r): tsWeek Have a happy and blessiiiiis-tllled Thanksgiving...from The Chronicle Staff. it^onin A playofEs makes waves ’s Saints See B7 See >13 Community See C7 See Cl Singer Sade scores big with new CD • • • • Program lauds new graduates I 4-8890 ^!C 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. • FOR SUBSCRIPTtONS CALL (33^) T23-862A • MASTERCARD,^ VISA AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED •

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