Durham man wants to be next lieutenant governor BY STEVE HARTSOE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RALEIGH -Thomas Stith. a candidate for stale lieutenant governor, espouses traditional Republi can Party themes : lower taxes, s m & 1 1 e r ^overn m e n t , conser vative social views. B u t Stith what's unusual about the third-term Durham city councilman is he's a black man seeking statewide office on the GOP ticket. Stith is one of only a hand ful of N.C. blacks to seek a place on the Republican ballot, GOP officials say. Stith notes in his campaign brochure that he was told he couldn't win a City Council seat in the Democrat stronghold of Durham because he's a Republican. He was also told that Republicans won't support a black candidate. "Well, they were wrong," the brochure reads. "I led the ticket with strong Republican support and the help of thinking Democrats." Stith said he believes that kind of success can translate on a statewide level, in part because North Carolina's popu lation is diverse. Jim Snyder, a Lexington attorney, is also seeking the GOP nod for lieutenant gover nor. Snyder has been endorsed by former U.S. Sens. Jesse Helms. Lauch Faircloth and Jim Broy hill. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat, is expected to seek another term. The candidate fil ing period will begin April 26. Tina Shields wore a special accessory during a recent church outreach event: a snake. Shields wore the snake like a bracelet during the recent Blessed Fest sponsored by Messiah's House. Sorority head to speak at Bennett commencement SPECIAL IO 1 HI ( HRONK I ! Bennett College for Women will hold its 74th commencement exercise May 8 at 4:30 p.m. in the Special Events Center of the Greens boro Coliseum. More than 70 students are expected to receive their degrees. Com mencement is open to the public. Gwendolyn E. Boyd, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.. will deliver the commence ment address. As the sorori ty's national president, Boyd is the chief executive officer of the organization that has more than 900 chapters in the United States and other coun tries. Boyd is an engineer and assistant to the director for development programs at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in suburban Maryland. She is also the fund develop ment officer for the Maryland MESA (Mathematics, Engi neering. Science Achieve ment) Program sponsored by the laboratory. Professionally, she is affil iated with the National Soci ety of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engi neers. Additionally, Boyd is vice chair of the board of directors of the APL Federal Credit Union. By appoint ment from the president of Johns Hopkins University, she also serves on the univer sity's Diversity Leadership Council. During the commence ment exercises, honorary degrees will be bestowed upon Dr. Shirley Ann Jack son, Dr. Sheila C. Johnson and Dr. William H. Gray. Symphonic Band to perform SP| < I W fOTHE chronic I I The WSSU Symphonic Band will present its spring concert April 25 at 4 p.m. in the Kenneth R. Williams Auditorium. The concert will feature a wide range of styles and peri ods of musical composition - in keeping with the ensem ble's focus on diversity. Con certgoers will hear works by William Grant Still, Robert Smith, Wolfgang A. Mozart, William Latham and Jaime Texidor. among others. Musical forms will include overtures, preludes, Spanish and Italian marches, serenades, a tone poem for concert band, and a medley of tunes from the popular motion picture "Pirates of the Caribbean," A highlight of this year's concert will he a performance of "Serenade jior Alto Saxo phone and Band" by Frank Bencriscutto. Christopher Jennings, a sophomore major ing in music education, will be featured. The concert is free and open to the public. Contact 750-2530 for additional infor mation. Do you have Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)? Are you an African-American who has had RA for less than two years? You may be eligible to participate in an NIH-sponsored study to help understand the causes of RA. If you are eligible and choose to participate, you will be compensated for your time and will receive free physical exams, joint x-rays, and bone density testing. This study involves no medication and you would continue to be treated by your usual physician for your RA. For more information, contact Lynn Howie at (866) 827-2862. Thurston Arthritis Research Center UNC SCHOOL OF MEDICINE The Tennis Channel The Golf Channel. The Weather Channel Oxygen Women's Entertainment Animal Planet | Be yourjeLf. Time Warner Cable makej it eajy. j Channels. Choices. And occasionally, surprises. That's the beauty of Time Warner Cable. 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