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16 110806 1
NORTH CAROLINA ROOM
FORSYTH CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TH ST
WINSTON SALEM NC 27101-2755
5-DIGIT 27101*
Vol. XXXIII No. 8
THURSDAY, October 26, 2006
Player
overcomes
serious
injuries
See Pane HI
Racing
degree
coming
to WSSU
-See Page A3
Black
funeral #
directors get ?
accolades
Judge,
attorney
vie for seat
Bedsworth is only District Court
member in competitive race
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Three Forsyth County District Court
judges are on the Nov. 7 ballot, hut George
Bedsworth is the only one facing a challenger.
Local attorney Jonathan Dills says he
choose a head-to-head with Bedsworth rather
than judges Denise Hartsfield or Lisa
Menefee because Bedsworth is the newby on
the local bench.
"I went with who had less incumbency,"
said Dills, who runs his own downtown law
firm and a burgeoning real estate business.
Bedsworth was appointed to the bench by
Gov. Easley two years ago when Forsyth
County was granted a ninth District Court
judge. All judicial appointments serve only a
partial term before they have to run in an
election to keep their seats.
Bedsworth had run for District Court in
the 1980s but did not make it out of the
Democratic primary. He has practiced law for
close to three decades, most of those years
have been spent here in Forsyth County in
District Court, where everything from crimi
nal cases to child custody matters>are decided.
"I didn't really have a tough time making
the transition," Bedsworth said of his move
from in front of the bench to behind it.
Dills, a Fersyth County native who earned
two undergraduate degrees and a law degree
from the University of North Carolina, also
knows what it is like to lose an election. He
ran for the N.C. House in 2004, losing in the
Republican primary.
Neither Dills nor Bedsworth will have a
party affiliation by their names this time
around. Judicial races in North Carolina have
been nonpartisan for several years now.
Bedsworth thinks it should be that way.
"I think it was a small step in the right
direction," he said of the change. "1 don't
think that judges should be politicians."
Bedsworth said he doesn't deny that he is
a Democrat? but it is not information, he says,
that he offers freefy. Dills, though, has not
shied away from being a conservative
See District Court on A5
Steps in the Right Direction
Medical students pitch
good health, exercise at
local school
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Obesity is a growing problem in
America. The digital age lends itself
Hodges
to sedentary
behaviors ,
rendering
many to
lifestyles that
are signifi
cantly less
active than
that of their
predecessors.
Children
aren't being
spared in the
obesity epidemic.
As part of the N.C. Albert
Schweitzer Fellowship program,
eight Wake Forest University
Medical School students have decid
ed to take a stand against obesity and
promote healthy living with the
implementation of Inspiration
Perspiration, a program being held
this week at Hill Magnet School. The
Schweitzer Fellowship program
focuses on the implementation of
health-oriented programs that target
underserved populations.
The program supplied Hill with
Photos by Jacson Pill
Students check out their pedometers during gym class on Tuesday.
pedometers for all of the students to
wear during gym classes. The chil
dren with the most steps recorded
will be rewarded at a special pro
gram at the school on Friday.
"This is a chance for them to set
fitness goals for themselves," said
Laura Heringer, a second-year med
See Hill on A7
Hospital to take unique breast cancer approach
Program will allow
survivors to help
current patients
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
African American and Hispanic
women in this community are dying
of breast cancer at alarming rates -
two times higher than that of their
Caucasian counterparts .
Although there is programming
in place to provide support and other
services to breast cancer patients,
those hailing from underserved pop
ulations still somehow seem to fall
through the cracks.
"There's clearly a disparity
there," said Dr. John H. Stewart IV,
an assistant professor in the depart
ment of Surgical Oncology at the
Wake Forest University School of
Medicine. "We need to implement
programs such as these to amelio
rate that disparity."
Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center has recently
ofWFlIBI
Dr. John H. Stewart IV with Avon's Mary Quinn.
announced the formation of a new
program to address the vast dispari
ties in breast cancer and other areas
of health care. Survivors In Service,
or SIS as the program will be called,
was funded with a $125,000 grant
awarded to the hospital by the Avon
Foundation. The grant is one of four
grants the foundation awarded this
year with the proceeds from its two
day 39 mile Walk for Breast Cancer.
"It fits right in with the work that
we do at the Brepst Care Center."
said Ann Hopkins, assistant director
of the Philanthropic
Communications Development and
Alumni Affairs at the medical cen
ter. "Everybody here is thrilled."
The program will provide guides
to minority breast cancer patients, to
help them navigate the complex
health care system properly.
"A study that was published in
the journal for our clinical oncolo
gist showed that the (turnout for)
follow up treatment in ... Hispanic
and African American women is
lower than would be expected."
explained Stewart, who is also SIS's
medical director. "Some groups
have suggested that if you help
women navigate the system, (or)
assign them individuals who are
responsible lo make sure they show
up to tfie clinic on time, make sure
that they show up for radiation and
chemotherapy on lime, that that
should improve outcomes."
Although SIS is modeled after
existing programs in other munici
palities, Wake Forest's version has
one distinct component.
"Our program is unique, howev
Sec SIS on A 14
Local commission plans to raise millions for African nation
* KRT Photo
Men help a young
boy who became
one of the many
victims of
Liberia's civil war,
which raged for
decades before
ending more than
two years ago.
I BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE . - ? .
Last week the Friends of Liberia-North Carolina
Commission announced its goal to raise $25 million
dollars to help rebuild the war-ravaged African
nation.
The commission operates under the
Liberian Organization of the Piedmont, a
local nonprofit organization with a histo
ry of helping Liberians and others
through charitable works. The commis
sion was formed in response to Liberian
President Ellen Johnson-SirLeaf's
request to the international community
for help in rebuilding Liberia.
Cqmmission members include many
prominent local people such as Ed
Wilson, provost emeritus of Wake Forest
University; N.C. Rep. Larry Womble; and Goler
Memorial Pastor Seth O. Lartey, a native of Liberia.
The commission plans to request financial and
in-kind donations from local businesses, educational
institutions, religious organizations and even from
the state government.
"We are working to raise these dollars, both in
kind and cash, to restore Liberia to what it used to
be." said Lartey. "Many years ago. when you think
H under
of the most peaceful Democratic country in Africa,
you always think of Liberia."
Liberia, a country founded by freed slaves from
the United States in the 1800s. is Africa's oldest
independent republic. Its economy and society were
devastated by 14 years of civil war. The
fighting ended in 2003. Liberia is now led
by the democratically-elected President
Johnson-SirLeaf. who was swom-in in
January.
Though Liberia is rich in natural
resources like timber, diamonds and rub
ber, Johnson-SirLeaf faces many chal
lenges in rebuilding her country. "Hie civil
war scared many businesses away from
the country. Recently lifted U.N. sanc
tions meant to deprive warring factions of
money have also deprived the country of
manv monevmakine exnorts A II. N
sanction on diamond exports is still in effect. The
country has an 80 percent poverty rate and a 2003
estimate put its unemployment rate at 85 percent.
Lartey expressed confidence that Johnson
SirLeaf Iws the skills to rebuild Liberia if she's given
the resources. He said that several members of the
Liberian Organization went to see Johnson-SirLeaf
See Liberia on A 7
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
"Growing and SUB Dedicated to Serve You Better"
ffiitgggll If uraral Mainz
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Russell Ave. I
(at Martin Luther King I>r.)
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