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VOLUME 22 NO. 22
THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 13 1997
75 CENTS
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
NAACP may decide Alexander’s fate Saturday
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Kelly Alexander Jr. may final
ly learn Saturday what the
NAACP national board of direc
tors plans to do about allega
tions he misused funds while
president of the N.C.
Conference of Branches.
Alexander was suspended and
an audit ordered in May.
However, a full audit was never
completed and Alexander
resigned in October after the
national board gave him 30
days to provide financial records
for an account he maintained at
Merrill Lynch under the
NAACFs name.
Also, the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg chapter will have
to hold new elections for the
office of secretary, but the Rev.
Conrad Pridgen can take over
as president.
The national
board has not
formally
accepted
Alexander’s
resignation
and has said
it will finally
resolve the
matter at its
meeting in
New York City.
According to
Alexander
financial records obtained by
The Post, Alexander spent thou
sands of dollars from the
account, which held as much as
half of state NAACP funds from
1989 until a new treasurer took
office last spring.
Alexander was suspended
after the new treasurer, Z. Aim
Hoyle of Hickory, filed a com
plaint to national officials.
Pridgen had been unopposed
in the November branch elec
tions, but an election challenge
by Valerie Woodard and two
dozen other members, held up
any changes.
The secretary position held by
John Davis was the only officer
opposed in the election, in which
81 members voted. Davis was
reelected over Elaine Grier.
Chapter president Alfred
Alexander said Wednesday he
doesn’t know when the new
election will be held.
“They (national NAACP offi
cials) will appoint an election
supervisor,” Alexander said.
“We have to wait until they do
that.”
The local branch will move
ahead with installation of other
officers, including Pridgen,
Alexander said.
“Rev. Pridgen has asked me to
have an installation on March
2,” he said. “As far as I am con-
See NAACP on page 7A
Praying for a miracle
PHOTO/CAlVIN FERGUSON
Fifteen-month-old Gore Vaughn has the support of his family as they wait for a suitable donor kidney. Spending quaiity time with
Gore are (from ieft) his father, Cleveland, mother Karol and brother Chancy, age 10. Gore suffers from cirrhosis of the liver, a condi
tion he was bom with.
Donor sought for 15-month-old
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
(Sore Vaughn is just now get
ting used to his grandparents.
The 15-month-old has
missed being the center of
attention at family gatherings,
as are most habies in their
first year of life.
He can’t go to day care cen
ters with other children. He
has to have a private sitter.
Gore needs a liver trans
plant because he has cirrhosis.
He had a chance for one last
summer, but was too sick to
withstand the rigors of
surgery. So now he and his
parents, Cleveland and Karol
Vaughn, wait anxiously for
what they hope will be a life
saving phone call.
Meanwhile, the couple’s
medical bills are mounting.
They have spent over $25,000
on medication since Gore was
born on Nov. 12, 1995. The
family is bying to raise fimds
to help cover its high medical
bills.
A liver transplant, without
complications, will cost well
over $250,000, Karol Vaughn,
a teacher at Piney Grove
Elementary School, said.
Adding to the couple’s finan
cial strain was Cleveland
Vaughn’s job change last sum
mer. His company, Evtech
Chemical, moved to
Greensboro, but Vaughn, a
chemical operator who mixed
inks and dyes, decided to stay
in Charlotte to be close to
Gore.
“I had been in the school sys
tem six years, but it was hard
to take off from work,” Karol
Vaughn said. “We found he
had to take off to stay home
with Gore.”
Because of the high medical
bills, Cleveland Vaughn had to
go back to work and now
works part-time maintaining
parking lots in downtown
Charlotte with Central
Parking System. He works
from 7 a.m.-l p.m., giving him
more time with Gore.
Gore can’t go to a regular
day care because his immune
See BABY on page 6A
Fill in welfare
gaps, senator
encourages
By Brent Watters
CHATHAM-SOUTHEAST CITIZEN
U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Dl.) encouraged ministers to help
to provide some relief to people who will be affected by the new wel
fare reform bill which will go into effect in July.
Speaking at Carter Temple CME Church in
Chicago, Braun focused her discussion on the
Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act, which replaces the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children program with
the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families pro
gram.
Before discussing the negative impact the act will
have, Braun insisted that ministers present take
action as the state works to put the finishing touch
es on the welfare reform package. Braun said
despite bill’s impact on welfare recipients, the act
authorizes states to administer TANF through con
tracts to charitable, religious, and private organizations.
Braun
“What it means is that institutions like the church, which has tradi
tionally taken on these responsibilities with the use of Sunday dona
tions, are now eligible to qualify for grants from the state,” she said.
“This will be dictated on how Illinois decides to handle this. So I
See REFORM on page 3A
Urban League sued
by former staffer
By J. Zamgba Browne
AMSTERDAM NEWS
NEW YORK — A former exec
utive of the National Urban
League has filed charges in fed
eral district court charging that
she was sexually harassed by a
top aide of Hugh Price, the orga
nization’s president. Her
charges also allege unlawfully
termination from the League,
one of the nation's leading civU
rights organizations.
Sonia E. Butler alleges in
court papers that Dr. Curtiss
Porter repeatedly tried to coerce
her into a sexual relationship
with him, and because she
wouldn’t acquiesce he orches
trated her ouster as director of
affiliate leadership develop
ment.
In her positiop, Butler, a Yale
University graduate, was
responsible for administering a
$1.9 million grant from the
Kellogg Foundation to establish
See SUIT on page 3A
Watkins plans for city’s future
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Stanley Watkins has spent the
last 22 years planning
Charlotte’s growth.
Now he’s getting a chance to
put some of those plans into
action.
“Plans just give vision, direc
tion and identification to the
issues,” said Watkins, who took
over as manager of the city’s
neighborhood development unit
on Jan. 6. “Planners leave to
others to make vision reality. In
Neighborhood Development, we
make reality happen.”
In the city’s planning depart
ment Watkins was most recent
ly head of the community plan
ning section, designing long-
range plans such as the 2005
and 2015 studies.
He dealt with such issues as
land use, transportation corri
dors and economic development
by outlining what the dty would
like to happen.
Now he’s in charge of a section
whose job is to make those
things happen, especially in the
designated City Within A City
area within 4 miles of down
town.
Watkins, a North
Mecklenburg High School grad
uate, attended East Carolina
University, earning a degree in
urban and regional planning in
1975.
“The mission of this depart
ment is to improve city neigh
borhoods and the lives of people
that live in those neighbor
hoods,” Watkins said.
'The city is building a series of
partnerships with private agen
cies and businesses to help
rebuild dozens of communities
surrounding the uptown area.
Efforts focus on rehabilitation of
housing and businesses, build
ing new housing units, fostering
new businesses and, where nec
essary, building infrastructure
such as sidewalks and storm
drainage.
This weekend, the city will
join in the kickoff of a major
effort in the Wingate communi
ty off Oaklawn Avenue in West
See WATKINS on page 3A
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Stanley Watkins’ job is to oversee neighborhood growth.
Inside
Editorials 4A-5A
Strictly Business 8A
Lifestyles 10A
Healthy Body/Mind 11A
Religion 12A
Sports 1B
A&E 4B
Regional News 8B
Classified 10B
Auto Showcase 11B
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© 1996 The Charlotte Post
Publishing Company.
Comments? Our e-mail address is:
charpost@clt.mindspring.com
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