Inside
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C
THURSDAY, December 7, 2017
Volume 44, Number 14
School Report Cards
website updated
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE___
Earlier this week, N.C. Superintendent of Public
Education Mark Johnson unveiled the state’s redesigned
School Report Cards website.
While speaking to local principals and administrators
at the Winston-SalemXForsyth County Schools Board of
Education building on Tuesday, Dec. 5, Johnson said, the
updates to the website will help tell the story of schools
across the state and highlight growth.
“We need to better highlight growth because that
means we’re on the right track. So with that we are
launching the brand new website for North Carolina’s
School Report Cards,” said Johnson, who was a member
of the Winston
SalemVForsyth County
Schools Board of
Education until he began
his job as state superin
tendent in January.
The School Report
Cards website initially
launched in 2001 and has
n’t had any major upgrades
since. The purpose of the
website is to provide parents and others interested in pub
lic schools across the state with information about school.
Johnson
See Report Cards on A8
Photo by Tevin Stinson
Local principals and administrators were able to see
a presentation of the new State School Report Card
website at the Winston-Salem\Forsyth County
Schools Board of Education Building on Bethania
Station Road.
Photos by Tcvin Stinson
Members of the Winston-Salem State University Choir perform during the Holiday Concert on
Sunday, Dec. 3.
WSSU heralds
holiday season
with concert
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
The Singing Rams of Winston-Salem State University
(WSSU) kicked off the Holiday Season in style last
weekend when the Department of Music hosted its annual
holiday concert on Sunday evening, Dec. 3.
Current students, faculty, staff and alumni filled the
bottom half of the K.R. Williams Auditorium to lend an
ear to the soulful sounds of Schola Cantorum, the famous
Burke Singers, Singing Divas, and of course, the
Winston-Salem State University Choir. Several alumni
also returned to campus to show their singing talents,
including featured soloist Ja’Kenya Gartrell.
Gartrell, a native of New Jersery, is a 2013 graduate
of WSSU. During her time spent at “Ol State U,” Gartrell
was a featured soloist in the WSSU Choir and was chosen
as one of the Burke Singers. Additionally, Gartrell was
selected to represent WSSU in the 105 HBCU Voices of
See Concert on A8
Winston-Salem State University’s Burke
Singers perform during the annual Holiday
Concert on Sunday, Dec. 3. The event was
held inside the KJl. Williams Auditorium.
Smitty’s
Notes
celebrates
20 years
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE __
While The Chronicle prides itself on being the city’s
“oldest and most respected community newspaper,”
when the people of Winston-Salem want to know about
social events and what’s going on in the area, many rely
on another homegrown publication and news source:
Smitty’s Notes.
Since 1997, Smitty’s Notes, a website and monthly
newsletter that prides itself on providing information on
local events, and a community calendar, has served the
people of Winston-Salem.
What started out as a simple email to friends with a
list of happenings in the city, on what seemed to be a dull
\eihey L. Smith
Wv'T *• ******
^tam\ Watshal
Submitted photo
Jeffrey Smith, founder of Smitty’s Notes, served as
grand marshal during the 27th Annual Jaycees
Holiday Parade on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Friday night, has grown to become one of the most pow
erful information sources in Forsyth County.
“We were just trying to find out what to do for the
weekend, so we would email each other,” said city native
Jeffrey Smith, founder of Smitty’s Notes. “Email was
still fairly new at the time, so I did that for a couple of
months, then 1 realized that my emails were being passed
around to other people outside the group and it kind of
just grew from there.”
Today, Smitty’s Notes has more than 16,000 sub
scribers, a lot more than the 12 who initially received
Smith’s efnails. Smith said the newsletter has served the
See Smitty on A8
County approves funds for Enclave expansion
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Forsyth County commissioners approved
accepting money to help expand affordable hous
ing during its Thursday, Nov. 30, meeting.
Forsyth County and the City of Winston
Salem originally received a $2,625,000
Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant
from the N.C. Commerce Department’s
Community Division in 2009. The funds had a
variety of uses during the housing foreclosure cri
sis, including helping Miller Valentine and the
North Carolina Housing Foundation transform a
foreclosed, incomplete condo development on the
comer of Bethania Station Road and Shattalon
Drive into 68 units of affordable housing known
as The Enclave.
“The project has been very successful,” said
Housing & Community Development Director
Dan Komelis.
Last week, commissioners unanimously voted
to accept about $2 million in remaining NSP from
the state to help with The Enclave II. The second
phase will let the developers put 96 units of afford
able housing in four apartment buildings that’ll be
See Funds on A4
r«'IL We Rent ll-Haul Trucks!
mams?-? Professional self-storage.
MOVE IN
SPECIAL
$25
!••• ASSURED
[•••STORAGE
of Winston-Salem,1LC
(336) 924-7000
www,assuredstoragews.com