Republican Party:
Student Makes
Headway
Politics/ Pa£e 2A
UNCC 49ers Lose In NIT
Sports/Page 7B
i| New Soap In Black & White
Entertainment/ Page 8A
Inside We
Alliance
Habitat's
Gastonia Chapter
Page IIB
Clje Cliarlotte IPosit
Vol. 14,No.42 Thursday, March 16,1989
THE AWARD-WINNING "VOICE OE THE BLACK COMMUNITY"
50 Cents
I'hoto/CALVIN FERGUSON
A TOAST TO LITTLES... Two black clvlo groups, SounVest
and CARJANDE, were the hosts of a celebration in honor of
Oene littlos. Assistant Coach and Director of Flayer Person
nel for the Charlotte Hornets, last Friday. Littles, accompa
nied by his wife, Rita (seated left) was toasted as the uiuung
hero of the home team. Among the many guests, sports an-
noimcers, Gil McGregor (r) and Steve Martin of WBT Radio,
were on hand to let Littles know his efforts are recognized.
Carol Anderson (seated right), chairperson of CARJANDE,
made a presentation to Littles.
School Board
Continues On
Reassignments
Griffln
Mother Of Len Bias Urges All Parents
To Commit To War On Drug Abuse
BY r. ALAN BOYCE
Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH (AP) — The mother
of Len Bias, a Maryland basket
ball star who died of a cocaine
overdose, recently called for a
stronger commitment from par-
entS'hl the war on drugs.
"We have beautiful babies here
we are about to lose," Lonlse Bias
told the Governor's Drug Cabi
net. "We need famille.s to get out
here."
Mrs. Bias said too many par
ents "have their heads in the
sand and don't want to bother
with anything. ..." Children need
foie models to develop the self
esteem to resist drugs, she said.
Instead, they get a dally diet of
divorce, sex, vlcuence - - a world
as directionless as they are, Mrs.
Bias said. i
"It’fj'beeh three years since Len
Bias'.death," »he said. "It's three
tline^ worsp-^than it was when
I'.led." I
Go»i. Jim Gardner, chalr-
[of the cabinet, asked how
Atlon could be brought to
the problem. But Mrc.
Bias said education alone would
not be enough.
"It's Just too much," she said.
'You just can't put It all on the
educational system."
Also at the meeting, the drug
cabinet's staff unveiled a draft
proposal to mandate drug educa
tlon In every grade. While Oard
ner said the draft was for discus
sion purpt)ses only. It contained
some controversial funding pro
posals Including adding a $100
fine to every felony conviction,
allowing taxpayers to earmark
state tax refunds to a War on
Drugs Fund, and Increasing tax
es on beer, wine and liquor.
Gardner agreed the General As
sembly had passed legislation in
1988 Intended to address the
problem, but he said It needs
fine-tuning.
"We need to tell them, You're
Intent was noble, but In fact it's
not cutting It and we need to do
more quickly.'"
Joe Dean, secretary of crime
control and public safety, said
his own children "haven't gotten
squat" In terms of drug educa
tion In first and second grade.
"It's Just not happening across
the state, " he said. "That's my
concern."
Scott Pen Ian, superintendent
of schools In Clay County,
agreed with Mrs. Bias lhat pa
rental Indifference Is a major
stumbling block.
"One of the big problems Is de
nial," he said, "iiiey don't want
to admit that we have a problem.
There's a lol of apathy out
there."
Correction Secretary Aaron
Johnson agreed with Gardner
that the key Is going to l)e fund
ing.
"I think we're going to have to
bite the bullet and aA ourselves
how much Is It going to cost our
state to have a good, effective
drug education program," he
said.
But Tara Sink, a high school
student from Charlotte and
president of her local chapter of
Students Against Drunk Driv
ers. said the cabinet "seems like
ll's kind of olf-conrse."
"Adults need to open their eyes
and see Its a big problem and not
just 'Say no to drugs," she said.
'Tiiat's not going lo help.”
Only one adult, Miss Sink's
mother, was Interested In help
ing start the SADI) chapter, Ihe
girl f. '. ’
"ll's something you're not going
to get any pubilclly out of and
you're not going lo get any mon
ey out of I guess that's why there
wasn't any adult Interest, " she
said.
Miss Sink said drinking Is
"real acceptable" In high school,
with as many as 85 percent of
her classmates gelling drunk
every weekend.
"Education, 1 think, needs to
start In kindergarten," she said.
But she added lhat one way to gel
the attention of young people
might be to revoke their driver's
licenses for diug Infractions.
Of .friends who have lost their
licenses for driving while Im
paired, "the majority of them
aren’t drinking . anymore or
drinking to the extent they were
drinking," she said.
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg
school board won't freeze pupil
reasslgnmenls after rejecting a
motion to do
so until the
board slates
where It
stands on as
signments.
The board
voted 83
against Afri
can-American
member Ar
thur Grimn's
motion to slop
all reasslgn-
ments until
the board outlines a policy to
deal with the often
controversial transfer of stu
dents. GillTln motioned lhat the
board "not act on these propp
sals at this lime, but wait until
we come up with a vision stale
men! on pupil assignment."
Jo6 Marlin and Jan Richards,
an antl-bnsIng advocate, voted
for the motion. Martin said
passing the niollon would signal
that "we do not want lo do this
job until we are going lo get 11
right."
Another Griffin motion, to
create a task force to form a five
year assignment outlook by Oct.
1, did pass, however.
As the final step in deciding
where students will be assigned
next year, the board approved
seven of the 1 I pntposals before
It, often by naiTow margins. The
action capped a month of public
discussion and changes to Ihe
proposals lljemselves.
The final pupil assignment
vote will result In 383 students
being moved to new schools
next year. Last year, more than
4.000 of the county's 74,000 stu
dents were reassigned.
The board voted down a pro
posal to make Chantilly Ele
mentary the system's first mid
way school, equidistant between
black and white neighborhoods,
rhe concept, originally champi
oned by Grlllln, Is seen as a new
tool In keeping the school sys
tem desegregated.
The board also agreed to study
the midway concept In more de
tail in June.
Chantilly, located in a racially
Integrated neighborhood at 701
Briar Creek Road, would have
drawn students from black
neighborhoods like Double
Oaks and white neighborhoods
In cast Charlotte.
About 900 neighborhood stu
dents would have been bused to
other schools ff the propo.sal
passed.
Chantilly parents argued that
the school Is an Integrated
neighborhood school and
shouldn’t have Its students
bused lo other parts of the
county.
When the board voted down
the midway proposal, Chantilly
f rarents eheered. South Meck-
enburg parents also voiced
their approval when the hoard
voted to allow their children to
stay at Matthews Elementary In
stead of being moved to the
McKee Road and Bllllngsvllle
pairing of schools.
Pairing Involves having black
students bused to schools In.
white neighborhoods from kin
dergarten to third grade and re
versing the scenario from the
fourth to sixth grade.
Board member Jane Mclntjcre
said the length of bus tides for
Ihe proposed pairing was a fac
tor In her decl.slon to vote
against the change.
"My only concern Is how long Is
that bus tide gcring to be," she
saki.
ity Mourns Comic's Death
Jm JALYNB STRONG
Post Editor
' city of Charlotte lost one
1 brightest stars with the
l^ig of comedl-
nial Norman,
C. Smith University.
He developed a quick wit and
knack for comedy from his
mother, who often read and
ad-libbed comedy
to her sons.
Norman opened
a comedy club In
Charlotte called
the Comedy-Inn,
while working as
plectronics en-
pr at Jelferson
[’ll one.
jd several
lirarances
LOrlf-
ijhe
lf)n
|U
aOLUNG OUT THE ROCKER...Prior to L.A. Laker
|[arecm Abdul Jabber's first and last game at the
prtotte Coliseum. Hi^ the Hornet presented the
Ptimo/CALVfN FERGUSON
basketball player with a rocker In commemora
tion ol his plans for retirement this yesr.
Board On Brown's Behalf
UsL. Holds
Forum For
Job Contacts
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Job-seekers and corporations
will be eyeing applications and
resumes March 23 when the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Urban
League sponsors Career E;xpo
'89 at the Charlotte Convention
Center.
The program, which Is In Its
second year, Is Intended to pro
vide high school and college stu
dents a forum to make business
contacts which could lead to
jobs. Students can go to the ear
ly sessions from 12:30 to 3:3C
p.m. The late session, from 3:3C
to 7:30 p.m.. Is for the general
public, regardless of education
al level. 'ITiere Is no fee or pre-
reglstratlon for ellher session,
but potential applicants are
asked to bring resumes or con
tact Information.
About 40 area businesses are
Bee URBAN LEAGUE on page 3A
^cholr made up of other
coirecllons officials
kftn houses about ISO
^ndlcapped Inmates,
jspoke for about ?0
fe a three-member
ard of Probation,
an Seivlces,
Is Involving
fcrown'B case
IHon as el
an matter,
I. Jackson's
Id coopera
lion," Hudson said.
Brown was eonvlcted In De
cember in state court In Aiken
on two counts of aggravatetl as
'*»ult and one count of failure lo
ibr pallce.
Clrcu Hubert E. Long
sentencedr^ to six years In
prison for fallii.^,^ ^
lice and suspends five-year
terms foi Ihe two coL.,jg of as
saults of a high anl agg.^vated
nalpre. \
The thret ->ounts
tnaximuin iq
In prison. “ ^
Inside This Week
.. Pa-
6A
Obituarlsa..
Pg. 4B
.. Pfl.
BA
Sports
Pa- 7B
.. Pa
IB
Claaalflada.
Pg. 10B
.. Pa-
3B
Alllancs
. Pg. 11B
Tha Charlott* Post, Call
376-0406