L 120 062201 **********‘3-DIGIT 275 SERIALS DEPARTMENT CB #3938 DAVIS LIBRARY V| UNC CHAPEL HILL QiAPEL HILL NC 27514-8890 The Choice for African American News THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2 pemy will h citizens ce Work 101 rt*j -*4 Another black chosen to lead N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers kLKER Ie [nston-Salem Police Department announced a program last week that it hopes will give the resi dents it protects and serves a bet ter understanding of the way the department operates. Following the lead of cities like Greensboro, the department will begin its first Citizens Police Academy (CPA) in September. The academy - which will be held each Tuesday for three hours for 12 weeks - will give everyday citizens unparalleled pe day-to-day operations of the depart- BY CHERIS HODGES THE CHRONICLE Charlotte attorney James Fer guson II became the second African American attorney to lead the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers. The academy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan ■ ■ -i ipartment guidelines and procedures to lies. The academy will also give citizens upplement some of the classroom train- -on lessons in firing live weapons and cs. Participants will also have the option Jig with on-duty officers. At the end of llparticipants will have a graduation cere- The graduates pose with their trophies last week at Winston Lake Golf Course. Photos by Kevin Walker Samuels said CPA ibridged version of a given to recruits n the force. In fact, instructors who tvill be used to lead le said. ot trying to make s, but it’s pretty ; do with recruits,” Heart of a ‘Tiger’ Johnsons golf dink graduates largest class of youngsters yet '■f BYT. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE Burke a much-respected in of the depart- osen by Police Chief Linda Davis to A. He said he believes the program will down some of the walls between the nd the residents they are charged with ’s going to bring us closer to the citi- ill understand why we do the things we The most recent graduates of a summer golf clinic start ed by a City-County School Board member got their send off in un-golf-like weather - rain clouds played hide and seek in dreary skies and winds circulated an unseasonable chill. About 70 young people gathered under a picnic shel ter at Winston Lake Golf Course to receive congratula tory words, certificates of completion and eye-catching trophies. The young people - many of whom live in public hous ing communities throughout the city - made up the fourth consecutive clinic Victor Johnson has spearheaded. The clinics have grown in size and scope over the years. The mission of the clinic - giving young people a unique opportunity to learn a game that is foreign to them during their summer down time - association designed to protect the rights of North Car olinians in the work place, home and environ ment. Ferguson is a founding Ferguson See Golf on A3 Victor Johnson thanks the young hard work and dedication during people for the clinic. their partner at the law firm Ferguson, Stien, Wallas, Adkins, Gresham and Sumter, which also has an office in Chapel Hill. He said he has been a member of the organization for over 20 years. “This is an organization that is close to my heart,” Ferguson said. The academy represents over 4,000 lawyers across the state who fight for plaintiffs who have suf fered injuries at someone else’s hands. While Ferguson said there will not be sweeping changes under his watch, there are several issues the academy plans to look at. “One thing we are going to give attention to is the move to' have a moratorium for the death penalty. The death penalty is froth with problems,” Ferguson said. He added that he is pretty sure innocent people have been killed See Citizens on A5 See Lawyers on AS Unit will focus on rape victims BY CHERIS HODGES THE CHRONICLE iaines, director of Baptist Hospital's forensic nurses program, talks about the new unit. Baptist Hospital has opened a special unit in the emergency room dedicated to the examina tion of rape victims. The room is tucked away in a corner away from the hustle and bustle of the busy ER. This room allows victims to be alone with a specially trained nurse so that evidence can be collected and turned over to the police, said the director of the pro gram, Dr. Patricia Baines. Before Saturday, rape victims were directed to Forsyth Med ical Center for specific care. “(Forsyth Medical’s) is a more community-based pro gram and ours is a hospital- based program,” she said. Baines said last year when the hospital started a task force for domestic violence, the idea for the forensic nurses came up. “I don’t think it was more patients coming in, but the patients that were coming in weren’t getting the care we would like to see them have,” she said. Twelve nurses received train ing for the new program. Baines said the nurses volunteered to work in the unit. “This is voluntary,” she said. “That was one way we chose the nurses for the training.” The training involved time in court, ride-alongs with the police, time with the doctors so that the nurses could learn how to do pelvic examinations and time in the classroom. “The classroom training that they get is for an extensive peri od of time. We could have lec tures on how to approach women that have been raped, lectures on the forensic part, the psychological things that women go through,” Baines said. She added that there was also attention given to what happens to victims of sexual assault after they leave the emer gency department. When a woman leaves the See Rape care on A9 ►lie housing residents 1 toward homeownership Photo by Kevin Walker Sonya Mason shakes the hands of HAWS offi- B-veker ¥ I’lublic housing resi- giant step toward lice of the American he weekend, iduated from an r-long institute that hm with the tools Income a homeowner sffket. ^Jram is one of the Cj of Hope VI. the Housing Authority of Winston- Salem received to revolutionize public housing in the Kimberly Park community. All 15 graduates, all females, are current or former residents of Kimberly Park. Many of them have dreams of owning one of the many homes that will be con structed in the community as part of Hope VI. “Many exciting things are happening in Hope VI around the nation, but none of them are as important as what you have done,” William Andrews, chair man of the HAWS Board of Commissioners, said to the grad uates at a noontime ceremony Saturday at Phillips Chapel Bap tist Church, which is in the heart of Kimberly Park. The graduates dressed in their Sunday best for the ceremony. Many of them brought their children, who share their par ents’ dream of one day having a place to call home. dais as she receives her certificate of completion from the homeowner ship program. Mason endured months of rehabilitation after a car accident to make it to the graduation. See Graduates on A2 • FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL (336) 722-8624 • MASTERCARD, VISA AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED