Arts Council awards 6 mini-grants
SPECIAL TO
TWCHRQNKXL
The Arts Council of
\ Winston-Salem and
Forsyth County has
, announced its first round of
J 2016-2017 grants made
? through its Wells Fargo
, Community Enrichment
Mini-Grant program.
These awards provide
community groups and
individuals with grants up
to $500 to infuse the arts
into all segments of the
community, promote cre
ativity, provide greater
' access to the arts and bring
people together.
"These fall mini-grants
| will bring art experiences
to diverse populations and
enable unique collabora
tions in our community."
said Dara Silver, grant pro
gram manager for The Arts
Council. "We continue to
be inspired by the ideas
coming from individuals,
community organizations,
and businesses that have
the desire to make a differ
ence in our community
through the arts."
Projects selected:
?Hispanic League will
partner with Reynolda
House Museum of
American Ait on Thursday,
Oct. 20, to host Columbian
classical guitarist Roberto
Martinez in the Colorful
Sounds in Concert: Latin
America. This partnership
will celebrate the Hispanic
League's 25th Anniversary
and will bring the two
organizations together to
begin to explore promoting
art and culture to new audi
ences.
. ?N.C. Black Repertory
Company will present a
new outreach program
titled, Living Room
Theatre, for community
members who are not
physically able to attend
shows at the theatre. They
will bring actress Perri
Gaffney's one-woman
show. The Resurrection of
Alice, to hospital- bound
and terminally ill patients
at local hospitals, rehab
facilities, and nursing
homes in October 2016.
?Lewisville Area Arts
Council will celebrate its
25th anniversary of Music
in the Park on Oct. 8 at the
Shallowford Square in
Lewisville. This free com
munity event features the
Brothers Pearl band along
with musical guests and
exhibiting artists.
Community partners
include Lewisville Recycle
Committee, Lewisville
Historical Society,
Lewisville Civic Club.
?Cross the Line Project
is a project of the UNCSA
Student Board and will fea
ture five concerts in
October in nontraditional
places. UNCSA students
will perform classical
music and engage their
audience about the music
as a way to keep classical
music relevant. Partners
include Homestead Hills
Retirement Community,
Old Salem Harvest Day
Festival, Brookridge
Retirement Community,
and Reynolds Gardens.
?Piedmont Opera will
partner with the local Girl
Scouts Carolinas Peaks to
Piedmont Council to create
a signature opera badge,
provide educational pro
gramming and an opportu
nity to attend Puccini's
Tosca at the UNCSA
Stevens Center in October.
?WS Shuffle will part
ner with CoffeePark Arts
located in the Milton
Rhodes Center for the Arts
to present a monthly show
case competition for artists
including music, poetry,
dance, and performing arts.
The competition is open to
artists of all ages and has
fostered many local talent
ed individuals.
Currently, the Arts
Council has awarded 109
mini-grants totaling
$28,000. The next due date
for mini-grant applications
is Friday, Oct. 27 by 5 pjn.
for projects taking place
Dec. 1, 2016 - Feb. 28,
2017.
For more information
about Community
Enrichment Mini-Grants
contact Dara Silver, senior
administrative assistant,
special projects, and grant
program manager at 336
747-1426 or dsflver@intot
hearts.org.
Students cheer on Clinton but give advice
Editor's note: The Chronicle apologizes for an error
made in The Chronicle on Sept. 29 on page A1. Because
of a production error, the entire story was not printed. The
story is being reprinted below.
The Chronicle regrets any misunderstanding that may
have resulted from these errors. The Editor
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE .
On Monday night, millions of eyes were glued to TV
sets across the country to watch the fust presidential
debate between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton
and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Students from
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and others in
the community watched arguably the most anticipated
debate in history on the giant projector screen inside the
Enterprise Center on South Martin Luther King Drive.
Before the debate, they also heard community leaders
tell them how important the election is.
During the debate, Clinton and Thimp tackled a num
ber of issues, including race relations, crime and policing,
ISIS, the economy and education. Cheers echoed through
the large room when Clinton discussed her plans to
improve the education system and bring jobs to the coun
try.
Although the majority of students attending the watch
party were Clinton supporters, not everyone was pleased
with her performance.
Senior nursing major Kelsey Jones said although she
believes Clinton will be the next president, during the
debate she spent too much time going back and forth with
Trump.
"She touched on a number of issues, but I felt like she
could have talked more about her platform," said Jones.
"She still has my vote, and 1 think she will win the elec
tion, but I just felt she wasn't her best during the debate."
Other young voters said Clinton did exactly what she
needed to do to win the debate. Senior communications
major Simone Joyner said she believes Clinton won the
debate because she answered all the questions that were
asked, unlike Trump.
Buck Green, a WSSU senior and co-founder of
BlackDollars.com, a directory of black- owned business
es, believes that African-American voters will be the dif
ference-maker in the presidential race. He said he thought
Clinton won the debate, but she could've done more to
appeal to black voters.
"She touched on the major topics, but to get more
young black voters, she should have brought up
Trump'spast, which is filled with bigotry and racism," he
said.
The next debate is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 9 in St.
Louis.
Before Clinton and Trump squared off, Forsyth
County Board of Elections member Flemming El-Amin
led an open conversation on the importance of voting. El
Amin told the students that although they came together
to watch the debate, the decisions they make at the polls
on Nov. 8 will impact the country for the next 50 years.
"We're just watching the debate, but this is about so
much more," he said. El-Amin said that whoever is sworn
in as the President of the United States early next year
will have the power to nominate at least two candidates
for the U.S. Supreme Court. He said when it comes to
social economics, the judges that serve on the country's
highest court make decisions that last much longer than
the tenure of the president. As an example, El-Amin
briefly discussed the landmark case Plessy vs. Ferguson,
which upheld in 18% the policy of "separate but equal"
in state laws for all public facilities.
Public facilities for blacks and whites remained sepa
rate until Brown vs. Board of Education repealed the law
in 1954.
"From 18% until 1954," he said. "The Supreme Court
justices made that decision."
El-Amin, who pushed for an early voting site to be put
on the campus of WSSU, also urged students to exercise
their right to vote.
"This is nothing to play with. You must take this seri
ously," he said. 'Too many died and to many prayed for
us to have this right. We can't take it lightly."
Longtime community and civil rights activist the Rev.
Dr. John Mendez also urged the students to vote.
As he stood in front of the giant screen just before
debate moderate Lester Holt appeared, Mendez told the
students, "You are leading the struggle."
He said, "Brilliant young people are changing poli
tics, and I want you to know that I am proud of you.
People like me have run my race already, so where you
lead me that's where I'm going."
;<?? Wells Fargo
from page A]
decided to close all of her
Wells Fargo accounts,
including the erroneous
credit card account, paying
i off what was owed, but
also filing a complaint say
ing that someone else
opened the credit account
in her name without her
knowledge or approval.
One of the High Point
bank officers did help
Jones file the complaint
with Wells Fargo and
promised an investigation,
but also cautioned her,
"You'll never know who
did this because they don't
release that information."
While there, Jones says
she was put on the phone
with another Wells Fargo
representative about the
matter. She told the rep that
she also wanted a letter
from the company con
firming that she closed the
account, and to issue her a
refund from a line of credit.
At the end of June
2013, Jones received a
form letter from Wells
Fargo Consumer Credit
Solutions stating that June
27, 2013 - the date of the
letter - "we have closed
your above-referenced
credit card account as you
requested."
But while Jones did get
the letter, her refund check
never came, despite what
the Wells Fargo rep prom
ised on the phone. Jones
says she was told both doc
uments would be in the
same envelope, but in fact,
she was later told, the letter
and the check would be
coming from two different
places, and the check never
came.
After waiting two to
three weeks, Jones went
back to the High Point
branch to complain, and
within three days, she
finally got a check for just
over $7, "Jones" was upset
that if she had been short 7
dollars in a payment, the
bank would have demand
ed full payment immedi
ately or charge a late fee,
but when the tables were
turned, Wells Fargo took
close to a month, without
reason, to resolve the mat
ter.
That was three years
ago. Fast forward to today,
and Jones sees news of the
current Wells Fargo scan
dal where 5300 employees
were fired for fraudulently
opening over 13 million
erroneous bank and credit
card accounts in cus
tomers' names over the
past five years, forcing
them to pay fees on
accounts they knew any
thing about.
Published reports say
Wells Fargo collected over
$2 million in false fees as a
result from over 550,000
customers. A spokesperson
for the company told The
Chronicle that virtually all
of the affected customers
were refunded an average
of $25.00 per.,
But Jones knew she
was owed much more than
just fraudulent fees
charged. She had been
forced to pay off over
$1300 on a credit account
she never opened.
Three weeks ago, she
went back to the High
Point branch, with her doc
umentation from three
years earlier, to file another
complaint, wanting all of
the money she paid, plus
interest. The branch man
ager stated that she would
also indicate that if Jones'
credit was affected, it
should be corrected. She
says she was told by a bank
officer, who remembered
Jones from three years ear
lier, that she would be con
tacted.
Someone from the
company named "Shawna"
did eventually call her.
I?p ?JjH
Jones says Shawna told
her the original complaint
was investigated in 2014,
but no fraud was found in
someone else using her
name to open a Wells
Fargo credit card account.
Shawna added that a new
probe was underway given
her most recent complaint,
and that Jones would be
getting a. letter from the
company within two
weeks.
In the interim, a friend
at church showed Jones
The Chronicle's Sept. 22
article on the Wells Faigo
scandal, where two
Winston-Salem branch
managers insisted that
none of the false accounts
were opened in this market.
"That's not true
because I am a victim,"
Jones says. "It does affect
people in North Carolina,
but maybe they don't know
who to contact, ashamed
because they did not pay
close attention fo financial
?
statements as they should
have, no longer having
documentation to validate
their claim or because
Wells Fargo is so large."
. In an effort to seek fur
ther assistance, Jones says
she's also sent letters of
complaint to State Sen.
Paul Lowe of Forsyth
County, and US. Senators
Sherrod Brown [D-Ohio]
and Elizabeth Warren [D
Massachusetts], who sit on
the Senate Banking
Committee currently inves
tigating Wells Fargo. An
aide from Brown's office,
as well as an aide to Lowe,
contacted Jones to follow
up at press time.
If you are, or were a
customer of Wells Fargo
bank, and you feel that you
were a victim of an alleged
account scam by the com
pany, please contact us at
The Chronicle at
news@wschronicle.com
and tell us your story.
! |
Real Estate
from pageXl
years, will be mailed to
property owners in ear
The state requires
counties to conduct reap
praisals of real estate every
eight years, but like many
other counties, Forsyth
does it every four years.
This was controversial in
2013, when the downturn
in the housing market
resulted in 90 percent of
county residents seeing a
drop in property value.
During a briefing last
week, county Tax Assessor
John Burgiss told commis
sioners not every real estate
transaction is counted in
appraisals to avoid sales
that may not accurately
reflect a property's market
value, such as foreclosure
auctions and transactions
between family members
or businesses. There are
about 5,000 qualified sales
every year, be said, 'and
each property is visited by
county staff.
"It's a multifaceted way
we make sure we have
accuracy," said Burgiss.
With many more
unqualified sales than qual
ified ones and visits to
properties that may not tell
the appraiser what's inside
the house, Burgiss said that
public input is welcome in
the process.
He said that property
owners have several
avenues of appeal once
they get their reappraisal,
which will go out in
January or February of
next year. They'll be able
to file an informal appeal
with the Tax
Administration office as
well as a formal appeal to
the Board of Equalization
and Review. Residents can
also appeal to the state
level.
With a stronger housing
market, Burgiss anticipates
the reappraisal to generally
show an increase in proper
ty value.
The Forsyth County
property tax base, which
also includes personal
property like cars,
decreased by eight percent
in 2009 after the last reap
praisal. Burgiss said
despite the property value
losses, there were less
informal appeals and about
the same amount of formal
appeals in 2013.
"This exhibition is a clear, intentional meditation
on ways to take control, re-inscribe, and resist
dominant narratives of what it means to be
SEEN. To be a black man, woman, transgender
-to be what the creator created us to be!"
Jonbn CistMl
10.14.2016
Opening reception Friday 4:00-7fl0pm
10.20.2016
Aftist Talk Tbursdiy 6r00pm
Annual tsjlofis Qjygi Books Loduro
with Artist Zun Lee
Zun Lee is an award-winning
Canadian photographer, physician
and educator Lee has been globally
recognized as one of the top emerging
visual storytellers to watch I
on the importance of quotidian Black
life has led to publications in the New
York Times, Slate, Wall Street Journal,
TIME, The New Yorker, Huffington
Post, MSNBC, Washington Post,
Forbes, and Hyperallergic.
For more information about Lee, visit:
www.zunlee.com.
10.14.2016 - 3.1.2017
Fxhtbition dutcs
? wssu y
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> , ? p
Ad aft: Aaron Fowler. He Was. 2015, Mixed Media, 134x165x108-, Courtesy Ric Whitney and Tina Percy-Whitney