Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 27, 2006, edition 1 / Page 1
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,?4 11080? The _ . CAR-RT-LOT NORTH CAROLINA ROOM 'FORSYTH CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 660 W 5TH ST WINSTON SALEM NC 27101-2755 .RONICLE Vol. XXXII No. 48 THURSDAY, July 27, 2006 Hayes writing come-back story -See Page Bl Seniors treated to birthday goodies ?See Page A 3 Young] strut t stuff in live showcase ?See Page B14 Conference focuses on combating HIV/AIDS BY SANDRA ISLEY THE CHRONICLE Local health care agencies took part in a powwow Tuesday to discuss strategies for com bating HIV/AIDS on the local front. Representatives from several agencies took part in the Minority Health and Networking Forum on the campus of Winston Salem University. W S S U department heads and faculty joined repre sentatives of Forsyth County Health Department, Today's Woman Health & Wellness Center, Insight Human Services, AIDS Care Services and several other agencies gathered for the talk. Natasha Jeffreys, a WSSU public health educator for the A. H. Ray Student Health Center, led the discussion. WSSU has strongly taken on the problem of increased HIV rates in the black community. The school regularly holds free, confidential HIV screenings and has invited nationally-renowned speakers to cam pus to discuss the issue . The school is part of the HCcEC (Healthy Choices Create Empowered Changes) initiative, which provides education al opportunities about the prevention of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse among the stu dent body, especially African-American females. HIV/AIDS has hit the campuses of histori cally black colleges and universities with a vengeance. Jeffreys said that risk behaviors such as drinking and doing drugs were at the core of the problem. They often impair the user's ability to make better choices. "We don't want them to use alcohol and drugs; however, if we can encourage those who will be drinking to drink responsibly, that will be beneficial to us in the future," she said. See HIV on A12 * Photos by Felecia McMillan Dr. Virginia Newell, left, and Kathryn Speas, right, were among those who heard from Carolyn Rowe (center). Digging for Roots Genealogist says blacks can explore their pasts BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN, PHD. THE CHRONICLE "We are the sum of our parents. You can't know who you are untit you know who your ancestors are. You have gifts and -talents that came to you by way of an aunt, uncle or grandpar ent. I am a throwback myself." Those words were uttered Saturday by Carolyn Corpening Collins Rowe, the national president <j>f the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and a Winston-Salem native. Rowe spoke at the Central Library to a crowd of about 100. Many of those in the audience were interested in startfhg a local Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society chapter. She talked about how blacks can track their ancestry, despite the challenges of African Americans' slavery past. Rowe said when blacks research their pasts, it js important for thShi to not onfy know about their ancestors bfit also about the white families who may have owned them. "It is also important to know about the white families who owned your family members. Perhaps one relative was given to a white child as a gift. Perhaps the master gambled the enslaved relative away," said Rowe. "You have to study the white fami lies, where they moved, what ship they sailed on. Many of them migrated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina." When searching for one's family line, it is important for African Americans to determine whether their ancestors were Carolyn Rowe drew a captive audience. enslaved or free. Written histories of some families are in the libraries, Rowe said. There is also a book called Free People of Color that documents free African Americans, particularly in the Eastern part of North Carolina. Resources to help those interested in their pasts are plenti ful. They include websites such as www.aahgs.org; www.ncar See Rowe on A13 Non'Cents' Wake professor starts campaign to ax the penny BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE The smallest of change is costing us a whole lot of money according to Wake Forest University economics professor Robert Whaples, whose recommendation to get rid of rionnv Viae at trar*te*A a 1 tit rtf nohnn. al attention. Whaples' study on the costs of the penny landed him an editorial in the pages of USA Today. His research was also cited by U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona in a recent bill that purpos es phasing out the penny by rounding transactions to the nearest nickel. Whaples' research involved exam ining 200,000 transactions at 20 loca tions of a gas station and convenience store chain in seven states. He round ed each transaction to the nearest nickel. For years, supporters of the penny have said that eliminating it would cost consumers millions because item prices would be rounded up. Whaples' study found that the consumer actual ly lost nothing and basically broke even with the prices rounded to the nearest nickel. "Neither customers nor businesses would be gaining or losing money, it seems like a pretty Whaplrs fair thing to do then, to get rid of this penny if people don't want to use it. if it's taking a lot more time for people to do their business; mak ing people stand in line longer, fishing around for the penny in their pocket, waiting to get their penny returned to them, etc," Whaples said. w 1 1 ii [/I o even ai^uc> iiaiiumig pennies is a waste or time and money. He estimates, using an aver age wage of $17 an hour, that every two seconds of work is worth a pertny, so the time lost contending with pennies costs the United States economy $300 million a year. There's also a problem with pen nies not being used by U.S. con sumers. "People will get their pennies and what will they do with them? They lose them, they drop them, they put them in that little jar under the bed and the pennies keep getting sucked out of circulation," he said. This is a problem, Whaples said, because pennies don't make it back to the stores where they're needed so cashiers can give change back to custumers. This caused stores to instead get more pennies from banks, that in turn. See Penny on All Adams seeks higher wage > Guilford County legislator says $6.15 is not enough BY SANDRA ISLEY THE CHRONICLE __ GREENSBORO - Many North Carolinians can expect a $1 raise come next year thanks to an increase in the state's min imum wage. More than 130,000 North Carolinian's paychecks will be affected by the raise from $5.15 an hour, to $6.15 an hour come January. Gov. Mike Easley signed the increase into law ear lier this month. State Rep. Alma Adams, who represents Guilford County, was at the forefront of the ?fight for the increase. She held a news confer ence last week on the cam pus of Bennett College to talk about Adams what it took to pass the law 'and what is still on the horizon. Adams praised her colleagues in the General Assembly for not waiting on the federal govern ment to green-light 'in increase. Currently, members of the U.S. Congress are still squabbling over the issue. "North Carolina did what North Carolina had to do for its citizens," Adams said. Adams referred to the increase as one of many small victories, but a significant step towards helping "the least of these" in our communities move a little closer to becoming more self-sufficient. In 1997, the federal mini mum wage went from $4.25 to $5.15 an hour, where it has remained for the past nine years. Adams said such wages were not economically compatible for a country that's moving away from manufacturing job to a more service-orientated work force. She was joined at the news conference by Sorien Schmidt, the legislative director of the North Carolina Justice Center, an organization that advocates for low-income and disadvan taged North Carolinians. Schmidt had fought along with Adams for the last 10 years for an increase in the state mini mum wage. With the passage of the law, the state has taken an unprecedented step, she said. Adams said she is content with the increase, but not satis fied. She vowed to continue to fight for'an increase in the mini mum wage, saying that it needs to be turned into a living wage for all workers in North Carolina. She said that now even $8 an hour is not enough when you have to consider childcare, healthcare and housing. With the increase, workers will now move from slightly making more than $10j000 a year for a 40 hour work week, to making a little more than $12,000 annual ly "Our ultimate goal together See Adams on A13 In Grateful Memory of Our Founders, Florrie S. Russell and Carl H. Russell, Sr. "Growing and Stitt Dedicated to Serve You Better1 Mxxsstll If xxxtt ral 38gmc Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support Martin lather 1 I /Vve . (33?) Fax (336) 631 ?Hlllfl I | 6"89076e32439ue7l
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 27, 2006, edition 1
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