta of tha pro^mm. ?
State testing plan challenged:
state NAACP alleges ABC
adversely affects minorities
By ARCHIE T.CLARK
CONSOLIDATED MEDIA GROUP
RALEIGH - Tbe N.C. NAACP
plans to challenge the state's ABCs edu-"
cational strategies - including allega
tions of discrimination in classrooms.
The Rev. George I. Allison, state
executive director of the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Colored
People, said the organisation plans to
show state lawmakers the disparity in
scores between white and black students
jn public schools in addition to how high
drop-out rates and end-of-year testing
adversely affects minorities. Allison said
he opposes the ABCs of Public Educa
tion ? the state Board of Education's
reform and accountability program ?
for failing black students.
This is not the first time ABCs has
been challenged. Roland S. Latham Ele
mentary School principal Larry Fields
filed a complaint against the testing
which alleged ABCs discriminates
against black teachers and principals
who he claims are often placed in schools
where students will have a difficult time
passing the tests, which measure
"growth" from one grade level to anoth
er.
See ABC on A10
NAACP
gives reps
failing grade
By DAMON FORD
THE CHRONICLE ?
' LegislHttfrfThmi* the Tarheel
|^^|j0frgQLa failing grade on black
issues.
On a report card issued by the
North Carolina NAACP last
week, a grade of 42 - an "F " was
givett fo congressional rCpresenta
tives on civil rights issues voted on
during both sessions of the 105th
Congress.
The NAACP compiled the
grades from 10 votes taken on six
categories dealing with confirma
tions of African Americans to key
positions, affirmative action, bud
get and finance, the census, juve
nile justice and voter empower
ment.
Individually Rep. Howard
Coble of the sixth district, which
now encompasses Greensboro,
registered only an 8.3 while Rep.
Mel Watt of the newly redrawn
"12th district scored 100. State
NAACP Executive Director
George AlliSCG isn't surprised by
Coble's low scrite?
Kcgaraing civil rignrs issues.
Coble has traditionally voted
against them," "he said from the
Greensboro headquarters.
Coble now represents a num
ber of black voters who were shift
ed out of the newly revamped 12th
District. '
Rep. Eva Clayton, the state's
only other African American rep
resentative, also achieved a perfect
score. Rep. Walter Jones Jr. and
Senators Lauch Faircloth and
Jesse Helms brought up the rear
with zeros.
Allison hopes the report will
cause African Americans to think
carefully about who they'll be vot
ing for in upcoming elections.
"It needs to make us aware
that people in other states look at.
See NAACP on A10
Rising from the ashes - Watson promises WSMX will return
":i ?
By DAMON FORD
THE CHRONICLE
One week after watching his radio
station burn to the ground, WSMX's
Joe Watson promises he wiU be back.
"We're going back on the air; that's
all I know," he said. "Sometime next
week I plan to have WSMX running."
The transmitter and broadcast
booth for the gospel music station
located on the AM dial at 1500, was
destroyed last Wednesday when it was
set on fire by one of the building's own
ers, John Tate Jr. Tate says problems
with collecting rent from tenants drove
him to destroy the property.
He was charged with burning a
building used for trade and was
released after paying a $12,000 bond.
Watson, who is also the general
manager of Winston-Salem State Uni
versity's radio station, WSNC (90.5
FM) says that the charges of non-pay
ment are false.
"This is the big picture. The rent is
not behind. The rent is paid up," Wat
son said. "When we first bought into
this station about a year ago, the rent
was behind, but we worked to get it
back in order."
Tate's actions might leave some
people scratching their heads, but Wat
son says that he has moved on.
"I don't think it was targeted
towards us or what we were doing," he
said. "It was just something that hap
pened. I'm not bitter at him."
The only thing he regrets is "that
we're not on the air and serving the
community."
Because Watson didn't have insur
See W5MX im A10