Newspaper Page Text
February 20 - 26, 2003
VOL. 22 No. 1098
FIFTY CENTS
In this edition
24-page Special
Black History
insert
S N eRAT oe s Sty bT A
= e y % oy
W *Efl e oot P
v
N = v
TR Ao e T e e
g .Lfiflgd,&* X |
t, ! Ak i I
Serena hreaks
new ground in
calendar
f’g
Serena Williams poses for
Sports lllustrated's swim
suit edition which hit
newsstands this week. AP
Photo courtesy Sports lllustrat
ed/Walter looss Jr.
Annual Heritage
Ball honors
Percy Ricks,
military pioneer
The African American Asso
ciaticon of Auallsta, Inc. will
present its 11'® Annual Her
itage Ball on Friday, February
28, 2003 at the historic Mar
bury Center, 1257 Broad
Street, from 8 p.m. until.
Admission will be a contribu
tion of S2O. Heavy hors d’oeu
vres and the live band ‘Just
Us” will also be highlights.
This year, the ball will be
held posthumously in honor of
local resident Percy D. Ricks
dJr., the first black noncommis
sioned officer to preside over
an integrated Army unit when
he was Promoted in 1946.
Then 15' Sgt. Ricks made
American military history in a
heavily segregated Army.
Since that time, his story has
been featured in the February
19, 1984 issue of Parade Mag
azine and produced in a docu
mentary around 1991.
The Fort Gordon Signal
Corps Museum has named a
room in honor of Ricks, the
18t Sgt. Percy D. Ricks Room,
which was dedicated on Satur
day, January 26, 2002.
Paine College
offers Career Fair
Paine College will host
Career Fair 2003 on Thursday,
‘February 20, 2003, from 8:30
am. to 12:30 p.m. in the
Carter gymnasium. Informa
tion will be available on
employment in the areas of
business administration,
humanities, education, social
sciences, natural sciences and
mathematics. -
Augusta Focus
Blood infection claims life of /15"
ie B *
. , By Theresa Minor .
- ' £ AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
- s AUGUSTA
didl” Augusta State University
officials are hoping to calm
. concerns over a student’s
% “%;% J#“'j death from a rare and poten-
City agrees to ANIC
By Shun Norris
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer *
AUGUSTA
After months of debate
between county commissioners
concerning where to locate the
administrative offices of
the fire department and
fire chief Al Gillespie’s
vocal opposition to a
Laney-Walker Boulevard
site, the offices will in fact
be moving to Laney-Walk
er Boulevard in the new
Augusta Neighborhood
Improvement Corpora
tion (ANIC) building.
Commissioners voted to
extend a lease agreement
with ANIC from one to
three years and to waive
all penalty fees that may
have accrued because of
the late construction
start on the building.
Supporters of the revi
talization of Laney-Walk
er Boulevard attended in
large numbers to keep an
eye on the voting. Com
missioner Bobby Hanker
son, who has been an
advocate for allowing the
fire department adminis-
tration to wait to move
until after the planned head
quarters have been construct
ed in the Highland Avenue
area, tried to clear up a percep
tion that he was trying to get
out of the agreement to locate
the fire department headquar
ters on Laney-Walker.
“I was very concerned about
it, there were no intentions of
calling for a territorial war,”
said Hankerson. “What I
thought would be cost savings
is the fire administration build
ing be moved directly to High
land Avenue. It was not against
anything being on Laney-Walk
er.”
The explanation was met by
disgruntled' murmurs from
onlookers who turned out in
support of the Laney-Walker
community. The response was
perhaps for good reason. The
city has promised to assist in
Lewis: Paine on solid financial ground
By Theresa Minor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
What’s in a name? Plenty if you
are Paine College and being con
fused for Payne Theological Semi
nary, an institution on the brink of
closing down.
During a national broadcast
entitled “Tavis Smiley presents
The State of the Black Union IV,
The Black Church” on C-Span, a
guest panelist and professor at
Atlanta’s Interdenominational
Theological Center, Dr. Carolyn
Knight, erroneously referred to
Paine College among the histori
cally black colleges that are “on
the ropes and about to go under in
a matter of weeks.” i
Paine College president, Dr.
Shirley A.R. Lewis, says since that
broadcast her office has been inun
dated with phone calls and e-mails
of people alarmed by the state
ASU and health officials address concerns
about a student’s death from an infectious
disease. Pictured left to right are Jane
Oglesby, Richmond County Health Depart
ment and Dr. Joyce Jones, Dean of Stu
dents. Photo by Theresa Minor
“l was very concerned about it,
there were no intentions of calling for
a territorial war.” — Bobby Hankerson.
T
i S
g
¥ | Re 4 AR
L s : E ‘_ i A - : " J rfm
e L v . B T 3
e , o o )
- ¥ L ' ” Sl b
# 3 e
g
o N
P
e=% S [ P
1 obfi ~‘ et g s iy
P %\Sfi“ s : : LA
s, vR TR gy P R > 3 » i S 5
m»% : e oy
S e R g P < i
’ ? = ‘ ’
Re, AR e R
Supporters of the revitalizatiion of the Laney-Walker area
aftend the commission meeting held on Tuesday, February 18,
2003. Photo by Shun Norris
the economic development and
revitalization of Laney-Walker
and some city officials and
Laney-Walker residents alike
feel the fire department reloca
tion is part of that commit
ment. A lease was -finally
signed with ANIC to: house
Housing and Neighborhood
Development and the city’s fire
administrative offices in a $1.4
million, 17,000 square foot
building.
Chief Gillespie, who was pre
viously opposed to the idea,
accepted the vote saying sim
ply,
“I look forward to having a
new office building.”
Meanwhile, commissioners
voted to amend a protest ordi
nance that they say would pro
tect a protestor’s civil rights.
The vote to change an existing
ordinance has been deadlocked
with white commissioners vot-
ment.
“What has happened is all across
the country people are calling us
and asking why didn’t we tell
them we were about to go under.
We gratefully accept all gifts and
donations, of course. But what we
want you to know is that we are
not on the ropes,” said Lewis at a
news conference called by college
officials to set the record straight.
Lewis pointed to the many aca
demic and fiscal achievements of
the college to sway any notion that
the statement made by Knight was
true. She pointed to a letter of
apology from Knight in which she
stated, “ .. I was referring to
Payne Theological Seminary in
Cincinnati, Ohio ...” . :
“I don’t think her intent was
malicious, It’s just the impact is so
Lewis says the student body m
error. admits that while it is
tially contagious blood borne
infection known as meningo
. Twenty-year old Casey
Bentley was diagnosed with
the disease last weekend and
passed away on Tuesday, just
two days later. According to
university officials, people
who have had direct contact
with Bentley may be at a
slight risk of contracting the
infection which is caused by
the same bacteria as the more
widely known meningitis.
“It’s not easily contracted.
ing for the change and the
blacks voting against. The ordi
nance cleared the hurdle with a
tie breaking vote cast by mayor
Bob Young.
The ordinance, drafted by
city attorney dJim Wall,
requires those who wish to
demonstrate to apply for a per
mit 20 days before the date of
protest. The sheriff has to
reply within seven days. If the
permit is denied, the sheriff
must give valid reason to the
applicant. The approval comes
just months before the annual
Master’s tournament in April
during which Martha Burk,
chairwoman of the National
Council of Women’s Organiza
tions, along with Jesse Jackson
and his Rainbow/PUSH Coali
tion, have promised to protest
to draw attention to the men
only admissions policy at the
Augusta National.
Dr. Shirley A.R. Lewis, Paine College président, sets the record
straight about a national broadcast suggesting the college was
in trouble. Lewis says it is a matiter of mistaken identity.
Photo by Theresa Minor ; :
true that institutions like Morris
Brown College are struggling,
Lewis cautions against “alarmist
We're not saying all 6,000
students at Augusta. Sfita
will have to go out and get'a
vaccination. But if théy’ve
had prolonged contact with
Casey they should consult a
doctor,” said Joyce Jones,
Dean of Students. -
About 80 -students who
attended classes with Bentley
have been alerted to consult a
physician if they experience
symptoms of the disease that
mimic symptoms of the flu —
See BLOOD INFECTION, 3A
Hankerson
denies
conspiracy
to thwart
Craig probe
By Shun Norris
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
An effort calling for an investigation
into the questionable involvement of a
confessed child molester with district
attorney Danny Craig, Sen. Don Cheeks
and Superior Court Judge Carl Brown fell
short. The failed effort has some criticiz
ing commissioner Bobby Hankerson for
refusing to vote on the matter.
The resolution is the result of a much
publicized attempt by Cheeks, who,
through a series of phone calls to Craig
and Brown, tried to fix it so that Bobby
Clark Brassell Jr. would not have to regis
ter as a sex offender.
Commissioner Richard Colclough intro
duced the resolution to “restore confi
dence” in elected officials. In addition to
seeking an investigation, the resolution
also put forth five questions including
when did Sen. Cheeks become involved
and why was Brassell’s felony child
molestation charge reduced to sexual bat
tery, a misdemeanor. _
“Child molestation is a serious thing to
me and it’s very crucial. That’s why I put
this resolution together,” said Colclough.
But the issue was apparently not seri
ous enough for commissioner Hankerson
to vote, one way or the other. He
abstained citing a lack of information.
Sources close to the commission, however,
insist that Hankerson is being influenced
by a group of commissioners who quietly
worked to thwart an investigation. When
contacted by the Augusta Focus, Hanker
son denied the accusation.
“That’s untrue,” he said. “I didn’t talk
to anybody about that resolution before.
Nobody told me not to vote. If I wanted to
vote with one particular party I would
have voted one way or the other but I
needed more information on what was
See COMMISSIONERS, 3A
fundraising” as a way to garner
financial support for these institu
tions.
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
AUGUSTA GA
PERMIT NO 302