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 1<X) applications.
The opening is actual h for
20 slots m >i 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