Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / March 17, 2016, edition 1 / Page 3
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The Man with Anointed Hands Carl Russell, Jr. of Russell Funeral Home passed BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE Carl Russell, Jr.,known for his decades of serving families at Russell Funeral Home, was remembered at a service held at St. Peter's World Outreach Center on Friday March 10. Hundreds attended the funeral service for Russell, 70, who passed away on Friday, March 6. He was a master embalmer at Russell Funeral Home. His father, Carl Russell Sr., founded the funeral home in 1939 and also served as a city alderman. His moth er, Florrie S. Russell, took over leadership of the funeral home after her hus band passed in 1987 and continued to run it until she passed in 1997. Russell, Jr. has ten siblings who grew up in the family business, which also at one time pro vided ambulance service to the city. He was one of sev eral members of the Russell clan who work at the funeral home, which is now run by his brother Cedric and sister. Carmen, Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian Burke said Russell, Jr. and his siblings have made their parents proud carrying on their family's legacy in the funeral busi ness. She said even from a young age, Russell Jr. had "a mind to stimulate, culti vate and motivate people." "Carl walked in such a strong way and if he pulled you aside, he only wanted you to be aware that you need to be moving for ward," she said. Russell, Jr., an Atkins High School alumnus, went to college at his father's alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, and Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in Ohio. He was employed by the Wake Forest Baptist Health Autopsy Department for years. His skills played a vital role in the family funeral business. "Carl was the best," said Cedric Russell. "He didn't mind letting you know he was the best. He said he could take someone hit by a train and make them look like they died in their sleep." He said Russell, Jr. had good reason to take pride in what he did, and was very dedicated to serving fami lies during their time of bereavement. "He truly had anointed hands," said Cedric Russell. "He'd go into the preparation room, he'd study the situation, he'd stay for hours if it took that because that's how dedicat ed he was." A member of the National Funeral Directors Association and the N.C. Funeral Directors Association, he was well respected among his col leagues in the funeral industry, many of whom were in attendance. Rep. Alma Adams, N.C. Rep. Paul Lowe, and the city of Atlanta, Ga. all sent condo fences. Rev. Steven Lyons of St. James A.M?. Church, where Russell, Jr. was a lifelong member, said though people may think of limousines, hearses, cas kets and staff dressed in nice suits when it comes to funerals, he said the embalming work that went on in "Carl's Preparation Room" was the most important part of the funer al home. "I believe Carl Russell gave his gift back to God and God blessed him to use that gift all the more," said Lyons. Russell, Jr. was a for mer mfember of Ionic Lodge #72, a neighborhood watchman at Northwood Estate and an inductee in the Atkins High School Hall of Fame. He is sur vived by his wife Sandra R. Imes-Russell, his six chil dren, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, along with many siblings ' and other relatives. ' J , Submitted photo The late Carl Russell, Jr. was an important part of Russell Funeral Home, which has been run by his family for more than 75 years. Body camera footage released, cause of death of Page still unknown ss BY TEVIN STINSON e THE CHRONICLE r After-three months of waiting, during a press confer- (? ence held at the Hall of Justice earlier this week the t Forsyth County District Attorney's office released the body camera footage of the incident involving Travis c Nevelle Page? a Winston-Salem man who died in police, j custody following a brief'struggle. c According to a police report, > I Corporal Robert Fenimore, Officer r I nt i :nlarged heart. McDonald noted Page's heart weighed 650 grams nuch larger than a normal healthy hart. It is believed that lealth issues and the act of the physical restraint may have >een the cause. Since the incident occurred last December, a number >f community organizations have urged District Attorney im O'Neil to release the body camera footage. President >f the Ministers' Conference of Winston-Salem and /icinity (MCWSV) Bishop Todd Fulton attempted multi >le times to meet with I doing their job, but we also want to address the issues," he continued. "Why it is so difficult for you to do the job that taxpayers are paying you to do." "It should not have been this hard to have the footage released. This man died in your custody and we deserve to know what happened." According to Fulton and other members of the confer ence, they will hold an official news conference later this month to address the footage. ^nrisiopner Doub, Officer Austin Conrad, and Officer Jabob Tuttle responded to a reported dis charge of. a ? firearm at 4404 Old Rural Hall Road. Upon arrival officers attempted to detain Pace, who matched the description "It should not have been this hard to have the footage released. This man died in your custody and we deserve to know what happened." -Bishop Todd Fulton of the reported gunman. Page became unresponsive after one of the officers used pepper spray in order to put Page in handcuffs In the footage released to the public, Page attempts to elude officers on foot before he trips and falls. The remaining footage shows the three officers attempting to arrest Page. The body camera tape shown during the news conference does not show when the pepper spray was used. Medical Examiner Dr. Anna McDonald concluded that the bruises found on Page were non- lethal. The bruises included one on the head, three on his shoulders and small bruises on his hips. Although the cause of death is still unknown, McDonald noted that Page was a man who suf fered from multiple health issues, including obesity and an ?S>eim@ ZQA OPEN HOU8E Saturday, April 9, 2016 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Corbett Sports Center 1601 East Market Street Greensboro, NC 27411 O'Neil to ask that the footage be released. During a recent MCWSV meeting, Fulton thanked the district attor ney's office for doing their job. Fulton also addressed the lack of communication and the length of time it took, for the footage to be released "We want to thank the district attorney's office for Officers battle growing i heroin issue in W-S I BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE In recent years the number of people dying from heroin and opiate has increased throughout the Triad. In Forsyth County between 2013 and 2014 the number of heroin deaths jumped from just nine to 21. Although The Chronicle was unable to receive the number of deaths for 2015 dur ing the monthly public safety news confer ence on Wednesday, March 9, members of the Winston-Salem Police said numbers are steadily increasing. Reports indicate that in 2016, Forsyth County EMT's have already responded to over 100 overdose calls. In an attempt to combat the growing issue, the police throughout the city are using a new tool to keep people alive. According to Lt. William Penn, offi cers have been using a drug called Narcan since late last year to reverse the effects of overdoses. Penn mentioned that using Narcan or Naloxone helps respiratory issues and other problems associated with overdosing. Since September police has have used the drug seven times in order to save someone's life. "I'm not able to go into detail about the cases, but Narcan has saved lives," Penn . continued. "The life of those in medical JL need take precedent over these minor criminal acts." Penn also mentioned the Good Samaritan law which ensures that people won't get prosecuted for minor drug offenses if they call 911 in response to an overdose incident. Penn said people might not call for help when someone is suffer ing a drug overdose because they fear prosecution. ? "As you might imagine, the successful use of Naloxone was possible due to resi dents calling first responders in a quick manner," he said. "We don't want people to hesitate to seek assistance for those in | need for fear of prosecution." Chief Barry Rountree said as an k agency, the WSPD will do anything they can to protect the public and also save " lives when they have the opportunity. ^"^^ww!w?chronIcIe^ I ream about North Carolina. An all-inclusive day for middle school, high school and transfer students Tour the beautiful campus A&T State University! Talk with students, administrators, faculty and staff Learn more about our extensive academic offerings Student Re giet rations aad0rgrmdmdmiaaiomm.nemt.mdu Group Ragiatrations dmatinmtloamggiepride.arentbrita.com
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