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Photos by Tori Pitt man
Winston-Salem State University Nursing Alumni and guests attend at the
Scholarship Banquet on Oct. 29 at the McNeil Banquet Hall, Anderson
Conference Center on WSSU's campus.
Nurses
from page AS
ognized the Class of 1961.
The Class of '61 was pres
ent, and they took a
moment to showcase a
book that they collaborated
on and put together.
"As We Go
Forth,"written by Dr. Joyce
Roland, talked about how
there were a total of eight
contributors. Roland gave a
brief description of the
book about personal sto
ries, migrating up north to
pursue better opportunities
and value the responsibili
ties of being a nurse.
Dr. Lenora Campbell,
associate dean of WSSU
Division of Nursing, and
Dr. Peggy Valentine, dean
of WSSU School of Health
Sciences, gave their
remarks, as well as updated
statuses of the WSSU nurs
ing division and scholar
ship funding.
For more information
pertaining to WSSU nurs
ing, go to
http://www.wssu .edu/scho
ol-health-sciences/depart
ments/nursing/.
To get more informa
tion on how to purchase the
"As We Go Forth" book,
contact Dr. Roland at 919
824-3267. She can also be
reached at either drjoyc
eroland@yahoo.com, or
jroland67@gmail.com. All
proceeds will go to the
nursing scholarships.
Dr. Clifton Kenon
Clerk
frontpage Al
estate, and the subse
quent May 3,2007 order
declaring the ward
incompetent, were, "...
invalid because judg
ment was never
entered..."
According to North
Carolina law, no judg
ment or order by a judge
or the Clerk of Court
becomes "the law of the
case" until it is put in
writing, signed by the
judge or appropriate
court official, and then
properly filed stamped
with the date and time,
along with a signature, to
conclusively document
when that order became
effective. The order is
then filed with the coun
ty Clerk of Court for
future reference.
Without that file
stamp, the order is legal
ly determined to be,
according to the N.C.
appellate court ruling,
"... not entered," and
therefore,"... cannot be
the law of the case."
Therefore the May 1,
2007 appointment of
Bryan Thompson as
guardian was legally
invalid, and the subse
quent May 3,2007 order
finding Mary Thompson
incompetent was illegal
as well, not only because
it was improperly
entered, but because it
was issued after attorney
Thompson was appoint
ed the estate guardian.
Legally, a ward has to
be determined incompe
tent first, in order to jus
tify why a guardian to
assist in managing that
person's affairs is need
ed. That did not happen
in, Mary Thompson's
case.
The Oct. 20 lawsuit
alleges that the assistant
clerk who issued both
legally invalid orders in
2007, Theresa Hinshaw
(who has since retired)
"... was without legal
authority to appoint a
guardian ..." for Mary
Thompson.
In her April 9, 2014
"Findings of Fact" in the
case, Cleric of Court Frye
acknowledges that the
orders issued by assis
tant clerk Hinshaw in
May 2007 "... were not
file stamped," "... were
not properly entered,"
later also admitting,"...
through inadvertent
error..."
In her "Conclusions
of Law," Frye further
confirms the problem,
this time calling it"... an
inadvertent defect in the
entry of judgment on the
orders." She thus recom
mends that, "the court
can make corrections to
a defect in the entry of
judgment anytime ..."
? r
by simply having the
clerk now re-enter the
orders after the fact,
using the legal principle
of nunc pro tunc, a Latin
term meaning "now for
then."
Frye then ordered the
re-entry be done, but
attorney Alston, repre
senting Mary
Thompson's estate,
opposed it, stating that
Frye was trying to "...
legitimize the fraudulent
actions of Bryan
Thompson and [assistant
clerk] Theresa Hinshaw
and protect the interests
of the Court, as opposed
to those of Mary Ellen
Brannon Thompson."
Frye's Order was
later appealed in
Superior Court in August
2014, and ruled to be
"procedurally improper"
because she failed to
appoint a guardian ad
litem, or legal represen
tative specifically for
Mary Thompson, as was
done in 2007. The matter
was sent back to the
Clerk's Office to deter
mine the ward's current
competence, in contrast
to 2007.
But Mary Thompson
was very ill at the time,
and subsequently died
that October 2014 prior
to a hearing on the mat
ter being held. Per state
statute, her death imme
diately terminated any
guardianship arrange
ments - alleged or other
wise - but Frye had a
Rockingham County
clerk go ahead with the
hearing that December.
The Rockingham
clerk ruited in favor of
the Forsyth Clerk's
Office, but attorney
Alston, Mary
Thompson's estate attor
ney, later successfully
challenged that ruling in
Superior Court, which
agreed with the Court of
Appeals that the 2007
orders were indeed
legally invalid.
Clerk Susan Frye's
own words from April 9,
2014 - ironically file
stamped and entered into
the Forsyth Superior
Court record - stating
that what happened in
the Mary Thompson
case was "...an inadver
tent error" that needed to
be corrected, clearly
contradicts her pro
nouncements to that
local newspaper that the
Clerk of Court's Office
"...did nothing illegal,"
followed all of the laws,
and handled "everything
... in a professional
manner."
Frye did try to hang
her hat in that article on a
Feb. 5, 2015 Forsyth
County Superior Court
order in the case which
stated, "In 2007, it was
standard practice of the
A
Forsyth County Clerk of
Superior Court not to file
stamp Orders that had
been prepared and exe
cuted by representatives
of the Clerk of Superior
Court going on to
say that this was the
"understanding of
instructions" assistant
clerk Hinshaw had from
"the Administrative
Office of the Court."
But not only were
Frye's words an admis
sion that not file stamp
ing some orders was a
"pattern and practice" in
the Clerk's office in
2007 - as first alleged in
the Oct. 20 lawsuit by
Mary Thompson's estate
- but they also contradict
several Clerk Office
orders The Chronicle has
discovered with
Hinshaw's signature,
going back to 2005, that
were properly file
stamped and entered.
Indeed, one of
Hinshaw's first orders
appointing Mary
Thompson a guardian ad
litem was file stamped
April 4, 2007.
If there were
"instructions" from the
Administrative Office of
the Court, they were
apparently haphazardly
followed, a legal observ
er says, even though the
state Court of Appeals,
in its ruling a year earli
er, made it clear that
according to the long
standing N.C. Rules of
Civil Procedure, Rule
58, which governs judi
cial procedure in the
state, "... a judgment [or
order] is entered (legally
valid) when it is reduced
to writing, signed by the
judge, and filed by the
clerk of court."
In essence, there
could never be a legal
order from the Clerk's
Office that is not proper
ly entered, according to
established North
Carolina legal proce
dure.
An attorney repre
senting attorney Bryan
Thompson, whom Clerk
Susan Frye maintains
was properly appointed
as estate guardian in the
case though the state
Court of Appeals later
ruled otherwise, told that
local newspaper that
"all" of his actions "...
were accounted for and
approved by the court,
and Ms. Thompson's
funds were appropriately
used for her care and to
pay expenses associated
with the guardianship."
The lawsuit, howev
er, alleges that attorney
Thompson has used
funds from Mary
Thompson's $1.4 mil
lion estate to hire his
own attorneys to repre
sent him in this matter.
~
?'Fl^jD^'NIGHT'
Nov. 6,13,20,27
r,||t Dec. 11.18,25
7-10 Dill Jan. 1,8,15,22,29
r Feb. 12,19
Mar. 11,18,25
\
I NO SCHOOL 1
I SKATIDAVS
?-S DM Nov. 11,26,27,28
Dec 22,23,24,25
26,29,30,31
Jan. 1,2,19,20
za5V fa ii, %
^jg Mar. 11
Public Group
Skating lessons
$10/session
5:15-7 p.m. Every Monday
In January and February
Open Thanksgiving, Christmas and New
Year's! Get moving after your holiday feast
with a family skate outing.
OCTOBER 29 TO MARCH 19
Fridays: 1-4 p.m., 7-10 p.m.
Saturdays: 12*30?3 p.m.;
630-10 p.m. W
Sundays: 1*30-4 p.m.
Admission: $7 Skate rental $3
MfMfMf.MflFAIAGAOUNDS.COM
Dropped out?
,, , , , . . A six-month program for high school
(jCt bUCk Oil trUCk With dropouts. Participants are paid monthly
YouthBuild Winston-Salem whllethey:
? Earn their 6ED.
? Receive training and certification in a
construction trade.
Additional training options available upon
completion of GEO: Certified Nursing
Assistant Pharmacy Technician, Facility
Maintenance, Advanced Manufacturing.
APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED
FOR THE NEXT CLASS.
I information at (3)6) 397-7770 or stud M
e-mail to yoothkiiiMw$^dtyofw$.org.
f] ^WouthBuild
I;lh* JL WINSTON SAIJiM
WW
Leal Collection starts Nov. 2
THREE PASSES THROUGH ALL
NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH 1%.
MID-JANUARY ft W
Follow progress of the collection
online at CityofWS.org/LeafRoutes.
? Rake leaves to the edge of your yard
? Do not park vehicles on, in front of,
or near your leaves
? Remember, you MA Y NOT JK
burn leaves inside the
city limits! >1
Thanksgiving Collection Changes
CITY OFFICES CLOSED NOV. 26 & 27. CITYUNK 311 OPEN
Garbage Collections: Tuesday & Wednesday, normal
schedule; Thursday on Monday, Nov. 30; Friday on
Tuesday, Dec. 1. Week of Nov. 30: All collections
postponed one day; Friday, Dec. 4 on Monday, Dec 7.
Curbside Recycling: I RED WEEK ONLYl
Mon. - Wedj Normal schedule,
Thursday & Friday postponed one day.
Yard-Waste Carts: Monday & Tuesday collected
on Monday, Wednesday on Tuesday, Thursday on
Wednesday.
|Hh| *
? ? Octobw Est Ward Updtfa
? REQ8EST A SERVICC ? RfPORT A PROBLEM
? MAKE A SU66EST10R
Call 311 op 336-727-8000
citullnk@cituofuis.org
809, national origin, roNpoft or tnsaMkty vt I
Mayor Alton Jomes City Council: Vivian H.
fl-. ?L ? IJauAr P, ft TnnuuM U?tr4)uiA*l UfJ.
nurse, wayor rro I ampore, Nortneast ware
Denise D. Adam, North Ward; Dan Bam,
Southwest Ward; Robert C Clark, West
Ward; MoRy laight. South Ward; Jeff
Macintosh, Northwest Ward; Oerwm I
Montgomery, East Ward; James Taylor, JrM
Southeast Ward City Manager; lee Garrity
FIND US ON OO (B ??
I