Vol. XXXVI No. 49 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, August 5, 2010 wssu announces new Hall inductees ?See Pane Hit) Hunt Project to hold music fundraiser ?See PaRe A5 100th B-day party for Thomas ?See fan e HI 75 cents Barbers to the Rescue Program gets men to think about their health while getting hair cuts BY LAYLA FARMER THE CHK< INK I I In this city, getting a hair cut could potentially save a man's life. Cancer Services Inc. - a United way agency that provides education outreach and support to can cer patients and their families, recently announced the launch of its newest nro ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I Robinson gram. BAP CAP (Brothers Against Prostate Cancer Awareness Program). The creative initiative allows barbers to become their clients' health advocates. BAP CAP is designed to increase awareness within the black commu nity about the importance of being screened for prostate cancer, which Sec Barbers on A5 Hwno Ny L*\ b Farmer Barber Thomas Warren of Mirror Images cuts Eric S orris's hair. Volunteers hit the streets in search of the hidden homeless BY TODD LI CK THE CHRONICLE Seventy-five volunteers took to the street last week looking for unsheltered homeless people The Winston-Salem Forsyth County Homeless Council relies on volunteers to help it conduct so-called "Point-in-Time" counts, which aim to gauge the num ber of homeless people in the community on one particular night. Two Point-in-Time counts are conducted annual ly - one in the summer and one in the winter. The counts help officials to gauge the scope of the city's homeless problem The counts don't merely tally those who live in the local shelters and visit the Samaritan Soup Kitchen. For various reasons. many homeless people choose to live on the streets instead of at shelters. The volunteers spent several hours on the night of July 28 looking for Photo h* Todd l uck Andrea Kurtz, Gary Pace and DeShanna Johnson search an area along a railroad track. these men and women When volunteers found them, they were asked to take part in an anonymous survey; offered a ride to a shelter and bags filled with food, toiletries, a Bible and information about available services. Volunteers of all ages, races and backgrounds gath ered at the Bethesda Center for the Homeless prior to the beginning of the count. Sec Count i>n \2 I City Project Planner Byron Brown. 'We're Hiring,' City of W-S states joyfully Despite hiring freeze, essential jobs are still being filled BY TODD LICK I III CHRONICLE Despite a hiring freeze, the Cit\ of Winston-Salem is still in search of a few good men and women. The City halted most hir ings in late 2008 in response to falling tax revenues and a looming recession, hut posi tions deemed essential to proviuing servic es were exempt ed. Even these days, more than 20 city jobs are typically posted at any one time, and the City gets hundreds of applications in response to them, according to Mel issa Hast\ Taylor. ill e city s Human Resources director. "We're the sesenth largest employer in the city." said Taylor. "We're an employer of choice. VVV ha\e excellent benefits (and) salaries and wonderful atmosphere in which to work ." Before the hiring freeze, the City posted 80 to 1(H) openings at any given time. The City is finding creative ways to put residents to w ork . A construction training trainee position that just closed on Tuesday received Taylar more than 1i construction class, which is followed h\ onsite job experience. The program, which pa\s $7.25 an hour, is aimed at " low income residents and. is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Upon completion of the pro gram, most partici pants arc placed in i'ull time jobs in various Cit \ depart ments "Some of those individuals don't ha\c anything else, and the> rely on this program, and the\ really put every thing the> have into it and the\'\e Seen successful said Renas Caldwell. a Human Resources recruiter for the City One of the City 's newest employees is Byron Brown, who now works in the Planning Department Brown was working at the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments last year when he decided he wanted to do something different He said he wasn't complete ly optimistic about his prospects because ot the rocky state of the economy He'd unsuccessfully applied for a job with the See Jobs <>n A3 U.S. Rep Watt listens to veterans vent BY LAYLA FARMhR THE CHRONICLE U.S. Rep Mel Watt spent the day interacting with residents of his 12th Congressional District ear lier this week, as part of his 14th Annual Trading Places event. Watt uses the events to walk in the shoes of his constituents by visiting them at their places of employment and working alongside them. In the past. Watt has bagged gro ceries at area super mar kets and even spent an hour maneuvering in a wheelchair at a Winston nti?o? h\ I *vU Pwnrt Several veterans and local residents voice their concerns on Monday. Salem agency thai helps the disabled. On Monday. Watt got to know some of Winston Salem's veterans as he spent an hour in conversa tion with them at HARRY Veterans Community Service. Inc., a nonprofit based in the Hewitt Business Center that works Sec Vets on Community Ci ties t?\ I jvla F-armrj Kimara Sutton, 2 (left), and her little sister Kimava. I . were among the dozens of youngsters who enjoyed Sational \ight Out festivities at Haramhee Park on Tuesday evening. Look for more about the event in the Aug. 12 issue. DON'T PASS rHF BUCK BUY LOCAL