75 c*nt* Winston-Salem Gbeensboko High Point vol. xxv no. a7
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010600*?* -?*'CAR-RT-SORT*"C012 1974 - Celebrating 25 Years - 1999 I from tNs l,brary
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B FORSYTH CNTY .
Black elected officials to join in theater bash
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By T.KEVIN WALKER
TM CmOHKlE
It's being described as a perfect
marriage: a blend of entertainment
and democracy, a combination of
pizazz and politics.
The National Black Caucus of
Local Elected Officials is coming to
town to share three days in the spot
light with the National Black The
atre Festival.
The fact that the NBC/LEO
annual conference landed here at
'the same time as the festival is not
an act of Gate, organizers say. Bring
ing the two together took a fight on
the part of the local boat commit
tee They not only had to submit a
stellar proposal to the national
organization to have the conference
here, bin they alao had to convince
them to delay the conference for
two months so that it would coin
cide with the festival.
The months of plaiyung and
the pitch for the city paid off; orga
nizers here got the news last
November that Winston-Salem
would be the site for this year's con
fercnoc.
"It wasn't (an) easy thing getting
this conference here," said Alder
man Nelson MaOoy, the state direc
tor for NBC/LEO. "We lobbied the
national organization to bring the
conference here this summer
because we knew that the premier,
one-of-a-kind Black Theatre Fesb-'
val would be here at the same time."
M alloy also oo-chaired the host
city committee with his colleague
Alderwoman Joycelyn Johnson.
Others on the host committee
indude Alderman Fred Terry and
v ? . . I
State Rep. Larry Wombk.
The 600-member NBC/LEO -
which is a constituent organization
of the National League of Cities -
is made up of men and women ?
from across the country who have
been elected to local boards and
offices. Many of them are expected
here from Aug. 5-7 for a series of
meetings and workshops, all of
which will be open to the public.
Members win also have the ;
opportunity to tour many of the
city's historical sites.
Picking the topics and the
theme for this year's conference also
fell into the hands of the host com
mittee WomNe said the committee
wanted topics that would not only
be informative but relevant.
"This will not be your normal
type of conference; you are going to
get information you can use"
Worn Me said
Workshop topics slated for this
year include: the 2000 census, char
ter school education, youth and
technology and African African
SreCoMfwanc* ?r A10
I - ? rllM ? I ? ?Hi JTmi ? un , - maw HMig iMm iiwarnil
? ... ^ , Photo by T. Kevin Walker
Youngttars play in ona of the e lattroom* at Living Water Family Resource Cantor. The day care woi gtarted bark in 1996.
? ^ '
Church fills spiritual and social needs
By T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE .
Call it a sign of the times or the
v wave of the future, but there is a lot
~ more than praying going on at Living
*'? Water Non-Denominational Church.
Over the past five years the mam
Z moth church on Urban Street has
Z- undergone a metamorphosis of sorts.
Much-used facilities began to be added
to space that once went unused.
Z First came the children, whose gig
* gles and playful exuberance reverber
ate through the colorful day-care facili
Z ties housed in the church's basement.
?
Then came the women, pregnant
and in need of prenatal care for their
unborn children. They found it at Liv
ing Water.
A full-scale clinic was erected at the
church in the summer of 1998, provid
ing prenatal care that is comparable to
that offered at Reynolds Health Center
and other local facilities. ?
Then came the women, men and the
children. With a few high-tech chairs
and dozens of painful-looking instru
ments, a dentistry facility was born at
Living Water late last year. It has seen
nothing but a steady flow of patients
since.
While the church with its pews and
stained glass windows, still exists, much
of it has now become the Living Water
Resource Center, which houses the clin
ic, day-care and dentist facilities.
"We know that Living Water Family
Resource Center exists because God
brought caring individuals and organi
zations together to meet the needs of
the people in this area," said the Rev.
Howard Daniels, pastor of the church.
The resource center is a result of a
collaboration of First Start Inc. ( a
coalition of four local churches). Smart
Start and the Kate B. Reynolds Foun
dation. The organizations' financial
support gave the center life and now
keeps it alive. Doctors from Wake For
est University Baptist Medical Center
and local dentists have volunteered
their time to the center.
According to Audrey Davis, the cen
ter's director, First Start was moved to
action a few years back after a local
study revealed that child-care facilities
were greatly needed in the southeastern '
part of the city, where a burgeoning
Hispanic population has truly made the
area a melting pot.
After scouring the area for a site for
See living Water on A10
Advancing
charter
schools
Proponents say choice
key to black children's
academic success
By DAMON FORD
THE CHRONICLE
GREENSBORO - It's the
time of year Guy Loftin looks .
forward to.
In less than a month Loftin,
the executive director of Imani
Institute Charter. Middle
School, and his staff will wel
come students for another year"
of teaching and learning.
"(Starting Imani) wasn't the
easiest thing to do, but it's been
the most
rewarding,
he said. ~Our
students have
-been 'very
energetic and
our staff has
been good. I
think the
education
you receive at
a charter
school is
excellent."
Loft in
Last week, Loftin joined
other charter school proponents
for a discussion on educating
blapk children. During the
forum, sponsored by the N.C.
Education Reform Foundation
and the N.C.' Racial Justice Net
work, administrators from the
Durham-based Healthy Start
Academy discussed the advan
tages of educating children in
charter schools.
Loftin, an administrator for <
(juilford Technical Community
College in the early '90s, decided
to open an alternative school
that would focus ort helping stu- ??
dents; especially black students, -
achieve academically.
The result was Imani Insti
tute. Greensboro's only charter
school. Located one block from
the rt'ew downtowh library in the
? 'old fSuke Power building, Imani
- opened last year vyth 100 stu
dents. More than three-fourths
.of them are African American.
Next month at least 20 more
students will be added to their
enrollment.
"We wanted to work with
See Charter Schools on A9
Local pools stress
safety to children
By PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Running on the deck, horseplay and double bouncing on the diving
board are the three most common safety hazards that swimmers are called
down for at Kimberley Park Pool, says Maggie King, the pool's assistant
irtianager.
? Manager Kevin Martin had a slightly different opinion. He said kids
throwing each other and grabbing around the head and neck (horseplay),
running on the deck, and standing in the hallway of the bathhouse, which
is a pathway for lifeguards to get from the office to the pool. The only
other path is for lifeguards to jump through a window opening in the
office.
Dick Butler, aquatic supervisor over all nine city pools, added a few
more safety hazards: kids who are not very good swimmers getting in deep
water and kids going off the diving board who can't swim (they hope they
See Swimming on All
mow dy raui v omn*
Swimmers havo fun at Kimborloy Park pool.
David Taylor named
High Point fire chief
By SHARON HAYES BROWN
FOR CONSOLIDATED MEDIA GROUP '
When David Taylor heard about the retirement of High Point's fire
chief he didn t think much ot it at tirst. But now.
after being a part of the Charlotte Fire Depart
ment in several capacities for 28 years. Taylor is
about to make another career move.
Taylor will officially resign as Charlotte's
deputy fire chief next month and step in as the
first African American fire chief of High Point.
After rising steadily through the ranks of the
Charlotte Fire Department for almost three
decades. Taylor is looking forward to this latest
challenge in his life. Without much fear in his
voice, he does admit that being the first does
cause some pressure.
fay tor
"I felt for some time that 1 would like to be a fire chief somewhere.
See Tavlor ... tin
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