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18 110807 1 5-DIGIT 27101
NORTH CAROLINA ROOM
FORSYTH CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TH ST
SALEM NC 27101-2754
ONIC LE
"JiJLJlV
Vol. XXXIII No. 47 THURSDAY, August 16, 2007
Parkland
read\
to shine
on field
-Set PugeBI
Hunt
speaks to
group of
youngsters
- See Page A5
Night Out
promotes
safety, f0,
oneness t6J'
W ir
See Fane B9
Bright Light Extinguished
Young drowning
victim remembered
for talents, love of life
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Carma Miller can scarce
ly remember a time when her
beloved son. Christian, was
n't by her side - comforting
her, loving her, encouraging
her to go on when she want
ed to give up. Now she is
forced to endure the most
difficult time of her life with
out him.
"He was always there,
always there - no matter
what," she said. "He could
feel whenever 1 was down or
needed a boost ? he would
always look at me ... arid put
his fingers in each corner of
his mouth and make a smiley
face, and he wouldn't stop
until I smiled."
Sixteen-year-old
Christian Miller tragically
drowned Aug. 3 at at Happy
Hill Pool. According to the
police report, Christian
Miller was at the pool swim
ming with friends. At some
point, one of his friends saw
Christian at the bottom of the
pool, lifeless, and notified a
lifeguard. CPR was attempt
ed but it was too late. By the
time EMS arrived. Christian
was already dead.
A rising junior at Atkins,
Christian had showed prom
ise in several areas. He loved
writing and had even begun
work on his first book.
However, he was best known
for his compassion for others
See Milter on A1S
File Photo
Christian Miller plays with other musicians at the recent Juneteenth celebration.
Professionals temporarily inherit little siblings
Photo by Todd Luck
Jordan
Wright sits
beside his
"Big
Brother,"
the city's
marketing
chief, Ed
McNeal.
0
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Young people on Big
Brothers Big Sisters' waiting
list got to see everything from
football fields to the inside of
bank vaults last Friday as part
of "Big for a Day."
The annual event pairs
children who are waiting to be
matched up with a Big Brother
or Big Sister with adults who
volunteer to spend the morning
letting the youngsters shadow
them at work. The event cul
minated in a noontime lunch
eon hosted by WX1I anchor
woman Wanda Starke, who.
herself, has been a Big Sister
for the past 11 years. The
luncheon was held high above
See BBBS on A8
V File Photos
Alvin Atkinson heads the center.
Center lands
another crime
fighting grant
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
It's hard to miss the revital
ization in downtown these
days. High priced condos and
swanky eateries are cropping
up seemingly everywhere, as a
result of the tireless efforts of
the city and other organizations
who care about the area.
Likewise, renewal process
es are taking place in other
areas as well.
Though the
changes in these
communities may
not be as obvious
to the untrained
eye, to the people
who live in them,
they are the only
changes that mat
ter.
More of these
changes are on the
way now that the
U.S. Department of Justice has
granted the city another Weed
and Seed grant. The grant was
announced this week by the
office of U.S. Rep. Mel Watt,
who applauded the decision to
give grants to High Point,
Charlotte and two other N.C.
cities.
"I was happy to support
these requests for funding to
support this innovative pro
gram," Watt said. "This grant
focuses crime-fighting
resources in high risk areas
while addressing the roots of
crime that are essential to keep
ing our neighborhoods safe."
Locals are also excited
about the opportunity to initiate
change with the grant money.
"Obviously, we are very
Walt
pleased to have been selected',
but it also means that we have
communities that need help,"
commented Alvin Atkinson,
interim director of Winston
Salem State University's
Center for Community Safety,
which spearheaded the grant
effort. "We're just thankful for
an opportunity to provide some
additional resources to areas in
our community, both in the east
area, which includes neighbor
hoods such as
Rolling Hills.
Lakeside apartment
area and also the
west area, which
has properties
along Broad Street
and Green and ...
pretty much sur
rounded by the site
of the new ball
park."
As the name
suggests. Weed and
>eeu programs sees io weeu
out problems that plague com
munities and plant "seeds" of
change, through programming
tailored for each specific loca
tion. The center used its previ
ous grant to implement
changes in Salem Gardens.
"The Weed and Seed desig
nation really is a community
mobilization effort that utilizes
federal funding to help lever
age additional resources to
reduce crime and improve the
quality of life for residents in
high crime, low-income neigh
borhoods," Atkinston
explained.
The new Weed and Seed
program, dubbed the Twin City
See Grant on A 15
Garden provides both food and life lessons
TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The site of the former Brown
Elementary School, across from
Shiloh Baptist Chyrch, is now
home to watermelons, can
taloups, corn and a wide variety
of other vegetables.
Ancestor Acres is the name of
the community garden that has
sprung to life over the past year
thanks to tender loving care from
Carter Vocational High School
teachers and students. The
school is using the garden to
give students a unique experi
ence, far removed from the traditional class
room setting they are used to.
"I think students and children ... so
appreciate that whole concept of taking
Manns
things in the raw state - the seed, the plant
- putting it in the ground, giving it some
nurture, and watching time and nature work
and then doing the harvest, said Francis
Manns, who along with tellow
Carter faculty member Marguerite
Rhodes has guided students at the
garden.
Carter is located miles away
from the garden on South Main
Street. The school educates local
students who have mental chal
lenges. This summer saw tremen
dous growth in the garden. Seven
students have worked tireless in
the garden for two months. They
have received help from Glenn
High School freshmen Kenny Thomason
and Stormi Ganzer, who rid the area of stub
Sec Garden on All
Phom* by Todd l uck
With lots oj
care, the
garden has
yielded
beautiful
fruits and
veggies that
hate gone
to local eld
erly people.
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
JRussell fflmxmtl ffibme
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Russell Ave.
(at Martin l.uther King Dr.)
Winston-Salem , NC 27101
036) 722-3459
Fax (336) 631-8268
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