November 24, 2022

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W I N S TO N - S A L E M , N . C .

Volume 49, Number 12

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THURSDAY, November 24, 2022

Chris Paul Family Foundation, W-S Dash, Truist partner to feed 400 families

BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE

Last weekend the Chris Paul Family Foundation, the Winston-Salem Dash, and Truist Financial came together to provide food for 400 families for the holidays.

Ahead of the event held last Saturday at Truist Stadium, families pre-registered through the Chris Paul Family Foundation.

In addition to a turkey and other items for Thanksgiving dinner, families who registered also received other items for meals after the holidays.

Charles and Robin Paul, parents of NBA All-Star Chris Paul, said although they give back during the holidays every year, this year they felt the need to do a little more.“This year was a lot more important than other years because there are more people in need.

So this year we were able to double the amount that we’ve done in the past,” Robin Paul said.

Charles said as natives In addition to items for Thanksgiving dinner, families also received items for meals after the holidays. of Winston-Salem, they volunteered to pack boxes nity center when it comes our staff, our partnerships, resources that enrich and feel it’s their responsibility of non-perishable food. down to it,” DeAngelis we’re always going to find strengthen healthy develto give back. “We do a lot a way to do that.” opment of strong commuBrian DeAngelis, pres- said.

“Our doors are open The Chris Paul Fam- nities. of stuff wherever Chris is ident and general manager In 2005, Chris and at, but this is home, this is of the Dash, said when the every single day and ily Foundation strives to there’s just so much need positively impact individhis family established the Pauls approached them where we live.” out there and we have the uals and families by levCP3 Foundation, a philwith the idea, it was a noIn the days leading up ability to do it, so howeling the playing field in anthropic partnership with brainer.

“Everybody thinks to the giveaway, more than ever we can find a way to education, sports and life. The Winston-Salem Founwe’re just a baseball team, 150 staff members from but we’re really a commu- use our physical building, The foundation provides dation in honor of his late the W-S Dash and Truist

Photos by Tevin Stinson

grandfather, Nathaniel Jones. The foundation was created to highlight Chris’ dedication and love, both to his grandfather’s spirit and to the city of WinstonSalem, for nurturing him from his days as a standout high school studentathlete to a national star at Wake Forest University.

Smitty’s Notes celebrates 25th anniversary

BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE

In the summer of 1997 Winston-Salem native Jeff Smith sent out an email to about a dozen of his friends with a list of things to do around the city. That email was the start of the Smithy’s Notes, the city’s go-to source to find out about what’s going on in the area.

“It started it was just a bunch of people trying to figure out what we were going to do Friday night.

That was the newsletter … and why it got started,” said Smith while reflecting

Submitted photo

Jeff Smith on the start of the newsletter.

“It started out as a joke, calling it Smitty’s Community Notes, and it just slowly grew from there.”

Today, Smitty’s Notes has more than 16,000 subscribers. In addition to the newsletter, “SmittyNotes. com” lists popular restaurants and bars in the area, and a directory which lists local neighborhood associations, nonprofits, elected

officials and more.

Smith, who is a retired paralegal, said the newsletter grew with the city.

When Smith started the newsletter in 1997, there wasn’t much to do in Winston-Salem on a Friday or Saturday night, but that started to change in the early 2000s. He said in the early years it was hard to keep young professionals in the city because there wasn’t much to do.

“I remember after six o’clock it was like a ghost town downtown,” Smith laughed. “As more people saw that downtown had something to offer, more businesses started to see it as an opportunity.”

Smith said the growth of Innovation Quarter has brought some much needed energy downtown and to the entire city. He said it has also created a lot of gathering spaces downtown where people can just go and hang out.

Since 2012, 1.7 million square feet of old factories and abandoned buildings in downtown Winston-Salem have been transformed into mixed-use spaces that include restaurants, retail space, service companies, and residential space.

Last year Phase II of the project was announced.

The project calls for the redevelopment of property south of Third Street and north of Salem Parkway.

“It has added a lot of energy downtown and I like it. Plus it creates meeting spaces where people

can go out and hang out and with a friend, throw a frisbee or do yoga,” Smith said. “I think Innovation Quarter is going to make a big impact in our community.”

While keeping the community informed through the newsletter and website, over the years Smith has also served as a board member for several local organizations including the Millennium Fund, Arts Council of WinstonSalem and Forsyth County, Downtown Partnership, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Advisory Panel, Center for Creative Leadership, and several others.

Smith is also a graduate of Leadership WinstonSalem and Leadership NC. For his contributions to the city, Smith has received several awards including the Trellis Supportive Care Living Your Best Life Award, Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award, The Business Journal of the Triad The Most Influential People in the Triad recognition, and

Happy Thanksgiving

The Business Journal of the Triad Fifty Most Influential People in the Triad.

And in 2017 Smith served as grand marshal of the annual Jaycees Holiday Parade.

Despite all the awards and accolades he’s received over the years, Smith said his proudest accomplishment has been providing people with valuable information.

“What blows my mind is that people trust the newsletter, they trust the information that’s coming out of it,” Smith said.

When discussing the future of Smitty’s Notes, Smith said he’s not sure what’s next for the newsletter, with the growth of social media. But he does know that it will continue to evolve.

“As far as the newsletter, I don’t know what the future holds. I know it will continue … what flavor it will be I don’t know,” Smith continued. “There will be something … the newsletter is not going away.”

A2

N ovember 24, 2022

T he C hronicle

Has Black Friday lost its luster?

Depends on whom you ask.

BY STACY M. BROWN

According to a survey conducted in October, nearly 70% of consumers plan to skip Black Friday and holiday shopping altogether this year. While some believed retailers manipulated shoppers, a relatively large amount (18%) said they won’t shop because of large crowds.

Despite the relatively small sample size in the survey, a growing number of shoppers said Black Friday had lost its appeal.

“While Black Friday sales provide a great opportunity for brands to keep customers coming back for more, it also presents noteworthy risks for shoppers around buying too much,” said Michael Podolsky, CEO and cofounder of PissedConsumer.com, which conducted the survey.

“Consumers are now savvier with their purchases and how much they spend. That is not just inflation causing the shift in consumer behavior,” Podolsky stated.

“The survey revealed that 85% of shoppers now rely on online reviews when buying as they intend to avoid general unhappiness with shopping.”

Small business growth expert Stephanie Scheller of Grow Disrupt said there’s little question that the days of getting excited about the day after Thanksgiving shopping sprees have ended.

“While there are still ‘doorbusters’ at some

Send Holiday Cards That Mean More than Season’s Greetings.

Submitted photo

Despite the relatively small sample size in the survey, a growing number of shoppers said Black Friday had lost its appeal. places that are worth participating in, most places offer great deals online or are starting so early that it’s not worth the fight for Black Friday beyond tradition,” Scheller offered.

“I think that the problem with this is that we’ll end up diluting the power of the concept, and while overall shopping numbers might be okay, the onepowerful-day for generating sales for the holiday season concept is likely to fade.”

According to Adobe Analytics, Black Friday 2021 raked in $14.04 billion in online sales, with $8.9 billion spent on Black Friday and $5.14 billion on Thanksgiving. The spending represented a 63% decrease from 2020 when Black Friday sales raked in $14.13 billion in online sales.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, 100 million consumers shopped online, while in-person Black Friday shopping fell 37% from 2019.

“Digitalization has encouraged the growth of online stores, due to which special deals and offers remain no more exclusive,” said Matt Gillman, founder of SMB Compass.

“People prefer online stores more than regular stores, which affects Black Fridays. And this is because of the perks online stores offer at the same costs. So, along with the low prices, we can focus on providing a better shopping environment.”

Despite declining sales and enthusiasm from many corners of the nation, some still enjoy the tradition of leaving the dinner table early to stand in the long lines that often accompany Black Friday sales.

“I usually think of shopping as therapy; therefore, I always look forward to Black Friday for the excellent prices,” said Sean Harris, managing editor at Family Destinations Guide, which provides information and reviews of

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See Friday on A6

Forsyth Tech’s Angel Tree families need help and support over holidays SUBMITTED ARTICLE

Forsyth Tech’s holistic support service program, called Forsyth Tech Cares, has an Angel Tree each year, where faculty, staff and members of the community can sponsor a child or family in need to provide the children with the items that they need for the holidays.

This year, Forsyth Tech’s Angel Tree has twice the number of children and families in need as last year, which amounts to 398 angels in need of holiday gifts. Forsyth Tech is asking the community for help to sponsor these families, which can be done by signing up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4bafa92baaf4cf8angel2.

Angel Tree sponsors can sign up to support a family, or individual children within a family, and all of the details, including age, gender, clothing size, needs and wish list items are provided.

One student said, “I was so worried wondering how I was going to manage to afford gifts for my children to wake up to

on Christmas morning. Thankfully, that worry has been put to rest by the generosity of our community. I will get to hear their excited squeals as they see their gifts and there is no greater Christmas gift than witnessing their excitement."

Another student shared, “This year will be the first year I have ever needed assistance. During COVID we lost our grandfather who normally helps with Christmas for the kids. Bills have piled up so high. It has been a lot to continue school and my clinical work that doesn’t allow me to work a full-time job. The help with Christmas would mean that my children won’t be left out because of our lack of money this season. After life takes an upswing, I want to assist a family like mine in return. Thank you in advance to many who help children who are in need like mine. Very much appreciated!”

If you have questions about the Angel Tree program, please contact Peggy Zoellner at pzoellner@forsythtech.edu or call 336-734-7564.

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T he C hronicle

N ovember 24, 2022

A3

We need more innovative transportation programs like this one

BY JOHN RAILEY

Three years ago, Courtney James and her husband, Gregory, drafted a plan for a business that would help fill the gap for workers who depend on the city’s inadequate bus system, the WinstonSalem Transit Authority (WSTA), to get to their jobs. Now their business is thriving, helping its patrons climb the ladder to upward economic mobility.

Submitted photo “Transportation is Support Systems vans leave their base at the Enterprise access to opportunity,” Center.

Courtney James said. “We She and her husband Weekly rates run just have a large footprint in started Support Systems under $100. That is not the city because we are a of Forsyth County in 2019 cheap, but with gas prices, community business intent with their savings and fed- car maintenance, insuron meeting the needs of the eral, state and local grants. ance, and taxes, compeople around us. Whether They now have 10 vehi- muting in your own car working with Community cles and operate from the can cost more than twice Court Services or trans- Enterprise Center, which that a month. Many Supporting 50 young African is supported by Winston- port Systems users lack American males to edu- Salem State University. driver’s licenses or the cational support services, Support Systems works money to buy cars. Clients we have our hands in just 24/7 and averages about get their first two weeks about anything that re- 85 trips per day throughout of rides for free. Then, as quires transportation, and the county and to Greens- many of those clients get it’s all to better our com- boro. Clients include the settled in their work, they munity and help individu- elderly and disabled. begin paying. als become more mobile.”

Innovative programs like this are sorely needed.

WSSU’s Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM) has extensively studied WSTA and riders who use it to commute to work. Buses only run every hour, instead of every thirty minutes.

Among CSEM’s research on the problem is a finding that riders who use the bus system to get to work spend an average of 12 hours a week commuting.

That amounts to a time tax, CSEM Founding Director Craig Richardson has said, subtracting hours that riders could spend advancing at work or helping their children with homework.

CSEM contracted with local filmmaker Diana Greene to produce a 2018 documentary “Bus Stop Jobs” (2018) - YouTube, that has helped lead the debate on public transportation, as well as action, with The Winston-Salem Foundation setting up a round of grants of more than $200,000 for innova-

tive programs on transportation reform. One of the grants funded a study that CSEM did with students at Forsyth Technical Community College, many of whom depend on WISTA. CSEM has presented options for transportation reform to the public, most notably from the small city of Wilson, N.C., which has a ridesharing service that has replaced its bus system and is popular with its patrons. Richardson has asked why Winston-Salem can’t start a similar program on a hybrid basis.

The City of WinstonSalem has not taken such steps. The city did commission HDR, an Omahabased company, to do a study of WSTA’s services.

HDR, based on its recent presentation to the Winston-Salem City Council’s Public Works committee, will basically tweak WSTA’s existing plan, instead of exploring a hybrid ridesharing system and supporting and expanding businesses such as Sup-

port Systems of Forsyth County.

In an email to me, Courtney James wrote: “The future for us is electric, and we are working toward that. Cutting our fuel costs by going electric can open so many more doors and allow us to assist more individuals and organizations that rely on our services daily. We continue to seek innovative ways to ease the burden of not having adequate transportation. It’s going to take a working economy to restore what we lost from COVID.” Three years on, her business is helping its patrons overcome transportation barriers. Her business is chipping away at the transportation problem as the city remains mired in piecemeal solutions.

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

WS/FCS Board of Education passes sustainability resolution SUBMITTED ARTICLE

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/ FCS) Board of Education passed a resolution pledging to integrate environmental sustainability into school operations and curriculum. The resolution joins action taken by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners’ 2019 pledge to transition to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2050 and the City of Winston-Salem’s 2020 resolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all efforts to improve sustainability throughout Forsyth County.

The resolution calls for integrating sustainability across the district.

Features include working to make school facilities more energy-efficient, improving efforts to reduce landfill waste with recycling and compost programs, providing more opportunities to green school grounds with more sustainable learning landscapes, and working to engage students through

integrated curriculum every step of the way.

WS/FCS consulted with Piedmont Environmental Alliance (PEA) to build the resolution.

WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus and the district’s operations and facilities team, talked with district administrators, school board members, parents, and teachers to develop this resolution in an effort to show support for more coordination on local sustainability efforts.

WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus said, “Our district has been committed to environmental sustainability, but only in small pockets. This is an important step in aligning and strengthening all of our efforts to build districtwide expectations and support around sustainability.”

Since 2015, PEA has provided free environmental education programs to local schools, with an emphasis on teaching environmental STEM concepts like energy use and water conservation to underserved students. The

organization also helped launch a composting program at Speas Elementary and worked with the district to eliminate the use of throwaway Styrofoam lunch trays.

PEA Executive Director Jamie Maier said, “I am thankful that the board of education passed this resolution, which I see as critical to the county’s goal of transitioning to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2050. The resolution promotes a sustainability mindset that will transform how schools operate. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while saving the district money. Most importantly, it will engage students as effective stewards of the environment.” Maier says PEA is looking forward to working with administrators and teachers in implementing and expanding environmental programs across the district.

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Each year, The Chronicle has worked diligently to honor the memory and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This event focuses on racial harmony. Individuals from different cultural backgrounds are invited to unite, share a meal together, listen to the same inspirational message and pray as one community. The Prayer Breakfast is in collaboration with ongoing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.

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A4

N ovember 24, 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

Thanksgiving Time

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down, When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round, When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground, It’s Thanksgiving Time!

When the pantry jars are full of mince-meat and the shelves are laden with sweet spices for a cake, When the butcher man sends up a turkey nice and fat to bake, When the stores are crammed with everything ingenious cooks can make, It’s Thanksgiving Time!

When the gales of coming winter outside your window howl, When the air is sharp and cheery so it drives away your scowl, When one’s appetite craves turkey and will have no other fowl, It’s Thanksgiving Time!

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Voters make an important down payment on Democracy’s future Ben Jealous

Guest Columnist

A lot of good news came out of this month’s elections - and enough bad news to remind us that we can never let our guard down when freedom and democracy are at stake.

This year, democracy itself was on the ballot, and voters made an important down payment on its future.

In 2020, Americans voted not to give President Donald Trump a second term. He wasn’t willing to accept his loss, and tried to overturn the election. The anger he fostered with lies about election fraud led to a violent attempt to stop Congress from affirming Joe Biden’s victory.

What did that have to do with this year’s elections? Trump tried to get his people in power as governors and secretaries of state so they could pull off in 2024 what they were not able to do in 2020.

Voters weren’t having it. The “Red Wave” that Trump was counting on was blocked. Most of the secretary of state candidates running on Trump’s election lies were defeated, which means that important guardrails against future assaults on our de-

mocracy remain in place.

To further resist the threat of authoritarianism, we must lift up young leaders who will be democracy’s champions for this and future generations.

People For the American Way’s Young Elected Officials Network is celebrating the election of young leaders as new members of Congress from across the country: Greg Casar from Austin, Texas; Emilia Sykes from Akron, Ohio; Maxwell Frost from Orlando, Florida; Summer Lee from Braddock, Pennsylvania; Robert Garcia from Long Beach, California; Sydney Kamlager from Los Angeles, California; and Jasmine Crockett from Dallas, Texas. Dozens more were elected to local and state offices, building a crucial leadership pipeline.

One bright spot was Pennsylvania, where voters elected state attorney general Josh Shapiro as governor, rejecting a farright promoter of Trump’s election lies, and voted to send Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to the U.S. Senate rather than Trump’s handpicked celebrity con man.

What has gotten less attention is the exciting news about who will replace Fetterman as lieutenant governor: state Rep. Austin Davis, an impressive young Black man who has devoted his life to community and public service since he was a teenager.

There were other bright spots. Democrats will hold

a majority in the Senate, so Republicans will not be able to stop President Biden from building on his excellent record of naming brilliant federal judges who are committed to justice for all. Voters in Los Angeles elected Karen Bass as mayor and dumped Sheriff Alex Villanueva, notorious for overseeing an abusive department. Voters in several states protected access to abortion. Farright attempts to build a national “Red Wave” with racist fearmongering about crime and bigoted smears of transgender people didn’t work, though they did enough damage to keep some good people out of office.

One bit of bad news came with the narrow victory of Kris Kobach as Kansas attorney general.

Kobach made a name for himself with attacks on immigrants and relentless attempts to restrict voting.

Voters previously rejected his bids for governor and Senate, but, sadly, he’s back.

So is Trump, who officially launched his campaign to get back into the White House just a week after voters said “no thanks” to his most highprofile allies. It’s a reminder that in politics, no victory is final. The struggle is never over. In fact, even this election isn’t over, as Georgia voters must return to the polls for a crucial runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock and

Trump’s candidate, Herschel Walker.

Citizenship is a responsibility that requires constant recommitment. On that front, I’d like to share a bit of exciting personal news. Next year, I will continue my advocacy for a more just and sustainable world in a new role as executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation’s most influential grassroots environmental group. I am delighted that my successor as president of People For the American Way will be Svante Myrick, who is just the kind of young leader our nation needs.

He was elected to the city council of Ithaca, New York, while still a student, and at age 24, he became the city’s first Black mayor and the youngest mayor in the state. He was reelected twice by huge margins, and now he’s bringing his leadership and passion for defending democracy to the national level.

Much to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book, “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free,” will be published by Harper Collins in January 2023.

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T he C hronicle

N ovember 24, 2022

A5

FORUM

Trouble on college campuses is happening way too often these days Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Guest Columnist

Going to college has always been the goal for many students when they graduate from high school.

They take courses and pass tests in high school which prepare them for what is called the college experience. Doing homework and writing essays were building blocks for attending college.

Back in the day in my Winston-Salem neighborhood, I saw older students leaving for college.

In some ways, it served as motivation for younger students like me to follow in their footsteps. We simply wanted to be like them.

They were our heroes.

Before ever enrolling in college, my friends and I had already been on a few college campuses. College students looked more serious and they were certainly carrying more books. At a young age, my parents told me that I was going to college, so the only question was what college I would attend.

As my high school graduation approached, I became more anxious and excited. In my community, education was valued and thought to be a key for a successful life. Colleges during my day were lively places to be. I never associated danger and misfortune with them. We went there to learn and to earn a degree.

Of course, we gained new friends and participated in all types of student activities. I was blessed to have been a student-ath-

lete, which meant traveling to other cities and college campuses. I had the opportunity to see schools like Rider College in New Jersey and Tuskegee University in Alabama.

During my time in college, I never experienced any gun violence. Guns and other weapons were never a part of my conversations with other students.

As a college administrator and teacher, I never had any experiences with students who had firearms.

So here we are now, and things have changed on the higher education landscape. It is both unbelievable and sad to see.

How is it now that we can use guns, killings and colleges in the same sentence?

Yet here we are doing so with grief in our hearts and hurt in our voices.

Field trips used to be fun trips for students and chaperones alike as I have

taken many of them over my lifetime. This was not the case for students at the University of Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 13. Three UVA football players were killed and two other UVA students were wounded.

Those losing their lives were Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, according to reports.

UVA president James Ryan said, “This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community.

Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends.”

The alleged assailant, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., faces murder charges and charges of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, according to UVA police chief Timothy Longo Sr. Jones was arrested approximately 80 miles east of Charlottesville without incident. As

of now, there has not been a motive established; however, Christopher Jones was a former UVA football player.

Sadness and hopelessness overwhelm us.

Carla Williams, director of athletics at UVA, said, “We lost three talented and bright young men.

We will never see what their impact on the world would have been, but we will never forget their impact on us.”

She added, “I miss Lavel, D’Sean and Devin.

I pray for peace, comfort and hope for their parents and loved ones.”

Misery and death also happened to four students at the University of Idaho who were living off campus. Reports say they were likely stabbed while asleep. Their bodies were discovered on Sunday. The victims were Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves,

Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. The person responsible for this horrible act is still at large. The police have held 38 interviews. Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told CNN she saw lots of blood on the wall and that the victims had been stabbed multiple times.

College communities are now in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. This trend must not continue because our future leaders need the education that colleges provide.

at least my car) were a bit of collateral damage in the midst of some sort of mysterious war. No blood, no death … but something.

And that’s when I reached for my pen, hoping that maybe, maybe, I could pry loose an insight - a spiritual insight? - from what had just happened: not to Poland, not to Ukraine, but at least to me.

But then things got slightly weirder. I took my car to the shop. Next day I went out back to toss out a bag of trash when I noticed - what the heck?

- there was a shiny blue minivan parked in my space. I shrugged. Somebody visiting a neighbor?

It was weird, but, well, so what? An hour later, however, I came back outside and noticed a police car, blue lights flashing, parked in the alley directly behind the minivan. I walked over.

The officer exited his car.

“It’s a stolen vehicle,” he said, pointing to the minivan. He was waiting for a tow truck.

Uh, OK … I didn’t ask the officer’s permission,

but I wrote a poem anyway.

I call it “Shatter Alley”: I snuggle behind the wheel and see shards of glass scattered across the seat of my car.

What? No! Again?

Someone, God knows who, crowbarred a window, claiming the right to hate and hurt a man he doesn’t know, shattering the crystal normalcy of the life I take for granted: turn the key, start the engine, hit the gas and go.

Instead I’m left with invisible tears helpless rage shards of glass.

This is a work in progress. I haven’t learned anything. In my old (sort of old) age, I basically just sit here staring out the window, wondering what will happen next.

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.

Shatter Alley Robert C. Koehler

Guest Columnist Can a poem transcend fury - fury combined with helplessness? Can individual property owners join NATO? Having no other options than simply to continue seething, let me tear myself psychologically open for a moment here and see what happens.

Yeah, this is personal. And yeah, I live in Chicago part of what would, I presume, be called the “inner city,” which is where trouble happens, right? A lot of people avoid the inner city.

Watch out, it’s dangerous.

But it’s been my home for the last 45 years and I love it for many reasons - but, essentially, for its complex, evolving diversity. Back when I was a reporter with a neighborhood beat in this city, I had an astounding realization:

The whole world passes through Chicago! Thus, though my beat was a few square miles of teeming neighborhood, I was, in effect, covering the whole world - not from the top down but from the bottom up. It was a world of struggle and squabble, crime and empathy. It was the melting pot of peace.

Or whatever.

In any case, it was, and is, my home. I’m part of it; it’s part of me. And while our relationship hasn’t been perfect over the years, I have remained ensconced in a sense of community - so much so that I simply take it for granted.

That’s why this hurts so much - an ongoing string of smashed car windows, all while my sad old car was parked in the alley, in the parking spot behind my house. A year ago, the car’s rear window was smashed twice, ten days apart. The reason for it was, and remains, a complete mystery. Though it felt personal, there was no way it could have been.

I don’t “feud” with my

neighbors; either they’re good friends or I simply don’t know them. As I wrote at the time, “I felt ‘chosen’ - the winner of Shirley Jackson’s lottery.”

After the second smasheroo, I began parking on the street rather than in the alley. I did so for nine or ten months, then I decided, well, heck, I’m going to start parking in my regular spot again.

I was uneasy about doing so, but things were fine.

No problems. I began to relax. Then it happened again.

One day last week, as I headed off to the grocery store … huh? A shattered window, shards of glass all over the seat and a fusillade of questions. Each question was the same: Why? Why? Why? Why? And each question felt like a shard of glass.

I refuse to stop loving this community, but I can’t take it for granted, at least not for the time being. And “why” keeps metamorphosing. It disconnects itself from something unique and particu-

lar: a mystery vandal with a crowbar (“what’s his problem?”); and expands into something social and structural: What kind of world have we created?

What’s the point of splattering the world with hatred? What inner demons seize control of our impulses?

And then, a couple days later, a bit of news made the rounds: A grainprocessing facility in a village in Poland, near the border of Ukraine, was destroyed by what was described as a “Russianmade” missile; two people were killed. And for a moment the world trembled: Is evil Russia expanding the war further into Europe? “Fears of escalation” were sparked.

Whatever just happened - a day later, the determination was made that the strike was the result of a Ukraine-fired missile that went awry - I had a bizarre insight: War isn’t an abstraction. I had just been privileged with my own shards of shock and uncertainty, as though I (or

Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor.

He is the author of “Courage Grows Strong at the Wound.”

Re-envisioning Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving Andrew Moss Guest Columnist

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s worth revisiting some of the holiday’s most cherished expressions. In such a revisiting, we can discover not only the gaps between aspirations and lived realities, but also redemptive possibilities.

Take, for example, one of the most iconic of Thanksgiving images: Norman Rockwell’s painting, “Freedom from Want.”

In the painting, a family, a white family, sits around a table. As the matriarch sets down a plump turkey before her seated clan, the glow from a background window casts a luminous image of togetherness,

abundance, anticipation.

Rockwell painted the picture in 1943 as one of four paintings that became covers for the Saturday Evening Post, covers that illustrated and idealized the four freedoms President Franklin D. Roosevelt had espoused in his January 1941 State of the Union Address.

Roosevelt had articulated these freedoms (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want) to rouse support for Great Britain in its war with Nazi Germany and to define values that could help motivate and guide America’s own war preparedness.

Inspired

by Roosevelt’s vision, Rockwell’s paintings and Post covers gained instant popularity, and the paintings toured the country in an exhibit that helped raise millions in war bonds.

What is less remembered, however, is that

each of the Post covers were accompanied by essays composed by wellknown writers, including the labor activist, poet, and novelist Carlos Bulosan. Bulosan’s brief essay on freedom from want is particularly worth reading today, for he not only presented a vision of America starkly different from Rockwell’s; he also prophetically addressed issues that continue to vex the nation today.

Though Bulosan alluded to the fight against fascism, he devoted most of his essay to the struggle within America: a struggle for economic justice and human dignity. Coming to the U.S. as a teenager in 1930, he had experienced first-hand the hardships of agricultural labor, as well as the racism directed at him as a Filipino immigrant.

Addressing his readers in the plural first-person, as “we,” Bulosan wrote from

the point of view of working people – individuals who didn’t view freedom as an abstract value, but as a concrete manifestation of economic justice: “ … we are not really free unless we use what we produce. So long as the fruit of our labor is denied us, so long will want manifest itself in a world of slaves. It is only when we have plenty to eat - plenty of everything - that we begin to understand what freedom means.”

Bulosan made clear that such freedom is not a “gift” that is philanthropically bestowed. It must, he said, be struggled for: “But sometimes we wonder if we are really a part of America. We recognize the mainsprings of American democracy in our right to form unions and bargain through them collectively …“ And he posed a challenge to the America that had been for him a less

than hospitable home: “We are the mirror of what America is. If America wants us to be living and free, then we must be living and free. If we fail, then America fails.”

Today, the challenge posed by Bulosan is more sharply defined than ever, with 33 million Americans living in households that are food insecure, with indications pointing to a deepening crisis of homelessness, and with the extreme inequality of American society continuing to rise.

Carlos Bulosan died tragically young (mid-40s) in 1956, of tuberculosiscomplicated pneumonia, but not before producing many other works, including his powerful and moving fictionalized memoir, America is in the Heart.

The message in his “Freedom from Want” essay is as important to recall this Thanksgiving as is the radiant image in Norman

Rockwell’s painting.

Rockwell conveyed the joy of human gathering, a joy recognized by later artists whom he inspired to recast his Thanksgiving tableau more inclusively. Their versions honor America’s rich diversity of ethnic, racial, and gender identity and expression, expanding the representations of the holiday moment - when time seems briefly and joyfully suspended.

Carlos Bulosan, on the other hand, calls his readers to the work yet unfinished - to the journeys yet to be taken on a true road to freedom.

Andrew Moss, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is an emeritus professor (English, Nonviolence Studies) at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

A6

N ovember 24, 2022

The C hronicle

CHRONICLE BUSINESS OF THE MONTH

Meet Winston-Salem’s own ‘Mr. Fix It,’ Julian Martin

BY BUSTA BROWN FOR THE CHRONICLE

“Being a young tinkerer, I would take my toys apart and then put them back together to understand how they worked.

Even when I was able to rebuild them successfully, I would still get in trouble for it,” joked Julian Martin.

He’s the owner and CEO of Appetite 4 Repairs, Inc. The company’s name is the perfect fit for Julian and his team. “I’ve always had an appetite to know how something works. I had to know, Busta!” said Julian.

Back in the ’70s we Submitted photo called brothas like him “Mr. Fix It.” If it’s your Julian Martin, owner and CEO of Appetite 4 Repairs, cell phone, computer, tab- Inc. trepreneur some commonlet, or gaming console, he dining room,” said Julian.

Julian started his Win- sense tech advice most can fix it! “What gives me com- people miss. “Two things: the most joy is recover- ston-Salem-based ing the data from a water- pany in 2009. “I’ve had Make sure you have a damaged device. Or being plenty of jobs, but I was backup of your informabrought a device that alleg- fired from every job I had. tion. Losing precious edly couldn’t be fixed, and I learned what not to do pictures and those visual we would fix it. There’s no and the value of providing memories is devastating. greater satisfaction. Put- excellent customer ser- So, make sure it’s not only on a hard drive, because ting a smile on a child’s vice,” said Julian.

At Appetite 4 Repairs, something can happen to face after we fix their cell phone or gaming de- Inc., they also buy, sell, that.” He recommends a vice that other companies and trade devices, but it server or cloud where you claimed weren’t repair- doesn’t stop there. “We’re can access this information able. I can fix it,” shared also a one-stop shop for from any device. Many Julian. He added, “That’s cases, chargers, cellular people don’t think about it why I make sure my prepaid plans, and more. until it happens.

“Secondly, whatever prices are parent-friendly. We’re the only repair Serving the whole family company with a screen devices you have, don’t let protector for ALL phones. it charge overnight. That means everything to me.”

He’s not only brilliant, We can produce a screen will deplete and kill your but he’s cool as well. He is protector on demand for battery life. You have to an excellent family man, any cell phone you desire. train your battery and dewhich makes his person- Samsung screens, for ex- velop good battery habits. ality very warm and wel- ample. Many companies Batteries also have chips in use glass protectors that them, so they develop the coming.

Another trait that sets only adhere around the habits you give them. My Appetite 4 Repairs, Inc. edge of the screen, but that battery lasts two and a half apart from the rest is hon- doesn’t stop the dust from days. But I only charge my esty. “When you’re do- getting between the screen phone when it’s red and ing something you love, protectors. Our protectors blinking. Make sure you it’s more than just about adhere to the entire screen, train your battery well,” shared Julian. the money. Of course, it’s not just the border.

“Our turnaround time “At Appetite 4 Regreat to make money, but not at the cost of being dis- for repairs is excellent and pairs, we aim to provide honest to customers who is getting better and better. exceptional service for an are spending their hard- The average repair time is economical price without earned money with you. 45 minutes to one hour for sacrificing the quality of I see love in the eyes of basic repairs. Our diagnos- craftsmanship received.” the parents that bring their tics turnaround is 24 to 48 Julian’s business is in high demand. “It’s because of children’s gaming devices hours.

“In this day and age, my drive. I know what I and cell phones in for repair. So, my day doesn’t kids absolutely cannot be want, and I get tunnel viend until I know they’ll be without their devices. Un- sion until I’ve reached my 100% satisfied when they fortunately, this also ap- goal.”

Where does he see his return. Honesty is a big plies to adults. With that being said, kids use tons business in the next five deal for me,” said Julian.

The father of two cred- of pressure on the parents years? “I decided to franits his mom for his humili- to get the devices fixed, chise. There will always be ty and resilience. “She told which in turn causes the an overseer to make sure me never to take short- parents to apply pressure the quality of our work and cuts in life because you on us, but hey, I know the customer service doesn’t will miss the lessons you pressure they’re under. I go downhill.”

With such a busy should learn. So, I never don’t mind them taking a take shortcuts on repairs little frustration out on me schedule, I asked Julian and how I run my busi- because I completely get how he finds time for his it,” Julian said with a com- two kids and girlfriend ness.”

Julian attended Ever- forting smile. He added, with the crazy work hours. est College, where he re- “I’m always extremely “I used to leave my busiceived his degree in crimi- patient with all of my cus- ness at 1 or 2 a.m. But the more you grow as an entrenal justice with a goal to tomers.”

Appetite 4 Repairs, preneur, you realize your be a forensic specialist.

But after he did a simple Inc. also builds custom time with loved ones holds frame swap on an iPhone PCs for people who love more value than money.”

The Chronicles Busi3G and was able to sell it gaming. “So we came up for 5 times the purchase with budget-friendly pric- ness of the Month is Apprice, he knew right away ing for parents, so you petite 4 Repairs, Inc. If that’s what he wanted to can achieve the look and you’re looking for a fast do. “To start, I would go to performance without feel- and affordable company people’s jobs to fix phones, ing the financial stress.” to fix your devices, call or they would come to my They’re also bringing back them today at 336-671house and wait outside un- the PS5 soon to purchase, 7043, or stop by 897 Peters Creek Parkway, Suite til I was done. But one day, so get ready, parents.

Julian Martin also has a 104, in Winston-Salem. my girlfriend came home and said, ‘You gotta go!’ big heart. He and his team Send an email to: info@ or My heart just dropped. I collect cell phones and appetite4repairs.com was like, what did I do? donate them to battered visit their website at www. appetite4repairs.com.

She said she was tired of women shelters.

I asked the young enme taking up space in her

Friday

From page A2

resorts, hotels, and global destinations.

“Black Friday not only allows me to fill my closet with the newest styles at discount prices, but it also makes it possible for me to find some excellent offers on electronics and books,” Harris exclaimed.

“I primarily rely on gadgets to simplify my life as a tech-savvy individual.

Therefore, I require everything, from an air purifier to a coffee foaming machine. As a result, Black Friday will never lose its

appeal to me because I can obtain incredible electronics’ discounts online.

“The same is true for books, which are a staple of mine and are available in bulk in specially curated best-seller collections every Black Friday Sale.”

Emily Saunders, chief revenue officer for eLuxury, noted that Black Friday always loses its luster during an economic downturn, but she said she’s skeptical about whether those declines are permanent.

“Brick-and-mortar retail is fading, but Black Friday still has a strong heartbeat when economic times are good,” Saunders

asserted.

“It recovered with a vengeance once the Great Recession was over, and online shopping had become an established alternative.

“I equate it to network television.

Everything aired on major networks is being watched by far fewer people compared to the pre-streaming days, but you’d never know that on Super Bowl Sunday. It still elicits around 100 million viewers each year.”

Stacy M. Brown is NNPA Newswire senior national correspondent.

Reach him at @StacyBrownMedia.

Book Review “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times” by Michelle Obama c.2022, Crown

$32.50

319 pages

BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

Your entire life is like a gigantic game of “Chutes and Ladders.”

Shake the dice, move two steps ahead, and you hit a ladder that takes you to higher places on the game board.

Three more squares, and you hit a chute that sends you back to the bottom. Life and children’s games are alike in this way. As in the new book “The Light We Carry” by Michelle Obama, the only way to win is to keep playing.

Pandemic, recession, political divide, market volatility. For many months, you’ve wondered every morning what fresh chaos you’ll deal with that day. So what keeps you going? How do we overcome feelings of being “wobbly and unsettled”?

Michelle Obama says she ponders this “a lot.” She thinks about the things she uses to keep her “balanced and confident ... moving forward even during times of high anxiety and stress.” She calls them her “personal toolbox” and she shares them in this book.

Most recently, she says, the pandemic taught her the value of having a hobby to relax into, to let her hands work, “my mind trailing behind.” Her early life taught her the value of seeing the difference between real fear and fear of newness and change, the latter of which is surprisingly easy to overcome. Newness offers us “chances to grow. “ “I’ve come to understand,” she says, “that sometimes the big stuff becomes easier to handle when you deliberately put something small alongside it.”

Listen to your body, Obama says, and “Pay attention to how you’re feeling.” Collect small boosts, and learn to look at yourself in a more positive way.

Love your differences and be kind to yourself because it’s “everything.” Be open to connections with others; cultivate friendships you can count on.

“Know your own light,” Obama says, and “Share it with another person.”

Be authentic.

And finally, she says, “Tell the truth, do your best by others, keep perspective, stay tough. That’s basically been our recipe for getting by.”

Chances are that at some point in the past nearly three years, you got out

of bed one morning and you weren’t even sure why. It’s been a long haul and you’re tired, but “The Light We Carry” can get you to the next goal, then the next.

At first glance, it doesn’t look like that kind of a book, though.

Author Michelle Obama is a true storyteller, and she uses a Show, Not Tell method of writing. Readers are lulled into an entertaining story of life in the White House, or a gossipy snip of Obama’s married life, or a shared memory from her childhood and BAM! the words seamlessly roll over to an easy, do-able tip to survive in hard times.

Nice surprise.

Readers will be further glad to know that this isn’t a cheerleading book. Instead of U-Rah-Rah, it’s U Can Do This, told in a calm, knowing manner. And if that’s what you need in this time of turmoil, let “The Light We Carry” help you back onto the ladder.

Terri Schlichenmeyer is The Bookworm. Terri has been reading since she was three years old and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a prairie in Wisconsin with one man, two dogs, and 16,000 books.

THURSDAY, November 24, 2022

Also Religion, Community News, and Classifieds Timothy Ramsey Sports Columnist

Judge wins AL MVP after historic season New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was recently named the American League MVP after leading the AL in home runs, RBI and finishing second in batting average.

Judge received 28 out of a possible 30 first place votes. Judge claimed the title over Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani and Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez. It was hard to choose anyone but Judge with the numbers he put up this season. He hit an AL record 62 home runs, 131 RBI, with a .311 batting average.

“The motivation throughout the year, man, it goes to my teammates,” said Judge. “I said that all year; they constantly pushed me day in and day out to just show up and play, because I see the hard work they put in. I’ve got to show up, just like them. Without the special crew we had this year and the past couple of years, I know I definitely wouldn’t be in this position.”

Ohtani was going for back-to-back MVP awards after taking home the crown last season. His batting numbers dipped a little from last season; however, what he brings from the mound more than makes up for that. Alvarez had a phenomenal season for the Astros. He hit .306, with 37 home runs and 97 RBI. “I was extremely nervous,” Judge said. “You’re going up against Yordan Alvarez, one of the top premier hitters in this game, and Shohei Ohtani is by far one of the best players on this planet. You never want to assume anything. Both of those guys had incredible years and it’s been fun competing with them over the years.”

Judge is the first Yankees player to win AL MVP since 2007, when Alex Rodriguez won the award. This is the sixth season for Judge and he seems to have put it all together, both at the plate and in the field. He played in all but five games this season and has put himself in prime position for a big contract as a free agent this off-season.

“So far, so good. I had some positive talks with [Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner]. I’m looking forward to getting this free agency process started,” Judge told reporters. “For me, I want to win. I’ve come pretty close with the Yankees. … My ultimate, most important thing is I want to be on a team with a winning culture and a commitment to winning.

First and foremost, it’s a winning culture and a winning future.”

I am sure that the Yankees will back up the Brinks truck for Judge’s services. Other teams will be in the running as well.

The Yankees have fallen back from signing high priced free agents as they have in the past. In fact, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have taken over that mantle in recent years. I just don’t see Yankees brass letting Judge walk out of New York City to another franchise.

The only drawback I See MVP on B6

Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE

High school basketball season is upon us. For the young ladies of

the county, they have the opportunity to showcase their skills in the Mary Garber Invitational Basketball Tournament to start the season. The tournament is a great measuring stick to see where your team stacks up against the others from around the area.

New sports complex looks to ‘turn good players into great ones’

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE

For young athletes in the Triad area, if you’re in need of training or a facility to help you to improve your skills, the Grindhouse Sportsplex, 2738 Farmall St., Winston-Salem, might be the place for you.

The Grindhouse Sportsplex provides training for young athletes looking to enhance their skills in football, basketball, track and field, soccer, baseball and more.

They have top-of-the-line trainers and a facility with all of the necessary equipment and a turf field, to turn a good player into a great one. They work with both young boys and girls.

The Grindhouse is the brainchild of Blair Boyz Enterprises (BBE) and Get Better Everyday (GBE).

The two companies combined their resources to make the Grindhouse a reality.

“I wanted to get to this place where we are right now and still grow some more,” said Jay Blair of BBE. “Linking up with my business partners was not a coincidence. One of the business owners of GBE was one of my coaches that I hired when I was the head coach at North Forsyth High School, and that is Chris Carter.

Submitted photo

The Grindhouse Sportsplex is a new facility for athletes to hone their skills.

“Chris Carter is a hall of famer at Elizabeth City State University. He went in the hall of fame this year and he is a certified fitness trainer and it just matched.

When I reached out to a long-time mentor of mine, Rob Russo, that owns New Generation Barber Shop and the facility we are in now, he thought it was a great idea and the rest is history.”

Blair said the goal for the complex was to make it an all-encompassing fa-

cility that would attract all types of athletes. They have had their “soft opening” but still have some work to do to the building in preparation for their grand opening early next year.

With the soft opening, Grindhouse offers individual training sessions, as well as large and small group sessions. They work with athletes ages four and up.

“Of course, with Blair Boyz Enterprises and In

the Trenches, we are targeting the offensive and defensive lineman,” said Blair. “To get a place where the O-line and Dline can come and get better.

“With the addition of GBE, and the skill set they bring, we have opened it up to wide receivers, defensive backs and linebackers. We are concentrating on all sports. We have a basketball trainer; we have a soccer trainer, and we also have a baseball trainer. We want to be the end-all, be-all for all athletes for Winston-Salem and surrounding areas; that’s why it’s called the Grindhouse Sportsplex.

We don’t just focus on football; we focus on the athlete and what sport they play and how we can help them get better every day.”

Since opening, Blair and his partners at the Grindhouse have been busy. The turnout from just word of mouth has been great, he said.

“It has vastly exceeded our expectations,” Blair said about the turnout thus far from local athletes.

“We knew through chatter that Winston-Salem wanted us to open up. We knew through chatter that they couldn’t wait until we opened the doors.

“Day one, we were thinking that we would

have 10 or 15 people show up for the group session and it was 28 young athletes that showed up for the group session. We had so many come that Monday and that following Wednesday, we have to do two group sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays. Tuesdays and Thursdays are our small group sessions, as well as appointments. Saturdays and Sundays are appointments as well.

Blair stated that they also rent out the turf field to teams to work out on for a small fee, if the elements are too bad to practice outdoors.

Blair feels the Winston-Salem area is in dire need of a facility such as theirs. He says most big cities have facilities like this and it was time for Winston to have theirs.

“When you look at the major metropolitan cities in North Carolina, they have a facility that does that,” he said. “They have a facility that is there with indoor fields, outdoor fields, training equipment, and it was missing in Winston-Salem. The difference between us and them is we actually have guys that have not only played the sport, but excelled at the sport or sports they are See Complex on B6

B2

N ovember 24, 2022

Friday Night Fowler’s Top 15 teams of the Triad area (heading into round 4 of the playoffs) Points For 1. Grimsley (13-0) 600 2. Reidsville (12-1) 547 3. Mt. Airy (12-1) 688 4. Eastern Randolph (11-1) 451 5. N. Moore (13-0) 493 6. E. Forsyth (12-1) 566 7. E. Surry (12-1) 571 8. Eastern Alamance (11-2) 462 9. Thomasville (11-2) 396 10. Salisbury (11-2) 519 11. Oak Grove (11-1) 348 12. Ledford (11-2) 544 13. Dudley (9-3) 467 14. Northwest Guilford (10-3) 516 15. Cummings (8-4) 486

T he C hronicle

Jamaal Fowler

Points Against 247 139 88 174 124 106 141 264 158 156 202 203 137 183 264

Honorable Mention: Mt. Tabor (9-3), Providence Grove (83), Walkertown (8-3), Reagan (8-3), Central Davidson (8-3)

Friday Night Fowler’s Top 15 teams outside of the Triad (heading into round 4 of the playoffs) Points For 1. Kings Mountain (13-0) 510 2. Tarboro (11-1) 547 3. New Bern (13-0) 596 4. Seventy First (13-0) 547 5. Hough (11-2) 453 6. Weddington (12-1) 502 7. South Point (12-1) 523 8. Burns (12-1) 572 9. A.C. Reynolds (12-1) 502 10. E. Lincoln (13-0) 532 11. Independence (11-2) 560 12. Butler (10-3) 493 13. Hillside (13-0) 540 14. Wallace-Rose Hill (11-2) 573 15. Rolesville (10-3) 450

Points Against 150 141 103 120 85 228 198 134 135 67 190 170 185 232 309

Honorable Mention: Wake Forest (10-3), Chambers (9-3), Cleveland (11-1), Charlotte Catholic (9-3), E. Duplin (12-1)

Yellow Jackets and Griffin part ways (Part 1)

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE

Carver High School has let go of head football coach Wayne Griffin after two and a half years on the job. He was relieved of his duties as the head wrestling coach as well.

Griffin was hired in February 2020 and went 9-19 overall during his tenure as the head football coach. This season Griffin led the Yellow Jackets to a 3-8 record that ended with a 49-6 loss to North Rowan in the first round of the NCHSAA Class 1-A playoffs.

The Chronicle spoke with Griffin following his firing to get his side of the story. The Chronicle reached out to Carver High Wayne Griffin was fired as School as well, however, School. they declined to speak and forwarded us to Winston- when I start connecting the Salem/Forsyth County dots, I had a gut feeling Schools Chief Market- that this would be my last ing & Communications year. I didn’t want to realOfficer Brent Campbell. ize it, because I love doing Campbell stated that it is what I do. I love making a county policy that they do difference in kids’ lives.

This thing got started not comment on specifics about when an employee maybe like back in August. We had just got a new is terminated.

This is Griffin’s ac- athletic trainer, brand new count of what led to his and doesn’t know anything termination as head foot- about Carver. His first day ball coach of Carver High on the job, he pulled me to the side and he was like School.

Question: When did “What’s going on with you you learn that you would and the assistant AD?” I be terminated as head was like “What do you coach of the football team? mean?” He said, “as she Answer: I officially was showing me around, heard the news Monday she told me don’t worry [Nov. 7, 2022] at 3:15. I about Coach Griffin, begot called out of a class cause this will be his last that I was teaching, to year anyway.”

Then a series of events come up to the office. It was the principal of athlet- from the inside, as I have ics and my AD (athletics time to sit back and reflect director). It was a meeting now, I probably should that was led by the princi- have seen this coming.

Forsyth County Schools pal that’s over athletics.

Question: Did you has an academic support have any idea heading program. We call it the 2.0 into this meeting that you program, to where kids gotta get three hours of would be terminated?

Answer: Man, actually tutoring every week. Let’s

A CONVERSATION WITH

PRESENTED BY THE PROGRAM FOR LEADERSHIP & CHARACTER go.wfu.edu/cornel

Subbmited photo

coach from Carver High

say for this week, if they got three hours of tutoring this week, they’d be eligible for the following week’s contest. I would not get my eligibility reports from her until Thursday and it was said we would get it on Monday. I want to say out of 10 weeks, we got it on Monday, maybe once or twice at the most.

Question: When the meeting concluded, what were your feelings, knowing you wouldn’t be coaching these young men that you have been with for the last few years?

Answer: Before I go into that, let me pull up this text message that was sent to me from the athletic principal. The message said, “Due to the sensitive nature of the conversation we just had, I am asking you that you do not share this conversation with any of the parents, community or students, until we as a leadership team are ready to make a public announcement or discussion See Coach on B6

T he C hronicle

N ovember 24, 2022

B3

The Moral Burden of Thanksgiving

Elder Richard Wayne Wood Sunday School Lesson

Paul Evangelizes in Rome Scriptures: Acts 28:23-31 By the end of this lesson, we will: *Summarize the points of Paul’s Gospel message; *Be confident in our ability to use scripture to bring others to knowledge of Christ; *Identify ways we can tell resistant listeners about Christ.

Background: Paul finally arrives in Rome where he is allowed his own residence at the provisional favor of God working through Porcius Festus and Julius the centurion. Paul’s plan is to speak to his fellow Jews and get them on his side. He knew that all of what was happening to him was a part of his calling to share the Good News with the world. Now an assigned time was fixed to begin evangelism in Rome, first to the Jews, then the Gentiles.

Lesson: Paul Shares the Gospel with the Jews (Acts 28:23-25a). Paul had persuaded them to come with their friends to meet with him again by informing them that his whole situation was because of the Hope of Israel – (resurrection), he invoked theology. Verse 23 describes the interchange of Paul and his guests. “… he expounded and testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, …” (verse 23a.). Paul didn’t just use his extensive knowledge of the scriptures, but he included his personal testimony – of his encounter with Jesus. “… both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening (verse 23b.).

Paul’s method of Jewish evangelism was to interpret Old Testament anticipation of the Messiah to convince them that Jesus is the Messiah. You might imagine that conversation being lengthy. Verses 24 and 25 are an observation that there were believers and non-believers at the evening’s end. But before they parted, Paul invoked the Holy Spirit and the prophet Isaiah.

The Jews Turn Away (verses 25b-27). Paul has a Holy Spirit déjà vu – Paul says to them that they were acting just like their ancestors did when they didn’t listen to the prophet (Isaiah 6:9-10). Quoting Isaiah to make the point that just as their ancestors failed to take advantage of the proffered salvation – they were now being just as foolish. They failed to believe the Word of God – even though Paul had shown them that the scriptures all pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

Paul Preaches to the Gentiles (verses 28-31). “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it (verses 28). The Message says it this way – “You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list.

And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms.” Paul was embracing his apostleship to the Gentiles and the Old Testament. Isaiah had also predicted that in the end times Gentiles would join Jews at Jerusalem to worship God (Isaiah 66:19-24). Paul’s reference to the Gentiles’ inclusion in verse 19 got the Jews thinking as they left. Not deterred, “Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house … (verse 30) … preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him” (verse 31). At what seems to be at his own expense and still under house arrest, Paul, with an open-door policy, freely received visitors and spoke with them about the Gospel. Paul’s circumstances in Rome encouraged Christians to become bolder in witnessing to the faith is evidenced in the Book of Romans.

(UMI Annual Commentary 2021-2022, The MacArthur Study Bible, The Modern Life Study Bible, The Tony Evans Study Bible, The Message //Remix: Pause, The Wiersbe Study Bible, The New Interpreters Study Bible, and The Oxford Bible Commentary).

See Power on B6

BY JESSE JACKSON SR.

In the bloody summer of 1863, the Union Army defeated General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate forces at Gettysburg, a three-day battle that changed the course of the Civil War and the long journey from slavery to freedom.

Three months later, in a profound gesture of gratitude, President Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November to be a national holiday, a national day of thanksgiving.

The Union would hold. The peo-

ple would be free.

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things,” the proclamation read. “They are gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath

nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

Thanksgiving has always been about more than football and turkey.

It is about justice and the creation of a more perfect union. It has always been political.

Poverty and hunger are enemies of the union. They are homegrown terrorists, traitors to the America we can and must become. They have no Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

place in a nation as rich, powerful and fundamentally good as ours.

In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, this is a time not to focus on one big meal on one big day. This is a time to commit and work even harder to end poverty and hunger in this land of plenty.

Submitted photo

We have much work to do. There are nine neighborhoods in Chicago – endangered communities – where poverty is at almost 20 percent and unemployment hovers around 40 percent.

That is a sin.

There are an estimated 13.1 million children – 1 in 6 – in the U.S. living in households where there is not enough to eat. Experts say that children who suffer from hunger in the first years of their education often lag behind their peers in school, a beginning that can haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The moral burden of Thanksgiving is not to eat turkey but to feed justice.

Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is founder and president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition. You can keep up with his work at www.rainbowpush.org.

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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 distancing 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.

service on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com (First Waughtown); Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ FirstWaughtown/; and the First Waughtown website, https://www.firstwaughtown.org. (NOTE: Services are posted on a one-week delay.)

Each Sunday Greater Church Greater Church, 3300 Reynolda Road, WinstonSalem invites you to attend in-person worship service every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call the church at 336 -661-0226.

Nov. 27 Forsyth County Missionary Union The Forsyth County Missionary Union will have their installation service for new officers in person and virtually on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Piney Grove Baptist Church Enrichment Center, 4715 Indiana Ave. Speaker for this service will be announced with online and virtual info soon to members.

Nov. 27 First Waughtown Baptist Church (FWBC) Senior Pastor Dr. Dennis W. Bishop will deliver the morning message. Front doors will open at 9:15 a.m. for screening, devotion, and announcements for the 10 a.m. service. Completed waiver forms and masks that cover the nose and mouth are required. Both are available in the church lobby. 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 can find the

How to submit items to the Religion calendar: 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 Thursday before 4 p.m., or mail your items to Winston-Salem Chronicle, 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101; or send them via our website, www.wschronicle.com.

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N ovember 24, 2022

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE FORSYTH COUNTY DISTRICT COURT DIVISION FILE NO: 21 JT 210

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21 JT 192

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS

BY PUBLICATION TO: Christopher Craft - Father of the Juvenile TAKE NOTICE that a Juvenile Petition seeking relief against you have been filed in the above-entitled action.

The nature of the relief being sought is an adjudication of Termination of your Parental Rights with respect to the above-referenced child pursuant to N.C.G.S. 7B-1111.

You are required to make a written answer to the Petition alleging to Terminate Parental Rights within forty (40) days after the date of this notice; and upon your failure to make a defense to the Petitions within the 40 day period specified herein or to attend the hearing on the said Petition, the Petitioner will apply to the Court for terminating your parental rights to the above-referenced juvenile.

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS

BY PUBLICATION TO: RODNEY THOMPSON, DUTCH MILLER, AND ANY UNKNOWN AND UNNAMED MAN [“JOHN DOE”] WHO MAY BE THE FATHER of the minor child identified above, and to TAUNIA ANNE REGAN (DOB: 03/27/1983), MOTHER of the minor child identified above.

TAKE NOTICE that a Motion to Terminate Parental Rights seeking relief against you has been filed in the above-entitled action. The aforementioned minor child has been in the custody of the Forsyth County Department of Social Services since November 2021 was adjudicated to be a neglected juvenile on April 13, 2022. The nature of the relief being sought is the permanent and irrevocable termination of your parental rights to the minor child named above pursuant to the Motion to Terminate Parental Rights filed by the Forsyth County Department of Social Services on or about November 11, 2022.

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To Select a Contractor for Termite Damage/Upgrade Renovation at 2792 Piedmont Circle, Winston-Salem, NC Quotations for Small Purchases (QSP No. 22-1109) The Housing Authority of the City of Winston-Salem is requesting responses for Quotes from qualified businesses for Termite Damage/Upgrade Renovation at 2792 Piedmont Circle, Winston Salem, NC as noted above.

Submit responses by Thursday, December 1, 2022 by 3:00 PM. For complete information, visit www.haws.org. Section 3/MWBE firms are encouraged to participate.

The Chronicle November 17, 24, 2022 NOTICE TO BIDDERS To Select a Contractor for Crystal Towers Lobby Upgrade Winston-Salem, NC Invitation for Bid (IFB No. 22-1110) The Housing Authority of the City of Winston-Salem is requesting responses for Bids from qualified businesses for Crystal Towers Lobby Upgrade, Winston Salem, NC as noted above. Submit responses by Thursday, January 5, 2023 by 2:00 PM. For complete information, visit www.haws.org. Section 3/ MWBE firms are encouraged to participate.

Any counsel appointed previously to represent you and not YOU ARE REQUIRED to FILE AN ANSWER to the Motion to Terminate Parental Rights within released by the Court shall continue to represent you.

The Chronicle November 17, 24, 2022 thirty (30) days after the date of this notice. If you NOTICE TO BIDDERS fail to make a defense to the Motion to Terminate If you are indigent and not already represented by apParental Rights on or before Monday, DeTo Select a Contractor for Healy Towers Lobby pointed counsel, you are entitled to appointed counsel and cember 12, 2022 or fail to attend the hearing on Upgrade Winston Salem, NC provisional counsel has been appointed upon your request the Motion for Termination, the Movant (Forsyth Invitation for Bid (IFB No. 22-1120) County Department of Social Services) will subject to the Courts review at the first hearing after this request the Court to terminate your parental rights service.

The Housing Authority of the City of Winston-Sain and to the minor child indicated herein.

If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be entitled to appointment of counsel. To immediately request provisional counsel, contact the Forsyth County Clerk of Court, Juvenile Division at (336) 779-6311.

The trial on this matter will occur on January 6, 2022 at 9:30am or as soon thereafter as the Court can hear it in Courtroom 4J of Forsyth Theresa A. Boucher County Courthouse in Winston-Salem, NC. Deputy County Attorney SHOULD YOU FAIL TO ANSWER OR APAttorney for the Forsyth County PEAR as directed herein, the Court can enter Department of Social Services an order which permanently and irrevocably 741 Highland Avenue terminates your parental rights in and to the said minor child.

Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101 (336) 703-3901 This the 10th day of November 2022

This the 3rd day of November, 2022

By: Melissa Starr Livesay, Assistant County Attorney 741 Highland Avenue Winston-Salem, NC 27101 The Chronicle November 10, 17, 24, 2022

21 JT 081 21 JT 119

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION TO: John Doe -- Father of the Juveniles TAKE NOTICE that Juvenile Petitions seeking relief against you have been filed in the above-entitled action. The nature of the relief being sought is an adjudication of Termination of your Parental Rights with respect to the above-referenced children pursuant to N.C.G.S. 7B-1111.

You are required to make a written answer to the Petitions alleging to Terminate Parental Rights within forty (40) days after the date of this notice; and upon your failure to make a defense to the Petitions within the 40 day period specified herein or to attend the hearing on the said Petitions, the Petitioner will apply to the Court for terminating your parental rights to the above-referenced juvenile.

This the 18th day of November, 2022 Theresa A. Boucher Deputy County Attorney Attorney for the Forsyth County Department of Sociall Services 741 Highland Avenue The Chronicle November 24, and December 1, 8, 2022

The Chronicle November 24, and December 1, 2022

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The hearing on the Petition alleging to Terminate Parental Rights is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 in Courtroom 4-J of the Forsyth County Hall of Justice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina or as soon thereafter as the Court can hear the said case.

The Housing Authority of the City of Winston-Salem is requesting responses for Bids from qualified businesses for Sunrise Towers Lobby Upgrade, Winston Salem, NC as noted above. Submit responses by Monday, January 16, 2023 by 2:00 PM. For complete information, visit www.haws.org. Section 3/ MWBE firms are encouraged to participate.

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If you are indigent and not already represented by appointed counsel, you are entitled to appointed counsel and provisional counsel has been appointed upon your request subject to the Courts review at the first hearing after this service.

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The Chronicle November 10, 17, 24, 2022 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE FORSYTH COUNTY DISTRICT COURT DIVISION

lem is requesting responses for Bids from qualified businesses for Healy Towers Lobby Upgrade, Winston Salem, NC as noted above. Submit responses by Monday, January 16, 2023 by 2:00 PM. For complete information, visit www.haws.org. Section 3/ MWBE firms are encouraged to participate.

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The hearing on the Petition alleging to Terminate Parental Rights is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 in Courtroom 4-J of the Forsyth County Hall of Justice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina or as soon thereafter as the Court can hear the said case.

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N ovember 24, 2022

Community Calendar NOW – Dec. 7 Medicare open enrollment sessions The Annual Medicare Open Enrollment period will take place from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2022. Annual enrollment assistance will be provided by volunteers and staff of the Shepherd’s Center of Greater WinstonSalem, the Forsyth County coordinating site for the North Carolina Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP).

One hour appointments will be offered during the period subject to the availability of counselors. Appointments must be made by calling the Shepherd’s Center at 336-748-0217 during weekdays from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Nov. 26, Dec. 10 If it is not raining, help will be needed at the Happy Hill Cemetery on Nov. 26 and Dec. 10 from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Dress appropriate for the weather - wear sturdy shoes, bring gloves, rakes, clippers and any other yard equipment.

LOCATION - 888 Willow Street at Pitts and Willow Street, off Free Street.

Contact Mrs. Maurice Johnson, 336-978-2866.

Nov. 27 Free concert – Twin City Choristers The Twin City Choristers return with its first live performance, Songs for All Seasons, since the onset of the pandemic. The repertoire will include both sacred and secular music that reflects the group’s resilience and faith over the years, as well as songs to open the holiday season. The concert will be on Nov. 27 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 950 File Street, beginning at 4 p.m.

Nov. 28 Virtual 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. The session will be held virtually via Zoom on Monday, Nov.28, 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 or info@shepherdscenter.org for more information or to reserve a seat.

Dec. 2-3 Artists Market Sawtooth School for Visual Art will kick off the holiday season with its annual Artists Market on Friday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The market begins Friday, Dec. 2, with a ticketed preview event.

Tickets for the preview event can be bought on Sawtooth’s website, www. sawtooth.org. The studios will open Saturday, Dec. 3, at 10 a.m. for live art demonstrations. On Saturday, admission is free and open to the community with a suggested donation in any amount to support Sawtooth’s scholarships and programming. For more information about the Sawtooth Artists Market, visit www.sawtooth.org.

Jan. 2, 2023 Contest entry deadline The Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize sponsored by NCWN and administered by the Creative Writing Program at UNC-Chapel Hill, is open to any AfricanAmerican/Black writer whose primary residence is in North Carolina. Entries may be fiction or creative nonfiction but must not have been published

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before (including on any website, blog, or social media), and must be no more than 3,000 words.

The deadline is January 2, 2023. The winner will receive $1,000 and possible publication of their winning entry in The Carolina Quarterly. Visit https://www.ncwriters.org/ programs/competitions/ jacobs-jones-africanamerican-literary-prize/ for more information.

AT

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Experience the brilliance of Reynolda decorated for the holidays and attend special events to celebrate the season:

Through the Years: Christmas at Reynolda Tour December 2, 9, 15, 16 Caroling Fridays at Reynolda December 2, 9, 16 Enchanted Christmas Evenings at Reynolda December 9, 15 Comfort & Joy at Reynolda December 18

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N ovember 24, 2022

MVP

From page B1

can see for signing Judge is his age. At 30 years old, he is more than likely going to sign a six- or sevenyear deal that most likely will take him to the end of his career, or close to it.

We have seen stars in their early 30s sign long-term deals that did not pan out for the team. Most often, those sluggers begin to fade as they age closer to 40.

I don’t think the Yankees can worry about the back half of the contract for Judge. They have a window that they have to take advantage of right now with hopes of competing for a World Series title.

The Yankees’ front office knows the opportunity they have and will probably do whatever it takes to get back into championship contention, especially since they haven’t been to a World Series since 2009.

“He was incredible in every facet of the game in 2022, and put up a season that ranks with the very best of all time,” Yankees

general manager Brian Cashman said. “Aaron’s success was especially meaningful for our organization, as we’ve been able to watch him grow throughout his professional career into the player and leader he has become – an offensive force in the batter’s box, a run preventer wherever we’ve put him in the field, and someone who sets the tone in the clubhouse with his relentless commitment to winning.

He has been our MVP for quite some time now, and this honor couldn’t be more deserved.”

Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone seems to agree with what Cashman had to say, adding, “Congratulations to Aaron on one of the greatest seasons in the history of our sport. I’m grateful that I got to witness it firsthand and share in his magical year, especially given how much respect I have for him as a player and as a person. I hope he can reflect on his extraordinary individual accomplishments and the impact he had on his teammates every single day and use them as fuel for contin-

The C hronicle ued excellence in the years to come.”

The Yankees don’t really have a choice but to offer Judge a huge contract.

Based on what he has done the last two years, there is no way they can justify not offering Judge big money in his next deal. If they don’t, they will never hear the end of it from the New York fan base.

Judge realizes what he just did last year by becoming the home run leader in the AL. Being that he is from California, I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility that the Dodgers and Padres have a real chance at signing him.

“I’m really looking forward to getting this whole free agency process going,” said Judge. “A lot of baseball players really don’t get this opportunity to choose where they want to go or have a choice. I know it’s still pretty early, and a lot of stuff doesn’t start kicking up until the Winter Meetings in December.

“But it’s going to be a fun process that my family and I will definitely enjoy.”

Complex From page B1

Power

From page B3

For Your Consideration: Why do you think Paul immediately went to the Jews in Rome? Favor is shown Paul; why do you think that is? Paul had an A-list of visitors – name some of them.

Application: Learn from Paul, be vigilant. Do not allow family drama, workplace stress, or personal issues to hinder you from keeping your commitment to minister to others. If we remain faithful, Paul is a witness that God will sustain us.

FYI: Forsyth County Sunday School Union will meet “virtually” every third Sunday, at 1:30 p.m.with teaching and programs. The December meeting will include a Christmas play written by Ms. Wanda Davis and directed by Min. Brian Cager. You may join using the following “Zoom” credentials: ID 819 7872 9662, Passcode 787444, Phone: 1-301-715-8592.

training the young athletes in.”

Blair stated they worked “day and night” to get their facility up and running. He says it was three months and two weeks of work to get the place ready for the soft opening. From moving walls, moving equipment, and painting, it was a laborious process. He says that’s how they came up Submitted photo with the name, by all the The Grindhouse Sportsplex trains boys and girls ages “grinding” they did getting four and up in a multitude of sports. the building ready to open.

Blair says the Blair important than athletics www.blairboyzenterprises.

Boyz and GBE are com- and you can’t be a student com, the GBE Fitness mitted to the community. athlete if you aren’t a stu- LLC Facebook page and The next step for them is to dent first. the Grindhouse Sportsplex have a mentoring phase to For more informa- Facebook page. their facility because they tion about the Grindhouse know that school is more Sportsplex, please visit

Coach

From page B2

regarding this matter.”

So, to me they didn’t necessarily have a plan.

You can’t tell me not to share information with kids after you have just fired me and let me go and now you want me to help you out. I was hurt. This past off-season was my first off-season that I have had since I became the head coach. I was hurt for the kids that I got to come over to Carver. It’s kids at Carver that wouldn’t be at Carver, if it had not been for the relationships I had built with their parents and them, outside of Carver.

Question: What do you think led to the riff between you and the assistant principal over athletics?

Answer: This summer, back in either June or July, there was a meeting.

I had already been interviewing coaches, so during this meeting, I was told about who was going to be on my staff and they were trying to put folks on my staff. Anybody that knows me, knows that that didn’t go over well too kindly. I adamantly denied that and said that I wasn’t going to do it, because if I am going to be responsible for my coaches’ actions and interactions with my studentathletes, I need to have a say with the men that are leading this program.

It’s a three-hour meeting and it’s back and forth on both sides and I just told them “no it’s not happening.” Honestly, the assistant AD, ever since I got to Carver, she wanted her husband to be on my staff.

I have no problem putting anybody on my staff, but you are going to send me a resume and we are going to sit down and see if it’s a good fit. Not just a good fit for the kids, it has to be a good fit for me. I gotta feel comfortable with you being around me and I have to be able to trust you. She wanted her husband on staff and I wouldn’t put him on staff.

Then the assistant principal brought up a name

and the name just happened to be her son, about who I am going to put on my wrestling staff. Not only are they trying to tell me who to put on my football staff, they are trying to tell me who to put on my wrestling staff and that didn’t go over too well. I actually fought that issue tooth and nail and got the men I wanted to lead this football program.

Question: Do you think if you would have gone along with those coaching hires, you would still be the coach of the football and wrestling teams?

Answer: I think it played a part. There was also another incident that happened during the year and I was against it. During the middle of the season, they tried to tell me who was going to play.

They made a deal, under the table, with a parent that their child would play that week’s contest for at least a half. When I got the news from my AD that this decision was being made, it wasn’t pretty. I was ready to go up and resign the moment I got the news that I better play this kid. It was such a hostile way that they did this to where I felt like I was being bullied.

We didn’t meet when I was told that I had to play this kid for at least a half.

This wasn’t a meeting that took place in a conference room with the nice chairs.

We were in the dungeon where there was nobody else around and my team was out there practicing.

My principal and the principal over athletics were very adamant that this was going to happen. They told me that I better not tell anybody, I better be able to sell it. I’m telling them no and that I’d much rather resign right now than to do this, because what you’re asking me to do is sacrifice my team chemistry.

Everything I do is for the kids’ best interest. Making that move right there was not for the kids’ best interest. I am not in the habit of making deals with kid’s parents over playing time. It should be earned,

and it should be left up to the coaches. I played the kid for a half. At the start of the second half, we were still 0-0 and I put our normal starter back in the game. I carried out their wishes and I’m still gone.

When it comes to the riff between me and the athletic assistant principal, we are getting ready to play McMichael. We are 65 minutes away from kickoff and kids are getting in their zone to do what they have to do to win a football game. Here comes in the locker room the principal and the athletic principal. The athletic principal is doing the talking and he was threatening to forfeit the football game that night because of something that happened in the bus lot. We may have had two kids in the bus lot after school. I don’t know what happened because we were serving the pregame meal.

It was not like it was an altercation or something like that, but for him to come in and threaten these guys 65 minutes before kickoff is ridiculous. I had kids in there crying because all they want to do is play the game they love. Now our focus as a staff had to shift from preparing for the game to have to put on our therapist hat to get these kids to refocus.

I got an email yesterday and they are trying to shut my voice up. They don’t want me to have any relationship with these kids. To me, the common ground between myself and administration should be these kids. So why would you not want me to have any relationship with these kids? I still got kids I am trying to get into college. I am getting messages from colleges every day about my prospects, but you don’t want me to have any contact with these kids or their parents?

I also got an email that said I couldn’t post any of my student-athletes on the social media pages. I have never seen that whatsoever.

This is Part 1 of the interview with Coach Griffin. Look for Part 2 in next week’s Chronicle.

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NOVEMBER 29

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