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75 cents WINSTON-SALEM GREENSBORO HlGH POINT Vol. XXVI No. 20
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Most ringing in the new year quietly
Terrorist threats, Y2K bug mean evening at home
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
This weekend, Dwayne Cher
ry does not know what he is
going to do to celebrate the com
ing new year. He is wary about
heading to a party. ?
"There are a lot of crazy peo
ple out there," Cherry said.
Cherry has heard the rumors
about terrorist attacks and a
possible race war at the stroke of
midnight. Those rumors were
enough to make him consider
spending the first night of the
I
year 2000 inside of his house,
"chilling."
"I've not decided what I am
going to do yet," Cherry said.
This New Year's Eve thou
sands of people have decided to
head to parties in many cities
around the country. Mingled in
with the partygoers and travelers
will be FBI agents and other law
enforcement agents.
The FBI is on the lookout
for terrorists, both foreign and
domestic, who may use the com
ing new year to bring havoc to
millions. Five people suspected
of having ties with terrorists
were arrested crossing the U.S.
? border from Canada within a
two-week span.
One man, Ahmed Ressam, an
Algerian national, was arrested
on Dec. 14. Border Patrol found
nitroglycerin and other explo
sives along with timing devices
in the trunk of Ressam's rental
car.
Last fall, the FBI produced
the Project Megiddo report,
named for an ancient city in
Israel that is the root of the
word Armageddon.
It warns that when calendars
turn to the year 2000, extremist
groups and individuals that
place tome special significance
on the new millennium may
"present challenges to law
See Y2K A11
I
Duane Glover, loft, NYCC Data Center technician, works with NYC I
Y2K specialists Monica Schwartzbach, center, and Mike Feingald en
Year 2000 readiness in the company's Secacus, N.J., facility. NYCF
clients include 45 million ATM cardholders who rely on the compa
ny's Network will continue to have access to their funds.
Black leaders rally
for LIFT Academy
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
LIFT Academy is claiming vic
tory after a court proceeding to
determine the charter school's fate
was delayed until mid-January.
School officials are hoping that
the victory will not be short-lived.
"I'm hoping that (the school)
will remain open (after January),"
said Earline Parmon, the school's
executive director. "We just want to
be able to focus on educating our
students. Many of our students
can't make it in traditional class
rooms."
Parmon was in court fighting to
enforce a restraining order that
LIFT obtained last week to keep
the state from revoking its charter.
The state tried to get Superior
Court Judge William Wood Jr. to
revoke the order, claiming that the
financial problems that led to the
school losing its charter in the first
place still were not rectified.
The school countered by calling
witnesses that testified that it was
getting its financial house in order.
LIFT is charging that it was denied
due process in the revocation of its.
charter.
LIFT has been dogged by ques
tions over its finances for the entire
year. The State Board of Education
voted to revokp the school's charter
on Dec. 3, citing the school's debt
aitd its inability to eliminate it over
the months.
Without its charter, the school
wilHose more than $700,000 a year
in state funds, making its existence
virtually impossible.
LlFT's most recent semester,;
which ended in early December,
was to be its last with a charter.
But the restraining order will
remain in place at least until Jan.
17. meaning that LIFT students
will be able to return to school for
at least part of the upcoming
semester. A
See LIFT on A9
New guide showcases
black Winston-Salem
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
When African Americans
visit Winston-Salem, they will
now have a map to the heart of
African American history and
culture.
The Winston-Salem Conven
tion and Visitors Bureau and
Alderwoman/Mayor Pro Tem
pore Vivian H. Burke have pro
duced an African American His
torical and Culture Guide.
Burke and the CVB enlisted
the help of local citizens with an
interest in the history and culture
of African Americans in Win
ston-Salem to produce the guide.
Burke's vision and dedication
were the driving force behind the
guide, which is the first of its
kind in Winston-Salem's history.
The guide was designed to be
used as a marketing tool to(
increase minority tourism in the
city and county.
The guide begins with the his
tory of Salem and Winston. It
chronicles the settling of the city .
by German Moravians and then
moves on to the strength of the
African American church.
The guide is filled with black
and white pictures of historical
events in the history of Winston
Sec Guide on A4
Queen of the Cola War
Black woman takes
helm at state's
largest Pepsi plant
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
Running Pepsi Cola bottling
plants is a job traditionally
reserved for white men.
But that was before Lisa
Brown.
Less than a month ago.
Brown became the first African
American female to manage a
Pepsi Cola bottling plant, after
taking the helm at Winston
Salem Pepsi Cola Bottling Ven
tures, the states largest Pepsi
bottling plant.
Brown is responsible for the
day-to-day operations of the
plant and ensures the product is
packed and shipped in a timely
manner and that shipments
meet all health and safety codes.
She's also responsible for the
plant's 350 employees.
Brown doesn't mind the
raised eyebrows and questioning
looks she receives /rom some
people once they realize she is
not jt receptionist but the
woman in charge of the largest
Set Brown on At1
A tale of
four
' * ' #
businesses 1
Tamrtha Ml plays with torna of tho toys that will bo featured
at hor La Cafo Kids. Tho club will bo a hang out for kids.
Jamas Robert Miller III workt on a project at hit computer. Hit Miller't Printing Co. hot been a fixture on Trade Street for the
pott 27 yeort.
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| Entrepreneurs find success downtown
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
From behind the desk of her spacious
office, Tanya Wiley sits atop a gold mine -
a mine made of bricks and mortar, one
that has made her rich in more ways than
one might expect.
Wiley is landlord to more than 15 ten
ants at WC Publishing Business Center on
Trade and Sixth streets, the mammoth,
three-story office building she leased, with
an option to buy, in 1997.
The goal to find a place where she
could offer up-and-coming business people
reasonable rent and an active voice led
Wiley to lease the building, which was for
merly F.I.R.S.T, a drug-rehabilitation cen
ter.
"This place seemed to be ideal for that,"
Wiley said.
' Wiley knows the perils that can come
along with starting a business. She made
that jump before venturing into property
management. Starting in her home, Wiley
started WC Publishing Co. Inc. with a
modest list of clients and a staff consisting
of herself and her husband, Dorrel Brown.
Today, the headquarters of WC Pub
lishing is located at the top of the building
bearing its name. Her clients include heavy
hitters like Dudley Products, La Face
Records and Black Entertainment Televi
sion.
Her tenants call her a "superwoman" -
a woman only 30 years old with a deep
faith in God, strong business savvy and
Hollywood good looks.
Wiley is also a warrior in a growing
army of people fighting to save and uplift
downtown. ?
"This has been the best kept secret in
town," Wiley said about her downtown
digs. "We don't want it to be that anymore.
We want to be viewed as a one-stop shop.
We have a great vision for this place."
That vision has already been partly
realized. Businesses are continuing to pop
up in Wiley's building, as well as other
places along Trade Street and throughout
downtown.
Currently, professional firms, retail
shops, a recording studio, hair salon and a
limousine service call Wiley's building
home. Forsyth County also rents space
from Wiley to house a section of the
Department of Social Services.
Mounted on a poster board in her
office is the blueprint for a Caribbean
restaurant that she hopes to open in the
building next year. The restaurant will be a
See Downtown on A8
? FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL (336) 722-3626 ? MASTERCARD, VISA AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED ?
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