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Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point v?i. xxv no. 26
The Chronicle:
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King found guilty in Texas murder
?yrd
By IKKKI LANGPORD
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Js. PER, Texas - A while
sup.vn.icist was convicted of
capital murder Tuesday for
chaining a black man to a pick
up truck and dragging him to his
death in one of the nation's gris
liest hate crimes since the civil
rights battles.
Jurors deliberated less than 2
1/2 hours before returning their
verdict against John William
King, who now faces either life
in prison or execution. The panel
of 11 whites and one Mack will
decide his punishment after a
separate phase of testimony.
Courtroom spectators
applauded the verdict until State
District Judge Joe Bob Golden
admonished them.
"We win, and yet we still lose
because we don't have him
back," the victim's sister, Mary
Venette, said outside court. - .
King, a 24-year-old laborer.
was the first of three white men
to be tried in the June 7 slaying
of James Byrd Jr. The 49-year
old man's body was torn in two -
a head and right arm severed
from his torso - when he was
pulled nearly three miles while
tied by his ankles with a 24 1A2
foot logging chain.
The murder thrust Jasper
into a national spotlight as mem
bers of the Ku Klux KJan and
New Black Panthers descended
on the timber town of 8,000 peo
pie about 100 miles northeast of
Houston.
In closing arguments, prose
cutor Pat Hardy outlined the evi
dence against King, likening
Byrd's attackers to "three robed
riders coming straight out of
hell."
"After they dragged that poor
man and tore his body to pieces,
they dropped it right in front a
church and a cemetery, to show
their defiance to God, to show
their defiance of Christianity
and everything most people in
this county stand for."
Prosecutors argued Bynd was
conscious, suffering horribly as
he vainly tried to save himself
during a part of the way.
To make King eligible for the
death penalty, prosecutors had
to show Byrd's murder happened
in conjunction with another
crime, and argue the abduction
of Byrd amounted to kidnap
ping.
See SSurdar cm A3
... CIAA fans
say tourney
j still has spark
BY DAMON FORD
' THE CHRONICLE
The CIAA Tournament is in
town for a week of slam dunks, no
look passes and 3-point bombs.
While some fans talk about the
excitement that will be generated by
moving the nation's oldest basket
ball tournament to Raleigh next
year, most fans are living for the
- moment."
"I always call up people and tell
; them to comesaid Winston-Salem
* resident Beth Hopkins. "I've never
had a friend to come and be disap
pointed. They always say "Why
; - haven't we been doing this before.'"
Hopkins has been a tournament
-! regular since her, college days at
Wake Forest University in the early
'70s. Though she has enjoyed a few > -
ACC tournaments over the years,
she says ACC action doesn't com
pare to the action in the CIAA.
"These games are more fun -
there's more camaraderie," she said.
"The fans seem to back their teams
whether they're up or down. Here,
the noise never stops. It's always
1 been a part of my life. The CIAA
and I grew up together." -
Hopkins has made sure her son
David has been apart of the atmos
phere as well.
The third grader at Downtown
Elementary School says he loves the
action of the men's and womens'
games but his loyalties lie with one
school.
"Virginia Union because I like
their colors ... and my grandma and
grandpa went their," David said
; proudly.
The nine-year-old also has the
winning formula for the defending
0 tournament champion men's team.
"I think they've got to get the
? * ball down the court faster, use the ?
1 time they have to score wisely and
rebound their missed shots," he said.
Hopkins is a Panthers fan as
well, but because she and her hus
band have lived in the Twin City for
* the past 15 years, her heart also
* bleeds red and white for a local
CIAA team.
"I always pull for Winston
Salem State University too," she
said. "We're going to follow them all
the way."
Forty five-year-old Eddie Jenk
ins, a first-time attendee, is
See Spark on All
52 years and counting
V
4 Photo by Bruce Chapman
for more than 60 yoart, Cupid Kellum hat boon involved in tho CIAA, first as a playor and now as a 30-yoar
votoran of tho tournamont. Kollum's tho first to admit hob mora effective as a spoctator. "I was a bench
warmer. Coach (Harold) Taylor gave mo a sot of knee pads so that I wouldn't hurt mysoH if I foil off the
bench because I rode the bench so long.",
Tournament a fact of life for Kellum I
By SAM DAVIS , .
THE CHRONICLE , .
Winston-Salem's Cupid Kel
lum has a lot to say about the
CIAA Basketball Tournament.
That's because Kellum has
seen a lot of tournaments. ,
When Kellum made his way to
the Coliseum Annex for this
year's tournament, ifnarked the
52nd consecutive year that he's
been around for the annual festiv
ities.
Kellum's first encounter with
the tournament came in 1948
when he traveled to U-Line Arena
in Washington, D.C. to witness
the games. He hasn't missed one
since. ': .
"Over the years, I've watched
a lot of people come and go,"
Kellum said. "I know a lot of
people who have been coming to
the tournament for a long time,
n I
but 1 don't know of anyone who
has been here as many consecu
tive years as I have."
During the early years, Kel
lum, a Winston-Salem State Uni
versity graduate, would take a
week off his job as an elementary
school teacher t6 make the trek to
the tournament. His wife would
accompany him and -the week
would be a winter get-away for
See KaHutn on All
A new school lor
East Winston?
. ?
Black board members
leery of term "Southeast"
By T. KEVIN WALKER .
THE CHRONICLE - *
" ? . -
Financial investment in inner-city schools has been
several years late and millions of dollars short.
But during the first years of the new millennium .
that may change.
The board of education overwhelming approved a
10-year plan for the city-county school system Tuesday
night. The plan includes dozens
ot school renovations and con
struction projects and will likely
lead to a bond referendum in the
next few years to cover its pore
than $200 million price tag./
Although the plan includes
everything from $500,000 roofing
jobs, to $45,000 playground
upgrades, many East Winston
resident's are keeping a close eye
on the five new schools that are
proposed.
A new $26 million hieh school
Brown
.
and a new $7 million elementary school are included in
the plan for the Southeastern part of the city. The two
schools are as close as East Winston will get as far as
new school construction.
'Although the "Southeast" includes a vast area that
extends from a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive to Waltghtown Street and the hinterlands of the
county, school board member Victor Johnson said the
See N?w School on A11
Black Democrats
talk issues with
Republicans
During closed meeting, coup ?
leaders discuss alliances with GOP
f ? 0 ? .
By DENNIS PATTERSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS -
RALEIGH - Black dissidents who broke from the
House Democratic caucus on the Legislature's opening
day met with activists last Friday to discuss possible
alliances with Republicans on issues important to
minorities
"This meeting was not about leaving the Democratic
Party or joining the Republican Party," said the Rev.
William Barber of Goldsboro. "Party affiliation alone
will not solve our concerns
f ' .
"The real questfo'fi is since we have as a minority the
S< eIssum on A11
West dedicates homes for Vets
T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE ?
From a gigantic cake covered
with dozens of miniature American
flags, to the high school color
guard that stood at attention as
the Pledge of Allegiance was read .
and a string section who gracefully
performed "The Star Spangled
Banner" - patriotism was the run
ning theme of a ceremony last
week to celebrate the opening of
Vives Cottages, a transitional hous
ing complex for homeless veterans
located at the corner of Green and
Watkins streets.
The cottages hailed as the first
of their kind in the state - will pro
vide homes for the veterans as they
receive educational training, health
care or while they work toward self
-sufficiency.
Experiment In Self-Reliance - a
nonprofit organization dedicated
to providing transitional housing
and services to local residents -
pitched the idea for the cottages to
Veterans Affairs officials and will
supervise the program.
The organization's executive
director, Twana Wellman, was
joined by Secretary of the Depart
ment of Veterans Affairs Togo
West Jr., several elected officials
and many members of the public
last Thursday at the Glade Street
YWCA to honor not only the
Vives Cottages project, but also the
thousands of men and women who
have fallen on hard times after serv
ing their country in the armed
forces.
i "This was a massive undertak
ing," said Timothy May, the direc
tor of the VA Medical Center in
Salisbury. "When the call came, we
needed them to be our defenders;
now, we need to come to them in
their time of need."
Wellman - who took over the
ED position at ESR less than four
months ago - told the audience
that the cottages are just one of
many transitional housing efforts
the organization is involved with.
ESR also operates transitional
housing units on Burton and
Spring streets, but the cottages are
the first specifically designed for
vets.
"I never dreamed that so many
people would come out," a smiling
Wellman said to a capacity crowd.
See Wart on A10
Photo by T. Kevin Walker
Togo Wot* grmoti city worfcor* who hofpod to ronovtrto Vrvot Cot
tagot.
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