WILDCATS PREPPING FOR

2012 FOOTBALL SEASON

SEE PAGE 6

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AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 2012YEAR 37 NO. 32

GEORGE E. CURRY: Anti-poverty programs have been successful PAGE 4

Popular restaurant

owner Mae Sheppard

laid to rest

SEE PAGE 8

GWEN AZAMA-EDWARDSIf elected, Azama-Edwards would

be the second Black female mayor of Daytona Beach, following Yvonne Scarlett Golden, who was elected in 2003. She died of cancer in 2006.

Azama-Edwards is quick to boast about her prior experience as city clerk/assistant to city manager for 15 years with the City of Daytona Beach. She also mentions her two-year term as a city commissioner and having chaired and held leadership posi-tions on more than 40 boards/com-mittees in the city, county, state and at national levels.

“I am running for this office be-cause there is still a disconnect be-tween what the people of the city want and what they receive,” Azama-Edwards said.

“Elected officials don’t seem to un-derstand that there are people hurt-ing in our city. They (residents) have unmet needs that grow as hope dwin-dles yearly.

‘Promises made, promises kept’

Azama-Edwards said increasing spending and fees is something she is not planning.

There is a need for more recre-ational activities for youth, families and seniors, she said. She also wants

to increase staff for such programs.“We need someone responsive to

the needs of existing residents and businesses and neighborhood con-cerns,” she explained.

“People have found me to be trust-worthy, a person who follows through and keeps my word, promises made, promises kept,” she continued.

As mayor, Azama-Edwards says her priorities would be bringing bet-ter paying jobs to the city; improving relationships between the city and existing businesses; cleaning up and protecting neighborhoods; and im-proving the city’s image internally and externally.

“Campaigning time will not be the only time residents and businesses see me in their neighborhoods. I will form committees made up of resi-dents and businesses who live with the problems, giving them a voice and opportunity to help us take ac-tion to solve those problems,” said Azama-Edwards.

Azama-Edwards says she plans to host three summits during her first term – one for youth, the second for businesses and the third involving residents.

Daytona Beach mayoral candidates

share why they should be elected

PHOTOS BY ANDREAS BUTLER/DAYTONA TIMES Gwen Azama-Edwards, left, and Edith Shelley, center, are the two female candidates for mayor of Daytona Beach. !ey will face Fred Ho"man and Derrick Henry, who is shown in the photo on the right with Volusia County Councilman Josh Wagner, who is seeking to keep his District 2 seat.

Please see MAYOR, Page 3

BY THE DAYTONA TIMES STAFF

Since the year 2000 campaign year, the Daytona Times, the Florida Courier and WPUL-AM 1590 have maintained a consistent editorial policy of not recom-mending candidates – whether nation-al, state or local and regardless of race – who chose not to promote their candida-cies through our media when they have media budgets available.

We find it ironic that candidates, their consultants and ad agencies can get in contact with us via e-mail, “snail mail” or telephone, or even stop by unannounced at our Daytona MLK Blvd. offices when

it comes to covering campaign events as news stories or appearing on WPUL’s talk shows. But when it comes to paid adver-tising, we hear, “We can’t get in contact with you,” or “We will use our campaign budget to reach Black Volusians a more cost-effective way,” we were told by the Derrick Henry campaign.

It’s also strange to occasionally hear from some candidates’ representatives that “We didn’t know you existed.” What does that say about someone’s ability to learn about and represent a sizable Black constituency if they or their support staff don’t even know that East Central Florida is one of the few communities

in America that has had its own Black-owned newspaper for almost 35 years and its own Black-owned radio station for almost 25 years?

No recommendationsWe make NO RECOMMENDATIONS

with regard to Democratic or Republican Party committee candidates that appear on the August 14 primary ballot.

We make NO RECOMMENDATIONS with regard to Democratic or Republican Party primary races for the U.S. House and Senate and the Florida Legislature because none of the candidates, regard-

less of party, have attempted to reach out to Black voters.

We do note, however, that longtime U.S. Rep. John Mica is in a primary race that has drawn national attention. It’s unfortunate that he has not reached out to the relative handful of registered Black Republicans in Volusia County who could be the difference in a close race.

We make NO RECOMMENDATIONS with regard to the local races for Coun-ty Council chair and most of the seats; Democratic or Republican Party primary races for the U.S. House and Senate; and the Florida Legislature. Virtually none of the candidates, regardless of party, have attempted to reach out to Black voters.

To maintain consistency with our po-

Daytona Times political recommendations

Please see RECOMMENDATIONS, Page 2

BY JAMES HARPERDAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

Volusia County’s reg-istered voters have been going to the polls to ear-ly vote since Aug. 4. They have until Saturday, Aug. 11 to vote during regular early voting hours from

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.On the primary ballot,

residents are voting for can-didates for United States senator; U.S. representative in Congress, District 6; state attorney, county judge, groups 4 and 8; school board, districts 2 and 4; su-pervisor of elections; and county council chair.

In some of the primary races, there are only two candidates so there will be no need for a run-off elec-tion during the general election on Nov. 6.

Black vote countsConsidering a low turn-

out so far at early voting sites across Volusia Coun-ty based on the number of registered voters, Black voters could have the fi-nal word on who is elected in some key races. That’s if

they all vote for same can-didate.

“The Black communi-ty has become more inde-pendent. They vote on is-sues. They (Blacks) don’t block-vote anymore,” said Bethune-Cookman Uni-versity Political Science Professor Randy Jacobs.

Jacobs said considering the makeup of the popu-lation (35 percent Black) of Daytona Beach and the number of registered Black voters citywide and county-

wide, candidates – Black or White – should not write off the Black vote.

“Although they (Whites) think they don’t need our (Black) vote, they should reach out. They don’t know our issues; many are not in touch with our communi-ty,” Jacobs noted.

Low turnout According to the elec-

tions office, in Daytona Beach as of Aug. 7, there were a total of 36,063 reg-

istered voters. Of that total, 12,136 are Black; 20,830 White.

At the City Island Library, where voting booths are set up in Daytona Beach for early voting until Sat-urday, only 1,418 residents had voted by the Daytona Times’ Wednesday press deadline.

Countywide, 4,963 in-cluding Daytona Beach voters, had voted. In Volu-sia County, there are 27,131

Will Black voters decide this election?

Please see VOTERS, Page 5

BY JAMES HARPERDAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

Daytona Beach residents could know on Aug. 14 who will be their next mayor.

The contest could be narrowed down to the top two vote getters unless one of the four candidates vying for the seat be-ing vacated by Mayor Glenn Ritchey re-ceives 50 percent plus one of the votes cast during this primary.

If no one gets a majority of the votes, the top two face each other in the Nov. 6 general election.

The candidates are current Zone 2

Commissioner Edith Shelley; Gwen Aza-ma-Edwards, a former city commission-er and city clerk; Derrick Henry, educa-tor and a former com-missioner; and Fred Hoffman, Realtor and hotel owner.

Three candidates an-swered questions pro-vided to them by the Daytona Times.

Prior to the questions being sent out, Hoffman presented information via his website. A profile on Hoffman appeared in the July 19 is-sue of the Daytona Times.

Fred Hoffman

None of the candidates can afford to overlook potential impact of African-American vote, professor says

2 AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 2012FOCUS

The Aug. 14 primary election is upon us and numerous offices are up for grabs.

Some key local elections include Daytona Beach Mayor, Volusia County Council

2, Volusia County Supervisor of Elections and Volusia County Clerk of Court.

Some races will be decided while others will be decided during the general election on Nov. 6.

The Daytona Times asked the readers: Which races are you most interested in and why?

I am looking at several, including the may-or, county chair, su-pervisor of elections and school board.

(Glenn) Ritchey did a good job as mayor and filling his shoes will be tough. Frank Bruno is a wonderful guy. He did well as county chair and filling his shoes will be also be tough. (Supervi-sor of Elections Ann) Mc-Fall has held her office for a long time and the people on the school board have been there since I was in middle school. The question is if the county is happy with what we have there or ready for a change.

– Deana Dutting, 35, Daytona Beach

I am in-terested in the presi-dential elec-tion. The presi-dent is the most

powerful man in the world and leader of the world’s most powerful nation. He makes deci-sions that affect many, especially us here in this country in terms of health care, war and etc. You want to be on top of who that person be-comes. Also, the mayor’s race because that per-son is in charge of our city and affects our lives daily and directly.

– Chaundra Brown-ing, 34, Daytona Beach

Since I live in unincorporated South Daytona, I have to look at the county level, especially the County Chair and County Council Seat 2. I’m looking

at both Ted Doran and Joshua Wagner for those seats. They have the best answers. I haven’t seen the others. I’ve met and spoken with both. I’ve lived here all my life and so has my family. I am looking for changes in the county. We pay so many taxes for hospitals, schools, the Ocean Center and our mileage rate is one of the highest. We also have one of the highest gas tax rates. I’m tired of us citizens paying for other people’s vacation. I hope that these guys can help make the changes.

– John Capers, 31, South Daytona

I am di-rectly inter-ested in the mayor-al race. My for-mer high

school assistant prin-cipal Derrick Henry is running and I am as-sisting with his cam-paign. I think the next mayor should be some-one willing to change the city for the better and dedicated to lis-tening to the residents and cares. I think that Henry is that man. The other candidates are al-right, but I think he is the man for the job.

– Douglas Moore, 21, Daytona Beach

COMPILED BY ANDREAS BUTLER

PEOPLE SPEAK

I am looking at the County Council Seat 2 race. There has been a lot of name bashing between Ken Ali and Josh Wagner on the radio. … I believe in Wagner. I’ve known him and his family for a while.

– Kenneth Dowdell, Daytona Beach

litical advertising policy es-poused on the front page, we will, however, provide information on candidates and races that we believe are of particular interest or importance to East Volu-sia’s Black community and make recommendations as necessary.

Information was gath-ered from candidates’ websites and in some cas-es responses to question-naires or previous news stories.

MAYOR OF DAYTONA BEACH

Four people vie for the seat including, Edith Shelly, Gwen Azama-Ed-wards, Derrick Henry and Fred Hoffman.

In the city’s “weak may-or” form of government, the mayor is essentially just another vote. But the mayor does have the abil-ity to set the tone and es-tablish a theme for the city’s future, as the late Mayor Yvonne Scarlett-Golden used her “It’s All About Respect” campaign instead of zero-tolerance policing to tone down the raucous Black College Re-unions.

One issue every mayor must grapple with is de-cades of deferred main-tenance and crumbling infrastructure that dis-proportionately exists in Black communities spread across three city zones. The reason: previous city commissions took tax money from Black home-owners to build the rest of the city.

The candidatesShelley is currently the

city’s Zone 1 commission-er and has been in public servant for 18 years. She wants to encourage eco-nomic opportunities, pro-vide safer streets, improve infrastructure, make gov-ernment more accessi-ble and improve custom-er service. She was award-ed the local NAACP chap-ter’s Trailblazer Award last year.

Azama-Edwards is a for-mer Zone 5 city commis-sioner and is a former city

clerk. She is also a radio talk show host and runs a small consulting firm. She wants to bring in higher-paying jobs, clean up the city, reduce crime, bal-ance the city’s redevelop-ment and growth, provide activities for youth, and preserve historic buildings and heritage sites.

Henry is a former educa-tor and basketball coach. He wants to create good paying jobs, improve in-frastructure, provide saf-er streets, make govern-ment more accessible and efficient, and improve the quality of life.

Hoffman is self-em-ployed. He wants to run the city like a business, bring jobs, make the city green, donate red-light camera profits to non-profit organizations and bring back tourism and special events.

Had her chanceAfter decades of ne-

glect, chickens have come home to roost in the long-term slum and blight that Daytona Beach refused to fix before the 2008 reces-sion hit and city revenues crashed. And of the four mayoral candidates, on-ly one – Azama-Edwards – had the opportunity to move the city in a different direction when she served as the crucial fourth vote in 2003-’05, the only time in history to date that Day-tona Beach had a major-ity-Black commission: Azama-Edwards, the late Charles W. Cherry, Sr., the late Yvonne Scarlett-Gold-en, and Dwayne Taylor.

Individual commission-ers must look out for the needs of his or her respec-tive zone within the con-text of the larger needs of the city. Azama-Edwards refused to do so, ostensibly because she represented a predominately White dis-trict that she won by only one vote. She could never be counted on to vote to begin to fix what had been ‘broken’ in Black Daytona for years, even though fo-cusing resources on slum and blight has always been in the entire city’s best in-terest.

Azama-Edwards then

placed her own ambition ahead of what was best for the city when she forced 78-year old Scarlett-Gold-en to needlessly expend energy during the 2005 mayoral campaign prima-ry by running against her. She refused to drop out, telling anyone within ear-shot that “God told me I would run and win.”

God evidently had oth-er plans. Azama-Edwards lost badly. Scarlett-Gold-en eventually won a pun-ishing runoff – and was dead 13 months later of bile duct cancer. The ma-jority Black commission is now a historical blip, with no lasting signature ac-complishments.

In the years after the loss, Azama-Edwards – who ironically had been the city clerk, one of Daytona’s highest-ranked Black staff – bided her time, became a radio talk show host, and plotted another mayoral run. She silently watched as Daytona Beach’s top managers, including high-ly qualified Black manag-ers recruited by Scarlett-Golden and Cherry, Sr., were slowly purged from City Hall. Given her lack of historical judgment and understanding and her unwillingness to fight for right, she has not earned your vote.

Hoffman, the only can-didate without commis-sion experience and who did not respond to a Day-tona Times questionnaire, has details on his website that involve city opera-tions. His ideas deserve further consideration.

Our concernsHenry and Shelley are

glib local politicians with well-deserved reputations as ‘shoe-leather’ cam-paigners who are willing to aggressively campaign door-to-door and event to event.

Shelley, a Republican, is backed by the usual down-town/beachside power structure whose historical mess is still being cleaned up. Though Henry easily won two Zone 5 elections before quitting his seat as a consequence of trumped-up criminal chares, we have received complaints from Zone 5 constituents about no-shows at com-munity events and poor constituent service. He

has also refused to pay at least one local vendor for services rendered to his campaign.NO RECOMMENDATION.

VOLUSIA COUNTY CLERK OF COURT

Incumbent Diane Ma-tousek faces challeng-ers Steve deLaroche and Christine Sanders.

Matousek has held the office since 1992 and has been working in it since 1973. This is the first time she is running opposed. She is running on her ex-perience and her strides for making the office one of the most technology-friendly in the state.

DeLaroche, a Republi-can, is a former prosecu-tor and judge. He wants to make the system more dig-ital, in line with the Flori-da Supreme Court’s man-date that courts be com-pletely paperless. He says he supports saving mon-ey by using less postage, making the office avail-able by phone to all court workers, making the office accessible by computer to the public, and keeping more jobs.

The question is wheth-er the public wants a new face or is pleased with the clerk they already have. NO RECOMMENDATION.

VOLUSIA COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS

Incumbent Ann McFall faces challengers Teresa Apgar, Beaulah Blanks and Andy Kelly.

McFall, a Republican, opposed Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s voting purge law, which would have taken voters off the regis-tration list. She also point-ed out irregularities in ab-sentee ballots that in one case eventually led to for-mer commissioner Der-rick Henry’s resignation from office after wrongly taking a public position, as an elections official in-volved in the case, against Henry.

Blanks is a Black female who is a former attorney and educator. She oppos-

es McFall’s handling of the office and accuses her of sitting on the sidelines while discriminatory vot-er registration laws were passed. She also wants to provide cost-effective technology to keep voters informed.

Apgar, a former account executive for the Dayto-na Beach News-Journal, has worked with several organizations and served on several communi-ty boards. Apgar wants to donate part of her annual salary, modernize the of-fice, continue paper bal-lots with receipts, remove felons and deceased from voter rolls in a timely mat-ter and continue consoli-dating polling stations to save money.

Kelly, a former accoun-tant, has served on the Volusia County Coun-cil and as water and con-servation supervisor. He wants to enhance voter education, make the of-fice more open and acces-sible, and treat all requests equally. NO RECOMMENDATION.

VOLUSIA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 2

Incumbent Dr. Al Wil-liams faces challenger Ida Duncan-Wright.

Williams has been the lone Black voice on the board for years, and has served as board chairman. He wants to build on what he believes are past suc-cesses, help children learn and gain appreciation for education, and address challenges to the school system.

Wright is an instructor at Bethune-Cookman Uni-versity and serves on the Midtown Redevelopment Area Board. She wants to fight for adequate funding and doesn’t want politics to hamper children’s edu-cational growth.

Despite Williams’ long-time tenure, no notable achievements come to mind, and he has been si-lent with respect to how to improve the generally lackluster academic per-formance of Black stu-

dents in Volusia County. NO RECOMMENDATION.

VOLUSIA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2

The incumbent Joshua Wagner squares off with businessman Ken Ali and former Ponce Inlet Mayor Nancy Epps.

Wagner, a young attor-ney, did well during his first term fighting to low-er taxes, bring in jobs and on matters of equality. He wants another term to continue his efforts.

Ali owns an aviation business and is a former county employee who is also a minister. He wants to lower the tax rate, pro-vide better service, cre-ate trade and cultural re-lations between the coun-ty and Caribbean nations, control spending, re-boost tourism and bring jobs.

Epps has served as Ponce Inlet’s mayor for several terms. She lost the same race to Wagner by 77 votes four years ago. Epps wants to lower taxes, re-solve storm water prob-lems, acquire preservation land, restore parks, and create jobs.

Wagner has served the county well, and he de-serves the opportunity to continue to serve. Ali’s negative campaigning re-flects poorly on him and on his ministry. RECOMMENDATION: WAGNER

VOLUSIA COUNTY JUDGE, GROUP 8

Michael McDermott wants to unseat incumbent Judge Bryan Feigenbaum.

Gov. Charlie Christ ap-pointed Feigenbaum after Feigenbaum served in the State Attorney’s Office for 20 years. McDermott has been an attorney for 26 years. There’s no evidence that Feigenbaum should forfeit the privilege of con-tinuing on the bench, es-pecially given his rela-tively short tenure on the court.RECOMMENDATION: FEIGENBAUM

RECOMMENDATIONSfrom Page 1

ELECTION 2012AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 2012 3

She says the city needs more grant writers who know how and where to look for funds. She sup-ports increased code en-forcement and hiring more law enforcement.

“All top-level and well-paid staff should be re-quired to live in the city as in the ordinance we passed when I was on the commis-sion. I also like the com-mission’s requirement of new businesses to hire 50 percent of local residents,” said Azama-Edwards.

More funds wanted for 32114 zip code

She also questioned the current commission’s de-cision to install red-light cameras in the city. “An-other idea – with not great results,” she remarked.

“We should not have set a budget with expected in-come from something un-proven. Now that we have them (red-light cameras), we can keep a few at key intersections where traffic accidents had been a ma-jor issue before the red-light cameras were added,” Azama-Edwards noted.

“They, however, need to be reduced and redis-tributed from the poorer areas of the city because there appears to be an in-ordinate number of red-light cameras surround-ing the poorer parts of the city. We do not need more of them due to the inherent costs associated with them and still questionable ac-cident reductions, neither of which appear to justi-fy having them.

She concluded, “The 32114 zip code area is the most disadvantaged sec-tion of Daytona Beach and needs some serious ded-icated funds and servic-es. I will work with social service agencies and others to increase the quality of life for individuals living in this area and the city overall.’’

Azama-Edwards is mar-ried to the Rev. Larry Ed-wards of St. John Mission-ary Baptist Church and they have raised two sons.

DERRICK HENRYDerrick Henry cited be-

ing re-elected twice to the Daytona Beach City Com-mission with over 65 per-cent of the vote as one rea-son he should be elected mayor.

He noted that he also served as chairman of the Daytona Beach Visions In-frastructure committee.

Henry was removed from his Zone 5 commis-sion seat by Gov. Charlie Crist after he was charged with conspiracy to commit voter fraud and illegally ob-taining absentee ballots.

After paying fines and completing other orders by a judge, the charges against Henry were dropped last year. Henry has said in in-terviews he never intended to break the law and was working with his campaign manager only to increase voter turnout.

After reaching a plea deal, Henry officially re-signed as a city commis-sioner and his job with Volusia County Schools af-ter having been reassigned from his assistant principal position at Mainland High School.

Henry focusing on future, not past

Henry moved on with his life, got a new job and is married to Dr. Stephanie Henry.

He has a 25-year-old son, Michael, and recently cele-brated the birth of his sec-ond child, Derrick Jr.

Patrick Henry, Derrick’s older brother, was elected to fill the city commission seat representing Zone 5 which he had resigned.

In spite of the legal issue, Henry said with his broad appeal, he is the best can-didate to “unite the com-munity from the beachside to the mainland, from the younger generation to the more seasoned members of our community.”

Henry explained that he has a history of focusing on issues that confront the least-served areas of the community as well as a re-cord of strong and decisive decision-making that is not given to placating the traditional power brokers in the community but fo-cused on the needs of the

residents and the small business community.

‘One City, One Vision’

During his first term in office, Henry said he hopes to create a plan for a more comprehensive residency requirement for city staff; create a more effective lo-cal preference ordinance giving greater preference to businesses that are lo-cated in the city of Dayto-na Beach as it relates to city contracts; and do a com-plete review and overhaul of the budgeting process focused on finding cost-saving measures in each department.

Henry also wants to find a resolution to the impasse between the firefighters and the city; locate and identify funds for the res-toration of Orange Ave-nue; and inspire residents to take ownership of the Yvonne Scarlett Golden Center and the Midtown Community Center with true community-based programs that are encour-aged and supported by the city.

Henry has disagreed with a number of votes of the current commission.

“They have consistent-ly voted with an apparent hostility toward business interest and failed to pro-tect the core of the city,” Henry said.

He also noted the cur-rent commission and city

staff are “consistently us-ing legal rhetoric to justify their failure to protect Mid-town.”

Henry said his top prior-ity if elected will the resto-ration of the core areas of the city (Midtown and the Ridgewood corridor) with a focus on infrastructure improvements as a means of attracting new business to all redevelopment areas of the city.

The theme of his cam-paign has been “One City, One Vision,” which he says is the core of his platform - to ensure a fair distribution of the city’s resources to all segments of the city and to make certain that everyone is included in the vision of a better Daytona Beach.

“My entire life of public service has been focused on helping what the Bi-ble refers to as “the least of these. I am not a John-ny come lately as it relates to the interest of the Black community,” Henry noted.

Henry was born and raised in Daytona Beach. He has served as a coordi-nator of the College Reach-Out Program at Daytona State College; directed the Sisters and Brothers Learn-ing Experience (SABLE) and worked as head bas-ketball coach at Mainland High School.

Henry touts accomplishments

Henry boasts that as a city commissioner, he vot-ed to reduce taxes; pushed for the resurfacing of Der-byshire Road and Brent-wood Road as well as side-walks for Brentwood; sup-ported over $8 million worth of infrastructure im-provements – most in the blighted core of the city; supported the extension of Dunn Avenue; and helped create the Daytona Beach School of government for high school students; host-ed forums for high school students and adult resi-dents to share their con-cerns; and helped triple the attendance of the West-side Neighborhood Watch Group.

“As a teacher, coach, ad-ministrator, child advo-cate and local business owner, I have served thou-sands of residents in Day-tona Beach, helping them to pursue their dreams and find solutions to the prob-lems that confront them,” Henry added.

“I love Daytona Beach and want to rescue it from the hands of a small plu-tocracy of business elites and politicians who have been unable or unwilling to eliminate the city’s enor-mous blight; reduce its in-creasing poverty; curb its declining population; save its schools and post office, resolve the homeless and unemployment crisis. The mayor’s job will be a diffi-cult one, but one that I am well prepared for.’’

EDITH SHELLEYEdith Shelley is current-

ly a city commissioner rep-resenting Zone 1. She was elected to office in 2010 and resigned this year to run for mayor.

Shelley says she has the determination, drive, knowledge and experience to move the city forward.

Before being elected, she served on the city’s Plan-ning Board for almost 20 years, working as chairman for half of that time.

Shelley says she is the

only candidate with the depth of understanding of the city’s comprehensive plan and land develop-ment code needed to move Daytona Beach forward.

She also was chairman-ship of the city’s Vision Committee.

Shelley believes she has a broad communitywide perspective and is a genu-ine people person with the understanding of the im-portance of crafting poli-cy that works toward solu-tions for people.

‘Out in the community’

“The value of my years of service on the Planning Board is that I understand the complex issues fac-ing our city. I have the his-torical knowledge and the proven ability to craft solu-tions for our community’s problems,” Shelley said.

“My record as chairman of the Daytona Beach Vi-sion Committee demon-strates my ability to bring all segments of the city to-gether to reach a common goal,” she continued.

As an elected official, Shelley prides herself for being “out in the commu-nity.”

“I will continue to be out in the community as your mayor. This is my home. My business is here. My children were born and raised here. I listen to citi-zens in the barbershop. I listen to residents on their front porches. I ride my bike through the neighbor-hoods to have a person-al contact with residents of our city. I am accessible and will continue to be ac-cessible. You will not find a mayor who will work hard-er for this city than I will,” Shelley elaborated.

Shelley says Daytona Beach needs a leader who is able to make the hard decisions that will contin-ue to move it forward dur-ing these difficult times.

She plans on being a pos-itive and proactive leader.

Shelley: Orange Avenue repair a priority

If elected mayor, Shelley said she would adopt and implement the new land development code.

“This is a major tool to encourage both business and residential develop-ment. It will eliminate in-consistencies that discour-age urban infill redevelop-ment and investment. This is vital to the implemen-tation of the Midtown Re-development Area Master Plan,” Shelley said.

Shelley said the recon-struction of Orange Avenue will remain a top priority.

“A major part of that Midtown Redevelopment Master Plan is the repair and upgrade of Orange Av-enue. The economic devel-opment and residential vi-tality of the core of our city is dependent on the Or-ange Avenue project. This commission has made Or-ange Avenue a top priority and I will continue to press for forward to accomplish this project. Not only to ac-complish but to implement the complete street design envisioned in the Midtown Redevelopment Area Mas-ter Plan,” she continued.

Shelley praised the work she and her fellow com-missioners have accom-plished.

“This commission has worked well together try-

ing to address the many issues that affect our city - storm water projects to ad-dress flooding in the core have been at the forefront,” she noted.

Under her term as com-missioner so far, Shel-ley said the city complet-ed the $1.6 million South Street storm water proj-ect; the North Street Pond and Park has now become a recreational opportuni-ty for the neighborhood with a paved multiuse trail around the perimeter; and the North and Mark Street Flood Control Park has been completed.

The current commis-sion also has approved ad-ditional storm water and flood control measures.

Shelley named NAACP trailblazer

Shelley also mentioned the construction of new Midtown Cultural and Ed-ucational Center and the new Daytona Internation-al Speedway Corporation Building, which were com-pleted under her watch.

“The new land develop-ment code encourages in-centives for green build-ings. I will continue to sup-port the implementation of these standards and incen-tives,” Shelley said.

“Several exciting proj-ects will be moving for-ward during the next four years. These projects are the result of the founda-tion being laid now. Inves-tors are looking at Daytona Beach in a new way. This commission is putting pol-icies in place now that will be beneficial to assuring that projects will move for-ward in 2013 and 2014 to benefit the citizens of Day-tona Beach. As your mayor, I will be positive and pro-active in moving forward,” Shelley concluded.

Shelley has also served on the Downtown Ballough Road Redevelopment Area Advisory Board, Bethune-Cookman University Per-forming Arts Center Advi-sory Board, Mayor’s Com-munity Advisory Board, Daytona Regional Cham-ber Local Government Committee and Volusia County Schools Impact Fee Committee.

Last year she received the Volusia County/Day-tona Beach NAACP Trail-blazer Award 2011.

Shelley and her hus-band, Denis, both natives of San Antonio, Texas, work in a law firm, Legacy Estate Planners, where she serves as government relations specialist. They moved to the area 33 years ago.

What candidates raised

Shelley has raised the most money in her elec-tion campaign so far. She has amassed $60,973, hav-ing spent $27,703.

Azama-Edwards is in second place with contri-butions of $26,829, spend-ing $20,160. Azama-Ed-wards said it is her goal to get the votes necessary to win outright. If she ends up in a runoff against Shelley, she would have to refill her campaign coffer, whereas Shelley still has almost half of her contributions.

Henry comes in third place raising $12,331 spending $10,386.

Hoffman brings up the rear in contributions with $2,024. He had spent it all as of July 20.

MAYORfrom Page 1

No love for Obama. Urg-ing voters to help stop the president, supporters of the Republican Party of Volusia County provide a list of conser-vative candi-dates for po-tential voters at the Daytona Beach Regional Library City Island.

ASHLEY THOMAS/DAYTONA TIMES

Blacks more likely to use payday loans

AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 20124 EDITORIAL

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ADAM ZYGLIS, THE BUFFALO NEWS

Most payday borrowers use the small-dollar loans to cov-er ordinary living expenses in-stead of occasional or unex-pected emergencies, according to a new research report by Pew Charitable Trusts.

“Who Borrows, Where They Borrow and Why,” the first in a series of payday lending reports by Pew, also found that 81 per-cent of those who have used a storefront payday loan would cut back on expenses if the high-cost loans were not available.

Payday alternatives preferred by consumers included credit unions (44 percent), credit cards (37 percent) or an employer loan (17 percent). Among first-time borrowers, 69 percent used a payday loan for recurring ex-penses such as utilities, credit cards, housing or food.

Although most payday bor-rowers are White, female and aged 25-44, African-Americans and four other groups are the most frequent payday borrow-ers: renters, consumers earning less than $40,000 annually and those who are either separated or divorced.

Additional Pew findings showed:

used a storefront or online pay-day loan in 2010, the most re-cent year for which substantial data is available;

-debted about five months of the year; and

out eight loans and spends $520 on interest.

Earlier payday research by the Center for Responsible Lending found that communities of color are frequently areas where pay-day stores are clustered. Further, states with the highest number of payday stores per 10,000 res-idents also had significant Af-rican-American populations. Those states are Alabama, Loui-siana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ne-vada, South Carolina and Ten-nessee.

A 2011 report by the Center for Responsible Lending found that payday loan customers re-main indebted double the time that the Federal Deposit Insur-ance Corporation recommends.

“Payday Loans, Inc.: Short on Credit, Long on Debt “verified how the typical two-week small-dollar loan becomes a deepen-ing pit of debt lasting on aver-age 212 days in the first year of borrowing and growing to 372

days in the succeeding year. Yet according to FDIC guidance, no payday borrower should be in-debted for more than 90 days in any 12-month period.

According to CRL, much of the problem with fully retiring payday debt is because of the industry requirement that bor-rowers pay the entire loan with-in the next paycheck. For most borrowers, this specific loan term denies them the ability to financially manage the rest of their lives.

In response to these and oth-er payday findings, Rev. DeFor-est Soaries, Jr., author of “Debt Free: Breaking Free from Finan-cial Slavery,” said, “Reputable businesses build their loyal cli-entele by offering value-priced products and services. Custom-ers choose to return to these businesses. But payday lenders build their repeat business by trapping borrowers into a cycle of crippling debt with triple digit interest rates and fees.”

Soaries recently launched a Web-based community, www.billiondollarpaydown.com, where participants will learn how to set debt reduction goals and get ahead financially. The campaign goal is to assist 150,000 individuals and 1,000 organizations to pay down $1 billion of consumer debt by reg-istering at least 150,000 consum-ers and 1,000 organizations.

The curriculum includes a workbook, trainers’ guide, activ-ities and evaluation tools to help participants become financial-ly self-sufficient. As a financial safeguard, the Challenge Web site does not ask for any account information, nor does it accept payments on its site.

For more information, con-tact Rev. Soaries at dbsoaries@mydfree.org.

Charlene Crowell is the Communications Manager for State Policy & Outreach with the Center for Responsi-ble Lending. Click on this sto-ry at www.daytonatimes.com to write your own response.

Anti-poverty programs have been successful

Conservatives continue to as-sert that anti-poverty programs have failed when, in fact, they have saved millions of people from plunging into poverty.

On July 23, 2012, Mary Kath-erine, in an appearance on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” said, “(W)e’ve spent $17 trillion on the war on poverty since it began. Originally the plan was to be able to lift people out of poverty. It does not feel to people like we’re getting there, and [Obama’s] out there do-ing other things and making the pitch that that is what’s going to solve the problem...We’re on track to spend over a trillion dollars per year on welfare programs...and it’s not helping.”

The same day, Monica Crow-ley, appearing on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” said, “...Since the mid-1960s when Lyndon John-son launched the Great Society program, and started this massive spending spree…What we now know is that none of those social welfare programs...have worked. None of it has alleviated poverty. In fact the poverty state has gotten worse instead of better.”

Both wrongMedia Matters, the media watch-

dog group, looked at a half-dozen reports that debunk the popular – though inaccurate – right-wing talking point.

“In fact,” Media Matters stated, “federal government programs such as food stamps, Social Secu-rity, and other measures created or boosted by the stimulus bill have kept millions out of poverty and

lowered the poverty rate.”Poverty is defined by the feder-

al government as a family of two parents and two children earning $22,113 annually or one parent and two children receiving $17,568 a year. According to the Census Bu-reau, 15.1 percent of Americans, or 46.2 million people, live below the poverty line. That’s the highest rate since 1993, but 7.3 percent lower than 1959 when figures were first kept.

According to the National Pover-ty Center at the University of Mich-igan, the poverty rate was 22.4 per-cent in the late 1950s, declined throughout the 1960s – when the Great Society anti-poverty pro-grams were created – and reached a low of 11.1 percent in 1973 before inching back up to its current level of 15.1 percent.

Would be doubledThe non-partisan Center on

Budget and Policy Priorities (CB-PP) analyzed Census Bureau fig-ures and found that without fed-eral programs, the poverty rate would have doubled. They also found that:

million Americans out of poverty; -

ly 7 million Americans out of pov-erty;

-it and Child Tax Credit lifted more than 8 million people, including 5 million children, out of poverty in 2010;

benefits kept more than 3 million people out of poverty in 2010;

people, including 2 million chil-dren, out of poverty in 2010 and The Making Work Pay tax credit kept 1.5 million people out of pov-erty in 2010.

On April 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a study that showed because of SNAP, other-wise known as food stamps, be-tween 2000 and 2009 there was “an average decline of 4.4 percent in the prevalence of poverty due to SNAP benefits.”

The study also found that SNAP’s antipoverty effect was strongest in 2009 when benefits were increased under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus package). That year, SNAP befits reduced the poverty rate by nearly 8 percent and child poverty by 20.9 percent.

Conservatives can contin-ue to repeat the same old lie over and over, but that won’t make it true. Anti-poverty programs have worked and many of us are living proof.

George E. Curry, former ed-itor-in-chief of Emerge maga-zine, is editor-in-chief of the Na-tional Newspaper Publishers As-sociation News Service. Click on this story at www.daytonatimes.com to write your own response.

Does upward mobility exist anymore?

Mitt Romney’s Salt Lake pork

A new poll reveals that many Americans are questioning their prospects for “upward mobility.” The high level of pessimism is re-flected among respondents in a recent poll conducted by The Hill newspaper that found half (47 per-cent) of likely voters believe it’s impossible for them to become wealthy during the course of their lifetime.

The survey, conducted as the heated political presidential cam-paign becomes more acrimoni-ous over the interests of the haves and the have-nots, found that few-er than 2 in 5 likely voters (37 per-cent) think they can ever become rich. The Hill newspaper’s survey findings suggest pessimism about the possibility of upward mobil-ity as economic growth remains weak and jobs scarce. The nation-al debate over wealth is intensi-fying as it creates economic divi-sions across the country’s popula-tion segments.

Wider gapBetween 2005 and 2010 the

median net worth of Americans under 35 fell 37 percent, and the wealth gap between the young and the old in America is wider than it’s ever been. The percent-age of the workforce under age 25 has dropped 13.2 percent since 2008, and the U.S. unemployment rate is 12 percent for those age 18 to 29 because this age group’s

parents aren’t retiring.The wealth – more specifically,

the median net worth – of house-holds in the United States is var-ied in relation to race, education, geographic location and gender. Wealth in the U.S. is unevenly dis-tributed, with the wealthiest 25 percent of U.S. households owning 87 percent of the total wealth.

The median wealth of White households is 20 times that of Black households. For Black Americans, the annual median household in-come in 2010 was $29,328. It was $35,856 among all races. While Blacks make 62 cents of every dol-lar of income that Whites make, they only have 10 cents for every dollar of wealth that Whites have.

In The Hill poll, almost 40 percent of people said that the threshold to being wealthy was a $500,000 annual income. Twenty percent put the bar above $1 mil-lion. Thirty-one percent of people said a family earning $250,000 a year is wealthy. And 9 percent said $100,000 was the threshold.

Two AmericasEach day, America is comprised

more of economic haves and have-nots. Since the 2007 recession, the share of total wealth owned by the nation’s wealthiest one per-cent grew to 37.1 percent and that owned by the top 20 percent grew to 87.7 percent. The 2007 reces-sion, and aftermath, also increased the wealth gap between the 1 per-cent and the 99 percent.

According to a CBS News/New York Times poll, a majority of regis-tered voters believe that Mitt Rom-ney’s policies favor the rich. Fifty-three percent say Romney’s poli-cies favor the wealthy. Eleven per-cent says his policies favor the mid-dle class, while 2 percent say they favor the poor. Thirty percent say Romney’s policies treat all groups equally.

Of the social segments that favor President Barack Obama’s policies, 21 percent say his policies favor the rich, while 22 percent say they fa-vor the middle class and 24 per-cent say they favor the poor. Twen-ty-five percent say Obama’s poli-cies treat all groups equally.

Are Black voters in a totally dif-ferent place than the mainstream of Americans?

William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and is available for speaking/seminar projects via BaileyGroup.org. Click on this story at www.daytonatimes.com to write your own response.

You can’t follow the politics of our nation without hearing a ref-erence to “pork-barrel politics” – slang used when politicians un-dertake projects to benefit a group of friends in exchange for cam-paign donations.

If we go back to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, we’re told Mitt Romney became well known for saving the Winter Olympics from corruption sur-rounding the International Olym-pic Committee.

Personal ambitionComing off his defeat by Sen.

Edward Kennedy for Senate, and with apparent thoughts of run-ning for president, Romney need-ed a network to support his politi-cal aspirations. The Winter Olym-pics seemed like the perfect place to begin. The fact that he could have the project funded by tax-payers was icing on the cake!

Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe said Romney’s determination to present himself as a white knight came at a cost. Some say he mag-nified the extent of the commit-tee’s fiscal distress, risked possible conflicts of interest among board members, and shunted aside oth-ers whose work had been instru-mental in promoting the Games.

Lisa Roche wrote in the Desert News, “Mitt didn’t save the games. It was a publicity ploy from the be-ginning to build his platform in politics.”

Sydney Fonnesbeck, a member of the Salt Lake City Council, said, “He just came in and gathered the money already (pledged)...He didn’t want to give anyone else any credit. We became nobodies. A lot of us were hurt and angry. It didn’t surprise...us when he ran home and ran for governor.”

Billions goneIn a Dec. 2001 Sports Illustrat-

ed article, Donald Bartlett and James Steele wrote that “...while attention was on the Great Olym-pic Bribery Scandal…private and public interests siphoned about $1.5 billion out of the U.S. Trea-sury, the amount of taxpayer money spent, considering infla-tion, was more than spending for all seven games in the U.S. since 1904 – combined.”

Private enterprise derived sig-nificant long-term benefits from the congressional giveaways, draining funds from an unprec-edented number of federal agen-cies. The largest amount of tax-payer money per athlete was spent – about $625,000, far more than Atlanta or Los Angeles.

Romney spent far more tax dol-lars to enhance the long-term worth of for-profit businesses than any of our former host states. Pub-lic records show cronyism when Kem Gardner, Romney’s friend, was given a contract to build the Olympic Legacy Park in his shop-ping mall with millions of tax reim-bursements available. There was no competition for the bid. The park was built on private land with no thought of using public land.

Romney received over $1.5 mil-lion in campaign funds from peo-ple with ties to the Olympics; those he helped benefited greatly, too. Does it surprise you they donated to his campaign for governor soon after and many joined fundraisers for his presidential campaign?

Dr. E. Faye Williams is na-tional chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Click on this story at www.day-tonatimes.com to write your own response.

NNPA COLUMNIST

CHARLENE CROWELL

DR. E. FAYE WILLIAMS, ESQ.

TRICE EDNEY WIRE

WILLIAM REED

BUSINESS EXCHANGE

GEORGE E. CURRY

NNPA COLUMNIST

ELECTION 2012AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 2012 5

As early voting kicked off Aug. 4, voters, supporters, volunteers and candidates filled the parking lot of the Daytona Beach Regional Library City Island.

By Monday evening, there were 474 ballots cast at the Daytona Beach location and 1,215 ballots cast across Volusia County at locations in Daytona, DeLand, Delto-na, New Smyrna Beach and Ormond Beach. That figure, a mere .38 percent of the 318,386 total registered vot-ers in Volusia County, pales in comparison to those who utilized “vote-by-mail” bal-lots (formerly known as ab-sentee ballots). More than 18,000 “vote-by-mail’ bal-lots had been cast by the Daytona Times’ press dead-line Wednesday night.

Early voting runs from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day through Aug. 11. The primary election is Aug. 14 with hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All vote-by-mail ballots must be in the office of the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. Aug. 14.

Early voting kicks off at City IslandVoters and candidates in the mix

Derrick Henry and Ida Duncan-Wright turn their attention to a potential voter during the !rst day of early voting in Daytona Beach. Henry has his hopes on Daytona Beach’s mayoral position while Duncan-Wright is bidding for a seat on the Volusia County School Board.

A young supporter

of Bryan Feigen-

baum, candidate for county

judge, waves at

passers-by on Aug. 4.

PHOTOS BY ASHLEY

THOMAS/ DAYTONA

TIMES

Supporters for various candidates

greet vot-ers and

Farmer’s Market

patrons as they pull

into the parking lot at Daytona

Beach Regional

Library City Island on Aug. 4.

A supporter for Dustin Havens, candidate for County Judge Group 4, sets up information for potential voters.

Lynne Fishe, a volunteer with the Volusia County Democratic Party, passes out party recommendations to voters who stop by the Daytona Beach Regional Li-brary, City Island location on the !rst day of early voting in Daytona Beach.

VOTERSfrom Page 1

registered Black voters, ac-cording to the elections of-fice. That’s out of a total of 320,212 registered voters as of Aug. 6.

Within Volusia County Council District 2, (where most of Daytona Beach is located), there are 63,366 registered voters; 10,055 are Black registered voters.

For the congressional District 6 race, which in-cludes Daytona Beach, there are 21,283 registered voters. That out of a total of 236,381.

For the Volusia Coun-ty School Board District 2, 61,559 residents are regis-tered to vote. Of that num-ber, 11,166 are Black.

For the Volusia Coun-ty School Board District 4, which has a small percent-age of Daytonans, there are 63,942 registered voters; 4,449 are Black.

Mayoral runA Black candidate is rep-

resented in most of the key races in the county and the city.

In Daytona Beach, for-mer commissioners Gwen Azama-Edwards and Der-rick Henry are running for mayor. Also on this bal-lot mayor are current city commissioner Edith Shel-ley and Realtor Fred Hoff-man.

There are two Black can-didates, Paula Reed and Cathy Washington, com-peting for the Zone 6 com-

mission seat. This race will be on the November gen-eral election ballot.

In county races, incum-bent Volusia County School Board District 2 represen-tative Al Williams is facing another Black candidate – Ida Duncan.

County racesDr. Walter Fordham, a

local educator, is the on-ly Black in the race for the District 4 School Board seat, which includes Linda Costello, Judy Conte and Charles King.

Black attorney Beaulah Blanks is going up against Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall. In addition, County Council-man Andy Kelly and com-munity activist Teresa Ap-gar are in the race.

Seminole Sheriff Depu-ty Wendell Bradford, who is Black and lives in Del-tona, wants to make histo-ry as Volusia County’s first Black Sheriff, He faces an uphill battle against three-term incumbent Sheriff Ben Johnson.

No automatic voteProfessor Jacobs says the

Black vote can make a dif-ference in many of these key races.

Jacob says the people he encounter, especially stu-dents, aren’t aware of the price Black people paid to have the right to vote.

“They (students) are so far removed from civil rights, slavery – these con-cepts are not tangible. I re-mind them of the struggle – the price paid for your right

to vote – a cost was paid,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said there shouldn’t be an assump-tion Black candidates have the interest of other Blacks on their agenda.

He also said Black can-didates should not assume because they are Black they will get the Black vote.

“There was a time (in the ’50s and ’60s) Black candi-dates supported the issues of Black community. That is not necessarily the case today,” Jacob explained.

Beaulah Blanks

Paula Reed

Al Williams

Walter Fordham

Cathy Washington

Ida Duncan-Wright

AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 20126 SPORTS & COMMUNITY NEWS

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BRIEFS

Volusia County Retrospect presentation to be held Aug. 27

The Volusia County Council will look back on eight years of progress during the “Volusia County Retrospect: 2005 - 2012” event at noon Monday, Aug. 27, at the Ocean Center, 101 N. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach.

A presentation prepared by county staff will highlight milestones, includ-ing the expansion of the Ocean Center and Deltona Regional Library, develop-ment of the new Emergency Operations and Sheriff’s Communications Center, groundbreaking for SunRail’s DeBary sta-tion, expansion of the county’s trails sys-tem, the ongoing beach safety initiative, consolidation of countywide 9-1-1 dis-patch services, and the addition of EVAC ambulance to the county’s services.

Volusia County Chair Frank Bruno Jr. will present the county’s annual commu-nity leadership award to Hyatt and Ci-ci Brown, honoring them for decades of civic leadership and volunteerism.

The event is open to the public and doors will open at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will

be provided by event sponsors. Reserva-tions are required by Aug. 20 and may be made by contacting the county manag-er’s office at 386-736-5920 or kkardos@co.volusia.fl.us.

Attendees are asked to bring a dona-tion of nonperishable food for the Com-munity Foundation of East Central Flori-da. Donations will be used to stock Volu-sia County food banks.

Landlords invited to Section 8 meeting Aug. 30

Volusia County’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program will host an in-formational meeting for landlords who are renting or interested in renting to Section 8 participants.

The meeting will be from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 30 in the Volusia County Council chambers of the Thomas C. Kel-ly Administration Center, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand.

Staff from the county’s Community As-sistance Division will explain the pro-gram’s rules and regulations.

Reservations are required and must be made by Aug. 16. To RSVP, call 386-736-5955.

ANDREAS BUTLER/DAYTONA TIMES!e Larry Hand"eld Athletic Training Center is set to open in September. One of the features of the center will be a hydrotherapy treatment for injured athletes.

Team practicing at New Smyrnacomplex while B-CU renovates its practice fieldBY ANDREAS BUTLERDAYTONA TIMES butleramj@yahoo.com

With their practice field undergoing upgrades, the Bethune-Cookman Uni-versity Wildcats have found an alternative place to con-duct football practice.

The Wildcats opened the 2012 season by practic-ing at New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex.

Inclement weather de-layed renovations a week before practices started so the athletic department came up with an alterna-tive. The renovations will include new grass and track and field accessibilities.

“We exercised the option of relocating the first two weeks of practice. “We’re honored that the City of New Smyrna Beach has ex-tended its facilities to us. New Smyrna has a first-rate athletic complex with ample green space, show-er and locker facilities and a stadium that more than suits our scrimmage needs. This is like a retreat-like, NFL training camp experi-ence for our student-ath-letes,” commented Lynn Thompson, B-CU’s athlet-ics director.

‘Red- carpet treatment’

With two-a-day practic-es 15 miles from campus, there were some logistical challenges.

“This move involves the coordination of the train-ing, equipment, transpor-tation, food service and the administration to work in conjunction with the needs of our student-athletes and coaches. The New Smyr-na community has extend-ed their hospitality to us, which is a huge bonus as we try to civic engagement mission,” said Thompson.

Added Matt Musgrove, New Smyrna’s Sports Com-plex manager, said, “We’re very excited to have Bet-hune-Cookman football call our park home for two weeks. This represents a new direction for us in the service that we want to pro-vide and we intend to give Bethune-Cookman the

red-carpet treatment and provide them with a great training camp heading into what promises to be a great season.

Practices were closed to the public and media dur-ing the first week but open practices and scrimmages are being considered.

The team is expected to get back to its regular field on campus during the week beginning Aug. 20.

B-CU opens the season on Sunday, Sept. 2 in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge against Alabama State Uni-versity at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. The game will be televised live on ESPN.

Media Day and Fan Fest

B-CU will have its media and photo day on Sunday, Aug. 12 at Municipal Stadi-um in Daytona Beach.

Coaches and players will be available to the media for photos and interviews pertaining to the upcom-ing season.

Fan Fest is set for Sunday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. on the practice field on campus. That day fans are welcome to come out and meet the team for fun and games.

Giving back to community

The Wildcats also are giv-ing back to the local com-munity.

“Anytime that we can get out and work with the youth and leaders of our commu-nity we do it. We are com-mitted to helping this com-munity just as this commu-nity is to helping us,” said Brian Jenkins, B-CU’s head football coach.

Players helped give away backpacks at the Mayors “Back Pack Give-Away’’ at Derbyshire Park on Aug. 4.

“It was a good experi-ence. I was in the same po-sition as these kids when I was younger. It’s great to show that B-CU cares about Daytona Beach,” stated linebacker Jarkevis Fields.

Later that day, they vis-ited Halifax Hospital Pedi-atric Unit and the Volusia House.

“In our position people are watching us. We want to reach out to kids. We were once small too. If we were in the hospital at that

age and got a surprise vis-it from a local college team, that’s a great moment. We want to give them that,” commented wide receiver Eddie Poole.

Offensive lineman Ter-rance Hackney added, “It was really good to bring light to someone else’s sit-uation. I think we really connected with this little 5-year-old boy named Ri-ley. It touched our hearts that he found joy in our vis-it.”

The Wildcats still had their fourth day of practice that day.

Volleyball: Maroon and Gold game

The Lady Wildcats are set to begin their season Aug. 24-25 at the East Car-olina Classic in Greenville, N.C.

Before they hit the hard-wood against the competi-tion, they will face off with each other in their Maroon and Gold Game on Sunday, Aug. 19 at Moore Gymnasi-um at 1:30 p.m.

B-CU has high hopes for the 2012-13 campaign as second year Coach Isaac Raphael still has record-breakers Krysta Gard-ner and Janeen Davis with some newcomers who will add height to the squad.

Former Wildcat in Olympics

Joel Redhead compet-ed in the year’s summer Olympics in London.

Redhead who finished his career with B-CU in 2009 ran the 200m dash for his native Grenada. He placed eight in his heat in the first round with a time of 21.22 seconds.

In 2009 as a Wildcat, he finished eighth in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

B-CU SPORTS ROUNDUP

Wildcats prepping for 2012 football season

BY JAMES HARPERDAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

The creator of the new Midtown Redevelopment Master Plan will be avail-able to answer residents’ questions on Aug. 16 at the new Midtown Cultural and Education Center.

The community meet-ing will start at 4 p.m. and will give residents an op-portunity to ask Florida A&M University Professor Craig Huffman questions

about the plan that mem-bers of the Midtown Re-development Area Board hope will help revital-ize what is considered by some the core of the city.

The plan calls for the construction of hotels, parks, shops and other businesses that will in-crease the area’s tax bases as well as provide jobs.

The Midtown Master Plan centers on Bethune-Cookman University and runs north/south along Martin Luther King Jr.

Boulevard from Fremont Avenue to George Engram Blvd and is bordered by Ridgewood Avenue and Nova Road.

It is projected to take decades to fulfill the wish lists of the plan.

The plan was complet-ed in February and was approved by the Daytona Beach City Commission.

For more information on the community meet-ing or the Master Plan, call Charles Bryant at 386- 671-8185.

Midtown Master Plan meeting set for Aug. 16

Florida Health Care Plans

www.fhcp.comEOE/AA

A Drug Free – Smoke Free Work Place

COMMUNITY NEWSAUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 2012 7

Guests were wowed at the second annual Wom-en’s Day Hattitude Lun-cheon provided by women at the First Church, which included “just-like-Mama-made’’ turkey, ham, meat-balls and the trimmings.

The models, who stepped out for a perfect fit with commentator Vivi-an Rowe, were Ruby Sims, Maxine Josey, Ernestine Logan, Dr. Leila Hardison, Ann Clark, Annie Carby and Gloria Benjamin.

The other sensations were Elaine Wettlin, Diane Spears, Pat Smith, Sharon Knight, Sybil Dodson-Lu-cas, Charlotte Prince and Ali Wallace.

Judges Vivian Richard-son, Elaine Wettlin and Pa-tricia Brown crowned the winners: Gloria Benjamin for the fanciest hat; Ali Wal-lace, the largest hat; Ruby Sims, the smallest hat; and Charlotte Prince, the best at the luncheon.

Shirley Davis echoed the need of wearing hats and stated, “I feel great, so-phisticated, and elite. I like wearing hats. Can’t you tell? It brings out some-thing in me.’’

Acknowledging the ex-citement of wearing hats, Rose Luckett Williams re-sponded, “It completes me.”

The crowning glory of churchwomen wear-

ing hats tops off the es-sence of the book and se-quel play “Crowns.” Great finds have been acquired by women buying hats for church to look their best for meeting “The King.”

‘Crowns’ historySybil Dodson-Lucas ran

it down regarding the wom-en in her family, arriving in the states from Barbados and Panama.

She said, “My moth-er and grandmother be-longed to the Episcopal Church and were ‘proper ladies.’ They didn’t go to church without having a hat, gloves and a handker-chief. Their hat and hair were their crowns.

“During the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s – whether they were going to work or to a social function – they were the most glamorous wom-en,” asserted Dodson-Lu-cas.

She continued that they always wore stockings – never bare leg or bare arm. They were the most

glamorous women walking down Harlem’s 125th St. – always carrying a shawl to church to cover their legs, if the dress they were wear-ing was short.

Her recall brought about the high fashion, spiritual-ity and respect for the for-bears that were staged in the play “Crowns.”

Staging the style at the luncheon were co-chair-men Patricia Brown and Ernestine Logan. The Rec-ognition Committee mem-bers were Louise Howell and Mattie DeVore. Nel-lie Davis and Vivian Rowe took charge of the printed program.

The panel members mak-ing up the Food Commit-tee were Wanda Brinson, Doris Wise, Ruby Sims and Maxine Josey and the other contributors were Ruth Brown and Hazel Rolle.

Office openingsFinancial advisor Or-

lando Johnson will launch the ribbon-cutting of his Edward Jones office at 120 Airport Road, Suite 1B,

Palm Coast. The open-ing will kick off Aug. 10. The phone number at the office is 386-586-1350.

Dave Meluskey has been named President Barack Obama’s organizer for local office at 4882 Palm Coast Parkway, NW, Suite 4, Palm Coast. The community cel-ebrated in a reception on July 25. The office, a few doors down from Sears, is open for phone banking and to canvass the county by volunteers.

Call Meluskey to learn

more details at 904-635-5318 or log on to dmelus-key@ofafl.com.

Flagler County Demo-crats, located at One Har-grove Grade, Building A, Suite 1D, Palm Coast, can be visited weekdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They can be reached for voter information at 386-283-4904, or by email at flaglercntydem@gmail.com, or log on at www.fla-glerdemocraticparty.com.

Yours truly is wrapping up for a vacation. With the grace of God, I’ll return in

September to write my col-umn. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

As always, remember our prayers for the sick, af-flicted and bereaved.

Women show o! their crowns at Women’s Day luncheon

B! J"#$%&'" D. M(()#*+! | Daytona Times

Palm Coast Community news

Gregory Banks, Walter Boone, Aug. 10; William Acey, Dorothy G. Robinson, Aug. 11, Maxine Josey, Aug. 13; Lorraine Gray, Aug. 15.

Birthday wishes to:

Happy Birthday to You!

Sorority to hold fundraising eventThe Daytona Beach Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta

Sorority Inc. is holding an annual “White Linen Affair” fundraising event to be held at the LPGA Banquet room,

1000 Champions Drive. The event is Aug.18, beginning with a cocktail hour fol-lowed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. and ending at 11 p.m. Cost: $50.All proceeds go toward scholarships for area high school graduating seniors. Backpack giveawayThe Mayor’s backpack give-away continues Aug. 11 at the John H. Dickerson Com-

munity Center, 308 S. Martin Luther King Blvd. from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. for youngsters age 5 through 18. Parents are required to accompany their children and have a valid ID at the event. More informa-tion: 386-671-8337.

Church dedicatesnew sanctuaryThe New Heart Christian Center is holding a dedica-

tion service for its new sanctuary Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. 1328 Hurst St. Guest speaker is the Rev. Kevin James. More information: www.new-heartchristiancenter.com or 386-238-0050.

Church hosting Familyand Friends DayAllen Chapel AME Church will celebrate its annual Fam-ily and Friends Day on Aug.

12 at 10 a.m. at 580 George Engram Blvd. The theme is “God Made Us Family: Love Made Us Friends.” Navy blue, white and yellow are the colors for this year’s celebra-tion. The Rev. Dwayne K. Gaddis, pastor of Mount Zion AME Church in Riverview, will be the guest preacher. More information:www.allen-daytona.org.

To list your event FREE, e-mail us at news@daytonatimes.com. No phone calls or faxes, please. Events are listed on a space-available basis, and in the sole discretion of the Daytona Times staff. For guaran-teed placement, contact Lynnette Garcia, lgarcia@flcourier.org, phone 954-882-2946, for ad rates.

Community Calendar

Compiled by the Daytona Times

QFRC10070000_AA_12_EasyHome_BW_DaytonaTimes(10x10).indd 1 7/27/12 2:41 PM

!ese women are all smiles at First Church of Palm Coast’s Hattitude Luncheon. !e Women’s Day event included prizes for the best hats.

AUGUST 9 - AUGUST 15, 20128 COMMUNITY

BY JAMES HARPERDAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

Mae Sheppard, the owner of a popular restaurant in Daytona Beach, died last month.

Mrs. Sheppard and her hus-band, Lee, owned Sheppard’s Restaurant, which used to be lo-cated on Cypress Street, now George Engram Boulevard.

The restaurant was one of on-ly a few in Daytona Beach that Blacks could actually go and sit down in and enjoy a meal. This was before integration in the 1950s and 1960s. The restaurant was open for 27 years.

Mrs. Shepperd died July 8 at age 92.

Arthur Harper, who worked as a cook and later headwaiter at the then segregated Morrison’s Cafe-teria, remembers eating at Shep-pard’s. Even though he worked at a restaurant, the Black help was not allowed to eat in the restau-rant or eat the food they served on the line.

“We could go to Sheppard’s. It was the best restaurant in town. It was classy,” said Harper, who said he took his wife, Ann ,of-ten to Sheppard’s up until Blacks were allowed to patronize where he worked. He still continued to patronize Sheppard’s.

Beef stew, chitterlings popular menu items

Dorothy Colbert, niece of the Sheppard’s, remembers moving to Daytona Beach in July 1960 to work for her aunt at the restau-rant.

Colbert said the restaurant was always busy, especially when Bethune-Cookman College stu-dents were in town.

“The beef stew and the chitter-lings were two of the most pop-ular items on the menu,” Colbert recalled. “People would be lined up outside just to come into the restaurant to eat.’’

Fed patrons without money

Colbert said her aunt and un-cle also helped feed people who didn’t have enough money.

“She always had a smile. She would talk to everyone that came in there. People would come in hungry. She allowed them to pay her when they got paid,” con-cluded Colbert.

Ronald Mayhew also remem-bers working at the restaurant, acknowledging he did everything but cook.

Mayhew said had it not been for his job at the restaurant he might have not been able to com-plete his education.

“They literally sent me to col-lege.” said Mayhew who worked there while attending Bethune-Cookman College (now Univ-eristy).

He left the restaurant in 1962 to become a teacher in Flagler County.

“God used them (the Shep-pards) as an instrument helping me reach my goal,” continued Mayhew.

Mayhew remembers Mrs.

Sheppard as a sharing and caring person.

He said many times “Drunks’’ would come in hungry and she fed them even if they had no money.

“She would give up right for wrong. She had a lot of patience for people in need,” he added.

Fed students, performers

Mayhew said the Sheppards also fed a number of college stu-dents who didn’t have a meal ticket, which allowed them to eat on campus. She would work out an arrangement with the stu-dents’ parents, Mayhew noted.

Mayhew also remembers the restaurant being the spot for fa-

mous Blacks who came to town because they weren’t allowed to eat in the White-owned estab-lishments, some which they per-formed in.

Mayhew said among the fa-mous coming to the restaurant were the Ink Spots, Dee Dee Clark and Ben E. King.

Dr. Walter Fordham, a profes-sor at Bethune-Cookman, said what he liked about the restau-rant is that the workers put extra food on your plate without pa-trons having to ask.

Fordham said he loved the sea-soning of the collard greens and the quality of the cornbread.

“They had the best prepared food where African-Americans could go to eat,” he concluded.

Born in Georgia, service on July 14

Mae Sheppard was born in Mitchell County, Ga., on Nov. 14, 1919, to the late Robert and Ma-rie Moore Gaines. She attended public schools in Camilla, Ga.

At age 21, she moved to Day-tona Beach and became a mem-ber of Greater Friendship Baptist Church. She served her church as an usher, Sunday school teacher, president of the Deaconess Min-istry and president of the Circle Seven ministry.

Her parents, husband, four sis-ters and three brothers preceded Mrs. Sheppard in death. She was married to Lee Sheppard for over 60 years.

She is survived by one son, Le-roy Sheppard and one daughter-in-law, Fannie Sheppard of Day-tona Beach; sisters, Annie Ruth Toombs, Camilla, Ga. and Robbie (Eddie) Lumpkins, Youngstown, Ohio; one brother, Benjamin Gaines, Detroit; grandchildren and great-grandchildren along with a host of other relatives.

Mrs. Sheppard’s funeral took place July 14 at Greater Friend-ship Baptist Church.

She was laid to rest at Daytona Memorial Park. Herbert Thomp-son Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Popular restaurant owner Mae Sheppard laid to rest

Mae and Lee Sheppard were the owners of Sheppard’s Restaurant in Daytona Beach. It was open for 27 years.

Mae Sheppard