Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, December 26, 1996, Image 1

Augusta focus., December 26, 1996, Image 1

About Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 1996)

Page of 30

Prev Issue Next Issue

Text PDF JP2 (3.7 MB) Clip/Print Image

Page of 30

Prev Issue Next Issue

Return to Top

Newspaper Page TextIDEC. 261996 - JAN. 1,1997 VOL. XVINO. 783 l " METRO AUGUSTA’S FINEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER EDUCATION Annis blasts trustees for selection B The Richmond County School Board selected Hanscomb-GMK to handle the slls million building project. Dissenter Jeff Annis called his colleagues incompetent for that selection. By Rhonda Jones AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer AUGUSTA “Idon’t blame other people for being incompetent, but they are,” Richmond County School Board trustee Jeff Annis said last Tuesday, criticizing his fellow Board members for choosing Hanscomb-GMK as project man ager for the slls million building/renovation project, . ... ... *- Thetrustees chiose Hanscomb-GMK, six to four, with Jeff Annis, Ken Echols, Cherie Foster and Barbara Padgett voting against. The other two were R.W. Allen-Beers-Integral, alocal firm, and The Facility Group. Mr. Annis and Sue Burmeister of the local Parent Teacher Association fumed about the deci sion after the meeting as they hurried totheir cars in the cold. He later informed Augusta Focus that he’d heard negative things from reputable sources about Hanscomb-GMK, but declined tosay what things or who said them. He did say the sources were from Savannah and Atlanta. Referring to the presentations made by the three firms, Mr. Annissaid, “We chose the one that gave us the least assurance and least guarantee.” He said his personal favorite was R.W. Allen-Beers, “because they were going to give the taxpayers a guarantee” that the price of the venture would keep tothe slls million budget. They did this by offering a surety bond guarantee, which works like insurance: Ifthe project runs over the agreed upon amount, abonding company pays the differ ence. He liked The Facility Group because they put part of their fee at risk in case their work is not See SCHOOL BOARD, page 3 INSIDE 2o | ::;? - “ i iy, ; Y 5 .:, & o_. & lg;;—'"": 4. . B v v i ; \ Lou Rawls Parade of Stars boasts all-star cast. See p. 15. M World/National News..........cc.ccoovvnunnn. 2 M Local/Regional News .............cccccevvee. 3 BReOOIE: .. s d * Ca1endar......................................,;"..'.... 7 I BRMLORINY (it iiiaiin ® A Closer Look 9 [ lemg 10 u dhurch NEWR . e i 8 T . e (S Annis: “We chose the one that gave the least assurance.” ¥ e i Jefferson: “They hit all the right buttons.” Action by Oakland schools revives black speech debate By Michelle Locke ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer OAKLAND, Calif. This much is settled — Black English will be recognized as a second language in Oak land schools. Whether it is considered an insulttothe studentsor a helpinghandisthe subject of hot debate. Critics said the decision to interpret Black English in class, rather than just calling it “wrong,” underestimates black students’learn ing abilities and could give them the wrong idea about what it takes to succeed. - “This hurts the kids; that's the réal trag edy of it,” said John Fonte, a visiting scholar in education at the American Epterprise In stitute in Washington. “The way to learn English is to study English.” Proponents say the ideais to help students make the transition to stgndard English by understanding ahgt]tpansﬁﬁlg&heir mother tongue.’ % A . 1 “We're not saying(Black English)is wrong; we're saying it’s different and not that it has to be abandoned but that something has to be learned,” said Peter Haberfeld of the Oakland teachers’ union. “It’s building on kids’ strengths.” The Dakland School Board voted Wednes day toofficially recognize Black English, also known as Ebonics — a term combining “ebony” and “phonics.” How the new policy will be implemented hasn’t been worked out, but possibilities in clude placing Black English-speaking stu dents in classes that will help them learn standard English. It also creates a program to train teachers to understand Black English. School Board members insist their moti vationisimprovingthe performance ofblack students, who make up 53 percent of the 52,000-student district and 71 percentofthose enrolled in special education courses. The decision has provoked strong reactions from black leaders and others across the See BLACK ENGLISH, page 3 RACE MATTERS: D.C. principal indicted in alleged attack onreporter B School official, three others charged in altercation with Washington Times reporter and two police officers. By Janelle Carter ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer WASHINGTON -City leaders are trying to ease racerelationsin the nation’s capi tal after a grand jury on Thurs dayindicted ablack charterschool principalinanalleged attack on awhite newspaper reporter. “I don’t-think we need that kind of division,” said Sandra Butler-Truesdale, interim presi dent of the District of Columbia Board of Education. Butler- Truesdale planstocallameeting of the School Board today to discuss the incident. “I think we need to think rationally.” Thursday’sindictment charged Mary Anigbo, principal of the 62- g . & L Sy %‘” e Y ST BT g ' ;T B s m""'f b 4 | .« L | | gj - | G U ; i ,:‘(" e { e T | b\ asxrT Maya Angelou: “mincensed. The very idea that African-American language is apart is very threaten ing.” “Exampies of Ebonics I Black English, or Ebonics, simplifies consonants at the ends of words. Thus, “hand” becomes “han.” . i The final ng sound drops the g, so “walk ing” becomes “walkin,” I The final d is dropped after vowels, so “good” becomes “goo.” I The final th is sometimes replaced with f, so “with” becomes “wif.” Grammar: I Absence of the third person present tense, as in “She walk.” lUse of“done” to emphasize an action has been completed, as in “He done did it.” I Lack of conjugation of the verb to be, as in “She be here.” I Use of double or triple negatives, as in “He ain’t got no money.” I Use of stressed “bin,” as in, “She bin married” for “She has been married for a long time.” Vocabulary: (spelling is phonetic) 1. fashezee: for sure, absolutely 2. ‘sup?: what’s up? 3. funna: going to 4. hella: a lot, many student Marcus Garvey Char ter School, with assaulting Washington Tinies reporter Su san Ferrechio and two District of Columbia police officers and taking Ferrechio’s notepad away from her. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail. Serena Smith, akindergarten teacher, wasindicted onthe same four charges, while the school’s office manager, Brenda Gatlin, was indicted on three charges: assaulting Ferrechio and one of the police officers and taking the reporter’s notebook. A man known to the grand jury only by the last name, Smith, was also indicted for assaulting a police officer. Ferrechiohassaid Anigho and others hit, kicked and yelled ra cial slurs at her Dec. 3 while she was conducting interviews for a story on charter schools. Anigbo has countered that it was Ferrechiowho attacked her, using racial epithets and bran dishing a knife and Mace during aconfrontation that began over HIGHLIGHTS SEASON'S GREETINGS Santana Johnson, 11, gets in the spirit of : Christmas at the : Neighborhood Youth ! Center’s annual party. | The Center'smembers wrote letters to Santa : and were glad he . delivered. ! PhotolJ. Carter : Tl R oA L D R N it M S : : | E | 55 ‘3 B " o Jesse Jackson: “In Oakland, some madness has erupted over making slang talk a second lan guage.” whether the reporter had sought permission for the in terviews. Anigbo’s attorney said the misdemeanor charges effec tively deny her client a jury trial and warned that the in dictment “will unsettle great racial divisivenessin this city.” “This will be seen by the com munity as the combined effort of those who are powerful to destroy those who have less power,” the attorney said. U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, who is black, said the indict ment was returned by a grand jury that“represents...across section of our community.” About two-thirds of the District of Columbia’s population is black. | “It is now incumbent upon everyone in this city to work to cool the passions on both sides and not permit this incident to cause increased polarization,” Holdersaid. : Washington Times editor-in- See PRINCIPAL, page 3 Black leaders continue call for Texaco boycott in Dallas ' See Page 3 Mobutu back in Zaire Commentary by Dr. Lenora Fulani See Page 8 . 5 5 : Surprise Engagement!!! 3 Rt R % P T . 3 ¥ ’;5 P 3 R e-‘: ' T | . R ‘“ ’ A it ¥ L R 3 3 S iad B 138 OSR &"’ ey Sk p { PRI / PR (‘f & . o ""-i\ * ) - "“" b £ 8 2 Sk % e L B ’ B v oy IPNI e L D o L * 5 .i.; 3 ' "":ﬁq "; j ORI W k. LR ¢ s aot Al . ’i ""«'*%,,E’gx t}ﬁ?’»~ :m‘g,«“A . : DEANNA BROWN (R), daughter of entertainer James Brown, gets the surprise of her life as Shawn Thomas, a longtime Brown staffer, proposes at Mr. Brown'’s annual Christmas bash. Photolimmy Carter S.C. education czar supportsßeasleyon Rebel flag removal Barbara Nielsen draws fire from other Republicans for supperting governor’s stance. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Education Superin tendent Barbara Nielsen is seeking to build support among educators for Gov. David Beasley’s call to move the Confederate battle flag off the Statehouse, in turn drawing criticism from flag supporters. In a letter sent last week to School Board members, superintendents, princi pals and other administra tors, Nielsen asked them to meet in Columbia on Jan. 13 for a press conference to express support for Beasley. The Legislature’s 1997 session opens the next day. Nielsen, a Republican, said the letter was appro priate for her duties as a statewide elected official. “It’s nodifferent than the Slain rapper’s mother stops sale of goods B Tupac Shakur’s mother forces record company to stop selling hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts with rapper’s image. LOS ANGELES (AP) Death Row Records agreed Friday to stopselling merchandise connected with slainrapstar TupacShakur until a trademark infringe ment lawsuit is resolved. Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur, sued the record com pany in federal court, along with twocompaniesthat made and distributed the hats, T shirts and sweatshirts. She claimed the companies sold theitems without permission. The lawsuit seeks unspeci fied damages. Manufacturer Cronies and distributor Globex alsoagreed Friday to stop filling orders and promised to account for how much profit was made in sales of the items. They IATE iTAGE p) 02 A, GA attorney general speaking out on this,” she said. Nielsen’s involvement gives her the highest pro file among constitutional of ficers supporting Beasley. Attorney General Charlie Condon, a Republican, has denounced the plan to shift the flag to the Confederate monument on the State house grounds. So have many legislators, where any decision on the flag must win approval. “The Department of Edu cation has no business mo bilizing teachers and prin cipals for this legislative is sue,” said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston. An Anderson educator had concerns, too. “From a political stand point, she should be in volved in it. From an edu cation standpoint, I'm not sure I should be involved as a (local appointed) super intendent,” said Reggie Christopher, superinten dent of Anderson District | See OFFICIAL, page 3 promised to deposit potential royalties in a court-moni tored account — up to $350,000 from Cronies and about SIBI,OOO from Globex. Attorneys for the compa nies agreed tothe sales mora torium during a hearing in U.S. District Court. A status conference on the case was set for Jan. 21, Afeni Shakur sued Dec. 13, claiming the companies sold millions worth of the merchandise by advertising theitemsin aflierinside the rap star’s 1996 recording All Eyez on Me. Shakur and Death Row Records president Marion “Suge” Knight were attacked Sept. 7in Las Vegas. Shakur died just days later from bullet wounds suffered inthe drive-by shooting. Knight was slightly wounded. Knight has been jailed since last month, when a judge revoked his state pro bationina 1992 assault case. The 31-year-old wasordered to remain in jail for “diag nosticevaluation” until heis sentenced Feb. 28.