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75 cents WlNSTON-SALEM GkEENSBOKO hlgh POINT I. XXVIII No. 44
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winsion salem nc The Choicefor African-American News 0
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Crossroads
Latest battle ben\'een school system, blacks
surrounds location of new state-of-the-art school
BYT KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
The relationship between
African Americans and city
county school system officials
has been strained since the
1970s, when a popular inner-city
high School was shut down to
make way for integration. There
have been countless other
breaches of trust and numerous
allegations in the three decades
since then.
If last Thursday's forum
about a proposed new school is
any indication, the relationship
between the two groups may get
a lot worse before it gets better. .
School officials spent much
of the two-hour forum defending
past decisions and taking heat
for a proposal that would put the
much-hyped new East Winston
technology high school on a tract
of land that many do not consid
er part of the African-American
community. The new proposed
site, off Reynolds Park Road, is a
change from the site that school
officials all but promised would
be the location of the high
school.
The school will be built with
money from a bond referendum
passed by voters in November.
During the bond debate, school
officials talked exclusively about
building the school off' Old
Greensboro Road on a site con
sidered by most to be East Win
ston-Salem, an area populated
mostly by African Americans.
Some African-American
supporters of the bond are now
crying foul over the school sys
tem's change of heart. During
the forum, some blacks told
school officials, including
Superintendent Don Martin, that
they feel they were used to help
pass the bonds.
"People in East Winston, like
myself, are looking for some
thing that can boost the economy
Sec School en A3
rue rnoios
School officials are considering a site off Old Greensboro Road and a site near Hall Wood
ward Elementary School, off Kernersville Road, for a new magnet high school.
Schools get
access to
rapid-fire
network
t ?
FROM STAFF REPORTS
As a result of a mass upgrade of the
state's lightning-quick telecommunications
network, three city universities now have
access to a world of information with ease.
The N.C. Research and Education Net
work (NCREN) has connected Winston
Salem State University. N.C. School of the
Arts and Wake Forest University, forming
the state's first regional huh for the high
speed network.
Universities in the
Triangle area have
long enjoyed the
advantages of
NCREN, which was
revolutionary when it
was started by legisla
tors more than 15
years ago. The local
hub will allow univer
sities to not only
access high-speed
Internet services but
also help to improve
distance-learning programs and help
strengthen collaborative research among
faculty at schools across the state.
The new hub. which went live early last
week, was announced last Thursday at a
new conference at Winston-Salem State.
WSSU Chancellor Harold Martin said
the connection allows WSSU to take
another big step forward in the realm of
technology.
"One of the areas that this institution
has made significant investment is infor
mation technology." said Martin, who
added that personnel is the only area in
which the sc hool has
invested more
resources.
Martin said the
constant attention
paid to technology is
necessary to bring
WSSU "into a level of
competitiveness."
Joyce Williams
Green. WSSU's asso
ciate provost for
information resources
and the school's chief
information officer, said the connection is
a "momentous event" for the school and
the city as a whole.
"The Winston-Salem (hub) has already
allowed our faculty and students to partic
ipate in national research ahd teaching
opportunities that involve advanced net
working and high-performance comput
ing." Williams-Green said. "This upgrade
enables WSSU to serve as one Of the key
drivers of the Winston-Salem initiative to
bring advanced networking and high-end
computing capabilities to the Winston
Salem community."
Jay Dominick. the assistant vice presi
V., NCREN on A3
Martin
Williams-Green
Photo by Kevin Wulker
A multiracial group of teens carries flags from Latin nations during a processional to open a new center.
Center to help new immigrants
make smooth transition to eity
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
A unique community center aimed at
helping newly-immigrated Hispanics
access key services has opened its doors.
Amid much fanfare, organizers and
city leaders opened the Hispanic Interna
tional Action Center Friday. The center is
housed on the third floor of Central Ter
race United Methodist Church. The
3,800-square-foot space boasts several
offices that will be occupied by represen
tatives from local non-profit and health
care agencies who will provide services
or point clients in the right direction.
"It is like a one-stop shop." said
Daisy Rodriguez, who will head the El
Puente (The Bridge! program at the cen
ter, which helps to empower Hispanic
grade students and their parents.
Rodriguez
says the center
could not have
come at a better
time. Many new
immigrants have
trouble with the
English language
and find it diffi
cult to maneuver
their way mound
the city, especial
ly if they do not
have transporta
tion. Rodriguez, said. The center will he a
place where they can do things such as
take English classes (through Forsyth
Technical Community College), get
information about health and wellness
(through Novant Health and AIDS Care
Services) and leam how to qualify for
temporary governmental help (through
the Forsyth County Public Health
Department's WIC program).
"If they had to go around to all these
different places to get all these different
services, it would be very difficult."
Rodriguez said.
Clients will be asked to pay a small
annual fee to utilize the services. For
example, a family can utilize all the serv
ices for just $20. But Miriam Hernandez,
the center's director, said no one will be
turned away.
The center is an offspring of Neigh
Sec Center on A4
Terry
Sweet Success
Krispy Kreme makes house a home for local family
BY WALI PITT
THE CHRONICLE
The revitalization process of a Win
ston-Salem community took another step
forward last week as Habitat for Human
ity of Forsyth County and Krispy Kfeme
dedicated a new home at 310 14th Street.
Krispy Kreme and Habitat for
Humanity have been partners for several
years, teaming up on an annual birdhouse
fund-raiser as well as constructing other
homes. But this is the first house Krispy
Kreme employees built on their own.
Beginning in late April, more than 70
Krispy Kreme employees chipped in to
help build the house. The employees had
the house finished on June 10, near
record time for a Habitat build.
Sonja Murray. Habitat for Humanity
director of development, said that Krispy
Kreme was unique because the company
allowed employees to take vacation days
to work on the house. The company then
gave employees back those days to take
at their leisure, a rarity in corporate voi
unteerism.
Terri Holmes and her two children.
Rhea. 10. and Courtnie. 6. will live in the
Krispy Kreme house, but this was no
handout, as Holmes had to put in her
required 300 "sweat equity" hours to be
eligible for a Habitat house She helped
build her home as well as others.
"I was astonished to see new and dif
ferent things each time I came by."
Holmes said about the quick progress the
Krispy Kreme crew made.
Str Krispy Kreme im A9
NBTF
fund
drive
to begin
o
I ROM s I Ml K I. PORTS
With the 2003 National
Black Theatre Festival only
13 months away, organizers
of the festival are putting
efforts to raise money for the
biennial event into high gearj
Larry Leon Hamlin - pro
ducer, artistic director of the
NBTF and founder of the
Winston-Salem-based N.C.
Black Repertory Company -
announced this week that sev
e r a I
fund
raisers
will be
held
over the
next
year to
benefit
t h e
upcom
ing festi
v a 1 .
which is slated for Aug. 4-9,
2003.
Hamlin said because of
the current economic crunch
that government and big busi
ness find, themselves in, rais
ing money from individuals
through fund-raisers will take
on an added importance for
the 2003 festival.
"Because of the corporate
and economic condition of
the city of Winston-Salem,
individual contributions will
play a major role in helping
the festival in raising the $1.5
million to produce such~a
'gargantuous' event." Hamlin
said.
Hamlin said fund-raising
efforts will not be limited to
Winston-Salem, the home of
the festival since its inception
12 years ago.
"The festival's fund-rais
ing efforts are now national in
scope, whereas in the past it
could depend on the local
corporate community for
major sponsorship. fvhe said.
The first fund-raiser is
scheduled for July 28 at the
Adam's Mark Hotel, which is
sponsoring the fund-raiser.
The event will be part ban
quet and part concert. The
headliner for the fund-raiser
will be Chester Gregory II,
the Chicago-based actor who
has mesmerized crowds with
his portrayal of legendary
crooner Jackie Wilson in the
hit musical "The Jackie Wil
son Story (My Heart is Cry
ing. Crying...).'^
See NBTF A3
Hamlin
Photo by Kevin Walker
Terr* Holmes and daughters cut the doughnut-adorned red ribbon.
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