2A g)00
NEWS/Vte Ctariattt $at
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Panthers draw inspiration from Mills
Continued from page 1A
■urruunding the team this
season is because several of
them have made a cmiscious
effort to try and model them
selves after Mills, who was
known more for his charac
ter when he
■ retired than
for his five Pro
Bowl seasons.
“That's
something
that we set out
to respect at
the beginning
of this year -
Sam,” defen-
Rucker
have worn decals embossed
with “51” on the backs of
their helmets, and some
players say theyll glance at
the decal whenever they feel
like giving up in Sunday’s
NFC Championship Game
But defen-
— sive lineman
Brentson
Buckner said
recognizing
Mills’ impact
is about more
than relying
—^— on the man’s
legacy in a sin
gle playoff
Buckner
sive end Mike Rucker said.
“So, absolutely, yes, we’re
doing this for him, too. We
want to make him proud
“The same goes for (line
backer Mark Fields, who
was diagnoseri with cancer
two weeks before Mills).
They’re two guys that have
meant a whole lot to us,
especially in ‘03, when we
had that (Super Bowl) run.
We’re playing for those guys.
Always”
This season, the Panthers
game, no matter how big the
moment
“Vfe look at that ‘51’ in the
offseason, just in our every
day lives — what he meant
to us, on and off the football
field,” Buckner said “And we
know that if he could be
here, he would. He would be
here with all of us, working
hard, making sure he put us
in the ri^t position so we
could be successful.
“When we look at that ‘51,’
we know it’s to keep pound
ing No matter how hard it
is, you do it No matter how
sore your body is this time of
year, you know that’s a guy
that wishes he could be here
And we know he’s here in
sjarit, and he’s smiling down
on us.”
There are other reminders
of Mills’ impact on the fran
chise. 'Ihere’s the statue of
him erected outside of Bank
of America Stadium. He’s the
only player in the Panthers’
Hall of Honor. And Mills’ son,
Sam III, works with the
Panthers’ staff
Carolina linebacker Chris
Draft visited the Panthers as
a fiee agent on April 18,
2005 - the day Mills died.
On that day. Draft got a full
understanding of Mills’
impact on the organization.
And he knows Sunday will
be no exception.
“That day (he died), there
were a lot of people broken
up in the facility,” Draft said
“You could see how hurt peo
ple were throughout the
whole facility 'Ihat really
says a whole lot about some
body, when they impact
everybody in the building.
“There’s going to be some
guys that play here and may
end up knowing one person’s
name upstairs. But you can
tell that he was the type of
guy that knew everybody
and interacted with every
body And because of that, he
is missed today by every
body But we all believe he’ll
be with us in Seattle — just
as he’s been with us all sea-
Bowl) ring dedicated to him stand what it means,
at the end of the season. We understand what it
take that to heart. We under- was all about for Sam Mills.”
son
So while there probably
won’t be any organized cere
monies, individually, so
many Panthers will make an
effort to remember Mills this
weekend.
And maybe, just maybe,
theyll get to do the same
thing two weeks later - at
Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
“We dedicated this whole
season to Sam Mills, so you
better believe that every
time we’re stepping on that
football field, we’re thinking
about him,” Minter said “We
know that he’ll be very
happy to have that (Super
R&B star sues Charlotte radio station, owner
Continued from page 1A
said they have not received
the lawsuit and had no com
ment on it.
The lawsuit states that
Wright was advised that the
station was organizing an
event called “The Queen
City Family Reunion
Festival,” which was to be
held on March 4
Without having an agree
ment finm Wri^t to per
form, the suit says the sta
tion and promoter used
Wright’s name to advertise
the concert.
“(Wright) suffered
irreparable and substantial
damages related to damage
to her reputation and eco
nomic loss and she continues
to suffer mental anguish,
humiliation and embarrass
ment due to the diminished
expectations of her fans who
purchased tickets upon the
reliance of her being in
Charlotte to perform,” the
suit states.
Black Wall Street boosters
aim to revitalize district
Harris said that in news
coverage of the event, some
of Wrist’s fans stated that
they were upset that she did
n’t show up to perform.
“One of her major concerns
is that she’s lost fans in this
market,” he said
Wright is seeking at least
$10,000 for her lost wages
and wants her case to go
before a jury
“It would be hard for Ms.
Wri^t to come back to this
market now,” Harris said
Harris expects that it will
be a year before the case goes
Continued from page 1A
get in,” Garrett said ‘These pioneers, they fdt
the need for insurance. They later saw the need
for a banking facility They saw a need for a sav
ings and loan that specialized in providing
loans for people who needed to buy homes.
Durham’s story is so much different from New
York or Chicago or Atlanta where you didn’t
have a black group that controlled significant
finances ”
Webb also discussed the diversity of down
town Durham businesses in spite of racial seg
regation.
T think part of the spirit of this is to celebrate
the fact that we have diversity in Durham,” he
S€ud
“In the early 19008, we had both white-owned
bufdnesaes operating and thriving, and Idack-
owned businesses operating and thriving with
in a block of each other. Even though there was
segregation, there was still an opportunity to
co-exist and thrive.”
Councilman Howard Clement, a former
Mutual employee, voted against the Parrish
Street Plan but says he is in favor of revitaliz
ing Black Wall Street”
What stopped him fixHn voting yes, he said,
was that there was not enou£^ information dis
closed on the cost.
So far. VictoH* GoHtkai, the Parrish Street pro
ject coordinator, said they have $350,000 in
HUD federal funds under the economic devel
opment initiative, along with money fix>m the
downtown revitalization fund. Over the next
three or four years, the agency will look for
more private and foundation grants.
“The beauty of this project is we can create
something really unique and exciting that will
help not only the rest of downtown Durham -
brown, black or white - but really the rest of our
community,” Kalkhof said “This project is real
ly larger and more important than race because
it affects such a positive impact on our commu
nity as a whole.”
The plan calls for establishing a “museum
without walls,” using strategically placed
maikers between Main and Corcoran streets
such as statues on the street and photc^raphy
on storefixHit windows to show why the building
is important. Other ideas are shops, an equity
center for job training and a Duiham Common
Room as a civic gathering place.
The proposed site for the history center is the
demolished Woolworth stcae, which was the
scene of the civil riots’ sit-ins.
T really think what this will do is give people
a reason to come downtown and learn,” Gordcn
said T just think it’s very important to under
stand where you’ve come fium and what gives
your community a sense of place. I’m excited to
be a part of educating people and helping teach
pec^e about this history”
to trial.
News
that’s worth
reading!!
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