Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 21 NUMBER 1034
Terrorism and the
struggle for peace
new «ind of war on poverty
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MISS COLOMBIA, Vanessa Alexandra Mendoza, shows
off her new crown on the beaches of Cartagena, about
400 miles north of Bogota, the day after winning the
national beauty pageant on Monday, Nov. 12, 2001.
Mendoza has broken a rigid color barrier in Colombia,
becoming the first black woman to win the national
beauty pageant. AP Photo/El Tiempo
Paine students hold vigil for
classmate who cheated death
By Shun Norris
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
On a Friday night, no col
lege student dares to sit in his
dorm room when there is a
fraternity step show and a
party to remember in the
works. The harmless college
fun came to a near-tragic end
early Saturday morningwhen
a car accident on John
Calhoun Expressway left one
injured.
According to police reports,
the accident occurred on No
vember 10 at 4:56 a.m, when
the driver of a 1997 Honda
Civic lost control of his car.
- The car swerved across the
leftlane and struck the center
Serving Metropolitan gAulgusm, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
median concrete barrier and
began to flip, according to an
investigation by Richmond
County sheriff’s Deputy Blaise
Dresser.
The driver of the car,
Leonard Victor Hammond, 22,
of 950 Stevens Creek Road,
suffered massive head trauma
-and was pronounced dead on
thescenebut waslater revived
at the Medical College of Geor
gia Hospital. :
News of the accident not
only reached immediate fam
ily, but the Paine College cam
pus where Victor attends, ma
joring in Business. Informa
tion Systems. Closefriendsand
to show support by visi
sending flowers and cards.
NOVEMBER 15 - 21, 2001 (
Locals seek role
in remap effort
BSchool board members,
county commissioners
to tackle redistricting
puzzle.
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Though the county Redistricting
Committee which convened for thefirst
time in Augusta on Nov. 9 is made up
of mostly local representatives, it re
mains to be seen just how much input
local elected officials will ultimately
have in the complicated process of
redrawing - Augusta-Richmond
County’s voting district lines.
Trustees Barbara Padgett and Helen
Minchew hope to draft a final package
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Columbia Co. jailers
deny rape of inmate
BWoman cries for out
side help, but sheriff says
her charge has no merit.
By Rhonda Jones :
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
She said she was raped. «
When Tonjala Freeney telephoned
the newsroom of Augusta Focus sev
eral weeks ago, it was with a story of
beingassaulted by threedeputiesina
holding cell at the Columbia County
Detention Center.
That telephone call was followed by
aletter dated Nov. 4. “I’m not able to
use the phone so I was not able to call
Many students
are still in shock
about what hap
penedandaretry-
ing to find ways
to deal with the
event.
Candice
Hillman, a junior
at Paine College,
shares her reac
tion.
“I heard about
itSaturday morn
ing around 11
o’clock. I couldn’t believe it. What?!?
Vic?!? I mean, I had just seen him at
the party,” she said.
When close friend Kariem Amos
talks about what happened to Victor,
hespeaksin a solemn and quiet voice,
“I'm yery hurt, Vic is one of my best
Victor Hammond
revived after being
pronounced dead.
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R R W e’
new release 8o o B
in Augusta that will be adopted out
right once it travels to Atlanta.
“We’re the local representation in
Richmond County,” Minchew said. “In
working with them (state reps) I don’t
know why it would be a starting point.
It seemed to me that when it (the
committee) was formed, it was for the
purpose oftryingtoget it resolved here.
Maybe the state legislature wants to
still have the option of making changes
on it when it goes to Atlanta. Maybe
theydon’t feellike they can commit, but
I’'m hoping it can be worked out.”
But state Representative Henry
Howard doesn’t quite see it that way.
While he is interested in hearing from
the locals, he thinks redistricting is
ultimately a job for himself and his
colleagues at the state level. “We’ve
See REDISTRICTING, page 3A
you back,” the letter states. “But this
is how it happen(ed).”
It was a Friday, Freeney writes,
havingremembered the detail because
theinmates were served fish. Freeney
is allergic to fish, she says, and spoke
to the sergeant on duty about it. The
interchangebetween them landed her
in holding cell H-5, she said, just after
midnight. Someone on the next shift,
she writes, which she calls C Shift,
moved her to H-2, which she described
asaroom with nowindows other than
the one in the door. H-5, she said, has
two windows in addition to the one in
the door.
“So now I’'m in H-2,” she writes.
“First I wrote a letter then I started
See INMATE, page 3A
friends, he’s like a brother to me.
We’re going through college together
and we’ve been through so much to
gether. I love him like a brother, for
real. I wouldn’t wish this situation on
anyone,” he replied.
Mr. Paine College 2001-2002
DeMarlo West is surprised that the
accident happened to someone he en
counters everyday.
“My first reaction was that I was
very shocked. I was rather hurt to
know that a good friend of minewasin
an accident, and I'd just spoken with
him earlier that day. I’'m hoping that
everything will be okay, I’'m praying
for him and I know that everything
will work out for him. I'm still in
shock, but I know that things happen
and they happen for reason. And maybe
See STUDENT, page 2A
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MILESTONE: Bishop of Belleville Wilton
Gregory celebrates a mass in this Jan.
18, 1998 file photo, for Martin Luther
King J'sbirthday ai a church in East St §
Louis, Mo. The United States Confer
ence of Catholic Bishops elected Gre
gory as its first black president during
a four-day meeting that began Mon
day, Nov. 12, 2001. AP Photo/Belleville News-
Democrat, Christina Macias, File
Feds cite
hias at SRS
AIKEN, S.C.
(AP) A federal agency has found four
contractors at the Savannah River Site
discriminated against black employeesand
said a racially hostile work environment
existed at the nuclear weapons site.
Evidence showed a pattern and practice of
discrimination against blacks according to
an Equal Employment Opportunity Com
mission letter of determination issued Oct.
24.
Complaints were filed by 93 SRS employ
ees against Westinghouse Savannah River
Co., the site’s top contractor, and subcon
tractors Bechtel Savannah River Inc.,
BWXT Savannah River Co. and British
Nuclear Fuels Ltd. Savannah River Corp.
The employees are among 99 SRS work
ers whohave filed federal racial discrimina
tion lawsuits against the contractors.
The workers wanted class-action status
for the suit, but a U.S. District Court judge
denied their motion.
Westinghousedisagrees with the EEOC’s
findings and plans to ask the agency to
review the cases.
The company does not understand why
the EEOC took action now because it has
been discussing resolving cases with indi
vidual plaintiffs for more than a year, said
Will Callicott, a Westinghouse spokesman.
Auburn fraternity
chapter dishanded
after racial incident
| AUBURN, Ala.
(AP) The only black member of the Au
burn University Board of Trustees says he
will not wear Auburn clothing until the
university makes a strong response to ra
cially offensive conduct of two fraternities.
“lam probably the most influential black
man on thiscampus, and thisis the timefor
Auburn to defend me, to protect me,” said
Byron Franklin, a former Auburn and pro-
See AUBURN, page2A
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