The Chronicle takes home five national awards Paper faced much larger competitors CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The Chronicle received five awards for journalism excel lence last week from the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a federation of more than 2(K) black-owned Layla Farmer Anthony Hill newspapers. I he group held its annual Merit Award competition during a con vention in Minneapolis. Minn. The Chronicle took home three first-place awards in the Best Use of Photographs. Best Special Edition and Best Feature Story categories. The paper also won a second-place honor in the Best Sports Section category and a third-place award for Best Business Section. The Best Feature Story award went to Chronicle Reporter Lay la Farmer ior ner siory on enevara Urrtn. a local woiman who was molested as a child by her father, the noted Civil Rights leader James Bevel. The Best Special Edition award was for The Chronicle's tabloid and news coverage honoring Dr. Maya Angelou on her 8()th birth day last year. Both Farmer's story and the Angelou special addition also won first-place awards earlier this year from the N.C. Press Association. The Best Sports Section went to Anthony Hill, The Chronicle's former sports editor. " I he Mejrit Awards are always a tough competition, especially for u,s because we are compet ing with papers based m much larger markets like Los Angeles. Philadelphia. St. Louis and Chicago," said T. Kevin Walker. The Chronicle's managing editor. "When we put out the best product that we can each week, our goal is never to win awards, but it feels good to all of us to be recognized for our efforts." Boyce from pa^t A I over his father, trying to per form mouth-to-mouth and CPR She sprang into action, taking over the CPR and call ing 9-1-1, but Rodney Boyce was already gone. The family later learned that he had died of a heart condition that even he was unaware of. In the months since Rodney's passing, Lysa and Isaac Boyce have struggled to pick up the pieces of their lives. Lysa Boyce says she Rodney Boyce has otten reflected on the skills her husband had taught Isaac, never knowing he would need to use them so soon. Father and son were close, she- said. They enjoyed cooking break fast for her in the mornings and playing all sorts of imagi native games. "Me and my daddy used to come up with good imagina tions," said Isaac, who will start kindergarten in the fall. "He was fun and he liked to do things with me." Paramedics was a favorite game of theirs, Lysa said. Fn the game, Rodney and Isaac had often practiced perform ing life saving measures like ?PR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on each other. "Isaac was in the hospital when he was little due to (an illness), and then he had a ton sillectomy when he was three, so he just got really fascinated JTiotos byj-ayla Farmer Isaac with his mother, Lysa. with the medical (proce dures)," she explained. Rodney and Isaac befriended the firemen who came to the apartment com plex where the family lived on calls and routine checkups. They had visited several fire houses together. Isaac col lected stickers from each fire station which he placed on his little firemen's hat. one of his most prized possessions. "We had to get a new hat," his mother said, relaying the frequency of their visits. The collection of toy firetrucks and rescue vehicles in Isaac's. room also mounted over the years, Lysa says, "If his dad saw a bigger firetruck (in the store), il was his," she related. Lysa says the couple -Relieved their son V-faseina tion with emergency profes sions was more than just a passing phase, yet she never imagined that her young son would act so courageously in Isaac shows off his medal. the face of a real emergency . "I never in a million years dreamed that any of this would happen," she said. Isaac was honored for his heroism earlier this month at his daycare, the Sunshine House. Forsyih Count j Manager Dudley Watts, Forsyth County EMS Director Dan OzLmek and Compliance Officer Rodney Overman pre sented Isaac with the first - ever Forsyth County EMS Hero Medal, complete with an Honorary FCEMS Paramedic certificate and a FCEMSvJuii with his name embroidered on it. " '???* . i,-..';." The ceremony was bitter sweet for his grieving mother, but she says she is proud ot what Isaac did. > "I think in a way it was God's plan for him to he the one to find (Rodney (because I fee I -f ike- i t Vgo i n g jto e rfd u p making him a stronger person: for the actions he instanta neously took." she said. "One day, he's going to realize what a significance it was that he just instantaneously /jumped into action and was not scared." Carver Jroni fiayt' 4/ nice achievement gains this yeaf across the board," he said. I hope that will be sustained in this next school year." The Carver Road Network for Better Education has supported the school throughout its ups and downs. The Rev. Samuel Stevenson, president of the Network, says he was glad to see someone of Barber's caliber tapped to take over at the school. "I've seen him -mostly in church settings," said Stevenson, who serves as pastor of Grace Presbyterian Chuch. "I know something about his good work as prin cipaf, (because) that's been in the news the last few years. What I know has been good, and I've had a very good impression of him in our personal meetings and sessions." Barber will have his "work cut out for him" at Carver; Stevenson says, but the Network will support him in any way it can. Stevenson says he is hopeful that Barber will be as suc cessful at Carver as he was at North Hills. "I like what he has been able to do-where he has been," he commented. Rev. Stevenson Piggolt-Long ".,.My hope is that we will see some new life at Carver High School, and not just within that immediate com munity - something that will be of notice here in Winston Salem and beyond." Barber has been with the school system for nearly 35 years, beginning as a teacher at Anderson High School in the 1970s. The 59 year-old Winston-Salem native says he had thought very serious ly about retiring at the end of the 2008-09 academic year, but concluded that he couldn't bear to leave his life as an educator and administrator behind just yet. "I'm committed to young people and it's something that I enjoy doing," he remarked. After more than a decade in elementary education, making the move back to his high school roots will take some adjusting. Barber said. "I think it's going to be a huge challenge," he com mented. "...I'm sure that there will be some adjust ments that I will have to make; but it's something that I'm looking forward to." Tackling test scores will be among his top priorities. Barber said. "My desire is to see the school grow as much as it can. It makes me feel good when young people come through and they're able to get the education that they deserve and ... go on to become productive members of society. That's what I'm looking for," he said. "My hope is that it will be a great marriage between Carver and myself." Carver PTA President Fele^ia Piggott-Long, who is a community correspon dent for The Chronicle and a teacher at Carver, says she's pleased with Barber's appointment. "1 do know Mr, Barber," she said. "1 know he's a man of great professional ism and has great concern for our children in the com munity. He's very involved in the community, so I look I forward to working with him. His reputation pre cedes him." Three other principals were also appointed last week by the School Board. Donna Horton, the former principal of Meadowbrook Alternative School in King, will take over as principal of Carter Vocational High School next year. Sharon Abercrombie. who formerly served as principal of the Performance Learning Center in Concord, will be the new principal of the Forsyth Middle College pro gram at Forsyth Tech: and Ed Weiss will make the switch from Wiley Middle to Mount Tabor High School. 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