^9'7 . V ^ortsWeek Coach Bighouse Gaines makes news in Kentucky. See pa*^e A2 'll Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point Vol.XXVI No. 50 '1! fi 162201 ******»..»*3_QjQjip 275 kLS ZEPARIMEaJT 1938 DAVIS LIBRARY itfcHAPEL HILL The Choice for African American News THURSDAY, JULY 27, ILMLL NC 27514-8890 . , ’:^U students, faculty join world community to tackle AIDS BYT. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE Photo by Kevin Walker * the WS5U delegation: front row from left - Cathy Can- i-a Miles; back row from left - Charlena Garrison, Thelma Tosha Jackson and Hamby Radwan. A delegation of people from every comer of the globe descended on Durban, South Africa, earlier this month. They came to tackle a subject that has grown from obscu rity to an issue of global propor tions in less than two decades - AIDS. Winston-Salem was well repre sented among the reported 14,000 people who took part in the XIII International AIDS Conference. Ten students and faculty members from Winston-Salem State Univer sity’s School of Health Sciences made the trek to Durban, a mod em, booming city on the South African coast. Fresh from their trip, members of the WSSU delegation said last week that the conference was an eye-opener, a one-of-a-kind educa tional and personal experience that they say they will never forget. “I can’t believe I was not dream ing,” said Thelma Westbrook, one of four WSSU students who attended the conference. “I got to one of the largest and most impor tant conferences in the world and it was in the Motherland.” Westbrook and the other nine were chosen by Sylvia Flack, who heads the school, and department heads within health sciences school. The team members chosen repre sent each department in the divi sion, from nursing to physical ther apy. Faculty members Carol Hardin Boles, Cathy Canzona, Charlena Garrison, Hamby Radwan, Sandra Miles and Irene Phillips made up the team, along with students West brook, Tasha Jackson, Dino Jones and Ashot Shirazyan. “Fm real proud of this group; they have not only made our School of Health Sciences, but also this university look good with the work that they have done,” Flack said. The expense-paid trip came about through a MIRT (Minorities International Research Training) project that links WSSU with Johns Hopkins University and Brown University for educational and research purposes. Flack said the trip was especial ly significant for the WSSU team because the AIDS epidemic is rear ing its ugly head like never before in the Tarheel state. Currently, North Carolina ranks seventh among the states with the highest number of reported HIV/AIDS cases. But the conference was sobering proof for the delegation that North Carolina is not alone in its fight to put a leash on the disease. The group talked about the many dis cussions they had with people from countries throughout the world about the way AIDS has affected life and culture. “It really showed me that AIDS is not affecting just one part of the world,” said Jackson. “It’s really touching everyone.” The place that is feeling the most effects from AIDS is the con tinent in which the conference was held. According to the Centers for See Conference on A4 Atkins Class of ‘50 recalls a half- century of change and progress BY T. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE lla Lentz and two boys behind her listen intently as children's librarian Heather McCutchen ''Scarlette Beane," itfmers Market wows kids L COLLINS § RONICLE ® en-year-old Carmella Lentz got a sur- ® ist Thursday morning. ^' mother, Teresa Lentz, took Carmella liireschool storytime at the Downtown rs Market, at Sixth and Cherry streets, i usually come up here and go shopping ly fruits and vegetables,” Teresa Lentz preschool storytime was a bonus. Je was surprised,” Carmella’s mother Photo by Paul Collins mella likes to read. “She likes funny She likes books on animals, adventure books about far-away lands,” her moth- mella, a rising second-grader at Sher- ^orest Elementary School, was dressed in pink shirts and a pink Myrtle Beach T-shirt this day. She walked to the front of the audi ence of 30 or so children and adults and sat on a mat in front of Heather McCutchen, a chil dren’s librarian at the Central Library. Behind Carmella, two little boys sat on their mother’s lap. McCutchen began the program by men tioning vegetable gardens, then having the children sing “The Farmer in the Dell.” “Good job,” McCutchen said at the end, applauding and smiling broadly. “Has anybody heard this story, ‘The Hun gry Caterpillar’?” “In the light of a moon, a little egg lay on a leaf And one Sunday morning the warm sun came up and POP, out of that egg WHOOPS came a little caterpillar,” McCutchen began in an animated voice.” See Storytime on AS ui o\j nave veu iicials: Enforcing child support is key " clerk of court, child support divi- Time was neither free-flowing nor abundant for graduates of Atkins High School last weekend. Alumni of the school invaded the city from every part of the nation for Millennium Celebration, a large scale reunion that attempted to bring together as many people as possible who graduated from the school. While socials, formal cere monies and impromptu reminisc ing sessions were continuous at the Adam’s Mark Winston Plaza, a few alumni managed to sneak off to the campus of Winston-Salem State University early Saturday morning for a small-scale reunion of their own. The Class of 1950 scheduled its regular reunion to coincide with the millennium event. Although members of the class say they knew their mini-reunion would be greatly overshadowed by the larg er, all-inclusive event, they said they could not let the 50th anniver sary of their high school gradua tion pass without any fanfare at all. “We are celebrating 50 years of progress for our class,” said class president Samuel Tucker, who flew in from his home in New York to attend both reunions. The Class of 1950 holds many distinctions, according to Tucker. It was the first class to have yearbooks and was the largest freshman class to enter the school at the time. Naomi Jones served as chair person for the reunion. Jones, who still lives in the city, said members of the Class of 50 have served the Photo by Kevin Walker Betty Hines reads the program at the Class of '50 reunion Saturday, nation well through jobs in fields like education, law and medicine. “We got a great education at Atkins, went to some of the best colleges and had great careers,” Jones said. Aurelia McFadden retired from the City-County School Sys tem in 1987 after more than 35 years of service. McFadden said Atkins High was more than a school, it was a cultural institution for African Americans during its lifespan. McFadden said students knew that grand things were expected out of Atkins alumni because of that reputation. “Our accomplishments speak to that (reputation),” she said. The fact that Atkins High School is no more is still a sore spot for many alumni; the Class of 1950 is no exception. “We were robbed of some of our history,” McFadden said. “The powers that be did not even make an attempt to preserve the trophies and things like that.” Atkins was converted into a middle school in the early ‘70s. With the closing of its doors also came the closing of an era. “We lost in desegregation. We lost Atkins. Even though we were segregated, we had an excellent education, bar none. We were the best,” Tucker said. Patrick Hairston said he has yet to apply all of the knowledge he gained at Atkins. “People were there to help you challenge your mind,” said Hair ston, who also chose to remain in Winston-Salem after graduating. See Atkins on A10 WNS :le 50 parents, law enforce- Jtals, social workers and als attended a “town hall St Thursday night to dis- 0 improve child support Jn. Linda Garrou, who the 20th District, called ^ which featured a panel P m local, state and fed- ents. Panelists includ- Court Judge Chester >ter Holton, US. attor- a Biggs, executive assis- attomey; Barry Miller, ton of Social Services, i support enforcement; tbbins, N.C. Attorney Wice. Division of Social -ynn Roberts, assistant clerk of court, child support divi sion, Forsyth County; Denise Hartsfield, Forsyth County Divi sion of Social Services, child sup port attorney; and Assistant Sheriff Alan Gentry. Garrou began the meeting by asking the panelists to explain how the system works, and then the pan elists answered from members of the audience. Among the difficulties in child support enforcement that panelists pointed out were heavy caseloads, difficulty in locating defendants, dif ficulty sometimes in computing the defendant’s income, budget con straints and inadequate manpower for enforcement. For example. Assistant Sheriff Alan Gentry talked about the diffi- SeeTown hall on A10 Photo by Paul Collins Assistant Sheriff Alan Gentry (right) explains some of the problems and challenges his officers face in child support enforcement. National Night Out will try to fight crime BY CHERIS HODGES THE CHRONICLE Winston-Salem is joining 9,000 other communities to fight crime next month. Aug. 1 is National Night Out. Neighborhoods in the city are invited to participate in the event, which is nationally spon sored by the National Associa tion of Town Watch. Over 30 million people are expected to participate in the evening, dubbed as “America’s night out against crime.” National project coordinator Matt Peskin said, “The National Night Out campaign is an extra- ordinary way to build neighbor hood unity and strengthen police- community partner ships. We invite neighborhoods nationwide to join forces with us to give crime and drugs a going-away party.” National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and Burke See Night Out on A4 FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL (336} Z22-S624 • MASTERCARD,, VISA AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED

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