SF”“" CHARLI >TTE POST =•
' _ - “The Voice Of The Black (Community - < 'u.31W96
Volume 10, Number 12
___iniL rt POST - Thursday, August 30 1984 ' ~ --
Price: 40 Cents
Income ^Neighborhoods
To Receive *31,050 |
Charles Enjoys Cooking!
Story On Page 14A
Macedonia Baptist
Church To Honor
Rev. L.J. Wallace
Story On Page 15A
Kev. Wallace
Job Training Program
_ / y *
Announced For Disadvantaged Citizens
^ i ne Charlotte-Mecklenburg
l rban League, Inc. announced a job
training program in which
economica lly-disad va n taged
citizens will gain employable skills
in word processing and information
systems.
The program, free of charge to
participants, will be administered
by Ihe. . Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Urban League and is funded by the
city of Charlotte and businesses in
the Charlotte area. IBM is providing
instructors, equipment, supplies and
service. The value of this contribu
tion is estimated at $900,000. Other
contributors have pledged in excess
of $300,000 for the next three years.
(A list of contributors is attached).
In addition, a contract with the city
has been obtained for $75,000 to
provide this training to Charlotte
residents during the first year of
operation.
The. program will have an
advisory board, comprised of repre
sentatives from corporations. Uni
versity of North Carolina at
Charlotte, Central Piedmont
Community College and the
JNIordi Carolina Has Turned
Tide Against Criminals
By Governor Jim Hunt
Special To The Post
North Carolina has turned the tide
against criminals. After eight years
of hard work, reported crime in
North Carolina was down 7.5 percent
in 1983.
I am especially pleased by the fact
that violent crime dropped 7.6
percent compared to 1982 and
murder was down 11.2 percent.
Property crimes were down 7.5
percent.
This significant drop follows 1862
sincerely believe this means we are
living in a safer state today, a state
where the rights of victims are
taking precedent over the rights of
criminals.
* ion iw uuvci nur m isj/o i
pledged to our citizens that I would
make war on crime a top priority if
elected. I want to commend law
enforcement, the legislature, the
judiciary and every citizen in this
state who belongs to a Community
Watch or participates in Crime
stoppers for joining me in making
this covenant work. We are winning
.the. war..against crime together.
We’ve forged a partnership Of'”
protection, and we are all safer for
it.
The real success story in our
battle against crime is the untold
tale of our achievements in keeping
young people from becoming
involved in a life of crime. It is with
our young people that the fight
against crime will be won or lost. By
the time a criminally prone person
reaches the age of 20, there is little
that can be done to pull him back to
the straight and narrow path.
That is why I began and supported
initiatives to keep our young people
in school, increase their chances of
getting a good education, counsel
them if they get into trouble and
strengthen family life.
From 1977 on, we have witnessed
initiatives such as the Community
BasedAlTemativea Program. These
are locally run programs that work
to keep youths out of trouble.
In-school suspension is a good
example of a CBA. It keeps trouble
makers in school under supervision
Instead of kicking them out onto the
street where they get Into more
trouble.
I established the Juvenile Code
1fehooh6pq» Ttiwday-—
Watch Out
For Our Kids!
A determined man can do more
with a maty wrench than a loafer
can do with all the tools in a machine
•hop. rJhs* '■- ‘
..
Revision Commission in 1977 and the
Juvenile Law Study Commission in
1981. One result of these
commissions was that status
offenders were removed from
training schools and community
programs were established to
redirect and counsel these children.
This also reduced the training school
population which allowed the staff to
work more intently with the serious
juvenile offenders assigned to
training schools.
I began the Governor’s One-on
wlth a youth at risk with the law. The
adult counsels the youth and
provides a positive role model. The
Big Brother and Big Sister
programs are fine examples of the
One-on-One Program.
This administration sponsored the
Inter-Agency School Discipline!
Project in 1982. Nine pilot
communities worked with their
school systems to promote better
discipline in the schools. They met
with great success in stemming
absenteeism, drop-outs and instiling
pride among children in their
schools. These communities are now
resource models for other North
Carolina cbrftmunitlesr to use..
These initiatives and others like
them have resulted in juvenile
arrests for all crimes dropping 27.8
percent since 1977. The number of
children appearing in court for the
first time dropped 26.2 percent. The
number of school drop-outs is down.
Training school admissions declined
46.8 percent during this period.
Juvenile arrests for car theft
declined 56.3 percent; juvenile
arrests for drug offenses are down
40.8 percent, and juvenile arrests for
burglary are down 30.8 percent.
Also, while juvenile crime has
decreased nationally since 1977,
Juvenile crime in North Carolina has
shown a greater decline than the
national average. Our arrest rate for
juveniles dropped more than 27
percent in this period while the
national rate dropped about 19
percent.
This is a success story in which all
North Carolinians can take pride. It
is a story of grassroots efforts to
make life better for our children.
Children are our most precious
resource -- God’s gift to all of us. We
cannot afford to neglect them.
Charlotte Business League.
The North Carolina Employment
Security Commission has estimated
that over the next three years there
will be approximately 7,000 new jobs
available in.Charlotte-Mecklenburg
for people who have word processing
and information skills. Over the
same period, however, the projected
number of unemployed persons is
more than 54,000 more than 50
percent of whom will be blacks and
other minorities.
This job training program is
designed to help underemployed and
I---—
unemployed minorities and disad
vantaged persons become more
competitive by providing them with
skills in using the latest technology
available in office systems opera
tions.
the goal of the program is to place
80 percent of all graduates within 90
days after graduation in information
systems related employment. The
program will provide job readiness
and word processing training for
entry-level Office Systems Opera
tors-Word Processors and will be
conducted in cycles involving class
room and hands-on experiences.
Sixteen trainees will be scheduled
per class
Classes will begin November 5.
1984 and wiH be held at the B B & T
Bank building. Entrance require
ments include the inability to pay for
commercial training, a high school
diploma or graduate equivalent
diploma*.typing speed of 4Q words
per minute, an acceptable score on
an aptitude examination, an
interview and ninth grade reading
and math ability.
See JOB TRAINING On Page 9A
Robert M. Vlston.Jr.
I I. executive director
Wlliette Roberson
.Hates to be bored!
Hyperactivity Is Normal
Schedule For Our Beauty
By Jalyne Strong
Post Staff Writer
“If I want to succeed I have to
work hard,” explains Wiliette Ro
berson referring to her exceedingly
high amount of activities.
And hyperactivity is a normal
schedule for her. She states matter
of factly, “1 hate to be bored."
For example, Roberson is
involved in the Upward Bound Pro
gram, having just completed six
weeks spent in advanced study at
Johnson C. Smith University. She
was also a part of the Junior
Toastmaster Leadership Program
sponsored by Junior Achievement
during the summer. Roberson
attends Mayfield Memorial Church,
sings on the choir, participates on
the Junior Usher Board and the
Young People's Association. She had
been a Girl Scout for seven years.
Some of these activities will still
be in progress, yet Roberson is
gearing up for making the track
team this year at Myers Park High
School where she’ll be a junior
Other plans include participating in
the Computer Club, the NAACP, the
Keyettes, DECA Club and Latin
Club. “I'm determined to get in the
Latin Honor Society,” projects Ro
berson, explaining that she’ll have
to maintain a 90 or above average in
Latin to qualify. She also hopes to
get a sports scholarship in track.
But that’s not all. “I’m planning to
take voice and dance at the Com
• munily. School of. the .A/ts this
year," sh^ reveals.
It's no empty statement when Ro
berson claims, “I try to have some
thing to do always.”
Roberson began her quest for
achievements when in junior high
school she played on the volleyball
team and the track team She was
awarded for having the highest
academic average of those partici
pating on the team, two years on the
track team and one year on the
volleyball team.
Since then Roberson has collected
trophies for a variety of endeavors
including one for being a top seller
of Girl Scout cookies.
“I like success,” admits Rober
son. "Achievements are my way of
proving myself and building self
esteem "
At 16 years of age it would seem
that thir youngr lady would be con
cerned with having a little fun But,
she points out, “It’s fun represent
ing my school and proving the
potential of what I can do.”
“My aunt says, 'You’re going to
kill yourself. You're too young to
See WILIETTE ROBERSON 4A
500,000 Children Are
Sexually Abused Each Year
By I-oretta Manage
Host Staff Writer
Last year, two Charlotte-Meek
lenburg teachers were dismissed
from their positions after charges of
sexual exploitation and abuse of
their students were placed against
them. “In California Virginia Mc
Martin, 76, the owner of Virginia
McMartin Preschool, and six of her
former teachers were brought to
trial to face 115 counts of child
molestation within a 10 year period.
In Chicago, a janitor was charged
with taking indecent liberties with
children at the day care center And
in Minneapolis the artistic director
of famed Children's Theatre Com
pany was arrested and charged with
sexually assaulting three male stu
dents.”
1 nose cases are only a tip of the
iceberg that have some experts
estimating that “as many as
400,000 to 500,000 children are sex
ually abused each year.”
It is reported that "in the
United States today, one in three
girls and one in 10 boys are sex
ually abused by the age of 18. Fifteen
to 25 percent of the victims are
under the age of six."
An issue that was previously
considered to be closeted is now the
center of attention in headlines
throughout the media. Myths of
whom child sexual abusers are,
information on how to protect the
victims and new laws and legis
lation are being enacted to ensure
that the persons committing these
offenses will not get away
But with all of the attention that is
being focused on child sexual abuse
there are still too many people who
believe that the abuser is a “strange
dirty old man." Children are still not
believed when they tell their parents
that someone has touched them in an
area where they don't think they
should have. And even after a parent
knows that their child has been
abused, too many of them are opting
to keep silent
The series, "The Prevention Of
Child Abuse- What Your Children
Should Know" to be shown on
channel 58, September 17-20 is es
pecially designed to help make the
public aware of child sexual abuse
and to teach the public how to
effectively deal with the issue
To begin the five part series will
Jay Walton: Community Development
Department’s Objectives Are Diversified
By Karen Parker
Postman Writer
James W. (Jay) Walton has been
appointed director of the Communi
ty Development Department.
The . assignment was made re
cently by City Manager Wendell
White, “lam pleased to appoint Jay
Walton from within our organize
(ton to this position of leadership,"
White stated.
Before his present appointment,
Walton was the assistant director in
the Community Development De
portment. He has replaced Hkrfy L.
Jones who became director of ,”«•
Housing and Nemhborhond Ser
vices in Dallas, TX " ' ,
Even though Walton was among
five finalist* for the directorship, he
\
.• Jajrfea.Klfy" Walton
' j;;Netf 0)0 director
noted he Was probably selected be
cause of his familiarity with the
f . t F > i . *V
projects in Community Develop
ment "I was assistant director for
2!* years/’ he commented
According to Walton, he worked
with the former director to improve
the local relocation program for
people living in substandard rental
housing. "By Increasing the de
velopment of new housing," Wslton
said, "the Community Develop
ment Department reduced the
waiting Hat from about 290 to 71."
The relocation program is put In ‘
effect whenever there has been fail
ure in the local housing code which
specifies safe, decent, and sanitary
conditions Sometimes it takes '
months to correct the problems, so
resident* have to be relocated,"
Walton continued.
"The objective of the Community
Development Department is a di
versified one," stated Walton, who
supervises a staff of 73 “We work to
preserve and reserve housing "
Communities which have been in
fluenced most by the Community
Development Department include
Five Points, West Boulevard. Grier
Heights, First Ward and the West
Morehead area
;/ Working with a budget of $7
million, the responsibility doesn't
stop at funding low to moderate
Income housing “We monitor hu
man service agencies under con
tract with the Department." Wal
ton stressed The Gethsemane En
richment Program and Charlotte
See WALTON Oh Page 4A
he an introduction program for the
parents In this program, parents,
teachers, and other adults who work
with youngsters will be informed of
the facts of child sexual abuse It is
the program's intent to convince
those who doubt the seriousness of
this crime and to set the record
straight on who the abusers and the
abused are.
Following this 90 minute program
on September 18, la scheduled two
programs' designed specifically tor
vsunetrspjaBVi
grams are divided by school grades
kindergarten-third grade and
grades-four-seven. Mary Ellen
Stone, director of King County Rape
Relief in Renton, Washington, will
conduct these programs.
See ABUSED CHILDREN Page 12A
June Mel.aurin Jeffers
.Prestigious woman
June Jeffers Is
Second Female To
Head National (iroup
June McLaurin Jeffers, owner of
McLaurin Funeral Home in Reids
ville. N'C, was installed as Presi
dent of the National Funeral Direc
tors and Morticians Association, Inc
at the 47th Annual Convention in
New Orleans, I,a
Jeffers, a native of Reidsville, Is
the second female to head the na
tional organization of more than
3,000 members from 32 states and
the Bahamas. She was appointed
Director of the Education Com
mission and served the organiza
tion in that capacity four years, and
was subsequently elected to the
offices of Corporate Secretary, Vice
President, and President Elect. She
was presented the prestigious
Woman of the Year Award in 1974.
An active participant in local and
state affairs, Jeffers ended a term
as President of the Funeral Direc
tors and Morticians Association of
North Carolina, Inc. this year. She
now sits as Chairman of the Board of
that organisation.
Ms. Jeffers is a relative of Batty
and Daniel McLaurin of Charlotte.
Eugene Grier of Grier Funeral
Service in Charlotte also attended
the convention in New Orleans.