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Have a happy and blessiiiiis-tllled Thanksgiving...from The Chronicle Staff.
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The Choice for African American News
T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 23, 2
prs rave about Downtown Health Plaza
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
III
Photo by Paul Collins
b stands in front of the new Down-
faza, which will replace Reynolds
laments is director.
Hundreds of people braved the cold tem
peratures Saturday to attend the open house
of the $9.8 million Downtown Health Plaza
of Baptist Hospital at 1200 Martin Luther
King Jr. Drive. Activities included guided
tours, musical entertainment, food and
games for children.
More than a dozen people interviewed all
raved about the new facility.
“I think it’s going to be an asset to the
community,” said Joyce Henry.
In an interview, Michael L. Clements,
director of the Downtown Health Plaza of
Baptist Hospital, said, “This facility proba
bly goes back over a hundred years, starting
probably with Slater Hospital, which was
1890 something or other. That was the first
black hospital that was actually built for
African Americans in this town.
“From there it evolved into a small com
plex in the back of city hospital where blacks
received health care. RJR realized it wasn’t
sufficient, so RJR and Duke Endowment
built the Kathryn Bitting Reynolds Memori
al Hospital. That occurred in 1938. It con
tinued until 1970 when the Reynolds Memo
rial Hospital was built, which lasted only for
two years. It was decided that that hospital
was not profitable and closed down, and as a
result the facility was changed into the fami
ly health center....Three years later, in 1975, it
went under Forsyth County government,
became the Reynolds Health Center. It exist
ed until Jan. 1. 1998, when it became the
Reynolds Health Center under Baptist Hos
pital.
See Health center on A8
iBingo for Turkeys
iha Davis and an
id girl scan their
^s for apprapri-
Below: Mabel
loims her prize
ing a roomful of
■s during a spirit-
marne.
Mable Walker did not expect to be
yelling the word “bingo” last Friday
evening. But that’s exactly what she did
after four of her lucky numbers were
called during an innovative bingo com
petition at the Sims Recreation Center
in Happy Hill Gardens.
“Thank God,” Walker said after
her win. “I can’t believe this.”
Walker’s prize wasn’t a cordless
phone or a portable stereo.
Her prize was a portly turkey, one
of the hottest commodities in the
country this time of year.
Walker heard about Bingo for
Turkeys earlier that day as she had
lunch at her neighborhood community
center in Belview. Walker wasn’t even
going to attend, but she said she just
felt lucky.
“Something told me I better go,”
Walker said with a big smile.
Today Walker said she’ll most like
ly enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at a
restaurant. She’ll save the turkey for
Christmas, when her family will visit
from Ohio.
Bingo for Turkeys has become an
annual highlight at the Sims Center,
drawing city residents frorn Happy Hill
and beyond.
Ben Piggott, director of the center,
said in the beginning, the center simply
gave out turkeys to people, without a
catch. But Piggott said people in
Happy Hill are proud and did not like
the notion of receiving handouts.
See Bingo on A8
III
ected FTCC
ial to retire
ER
‘tic, day at East
School. James
Iresented with a
one of his co-
[ntained the words
“on the flap.
. the woman who
^ 3 Rousseau, was a
^ pr at East at the
an assistant,
whenever I felt
iray over it and
iut it in that folder
idle it," Rousseau
recalled last
week.
More
than 20 years
later,
Ro u s s e a u
still keeps the
folder in his
desk drawer.
Though he
has held a
number of
administrative positions in educa
tion since he received the folder,
Rousseau said the folder is no way
near thick.
See Rousseau on A9
Rousseau
No longer are they the students
‘who will never amount to anything’
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Without the benefit of a high
school diploma, Shelia Robinson
was able to land a well-paying job at
R.J. Reynolds with good benefits.
But that was more than 20 years
ago. She has since left that job for
health reasons and is possibly look
ing to go into another field. In the
job market once again, Robinson
has noticed that the times have
changed.
“A person really did not need a
high school education when I was
coming up. Nowadays, you have to
have a diploma to even be consid-
Board of Aldermen adopts
resolution for moratorium
on capital punishment
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Robinson
The Winston-Salem Board of Aldermen joined the city councils of
Greensboro and Charlotte earlier this week when it passed a resolution call
ing for a moratorium on capital punishment.
The resolution does not call for an outright ban on
the punishment, but simply urges state officials to halt
the practice until it can be reviewed for what many call
serious flaws in the system.
Alderman Nelson Malloy introduced the resolu
tion two weeks ago only to have it delayed by Aider-
man Steve Whiton, who wanted Alderman Vernon
Robinson to be present when the issue was discussed.
Robinson was out of the state at the time.
Whiton and Robinson were the main hurdles for
the resolution’s passage; they along with Alderman
Robert Northin^on voted against the resolution.
Robinson linked the growing movement to halt
capital punishment to a left-wing, liberal attempt to
embrace criminals while slighting law enforcement
officers and the criminal justice system.
“The criminals lobby....continues to hold up
Mumia (Abu-Jamal), Gary Graham and Darryl Hunt
as saints, martyrs and role models and treats Clarence
Thomas like a pariah, not because he killed anybody
but because of policy differences,” Robinson said.
Alderwoman Vivian Burke said she was voting for
the moratorium because the issue is of great concern
to local residents.
Burke also said she was concerned that people
without money, blacks and whites, are speedily herded
through the criminal justice system like animals. That
f
Burke
mentality, she said, has caused many not to receive fair treatment.
“Many people have been prosecuted wrongly,” Burke said.
See Aldermen on A8
FAMU students say
Sec’y of State Harris
ignored their concerns
BY YANELA GORDON
SPECIAL TO NNPA
TALLAHASSEE, Ela. - Approximately 300 students signed a let
ter of discontent with Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who they
say ignored their concerns and refused to answer their questions about
the tumultuous Nov. 7 election.
“We’ve written a statement saying she did not
represent us well by not addressing us at all,” said
Tia Mitchell, member of Florida A&M Universi
ty’s Student Government Association.
Mitchell was among the 300-plus students
who staged a 21-hour sit-in at the Capitol Nov. 8.
Students wanted answers about missing bal
lots, alleged racial profiling and the 19,000 votes
in Palm Beach County that were thrown out
because of “voter confusion.” Students were sup
porting investigations into the voting irregulari
ties and a revote in Palm Beach County.
“There are too many discrepancies,” said Derrick Heck, president
of FAMU’s SGA. “There is a consistency of inconsistencies across this
state.”
The sit-in started as a silent protest where hundreds of FAMU stu
dents joined by students from Florida State University and Tallahas
see Community College gathered on FAMU’s campus after the “emo
tional roller coaster” of a presidential election.
“Our silent march represents the voice of those voters silenced by
See FAMU on A9
Harris
eredforajob.
With that in mind and a decades-
old longing in her heart. Robinson
enrolled in the GED (General Edu
cation Development) courses at
Forsyth Technical Community Col
lege.
The results of her efforts paid off'
last week as she and hundreds of
other GED and Adult Hi^ School
students donned blue caps and
gowns for commencement exercises
“I never expected to be at this
point,” said tlie 47-year-old Robin
son, whose two adult children
watched from the audience as she
graduated. “But it’s something that I
See Graduation on A3
Photo by Kevin Wa!ker
Identical twins Wendy and Mindy Adkins prepare to receive their
GED certificates at Wake forest University.
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