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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C
THURSDAY, October 10, 2019
Volume 46, Number 6
THE CI
See Opinion/Forum pages on A6&7
Gospel Fest provides Special Blessing
something for everyone
of the Animals
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
The first day of the 2019 Gospel
Fest at the Dixie Classic. Fair
brought together a great collection
of talent that people of all ages could
enjoy. The six acts that performed
on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 6, had the
crowd going from start to finish.
The St. Paul United Methodist
Church Mass Choir was first up to the
stage. The traditional contemporary
choir has performed at Gospel Fest
multiple times and they did what they
always do - performed well. Their set
was filled with melodic harmonies
that brought you back to your
childhood growing up in the church.
The dance group Radical
Reverence was next up. The group
is comprised of Daniel Shegog,
Jeremiah Tillery, Taylor Ellerbe,
Gabrielle Caesar and Kenae
McMillan and all are members of St.
Paul United Methodist as well.
“Dance comes in many forms, so
we try to bring it, whether it’s slow
or fast, and we just try and bring it
together,” said Caesar.
The group has been performing
together for a while and say they are
used to performing in front of large
crowds, so there were no nerves.
“We danced here last year and
we go to churches that put us in front
of crowds that we don’t know, so I
wouldn’t say we had any nerves, it
just comes natural to us,” said Tillery.
Vocalist Alfred Clemonts was
a big hit on Sunday as well. His
mixture of gospel and R&B had
many people saying, “Man he can
really sing!”
“I don’t look at it more so as
performing, but I look at it as a
chance to minister and a chance to
share with others what I am sharing
with God at the same time,” said
Clemonts. “When people say you’ve
done a good job, I always say, ‘To
God be the glory,’ because it’s me
giving God the glory for giving me
the gift to share with other people.”
Clemonts says the integration
of R&B to his gospel music was
intentional. He likes to incorporate
different genres of music into his
style of gospel, so he doesn’t get
pigeonholed as one style of singer.
Possibly the biggest response
from the crowd was toward Todd
Curry & TLC. Their upbeat choir-
style performance was a big hit for
the audience. Almost everyone in the
crowd was either bobbing their heads
or clapping their hands during the
performance.
Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.
held for police,
sheriff K-9 units
BY JUDIE HOLCOMB-PACK
THE CHRONICLE
About a dozen members of St. Anne’s Episcopal
Church watched as Rev. Ginny Wilder blessed three
four-legged members of local law enforcement.
John Lockwood, who heads up the church’s Fuzzy
Friends outreach ministry, said, “This is the first time
we have invited the K-9 units. We felt they needed
prayers ... and this would be a good time to bring the
community together to do this.”
St. Anne’s has held a Blessing of the Animals for
nearly 20 years, but being a relatively new rector to St.
Anne’s, this was only Rev. Wilder’s third time and the
first for K-9 members. She said, “Having three dogs
myself, I know our dogs and our pets see us on our good
days and our bad days, but they are always there for us.
... This is our opportunity to thank them through the
language of love.”
The Blessing of the Animals is a service held
throughout the world on or around Oct. 4, the Feast
of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Any animal, from the usual dogs and cats, to birds,
reptiles, chickens, horses, llamas, or other animals, can
be blessed on this occasion. A Blessing of the Animals
for parish members’ and neighbors’ pets was held that
afternoon at 4 p.m.
K-9 members receiving blessings were Bane, a
German Shepherd, with his partner, Dep. Ryan Rae, and
Suzie, with his partner, Dep. Troy Curry, both from the
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Dept., and Copper, along with
his partner, Corp. Gary Neal, from the Winston-Salem
Police Dept. Rae mentioned that all the dogs were about
three years old and were trained to detect narcotics,
Shekina Mitchell with Willie Mason and Friends gospel group performs
during Gospel Fest at the fairgrounds Sunday, Oct. 6.
“I have been in the industry for
a long time and being a pastor now,
I’ve learned it’s more about the
ministry aspect,” said Curry. “I’m
excited that this new choir we just
formed and for them to get the
concept that it’s bigger than me and
it’s about touching people’s lives,
touches me more than anything.
“We have ex-drug dealers, people
who have been on drugs, and people
who have literally been healed
from cancer. All of this was up here
singing and when they sing, it’s from
the heart, so it’s not a game.”
Curry incorporated a go-go style
beat into his performance. Go-go
music is a popular style of music in
the Washington D.C. metropolitan
area. Curry says he used the beat to
“capture everyone.”
Closing out Sunday’s
performances was Willie Mason
and Friends. A well-known group
in the community, they charmed the
crowd with their powerful vocals
and testimonies through song. Willie
Mason and Friends are scheduled to
go on tour later this month.
Rasheed Davis was present for
the event Sunday afternoon. This
was his first time actually stopping
See Gospel on A2
Board of Elections approves WSSU as early
votingsite
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
After being left off
the list of early voting
sites for nearly a decade,
earlier this week the
Forsyth County Board of
Elections unanimously
approved Winston-Salem
State University as an early
Election.
WSSU was one of
the 11 early voting sites
in Forsyth County until
2013, when Ken Raymond
became chair of the Board
of Elections. A Republican
who now serves on the
N.C. State Board of
According
to
Elections,
Raymond
voting site
for
the
2020
alleged that in 2010 there
was an election violation
at WSSU involving a
professor.
Raymond, who was a
poll worker at the time, a
professor who was never
named was giving students
course credits for voting
at the early voting place
on campus. Although
the allegations made by
Raymond were never
confirmed, the students at
WSSU have been suffering
ever since.
Because there hasn’t
been an early voting
station on campus for
nearly a decade, students
have been forced to find
transportation to other
. locations across the county,
while others didn’t cast a
ballot at all.
As sort
compromise,
past few years
Anderson
of a
for the
the W.R.
Recreation
Center has been added as
See WSSU on A8
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Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.
Lucia Wilkinson pets Bane, a K-9 member of the
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Dept, while his partner Dep.
Ryan Rae watches.
search and apprehension, and tracking.
Rae said be bonded immediately when he received
Bane, who is from Czechoslovakia. “From the first day
I met him, he has listened to everything I’ve said.” Bane
lives with Rae and is considered a part of his family.
All K-9 members live with their partners, but are kept
separate from their other pets. Neal said he has six other
dogs as well and most get along well with each other.
See Blessing on A2
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