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Vol. XXXV No. 20
? HURSDAY, January 15, 2009
West
Forsyth JV
squad is
victorious
Wake tries
to attract
Students
of color
Local
teacher
r???SKt3&
75 cents
>raOE
for D.C0 West fHth,4n^w.
'We're
Hiring! '
?
Local 2010 Census office will
need thousands of workers
y - ? ? . . #
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The U.S. Census Bureau has opened an office in the area
and will be hiring 5,000 people in North Carolina to help
count every single person in the state.
The Triad's first 2010 Census office will soon officially
open in Greensboro. It Will cover 11 counties, including
Forsyth. More offices, including one in Forsyth County, will
open in the next year.
The census is a count of everyone living in the United
States that is conducted every 10 years. Questionnaires are
mailed out for people
to complete and mail
in. Participation is
required by law and
federal law prevents
the sharing of any per
sonal information
from the census. The
resulting statics are
used in determining
the distribution of
congressional seats
for each state, a com
munity's service
needs and how ifiuch
federal money is
given to local and
state governments.
^hile this may
sound simple in theo- '
ry, getting a census
survey. to everyone in
the country and get
ting them to return it is
a monumental task.
*?
Badges like these will become famil
iar to the public next year as Census
workers hit the streets.
That's why the area census office first opened in October
2008, even though the census itself isn't until 2010. The office
is seeking so many employees because of the large-scale
nature of the effort. Kim Loyd, assistant manager of recruit
ing for the Greensboro office, said it's good work.
"Not only is it important, it's good paying, great hours."
Said Loyd. "Right now, jobs are scarce and we're hiring."
Loyd said 60 people were hired for office work just last
week. Many of them are taking phone calls from potential
applicants. Applicants call an 800 number and are then direct
ed to one of the many testing sites in the 1 1 -county area,
where the applicant will take a basic skills test. Successful
applicants are put in a pool and contacted when jobs become
available for them. Jobs pay artywhere from $10.25-$ 15 an
hour and can last anywhere from a couple months to two
years.
Jobs that require some driving will include millage reim
bursement. Lyod said 600 people will be hired to start address
canvassing next month. Workers will check on roads, homes
and subdivisions built since the 2000 Census to update the
maps and addresses on file.
After that long process is complied, the questionnaires
will be sent out next year. Those who don't send their ques
tionnaires back and don't respond to a follow up mailer and/or
phone call, will get a visit. from a census worker. This door-to
See Census on A4
*?. . . . . Photos h> La> U Farmer
Members of the Parkland Magnet High School Ensemble practice earlier this week.
Something to Sing About
Parkland choir to be a part of Inauguration Week
BY LAYLA FARMER
FHE CHRONICLE
The swearing in of the 44th
President of the 'United States of
America is likely one of the most antic
ipated in our nation's history. Millions
here in the US and around the world
will watch with bated breath Tuesday
afternoon, as Barack Obama lifts his
hand and prepares to take the oath of
affic^. Many will gather around TV
sets and flock to computers, where live
feeds of the historic event will stream
along invisible lines and into countless
lives.
But the members of the Parkland
Magnet High School Ensemble won't
be hunting for a television screen come
Inauguration Day r- they plan to be there
to witness the moment in the flesh.
The 25 students who make up the
Ensemble will travel to Washington.
D.C. Jan. 17, to perform in a special
Presidential Inaugural Heritage Music
Festival at National City Christian
Church in the Capitol that evening. The
Ensemble is part of an elite gr6up of
middle and high school bands, choruses
and orchestras from all across the nation
lucky enough to cinch a coveted slot on
the program.
Since last spring, the group has
practiced ardently, perfecting each of
the three songs they will be singing for
the event.
"It's electric," Choral Director
Jonathan Sidden said of the energy in
his classroom since the election of the
former Illinois Senator last November.
"They work incredibly hard. This is a
See Parkland on A7
Rockin' the Bells
. ' Photo by Layla Farmer
Angie Richardson, the health and wellness coordina
tor at the Winston-Salem Lake Family YMCA , holds a
kettlebell, a workout tool that is growing in popularity.
Richardson is among those at the K. who give kettle
bell workout classes. Re^td more on page B5,
Job famine is feast for Forsyth Tech
School educating record number of students seeking new opportunities
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
When the economy .suf
fers, community colleges
thrive. l
forsyth . Technical
Community College's Jewel
Cheity, interim dean of
Enrollment and Student
Services, calls it the "tradi
tion of the community col
lege system."
It's a strange symbiotic
relationship indeed, but its a
fact that statistics support.
Cherry and other administra
tors at FTCC can attest to
that.
"The weaker the econo
1505-1512
UNIVERSITY
COURT
4 ?/'?/(
Photo by Ltyla f armer
Pretrina Kirby stands near ESR, where she interns.
my gets, the friore our enroll
ment grows," she said.
"People see us as a way of
mitigating that hit from the
economy."
Pretrina Kirby found her
self in that very situation last
year. Kirby was laid off from
Hanesfirands Inc. in 2007
after 14 years of service. The
36 year-old single mother
had been forced to relocate
before because of a plant
closing. She says she saw
the writing on the wall.
"1 kntfw that was it," she
said. "I knew I needed to do
something."
Kirby enrolled in Forsyth
SeeFTCCon All
Photos by Todd Lock
The Rev. John Mendez speaks during last week's vigil and
rally-outside of the Forsyth County Hall of Justice.
Supporters
vow Hunt-like
fight for Smith
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
One day after a judge
dashed Kalvin Michael
Smith's hope for a new trail,
more than 70 people gathered
outside of thfe
Forsyth County
Hall of Justice to
protest the deci
sion. which they
believe is the con
tinuation of a
series of injustices
that Smith has
faced for more
than two decades.
Some held
candles during last
rnuay nigftt s vigil, wnne om
ers held* sigTts with phrases
such as. "Free Kalvin" and
"Justice for Kalvin Smith."
Smith was convicted for
the 1997 brutal beating of Jill
Marker inside Silk Plant
Forest, a now defunct store that
was off of Silas Creek
Parkway. He's served nearly
12 years of a sentence that
could be up to 22 years and 10
months. But questions has
always remained about what
role, if any. Smith played in the
bearing.
Since 2003. The Innocence
Project of the Duke
university School of
Law has been looking
into the case. A
Winston-Salem City
Council-appointed
citizens' review panel
is also reviewing the
case.
Smith's case seri
ously began to get a
second look after the
releasV' ot Darryl
Hunt tive years ago. Hunt was ?
Convicted of murdering a
woman in the mid-1980s. He
served two decades in prison
before DNA evidence proved
that he did not commit the
crime The Winston-Salem
Police Department has been
See Vigil on A4
Parrvl Hunt
In Memory of
Charlene <
Russell Brown
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
ffiuggell 3f mteral ffiome
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 t '?i l Russell Ave.
(at Martin Luther King !>?-.>
Winston-Salem , NC 27101
(336)
Fax (336) 631-8268
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