Youth offenders hoping for better tomorrows. See Page A3
»ortsWeek
>tball players
nng it in family
• • • •
sive lines push
irver to top
Community
Concerts putting
locals
spell on
• • • •
See B1
See >12
Young artist
making mark
118 062201 275
SERIALS lEPARTMENT
CB #3938 DAVIS LIBRARY
UNC CHAPEL HILL
aiAPEL HILL NC 27514-8890
inston-Salem Greensboro High Point
Vol.XXVI No. 53
The Choice for African American News
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17,
f.,
Mam to
growing
>s bumpy
KljODGES
EE
f
hers Big Sisters Ser-
The Fathers and
Huntley
Rickets is an issue for
black community again
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
s in. The program
iinchild of LaShun
Huntley,
from Big
Brothers
Big Sisters,
and Ben-
j a m i n
M u h a m -
mad, from
The Fathers
and Friends
Program.
MECCA
is the
acronym for
ling in Character,
d Achievement.
See Big on AS
Carolyn Napper, left, and Virgie Collins sing at The Pond Reunion Saturday.
Photos by Paul Collins
Remembering a time gone by
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
The 10th annual Pond
Reunion was dedicated to the
nine people who died in the
1904 tragedy that gave the com
munity its name.
The history of Pond com
munity says;
Around the turn of the cen
tury, there was an important
landmark in Winston-Salem,
located on Trade Street Hill. It
was a 60-foot deep brick water
reservoir with 20 feet of it locat
ed below the ground and 20 feet
of it above.
Although it very obviously
stood out among the one-story
tenements which were small
rental shacks, there was little
concern about leaks or safety on
the part of the residents who
were mostly blacks, although
there were a few whites living in
the community.
Of course, time and hind
sight proved otherwise, as that
landmark and the turn of events
gave us a name for the commu
nity we cherished - The Pond.
See Pond Reunion on A10
Nutritional rickets is making a
comeback, especially among
breast-fed black infants. But nutri
tional rickets is totally pre
ventable, with vitamin D supple
ments.
Robert P. Schwartz, M.D..
pediatric endocrinologist, held a
news conference last Thursday at
Brenner Children’s Hospital to
talk about a study of nutritional
rickets, a bone-weakening condi
tion in infants and children caused
by too little vitamin D. Schwartz
was an investigator in the study,
which began in 1988. Doctors
from Wake Forest University Bap
tist Medical Center and the Uni
versity of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill School of Medicine
identified and treated 30 cases of
infants with nutritional rickets.
“It turned out that all, 100 per
cent, of our cases are African-
American infants,” Schwartz said.
“All were breast-feeding for long
periods of time, an average of 12
1/2 months. The median age of the
children was 15 1/2 months but
they ranged from as young as five
months up to 25 months. They’re
mostly toddlers. And none had
received supplemental vitamin D.
“Then we went to our state
WIC (Women, Infants and Chil
Photo by Paul Collins
Robert P. Schwartz, M.D., pedi
atric endocrinologist, explains
the findings of a study on nutri
tional rickets.
dren) program to try to get some
explanation for this. And as it
turns out there obviously has
been, and appropriately so, a push
to increase breast feeding in all
children in all mothers in the state
of North Carolina. So we’ve done
an excellent job. As a matter of
See Rickets on A9
5TA rolls out new, high-tech fleet
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Photo by Kevin Walker
htands in front a new WSTA bus.
Two of the latest additions to the
Winston-Salem Transit Authority’s fleet
managed to cause more than a few dis
tractions as they rolled into the down
town Transportation Center.
The shiny new bus and trolley were
not available for public use yet, but tran
sit authority officials gave the public and
the press a glimpse of the new vehicles
for a few hours last Thursday. The 18
new buses and the trolley should be on
the road within the next week or so,
according to Art Barnes, general manag
er of the Transit Authority.
In all, WSTA plans to add 36 new
buses to its fleet in the next nine months.
The new buses will be used to replace a
family of box-shaped, aging buses pur
chased by the Transit Authority in 1987,
buses that Barnes said are on their “last
legs.”
The new buses, along with a group of
buses purchased in 1996, will give the
city a leg up on other transit authorities,
Barnes said.
“We will have one of the most modern
fleets in the country,” he said.
The buses will be modern not only in
look, but substance. In addition to bike
racks, air conditioners, and wheelchair
lifts, all the new buses are equipped with
a computerized voice system, which will
give passengers information in English
and Spanish. Barnes said WSTA has just
begun to tap into the Hispanic market.
The new buses also kneel (lower) in
order to make it easier for passengers to
board and leave. By the end of the year,
Barnes said, a locator system should be
installed on each bus in the fleet. The
locator will allow the Transit Authority
to know the approximate location of the
buses. Location information will be
passed on to riders who call a special
number, Barnes said.
The arrival of the new buses and trol
ley brought Cathy Harper and her son to
their feet as they waited for their bus.
“They are nice,” she said. “They look
a lot better than the other ones.”
Harper said she hoped the new buses
also operated better than the older ones.
“Quite a few of the older buses that
are running frequently break down,” said
Harper, who said she rides the bus at
least three times each week.
Barnes said he has no doubt that the
new fleet will eliminate the most mechan-
See WSTA on A9
I Family Match • October J6,2
D.e.
Martin Luther King III, from left, Min. Louis Farrakhan and the
Rev. Al Sharpton pose at a press conference in Atlanta last
month.
Washington march to reignite
King’s dream is scheduled
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
As the anniversary of per
haps one of the most impor
tant events in the civil rights
era dawns, people across the
country and in the Triad are
heading back to Washington
to “Redeem the Dream” of
Martin Luther King Jr.
Locally the trip to Wash
ington is being organized by
Amon Muhammad, the
founder of Black Family Day.
Buses will arrive in Washing
ton on Aug. 26, 37 years after
See March on A4
a Cloud, ‘Angel of Education,’ passed out wings in the 1970s
MCMILLAN
CORmPONDENT
wens Cloud values
Her grandfather
instilled in her early
an education and no
it from you.” Cloud,
ucator and guidance
at Anderson High
ig the 1970s, wanted
lesson on to the stu-
)rked with on a daily
ved in the classroom
and then worked as a
unselor for 25 years,
of her conscientious
0 the profession, she
olarships for more
lents to attend some
prestigious prepara-
around the nation,
'ved as one of the few
n the system before
county had merged in
Winston-Salem. She graduated
from Atkins High School in 1937
and received a B.A. in elementary
education from Winston-Salem
State University in 1941. She then
completed two master’s degrees -
an M.A. in education from
Columbia University in 1951 and
an M.A. in guidance/counseling
from N.C. Agricultural and Tech
nical State University in 1964.
She studied further at the Univer
sity of North Carolina at Greens
boro, the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and N.C.
Central University.
Having received information
through the guidance office from
A Better Chance Program, a fed
eral program. Cloud perused the
material and followed up on all of
the deadlines by identifying
minority students who were acad
emically and mentally strong
enough to take on the challenge.
According to Earnestine Gary
Fletcher, one of her former stu
dents, Cloud was considered the
“matriarch of Anderson High
School.” Cloud was there when
the doors of Anderson High
School opened during the 1958-
59 fiscal year, until it closed dur
ing the 1983-84 fiscal year, when
she retired. Several students bene
fited from the services Cloud
offered to youth after hours.
Cloud would bring, applica
tion materials home and would
screen applicants in order to
secure seven scholarships per year
for males and females who had at
least a 3.0 grade point average
and competitive test scores. Stu
dents received scholarships to
schools such as Phillips Exeter
Academy in Exeter, N.H.; St.
Anne’s Academy; Christ School
in Arden, N.C.; The Maderia
School and many others.
“This kept me busy, but I did
n’t mind. These were underprivi
leged kids who would not have
had the opportunity to go to col
lege if it were not for a scholar
ship,” said Cloud. “Those who
were willing to go knew it was the
chance of a lifetime, but some of
them did not accept the opportu
nity because they did not want to
leave home.”
Cloud wanted to give these
students wings to fly, and she
often had to use her own funds to
finance trips to the schools for
students and parents.
“I knew that if these kids took
this opportunity, they could do
anything they wanted to do. They
had the chance to compete
against the best. If given the
opportunity, they can shine
regardless of specialization,” said
Cloud. “Many of these kids were
from Happy Hill Gardens, but
when the good Lord was passing
out brains. He didn’t give them
according to where you live. Use
it or lose it! That’s what I say.”
She and Paul Ovelton Cloud,
See Clara Cloud on A4
FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL (336) Z22-8624 • MASTERCARD, VISA AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED