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RAP Media Hypes East-West feud |
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Political savvy
key to Walker
political rise
B State Senator
Charles Walker has
the instincts, courage,
and know-how to com
pete with the big boys
in Atlanta. He’s gone
farther than any
African American
before him.
By Russ Bynum
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer
ATLANTA
Charles Walker doesn’t let mod
esty get in the way when he talks
about his rise to Senate majority
leader, the highest post a black
lawmaker has ever held in the
Georgia Legislature.
“What I have doneis the equiva
lent of being governor if you were
white,” he said.
Balding, broad-shouldered and
wide-eyed, the 49-year-old Walker
won admission tothe Legislature’s
exclusive leadership circle when
Senate Democrats elected him to
be their point man last November.
He gained influence with the
same tactics employed by his white
colleagues — back-slapping, arm
twisting and fund-raising. And he
managed to find middle ground
between the Senate’s black and
white factions by focusingon broad
issues.
“You’re not going to find ... this
kind of leadership position going
to a person who makes a career of
castigating whites for the evils of
the past,” said Charles Bullock, a
political scientist at the Univer
sity of Georgia.
Not that Walker downplays be
ing black. The Georgia flag in his
Capitol office is the pre-1956 ver
sion — before the Confederate
battle emblem was added.
“I go into other people’s office
Bethlehem Genter remodeling cash
stalled pending deed clarification
by Miranda Gastiaburo
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Proof of ownership of the
Bethlehem Community Center’s
two property sites must be settled
before $285,000 in reconstruction
funds can be released to the cen
ter, according to Augusta-Rich
mond Attorney James Wall.
The city is moving cautiously
until center officials can prove the
Women's Division of the General
Board of Global Ministries for the
United Methodist Church, thetra
ditional administrators of the
Bethlehem Center, have no legal
claim to the buildings.
" “The county wanted to be clear
that the United Methodist Church
couldn’t comeback ten yearsdown
the road and claim the property
was theirs,” said attorney Harry
B.James, whorepresents the Cen
ter, -
. Leamon Grier, executive direc
tor of the Bethlehem Center, Inc.,
e et
but attorney Wall is looking for
%etrobclimn Augusta, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
i S
B A T
. B Senator
& Charles
g W.
il B Walker,
Senate
) Majority
4 Leader
and I see the rebel flag,” he ex
plained. “So I want them, when
they comeinhere, ... to see thereal
flag.”
Along with part of Richmond
County, Walker represents his
native Burke County, one of the
state’s poorest.
His father was a sharecropper,
and Walker got his first job selling
peanuts for a commission of three
cents per bag. After saving enough
money, Walker went into business
for himself.
That was the start of the Walker
Group, a conglomerate of busi
nesses that includes a temporary
employment agency, restaurants
and a weekly newspaper, Augusta
Focus.
Walker has been in the Senate
only six years, chairing the Health
and Human Services Committee
until thisyear. His rapid climb has
had its share of slips and scrapes,
with his name coming before the
Senate Ethics Committee twice.
In 1994, welfare advocate Sandra
Robertson accused Walker of curs
ing at welfare recipients who were
lobbying outside his office and of
shoving her out of an elevator.
Walker denied any wrongdoing,
and a subcommittee of the Ethics
Committee dismissed her com
plaint.
In 1995, Walker asked the Eth
ics Committee to decideif he had a
See WALKER, page 9
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The Bethiehem Community Center,
Inc. is one of the oldest African-
American community centers in the
state. Its financial status is in limbo.
G REES LY
| ATTORNEY ARGUES
City drug-testing
policy not followed
M The attorney for a man who lost
his job as a city bus driver charged
that Richmond County policy was
not followed and the collection sites
are not authorized.
| By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
| AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
! AUGUSTA
| Inwhat may well have been the precursor toalegal
' challenge to the city’s drug-testing policies and pro
cedures, the attorney for Keith Wells, a former bus
; driver fired for failing a drug test, blasted the city for
| alleged departures from the established guidelines
| for collecting and handling urine samples.
| “The[Richmond County] guidelines have not been
| followed,” argued Elizabeth Calhoun before an Au
l gusta Public Transit Personnel committee. Ms.
I Calhoun made the charge on Wednesday after hear
| ing the testimony of University Hospital personnel
| in charge of the collection and handling of samples
| target for drug testing.
. Ms. Calhoun questioned the apparent departure
| from strict security measures outlined in the city
| county drug policy. Among the areas of concern for
. Ms. Calhoun were the security of the room where the
' samples are. stored awaiting’ transportation, the
| proper affixing of signatures on permanent records,
1 adherence to strict time limitations for handling
| specimens. Further, Ms. Calhoun charged that Uni
| versity Hospital has not been designated as a certi
' fied and approved collection facility.
l Mr. Wells was fired from city employment in
| November after a routine post-accident urine sample
| tested positive for THC —the active ingredient in
| marijuana. Under the city’s zero-tolerance drug
| policy, Mr. Wells had to be let go, despite no previous
offenses. A subsequent drug test done at an indepen
! dent lab at Mr. Wells’ expense tested negative, but
1 the results carried no weight with city officials who
| require that a test be performed on the original
| sample within a 72-hour time period.
| Mr. Wells is convinced that a mistake had been
' made, but city officials argue that their collection
‘ and testing procedures are foolproof. Ms. Calhoun
! took direct aim at those procedures.
At one point, she challenged a medical expert who
| argued that marijuana could beout of an individual’s
! system in 72 hours. Mr. Wells’ alternative test was
| conducted outside of the 72-hour limit and not
' considered valid.
legal assurances. Relations be
tween Mr. Grier and the church
overseers have never been cordial.
In fact, Mr. Grier does not receive
a salary from the church as have
past executive directors. The
breach between the Center and
the church may be irreparable,
but Mr. Grier claims the Center
for the black community — its
historical trustees. He has pulled
together a new board of directors
and is eager to continue sponsor
ing programs needed by the com
munity.
A part of the funds would be
used to create a museum dedi
cated to teaching areayouth about
the contributions of blood, sweat
and tearsofindividualsin the past,
Mr. Grier said.
“These people—of all races—
worked for the betterment of Afri
can Americans in the area. We
‘want those contributions never to
be forgotten,” he said.
One of the difficulties in settling
the matter is the clarity of deeds
for the two properties of the Cen
ter. Deeds dated from 1975 to
See CENTER, page 9
Namsanny .
And the Augusta Ballet 12
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ATTORNEY ELIZABETH CALHOUN questions medical workers who
collect and handle specimans headed for drug testing at a remote
location. Photo by F. Benjamin
While the committee listened to Ms.
Calhoun’s appeal and her client’s plea for
fairness, they said they were bound touphold
city policy. Any challenges to that policy
would be more appropriate in a court of law.
The zero-tolerance pelicy has come under
L.A. police chief ousted
LOS ANGELES
(AP) Police Chief Willie Williams, who
was brought in to restore confidence in the
force after the Rodney King riots, should
not be given a second term because he has
not been an effective leader, the police com
mission said Monday.
The city needs a chief who can gain the
respect of the public as well as the
department’s 12,000 officers, said Ray
Fisher, president of the civilian oversight
panel of mayoral appointees.
Williams, 53, “did not take steps to be
come arespected leaderin thedepartment,”
Fisher told a news conference, even though
his approval rating has risen and crime and
police complaints have dropped since his
INSIDE
It’s a
Quest
Weekend
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B Local/Regional New5............c.cccruee 3
B Living i bbb ek DS
B ARTDbeat ........ .cocoiunnsensccnsinnees 12-13
B Church News...........cccccecnrunnee. 14-16
B Classifieds/Employment ........ 19-21
criticism lately as increasing numbers of
city employees have had tobe let go because
of positive drug tests. If the committee
uphelds the firing, further legal challenges
may be forthcoming — not in a committee
room, but before a judge and jury.
arrival.
Williams held his own brief news confer
ence. ;
“I’'m deeply disappointed,” he said, and
vowed to remain focused on leading the
department. He did not say what he might
do to fight the decision.
The city’s first black police chief “does
not have the confidence of this board to
serve for the next five years,” said Fisher,
who didn’t name any candidates to replace
Williams.
Mayor Richard Riordan backed the com
mission and suggested Deputy Chief Ber
nard Parks, a black 32-year veteran of the
LAPD, be appointed interim chief when
Williams’ contract ends July 6.
Local NAACP
hoping to
bounce back
B After months of internal
bickering nearly crippled the
effectiveness of the organization,
new leadership has been installed.
By Gloria Melor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
There is no listing for
the Augusta Area NAACP
in the phone directory.
The building that once
housed the headquarters
for the local branch is
boarded up.
Internal bickering, over
the past few months, be
tween the previous presi
dent, Tom Edwards, and
membersof the Executive
Board nearly crippled the
organization.
The new president, the
Reverend Albert Walker,
is optimistic that, with a
new board of directors, the
organization can move
' “The NAACP is about
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AUGUSTA, GA
serving, whether politi
cally, economically, or
socially, and that’s what
I’'m about. I want the
NAACP tobe what it was
meant to be — an advo
cate for the people,” the
Rev. Walker said.
Along with the Rev.
Walker, pastor of Liberty
Baptist Church, the Rev
erend Benny Holmes,
pastor of Doyle Grove
Baptist Church, was
elected first vice-presi
dent, and Attorney
Ronald Garnett was
elected second vice-presi
dent.
A priority for the new
regime is locating new
headquarters.
" Confusion about the
See NAACP, page 3