January 27, 2022

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Volume 48, Number 21

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THURSDAY, January 27, 2022

‘Victory came at last.’ HAWS to retain, renovate Crystal Towers.

BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE

After three years waiting in limbo for approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to sell Crystal Towers, an 11-story public housing unit located on West Sixth Street, HAWS has announced that they will keep Crystal Towers and work with the City of Winston-Salem to make renovations.

Mayor Allen Joines, who is responsible for appointing members to HAWS’ Board of Commissioners, and several members of the WinstonSalem City Council made it known that they didn’t approve of the sale of Photo by Tevin Stinson Crystal Towers because it Winston-Salem legend Larry Little holds a sign that reads “Collective Organizing Beats Capitalism” during a would’ve displaced hun- rally held by residents of Crystal Towers on Tuesday, Jan. 25. dreds of seniors and indi“We set out to find a from the city to address center city and this new knowing that they won’t viduals with disabilities. way to create better hous- aging systems inside the initiative will allow us to be forced to leave their Since the sale of the ing opportunities for the building, HAWS plans to do so.” homes. He said he was property was made pubEarlier this week, resi- grateful for the support residents and we arrived take advantage of flexlic in 2019, dozens of at a sale as our only viable ibility granted by HUD in dents gathered outside the they received from Housresidents and members option. The decision to response to the COVID-19 building for a “victory ral- ing Justice Now, a local of the community have sell was the right decision pandemic to improve secu- ly” to celebrate the build- activist organization, and been fighting for the 200 at the time given market rity, livability, and aesthet- ing not being sold. Samuel others in the community. residents who call Crystal Grier, president of Crystal conditions, funding limi- ics in the building.

“One person is not Towers home. tations, and the ability to When discussing the Towers United, an initia- going to do it, not in this In a press release isleverage proceeds to de- city’s partnership with tive started by residents society,” said Grier dursued on Wednesday, Jan. velop alternative, mixed- HAWS, Joines said,“I am to advocate for other resi- ing the rally. “We needed a 18, Kevin Cheshire, exincome housing commu- delighted that the City and dents, said, “We’ve been group, we needed a unit of ecutive director of HAWS, nities. That was the right HAWS have arrived at a fighting for about three people, and thank God we said at the time, selling the decision then – but things strategy to provide critical and a half years and vic- got em’. We got great supproperty was the only vihave changed, and this is updates to Crystal Towers. tory came at last.” port from communities all able option to create better Grier said the tenants over Winston-Salem and My goal was to preserve the right decision now.” housing opportunities, but In addition to funding affordable housing in the can sleep better at night that’s the reason why we things have changed.

still have Crystal Towers.”

The $7 million in renovations that was needed for Crystal Towers in 2019 has grown to $10 million.

HAWS has already begun the process of requesting proposals to modernize the elevator systems, which have been an issue for some time. Residents have also made complaints about rodents, roaches, bedbugs, faulty equipment, and little to no communication with management.

Phillip Carter, president of Housing Justice Now, said they will continue to support the residents of Crystal Towers and ensure that necessary renovations are made. He said keeping the residents downtown is a small victory, but the work has just begun.

“Housing Justice Now will continue to support the residents of Crystal Towers and I’m sure that the surrounding community will as well,” Carter said. “I was elated as they were when I found out the city finally relented and came up with the money to renovate this building … I hope in the future the residents and the members of Crystal Towers United will be an expected and a respected part of the decision making process.”

Queen Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant to be new addition to annual Freedom Day Celebration THE CHRONICLE

Since 2005 Triad Cultural Arts, Inc. (TCA) has invited the community to come together and celebrate “Freedom Day” or Juneteenth, the national holiday that commentates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the United States, with the annual Juneteenth Celebration. This year TCA is adding something new to the celebration, the Queen

Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant.

The Juneteenth Celebration hosted by TCA draws hundreds of people to the area from across the state each year to reflect and celebrate the talents and contributions African Americans have made to enrich society. The festival includes dozens of vendors, performances, food, health displays and information sessions, a fashion show, arts and crafts for children, and several motivational speakers. Cheryl Harry, founder and CEO of Triad Cultural Arts, said the idea for the pageant was brought to her by Dr. Stephanie Hurt, founder of the Royal Curtain Drama Guild.

Harry said adding the pageant to the annual celebration is about growth and getting young people involved.

“I think it was an evolution … We wanted to take

it to another level,” said Harry while discussing the pageant last week. “There was a desire to get more young people involved in the Juneteenth Celebration … and we thought this was an excellent way to do it and we’re very glad to be a part of this.”

The Queen Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant is open to rising juniors in

the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School (WS/ FCS) system, who have a 2.5 GPA or higher, and plan to attend a HBCU. When discussing the criteria for the pageant, Dr. Hurt said the HBCU requirement was important to ensure the legacy of Black colleges and universities continues. “Being a part of the HBCU expe-

rience is really a major, major part of what we’re doing and I’m really excited about that because we have to make sure that we keep thriving.”

The Queen Juneteenth Pageant will be held on June 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Paisley Magnet School.

Leading up to the pageant, contestants will be required to participate in workshops that will be managed by members of the “Queen’s Council,” a collection of more that a dozen women from throughout the community who have volunteered to serve as mentors for the contestants. According to Hurt, the workshops will focus on preparing contestants for college life.

“There will be different workshops that will be managed by our council members and some of the other participants in our city on etiquette, leadership, finances … just how

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to be the best college student that they can be,” Hurt continued. “They’re going to get several workshops to participate in to professionally develop as a young person and be ready to run right off into college and excel.”

WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus said she is excited about the pageant and grateful for those who are making it possible. She said it’s critical that the community knows and understands Juneteenth and what it represents. “It is a critical time in African American culture and to be able to have a young woman, one of our students, receive this honor is going to be very special to us,” McManus said.

For more information on the Queen Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant visit triadculturalarts.org/index. php/queen-juneteenthscholarship/.

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BY TEVIN STINSON

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J anuaray 27, 2022

The C hronicle

Local teen wins national competition with Target

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE

Last year, Target launched their HBCU Design Challenge which was a competition where students from Historically Black Colleges & Universities submitted designs for Target’s celebration of Black History Month.

One of the challenge winners was Winston-Salem’s own Trajan Baker, who is an architecture student at Hampton University and a graduate of Atkins High School.

The challenge was open to all HBCU students to submit a design for Target. There were three winners out of 10 finalists.

Being one of the chosen three, Baker was thrilled to hear the news.

“I can still remember it because I was getting a haircut,” Baker said of where he was when he found out he was one of the winners. “I was literally in the barber’s chair and I got the email from Target. I had been anticipating it because they told us they would be in contact in June.

“As soon as I got that email, I read through it and I immediately sent it in the group chat I have with my family members and they were all very excited. So, it was kind of a surreal moment, just kind of thinking like a couple months from now my design is going to be nationwide. And even now the way I had anticipated this moment, it feels so much bigger and I am thankful for this opportunity.”

Baker found out about

Submitted photo

Winston-Salem native Trajan Baker was one of three winners of the 2021 Target HBCU Design Challenge. the challenge through one of his architecture classes.

The teacher made the challenge as an assignment for the class as a grade. Some took it as just another assignment, while Baker saw a bigger opportunity.

“I am super competitive, so I immediately put some real effort into the thought behind it,” said Baker.

On the Target website, they provided all participants with two prompts to choose from. Baker chose the one that asked the artist to create something that shows pride for being Black and Black History Month.

“I really wanted to create something that expressed the prosperity of Black people and the amazing things that we are capable of and have been through,” he said.

“So, I kind of just sketched

things conceptually and I actually did go through a bunch of different versions of the design before I narrowed it down to what’s on the hoodie today.

“I think I did always have that concept of the roots, the tree and the Black power fist. Those were my basic elements that I kind of knew I wanted to work with from the start and then it was all about applying different textures and colors and things of that nature.”

Baker has a very meticulous design process where he thoroughly thinks through his designs and does mockups before actually putting anything on canvas.

“I have worked through the majority of the design decisions and possibilities beforehand, so I know whatever I put on that piece of clothing or can-

vas, that’s what I think is the best version. I feel like as a creative, in general you always feel like there is something extra you can do with your piece.”

After submitting his design, Baker had a good feeling that he had a shot at winning. With the unique concept of his design, he felt that would stand out among the many other submissions.

“After I came up with my concept and I started to really think this is a really good concept that has meaning behind it and something I can resonate with, I think that’s when I started having more confidence that my design would do well,” he said.

Following his selection in the top 10 designs, Baker had the opportunity to meet with Target designers and have them critique it before the final submission. Those designers helped add a few ele-

ments to Baker’s original design to make it a winner.

For his efforts, Baker received $3,000 in prize money, an Apple MacBook Pro, Snapchat augmented-reality goggles, and a design course. He doesn’t have anything contractual with Target as of yet, but he is hopeful there will be a partnership down the line.

One would assume that winning a competition such as this would give someone added confidence and for Baker, that’s exactly what it did.

“It’s definitely given me a sense of pride as an artist, having the ability to have my work shared,” he said. “It feels very humbling as an artist and it’s definitely given me a boost of confidence in my abilities and the response and the support that I have gotten is such a humbling experience.”

Baker says his family

is very supportive of his winning the competition.

They send him daily messages about how others are excited about his opportunity after hearing the news.

The local news stations, alumni from Hampton University, and his friends have also been very supportive as well.

COVRT Artist is Baker’s personal business where he customizes clothing for people. He says the partnership with Target has given his brand a boost over the last few months.

“I want my clients to be involved in the process,” he said about his brand.

“I want them to give me an idea for a creation that means something to them and when they wear that, they’re expressing that idea, that creator within themselves, so that’s why I call it COVRT Artist.”

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T he C hronicle

J anuaray 27, 2022

A3

Starting early with financial literacy

BY JOHN RAILEY

David Moore, who has seen the effects of generational poverty in East Winston close up, is determined to reverse it.

His latest step is an initiative that gives elementary and-middle school girls an introduction to financial literacy.

“I want them to understand why they should have a bank statement and keep up with their money,” Moore said. “Financial education, how to use their money and build credit, so that, one day, they can buy

ment and teaches basic cosmetology. As an incentive, Moore promised each girl who makes the honor roll $100. “These girls have bonded, helping each other out with homework,” he said. “In the fall semester, six of the 10 girls in the program made the honor roll.”

Moore was proud. He also saw an opportunity.

He had already been giving the girls $50 stipends every two weeks for participating in the program and set them up with bank accounts at the WinstonSalem Federal Credit

tive, of which the group Action 4 Equity is becoming community coordinator. The initiative will join in the effort to reduce gun violence. A new grassroots initiative, The Women’s Gun Violence Prevention Team, is also on the case.

The Forsyth County Cure Violence Program, by way of coordinating, is surveying local nonprofits on their anti-violence efforts.

It all ties into economic mobility and youth, and financial education can be an important part of that.

“I feel like this program is so much needed for girls,” Imes said.” To see it grow, you have to invest in what you believe: children.”

John Railey, raileyjb@ gmail.com, is the writerin-residence for CSEM, www.wssu.edu/csem.

Photo by Antonia Imes

Members of the Tiny Creators program take part in an exercise teaching them financial literacy. their own homes. They’re learning financial responsibility.”

Moore has initiated financial education through his Project M.O.O.R.E, which is located just off Martin Luther King Drive.

Project M.O.O.R.E is supported by Winston-Salem State University’s Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM), which shares David Moore’s emphasis on reversing generational poverty, including through homeownership.

Financial literacy is key to homeownership, say advocates for homebuyers. Though they aren’t publicized enough, there are numerous local opportunities for financial education for adults. Economic and personal finance are now taught in public high schools, but Project M.O.O.R.E.’s initiative reaches younger students.

Moore realized the need last fall as he started an after-school initiative for girls, Tiny Creators, at Project M.O.O.R.E. The work dovetails with Project M.O.O.R.E.’s overall mission, that of helping atrisk youth by starting them in training for careers in music, cosmetology, and barbering. Lately, it has also been concentrating on reducing gun violence, aligning with CSEM in that respect. Moore launched Tiny Creators in response to that violence, to give girls in the program, ranging in age from 11 to 14, a safe place to learn and play.

Tiny Creators encourages educational achieve-

Union. As the girls deposited portions of their $100 awards for making the honor roll, Moore decided to ramp up the financial education part, enlisting Antonia Imes and Rovia Hall for the hands-on lessons.

“We’re teaching them how to budget their money,” Imes said. “They have accounts that they put money into, extra for honor students, so they can save. So they’ll have money for college and houses, whatever they need.”

Hall said: “We teach them how to spend money wisely and to save money.”

Imes met David Moore through her work in trying to reduce gang and gun violence. There were 44 homicides in Winston-Salem last year, a 52 % increase from the 29 homicides in 2020, the Winston-Salem Journal recently reported.

Most of last year’s homicides involved guns, and there were more than a hundred assaults involving guns.

Project M.O.O.R.E and CSEM realize that gun violence, in addition to its heavy human costs, also has heavy financial costs. Students and parents stressed from it may find it hard to concentrate in school and at work. As CSEM Associate Director Alvin Atkinson has said, “Feeling safe at home should be a given, not a luxury for those in well-resourced neighborhoods.”

CSEM has helped lead the Winston-Salem relaunch of the My Brother’s/Sister’s Keeper initia-

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J anuaray 27, 2022

The C hronicle

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Our Mission The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth to power, standing for integrity and encouraging open communication and lively debate throughout the community

Supreme Court to reconsider affirmative action policies at Harvard University and the UNC

BY STACY M. BROWN NNPA NEWSWIRE

The Supreme Court said it will reconsider racebased affirmative action in college admissions.

The Monday, Jan. 24 announcement could eliminate campus practices that have widely benefited African American and Hispanic students. Policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are at the heart of the issue that the court has agreed to consider.

At those schools, a student’s race counts among the criteria used to decide who enters class at those institutions.

The silent ‘white’ in America Oscar H. Blayton

Guest Columnist

The Department of Justice had urged the justices to reject the case against Harvard.

“The filing from the office of U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar emphasized that lower U.S. courts had extensively reviewed Harvard’s racial admissions practices and found them sufficiently limited to meet Supreme Court precedent as they furthered the school’s interest in campus diversity,” CNN reported.

Admissions practices that take account of students’ race, first upheld in a 1978 Supreme Court decision and reaffirmed in 2003, reportedly have boosted the admission of Black and Latino students for decades.

Stacy M. Brown is the NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent. Reach him at @StacyBrownMedia.

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On a recent Sunday broadcast of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” viewers witnessed a classic example of the decoupling of people of color from notions of America.

The program’s white host, Chuck Todd, had as his guest Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, to talk about conservatives’ latest manufactured bogeyman, critical race theory.

In framing a question to his guest, Todd stated in part, “…[P]arents are saying, ‘Hey, don’t make my kid feel guilty,’” and then said, “And I know a parent of color is going, ‘What are you talking about? You know, I’ve got to teach reality.’”

Ms. Hannah-Jones was quick to pick up the skewed mindset of the host and brought it to his attention.

“Well, I think you should think just a little bit about your framing …

You said ‘parents,’ and then you said, ‘parents of color.’ So, the ‘white’ is silent,” she told him.

Continuing, she pointed out, “As a matter of fact, white parents are representing fewer than half of all public school parents … And yet, they have an outsized voice in this debate.”

Chuck Todd made a feeble attempt to walk back his racially tone-deaf comment, but it was clear that his personal frame of reference “othered” parents of color and centered whiteness in the American narrative.

It seemed clear that to Todd, like so many other white Americans, “American” means “white American” and the “white” is silent.

In our use of language, when an element is silent, we do not pronounce it,

but it is there just the same.

And in the normative concept of America, whiteness is always there, even when it is not pronounced.

Thought leaders in this country need to ask why, when whiteness is almost always present in so many American conflicts, it is silent in the related conversations?

The American discourse about race is often framed in a way that erases Black folk from the concept of society. This makes “white” the normative and the acknowledgment of everyone else an accommodation. Because of this, to many white Americans, “white” is a given.

Never does an election cycle go by without political pundits commenting on the voting patterns of “suburban moms,” although those patterns may be the exact opposite of the voting patterns of Black mothers living in the suburbs. “Suburban moms” is a term used in a way that erases the presence of Black voters and centers the focus on whiteness.

I want to make it clear that I do not believe Chuck Todd was knowingly engaged in trying to “other” or intentionally diminish the status of parents of color with his misstep.

But Todd, like asymptomatic COVID carriers, can wreak havoc on a community without even knowing that they are spreading a deadly disease.

When someone gives an outsized voice to – or aggrandizers – whiteness, they may simply be responding to centuries of intergenerational social conditioning without giving any critical thought to how they are processing their thoughts.

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in a 2010 interview on National Public Radio, recounted how he had once, as a conditioned reflex, questioned the competence of the two Black pilots of the airliner in which he was traveling when the weather got rough. The archbishop acknowledged that his moment of doubt was caused by a lifetime of being sub-

jected to notions of white superiority and Black incompetence. For years, in white dominated societies, the “white” was silent in “airline pilots.”

If Archbishop Tutu was not immune to racist stereotyping, it is easy to understand how Chuck Todd could fall short in his reasoning. But in this day and age, we need to critically explore where the silent “white” comes from and its impact on America today.

The type of logical disconnect that gives us the silent “white” in “white suburban moms” can be better understood by considering the silent “p” in the word “pterodactyl.”

Pterodactyl comes from two Greek words, “pteron” meaning wing and “daktulos” meaning finger. This is an apt description of the prehistoric flying reptile with fingers on its wings.

But the sound that begins the word pterodactyl in Greek does not occur in English, so rather than create a new word, we pronounce the Greek word differently to conform it to the English tongue. But when you remove the “p,” the remaining word is nonsensical and disconnected from logic.

There are many long theses explaining why silent letters persist in the English language, but to be brief, they resulted from the introduction of the printing press. Originally, English was totally phonetic and English speakers pronounced every letter in a word. But over the centuries, loanwords were introduced from around the world. These loanwords were printed as they were received from foreign tongues. But as the pronunciation of these words yielded to social forces and were altered into anglicized versions, their spelling remained fixed by the literate segment of the society. Letters without phonic utility remained on the printed page as traces of history but disappeared from the spoken word.

Just as the logical Greek “pt” in pterodactyl

is a trace of the historical origins of that word, “white suburban moms” evidences the origins of the current political term “suburban moms.” But just as pterodactyl without the “p” is a logical disconnect, so is white suburban moms without the “white.”

We now have the ubiquitous silent “white” because in years past, the white supremacists who set many of the norms under which we struggle today, clearly articulated a preference for whites to reap the lion’s share of what this world had to offer. There was no necessity for them to dissemble on this point because Black folk and other people of color had no rights the white man was bound to recognize, according to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney in the Dred Scott decision. But over the course of time, with the rise of new nations in Africa, Asia and elsewhere, whites had to tamp down their hubris and arrogance in order to enjoy the benefits of a new global economy. “White” had to become an unspoken and unwritten inference.

But while “white” had to become silent due to social pressure, the logic of the silent “white” underpinning the expressions remained written in the continuing effects of white supremacy. And therein lies the root of the logical disconnect.

Pundits don’t say “white suburban moms,” and Chuck Todd did not say “white parents” that Sunday morning. But its presence is loud and clear.

We must listen critically to what is being said with the understanding of what is meant by the silent “white” in statements.

And we must let this understanding inform our actions.

Oscar H. Blayton is a former Marine Corps combat pilot and human rights activist who practices law in Virginia. His earlier commentaries may be found at https://oblayton1.medium.com/.

T he C hronicle

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J anuaray 27, 2022

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Voting rights can’t be taken from us now or ever Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Guest Columnist

We live in the United States of America and as citizens, we have rights and privileges. That is how our democracy works.

If you are Black like me, these tenets of our Constitution have not always been easy to actualize. At defining moments in our history, we have had to march, even die for our place in everyday America.

Some would ask, what exactly is everyday America? It is leaving your house and returning

to your house without incident. It is having a fair opportunity at a job based upon your credentials and experiences. It is having your opinions valued and acted upon when decisions must be made.

Some take the above for granted, but not us. No matter our economic status, our place in this country is oftentimes marginalized.

Yes, we have made some significant strides and advancements. People who look like me are being difference-makers in America. You name the field and you will likely find us somewhere in it.

In the coming years, Black and brown people will achieve more and do more in this nation.

We just celebrated the Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr. holiday. We honored him for his commitment to civil rights and to human rights. The movement led by him and others was, in my opinion, the greatest in the history of the world.

Yet for all the good that has happened in our America, the bad is still lurking and is ever present. We cannot rest easy until we eradicate bad rules and bad laws.

Congress has been inching closer to the implementation of two voting rights bills. They are The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would stop legislation from happening that would discriminate based upon race, language and ethnicity. It would also allow us to challenge anti-

voting legislation.

The Freedom to Vote Act would strengthen voter protection rights. This would include making Election Day a national holiday.

Can you imagine being able to vote without having to worry about going to work? Would more people vote? I believe they would.

Polls and reports say that Americans support The Freedom to Vote Act. A specific poll called Data for Progress said that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans support this bill.

If that is the case, then what is the problem? The filibuster in the Senate is the problem.

The current rule is that you need a 60-vote supermajority to overcome

the filibuster. It seems that the filibuster may be here to stay. We’ll see.

Tim Scott, Republican Senator from South Carolina is a part of the filibuster blockage. I believe Senator Scott is on the wrong side of this issue. It is my hope that the citizens of The Palmetto State will show him the light.

He does not see voter suppression.

However, Cory Booker, Democratic Senator from New Jersey, begs to differ.

He said, “You want to talk about voter suppression? You’re working a job, you’re taking care of young kids, and you’re going to give up a day’s salary to vote?” He added, “You want to talk about a modern-day poll tax? And my friends on the other side are saying that race is

not an issue here?”

It is important to note that in 2021, 52 restrictive voter laws were passed in this country. There are those who do not want us to vote because they will lose power and control. Losing power is their worst nightmare.

I believe in the days ahead they will be living out this nightmare. The American people want these bills to pass. Guess what? They will.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator. He can be reached at overtimefergie.2020@yahoo.com.

Integrity is MIA in today’s politics Dr. Tom H. Hastings

Guest Columnist

If you look at how polls and politics are shaping up, it is shamefully obvious that Republicans, in general, simply do not represent what most Americans say they want.

This is true for reproductive rights, the Build Back Better bill and its many elements, (though support for it is waning as two rightwing Democrats in the Senate, “SlowWalk” and “Run Out the Clock,” block it), voting rights, and more.

So how do we explain

the fact that lots of people vote for those who deny them what they say they want?

First, Republican politicians lie. Led by Trump, they follow his gaslighting buck-naked lying with straight faces.

Second, a massive media machine led by Fox personalities pounds those lies 24/7, a propaganda machine Goebbels could have only fantasized about.

Third, huge rightwing megachurch ministers push a voter perspective that eliminates all other considerations except abortion. This single-issue litmus test of politicians, judges, and voters themselves makes all other factors increasingly irrelevant for true believers. Voters

become proud martyrs, willing to be economically, environmentally, and compassionately crucified, all to sacrifice on one altar, anti-abortion - and grimly proud of it.

Where is integrity in all this?

That is what is missing from U.S. politics, at least on the Republican side. But critique like this, based on documentable data, overwhelming evidence, and observable fact is rendered immaterial to them.

And like scum on a pond rising to the top, we see the likes of Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito even failing to wear masks during in-person sessions of the United States Supreme Court, though they are all

aware that her diabetes makes Justice Sonia Sotomayor quite vulnerable to the worst that COVID can do, forcing her to work remotely.

Masks? Really?

I can understand the debates about the efficacy or dangers of certain vaccines. The evidence feels overwhelming to me, but there are accomplished virologists who disagree.

It seems drastically tipped toward much more danger to society at large by not getting vaccinated, but honest minds obviously differ.

But masks? That has nothing to do with anything but common decency and common sense. Scientists warn against comparing COVID to the flu, but I do, especially new vari-

ants that, like omicron, are not killing as often. When very bad flu strains predominate, decent people will mask up out of caution and courtesy. There is nothing political about it.

Masks block particulates and some masks block particles of COVID that are so microscopic they get through most cloths.

This is mechanics, not debatable speculative science.

So when Republicans in the House or Senate refuse to mask, that is pure rotten obdurate mean-spirited integrity-free politics.

It screams loud and clear that these so-called prolife people are complete, observable frauds, made even more manifest when they “blame” Nancy Pelosi for the sensible mask

mandate, even though the mandate was made by the Attending Physician of the Capitol.

Good people from all across our political continuum really need to reset, to remind ourselves that we share our society and we in a democracy are individually and collectively responsible for the decisions made in many arenas by the people we elect.

It goes way past one issue. Time to rebalance.

Dr. Tom H. Hastings is coördinator of conflict resolution BA/BS degree programs and certificates at Portland State University, PeaceVoice senior editor, and on occasion an expert witness for the defense of civil resisters in court.

How to avoid war over Ukraine Mel Gurtov Guest Columnist

The threat of a major war hangs over eastern Europe.

Four different negotiating forums between Russia and NATO on the Ukraine situation have not gone well. The two sides cannot agree on the central problem and therefore cannot agree on an agenda.

They are trading threats, delivered with very little subtlety and suggesting the possibility of a war far beyond the boundaries of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian forces are deployed all along Ukraine’s eastern border, and are about to be deployed in Belarus.

The U.S. and some NATO allies - Britain, yes; Germany, no - are increasing military aid to Ukraine,

adding to small military units deployed in Poland and elsewhere along Ukraine’s western border.

Reportedly, the U.S. is discussing both overt and covert aid that would enable Ukraine to fight a guerrilla war should Russia invade.

I have previously addressed Vladimir Putin’s motives for wanting a showdown over Ukraine.

Though his speeches suggest an exclusive concern about possible Ukraine membership in NATO and the fact of U.S. and NATO military units in other countries bordering Russia - “NATO creep,” in short longtime observers believe Putin has other concerns.

He wants to enhance his legacy as the man who restored Ukraine to its rightful place within the Russian empire. Putin probably also worries that Ukraine’s path to democracy might influence opposition forces in Russia to demand that Russia follow the same path. But Putin can hardly admit to having these ulterior motives; he will speak only to

Russian security concerns.

As low a regard as I have for Putin’s rule and for his veracity, I do believe he has a fair point when he insists on a NATO pullback from Russia’s borders. His official demand for an ironclad commitment that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO is unacceptable to the West.

Nor can Russia dictate the conditions under which NATO can operate in defense of the rest of Europe. Still, it should be possible - and I believe it is essential - that a formula be found to reassure Russia of respect for its security interests.

Ukraine’s membership in NATO is not up for consideration anyway; nor is its membership necessary for it to continue receiving outside assistance from the West. U.S. and NATO military ties to Russia’s neighbors likewise can be finessed so as to make clear that no threat to Russia is intended.

The U.S. and European position that, on principle,

Ukraine as an independent country is free to make its own choices of association is correct in theory but dangerous in practice if it provokes a war.

Meeting expressed Russian security concerns is, however, only one piece in the puzzle.

European security is the larger issue, and one thing it requires is revival of the U.S.-Russia Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, which was scrubbed by Trump; otherwise, Russia might carry out its threat to introduce tactical nuclear weapons in central Europe.

Second, Russia must reaffirm an old pledge, made after the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine surrendered its nuclear weapons. Under the December 1994 Budapest Declaration, the parties - the U.S., Russia, and Great Britain - promised to “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine,” as well as to “refrain from economic

coercion” and render assistance to Ukraine should it be attacked.

Russia has already violated that pledge by seizing Crimea. Now Russia must remove its “little green men” from eastern Ukraine, pull back its regular army from the border, and maintain normal economic relations with Ukraine.

In return, Ukraine should follow the 2015 Minsk Accord, to which the U.S., Europe, and Russia are also parties, and provide substantial autonomy to the two regions of eastern Ukraine that Russia has been supporting.

Third, all the parties should convene a new round of European security talks focused not only on military deployments and threat reduction, but also on two other controversial issues relevant to security: the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine - a pipeline that Republicans in Congress are pressing the Biden administration

to oppose; and Russian interference in European politics in support of rightwing authoritarianism.

Agendas often determine outcomes. NATO creep must be on the European agenda with Russia, just as Ukraine’s independence must be on Russia’s agenda. War or peace is at stake, and practical steps to keep the peace are available.

Some people may think principles must be rigidly adhered to - I’m thinking of U.S. chief negotiator Wendy Sherman’s statement that the U.S. “will not allow anyone to slam closed NATO’s opendoor policy.”

Let’s not forget that avoiding a catastrophic war is also principled behavior.

Mel Gurtov, syndicated

by PeaceVoice, is professor emeritus of political science at Portland State University and blogs at In the Human Interest.

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J anuaray 27, 2022

The C hronicle

BUSTA’S PERSON OF THE WEEK

Super singer Victor Solomon continues to put God ahead of his career

BY BUSTA BROWN FOR THE CHRONICLE

What happened on March 1 was a dream come true for Mr. HBCU. “Man! You could see how excited I was when I walked onto the stage for the blind audition! My face lights up! Their chairs were turned with their backs facing me, but I could see the side profile of their faces. I was like, hold on; I’m really about to do this. I was nervous, but then I flipped the switch.

Then boom! I said I’m about to kill it.”

He did just that. Killed it!

The senior at North Carolina A&T State University performed “Glory,” a Grammy awardwinning song written by singer John Legend and hip-hop artist and actor Common. His dynamic performance not only turned the heads of millions of viewers, but it also turned the chairs of the three judges on NBC’s The Voice. One of the judges was none other than John Legend himself.

“I started singing and I saw Blake Shelton staring at me, and I’m like, oh my God, this is happening right now! Then shortly after, I saw coach Legend turn around, and then Nick Jonas. It was crazy! Because I was told that coach Legend never turned around for someone that was singing one of his songs before.

So, when he turned around, I was like wow! He’s really looking at me right now,” shared a very excited Victor Solomon.

Victor went on to finish fifth place in the competition, but continues to stay in contact with John Legend. “We do keep in contact. Whenever I have a question, I reach out to him. Even if I want to wish him happy holidays or happy birthday, I do as well.

It’s crazy because I’m a huge fan of his!” said the former Mr. North Carolina A&T. Victor said growing up in church has played a huge part in his success and the man that he is

Submitted photo

Victor Solomon today. “Being the captain of the state championship football team in Peoria, Illinois, taught me to be a leader. I had a bad temper, which caused me to make mistakes and mishaps throughout my life. But that also helped me become a better man.

“I began to realize who I am and what I had going for myself.

So, I couldn’t indulge in certain activities anymore and unnecessary altercations. I learned to control my temper because of my love of music, and praying, anytime I had an issue or was angry and couldn’t let it out. I put my headphones on in my room, and escaped it all by listening to music.

“I’m glad I went through it, because now I’m capable of being more innovative with the way that I speak, lead and set examples for what follows,” said Victor. As he was speaking, I was trying to imagine this humble, kind and warm-spirited brotha having a bad temper. And …

I couldn’t. He had a welcoming smile throughout the entire interview. His voice was extremely calming and it was crystal clear that he’s a man after God’s heart.

The music and movie industry needs more like Victor Solomon.

“My mother always taught my siblings and I to put God first in everything we do, and everything else will fall into place.

And here I am,” he said with a spirit of gratitude.

During his run on The Voice, Victor was coached by John Legend and Snoop Dog. Yet, he remained humble and continued to keep God first. He honored his role on the praise and worship team at his church, and never lost focus of his vision to fight homelessness.

“I think homelessness is one of the most unnecessary things in the world. I do believe in working hard for what you want, but there are people that aren’t able, so we must lend them a hand up.

Some people just need that boost.

My goal is to build homes and apartments for people that need a hand up,” shared Solomon.

You could feel his sincerity as he continued. He became very emotional as he shared the heartbreaking sight of Skid Row, which is approximately 50 square blocks located just east of downtown Los Angeles, California. “It’s terrifying to see that there are so many homeless people in LA, and not even miles away from people who live in mansions. I believe it’s a blessing to give than to receive. That’s something the Bible teaches, and I’ve learned as a child. So, my goal is to do my part to put an end to the homelessness in the world.”

Victor also visits elementary schools in Greensboro, teaching students how to read. In 2022, he began an awesome partnership with one of the technology giants. “I have a partnership with Apple, which is an incredible opportunity. We’re creating content with the new iPhone 13 that will shed light on HBCUs and our culture,” shared Victor.

At the age of six, Victor and his family knew a star was born.

“I was in the room with my sister and she said, ‘Victor, you sound like the people in the videos.’ I was like, for real! I eventually started singing in church and in school.”

And he’s never looked back

since. He said the most challenging part of his journey was getting started. But, with faith and prayer, God made a way and it all fell into place.

What’s next for the superstar singer and aspiring actor? “I’m holding back on my album right now, because I want to build more of a fan base. So, when I do release it, everybody will be looking for it. So, get ready, because I will be releasing some singles and maybe some holiday music as well.”

When I asked where he sees himself in three to five years, he replied, “I see myself in Los Angeles working on a TV series, film, on Broadway, and on a world music tour. (SPOILER ALERT!) And I have a girlfriend, so I might pop the question soon,” said Victor, as he blushes. As he talked about his girlfriend, I saw the smile of a man who’s truly in love.

I asked Victor to share his two favorite singers. “Tye Tribbett is the GOAT to me! I love his music and his energy on stage.

I even have his DVD concert from back in the day. I learned every move and every vocal run.

I learned the entire concert. And I love Kim Burrell! One of my favorite songs is ‘Victory.’”

If money and career opportunities made him choose between gospel or R&B? “I would choose gospel hands down, without question!”

His advice to other aspiring singers and actors: “It’s OK to invest in yourself. There were times I had to spend a lot of money I didn’t want to spend, but it made me better. So, it’s OK to spend money on you and your craft. Because it will make you better in the future.”

My phenomenal Person of the Week is Victor Solomon.

To reach out to Victor, contact Shayla Thompson with Lelund Durond Management at shalyathompson@lelunddurond. com.

Testing, Testing... , ,

It’s me to get tested for COVID-19 today.

The Omicron variant is even more contagious than the Delta variant, so it’s it important to get tested and vaccinated to prevent serious illness or death. The good news is everyone can get tested. Old North State Medical Society is providing free tessng. For those 5 and older, free boosters and vaccinaaons are available.

Old North State Medical Society physicians have been educaang and advocaang for our community fr from the start. For reliable informaaon about your health and safety, rely on the physicians from Old North State Medical Society – trusted since 1887.

La variante Omicron es incluso más contagiosa que la variante Delta,

po lo que es importante hacerse la prueba y vacunarse por para prevenir enfermedades graves o la muerte. Las buenas nuevas es que todos pueden hacerse la prueba.

La Sociedad Médica de Old North State Medical Society está proporcionando pruebas gratuitas. Para personas mayores de 5 años, hay vacunas y refuerzos gratuitos disponibles. Los médicos de la Old North State Medical Society han estado educando y defendiendo a nuestra Soci comunidad desde el principio. Para obtener información confiable sobre su salud y seguridad, conne en los médicos de Old North State Medical Society, en los que se conna desde 1887.

The Old North State Medical Society is providing FREE testing and vaccinations across the state of North Carolina. To find free testing and vaccination sites near you, visit: onsms.com/get-vaxxed.

La Sociedad Médica de Old North State está proporcionando pruebas y vacunas GRATIS en todo el estado de Carolina del Norte. Para encontrar sitios de vacunación y pruebas gratuitas cerca de usted, visite: onsms.org/get-vaxxed

Scan the code below to find the free tessng & vaccinaaon sites near you.

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J anuaray 27, 2022

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Community organization assists kids to improve reading skills we are looking for anyone who has the time to commit to twice a week, 30 minutes with a student, and can invest two days, which is just 12 hours of training for the Reading Warriors program.”

For Monroe-Johnson, it’s hard for her to feel pleasure about the hard work she is doing because there are so many children in need. She says she is hopeful for the future because there are organizations like RWS that are making a tangible impact and the school system is backing those.

For more information about Read Write Spell, you can email them at info@readwritespell.org, visit the website at www. readws.org/becomeatutor, or call 336-779-1300.

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE

Read Write Spell (RWS) is a community program based out of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church that strives to ensure that every child in WinstonSalem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS) learns to read on grade level.

RWS trains tutors in the science of reading to better assist students in need in WS/FCS. RWS initially started as the Augustine Literacy Project and their original goal was to provide oneon-one free tutoring for elementary students who struggle with reading. In 2015, the organization changed to RWS in order to add other strategic components to serve parents and public-school educators as well.

Esharan Monroe-Johnson, RWS executive director, started with RWS in 2016 as a volunteer tutor and now runs the day-today operations of the organization.

“I got interested in Read Write Spell because I had children that had some literacy troubles and I saw the impact that a structured literacy approach and just the foundation of all our programs can make in progressing a student on grade level,” said MonroeJohnson. “So, that’s kind of how I got involved with Read Write Spell, because I wanted to do that for another kid.”

RWS partners with the WS/FCS to assist their elementary students who have trouble reading on grade level. RWS has also partnered with the Reading Warriors program, where they provide the training for the first-grade tutors in the program.

Currently, RWS is in 18 schools around the county. The number in previous years is normally higher, but several factors have impacted their reach recently.

“I would say that COVID has impacted that some,” stated MonroeJohnson about the number of schools the program is in. “When I started, I think we were in 35 schools and we are normally in somewhere around 25 schools.

“Two things have impacted that. One, COVID,

Esharan Monroe-Johnson and the other is we are trying to be a little bit more targeted about the schools we partner with.”

Volunteer tutoring is the major component of the organization currently.

Getting students to improve who are struggling with reading is a difficult task but the RWS tutors are up for the challenge.

“Our goal is to help students get on grade level reading,” she said. “We train volunteers and it’s a five-day training that is rooted in the science of reading and based on structured literacy.

“It’s a very scientifically sound, research-based approach to help students who are having difficulties with reading, so our goal is to get them on grade level.

In a lot of schools and a lot of students that we work with, that takes time. Most of our students are at least one to two grade levels behind, so getting up to that on-grade level mark takes time.”

To help better their chances for success, RWS prefers that their tutors dedicate their time to the entirety of the program with a student, which lasts for a year and a half.

“We ask our tutors to commit to 60 lessons, which normally takes about three semesters if

Submitted photo

you’re looking at twice a week, and they tutor for 45 to 60 minutes,” she stated.

“We ask them to do that because that’s normally how much time it takes to see progress. A lot of our tutors stay on after that.”

According to MonroeJohnson, on average their students improve 1-2 grade levels in a given school year. However, if they are two grade levels behind, there is more work to be done with that student.

RWS is always on the lookout for more tutors.

Depending on how much time they have to dedicate to the training and the children will determine what program is best suited for a potential tutor.

“We are looking in two different ways for volunteers,” she said. “For our traditional Augustine Literacy Project Program, that is a more intense program, so we are looking for someone who has five days to kind of invest in getting the training and who has time during the week, somewhere between two and four hours, when you calculate lesson planning and then delivering the lesson to the student.

So that’s a more intense program.

“We are also recruiting for Reading Warriors and for Reading Warriors

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J anuaray 27, 2022

The C hronicle

‘Young Dreamers’ honored SUBMITTED ARTICLE

The Winston-Salem City Council and the Human Relations Commission honored two city residents this week as the 2022 recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Young Dreamers Award.

The Young Dreamers Award recognizes two emerging or proven young adult city residents between the ages of 18 and 40 who have made a tangible difference in the lives of those who otherwise might have been overlooked, ignored or disadvantaged.

Honored this year are Abrea Armstrong, the president of the WinstonSalem Urban League Young Professionals; and Greizy Beckles, a community volunteer.

Armstrong was honored for her many efforts

Abrea Armstrong

Submitted photo

Summer Youth Employment program, as well as her efforts to increase voter participation and to raise money for the county foster care program.

Beckles was honored for her lifelong efforts to help others, in elementary school as a volunteer

vocate for victims of domestic violence with the Family Justice Center.

The Human Relations Commission established the Young Dreamers Award in 2009 to encourage young adults to participate in philanthropic, altruistic community in-

translator, as a long-time volunteer with the Love Out Loud community collaboration, and as an ad-

volvement that is in the spirit of how Martin Luther King Jr. lived and encouraged others to live.

Greizy Beckles to expose students to career options and her work with the Urban League’s

Black teen launches 2022 "I Matter" poetry and art competition Nationwide (BlackNews.com) - Isabella Hanson, a 16-year-old student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, launched the “I Matter” poetry and art competition in 2020 to provide a platform for youth to express their feelings on the important is-

New Orleans Saints, Little League superstar Mo'ne Davis, and "I Matter" Founder Isabella Hanson.

In 2020, approximately 150 students from 26 states utilized the “I Matter” program to share powerful messages on equality.

By 2021, over 650 stu-

Submitted photo

Isabella Hanson sues of racial justice and equality.

The competition, which raises awareness and promotes dialogue, calls upon students around the world to create poetry and art on the topic of why Black lives matter.

The 2022 judges are Rob Covington of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, Malcolm Jenkins of the NFL’s

tors and students seeking support on the subject of equality.

The “I Matter” competition is open to United States-based and international students in grades K-12. The top ten finalists win $100 and their work is included in the 2022 ”I

dents from 42 states and 30 countries participated in the “I Matter” program to create work on the topic of social justice.

To celebrate the winners and promote their work, the top poems and art were made into a hardcover book. Copies were donated to schools and libraries to provide a positive resource for educa-

Matter” book. One grand prize winner will receive $500. All winners will have their work included in the ”I Matter” book which will be released later in 2022. Entries must be received by July 23, 2022.

To enter, or for more information, please visit NationalYouthFoundation.org/i-matter.

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A l s o R e l i g i o n , C o m m u n i t y N e w s , F o r S e n i o r s O n l y, a n d C l a s s i f i e d s Timothy Ramsey Sports Columnist

NFL has made no progress with Black coaches After the latest firings, the NFL is left with only one Black head coach, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the league nearly 70% Black, how are we still in this position of having only one Black head coach in the entire league?

At the start of the season, there were only three Black head coaches in the entire league. Brian Flores was fired by the Miami Dolphins after three seasons and the Houston Texans gave David Culley his walking papers after only one season where he didn’t have his Pro-Bowl quarterback.

Flores finished the season 9-8 with the Dolphins after a 1-7 start and just missed out on a playoff berth. The Dolphins seemed to be on an upward trend and ended the season with a 33-24 victory over New England.

Flores’ firing was a shock to most people in the football world.

It seems the main reason for the firing of Flores was due to the tension between him and team general manager Chris Grier.

Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross gave a statement where he tried to deflect from the real reason Flores was let go, instead of stating what most people already knew.

“I made the decision today to part ways with Brian Flores,” Ross said in a statement from the team.

“After evaluating where we are as an organization and what we need going forward to improve, I determined that key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want it to be and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins. I believe we have a talented young roster in place and have the opportunity to be much better in 2022. I want to thank Brian for his hard work and wish him nothing but the best in his future.”

Flores took the high road and was very graceful in his statement after his firing. After what he has accomplished in three years, I don’t think I would have been able to bow out in such a manner.

“I want to thank the Miami Dolphins for the opportunity to be the head coach of this team for the last three seasons,” he said via ESPN. “It was an honor to represent the franchise and lead this See NFL on B2

THURSDAY, January 27 , 2022

Freshman sensation wows on the court and the field

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE

Jadon Blair is a name to watch in the next few years when it comes to Forsyth County sports.

The 6’2” 154-pound freshman has turned heads as the quarterback for the Mt. Tabor JV football team and as a forward on the JV basketball team.

Blair had high expectations for himself coming into his freshman year. He was confident in his ability to play on the high school level immediately.

“Freshman year for football, we were not able to accomplish being conference champs because of some stuff that happened earlier in the season with some game we could have won, but we didn’t,” Blair said about his football season. “For basketball, our goal is to be conference champs and we are on the right path right now.

“In the David Lash, I actually did well in that tournament. I won MVP off of that, so my ninthgrade year so far is going really good.”

Playing multiple positions on offense and defense has helped Blair in his development as a quarterback. Knowing where people are going to be defensively helps him anticipate his throws and read coverages better.

While he is a confident player, Blair admits there were some nerves making the transition from middle school to high school sports.

“Coming in I didn’t want to be the reason we lost,” he said. “I didn’t want to be the person that the team hates, or the coaches don’t like, but the nerves were there, especially going into high school starting as a freshman quarterback.”

Not only does Blair have height in his favor, he is also mobile as well. This combination of size and speed allows him to extend plays to buy time to find an open receiver, or to just run it himself.

“Being an athlete really helps me with things like being able to make plays, making defenders miss, and looking downfield,” Blair said about his athletic ability. “Even if nobody was open downfield, my athletic ability allowed me to scramble and get yards for the team.”

Playing football for most of his life has made Blair a tougher player on the basketball court. The hits he takes on the football field allow him to absorb contact better on the basketball court.

“Playing football really helps me develop that toughness,” said Blair.

“Contact going up on a layup is really not going to

Photo by Alphonso Abott Jr.

With his long arms, Blair is a menace for opposing players to deal with. phase me, I can still make the layup, just because of how much football toughens up a person.”

The confidence Blair gained from the football field carried over to the basketball court. He fully expected to be one of the go-to guys on the team.

“My goal was to be the guy, I wanted to be the best player on the team,” Blair said about playing basketball. “I wasn’t really focused on points. I just wanted to be that guy that the whole team depended on to make us win that game.”

Blair is very versatile on the basketball court. He is an impactful player on both ends of the floor and that is the way he likes it.

“Offensively, when I get the ball, I like to make things happen and get people open,” he said. “When I drive, people like to usually collapse on me, so I do that a lot to get one of my teammates open and get the assist.

“On defense, when they are bringing the ball up the court, when I pick up on the ball, they usually try to run their offense away from me. Even if they do, my teammates get there and trap and we can usually get a steal or deflection.”

Winning the MVP of the Lash Bracket of the Lash/Chronicle tournament brought Blair some added confidence. He says that award will not define his season, because he wants to continue playing at a high level through the end of the season.

Blair comes from a strong athletic bloodline; both his mother and father were collegiate athletes. His father Jay, who

is a Reynolds alum, played collegiately for East Carolina University before a stint in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns. Blair says he didn’t receive any added pressure to try to live up to his father’s legacy.

“I wouldn’t say it was

sports, Blair says he would choose football over basketball, but for now he will enjoy playing both. He enjoys the atmosphere of Mt. Tabor High School and his favorite subject is math.

Blair’s father says he and his wife have noticed Blair’s athletic ability since he was a baby. Blair

about his son. “One thing that I pride my family dynamic on is we are all athletes. My wife and all four of my children are athletes and we are student-athletes. We all had something to give as far as tidbits of knowledge for him to take to the next step.”

Mr. Blair says it’s his wife Vonda who really gets in the ear of young Blair, giving him constructive criticism or just letting him know what he needs to hear at that moment. Mr. Blair prefers to just let his son know he is there if he needs him.

“I am there, I like to let him experience on his own and then help guide his response,” Mr. Blair stated.

On the basketball court, Mr. Blair likes what he has seen from Jadon this year. “It starts with your defense” is something he likes to remind his son of frequently during the game.

“What I see most is his attention to detail on the defensive end and his ability to finish on the offensive end,” Mr. Blair continued.

Mr. Blair thinks the sky’s the limit for his son, but that will be left up to Jadon by how much work he is willing to put in.

“You know I have my four Ds for success and that is not just when I was a head coach,” says Mr.

Jadon Blair is the ‘Swiss army knife’ for the Mt. Tabor offense because of his versatility. really pressure, I would just say that it was people saying the only reason I will make it is because of my dad, but I really don’t let that phase me like it used to,” Blair said.

When it comes to both

started playing basketball and football around the age of four and his ability has continued to blossom every year.

“Everything he is doing now, he has been doing since then,” Mr. Blair said

Blair. “Discipline, desire, dedication, and determination; how he applies those four Ds will determine his level of success.”

www.wschronicle.com

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Januaray 27, 2022

NFL

From page B1

group of men. I am grateful most of all for the players, coaches and support staff who gave everything they had on a daily basis to help us win games. They deserve the credit for any success on the field, and it was the honor of a lifetime for me to go to work with them every day.

“I have always believed that leadership is really about service, and I did my best to serve the players, the staff and the organization every day.

I believe in this team and will always value the relationships my family and I made here.”

I understand if you have tension between the general manager and head coach, it can make for an unhealthy workplace. I guess owner Stephen Ross took the side of the general manager and that left Flores as the odd man out.

I am just not sure that was the wisest decision due to Grier’s track record as general manager.

As the Dolphins GM, Grier has made some very sketchy decisions with player movement and in the draft. From the drafting of Tua Tagovailoa, when Flores reportedly wanted Justin Herbert, to the trading of Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick, Grier has shown himself to be average at best when it comes to player evaluation. Flores won’t be unemployed long.

For Culley, he was dealt a bad hand from the start of the season. Without star quarterback Deshaun Watson for the entire sea-

T he C hronicle

son, the Texans finished the year at 4-13. I don’t think anyone figured the Texans could do much better than they did with the hand they were dealt this season.

Watson didn’t play this season as he was dealing with 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and inappropriate behavior. He also requested to be traded last season but that didn’t happen. The firing was apparently the decision of Nick Caserio.

Caserio says that Culley brought a “positive culture” to the team and admits that the team was in a “rough spot” when Culley took over as head coach. The question remains: what else was Culley supposed to do in order to keep his job?

Mike Tomlin The Texans played hard each and every week Caldwell, to several others, and they won a couple of it seems that when it comes games that no one expect- to Black coaches, they are ed them to win. With the expected to take over bad lack of an above average teams and then are not givsignal caller and no run en sufficient time to turn game to speak of, I think things around.

The other issue I have is the Texans fared well this year. I just feel like Culley when a Black coach actuearned at least one more ally does show signs of imseason to see if he could provement, they are let go and the teams hire a white right the ship.

That’s where my big- coach to take over. It’s like gest complaint really lies they want the Black coach with both of these firings. to do all of the dirty work I am not claiming that any by improving the team and of these owners or gen- then let a white coach reap eral managers are racist, the benefits from that. Just because Grier of the Dol- doesn’t seem very fair.

Now I know people phins is Black himself, but will bring up Marvin Lewit seems that white head is as an example of a Black coaches are given a longer coach who was given a leash than Black coaches.

That sentiment goes long time to show what he back decades in the his- could do. Granted, Lewis tory of the league. From was given 16 seasons with Tony Dungy, Dennis the Bengals, but he is the Green, Herm Edwards, Jim exception, not the rule. He

Submitted photo

turned a horrible Bengals team into one that was competitive but never was able to win a playoff game, unfortunately for him.

It is very early in this new hiring cycle as the season has not been completed, so there are quite a few Black assistant coaches that should be high on any team’s list to hire.

Guys like Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, Duce Staley, assistant head coach/running back coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Teryl Austin, senior defensive assistant/secondary coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Byron Leftwich, offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator of the Bucs, should all be serious candidates for head

coaching jobs this offseason.

But outside of one or two of those guys, I keep hearing names like Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, or Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator of the Cowboys, as serious candidates for jobs. Please tell me what Moore and Quinn have done that warrants them being catapulted above the aforementioned guys in the previous paragraph.

I am not saying that there are only Black head coaching candidates that should be considered, because there are some white assistants who deserve consideration as well. But the league needs to figure out something better than the Rooney Rule, because it’s not working at all.

There were only three Black head coaches when the Rooney Rule was adopted in 2003. For those that don’t know what the Rooney Rule is, it basically states that a team must interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and front office positions. It just doesn’t seem like getting these minority candidates in the room for an interview is enough.

To the contrary, the NBA has 13 Black head coaches out of 30 teams.

For years, the NBA has been more aggressive about making sure minority candidates are in position to be hired, and they have. I mean, come on … the NFL should be embarrassed to have fewer Black head coaches than Major League Baseball, who has two.

I don’t know what the answer is to fix it, but it needs to be addressed quickly. Maybe the NFL should coordinate with the NBA to figure out how they have been able to increase their minority coaching numbers.

I am a firm believer in “representation matters,” so for the league to be nearly 70% Black and only have one Black coach is unacceptable. What message is that telling our kids? So, they can play the game and make owners rich, but they can’t coach the game that they have made so popular? Doesn’t even sound right does it?

Do better, NFL. The ball is in your court.

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Elder Richard Wayne Wood Sunday School Lesson

Justice and the Marginalized Scriptures: Deuteronomy 24:10-21 By the end of this lesson, we will: *Explore God’s standards for justice; *Appreciate how God loves those who are marginalized; *Share love with those who are rejected by others.

Background: The English name for Deuteronomy, based on the Septuagint, means “second law.” It rehearses the laws given previously in Exodus. The assortment of the laws, referred to as “miscellaneous laws,” is a clear framing of expectations of how Israelites are to govern themselves. Their understanding and their ability, or inability, to appropriately practice these laws would have societal as well as divine consequences.

These laws are not directed only to the wealthy, but are just as important for the poor and marginalized.

Lesson: The Debtors (Deuteronomy 24:10-15).

The law here is aimed at protecting a victim of poverty from being needlessly humiliated. “… thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.” (verse 10). When a pledge was taken for a loan, it had to be received in a way that protected the poor man’s dignity. The pledge itself coming from a poor man was most likely a garment or a blanket - they didn’t have much more. The garment could be taken but must be returned daily “… that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee …” (verses 12-13). The lender’s actions here are a matter of personal conscience, not subject for legal action, but good standing with God. Verses 14-15 are a command to pay workers. God commanded employers to treat their employees fairly and kindly - “Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy …” (verse 14). “At his day Thou shalt give him his hire …” (verse 15). Day laborers were to be paid on the day they labored because they lived day to day on their wages.

The Disassociation (verse 16). “… every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” (verse 16). A father cannot be blamed and responsible for the sin of his (grown) children and vice-versa. This law was established for full accountability of each person before the law and restricted punishment to the responsible individual. It protected innocent family members from arbitrary injustice as a consequence of offenses committed by other members.

The Destitute (verses 17-21). God commanded the Israelites to be compassionate and fair in dealing with others. “You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge.” (verse17). Resident aliens, orphans, and widows were all representatives of groups who were marginalized.

They were easy victims for exploitation and denied justice. “But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in Egypt…” Helping the most disadvantaged members of society was a primary religious obligation. Israel was to remember how much God had done for them.

Each individual was to know that it was only by the grace of God that he or she was not in a similar plight.

Again, the marginalized are referred to as the most in need – alien, orphan and widow. The law God provided was a way of providing assistance for the misfortunate – it was God’s equity programs for Israel. Verses 19- 21 – “the right of the gleaner” - was a long-standing custom in Israel that appealed to the compassion and generosity of farmers who were instructed to not completely harvest their fields, so that some would be left behind for the hard-working poor to gather for themselves. Such laws assigned harvest gleaning to the needy, allowing them to eat without begging for food. The focus here was on the generous heart of the farmer and made a way for the poor to provide for their own needs with dignity.

(The UMI Annual Commentary 2021-2022, The Jewish Study Bible, The MacArthur Study Bible, The New Interpreters Study Bible and The Oxford Bible Commentary).

For Your Consideration: Why was there such an emphasis on dignity of the marginalized?

Application: God blesses us so that we can be blessings to our neighbors. Many of us have the privilege of going to a home, changing clothes, and having a meal. It may not be exactly what we want, but we have something. Maybe enough to share. Look for ways to assist the underprivileged. “Give, and it shall be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38).

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Southeast Faith Leaders Network launches a ‘Climate Revival’ A movement to make climate justice a voting issue

Washington, D.C. — The Southeast Faith Leaders Network (SFLN), a coalition of faith groups including the South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, the North Carolina Council of Churches, the Alabama Interfaith Power and Light, and Creation Justice Ministries, launched a yearlong “Climate Revival.” This initiative is designed to chart a new chapter in the southeastern region’s climate justice movement and ensure that no one is deprived of the opportunity to elect leaders who have their interests at heart, including supporting policies and practices that can help buffer their communities from the harshest impacts of climate change in 2022.

Access to the ballot box is essential for environmental justice and climate action. As a result of lived experience, voters of color are more concerned than white voters about climate change.

According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Latino voters are more likely to contact government officials about climate change, and more Black Americans than white Americans are alarmed by what’s happening to the climate.

“It is a profound injustice that the communities most affected by the climate crisis are also those most impacted by voter suppression,” said Avery Davis Lamb, co-executive director, Creation Justice

Ministries. “As Christian communities, we call for an end to this injustice.

Now is the time for a revival - for our climate, for our voting, and for our faith.”

The SFLN recognizes that communities of color and low-income communities in the South are those already worst affected by climate change and those harms will only become worse in the future. Those same communities also often have the least power to respond to the climate crisis or have their voices heard on these issues. During the event, there will be prayer for creation, opportunities to learn about the key role of faith communities, and commitment to cultivating the physical, social and spiritual resilience needed in the face of the climate crisis.

“Just as the environment has experienced accelerated change, public discourse about climate change and fundamental voting rights illustrates that

we are at a crossroads,” said Alecia Brewster, South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light (SCIPL).

“While at this crossroads, SCIPL believes that the best answers lie in our collective genius. We believe that the best solutions are created when brothers and sisters representing diverse experiences, faith traditions, and communities come together for the love of God and our neighbor.”

Speakers at the event include: *Karenna Gore, founder and executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York. *Dr. Randy Woodley, distinguished professor of faith and culture, Portland Seminary. Cherokee descendant. Public theologian and co-sustainer at Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm. *Rev. Emmanuel Duncan, senior pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Greenville and the co-chair

of the Greenville Interfaith Justice Ministry. *Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president and CEO of Hip Hop Caucus, minister, and community activist. *Rev. Adam Taylor, president of Sojourners and author of ”A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community.”

“It is time to expand the conversation around climate justice,” said Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light. “While disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, communities of color are also leading the way toward change that works for all and deserve to have their voices heard in November. If the pending federal legislation to protect voting rights intended to beat back the tidal wave of restrictive voting legislation passed in 19 states is not passed, it would not only be a huge blow to American democracy, but it would also be a step backward for environmental justice and those most impacted as a result.”

“It is time for people of faith and consciousness to sound the trumpet of justice and expand our faith language to include climate and environmental justice,” said Reverend Michael Malcom, founder and executive director of the People’s Justice Council/ Alabama Interfaith Power and Light. “We can no longer sit idle. It’s time to flip the script.”

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RELIGION CALENDAR

Thursdays and Saturdays Free Meals Christ Rescue Temple Church, 1500 North Dunleith Ave., will serve hot meals as part of the People Helping People Feeding Program. Meals will be served every Thursday and Saturday from noon until 1 p.m. at the church’s location. For more information, call 336-7229841.

Each Sunday Worship services Green Street United Methodist Church, 639 S. Green St., Winston-Salem, invites you to join online worship services on Sundays at 11 a.m., or in-person services at 8:45 a.m. The 11 a.m. service, which is available via Facebook and YouTube, is a celebration of the diversity of the human family, a no-frills service that is thoughtful, personal, and deeply spiritual. The 8:45 a.m. service is a quiet, contemplative space including prayer, scripture, preaching, and communion; masks and social dis-

tancing will be in effect in the sanctuary. Join us at www. greenstreetumc.org, on YouTube, or on Facebook.

Each Sunday Sunday service Transformation Ministries will have service every Sunday at 10 a.m. We are located at 4880 Burnette Drive. Masks are required.

Dairl L. Scott Sr. is the pastor. For further contact 336-945-9083 or 336-945-5618.

Jan. 30 First Waughtown Baptist Church (FWBC) Online Dr. Dennis W. Bishop, Senior Pastor of First Waughtown Baptist Church (FWBC) will deliver the message for in-person worship service Sunday, Jan. 30. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for screening prior to the 10 a.m. service. Completed waiver forms and masks that cover the nose and mouth are required. The form can

be submitted electronically on the FWBC website – www.firstwaughtown.org – click on RE-ENTRY 2022.

Also, printed copies will be available in the lobby prior to service. Other in-person protocols and information about 6 p.m. virtual Sunday School are accessible via the FWBC homepage RE-ENTRY link. Persons who prefer to worship virtually are invited to visit the following platforms: YouTube, https://www.youtube.com (First Waughtown); Facebook, https://www.facebook. com/FirstWaughtown/; and the First Waughtown website, https://www.firstwaughtown.org.

Jan. 30 Family and Friends Day The Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, 1905 N. Jackson Ave., wishes to invite everyone to our first Missionary and Family Friends Day of 2022. Pastor Hart will bring an uplifting message. We also encourage everyone to adhere to CDC regulations and wear a mask. The celebration will be Sunday, Jan. 30 at our 11 a.m. worship hour.

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Community Calendar Jan. 27 Writer’s workshop Winston-Salem Writers will hold a workshop for writers at 10 a.m. on January 27. The workshop, entitled “Word Painting: The Fine Art of Writing Descriptively” by Rebecca McClanahan, will help writers of all genres to learn how to create “word pictures” that fully engage the reader and help shape effective literary works. The workshop is from 10 a.m. to noon on Zoom. The workshop is free to members and $25 each for non-members.

To register, email programs@wswriters. org. Participants will be limited to the first 40 registrants. Visit wswriters.org for complete info and to join or renew membership.

Jan 28-30 Sundance Film Festival a/perture cinema and the Sundance Film Festival have partnered to bring selections from the 2022 Sundance Film Festival to Winston-Salem as part of the Festival’s Satellite Screen program running January 28-30. Local audiences will also be able to participate in the full festival experience via its online platform beginning January 20.

Tickets for the Festival films at a/perture cinema are exclusively available at https://aperturecinema.com. Information on films and other events can be found at https://aperturecinema.com/sundancesatellite. To participate in the Sundance Film Festival online, tickets are avialable at sundance.festival.org.

Jan 28 Application deadline Mayor Pro Tempore Denise D. Adams is accepting applications from citizens interested in filling a vacancy on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Community Appearance Commission.

The Community Appearance Commission seeks to enhance and improve the visual quality and aesthetic character of Forsyth County and the city of WinstonSalem for the education, pleasure and enrichment of city and county residents; and to improve the community’s visual quality

of life for generations to come.

Interested candidates should contact the City Clerk’s office at 336-727-2224 or send an email to sandrark@cityofws.org.

The application deadline is Jan. 28. This is a volunteer position.

Jan. 28 Blood drive The Forsyth County Democratic Party is holding a blood drive as a continuation of their Martin Luther King Jr National Day of Service, on Friday, Jan. 28, 12-5 p.m. The bloodmobile will be located in the back parking lot of their office, 723 Coliseum Drive (near Ryan’s Restaurant).

Everyone who donates will receive a $45 e-gift card. For more information or to sign up to donate, go to https://www.mobilize. us/forsythcountydems/event/437168/.

Feb. 1 Readers theater classes - rescheduled 40+ Stage Company has rescheduled Readers Theater Classes for seniors, age 55 and up, with an orientation class at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at the Mary Alice Warren Community Center, 440 Lewisville-Clemmons Rd, Lewisville. The initial orientation class is free. Thereafter, a one-time tuition of $20 is due for the entire course. Hardship assistance is available.

Feb. 2 & 20 Navigating Jim Crow exhibit Navigating Jim Crow: Green Book and Oasis Spaces in North Carolina is a self-guided exhibit presented by Mount Tabor United Methodist Church in partnership with the NC African American Heritage Commission, a division of the NC Division of Natural and Cultural Resources, and the Winston-Salem Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The church is located at 3543 Robinhood Road. Exhibit dates and times are: Feb. 6, 1-4 p.m.

Feb. 20, 1-4 p.m.

Feb. 7 Auditions

The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem will hold auditions for Out of Order, by Ray Cooney, from 6:30-8:30 pm on Monday, February 7, at 419 N. Spruce Street in Winston-Salem. No appointment is necessary, and everyone is welcome to audition. Auditions will consist of reading from slides. Actors should bring their calendars to the audition, so they can advise of any conflicts with the rehearsal schedule. Rehearsals will begin the week of February 21. For further information, please visit www.LTofWS.org.

Feb. 8-Mar. 22 Caregiver classes Registration is now underway for a virtual Powerful Tools for Caregivers class. This course is for anyone caring for a loved one who is frail or ill. Classes will take place by Zoom on Tuesdays, 11 a.m.

– 12:30 p.m., February 8-March 22. There is no charge, but donations are accepted to help cover cost of workbook. Registration is required. To register or get information, contact Carol Ann Harris at The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, 336-748-0217, charris@shepherdscenter. org. Class size is limited.

Feb. 28 Medicare workshop The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem is offering a virtual workshop for individuals turning 65 (as well as those who already have Medicare) to learn about the different insurance options available, including “Original Medicare,” Medicare prescription drug programs, Medicare supplements and Medicare Advantage plans. The session will be held on Monday, February 28, 2022 from 3-4:30 p.m. through computer and telephone access.

The session is provided at no cost. Because space is limited, reservations are required. Contact the Shepherd’s Center at 336-748-0217 orInfo@shepherdscenter. org for more information or to reserve a seat.

March 1 Poetry contest The annual NC State Poetry Contest is a free literary competition open to all North Carolina residents (including outof-state and international students who are enrolled in North Carolina universities). It remains one of the largest free-to-enter poetry contests in the South.

This year’s guest judge is award-winning poet Michael Prior and features a grand prize of $500. The postmark deadline is March 1, 2022. For more information, visit go.ncsu.edu/poetrycontest.

How to submit items to the community calendar: We appreciate your community news.

Here’s how you can help us to process your news more efficiently: *Please give us complete information about the event, such as the sponsor and address, date, time and place of the event and contact information so that the public can contact someone for more information if needed. *Please submit items in document form in an email or Word or PDF attachment. *Submit photos as attachments to emails as jpegs at least 4 inches wide by 6 inches deep rather than sent on documents. Please send captions with photos. *Please do not send jpeg fliers only, since we cannot transfer the information on them into documents.

The deadline is Sunday at 11:59 p.m. to have all calendar items submitted for that week’s paper.

Send your calendar items to news@ wschronicle.com. You can also drop them off, Monday through Friday before 5 p.m., or mail your items to WinstonSalem Chronicle, 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101; or send them via our website, www.wschronicle.com.

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VACCINATION OR TESTING REQUIREMENT VACCINATION OR TESTING REQUIREMENT

ALL GUESTS (vaccinated and unvaccinated) to university

All WSSU event patrons will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination All WSSU event patrons will be required OR to show proof full COVID-19 COVID-19 vaccination or VACCINATION TESTING events, including athletics, have aof negative documentation of a negativemust COVID-19 testREQUIREMENT result collected no more than 72 ho documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result collected no more than 72 hours before entry to an event. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks a test attend theEveryone event.

This applies to guests who before entry to an event.

Individuals are considered fully vaccinated twoare weeks after or All to WSSU patrons will be required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination their event final dose. in attendance will be required to wear a mask inside theirdocumentation final dose. Everyone in attendance will be result required to wear amore maskthan inside The of a negative COVID-19 test collected no 72 hours VACCINATION TESTING C.E. Gaines Center.

12ORyears ofREQUIREMENT age and older as well as the media.

C.E. Gaines Center. before entry to an event. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after • PCR and rapid antigen test results are theirshow final dose.

Everyone in attendance will required to wear a mask inside The All WSSU event patrons will be required full COVID-19 vaccination orbeacceptable.

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OCTOBER 25, 2018 B7

DEADLINE: MONDAY 5:30 PM • CALL CLASSIFIEDS AT (336) 722-8624

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

EMPLOYMENT

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE WINSTON-SALEM CITY COUNCIL ON PETITIONS FOR ZONING CHANGES

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE FORSYTH COUNTY DISTRICT COURT DIVISION FILE NO: 20 JA 205

Manager, Software Engineering in Winston-Salem, NC -Ensure the dvlpmt, delivery, & support of software solutions in the Supply Chain lines of business. This position is 100% Remote. Reqs. Bachelors deg. & 2 yrs. exp. Mail resume to: Inmar, Inc., 635 Vine St. Winston-Salem NC 27101 Attn: Abby Panz.

Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Meryl Schum (21 E 2924), also known as Meryl K Schum, Meryl Kriger Schum, deceased November 14, 2021, Forsyth County, North Carolina, this is to Notify all persons, firms, and corporation having claims against the Estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before April 11, 2022 this Notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons indebted to the said decedent or estate shall please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 8th day of December, 2021.

Richard William Schum Executor for Meryl Schum, deceased 644 Fenimore Street Winston-Salem, NC 27103 The Chronicle January 6, 13, 20, 27. 2022 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having qualified as Fiduciary of the Estate of Betty Love Taylor (22 E 117), also known as Betty L. Taylor, deceased January 4, 2022, Forsyth County, North Carolina, this is to Notify all persons, firms, and corporation having claims against the Estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before May 2, 2022 this Notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons indebted to the said decedent or estate shall please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 24th day of January, 2022.

Billy W. Miller Jr. Fiduciary for Betty Love Taylor, deceased 106 Wolf Hill Drive Mooresville, NC 28117 The Chronicle January 27, and February 3, 10, 17, 2022

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE FORSYTH COUNTY DISTRICT COURT DIVISION FILE NO: 19 JT 127 IN THE MATTER OF: NATALIE JONES DOB: 11-13-2010 NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION TO: RONALD LEE JONES, Father of the minor Natalie Jones, a female child born 11/13/2010 in Forsyth County, NC. TAKE NOTICE that a Motion to Terminate Parental Rights seeking relief against you has been filed in the above-entitled action. The above-mentioned minor child was adjudicated to be a neglected and dependent child on July 31, 2019. The nature of the relief being sought is the permanent and irrevocable termination of your parental rights pursuant to the Motion to Terminate Parental Rights filed by the Forsyth County Department of Social Services on October 6, 2021 with respect to the above-referenced the minor child pursuant to N.C.G.S. 7B-1102.

YOU ARE REQUIRED to file an answer to the Motion to Terminate Parental Rights within thirty (30) days after the date of this notice. If you fail to make a defense to the Motion to Terminate Parental Rights on or before February 28, 2022 or fail to attend the hearing on the Motion for Termination, the Movant (Forsyth County Department of Social Services) will request the Court to terminate your parental rights in and to the minor child Natalie Jones.

If you are indigent and not already represented by an attorney, you may be entitled to a court-appointed attorney. An attorney can be appointed upon a request, subject to the Court’s review, at the termination of parental rights hearing after this publication notice has run for one day a week for three consecutive weeks in the WinstonSalem Chronicle.

The termination of parental rights hearing regarding the parental rights of Ronald Jones is scheduled on March 25, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 4-J of the Hall of Justice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina or as soon thereafter as the Court can hear the said case.

This the 27th day of January 2022 By: Melissa Starr Livesay, Assistant County Attorney, Forsyth County Attorney’s Office 741 Highland Avenue Winston-Salem, NC 27101 The Chronicle January 27, and February 3, 10, 2022

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to the requirements of Article 6 of Chapter 160D of the General Statutes of North Carolina, that the City Council of the City of Winston-Salem will hold a virtual public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on February 7, 2022, on the following proposed amendments to the Official Zoning Map of the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina: 1. Site Plan Amendment of Ujima Community Development Corporation to remove a community center and install additional residential units: property is located on the north side of Barbara Jane Avenue, west of Chandler Street and Galaxy Court; property consists of ± 8.5 acre(s) and is PIN 6845-39-1678 as shown on the Forsyth County Tax Maps and on a site plan on file in the office of the CityCounty Planning Board (Zoning Docket W-3514).

All parties in interest and citizens are invited to attend said hearing (virtually) at which time they shall have an opportunity to be heard in favor of or in opposition to the foregoing proposed changes. If you would like to speak during the public hearing, please visit www.cityofws.org/ccvirtual.

If you have questions regarding public hearing participation, please call (336)7272224.

During the public hearing, the City Council may hear other proposals to amend the zoning of the above-described property or any portion thereof. At the end of the public hearing, the City Council may continue the matter, deny the proposed rezoning, in whole or in part, grant the proposed rezoning, in whole or in part, or rezone the above-described property or any portion thereof to some other zoning classification.

Prior to the hearing, all persons interested may obtain any additional information on these proposals which is in the possession of the City-County Planning Board by inquiring in the office of the City-County Planning Board in the Bryce A. Stuart Municipal Building on weekdays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Written comments will be accepted on the public hearing items until February 6, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. Written comments may be sent to the City Clerk’s Office, P.O. Box 2511 Winston-Salem 27102, or by email to sandrark@cityofws.org.

All requests for appropriate and necessary auxiliary aids and services must be made, within a reasonable time prior to the hearing, to Angela Carmon at 747-7404 or to T.D.D. 727-8319.

BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL Sandra Keeney, Clerk to the City Council of the City of Winston-Salem The Chronicle January 27, and February 3, 2022

IN THE MATTER OF: PRINCESS WILLIAMS DOB: 10-12-2020 NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION TO: Any Unknown and Unnamed Man who may be the Father of the minor child Princess Williams, a female child born on October 12, 2020 in Forsyth County, North Carolina.

TAKE NOTICE that on June 9, 2021, the Court adjudicated this minor child neglected pursuant to NCGS §7B-101 (15) and a Juvenile Petition filed by the Forsyth County Department of Social Services on December 18, 2021. This minor child is under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court, and during this proceeding the Juvenile Court may: remove custody of this child from you; order you to pay child support; require you to participate in medical, psychiatric, psychological, or other treatment or counseling; and/or order medical, psychiatric, psychological, or other treatment or counseling for the child and require you to pay for the same.

YOU ARE REQUIRED to file an answer with the Clerk of Court of Forsyth County, North Carolina on or before MARCH 16, 2022. If you fail to make a defense within 40 days of the first publication of this notice or fail to attend the hearing on the date and time noticed below, then the Forsyth County Department of Social Services will seek relief against you to include the permanent loss of your rights to the care, custody, and control of this child, up to and including the permanent, irrevocable termination of your parental rights to this child.

If you are indigent and not already represented by an attorney, you may be entitled to a court-appointed attorney. An attorney can be appointed upon a request, subject to the Court’s review, at the hearing indicated below and after this publication notice has run for one day a week for three consecutive weeks in the Winston-Salem Chronicle.

The next scheduled hearing for this child will be on February 16, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. in Courtroom 4-J of the Hall of Justice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina or as soon thereafter as the Court can hear the said case. You can also contact the Clerk of Court for Forsyth County regarding future hearing dates.

This the 3rd day of February 2022.

By: Melissa Starr Livesay, Assistant County Attorney, Forsyth County Attorney’s Office 741 Highland Avenue Winston-Salem, NC 27101 The Chronicle January 27, and February 3, 10, 2022

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Adminstrator of the Estate of Joseph Renard Dobson (21 E 1994), also known as Joseph R. Dobson, Joe Dobson, deceased February 14, 2021, Forsyth County, North Carolina, this is to Notify all persons, firms, and corporation having claims against the Estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before May 2, 2022 this Notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons indebted to the said decedent or estate shall please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 27th day of January, 2022.

Angela A. Dobson Administrator for Joseph Renard Dobson, deceased 2820 Raleigh Ave. Winston-Salem, NC 27107 The Chronicle January 27, and February 3, 10, 17, 2022

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Manager, Quality Assurance - B/E Aerospce, Inc. d/b/a Collins Aerospace (Winston-Salem, NC). Ensure quality of suppliers, products & processes are compliant w/ internal & regulatory standards.

Develop & implement program quality plans & procedures. Manage execution of QA operational plans. Domestic travel 1x/month for OEM site installs req’d, incl. to SC, AL & WA. Must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Mechanical Eng’g or related field & 5 yrs progressive exp in Quality Eng’g OR at least a master’s degree or equiv & 3 yrs exp. Must also have 3 yrs exp leading diverse team of engineers in the production environment.

Apply at careers.rtx.com, Keyword/Job ID 01497968.

M/WBE BID NOTICES Branch Civil, Inc., is currently soliciting quotes for the following project located in Guilford County, NC: U-5896, B-5353 – US 29/US 70/Busness 85@ SR 1009 Reconstruct Interchange T.I.P. Nos. U-5896, B-5353 Contract ID: C204150 We are soliciting quotes for the following selected items of work: Construction Surveying, Clearing and Grubbing, E&S Measures, Hauling and Disposal, Drainage Piping/Structures, Aggregates, Milling, Asphalt Paving, Subdrains, Castings, Curbs and Gutters, Sidewalks, Miscellaneous Concrete, Guardrail, Fence, Signs, MOT, Pavement Marking, Lighting, Waterline and Sanitary Sewer Relocations, Seeding, Electrical and Traffic Signalization, Culverts, Retaining Walls, and Structures.

All quotes must be received by: February 14, 2022 @ 1:30 p.m. EST We encourage Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Businesses to participate.

Contact our Estimating Department at 757-420-1140 for further information.

Quotes may be submitted by email to BCIestimating@branchcivil.com or to US Mail to P.O. Box 40004, Roanoke, VA 24022.

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B6

Januaray 27, 2022

T he C hronicle

Senior Games/SilverArts is the place to be for the over-50 crowd JUDIE HOLCOMB-PACK THE CHRONICLE

Where can you meet new friends, get exercise, show off your talents, and have fun with the greatest folks in town? Join the 2022 Senior Games/SilverArts!

The kickoff to Senior Games, usually held in January, had to be moved due to the weather and will be held on Friday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. – noon at Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center, 501 Reynolds Blvd. There you can pick up a registration form, play some fun games, visit with vendors and enjoy some winter snacks and beverages, while you learn more about what all the games have to offer. There will also be door prizes! You can also pick up a registra-

tion form and information from the convenience of your car by just driving up to the main door of the center.

Here’s a list of what is planned for 2022: Do you like sports?

Here’s some of the competitions you can sign up for: archery, badminton, billiards, bocce, bowling (singles, doubles, mixed doubles), chair volleyball, corn hole, croquet, cycling (1 mile, 5k and 10k), fun walk, golf, horseshoes, miniature golf, petanque, pickleball (singles, doubles, mixed doubles), race walking, shuffleboard, softball tournament, swimming, table tennis, tennis and track events. Individuals compete in their own sex and age categories, beSubmitted photo ginning at age 50, in five- Miniature golf was a popular new addition to the 2021 year increments through Senior Games.

age 100+.

Are you creative? SilverArts offers many opportunities to showcase your creative talents.

Heritage Arts includes basket weaving, painting, crocheting, jewelry, knitting, needlework, pottery (hand built or thrown), stained glass, tatting and needle lace, tole/decorative painting, wall hangings, weaving, wood carving, wood turning, and woodworking.

Visual Arts includes acrylics, drawing, mixed media, oil, pastels, photography, sculpture, watercolor, and adult coloring.

Literary Arts includes written entries in the categories of essay, life experiences/memoir, poetry, and short story.

Performance Arts will compete in person

on April 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Redemption Church.

Performance categories include playing musical instruments, singing, dancing (single, couples, line dancing, Tai Chi), acting/ skits, comedy, and cheerleading. This competition is free to watch and open to the public and is one of the most popular events.

Senior Games competitions, events, and other activities will be following all CDC and city guidelines to keep our participants safe. Masks are required at indoor events and at the recreation centers.

For more information, visit www.WePlay.ws and click on the Seniors tab, or email Kevin Westrich at cokevinw@cityofws.org or Anna Marino annam@ cityofws.org.

Come play with us!

October Senior Events Calendar: Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, 1700 Ebert Street: Some of the ongoing Shepherd’s Center activities are listed below.

Call the Shepherd’s Center at 336-748-0217 for information. Contact Kristin Larson at klarson@shepherdscenter.org to register and for Zoom meeting information. More of their programs, including those on off-campus sites, can be found on their website at www.shepherdscenter.org. *Mondays 9:30-10:30 a.m., line dancing for fun and fitness with Brenda Holcomb. $7 per class. Meets on the upper level. Please arrive by 9:15 a.m. as class begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. *Tuesdays, 2-4 p.m., The Shepherd Center Singers. Donations accepted. Please contact Carmina Jenks at pegjen2@gmail.com to join. *Fellowship and Games, 1:30-4 p.m., meets on the lower level. *Way Back Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. with Paul McCraw, a local historian and retired history teacher, who will discuss local and world history and relate it to today’s events. Via Zoom. *Thursdays at 1 p.m., Game Day with Fay and Kristin. We play different games every week, such as Boggle, Scattergories, Trivia, Pictionary and more. Come join the fun! We ask that you please arrive by 1 p.m.; once the game begins you will not be able to join. Via Zoom. *Thursdays at 3 p.m., Thinking Outside the Box Discussion Group.

Meets in person on lower level.

Mary Alice Warren Community Center, 7632 Warren Park Drive, Lewisville: *Readers Theatre classes for seniors 55 and up will be presented by 40+ Stage Company on Tuesdays from Feb. 1-March 8 at 3:00 p.m. with the orientation session on Feb. 1. The first class is free; the remaining five classes are $20. The course is designed to give participants greater confidence when speaking in public, insight into the creative process, and enhanced critical skills in evaluating video and stage performances. For more information, contact John Hohn at 336-457-0523 or email 40plusstagecompany@gmail.com.

The classes below are presented by Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem: *Writing Stories from your Life: Every second Monday, 10 a.m.12 noon *Arthritis Workshop: Every third and fourth Thursday, 4:30-6 p.m. *Open Doors Art: Mondays in February, 9 a.m.-12 noon, beginning Feb. 7 Brown & Douglas Active Adult Center, 4725 Indiana Avenue: Various activities for seniors. Contact Serena Mumford at 336661-4998 or email serenam@cityofws.org for more information. *Mondays and Wednesdays, 9-10 a.m., yoga. *Mondays, 1 p.m., Pinochle. *Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m., chair exercises. *Wednesdays, 11 a.m., chair volleyball, the most popular game among seniors! Free. *Wednesdays, 2 p.m., Spades *Thursdays, 1 p.m., vision board classes. *Fridays, game days or date night activities Salvation Army Senior Center, 2850 New Walkertown Road: *Tuesdays, 10 a.m., line dancing *Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m., chair yoga *Tuesdays, 11 a.m., chair volleyball *Wednesdays, 11 a.m., drumming exercise *Wednesdays, 12 p.m., spiritual development

*Wednesdays, 1:30 p.m., REACHE Program *Thursdays, 10 a.m., hand bells music *Thursdays, 11 a.m., educational program *Thursdays, 12 p.m., Lunch (please sign up by calling Captain Raquel Lorenzo at 336-499-1196) Carver School Road Public Library, 4915 Lansing Drive: *First Tuesday Get Together, Feb. 1, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., arts, crafts and seasonal cards, hosted by Sandra Smith. *Adult games the last Thursday of each month, Feb. 24, 11 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Come play cards, board games and dominos and make new friends!

Other events or meetings: * Registration is now underway for a virtual Powerful Tools for Caregivers class. This course is for anyone caring for a loved one who is frail or ill. Classes will take place by Zoom on Tuesdays, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m, Feb. 8-March 22. There is no charge, but donations are accepted to help cover cost of workbook. Registration is required.

To register or get information, contact Carol Ann Harris at The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, 336-748-0217, charris@ shepherdscenter.org. Class size is limited. *Open Mic, hosted by Winston-Salem Writers, (first Tuesday of each month). The next Open Mic is Feb. 1, registration at 6:45 p.m., readings begin at 7 p.m., via Zoom. This event offers beginning and experienced writers an opportunity to read five minutes of their work to a friendly audience. Audience members welcome! To participate in the Zoom Open Mic, visit www.wswriters.org and click on the newsletter to get the link or email Judie Holcomb-Pack at judiehp@triad. rr.com. *AARP chapter meeting will be held virtually on Feb. 8. For information about the local AARP chapter, email Alberta Powell at powellalberta0@gmail.com. Open to all seniors age 50 and above with an AARP membership. *Aging Well series presented by Wake Forest Baptist Sticht Center for Healthy Aging & Alzheimer’s Prevention, (the second Tuesday of each month) will be held on Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. virtually online. To register and receive the link to access the program, email bhealth@ wakehealth.edu . *Salem Band Winter Concert, Sunday, Feb. 13, 3 p.m. “An American in Paris” will kick off a celebratory anniversary concert with music by John Williams, Kimberly Arche, Leroy Anderson, Raleigh Vaughan Williams and more, and featuring the world premiere of “Prelude and Toccata” by Patrick Burns, commissioned by Salem Band for its 250th anniversary. The concert will be held in the Hanes Auditorium, Elberson Fine Arts Center, Salem College. The concert is free; a vaccine or negative COVID test proof and masks are required. *Adult Children of Aging Parents meeting, (third Tuesday), will be held Feb. 15 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. via Zoom. All are welcome, but the focus will be on the needs of adult children who are caring for their aging parents. For more information and to get the Zoom link, visit www.ACAPcommunity.org and look for Winston-Salem under the “Find your chapter” tab.

If you have an item for the Seniors Calendar, please email news@ wschronicle.com and put Seniors Calendar in the subject line. Items must be submitted by the 20th of the preceding month for the next month’s issue.

T he C hronicle

D ecember 27, 2021

B7

Loneliness among older adults is a serious health risk SUBMITTED ARTICLE

When the pandemic began, visits to senior living facilities were curtailed.

Seniors living at home were advised to shelter in place. Many in-person support services were suspended. While the nation pivoted to online communications, many older people have been unable to access these technologies, resulting in a sense of isolation experienced by seniors.

“Loneliness among older adults is not a recent problem,” reports Gregory Brewer, president of Right at Home Piedmont Triad.

“During the past decade, numerous studies have revealed that an epidemic of social isolation is having a serious effect on the length and quality of life.” Brewer shares findings from that research: Socially isolated elders are more likely to neglect their health. They get less exercise, and their nutrition suffers. For example, a November 2021 study from the North American Menopause Society stated, “When eating alone, people tend to eat faster, which often leads to increases in body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels” ˗ all linked with heart disease and other health problems.

Loneliness raises the risk of dementia by 50%.

“Our brains require the specific type of mental stimulation that socialization provides,” Brewer explains. “Experts say the

Caregivers promote healthy living and well-being through the benefits of social interaction. human drive to spend time with others is as strong as hunger and thirst. If we lack adequate interaction with others, our minds are less sharp as the years go by.” In September 2021, Penn State University experts reported that on days seniors interacted socially with others, they scored higher on tests of memory and cognition.

Loneliness is emotionally distressing. Even for people who give their brains a workout with working, reading or other mentally stimulating solo activities, loneliness still causes stress. The late John Cacioppo, a University of Chicago professor who is called the founder of social neuroscience, noted that loneliness causes an increase in inflammation and

harmful stress hormones which triggers damage right down to the cellular level. Cacioppo and other researchers reported that loneliness shortens life to a greater degree than obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day!

Social isolation threatens financial health. The last decades have seen a sharp increase in financial fraud perpetrated against older adults, and seniors who are lonely are prime targets of these criminals.

“Lonely elders are more vulnerable to the wiles of a ‘friendly stranger’ or an online romance scam,” Brewer warns. “Grateful to have someone to talk to, they don’t hang up on a con artist.”

Life changes can erode our social network. The

death of a spouse, retirement from work, children moving away, and moving from one’s long-time home, all remove human contact we formerly took for granted. Research shows that even “weak ties” provide a dose of valuable socialization ˗ the grocery clerk, the mail carrier, and other acquaintances whose paths cross ours in everyday life. Families can help older relatives replace those contacts, perhaps through senior programs in the community, volunteer work, and even online socialization.

“Families who hire professional in-home care to support the well-being of older loved ones quickly realize that companionship is another welcome benefit,” notes Brewer.

Neil Simon’s romantic ‘Plaza Suite’ opens just in time for Valentine’s celebrations SUBMITTED ARTICLE

Stained Glass Playhouse will present the romantic comedy by Neil Simon, “Plaza Suite,” on Feb. 11-12, and 18-19 at 8 p.m., and Feb. 13, and 20 at 3 p.m. Directed by Gregg Vogelsmeier, the play stars Debra Hanson, Drew Baker, Sandy Scott, Chris Swaim, Peggie Kaan Dull, Bob Montle, Annabelle Baker, and Brian Joyce.

"Plaza Suite" is a threeact play with each act featuring a different couple that successively occupy the same suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York. First, a suburban couple return on their anniversary to the suite in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years earlier, in an attempt

Submitted photo

Roy and Norma try to get their bride-to-be daughter out of the bathroom and down the aisle. their daughter out of the bathroom and down to the ballroom where their guests are waiting.

All performances will be held at Stained Glass Playhouse, located at 4401 Indiana Avenue in

Season Flex Tickets – four admissions to be used across any of this season’s remaining productions – are also on sale now, for $58 for adults, $48 for seniors (60+) and teachers, and $42 for students. For more information about our season, visit www. stainedglassplayhouse. org/2021-2022-season/.

For all tickets, go to stainedglassplayhouse. org/tickets/ or contact the box office at (336) 4991010.

The Piedmont Triad office of Right at Home is a locally owned and operated franchise office of Right at Home, LLC, serving the communities of Forsyth, Guilford, Davie, Davidson, Stokes, and Alamance. For more information, contact Right at Home of Piedmont Triad at www.rightathome. net/winston-salem, at 336760-7131 or by email at ghase@rightathomews. com.

Need help with your tax returns?

AARP will again offer free personal income tax preparation, regardless of age or income; however, some complicated returns may be beyond the scope of the program. Clients do not need to be a member of AARP to receive the assistance. The service is by appointment only. Clients can obtain a tax packet (one per return) with instructions included in each packet at the following public libraries: *Central Library, 660 W. Fifth St., third floor reference desk *Reynolda Branch

Library, 2839 Fairlawn Drive, front desk *Southside Branch Library, 3185 Buchanan St., front desk *Clemmons Branch Library, 6365 James St., front desk Proof of COVID-19 full vaccination and boosting is required for all taxpayers. In addition, all taxpayers need to have an email account.

The Tax Aide Program of the AARP Foundation provides this free service.

All volunteers are trained and certified.

w/ Rental Assistance & Section 8 Assistance Available Income Restrictions Apply 100 S. Spruce Street

Spring Hill

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Cherry Hill Apartments 840 West 14th Street 336.723.7524 24 hour on-call maintenance and laundry room

Alder’s Point 590 Mock St. 336.725.9021 Garden space, community room, computer lab, resident activities, laundry room, 24 hour on-call maintenance, exercise room, and beauty salon

Azalea Terrace Winston-Salem, in the former sanctuary of Marvin United Methodist Church.

Tickets are $17 for adults, $14 for seniors (60+) and teachers, and $12 for students. For more information about the show, visit www.stainedglassplayhouse.org/plazasuite/.

Health problems shrink our world. Loneliness increases the risk of illness and disability ˗ and the opposite also is true. Older adults with chronic health conditions often withdraw and become homebound.

Hearing loss has an especially powerful negative effect. Meaghan Barlow of Concordia University stated, “Dealing with a chronic illness shouldn’t prevent you from still trying to get out there if you can.”

Lack of transportation may limit mobility in the community. Even if an older adult is motivated to “get out there,” that might be easier said than done. Arthritis, visual impairment, or memory loss might mean it’s time to give up the car keys. Learn about transportation alter-

Affordable Senior Communities Wachovia Hill

to revitalize their struggling marriage. Next, a Hollywood producer calls a childhood sweetheart, now a suburban housewife, for a little diversion, but she proves to be more than the match he bargained for.

Finally, the mother and father of a bride-to-be argue about the best way to get

Submitted photo

natives such as public and senior-specific transportation and ride-hailing services. Family and friends might offer a ride. “Professional in-home care offers the highest convenience and safety,” says Brewer.

“Caregivers transport clients to health care appointments, to social gatherings, and out and about among other people.”

Memory loss leads to isolation. “Families supporting a person who is living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder should encourage friends and family to continue spending time with their loved one,” says Brewer. Brewer says that today, there are many innovative dementia-friendly programs where people with memory loss can enjoy appropriate social activities in a non-judgmental setting. Professional in-home caregivers provide appropriate care and activities for clients, as well as provide respite for family caregivers, who often experience loneliness themselves.

100 Azalea Terrace Ct. 336.723.3633 Community room, computer lab, resident activities, laundry room, and 24 hour on-call maintenance

618 N. Spring St. 336.251.1060 24 hour on-call maintenance and laundry room

St. Peter’s Heritage Place 3727 Old Lexington Rd. 336.771.9028 Community room, computer lab, resident activities, laundry room, and 24 hour on-call maintenance

Country Village 201 Park Ridge Cir. 336.765.4354 Community room, computer lab, resident activities, laundry room, 24 hour on-call maintenance, pool tables, and hot tub

Assembly Terrace 3731 University Pkwy. 336.759.9798 Garden space, community room, computer lab, resident activities, laundry room, and 24 hour on-call maintenance

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B8

D ecember 27, 2021

The C hronicle

It’s Unbelievable!

The Shepherd’s Center expands into Lewisville area

BY CINDY ARGIENTO

It was an unbelievable day! What a start to the New Year!

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. At breakfast I read the obituaries and mine wasn’t there. I knew things would go my way.

The cereal I chose out of the ten opened boxes in the pantry wasn’t stale.

The pants I put on were loose. My neighbor’s dog didn’t pee in my yard. My neighbor posted a ‘For Sale’ sign on their lawn.

I asked my husband his thoughts and he had one.

He said, “Let’s eat out tonight.” Unbelievable!

The kid at the drivethru got my order right. I Cindy Argiento found ten dollars in my who invented fire. My jeans pocket. I made a kids cleaned voluntarily phone call and spoke to without threat of physia real live person. The cal harm. Shredded tissue toothpaste didn’t drip on didn’t cling to wet laundry. my blouse when I brushed I untangled the cling wrap my teeth. The television on the first try. remote was on top of the Courtesy was the name television. The first pencil of the game on the roadI grabbed from the desk ways – nobody cut me off. drawer had a point.

I caught all green lights. A My umbrella didn’t stranger held the door and turn inside out because smiled. of the wind. I didn’t have My long-wearing lipto wait at the doctor’s of- stick lasted; my no-flake fice. My doctor told me mascara didn’t flake. My exercise was no longer all-day deodorant stayed necessary, I was a perfect, with me all day. My wrinphysical specimen! Could kle cream de-wrinkled. the day get any better?

My whitening toothpaste Apparently so! The whitened. My 18-hour bra person in front of me in the lasted 18 hours and 30 secexpress line had less than onds.

12 items. The cashier was The evening news friendly. didn’t show coverage of The movie I saw that COVID-19. My book afternoon was as good as reached number one on the the trailer. The person sit- New York Times bestseller ting next to me didn’t talk list. on their cell phone.

George Clooney called I didn’t need my child and said we couldn’t be to open the childproof cap. together because of my My son didn’t ask me if I husband. I replied, “What personally knew the guy husband?”

BY KRISTEN LARSON

Submitted photo OK, that last one was pushing it too far. You don’t believe me anymore, do you? I crossed the line from unbelievable into ridiculous fantasy with the COVID-19 line, didn’t I? I told you in the beginning it was an unbelievable day. Now, what would your unbelievable day be like?

Cindy Argiento is a freelance columnist, public speaker and playwright.

To contact, book her as a speaker, or read about her play, “Stanley and Alice,” visit www.cindyargiento. com.

For Seniors Only welcomes submissions for the Writer’s Corner from both beginning and experienced writers. To inquire about guidelines, contact Associate Editor Judie HolcombPack at judiehp@triad. rr.com.

The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston Salem was invited by Lewisville Mayor Mike Horn to be involved in their new Mary Alice Warren Community Center located at 7632 Warren Park Drive. We are honored to be able to provide Open Door’s Art classes and our Arthritis Workshop in February: *Arthritis Workshop: Every third and fourth Thursday, 4:30-6 p.m. *Open Doors Art: Mondays in February, 9 a.m.-12 noon, beginning Feb. 7 Unfortunately, some of our classes have been put on hold due to COVID 19.

However, we look forward to bringing many more classes to the Mary Alice Warren Community Center in the future. We hope to provide Tai Chi, yoga, Writing Stories for Your

Life classes, and concerts by our Shepherd’s Center Singers in the beautiful banquet hall at Mary Alice Warren Community Center.

The new center is off Lewisville-Clemmons Road, next to Jack Warren Park. My assistant, Fay Bustos, and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the center when it was being built and after construction was completed.

I must say it is a beautiful center with spacious,

carpeted rooms, plenty of outdoor sitting space, and Smart TVs in every room. We are grateful to the Town of Lewisville for allowing us to provide our classes at their beautiful center!

For more information on our programming at Lewisville and in Winston Salem, please contact us at 336-748-0217 or by email at klarson@shepherdscenter.org, or visit www.shepherdscenter.org. Come out and join us!

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Beauty Flourishes Here

I United Methodist Retirement Community

N OUR FULLY EQUIPPED STUDIO, artist Steven loves to share

his experience and guidance with fellow residents as they tap into

their creative spirits. At Arbor Acres, our residents celebrate the endless

variations and possibilities of beauty. What is beautiful to you?

www.arboracres.org 1240 Arbor Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27104 336 -724-7921