BYCHARLENE CROWELL(NNPA) With Baby

Boomers continuing to in-crease America’s agingpopulation, elder issues arealso broadening. The day-to-day concerns of olderAmericans often imposeshifting priorities includingconvenient access to qual-ity medical care and pre-

serving independent living.Yet how well many retireesfinancially adjust to fixedincome living can be achallenge when bills arrivefor medical treatment ormajor home repairs.

When black elderlyhomeowners aged 62 orolder are heavily relyingupon Social Security and

facing a resulting “cash-poor” environment, a re-verse mortgage – a loanagainst the value of thehome -- may be a way tocover the cost of emergen-cies. Eligible residences in-clude single-family, dwel-lings units in townhomesor condominiums, or twoto four unit properties

owned and occupied by theborrower.

But as with any con-sumer lending product, itremains important to fullyunderstand the terms andresponsibilities before sig-ning on the dotted line.

A reverse mortgage is a

BYBENJAMIN F. CHAVIS JR.(NNPA) Be careful on

what you pray for, be-cause God will answeryour prayers. Millions ofAfrican Americans andothers prayed for a Presi-dent of the United Stateswho would lead Americain a more just and fair di-rection both domesticallyand internationally. Manybelieved two years agothat the world wouldnever witness a Black

man and woman in theWhite House.

Unless we are tooquick to forget, prior tooNovember 2008, the U.S.economy, world image,and national social divi-sions were all in prettybad shape after eight yearsof failed leadership fromPresident George W.Bush. Today as we ap-proach the mid-term 2010

Volume XIX, Number XXXIX

Your Paper, Your Opportunity...

Visit Us Online at www.NorthDallasGazette.com

DariusMcCrary Dr. Karen Prager JenniferCox

People In The News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Op/Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Community News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Arts & Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Career Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Church Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Sister Tarpley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 See Page 2

INSIDE... People In The News…

COMM

ENTARY

See WALTERS, Page 9

COVERSTORY

Founded 1991

.com

See LEADERSHIP, Page 3

Dr. Ron Walters:‘Scholarly Giant’

NNPA Columnist Just‘Never Stopped’

PresidentBarack H.

Obama’s StrongLeadership

Plano Community Forum29th Annual Awards Banquet

Kanye West and Taylor Swiftreturn to the VMA Stage

Understanding reverse mortgages

September 16 - 22, 2010

For more information see pg. 7www.northdallasgazette.com

(NDGWire) The TexasAssociation of AfricanAmerican Chambers ofCommerce (TAAACC)will host its 10th AnnualConference -- “Chartingthe Changing EconomicFace of Texas” -- Septem-ber 17-18, 2010 at theAustin North Marriott

(2600 La Frontera Blvd.Round Rock, TX).

Representing the inter-ests of nearly thirty Blackchambers across the state,TAAACC will convene anoutstanding line-up ofworkshops and seminarsaddressing small businessissues, contracting oppor-

tunities and professionaldevelopment for chamberofficials. The HUBVendorFair will feature state agen-cies with which TAAACChas current memoranda ofcooperation (MOC), aswell as businesses fromacross the state taking ad-vantage of the opportunity

to speak directly to theagencies, chambers andtheir members.

“We are working dili-gently to move the issuesimportant to Black-ownedbusinesses to higher visi-bility,” said TAAACC

SeeMORTGAGES, Page 12

See CHAMBERS, Page 11

Black Chambers hostingannual conference this weekend

(NDGWire) The PlanoCommunity Forum (PCF)presents the 29th AnnualAwards Banquet with thisyear’s theme, “Bridging theGap In The 21st Century:Parent, Child, and TeacherConnection.” PCF spon-sors an annual awards ban-

quet to recognize outstand-ing achievement by indi-viduals, business owners,educators and communityvolunteers.

The banquet will recog-nize PCF’s 2010 Dr. Mar-tin Luther King, Jr. Schol-arship recipients. Scholar-

ships totaling $12,500 wereawarded to 13 graduatingseniors in the Plano Inde-pendent School District.

The scholarship recipi-ents this year are: AndrewAustin, Ashley Garner,Marissa Jones, ChristianOz, Maryanne Miller, Ariel

Bowman, Sophia Felek,Nehal Mubarak, GabrielleWalters-Stinnett, DianaGodana, Chelsia Reeves,Michelle Ejimakor andCindy Wang. Since 1983,the PCF has awarded

See BANQUET, Page 5

(NDG Wire) JenniferTravis Cox, a MethodistDallas transplant recipientand Cedar Hill author,knows a thing or two aboutliving with chronic illness.Her husband was told hiskidneys were failing, andeventually had to go on dial-ysis. Later, he developed

prostate cancer and conges-tive heart failure. Next, shelearned she had chronic kid-ney disease and would needa transplant. Then her 5-yearold daughter was diagnosedwith Lupus.

In fact, Cox had herdaughter Tiffany in mindwhen she named her book,

Broken Dolls -Gathering thePieces. “When Iwas little, I had adelicate porcelaindoll whose facewas cracked,” saysCox.

“I was crush-ed.” When Tiffanybecame ill, she feltlike once again herbeautiful little doll,her daughter, wasbroken.

Cox who hassince had a trans-

plant at Methodist DallasMedical Center and is anavid organ donation advo-cate, likened living withchronic disease to one of herfavorite fairy tales,Goldilocks.

“Like Goldilocks, ourfamily had an intruder—anuninvited guest, and thatguest was chronic illness.We didn’t invite the intruder,but it touched the lives ofeveryone in our home.”

While speaking at theSenior Access event atMethodist Charlton, Coxshared some tips for dealingwith chronic illness.

• Connect with some-one who has the same dis-ease--someone who is fur-ther along and has God-given wisdom--to share andencourage you.

• Join a support groupwhere you can talk andshare your heart.

• Fight hard to not havea pity party and be de-

pressed. At her house theyhad a ten-minute rule. Youhad 10 minutes to cry, run,and do whatever you neededto, but then you had to getback to the business of liv-ing.

• Examine your treat-ment options, be compliant,and take your medicationsas prescribed.

• Educate yourselfabout the disease. Go online,or get info from the doctor.

• Take someone toyour appointments with youwho can listen and help youdigest the deluge of infor-mation you will be receivingfrom the doctor and care-givers. Write down yourquestions beforehand. Thenwrite down the answers.

• Learn to make thedisease a part of your life,but not your whole life.Learn how to fit it in. Do notlet it take over your life.

• On the days whenyou feel good, do the things

you like to do. Go places,spend time with your friendsand the people you love.

• Be kind to your care-

givers. Say thank you andplease.

• Encourage someone

(NDG Wire) An esti-mated 57 million Ameri-cans – about one in fouradults – suffer from a diag-nosable mental disorder in agiven year. This fall’s Gen-der Studies Lecture Seriesaddresses the importance ofmental health awareness inwomen.

“For the upcoming lec-ture series, we decided tofocus on depression inwomen in part because ofits prevalence,” said Dr.Karen Prager, professor ofpsychology and head of the

Gender Studies program.“Studies show that womenare diagnosed with depres-sion twice as often as menand are at least two times aslikely to attempt suicide.”

Julie Hersh begins theseries at 5:30 p.m. onThursday, Sept. 23, in theMcDermott Suite (MC4.404) of the McDermottLibrary. Hersh is an advo-cate for mental healthawareness and author ofStruck by Living, a personalnarration of searching foridentity through a career,

marriage, motherhood andthe edges of suicide.

“My goal with Struck by

Living is to dispelthe stigma associ-ated with mentalillness and makeit more real forthose who havenever experienceddepression,” saidHersh.

Dr. Anna R.Brandon will con-tinue the conver-sation with a lec-ture entitled ThePsycho log i ca lTransition toMotherhood and

Perinatal Depression, at5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct.7, also in the McDermott

Suite. Brandon is a licensedclinical psychologist andassistant professor of psy-chiatry at the Women’sMental Health Center at theUniversity of Texas South-western Medical Center.

Specializing in moodand anxiety disorders oc-curring across women’s re-productive events, Brandonis funded by both the Na-tional Institute of MentalHealth (NIMH) for her de-velopment and investiga-tion of Partner-AssistedTherapy (PAT) for perinataldepression and by the Na-tional Institutes of Health(NIH) for a pilot qualitative

project identifying the ethi-cal challenges to conduct-ing controlled research withpregnant women.

Brandon recently re-ceived the 2010 March ofDimes Young ScholarAward in PerinatalBioethics for the paper, Eth-ical Barriers to PerinatalMental Health Researchand Evidence Based Treat-ment: An Empirical Study.

The Gender StudiesLecture Series is sponsoredby the School of Interdisci-plinary Studies GenderStudies program and theCarolyn Lipshy GalersteinWomen’s Center.

Best known for his roleas Eddie Winslow on thelong-running television se-ries Family Matters, thisactor, singer, songwriter,producer and top-rated soapopera Young and the Rest-less star brings over 24years of experience to thelead role as “prodigal son”Daniel Rhodes in the up-coming film Church.

The must see faith-based independent film ofthe season for all movie-goers interested in family

friendly entertainment is themusical, Church, an inspir-ing story of faith, redemp-tion and forgiveness.

He began his career inHollywood at the age often. McCrary, who is also asongwriter and music pro-ducer, is the son of Gram-my-nominated gospel/jazzmusician Howard McCraryand older brother of actorDonovan McCrary.

McCrary has also star-red as a series regular onNBC's Committed as Bowie

James and later as Jamal inUPN's Eve. He also ap-peared on the small screenin the NBC/Paramountminiseries Kingpin, onHBO's multi-award-win-ning Don King: Only inAmerica, starring VingRhames, and in the popularNeal Israel-directed Kidz inthe Woods.

On film, McCrary por-trayed Malcolm Tremell inThe Maintenance Man,based on the novel by au-thor Michael Baisden; hewas Ray Collins in Vam-pires: Los Muertos, the se-quel to John Carpenter's

original Vampires; Detec-tive Tommy Cullen in 15Minutes; and Aaron Wil-liams in Mississippi Burn-ing. Other film credits in-clude Hostage, Somethingto Sing About, KingdomCome, The Breaks, ParkDay and Big Shots.

Darius McCrary playsautobot Jazz, First Lieu-tenant to Optimus Prime in2007's 3rd of July block-buster Transformers. Mc-Crary will soon be seen inthe musical comedy Step-pin': The Movie, costarringAnthony Anderson, Mo'-Nique and James Avery, on

which he also serves as co-producer; A Good Man isHard to Find with Lance E.Nichols; and Next Day Airwith Mos Def, DebbieAllen, Donald Faison, andMike Epps. All three filmsare in post-production andslated for 2008 release.Darius just completed histheatre tour of Rumorswhich he played the starringrole of Marcus. Coinciden-tally, he also plays the star-ring role of Marcus in therecently completed pilot ofThe Life and Times of Mar-cus Felony Brown for TheWayans Bros. production.

McCrary is an amazingsinger, musician, producer,songwriter and danceramong other things and isfinally ready to share histalents with the world.

People in the News www.NorthDallasGazette.com

Dr. Karen Prager

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2 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

See COX, Page 7

DariusMcCrary

Jennifer Cox

BY ROBERT FRANKLINNDG SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR

One of the maxims ofdemocratic government isthat the voting public must besufficiently informed on theissues they are deciding. Un-fortunately, the reality is thatthe voting public is often un-informed of those issues.This lack of information isone of the driving forces be-hind low voter turnout in theUnited States. Potential vot-ers often stay away from thepolls because they feel unin-formed about candidates andissues. In low turnout elec-tions, those that do vote aregenerally considered themore politically aware, andtherefore should make theright decisions for the rest ofsociety.

Political scientists havebeen studying the behaviorsof voters for decades. Recentstudies and experiments havehighlighted an even more im-

portant problem than the un-informed voter and that is themisinformed voter. Manyregular voters base their pol-icy choices on false, mislead-ing or unsubstantiated infor-mation that they believe to betrue. A University of Michi-gan study (Nyhan and Rei-fler, 2009) has attempted toquantify whether these mis-informed voters would cor-rect their views when con-fronted with irrefutable evi-dence demonstrating theirmisperception or error.

The results of the studyare disheartening. It appearsthat most people will notchange their perception whenconfronted with fact that con-flicts with their beliefs.Some people actually in-crease the strength of theirbeliefs when presented withproof of their error. Politicalideologues are the worst of-fenders, in that they are leastlikely to change a position

when confronted with proofof their misperception. Onlya small number of liberalswill change their position toconform with fact; an evensmaller number of conserva-tives will change their erro-neous positions. Among con-servatives, there exists aneven more dangerous result,referred to as ‘backfire.’These holders of strong ideo-logical positions will actuallystrengthen their mispercep-tion when shown their posi-tion is based on factual error.

The study draws someconclusions that need to betaken seriously. First, strongconservative ideologues arethe least likely to changetheir position when con-fronted with factual contra-dictions to their positions,and are more likely tostrengthen their erroneousposition. Strong liberal ide-ologues are just slightly morelikely to change their posi-

tion, but just barely. The cen-trists or moderates are thegroup most likely to alter aposition when confrontedwith factual contradictionsSecond, corrective informa-tion rarely reduces the mis-perceptions; once a misper-ception is adopted by a per-son, they are very unlikely tochange their position no mat-ter how convincing the factscontradict their politicalviews. Third, the more polit-ically ideological the individ-ual, the more dogmatic theybecome. It appears that themoderate or centrist voter isthe one most likely to changea position based on misper-ception.

The entire report, includ-ing methods and findings,can be found at personal.umich.edu/~bnyhan/nyhan-reifler.pdf. Robert Franklin isa member of the North Dal-las Texas DemocraticWomen www.nddw.org

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Op-Ed

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette | 3

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Uninformed or misinformedWhich is a greater danger to democracy?

LEADERSHIP, continued fromPage 1elections across the UnitedStates, it is very importantfor us not to lose our mem-ory or sense of perspective.This is also certainly notthe time to become compla-cent or to take the impor-tance of voting for granted.

Yes, the vast majority ofAfrican Americans areproud of the leadership andprogress that has alreadybeen accomplished by Pres-ident Barack H. Obama.Once again, the vital role ofthe Black press re-emergeson the national scene. Mostof the established media inthe U.S. thrives off of cyni-cism and negative mediacoverage. We believe inobjective reporting and con-structive criticism. Yet, theproblem is there appears tobe more subjective criticismof President Obama than iswarranted after only twoyears in office.

We pause, therefore, tosalute the excellent andthorough broadcast of theTom Joyner Morning Showthat featured PresidentObama live on Friday, Sep-

tember 10, 2010. Joyner’sskilled interview of thePresident exemplified thebest of the Black press tra-dition of providing timelyand crucial information tothe African American andother communities who de-mand more objective truthin the media. Most of all,what was clear from thatbroadcast was the outstand-ing leadership of PresidentObama on a number of keyissues critical to improvingthe quality of life ofAfricanAmericans.

The leadership of apresident is not to be judgedsolely by media coverage orby sheer popularity. Presi-dential leadership should bejudged by how well a pres-ident leads the nation for-ward, not backward. In2010, even with the persist-ent economic and unem-ployment challenges, theU.S. under Obama’s leader-ship has moved in a for-ward, progressive mannerin terms of foreign and do-mestic policies.

It goes without saying

that we understand that thePresident of the UnitedStates has the responsibilityto act and lead in behalf ofall the people of the U.S.One of the reasons why weattest to President Obama’sstrength as a national andworld leader is that while hehas held the office withhigh dignity and integrity,and has well represented allof the people in the U.S., hehas not forgotten about theBlack American commu-nity in terms of public poli-cies, budget allocations, andother governmental actions.

During the Tom JoynerMorning Show interview,President Obama in sum-mary stated, “What we’vebeen trying to do is build anew foundation for eco-nomic growth and prosper-ity in our communities…Now, what we hve doneover the course of two yearsis laid the foundation. Put inplace some key reforms… Imentioned health care re-form. That’s going to meanmillions of African Ameri-cans and Hispanics and

people of every stripeacross the country who didnot have health care… noware going to have healthcare. Number twom interms of one of the keys thatwe’ve always talked aboutin terms of job growth -long term - is education.We have done more to re-form education in our com-munities in the last twoyears than had been done inthe previous 20 years, andthat’s at every level K-12...But it goes all the way up tohigher education, whereHBCUs are getting $850million dollars over the next10 years… So, no we’re notwhere we need to be. But atleast we’re moving for-ward, and what we can’tstart doing is moving back-wards.”

Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.is a national civil rightsleader, Senior Advisor tothe Black Alliance for Edu-cational Options (BAEO)and President of the Educa-tion Online Services Corpo-ration.

4 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

Health www.NorthDallasGazette.com

TRMC-Sunnyvale hostsBe a Friend, Bring a Friend

prostate screenings September 25(NDG Wire) To mark

the September observanceof National ProstateAwareness Month and sup-port the efforts of the na-tional organization ZERO-The Project to End ProstateCancer, Texas RegionalMedical Center at Sunny-vale will offer prostatescreenings at no chargefrom 8-10 a.m. Saturday,Sept. 25.

The most commonlydiagnosed cancer among

men in the United States, anew case is diagnosedevery two minutes and fif-teen seconds, according toNational Cancer Institutestatistics. Estimates are217,730 cases are expectedin 2010.

NCI figures showabout 90 percent ofprostate cancer cases arefound while the cancer isstill either local or regional,and nearly 100 percent ofmen are still alive five

years later.“Regular office visits

and PSAs are important be-cause, often, there are nosymptoms,” said Dr.Nabeel Syed, who is onstaff at TRMC-Sunnyvaleand also works at Associ-ated Urologists in Sunny-vale. “If prostate cancer iscaught early, many optionsare available and prostatecancer can be cured.”

Reservations are re-quired and, as part of

TRMC-Sunnyvale’s Be aFriend, Bring a Friendevent, participants are en-couraged to bring theirfriends along for screen-ings.

A light breakfast andcoffee will be served.

Each participant willundergo a prostate-specificantigen test. To receive aPSA test, call 972-892-3023 or email Guinnis.west@trmcsunnyvale.comby Sept. 24.

PharmaceuticalCollection EventSeptember 25

(NDGWire) September25 is “National Take BackInitiative” Day. The DrugEnforcement Administra-tion (DEA) is coordinatinga one-day collaborative ef-fort with The CarrolltonPolice Department to re-move potentially danger-ous prescription drugs fromCarrollton homes. Collec-tion activities are plannedfrom 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.on Saturday, September 25in the front parking lot ofthe Carrollton Police De-partment (2025 E. JacksonRoad).

The National TakeBack Initiative Day willprovide a unified opportu-nity for the public to sur-render expired, unwantedor unused pharmaceuticalsubstances and other med-ications to law enforcementofficers for destructionsince these substances inhomes are a potentialsource that fuels drug abuseand are a risk to publichealth and safety. Everyone

is encouraged to supportthe initiative and partici-pate with the Carrollton Po-lice Department and theCity of Carrollton in host-ing this effort.

Clean out those medi-cine cabinets. Controlled,non-controlled, and over-the-counter substances maybe collected. No questionsor requests for identifica-tion will be made. Partici-pants may dispose of med-ication in its original con-tainer.

All solid dosage phar-maceutical product and liq-uids in consumer contain-ers will also be accepted.Liquid products, such ascough syrup, should remainsealed in their original con-tainer. Intra-venous solu-tions, injectibles and sy-ringes will not be accepteddue to potential hazardposed by blood-bornepathogens.

For more information,call Officer J. Moore at972-466-3521.

Fly to Napa without leaving Dallasat the 2010 Signature Chefs of Dallas’

Angels & Aces Auction(NDGWire) Visit Napa

Valley without leaving Dal-las at the fifteenth annualMarch of Dimes SignatureChefs of Dallas auctionWednesday, October 13,2010 at the Frontiers ofFlight Museum. This year’sunprecedented event, An-gels & Aces, will featurewine pairings from 40 NapaValley Vintners’ memberwineries along with foodprepared by Lead ChefKent Rathbun and 19 of

Dallas’ signature chefs.In addition to the exqui-

site food tastings and finewines, guests will enjoy“Mystery Magnums” andbig board and live auctionsfeaturing one-of-a-kindpackages prepared by eachparticipating signature chef.

This year’s celebritychefs include:

Kent Rathbun, LeadChef– Abacus, Jasper’s,Rathbun’s Blue PlateKitchen & Zea Woodfire

GrillRichard Chamberlain –

Chamberlain’s Steak &Chop House & Chamber-lain’s Fish Market Grill

David Holben – DelFrisco’s Double EagleSteakhouse

Sara Johannes – FiveSixty by Wolfgang Puck

Stephan Pyles –Stephan Pyles Restaurant &Samar by Stephan Pyles

Jim “Sevy” Severson –Sevy’s Grill

Billy Webb – OpioRestaurant at Hilton ParkCities

The event will be heldWednesday, October 13from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. atthe Frontiers of Flight Mu-seum located at 6911 Lem-mon Avenue in Dallas.Tickets are $300. To pur-chase tickets and for moreinformation contact KatieSperry at 972-669-3463 orksperry@marchofdimes.com.

Public handwashing finally improving(NDGWire) Mom's ad-

vice about cleaning yourhands may finally be start-ing to get through.

In the latest observa-tional study sponsored bythe American Society forMicrobiology and theAmerican Cleaning Insti-tute® (formerly The Soapand DetergentAssociation),85% of adults washed theirhands in public restrooms,compared with 77% in2007. The 85% total wasactually the highest ob-served since these studiesbegan in 1996. The resultswere announced at the In-terscience Conference onAntimicrobial Agents and

Chemotherapy, an infec-tious disease meeting spon-sored by the American So-ciety for Microbiology.

On behalf of ASM andACI, Harris Interactive dis-creetly observed 6,028adults in public restroomsin August 2010 to notewhether or not peoplewashed their hands. Re-searchers returned to six lo-cations in four cities wheretwo previous studies wereconducted: Atlanta (TurnerField), Chicago (Museumof Science and Industry,Shedd Aquarium), NewYork City (Grand CentralStation, Penn Station), andSan Francisco (Ferry Ter-

minal Farmers Market).Men stepped up to the

sink a bit more than theyhave in the past when itcomes to public handwash-ing. More than three-quar-ters of the guys (77%)washed their hands publiclyin 2010, compared to 66%in 2007.

The men still strike outmore on handwashing insporting venues, though.Turner Field by far fieldedthe worst percentage for theguys - barely two-thirds(65%) - though that's stillbetter than just 57% in2007. Perhaps as a counterto the men's poor hand-washing practices, Turner

Field brought out the best inwomen's handwashingamong all venues: 98%.

Overall, the rate ofwomen washing their handsin public restrooms im-proved from 88% in 2007to 93% in 2010.

"We are really pleasedto see these results, whichsuggest that our campaignis being effective," saidASM spokesperson Dr.Judy Daly, Director of Clin-ical Microbiology at Chil-dren's Primary MedicalCenter, Salt Lake City. "Al-though the venues were dif-ferent, our first observa-

See HANDWASHING, Page 12

Cottonwood Art Festivalto Feature 240 Acclaimed Artists

(NDGWire) The worksof the nation's top visualartists will be on displayOct. 2-3 at the bi-annualCottonwood Art Festival.

Now in its 42nd year,the prestigious show israted the fifth best art festi-val in the United States andis the premier fine artsevent in North Texas. Thetwice-a-year event gener-ates more than $2 million inart sales annually.

The festival is set for 9a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday andSunday, October 2-3, 2010at Richardson's Cotton-wood Park. The park is justeast of the intersection ofBeltline Rd. and Coit Rd..

Cottonwood Art Festi-

val is a juried show. Thisyear, approximately 1,300artists submitted their workfor consideration. Jurors se-lected over 240 artists toexhibit their museum-qual-ity work -- paintings, sculp-tures, ceramics, jewelry,fiber art, fine glass, wood-work, mixed media, andphotography.

But Cottonwood ismore than the art. The fes-tival also features localbands performing the bestin rock, country, jazz, blues,swing and folk. In thecourtyard, sit in the shadeby the lake and enjoy themusic. Food and spirits arealso available.

ArtStop, the children's

area at Cottonwood ArtFestival, offers arts, crafts,and activities for childrenof all ages. Create a sculp-ture hat from scrap, designa masterpiece in plaster, addto an enormous collage, orpractice sculpting clay.

For more information

on Cottonwood Art Festi-val, go to www.Cotton-woodArtFest ival .com.Whether shopping for art,listening to music, enjoyingthe outdoors, or making artof your own, Cottonwoodhas something for every-one.

(NDG Wire) Onceagain McKinney MainStreet, supporting sponsorsand the shops in downtownMcKinney will host Okto-berfest in Historic Down-town McKinney. Thisyear’s event will span twodays starting Friday, Sept.24 from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m.and continuing through Sat-urday, Sept. 25 from 10a.m. until 11 p.m. Last year,20,000 patrons enjoyednon-stop activities in theheart of McKinney.

“Oktoberfest is a truefamily favorite. This year,we felt that it was importantto expand not only our of-ferings but extend the partyfor two days. Our bigger,better event will give ourcommunity and visitors anopportunity to experience

our true hometown culturein the heart of DowntownMcKinney, surrounded bymore than 128 vibrant re-tail, specialty and restaurantdestinations,” said Ty Lake,Director of McKinneyMain Street.

Favorites from last yearwill make their appearancesagain, including authenticGerman food and activitiessuch as Bier Barrel Racessponsored by the CollinCountyYoung LawyersAs-sociation.

The fun starts at 4 p.m.on Friday with the tradi-tional Oktoberfest marchthrough Historic Down-town. Authentic Germanbeer flows starting with theofficial Franconia Beer tap-ping demonstration byhammering the bronze

spout into a more than 200year-old keg with a woodenmallet. Beer is provided byWarsteiner Beer, a popularGerman brand distributedby Ben E. Keith’s, andMcKinney’s very ownbrewery, Franconia. All ofthe fun is accompanied bylive German music andGerman Dance Clubs to en-tertain the crowds.

Entry into the event andinto the Biergarten area isfree and open to the generalpublic and parking can befound throughout the Cityof McKinney’s 12 city-owned parking lots in theHistoric District.

Oktoberfest isn’t just acelebration for adults. Thereis plenty to entertain young-sters, like face painting, airbrush tattoos, sand art, pet-

ting zoo, Oktoberfest photoopportunities, train ridesand arts and crafts of alltypes. The Goddard Schoolof McKinney will offer freekinder activities during thetwo-day event includingPass the Pumpkin with Ger-man Polka Music, PumpkinPenny Toss, Apple JuiceRelays, Pumpkin Tic-tac-toe and paper pumpkinpainting.

“McKinney Main Streetis a non-profit organizationwith a mission to ensuredowntown McKinney con-tinues to be the vibrant,inviting and safe area it isknown for today. Fundingwe receive for the manyfestivals and activities thatwe incorporate into thequality of life for our resi-dents is dependant on

fundraising efforts, dona-tions and sponsorships. Weapplaud and thank our 2010Oktoberfest Sponsors fortheir continued support,”said Lake.

For information on the2010 McKinney Oktober-fest, call McKinney MainStreet at 972-547-2660 orvisit www.downtownmck-inney.com.

Community News

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette | 5

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McKinney Oktoberfest Set for Last Weekend in September

Discover the Great Outdoors in Garland(NDG Wire) Bass Pro

Shops and the City of Gar-land Parks, Recreation andCultural Arts Departmentare co-hosting the GarlandOutdoor Festival on Satur-day, September 18, 2010from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at theBass Pro Shops located at5001 Bass Pro Drive.

Experts will be on handto provide information onthe many outdoor recre-

ation opportunities avail-able in the Garland area.Adults and children can tryall sorts of activities includ-ing: fly-fishing, kayaking,archery, windsurfing, cam-ping, outdoor cooking, off-road biking, scouting andcasting.

Details about Garland'sparks and natural areas willbe available, along with in-formation about area state

parks and activities pro-vided by the Texas Parksand Wildlife Department.

City of Garland andBass Pro Shops staff ishosting this event to pro-mote the many benefits ofoutdoor recreation: healthylifestyles, family bonding,environmental awareness,and natural area preserva-tion. Outdoor recreationactivities are also vital for

developing a high quality oflife.

As the Garland area be-comes more urbanized, it iseven more important forGarland residents to go out-side and recreate!

For more informationabout the Garland OutdoorFestival, please visitwww.garlandparks.com orcall 972-205-2772.

BANQUET, continued fromPage 1$211,500 in monies to225 students.

This year’s awardsbanquet will be held atthe Southfork Hotel,Plano on Saturday, Oc-tober 16 from 7:00 p.m.to 9:30 p.m. NavoliaBryant, Founder/Execu-tive Director of Trainingfor Excellence will serveas emcee for theevening. The featuredentertainment will be thesultry saxophone soundsof Jeff Aycock with“Music That Moves TheSoul.”

In further recogni-tion of this year’s theme,“Bridging the Gap InThe 21st Century: Par-ent, Child, and TeacherConnection,” will alsofeature a special appear-ance from the YoungerGeneration Chorus ofPlano.

Sponsors, to date, in-clude Earl Manns StateFarm Insurance, AtmosEnergy, Huffines Auto

Dealerships, Oncor, Mi-crosoft, UBS FinancialServices and Verizon.

Chairing this year’sbanquet committee isFran Richardson. Oth-ers on the banquet com-mittee include DavidRichardson, Julius Cha-mbers, Linda James, PatHumphress, ArthurYoung, Don McKnight,Felix Nnaji, Earl Simp-kins and Barbara Simp-kins.

For individual orgroup ticket purchasesand reservations, pleasecontact Fran Richard-son, 469-675-0002, orfranrich3@yahoo.comfor a gala night of enter-tainment. Single ticketsare $60.00 and tables of8 are $480.00.

Ads and sponsorshipopportunities are stillavailable, contact Earl orBarbara Simpkins at 972964-0867, or at ebsimp-kins@verizon.net.

(NDGWire) The Dal-las Alumni Chapter ofPrairie View A&M Uni-versity has announced its15th Annual AthleticScholarship Gala for Fri-day, September 24, at 6:30p.m. at the Westin CityCenter Hotel-DowntownDallas (650 North PearlStreet).

The gala will be heldthe night before the an-nual Prairie View vs.Grambling State FairFootball Classic and willfeature dinner, a cham-pagne reception, silentauction, door prizes, liveentertainment and danc-ing to the sounds of “Vin-Jac”.

The theme of the nightis “PV Alumni: Feel TheExcitement…Give!!” andwill feature KeynoteSpeaker, Stephen Brown,SeniorAssociate Pastor ofConcord Baptist Church.There will also be a spe-cial presentation honoringPVA&MU Football

Coach, Henry Frazier, IIIwith the internationallyknown “Black Foxes”!

Seating is limited!Tickets for the gala are$75.00 each and a table often (10) is $750.00. Spon-sorship and AdvertisingOpportunities are avail-able, as well as specialhotel rates at the WestinCity Center-Dallas Hotel.

Proceeds will benefitthe Prairie View A&MUniversity Athletic En-dowment ScholarshipFund, which to date hasbeen presented with morethan $400,000 from theDallas Alumni Chapter.

For additional infor-mation, contact PublicityChair, Dvorah Evans at214-421-5200 or via e-mail at dae@dbcc.org orGala General Chair, Kim-berly Runnels at DallasPV Alumni Chapter, P.O.Box 397508, Dallas,Texas 75339 or call 972-289-9942 or 214-337-1845.

Education www.NorthDallasGazette.com

6 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

Prairie View A&MAlumni-Dallas Chapter

hosting annualscholarship gala

(NDG Wire) Dr. KaryCooper, principal of the newDouglas W. Otto MiddleSchool, named for PlanoISD's current Superintendentof Schools, shared a fewmain focus areas with his835 students in grades 6-8 onAugust 23, the first day ofschool. "Their teachers and Itold them that, number one,we expect them to do theirbest in school. That doesn'tmean A's on all homework,class work and projects. Thatmeans their best effort," Dr.Cooper emphasized.

"Number two, we talkedabout correct behavior andabout making the rightchoices all of the time, evenwhen nobody's looking,"continued Dr. Cooper. "And,thirdly, we want to create ahealthy environment atschool, one in which studentsfeel comfortable askingquestions and being in-volved."

Dr. Cooper told the stu-dents during those first-day-of-school assemblies that,"This is your school," andstudents will be critical in de-veloping the school's tradi-tions based on their input,ownership and involvement.

He especially challenged

eighth grade students to setthe tone for student successthis year. To emphasize theirimpact on the school, all stu-dents participated in an"eighth grade walk" on thefirst day of school. Sixth andseventh grade studentsformed a spirit line throughwhich the eighth grade stu-dents walked to songs like"Don't Stop Believing" byJourney and "I Gotta Feel-ing" by the Black Eyed Peas.

Dr. Cooper began thisspring hiring the approxi-mately 70 individuals whocomprise the Otto MiddleSchool faculty and staff,looking for distinct qualitiesthat they each bring to theteam through innovativestrategies and unique per-spectives that will tricklethroughout the entire faculty.

"We are very fortunate tohave hired an experienced,diverse and dedicated facultyand staff for Otto MiddleSchool who bring the rightskill sets for teaching middleschool students and a passionfor teaching a diverse studentpopulation," he said.

"Student success startswith compiling the rightteam of people. At the end ofthe day, after you read all the

leadership liter-ature and booksand attend allthe best confer-ences, whetherin business oreducation, suc-cess comesdown to hiringthe right peo-ple.

"Above all,students needto know thattheir teachers,all staff mem-bers and theschool's admin-istrators careabout them,"said Dr.Cooper. "Wemodel thatthrough team-work and building trust byletting students know that wecare about each of them asindividuals and all of them asa group.

"Students perform betterwhen they know that you areinterested and that you wantthem to do well in school,"he said.

Plano’s Otto Middle School openswith 835 students in grades 6-8

Principal Kary Cooper helped studentBriana Marshall navigate her way toclass on the first day of school.

(NDGWire) With thou-sands of economy-impactedcollege students short offunds to pay for tuition,books, and dormitoryrooms the United NegroCollege Fund (UNCF) isurging all Americans tocontribute to its CampaignFor Essential Student Aid,an initiative to help studentsat UNCF’s 39 member his-torically black colleges anduniversities complete theirsenior year and receive theircollege degrees. UNCFtoday kicked off the Cam-paign for Essential StudentAid in North Texas to raise$4 million nationally thisyear to help 2,500 students.

“It is essential that stu-dents cross the finish lineand graduate,” said MichaelL. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF

president and CEO. “Thesestudents have done every-thing in their power to grad-uate. Now, they have cometo the last mile and needhelp crossing the finish line.We encourage communitiesacross America to helpthese students get the edu-cation they need and ournation needs them to have.Many of these students willnot be able to graduate thisyear if support is not se-cured.”

As the recession lingers,many students at UNCFschools continue to findthemselves in financiallyvulnerable positions. Un-employment and pay cutsstill reduce families’ finan-cial support for their chil-

UNCF needs $4 Million tohelp students graduate

See UNCF, Page 12

Arts & Entertainmentwww.NorthDallasGazette.com Community Spotlight

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette | 7

(NDG Wire) Authorand meteorologist KristineKahanek will take Hag-gard Library visitors onfun-filled, educationalweather adventure on Sat-urday, September 18 inPlano.

Beginning at 2 p.m. atHaggard Library, 2501Coit Road, Kristine willdiscuss all types ofweather and severeweather safety. She will

read from her book, Katieand the Magic Umbrella:A Stormy Adventure.

The event is open to allages and includes a booksigning. This program isfunded by Friends of thePlano Public Library.

For information onother upcoming PlanoPublic Library Systemprograms visit www.planolibrary.org or call 972-769-4240.

Kristine Kahanek in Planofor a Stormy Adventure

(NDG Wire) Recogniz-ing the impact church lead-ership has on its commu-nity, Methodist CharltonMedical Center is invitinglocal pastors and ministryleaders to attend an appreci-ation luncheon hosted at thehospital. The venue is anopportunity for attendeesto:

• Learn about the hugegrowth and changes takingplace at Methodist Charlton

• Become educated onpolicies and procedures thatwould help pastors andministry leaders better servepatients and their familiesduring pastoral visits

• Open up a dialoguewith hospital leadership thatwould lead to better com-

munication and partner-ships

Methodist Charlton ishosting this second annualevent to express sinceregratitude to pastors and

ministry leaders who servepatients and their familiesall hours of the day to pro-vide spiritual support. Dr.Clara M. Reed, district su-perintendent, North TexasConference of the UnitedMethodist Church, will bethe keynote speaker at theevent, which will be heldTuesday, Sept. 21, at 11:30a.m. in the Methodist Charl-ton auditorium.

Free health screeningsfor hypertension, high cho-lesterol, triglycerides, dia-betes, prostate cancer, andbody mass index (BMI)will be offered. For moreinformation contact Com-munity Relations LiaisonCynthia Mickens-Smith at214-947-5204.

Methodist CharltonMedical Center

Hosts Pastor AppreciationLuncheon September 21

Clara Reed

Kristine Kahanek

in the same situation as you.Even while you are goingthrough, you still havesomething to be thankful for.

Cox ended her speechby comparing her daughterTiffany to another one of herfavorite fairy tales, Cinder-alla. Like Cinderella, Tif-fany sometimes felt frumpy,

but the day she dressed in agorgeous electric blue dressas a bridesmaid in a wed-ding, she looked beautiful.“She looked so elegant withher hair pinned up,” saysCox.

But like Cinderella,Tiffany had an appointedtime to be home. The next

day at 1:59, she went to bewith her Heavenly Father.

Cox says she wrote thebook because she wanted toprovide the principles and aroadmap for other familiesin the same situation. “Noone should have to gothrough this,” she says.

COX, continued fromPage 2

Proud To Be An ActivePartner In The Community

Sponsored By:

8 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

Community Calendar Visit www.NorthDallasGazette.com and click on Community Calendar for more events!

Every SaturdayPure Saturdays 2026 Com-merce Street 23 & up pre-ferred DJ Steve Nice in TheMixx. Doors open@ 10 p.m.Info text or call 214-810-5483.

Every TuesdayThe Irving Public Library in-vites families to enjoy storiesand music in both Englishand Spanish. Family bilin-gual storytimes are offeredat 11 a.m. Tuesdays at theEast Branch Library, 440 S.Nursery Road, and at 7:30p.m. Thursdays at the CentralLibrary, 801 W. Irving Blvd.For more information, call972-721-2458.

OngoingAfrican American Repub-lican Club of Collin Countymeets 3rd Tuesday of everymonth at 7 pm. (Doors openat 6:30 pm.) Collin CountyRepublican Party HQ. 8416Stacy Rd., McKinney. CallLindaWynn Drain, 214-498-7574 or website www.aarcc.com

Collin County BlackChamber of Commerce,CCBCCGeneral Meetings,2nd Thursday of everymonth at 6:30pm. Call 469-424-1020 or email: info@CCBlackChamber.org forlocation.

DFW Financially Em-powered Women meetmonthly for lunch or dinnerand a fun, informative sem-inar on various financialtopics. Info: 469-942-0809or meeetup.com/378.

Group Business Seminarsat 4907 Spring Avenue,Dallas, (214) 11:30 a.m.12:30 p.m.; 3rdFriday ofthe month 11:30 a.m. to12:30 p.m. for those inter-ested in starting your ownbusiness, it is a Brown BagLunch with Free Parking

No Limit Network Busi-ness Networking Lunch 1stThursday at 1 pm in PlanoMust RSVP at www.TheNo-

LimitNetwork.com or 972-898-5882.

The National BusinessWomen Enterprise Net-work (NBWEN) LearningOver Lunch Series: 4thSaturdays, 11am-1pm, Re-MarkableAffairs Cafe, 2727LBJ Fwy., Suite 140, Dallas.$20 for members; $35 fornon-members, $5 off forearly bird registration. http://nbwenorg.ning.com.

North Dallas Texas Demo-cratic Women Regular Me-etings 4th Thursday, 6:45p.m. Northaven UnitedMethodist Church, 11211Preston Rd (between Forest& Royal Lanes).

Target Second Saturdaysat Latino Cultural CenterOn the second Saturday ofevery month family-friendlyactivities celebrating Latinoarts and culture. Come in forone hour, or stay the day.

Target Second Saturdays atLatino Cultural Center Onthe second Saturday of everymonth family-friendly activ-ities celebrating Latino artsand culture. Come in for onehour, or stay the whole day.

Business EmpowermentSessions. Learn to grow asuccessful small business.1st Thursday of each monthat Christian Chapel Templeof Faith, 14120 Noel Rd.,Dallas. Call 214-942-6698for details.

How to start a business.Free sessions on gettingstarted the right way. Ses-sions held the last Monday ofeach month. Call The PLANFund for details 214-942-6698.

Thru November 7Amon Carter Museum’sAnsel Adams: EloquentLight features 40 photo-graphs by the artist. Admis-sion to the Carter is free.

September 16-19Make your way to historic

Grapevine and uncork thelargest wine festival in theSouthwest. Wine lovers andconnoisseurs from across thenation will sample award-winning Texas wines at the24th Annual GrapeFest onSeptember 16, 17, 18, and19. A grape stomping goodtime awaits you at GrapeFestvoted a 2010 ABA Top 100Event in North America!Visit grapevinetexasusa.comfor more information.

September 18At 10:30 a.m. at the IrvingNorthwest Library Branchwill hold its regular monthlymeeting of the African-American Authors BookCircle, discussing reader’schoice from the works ofMaya Angelou.

Community Garage Sale atCrosby Recreation Center(1610 E. Crosby Road). Car-rollton. The event is free tothe public, but shoppersshould bring cash to theevent for purchases. Info:972-466-9810 or cityofcar-rollton.com/parksandrec.

September 21Methodist Health System issponsoring a free healthscreening event at GoldenCross Academic Clinic, 122W. Colorado Blvd, adjacentto Methodist Dallas MedicalCenter. Screenings will befrom 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.and will include prostateblood test, cholesterol, sugar,triglycerides, and the digitalrectal exam. These screen-ings are limited to once peryear per person. Fasting isnot necessary. Appointmentsare recommended. To sched-ule an appointment, call 214-947-4647.

September 23NDTDW meeting AuthorMalia Litman Rebuttal to theRogue is scheduled for 6:45p.m. at the Northhaven Uni-ted Methodist Church at11211 Preston Road (be-tween Forest and Royal). Lit-man, a senior partner atThompson & Knight in Dal-las, has written a fearless ex-

amination of Sarah Palin’scareer and on her influenceon conservative voters. Thebook is carefully researchedand highly informative.Copies will be available forsale at the meeting, with allproceeds going to PlannedParenthood.

September 24Methodism’s Luncheon ofAppreciation, Celebrating40 Years of Sharing theBread of Lifeat 11:30 a.m. atZanW. Holmes, Jr. Commu-nity Life Center; 6211 EastGrand Ave. The cost is $40per person.

September 25Recessionista’s Closet willbe held at Excuse Art Barand Café located at 3025Main St. Dallas. A $5 dona-tion is requested at the door.For more information visitwww.talisalavarry.comandclick on the latest news link,or call 214-886-0696.

Collin County BlackChamber of Commerceworkshop 8:30 a.m. to noonat Reel Thing Catfish inAllen. Guests are asked toRSVP by Saturday, Septem-ber 18 by calling SheliaJones at 469-424-0120 or viaemail at sjones@ejesinc.com.

September 27Annie's List Luncheon’sSpecial Guest is ConnieSchultz, author and syndi-cated columnist for TheCleveland Plain Dealer andCreators Syndicate. Theevent is scheduled for Noonto 1:15 p.m. at The WestinGalleria Dallas, 13340 Dal-las Parkway, Dallas.

October 1 thru 3Oktoberfest Southlake iscelebrating the 9th annualOktoberfest celebration ho-sted by Southlake's Chamberof Commerce! Attendance iscompletely free: no admis-sion or parking fees. Boothssell a range of food & bever-ages, and artisans presentunique, handcrafted shop-

ping opportunities while youexplore the arts and craftsbooths. In addition to live en-tertainment events during thefestival and the excitement-packed children's area, Okto-berfest also includes our pop-ular wiener dog race, held onSaturday, October 2. Info:www.southlakechamber.com

October 2thru January 2

American Modern: Ab-bott, Evans, Bourke-Whiteat theAMon Carter Museumof Art www.cartermuseum.org/exhibitions

October 2 thru 3Cottonwood Art Festivalwill feature 240 artists from9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday andSunday, October 2-3, 2010 atRichardson's CottonwoodPark. The park is just east ofthe intersection of BeltlineRoad and Coit Road. Info:www.cottonwoodartfesti-val.com

October 2The Sister to Sister FitnessFestival is a day of breastcancer education activities,specifically targetingAfricanAmerican women starts at8:30 a.m. The event will beheld at the Cedar Hill Recre-ation Center, 310 East Park-erville Road, Cedar Hill.Register and info: www.cele-bratinglife.org or 214-947-0026.

6th Annual Plano Interna-tional Festival to take placein Haggard Park in Down-town Plano from 11 a.m. to 5p.m. Enjoy ethnic food, mul-ticultural music and danceperformances, cultural dis-plays, children's activitiesand much more! The Festivalis underwritten by the PlanoCity Council and is designedto showcase the many cul-tures that make up Plano,Collin County, and their sur-rounds. Info: www.planoint-ernationalfestival.org

October 1227th Annual PhilbinAwards Luncheon, Recog-

nizing Excellence in LegalReporting. Keynote speaker:Former U.S. Solicitor Gen-eral and Current President ofBaylor University KennethStarr. For tickets, log on todallasbar.org/philbin or e-mail JSmalling@dallasbar.org.

October 13March of Dimes SignatureChefs of Dallas auction 6p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Fron-tiers of Flight Museum lo-cated at 6911 Lemmon Av-enue in Dallas. Tickets are$300. Info: Katie Sperry at972-669-3463 or ksperry@marchofdimes.com.

October 16The Plano CommunityForum’s 29th AnnualAwards Banquet with thisyear’s theme, “Bridging theGap In The 21st Century:Parent, Child, and TeacherConnection.” This year’sawards banquet will be heldat the Southfork Hotel, inPlano from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30p.m. For individual or groupticket purchases and reserva-tions, contact Fran Richard-son, 469-675-0002, fran-rich3@yahoo.com for a galanight of entertainment. Sin-gle tickets are $60.00 and Ta-bles of 8 are $480.00.

October 232010 C.C. Russeau Scholar-ship Black and Gold Galaat 7 p.m. at the SheratonHotel (Downtown Dallas).Tickets are $65.00 per personor $650 per table. This is aBlack Tie event. : DallasAl-phas.com or : jabari156@gmail.com

November 12-13The Ricardo Miller Chil-dren's Ministries are hostingthe 2nd Annual Children'sMinistry Symposium, a city-wide meeting for Children'sPastors, Children's Workers,Coordinators, and individu-als interested in being trainedin Children's Ministry. TheCMSwill be held November12-13 at Pathway of LifeChurch in Dallas. www.richadomiller.com

BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEYNNPA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

(NNPA) He was a polit-ical analyst, a professor, alecturer, a strategist, a men-tor, a commentator, athought leader, a BlackPress columnist, a husbandand a friend. And he did itall while remaining true tohis life’s passion as an ad-vocate for the progress andadvancement of Black peo-ple.

Dr. Ron Walters died oflung cancer Sept. 10,shocking many in the civilrights community whowere unaware of the extentof his illness.

“Dr. Ron Walters wasthe preeminent activist andscholar of our times,” saysthe Rev. Jesse Jackson, whovisited with Walters in thehospital during his finaldays and will deliver theeulogy next week. Funeralservices were incomplete atNNPA deadline.

“He was my issues di-rector in my ’84 and ’88campaigns. Ron led a sit-inin 1958 as a studentNAACP youth leader twoyears before the 1960 sit-ins in Greensboro. Hewrote six books and thou-sands of articles…Welearned to lean on RonWal-ters for our frame of refer-ence,” said Jackson.

“Today we’re numberone in athletics and numberone in presidential politics;but also number one inpoverty. We’re number onein infant mortality, shortlife expectancy and in un-employment. Ron kept usabreast of that data.

The good news is thatRon taught so many schol-ars. There are those whowill now bear truth. So, thattradition will be kept alive.”

Walters, who submittedhis last NNPA column –“…March for Jobs and Jus-ticeWhere Ever YouAre” -to the NNPANews Service

on August 16, continued toconduct interviews andphone conferences from hishospital room, Jacksonsaid. “He never stoppedgiving of himself.”

Former NNPA Editor-in-Chief George Curry,who editedWalters’ columnfor seven years and alsocovered him for decades,

described him as “a bril-liant, dedicated, consistentand unapologetic warriorfor African-Americans.

While he is best knownfor teaching at Howard andthe University of Maryland,advising Jesse Jackson andthe Congressional BlackCaucus, he spent manyhours sharing his expertisewith small, largely un-known community groups.Black American has lost ascholar whose life exempli-fied excellence.”

News releases honoringWalters’ legacy were plen-tiful from top Black leadersand Walters associatesaround the country.

They include Congres-sional Black Caucus Chair-woman Barbara Lee;NAACP President Ben-jamin Todd Jealous; presi-dent and CEO of the Na-tional Coalition on BlackCivic Participation.

But, his greatest tributescame from his wife of 47years, PatriciaAnnWalters,

a retired social worker.“He had a diverse,

multi-dimensional charac-ter to himself in terms ofteaching, mentoring, work-ing in the grassroots com-munities to assist them inany way he could; doingmany, many, many thingsthroughout his distin-guished career for no pay

whatsoever because he hadthis deep love and affectionfor the work that he wasdoing for African-Ameri-cans in particular. And hewas their spokes-person,”Mrs. Walters said in an in-terview with the NNPANews Service Sundaymorning.

“That was his calling.…The African-Americancommunity stopped and lis-tened because they under-stand that the messengerwas with clean hands andwas telling the truth and al-ways on message andnever, never deviated fromhis message.

He never backtracked.You always knew that ifyou got an interview fromhim, if you got him on TV,he was going to be consis-tent with his message andhe did that for over fourdecades.”

Mrs. Walters said herhusband had pressed be-yond the amount of timethe doctors expected him to

live. As the cancer spreadinto his lungs and he wastold the end was near, he re-mained heartened by newaccomplishments.

He was especiallyhappy about a renewed lec-turing relationship withHoward University, wherehe once served as chair ofthe Political Science De-partment before becominga professor at the Univer-sity of Maryland.

“As a son of Howard,he never left the Capstone.It was always home,” saidHoward’s President SidneyA. Ribeau in a statement.“We are deeply grateful forhis enormous contributionsto our university, to thefield and to the nation. Wewill truly miss his meas-ured voice and his strategicmind, but his insightfulwisdom will endurethrough the lives hetouched.”

Walters was slated togive his first speech atHoward under the new con-tract on Sept. 9, but he wastoo ill and died the next dayat Suburban Hospital inBethesda, Md.

Mrs. Walters said hesimply wanted to giveeverything he could; so hekept quiet about his illnessin order not to dissuadepeople from asking for hisservices.

“He wanted to be ableto continue his work, whichhe did at the very, very lastmoment. That’s the way hewas,” she said. “He wantedto go about his business andhave people to treat himlike they always treatedhim in not knowing that hehad been battling cancer forsix years.”

Walters helped to laythe groundwork for the for-mation of the Congres-sional Black Caucus in1970.

“Professor Walters wasa scholarly giant and was

one of America’s most in-sightful analysts of the po-litical landscape, in general,and of the intersection ofrace, politics and policy,specifically,” said CBCChairwoman Lee.

“His scholarly workand sound advice have as-sisted many past and pres-ent members of the Con-gressional Black Caucus,and otherAfricanAmericanpolitical and civic leadersaround the country.”

Walters was born inWi-chita on July 20, 1938. Hegraduated with honors fromFisk University and earneda Masters inAfrican studiesand a doctorate in Interna-tional Studies from Ameri-can University. He alsotaught at Georgetown,Syracuse, and Brandeis.

Mrs. Walters said sev-eral public memorials willbe held, but plans were in-complete.

“We knew that it was anuphill battle. He was such atremendous fighter anddoctors knew that he’d livelong beyond what the ex-pectation was. I think hewas able to accomplish thatbecause the vast majority ofpeople did not know how

sick Ron was when he didthings for people and spokeand went on television andconducted radio and televi-sion interviews and news-paper interviews. That’s theway he wanted it. And Ithink he did it with style, el-egance and dignity. That isRon.”

Jackson marveled at theloving relationship betweenWalters and his wife.

“He stayed close to hiswife, Patty, who he lovedso much,” he said, notinghow she was his greatestencourager.

Jackson said, “He neverstopped fighting for a fairand just and comprehensiveurban policy to lift up andchange the plight of Blackpeople. And that was clas-sical Ron. And at the end,even at the very end, evenas he struggled, at the veryend, his sensitivity to ourconstituency, the love of hiswife remains such a thingof beauty.”

Editor’s note: Ron Wal-ter’s columns over the yearsfrequently appeared in theNorth Dallas Gazette andwe join others across thecountry in extending oursympathies.

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette | 9

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Cover Story

Dr. Ron Walters:‘Scholarly Giant’ NNPA Columnist

Just ‘Never Stopped’

Dr. Ron Walters

“Dr. Ron Walterswas the preeminentactivist and scholarof our times,”

Rev. Jesse Jackson

The Plano Symphony Orchestrapresents Over the Rainbow

(NDG Wire) BroadwaySoprano Linda Eder per-forms her famed tribute toJudy Garland with HectorGuzman and the PlanoSymphony Orchestra - anevening to remember! Ac-cording to USAToday, Ederis "a captivating presenceand a Streisand-esquesinging voice that elevateseverything it touches."Eder's performance in her1990 pivotal role as Lucy inJekyll & Hyde earned herthe Theatre World Awardfor Best Broadway Debut,as well as the Drama Deskand Outer Critics' CircleAward Nominations forBest Actress in a Musical.

Eder will pay tribute toJudy Garland with songs in-cluding Zing! Went theStrings of My Heart and

Somewhere Over the Rain-bow; a season highlight!

The first half of the con-cert will feature the PlanoSymphony performingGershwin’s Cuban Over-ture, selections from "Fid-dler on the Roof" and theOpening Dance and Finalefrom Leonard Bernstein’s“Fancy Free”.

To order, call the PlanoSymphony Orchestra TicketOffice at 972-473-7262, orvisit www.planosym-phony.org for up to theminute ticket information.Reserved Seating ticketsstart at $9; add $2 per ticketat the door. Group and stu-dent rates available.

The Eisemann Centerfor Performing Arts is lo-cated at 2351 PerformanceDrive, Richardson, TX

75082.For information, contact

Alice Hobbs, Executive Di-

rector, at 972-473-7262, oremail her at ahobbs@planosymphony.org.

(NDGWire) Gallery 219at Eastfield College presentsStephen Lapthisophon: Spe-cificity — photographs insitu and seasonal fruit”going on now through Octo-ber 8. Reception: September17, 6 to 8 pm.

Stephen Lapthisophon isa multimedia artist andwriter whose work addressesquestions of language, his-

tory and cultural memory.Recent projects include ex-hibitions in Berlin at Za-greus Projekt and inBarcelona at El Escaparate.Lapthisophon presentedQuotation as Gesture at theModernArt Museum of FortWorth in 2009 and is repre-sented at Conduit Gallery inDallas Texas.

Upcoming in early 2011

there will be solo exhibitionsat Conduit Gallery and HydePark Art Center in Chicago.He teaches at The Universityof Texas at Arlington.

Lap-thisophon is alsorepresented in the permanentcollection of the Museum ofContemporary Art in Chi-cago. Lapthisophon holdsan MFA from the School ofthe Art Institute of Chicago.

Stephen will present alecture on his work at 6 p.m.on September 17 in F201.

Gallery 219 is located onthe upper floor of the FineArts building (Bldg F) inRoom 219C.

The lecture will takeplace in F201, directlyacross the hall from thegallery. Park and enter at thePerformance Hall entrance

on the west side of the cam-pus.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday through Fri-day and on weekends by ap-

pointment.Contact Iris Bechtol at

972-860-7329 or irisbech-tol@dcccd.edu for addi-tional information.

Car Review

10 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

Arts & Entertainment www.NorthDallasGazette.com

Kanye West and Taylor Swift Return to the VMA Stage

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(NDG Wire) LadyGaga, outdoing even herselfwith her adventurous cou-ture, dominated the 2010MTV Video Music Awards,adding eight to her collec-tion of Moonmen withawards including "Video OfThe Year," "Best DanceVideo," "Best Pop Video"and "Best Female Video."

Eminem, who openedthis year'sAwards with a tri-umphant performance, wal-ked away with two statuesfor "Best Male Video" and"Best Hip Hop Video."

VMA newcomers 30Seconds To Mars and Flo-rence + The Machine tookhome their first wins for

"Best Rock Video" and"Best Art Direction," re-spectively. Justin Bieberwas voted "Best NewArtist."

A year after TaylorSwift's first VMA win wasinterrupted by Kanye West,the two returned to musi-cally play out last year'sdrama, once again on theVMA stage. For an exclu-sive live performance, Tay-lor sang Innocence, an emo-tional song she wrote abouthow she felt after last year'sincident.

Later in the evening andthis year as an official per-former, Kanye debuted Run-away (featuring Pusha T

from Clipse), a personalstatement on the turbulenceof the last year.

MTV aired the 2010Video MusicAwards live onSunday, September 12 fromNokia Theater in LosAnge-les, having transformed thevenue into a 1950's scul

tural nod to modernism.The VMA's kicked off withan epic performance by Em-inem backed by an orches-tra to present a medley ofhis comeback anthem NotAfraid into a fiery version ofLove The Way You Lie withsurprise guest Rihanna.

Host Chelsea Handlerbrought her edgy comedicflair to the Awards, making

a dramatic entrance thatriffed on Lady Gaga's ex-travagant fashion sense, fly-ing onto the stage wearing asuburban house on her head,complete with a single cargarage, and ending hermonologue by releasing adove from her dress. Back-stage before taking thestage, Chelsea was shownreceiving "encouragement"from well wishers Li'l John,Flo Rida and a score-set-tling Lindsay Lohan.

In another show high-light, the one-and-only Cherpresented Lady Gaga withher "Video Of The Year"Award, donning the sameoutfit (yes, she still fit into

it) that she barely woremore than 20 years ago inher own memorable video IfI Could Turn Back Time.

With an intro by Ke$haand Trey Songz, Usher'selectric entrance and pound-ing energy brought downthe house with a medley ofDJ Got Us Fallin' In Loveinto OMG!, showing off hisdance moves against another-worldly combinationof visual effects.

The physicality ofUsher's set contrasted withVMAnewcomer Florence +The Machine's ethereal,breakout performance ofDog Days Are Over, featur-ing a large-scale dance

number with scores ofdancers and percussioniststo create a flowing dream-like sequence.

Hip-hop artist Drakewas joined on onstage byMary J. Blige and SwizzBeatz for a performance ofhis hit single Fancy, setagainst a supper club back-drop.

Following Drake's per-formance, Chelsea stumbledupon the cast of JerseyShore in, what else, a hottub. Teasing the cast abouthow dirty the water is, shefinally agreed to jump infully clothed, only toemerge wet and pregnant.

Gallery 219 at Eastfield Presents:

Stephen Lapthisophon: Specificity

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette |11

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Business

CHAMBERS, continued fromPage 1

Take Charge of Business at TexasBusiness Conference in Arlington(NDG Wire) The dy-

namics of today’s fast-paced, challenging econ-omy can make it difficultfor employers to keep upwith laws affecting theirbusinesses and workers. Toaddress that, the TexasWorkforce Commission(TWC) is inviting Arling-ton-area business ownersand managers to the TexasBusiness Conference(TBC) on Friday, Septem-ber 17.

“The conference helpsemployers recognize howlaws affect them and theirworkforce,” said TWCChairman and Commis-sioner Representing Em-ployers Tom Pauken.

“Tools presented at theevent will give employersthe information they need tooperate businesses effec-tively. Texas is a great placeto do business, and we needto do our part at TWC to en-courage job creation andeconomic growth in the pri-vate sector, while helpingour employers address theregulatory challenges of

employment law.”Chairman Pauken and

his staff will present practi-cal, up-to-date informationfor operating a successfulbusiness and managing em-ployees. Agency attorneysand staff will discuss em-ployee handbooks, hiringand retention, firing, work-place investigations, Unem-ployment Insurance (UI),preparing for UI hearings,wage and hour laws, work-ers’ compensation andmore.

Participants will receivethe latest edition of the pop-ular publication Especiallyfor Texas Employers, whichaddresses basic legal issuesregarding hiring and post-employment and work-sep-aration policy. Certifiedpublic accountants who at-tend can earn six hours ofcontinuing education credit.Other conference partici-pants may qualify for gen-eral professional credit.

The conference is from8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at theArlington Convention Cen-ter’s Grand Hall Room,

1200 Ballpark Way in Ar-lington. Registration isfrom 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

Registration is $85 perperson and is nonrefund-able. Registration forms canbe downloaded at www.tex-asworkforce.org/twcinfo/tbcforms/tbcform.html, thenmailed with the fee payable

to:Texas Business Confer-

ence—TWC, TexasWork-force Commission, 101 E.15th St., Room 218,Austin,TX 78778.

Space is limited, so par-ticipants are encouraged toregister as soon as possible.

African-Americans,Women, and Southernerstalk and text the mostin the United States(NDG Wire) Think

you can guess whichAmericans talk or text themost on their cellphones?

According to Nielsen,African-Americans usethe most voice minutes –on average more than1,300 a month. Hispanicsare the next most talkativegroup, chatting an aver-age of 826 minutes amonth. Even Asians/Pa-cific Islanders, with 692average monthly minutes,talk more than Whites,who use roughly 647voice minutes a month.

African-Americansand Hispanics also textthe most. Hispanics sendand receive around 767SMS messages a monthwhile African-Americanssend and receive around780 – significantly morethan Asians/Pacific Is-landers (384 texts amonth) and Whites (566texts a month).

The voice and text re-

sults are compiled fromone year (April 2009-March 2010) of data gath-ered by the The NielsenCompany, which analyzesthe cellphone bills ofmore than 60,000 mobilesubscribers each month inthe United States.

If you think women inthe U.S. talk more thanmen on their cellphones,Nielsen data confirmsyour suspicion.

On average, womentalk 22 % more than men(856.3 minutes a monthcompared to men’s666.7). Turns out, Ameri-can women are morecommunicative in generalon mobile devices; theytext more, too, sending orreceiving an average of601 SMS messages amonth compared to the447 monthly text mes-sages sent or received bythe average American

Chairman Jim Wyatt. “In astate like Texas – with sucha dynamic African Ameri-can population – we shoulddemand more attention toissues of importance to ourcommunities across thestate. We believe that ele-vating the profile of Blackbusinesses is one sure wayto accomplish that goal.”

The TAAACC conven-tion and fair is one of thestate’s top business confer-ences forAfrican-Americanentrepreneurs and other or-ganizations seeking to cap-italize on the variety of ven-dors and business ownersparticipating in the event.This year’s conference willfocus on and address issuesassociated with the devel-opment, enhancement andsustainability of minorityowned businesses.

A number of elected of-

ficials from across Texashave been invited to partic-ipate on various panelsscheduled during the two-day conference, includingState Senator Royce West(Dallas) and State Repre-sentative Sylvester Turner,of Houston.

Notably, Texas guberna-torial candidate Bill Whitehas accepted an invitationto address conferees duringthe Saturday, September 18“Salute to the Best of theBest” statewide small busi-ness awards breakfast.

“We’re taking this an-nual opportunity to recog-nize business owners fromacross the state who havedemonstrated business acu-menAND a commitment toservice to the chamber or-ganizations who nominatethem,” said Wyatt. “Busi-ness owners are the heart-

and-soul of our chambersand too often the work theydo goes unrecognized.

Moreover, it is well doc-umented that small busi-nesses literally drive thisnation’s economy andTexas is no exception tothat fact. Black businessesacross our state make sig-nificant investments in ourcommunities.”

In recognition of hiscommitment to the organi-zation during his nearly 15years as President of theDallas Black Chamber ofCommerce, TAAACC hasretitled its business awardsfor Reginald Gates.

Gates, Vice Chancellorfor the Tarrant County Col-lege District, is expected tobe on hand to salute the first“Reginald Gates Best of theBest” award recipients.

For registration infor-

mation (individual, corpo-rate, vendor & hotel reser-vations) visit the TAAACCwebsite – www.taaacc.org.TAAACC Chairman JimWyatt can be reached viaemail at info@taaacc.org orphone at 512-535-5610.

“We are absolutely en-couraging anyone with aninterest in improving op-portunities for Black-ownedbusinesses in our state tomake plans to attend thisyear’s conference,” saidWyatt.

“A number of stateagencies and Texas corpo-rations that have a demon-strated commitment to di-versity have invested in thesuccess of this conference,and we urge all of Texas totake advantage of this greatopportunity to forge a neweconomic reality in ourstate.”

See TEXT, Page 16

loan against your home thatallows you to turn thathome value into cash with-out selling the property. Un-like a regular “forward”mortgage that requiresmonthly payments, a re-verse mortgage requirespayment when either theborrower passes away, ormoves away and no longerlives in the home continu-ously for a year.

However, should theborrower fail to maintainthe property, or fail to payproperty taxes or insurance,the lender may recall theloan and require paymentimmediately.

Prospective borrowersmust decide between an ad-justable interest rate or afixed one. Fixed interestrates are only available toborrowers who receive theprincipal in one lump sum.

Borrowers preferringmonthly payments or a lineof credit will face an ad-justable rate loan. In decid-ing which is the better typeof rate, borrowers shouldseriously consider just how

much money is reallyneeded, keeping in mindthat the interest will accrueover time. With a fixed-rateinterest rate, the likelihoodis that borrowers will paymore over the life of theloan.

Reverse mortgage loansalso require borrowers topay high up-front costs. Theorigination fee alone can beup to $6,000.

Additionally, closingcosts will apply and a mort-gage insurance premium(MIP,) typically costing twopercent of the home value.MIPs prevent borrowersfrom ever owing more thanthe home is worth.

The federal Truth-in-Lending Act requireslenders to make a full dis-closure on the total annualcost of loans (TALC).Knowing a lender’s TALCwill provide consumers theability to comparison shopand factually determine thebetter loan.

Once the loan is closed,reverse mortgage borrowersaccess the monies in one of

three ways: a lump sum,monthly payments or a lineof credit that is tapped on an‘as needed’ basis.

Borrowers should alsobe aware that followingclosing on a reverse mort-gage, they are allowed threebusiness days to cancel theloan. Only written cancella-tions are accepted and maytake the form of a letter, fax,or telegram.

Many consumer advo-cates urge such borrowersto hand deliver the writtennotification within the allot-ted time. Should the cancel-lation be mailed or faxed, itshould be done before mid-night of the third businessday.

But make no mistake.This transaction is a loanand must be repaid. Oncethe borrower passes or is nolonger in the home, the re-verse mortgage is due.

The loan must be paidin full along with all appli-cable interest and any feesdeferred from the front endof the loan. In the event of aborrower’s death, any be-

quests involving the prop-erty will represent what isstill remaining after the loanis fully paid.

In many instances, it isnot financially feasible forheirs to repay the loan andretain the dwelling. As a re-sult, these heirs will beforced to sell the home.

In sum, reverse mort-gages can be a helpful toolfor cash-poor and home eq-uity-rich older Americans.However, they should beused only after careful con-sideration of each bor-rower’s circumstances andalternative options.

Anyone considering areverse mortgage would bewell-advised to first seekadvice from a HUD-certi-fied housing counselor.

These counselors typi-cally provide advice with-out cost. Independent coun-seling before closing is a re-quirement for any HUD-in-sured reverse mortgage. Toreview a list of certifiedcounselors by state, visit theHUD web at hud.gov .

Before contacting a

lender, prospective borrow-ers are advised to gain aclear and full understandingof the loan’s rights and re-sponsibilities.

Since a reverse mort-gage is a complex financialproduct that can signifi-

cantly impact the senior’sability to pass down theirhome to the next genera-tion, many older homeown-ers may want to discusstheir options with trustedfamily members or friends.

(NDG Wire) A DallasArea Rapid Transit (DART)pass is the ticket to the StateFair of Texas® and “SuperSized Fun” from September24 to October 17.

The fairgrounds are con-nected to two DART RailGreen Line stations - FairPark, located on Parry Av-enue at the entrance to thefairgrounds, and MLK, Jr.,located south of R.B. Cul-lum Blvd. and convenient tothe MLK fairground en-trance (Gate 6) and the Cot-ton Bowl Stadium.

Those passengers ridingDART Rail and the TrinityRailway Express (TRE) todowntown Dallas can trans-fer easily to the Green Line:Southbound Red and BlueLine passengers transfer atPearl Station; NorthboundRed and Blue Line passen-gers transfer at Akard Sta-tion; and TRE passengerstransfer to the Green Line atVictory Station.

Special connections areplanned for Saturday, Octo-

ber 2 and Saturday, October9, and some passengers mayuse buses to complete theirtrip. Go to DART.org/RedRiverRivalry or DART.org/BaylorTexasTech fordetails.

Local Day passes for rid-ers headed to the fair (DARTRail, local bus) will be $4.Folks riding the TRE fromIrving will pay $5 ($7 start-ing October 1) for a SystemDay Pass.

Customers coming fromTarrant County need to pur-chase a Regional Day Passfor $7.50 ($10 starting Octo-ber 1). The fares are good fortrains or buses or both.Passes are available at TicketVending Machines located atall DART and TRE stations.

Fair highlights this yearinclude three Saturdays ofcollege football in the CottonBowl.

DART has created spe-cial web pages for eachgame with detailed informa-tion about the additionalservice to help fans plan

their trips:• State Fair Classic, Sep-

tember 25: DART.org/StateFairClassic

• Texas–Oklahoma, Oc-tober 2: DART.org/RedRiverRivalry

• Baylor–Texas Tech,October 9: DART.org/Bay-lorTexasTech

As game day nears, signup for service alerts and getthe latest information aboutrail and bus service atwww.DART.org/StateFair,or call 214-979-1111.

To help accommodatethe expected large crowdsbefore and after the games,DART is adding light railand buses and TRE trains(service varies by event).

No matter which traveloption you choose, be sure toallow plenty of travel time soyou do not miss a minute ofthe action.

The trip doesn’t end withthe final whistle, so DART isworking with State Fair staffto make the post-game de-parture and wait smo-other.

Staff will be on hand toget customers to the fastestareas to board for a returntrip. Special service willcontinue for at least twohours after the game, sothere’s plenty of time torelax and get that extra cornydog.

On Saturdays and Sun-days, motorists can ride thefree "Big Tex Express" trainbetween auxiliary parking atthe fairgrounds to a gate nearthe Cotton Bowl.

The State Fair of Texasoffers acres of lighted andsecured parking off Haskellwest of Dolphin Road -- eas-ily accessible from I-30.Parking is $15. The serviceoperates continuously from10 a.m. to midnight on Sat-urdays and from 10 a.m. to10 p.m. on Sundays. Note:The Big Tex Express doesnot run to Tarrant County.

Advance discount StateFair of Texas tickets with aDART Pass are available for$16 at a participatingKroger.

www.NorthDallasGazette.com

12 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

MORTGAGES, continued fromPage 1

DART to fun, food and football at the fair

dren’s education. Thecredit crunch still keepsprivate student loans offthe market. And studentsstill come up short of thefunds they need to covertuition and room andboard balances.

Individuals, corpora-tions and foundations canhelp thousands of stu-dents finish this academicyear by contributing tothe Campaign For Essen-tial Student Aid. Manycompanies match theiremployees’ donations,doubling the support forthese deserving collegeseniors. Other compa-nies, like ExxonMobil,

the Andrew W. MellonFoundation and Lowe’s—have given CESA chal-lenge grants—donationsthat UNCF matches,again effectively doublingthe donation. All of themhelp a graduating seniorcomplete the final year oftheir college education.

To help keep kids incollege, send a donationtoday. Send your gift tothe UNCF office at 501Elm Street, Suite 700,Dallas, TX 75202 or call972-234-1007.

For more informationvisit www.uncf.org andclick on Campaign forEssential Student Aid.

UNCF, continued fromPage 6

tional study in 1996 foundonly 68% overall washingup in public restrooms,and that declined to an all-time low of 67%when werepeated the study in2000. We hope that as aresult of an increasedfocus on handwashing inthe media over theseyears, as well as increasedpublic awareness of infec-tious disease risks, behav-ior really is changing."

"The message is thatpeople are getting themessage," said NancyBock, ACI Vice Presidentof Consumer Education."Between mom's com-mon sense advice and therecent pandemic scare,people now seem to real-ize the importance ofwhen and how you washyour hands."

"Although we arehappy about the latest re-sults, there is still work to

do," Daly said. "Only aminority indicate theywash their hands aftercoughing or sneezing.Handwashing in this con-text is particularly impor-tant because we nowknow that many respira-tory and gastrointestinalillnesses are transmittedprimarily by hand contactwhen contaminated handstouch the mucous mem-branes of the eyes, nose,or mouth."

"Whether it's cold andflu season or baseball sea-son, handwashing is a no-brainer," said ACI'sNancy Bock. "Washingwith soap and water for20 seconds or more is asimple way to stayhealthy. And if you're outand about, hand sanitizersor hand wipes are good al-ternatives for keepingyour hands clean."

HANDWASHINGcontinued fromPage 4

BYROBERTEVANSWILSON, JR.NDG SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR

I know an advertisingagency owner who neverfully takes a vacation. Hetakes his family tofairly exotic loca-tions, but never soalien that they areoutside the reach ofmodern communi-cation.

In other words,he is never furtherthan a cell phonecall or email away.He checks in withthe office severaltimes a day – much to thechagrin of his family whowant him to be fully en-gaged in the holiday athand.

So, he ends up sneakingoff under the guise of visit-ing the restroom, or goingto the bar for a cocktail, inorder to connect with hisstaff, a client or a prospect.His wife and kids aren’tfooled; they just sigh andaccept the inevitable.

I used to think he was acontrol freak – someonewho couldn’t let go and letsomeone else take over –until I came to understandthe concept of Momentum.

In science, Momentumis equal to Mass times Ve-locity. Or just think of In-diana Jones in Raiders ofthe Lost Ark running as fastas he can out of the tunnelwhile that huge stone ballrolls faster and faster afterhim.

In business, Momentum

is the point at which suc-cess begins to come easily.Business veterans jokinglyrefer to it as having, “paidmy dues.”

In short, Momentum isan accumulation of ac-quired knowledge, skill, ex-perience and connections.And, those who understandit... also know it can befragile and easily lost.

Sales professionals whohave achieved Momentumwill tell you that you mustpursue a number of activi-ties to generate sales leads:phone calls, emails, salesletters, networking events,etc.

You keep it up buildingdozens, then hundreds ofleads at a time. Then toconvert those leads to salesyou keep following up oneach of them in a timelyfashion.

Meanwhile, you are stillmaintaining all the activi-ties that continue to gener-ate leads. So between gen-erating leads, following upon leads, then turning leadsinto sales, you begin to feellike the guy in the circus

who spins plates on top ofpoles – rushing from oneplate to the next to keepthem spinning.

Years ago when I firststarted givingspeeches, a sea-soned professionalspeaker advised me,“It took me tenyears to quit sweat-ing cash flow, buteven so, it is still allabout non-stop mar-keting.” In otherwords: maintainingMomentum.

For a growingcompany, Momentum is thepoint where you have doneenough advertising, mar-keting, public relations, net-working, customer service,and so forth that businessbegins to flow.

It is the point where you

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette | 13

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Contact 972-509-9049 for Career Opportunity Advertising

GRAPHIC ARTISTSmall Community Newspaper

looking for a partimestudent graphic artist.

Prefer student (intern) that'savailable on a per project basis.

Must have knowledge ofQuark and Indesign software.

Work will be doneat company office.

Must be professional anddependable. Fax resumes to:972-509-9058, or email to:

trj1909@tx.rr.com

Attention Suppliers of Goods,Services and Construction

Review Competitive Opportunities atwww.bidsync.com

www.garlandpurchasing.com

972-205-2415

DO YOUWANT AN EXCITINGAND REWARDING CAREER?

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• Competitive wages• Array of benefits

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SIGN UP TO TAKETHE CITY OF IRVING’S NEXT

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Must be• A good telemarketer• Willing and able to cold call effectively• Have reliabletransportation• Skilled in MS Wordand Excel• Able to demonstrate good people skills• Able to work in Plano and surrounding areas

Interested candidates should email resume topublisher@northdallasgazette.com

TWC program helpsemployers cut hiring costs,puts Texans back to work(NDG Wire) Texas Back

to Work has surpassed amilestone by helping morethan 5,000 individuals se-cure employment to date,the Texas Workforce Com-mission (TWC) announcedtoday. Funded by the TexasLegislature and supportedby Lt. Gov. David De-whurst, the initiative pro-vides up to $2,000 in wagesubsidies to Texas employ-ers per qualified new-hireemployee. Qualified indi-viduals include those whoare currently receiving orhave received Unemploy-ment Insurance benefitswithin the last year.

“I’m pleased to see thisinnovative new programhelping so many Texans getback to work,” said Lt. Gov.Dewhurst. “Texas Back to

Work is not only providingjob opportunities, incomeand training for thousandsof newly hired employees;it’s also helping small busi-nesses, growing our econ-omy, and saving Texas tax-payers money in theprocess.”

To date, 5,184 individu-als have secured jobs with1,511 employers who havereceived wage subsidies forhiring qualified out-of-workTexans.

“Texas Back to Work isone tool in TWC’s arsenal tohelp qualified Texans re-enter the workforce,” saidTWC Chairman TomPauken. Employers cansign up for Texas Back toWork by contacting theirlocal workforce develop-ment boards. Local contact

information is available atw w w . t w c . s t a t e.tx.us/svcs/txback2work/txback2work.html. TWC’s 28local workforce develop-ment boards provide em-ployers with workforce re-cruitment assistance, pre-screening of qualified appli-cants and training programs.More than 1.8 million cus-tomers were served in morethan 240 workforce centersacross Texas last year.

Employers also are en-couraged to take advantageof WorkInTexas.com,TWC’s online job matchingwebsite where more than250,000 employers alreadyare registered to post jobopenings and find great em-ployees. Visit WorkInTexasat w ww.twc.state.tx.us/jobs/job.html

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE:Keeping The Ball Rolling

(NDG Wire) Businessowners who are unsure whatit takes to succeed are invitedto attend the Collin CountyBlack Chamber of Com-merce workshop on Septem-ber 25 from 8:30 a.m. tonoon. The workshop will beheld at Reel Thing Catfish inAllen.

Monica Cornetti willlead the workshop and help

business owners consider thekey question what does theirbusiness offer that the marketwants. Also, they will exam-ine if their marketing effortsare effective.

Guests are asked toRSVP by Saturday, Septem-ber 18 by calling SheliaJones at 469-424-0120 or viaemail at sjones@ejesinc.com.

Jump start your businessat CCBCC workshop

See ZONE, Page 15

The best thing aboutMomentum is thatonce you get it,

motivation becomesself-perpetuating

AVENUE F CHURCHOF CHRIST IN PLANO

Every WednesdayJoin us for WednesdayMorning Bible Study at10:30 a.m.; Prayer, Praise,Songs, Fellowship, BibleStudy and Worship at7 p.m.September 26, 7 a.m.

Join us for our LadiesPrayer & Breakfast meetingat the IHOP, 933 N. CentralExpressway, Plano, TX75075. Come fasting, if youcan, and have a thirst forrighteousness. Everyone iswelcome. For details callSis. Misty Rockwell at 214-244-1142 or Sis. DeadraPete at 469-667-5865 Brother Ramon Hodridge,

Minister1026 Avenue FPlano, TX 75074972-423-8833

www.avefchurchofchrist.org

DAYSTARDELIVERANCEMINISTRIESOn Going

9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.Visit Helen’s House everyMonday and Friday toreceive, to give, to comfortand most of all to fellow-ship. The give-a-way offood, love and householditems is given freely to allthose who could use a littletouch.

Pastor MinnieHawthorne-Ewing

635 W. Campbell RoadSuite 210

Richardson, TX 75080

972-480-0200

EIRENE CHRISTIANFELLOWSHIP CHURCH

Each Wednesday,7:30 p.m.

Join us each Wednesday forour Midweek Bible Study.

Pastor Autry701 E. Centennial Blvd.Richardson, TX 75081

972-991-0200www.followpeace.org

FELLOWSHIPCHRISTIAN

CENTER CHURCHIN ALLEN“THE SHIP”On Going,9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Monday – FridayPrayer Lines for those inneed are 972-649-0566 and972-649-0567.

Wednesdays OnlyCome get your praise on inthe middle of the week atour Wednesday Night Liveat our main campus @ 7p.m.September 29, 6:30 p.m.

Be challenged and read PrayBig by Will Davis, Jr. tostrengthen your prayer lifein BIG ways and join us inroom E103-105 for a discus-sion on the book. Call thechurch for details.Rev. W. L. Stafford, Sr.,

M.Div.Senior Pastor

305 N. Alder Drive, inAllen for SundayMorning Worship.Church Address is200 Belmont Drive

Allen, TX 75013 972-359-9956

www.fbcallen.org

FIRST BAPTISTCHURCH

OF HAMILTON PARK“FIRST CHURCH”

On GoingEach Wednesday,6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

Let your child or childrenjoin us for fun, fellowshipand Bible learning at ourAnnie Pearl Foster ChildrenCenter in Room 238.Pastor Gregory Foster,300 Phillips Street

Richardson, TX 75081972-235-4235www.fbchp.org

INSPIRING BODY OFCHRIST CHURCH

September 19, 7:30 a.m.And 11 a.m.

You’re invited to our Sun-day Morning Worship Serv-ices.September 20, 7 p.m.

Join us for Monday Schoolas we learn about, worshipand praise God in our newfacility.

Rickie G. Rush, D.DSenior Pastor

7701 S. Westmoreland Rd.Dallas, TX 75237972-372-4262www.ibocjoy.org

MT. PISGAHMISSIONARY

BAPTIST CHURCH“THE ROCK”

September 17-19, All Day

You’re invited to ourWomen Ministry Retreat.Call the church for details.

September 18,9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Join us in our Marriage witha Mission Class.Pastor Robert Townsend11611 Webb Chapel Road

Dallas, TX 75229972-241-6151

www.dallasmtpisgah.org

NEW MOUNT ZIONBAPTIST CHURCH

OF DALLASOn Going

You are invited to visit ourJob Resource Center onTuesdays and Thursdaysfrom 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. inour Computer TrainingRoom in the EducationalBuilding.September 20, 10 a.m.

Join us for Music MinistryAnnual Day as we celebrateanother year of serving God.

Dr. Robert Price, Sr.Senior Pastor

9550 Shepherd RoadDallas, TX 75243214-341-6459www.nmzb.org

NORTH DALLAS COM-MUNITY

BIBLE FELLOWSHIPCHURCH

ON GOING HELPGod never expected us tobear our burdens alone; ourStephen Ministers are readyto provide emotional andspiritual care in all your tri-als and tribulations whenyou need them. Call 972-

437-3493, Ext. 153 for de-tails.

Dr. Leslie W. Smith,Senior Pastor

1010-1020 S. Sherman St.Richardson, TX 75081

972-437-3493www.ndcbf.org

OPEN BIBLEFELLOWSHIP CHURCHSeptember 18, 6 p.m.

Join us for Caleb Dicking &Friends In Concert as wepraise and worship God.

Pastor Don Wilson2701 Briarwood DrivePlano, TX 75074972-422-4248

SAINT MARK MBCIN MCKINNEY

September 18, 6 p.m.You’re invited to ourL.O.V.E Ministry PrayerMeeting; hosted by DeaconRoderick & Sis. Vickie Win-ston.

Dr. Charles WattleySenior Pastor

1308 Wilcox StreetMcKinney TX 75069

972-542-6178www.saintmarkbc.com

SHILOH MBCIN PLANO

Every WednesdayIn September, 7 p.m.

You’re invited to our Mid-Week Service as we praiseand worship God for Hisblessings.Dr. Isaiah Joshua, Jr.

Senior Pastor920 E. 14th StreetPlano, TX 75074

972-423-6695www.smbcplano.org

THE NEW LIGHTCHURCH

September 16, 7 p.m.You’re invited to worshipwith us as ProphetessMichele Yancey from Turn-ing Point Temple in Dallas.Attire: White or off-whitefor the ladies.

September 19Join us with speaker Rev.Marian Rabb at 11 a.m. At-tire for ladies is pink andblack and at 3 p.m. PastorRegina Burrell from PraiseTemple Evangelistic Churchin Desoto, TX. Attire forladies is pink and black.Shaun Rabb, Senior Pastor

9314 Elam RoadDallas, TX 75217214-+391-3430

www.newlightchurch.com

WORD OF LIFECHURCH OF

GOD IN CHRISTEvery Tuesday & ThursdayIn September 2010 @ 7 pmJoin us for our anointed Pas-toral Night and be encour-aged by Words fromHeaven.September 19, 4 p.m.

You’re invited to our BibleCollege Graduation Cere-mony with speaker BishopAlfred D. Knight.

Dr. Gregory Voss,Senior Pastor

2765 Trinity Mills RoadBuilding 300

Carrollton, TX 75006214-514-9147

14 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

Church Happenings www.NorthDallasGazette.com

The New Light ChurchENCOURAGING, EMPOWERING, EVANGELIZING

“Taste and see that the LORD is Good.”

Shaun Rabb, Senior Pastor

Sunday School 9:30AMSunday Worship Service 11:00AM

Thursday Night Live At The Light 7:00PM

Come, ExperienceThe Light!

www.newlightchurchdallas.org

9314 Elam Rd. | Dallas, TX 75217214.391.3430

are garnering the preciousand often elusive word-of-mouth referrals. Momen-tum is about building a rep-utation. Acquiring it, how-ever, doesn’t mean you cantaper off on your efforts...but it does mean that yourefforts will become easier.

The best thing aboutMomentum is that onceyou get it, motivation be-comes self-perpetuating.Momentum is energizing.It keeps you on your toes.And, the rewards comequickly and regularly.

I have found this to true

in all pursuits. Even whenI am writing fiction there isalways a certain point in anovel that it takes on a lifeof its own and demands mydaily attention, energy andfocus until it is complete.

Unfortunately, nothingquite puts the brakes onMomentum like finishing abook, or completing anyother major task. The trickto avoid losing that Mo-mentum is to begin anotherbook or another task beforeyou complete the first one.

Then you just shiftyour energy over to the

next project that is alreadyunder way.

Robert Evans Wilson,Jr. is a motivational spe-aker and humorist. Heworks with companies thatwant to be more competi-

tive and with people whowant to think like innova-tors. For more informationon Robert's programs visitwww.jumpstartyourmeet-ing.com.

September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette | 15

8:00am & 10:30am

www.NorthDallasGazette.com Sister Tarpley

Young Miss Tyanna Donnise Lott with her Uncle Jar-rell and Aunt Cleo Spann Tarpley at her grand-mother’s birthday dinner.

ZONE, continued from Page 13

Unless the Lord Goes With Us

Avenue F Church of Christ1026 Avenue F • Plano, TX 75074

972-423-8833www.avefchurchofchrist.org

Ramon Hodridge, Minister

Early Sunday Morning ...................8:00 amSunday Bible Class .........................9:45 amSunday Morning Worship............10:45 amEvening Worship ...........................3:00 pmWednesday Bible Class ..................7:00 pm

Radio Program @ 7:30 am onKHVN 970 AM Sunday Mornings

male.Not surprisingly, teens

text the most, sending orreceiving an amazing 2,779SMS messages a month. Inthe next two age brackets,text usage falls by morethan half each time, withthose aged 18-24 sendingor receiving 1,299 mes-sages and those aged 25-34exchanging an average of592 messages.

While the text usagevaries greatly betweenthose 18-24 and those 25-34, their voice usage isquite close (981 voice min-

utes for 18-24 and 952minutes a month for those25-34 years old.)

Location plays intousage patterns as well.Southerners are the mosttalkative, but while Floridaranks high in terms ofmonthly voice minutes

used, it ranks very low fortext messaging (the statehas one of the highest me-dian ages and older Ameri-cans text the least.) Missis-sippi, interestingly enough,ranks high for both talkingand texting.

16 | September 16 - 22, 2010 | North Dallas Gazette

www.NorthDallasGazette.com

7:30 AM • 9:30 AM • 11:30 AM

TEXT, continued from Page 11Neighborhoods networkingevent September 18

(NDG Wire) Citizensare invited to join the Neigh-borhood Advisory Commis-sion and the City of Carroll-ton Community Services fora Neighborhoods Network-ing Event for InvolvedNeighbors from 8:45 a.m. tonoon on Saturday, Septem-ber 18 at Crosby RecreationCenter (1610 E. CrosbyRoad). The Commission andthe City are coming togetherto create community withinneighborhoods.

The event will host vari-

ous speakers as well as pro-vide the opportunity for cit-izens to build people-to-people connections betweenneighbors, neighborhoodsand commissioners for theNeighborhood AdvisoryCommission. Neighborhoodleaders will share successesin their own neighborhoods,followed by roundtable dis-cussions among participants.

Topics and Speakers:Communications - GaryWooley, President, OakHills ACORN; Crime Watch

- Cynthia Gonzales, CrimeWatch Chair, Savoy of JoseyRanch; Fundraising – SusanCampbell, Board Member,The Whitlock Warriors; andNeighborhood Beautifica-tion - Marilyn Roppolo,Beautification Chair, Savoyof Josey Ranch.

Share what is working inyour neighborhood andenjoy a lively idea ex-change. For more informa-tion, call Community Devel-opment at 972-466-4299.