Tuft? 1 ^/jity ^?vN
27i0i
Vol.XXXIIlNo.il k\Ci THURSDAY, November 16 , 2006
mC?\Vi^ i on V^
All-County
picks at
the top of
their game
See Huge HI
Hairston
donates
books to
students
?See Patie A3
75 cents
Drayton . 0\cbra/>^
honored for . q ^ s ?
his years S, .?
of service ^ I/W& ^
Seven first cousins
attending Winston
Salem State
BY LAY LA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Lnora Garrett Grayson, 77
passed away recently in
Pittsburgh. She had lived a full
life. She and husbqjid, Curtis
Grayson, raised nine children -
eight boys and one girl - to
become productive citizens.
The family matriarch also
lived to see her wildest dreams '
come true - eight of her grand
children attending college all at
the same time. Seven of
Grayson's grandchildren are
currently students at VVinston
Salcm State University.
Glenn Garrett Grayson Jr.,
20, and sister Shinora, 19* of
Pittsburgh, and their cousin.
Damian Grayson of Brooklyn,
N.Y., started the trend when they
came to WSSU in 2(X)4
Cousins Courtney Grayson
of Brooklyn; Tamara Grayson of
Durham; and Kevin McNair of
Charlotte enrolled the follow ing
year.
Christina Grayson, the
youngest of the cousins and
Damian's younger sister, is a
See Cousins on A 1 1
' ITkHo f?\ Jacutti l*ilt
Kevin McNair.from left, with his cousins Damian, Shinora, Garrett, Christina, Tamara and Courtney Grayson.
'Miracle' newswoman inspires others with her story
BY LAY LA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The American Cancer
Society's Relay for Life
fundraiser isn't until May, but
local people are already being
urged to join the fight against
cancer, which, this year alone,
will affect nearly 1.4 million
.Americans
Last week,
dozens gathered at
the headquarters of
Allegacy Credit
Union on Hanes Mall
Boulevard for a kick
off event for Relay
for Life, which raises
money through
pledges secured by
teams of w alkers or
runners that complete
a short trek around
Old Salem.
Margaret Johnson, a long
time anchor at WXII-12, talked
about her own battle with cancer
at the kick-off.
A recent survivor of both
pancreatic and thyroid cancer,
Johnson believes she is proof
that miracles arc real.
Johnson was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer just over a
year ago, alter undergoing a
routine surgical procedure.
"At best, they told me that I
bad a 30 percent chance of sur
vival," Johnson recounted.
Within days, Johnson
endured major surgery. Her
gallbladder, pancreas and spleen
were removed, a^ong with part
of her intestines and one-third of
Gray
her stomach. 1 he
grueling surgery was
followed by a 2 1 -day
stay in the hospital,
six weeks of daily
radiation- treatment
and six months of
chemotherapy.
In the months that
followed her surgery,
Johnson would return
to the hospital eight
more times for treat
ment for complica
tions.
Then, the unspeakable hap
pened.
"This past June, I had some
thing called a PET scan. It's a
procedure where radiation is
shot into your body and every
where there's a problem, some
thing lights up," she explained.
"Well, the light lit up in my
throat, and it lit up in my liver." i
ItMfcM b\ I a\l.i i amit t
Margaret Johnson speaks at last week's kick-off event.
A fine needle biopsy pin
pointed the cancer in Johnson's
thyroid, Hthich has subsequent
Iy been removed.
"I'm currently taking medi
cine to mimic what your thyroid
is supposed to do. On top of
that, no pancreas means dia
betes ... also high blood pres
sure, didn't think that was going
to be my story but I got that
too," Johnson remarked. "It
sounds overwhelming."
Despite many setbacks,
Johnson has finally received a
clean bill of health.
Astoundingly, Johnson says she
has actually been able to glean
some positive things from her
harrowing experience.
"It makes you appreciate the
good in life," she said. "It makes
you realize what's important,
mid that the little stuff, there is
just no need to sweat it."
Through it all, Johnson said
she managed to keep a positive
attitude and now that she is
healed, she is ready to tell the
world.
"The cancer is gone, and I
am one blessed little girl," she
exclaimcd with a smile.
Sfce kt l.i \ on \ 14
Students
link with
the world
Real world exposure
helps broaden prospectives
BY TODI) LI CK
THE CHRONICLE
0 Through the magic of video
conferencing, economics stu
dents at Wake Forest
I niversity listened to a lecture
on a multimillion-dollar effort
to revitalize poverty-stricken
parts of the Philippines. They
weren't
alone.
Also
watching
and lis
tening
were stu
dents at
another
college.
The
lecturer
wasn't a
pro! cs -
sor. It was Andrew Parker,, who
heads ihe Kalahi-Cidss project,
a 5182 million World Rank
project that will build
resources like schools, day
cares and health centers in ptx?r
Philippine provinces. And
those other college students
watching weren't at another
elite American college, they
were in Ghana, where the need
for economic assistance isn't a
theor> but a reality.
This unique course, which
brings students from both sides
of the world together with
development experts from the
World Bank is taught by Wake
Forest economics professor
Sylvain Boko and Mary
McNeil, a senior operations
officer with the World Bank
Institute (WBI).
"The opportunity to interact
with some of the leading
experts in *he field of develop
ment around the world is
extraordinary," said Boko.
"The opportunity to interact
with people of their own age in
another continent and meet
twice a week and exchange,
again, it's extraordinary."
The World Bank is an inter
national financial institution
that gives loans and other
assistance to poor, developing
countries. WBI is the arm of
the bank that helps countries
share and apply knowledge that
will help them in their develop
ment.
Students in the class have
Sec Class on A 13
Phom by Todd l in k
Jeffrey Powell speaks Saturday at the Greensboro Historical
Museum's Veterans Day program.
Powell helped to keep Air Force One soaring
BY TODD LI CK
THF. C HRONICLE
GREENSBORO When
the President of the United
States flies someplace, it's in a
plane of such size, lu.tury and
technology that it's often
referred to as "the flying White
House." But Air Force One
couldn't stay in the air without
the dedicated crew of the
Presidential Airlift Oroup.
Retired Master Sergeant
Jeffrey Pow ell was one of those
crew members for nine years
and served Presidents George
H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and
(ieorgc W. Bush. He gave a
behind the-scenes look at Air
Force One at the Greensboro
Historical Museum's Veterans
Day program on Saturday His
love of discussing Air Force
Jeffrey Powell shakes hands with President Hush.
One showed, as did his wit, dur
ing his remarks and as he
answered questions from the
audience.
"I'm going Co -be here lo
answer any questions you have
about Monica Lewinsky,"
Powell joked at the beginning of
the program
As jet engine manager, he
supervised six mechanics who
were the only ones authorized to
work on the two identical
Boeing 747 2(M)-B jets that take
the president wherever he needs
to go. Air Force One has a per
Feet safety record thanks to a
crew that stands by 24 7 for
maintenance and repair
Air Force One is actual I > the
call sign used to identify either
of the 747s w hen the president
is on board or any other t .S. Air
Force craft carrying the prcsi
dent. Powell said each^lane has
4, (XX) square-feet of carpeted
spacc and costs S56,8(X) an hour
to fly. At that rate, a president is
See Powell on A 14
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
" Growing and SM Dedicated to Serve You Better"
ffiugggll ffl vttttvnl ;H ame
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Huvst'll Ave.
(at Martin I .uthcr King Dr.)
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