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The Chronicle
Vol. XXXVII No. 52 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, August 25, 2011
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bailers
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New
schools
will open
in Nov.
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Photo by Jamia Moore
City workers unveil the new permanent street sign.
Road to
Success
Stadium Drive renamed
in honor of WSSU
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Amid a season of tough decisions and setbacks due to
state budget cuts, members of the Winston-Salem State
University family found reason to celebrate, asxity workers
unveiled the new street sign just outside the school's entrance
at the intersection of
Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive and the former
Stadium Drive.
Stadium Drive, which
extends from the WSSTJ
entrance*' H^ihe campus
of Salem College, was
re-christened Rams
Drive during a brief cer
emony Friday mornings ?
"For the university,
this is truly a historic
day. We consider the
renaming of the
Stadium Drive to be a
badge of honor,"
declared Chancellor
Donald Reaves. "I
believe that having the
street renamed .shows
the city's level of
respect for and under
standing of our contri
butions to this commu
nity."
The crusade to
rename the street was
led by State Rep. Larry Womble, a member of the school's
Class of 1963, Womble says he is not aware of any other
HBCU in the state that has a road name attributed to it.
"This is a great occasion," Womble told the faculty, staff
alumni and community leaders who gathered for the event.
"It gives viability and it gives more visibility to one of the
greatest institutions that we have, not just in Winston
Salem, but in in the whole state of North Carolina."
City Council Member Derwin Montgomery, who repre
sents the city's East Ward, said the city was happy to partner
with the university on the effort.
"It was unanimously voted on so you have the full sup
port of the City Council and this community," he declared.
Montgomery, a 2010 graduate of WSSU who serves as
vice chair of the city's Public Works Committee, said the
renaming of a major thoroughfare such as Stadium Drive
does not happen often.
Sec Rams on A2
WSSU Photo by Garrett Gum
WSSU aluum Stale Rep.
Larry Womble speaks.
Standing Tall and Proud
UPf/Kcvin Dietsch
The $120 million Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial opened Monday
near the Tidal Basin on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall. The memori
al - which features a 30-foot-tall statue of the civil rights leader - stands
between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the nearby F.D.
Roosevelt memorial. It is the first monument on the National Mall erect
ed in honor of an African-American and a non-president . The official ded
ication will be on Sunday, Aug. 28, the 48th anniversary of King's "I
Have a Dream" speech.
Photo by Layla Farmer
Alberta Liles is 105
years-young.
At 105,
Liles gets
first b-day
celebration
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
City resident Alberta
Liles' birthday party last
Saturday evening was a long
time coming. One hundred
and five years to be exact.
Despite more than a cen
tury of living, Liles. a native
of Wadesboro, said she had
never had a birthday celebra
tion in her honor before the
Aug. 20 gathering at the
Wingate hotel on the eve of
her true birthday, Aug. 21.
"It feels real nice," Liles
said of finally having her day.
"It's exciting to me."
The centenarian, who
walks without the aid of a
cane or walker, arrived at the
celebration dressed to the
nines in a lilac suit having
had her hair freshly coifed at
the salon as is her weekly tra
dition.
"I thank y 'all for coming
and I feel all right," she told
her expectant guests at the
outset of the celebration. "I
praise the Lord and I thank
Him for taking care of me
See Liles on A10
Black community leaders at odds over prayer debate
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Some say it's freedom of speech. Others say it's trampling
the freedoms of others.
Earlier this month, members of the Forsyth County Board
of Commissioners voted 6-1 to continue a battle over the sec
tarian prayers that has been the source of heated debate across
the county for years.
County residents Janet Joyner and Constance Blackmon
sued the Board in 2007. claiming that using sectarian prayers,
which name a specific deity, to open a government meeting is
unconstitutional. Since that time, the debate has escalated,
with both sides gaining allies from organizations like the
ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and
State, both of whom support the plaintiffs, and the Alliance
Defense Fund Inc. and the NC Partnership for Religious
Liberty, who support Commissioners.
Sec Prayer on A 1 1
Marshall
Witherspoon
HAWS, Urban League battle for bragging rights on the diamond
The HAWS Hornets
Photos by Todd l uck
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS)
employees challenged employees of the Winston
Salem Urban League to an epic softball game last
Thursday at BB&T Ballpark.
Coworkers, family members and friends cheered
on the Urban League Smashers and the HAWS
Hornets from the stands of the massive ballpark,
which hosts the home games of the Winston-Salem
Dash.
The players and fans were treated to the whole big
ballpark experience. Each employee who went up to
See Game on A 10
The Urban League Smashers
Spend it here.
Keep it here.
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A Mind For Business.