pleads for help
at Central
By LES HIGH
Whiteville City Schools Superintendent Danny McPherson made a plea Tuesday night to Whiteville City Council for a second police officer to patrol Central Middle School and the area around it from mid-day until all school activities have finished.
McPherson’s request comes on the heels of a faculty lockdown when a gang shooting near the school sent people scurrying across the campus. Also, there was a near-fatal beating of a young man by approximately 10 men at Westside Park three weeks ago.
The park and surrounding areas have been trouble spots in the past year, McPherson added, and there was another shooting near the school at a Central home baseball game last spring. Shallotte Middle School vowed not to play ball games at Central Middle after the shooting.
Wedenesday, Chadbourn Middle School forfeited a baseball game that was to be played at Central because a number of parents feared for their children’s safety. Georgia Spaulding, Chadbourn Middle principal, said that her school has not made it policy to refuse to play at Central, however, and that had there been enough players available, the team would have played.
Gang activity
The school system pays the salary of one police officer at Central for security during school hours, but problems – including gang activity – have gotten so bad around the school a second officer is needed, McPherson told council. McPherson added that loitering in the area, apparent drug dealing and the blocking of traffic by pedestrians has raised the level of concern by parents considerably this year.
A number of parents of Central students attended Tuesday night’s meeting, filling council chambers.
“I’m tired of thugs who think they can run our communities,” McPherson said. “If we don’t do something now, it won’t stop at Martin Luther King Ave., or Powell Boulevard, it will spread. I’m not ready to give up our city, our county or our world. We are at a critical point.”
McPherson told council that he had planned to close the school to all after-school activities, but that extra patrols by Whiteville Police Department, requested by the schools after the shooting, have increased the level of safety to allow for ball games and practices.
“Though he said he has limited resources, the chief of police (Jerry Britt) said that he would have extra officers on duty in the mornings and the afternoons,” McPherson said. McPherson added that teachers have been ordered to leave the campus by 5 p.m. because of safety concerns. A security camera system estimated to cost $15,000 has been ordered for Central and the crisis management plan has been reviewed with faculty, he said.
A community forum has been set for the school at 7 p.m. on April 6 to talk about security issues at the school and the neighborhood. McPherson said that he’s gotten a number of phone calls from “people of all walks of life” pledging their support for increasing security at and near the school.
“This has the opportunity to unite our citizens more than anything we can do,” McPherson said. “We don’t want to give up our legacy to those who will destroy it.”
McPherson challenged council to take action on the matter. “Evil flourishes when good men do nothing,” he said.
Council voted to table McPherson’s request and discuss it at its planning retreat in April.
Council Member Harold Troy asked McPherson if the schools were doing anything to bridge the achievement gap of black students and others, one result of which is forcing black students to drop out of school.
“What about the ounce of prevention? Gangs attract frustrated youth that have missed love in their lives, so they turn away from the adults who are supposed to be nurturing them and turn to each other,” Troy said.
McPherson cited a number of improvements the city school system has made, including reducing the number of African-American dropouts. Central Middle School, he added, is a North Carolina School of Distinction with a proficiency rating of 84 percent.
Park closure issue
The temporary closing of Westside Park drew testy responses from Troy and Councilman Jimmy Clarida. Troy told City Manager Susan Rhodes that he was “jealous” that the superintendent had the kind influence that could force the closure of the park without city council action. Rhodes said she closed the park because of safety concerns, not influence from McPherson.
Clarida said that people in the community don’t want the park closed. “If you have regular patrols, a lot will stop,” he said.
Clarida pushed for more police presence in the community, not just around the school or during school hours.
Clarida said that he and Troy held a community meeting in the area last year and residents requested more of a police presence. At a subsequent meeting with residents, the councilmen were told that the beefed-up security helped. When the extra patrols stopped, crime increased.
Clarida advocated a return to community policing, which was in place during the tenure of Chief Randall Aragon during the mid to late 90s. “You’ve got to get out there and meet the people. If you (the police) just show up when you’re chasing someone, they won’t have any confidence in you.”
After a short discussion on when to close parks, council voted to keep both Westside Park and Nolan Avenue Park open until 11 p.m. and to step up police patrols.
Police response
Police Chief Britt said that the department has stepped up patrols in the area and at the school and has initiated license checks on weekends to increase the department’s presence.
“We don’t have as many officers as we used to have but we’re doing what we can,” he said. The department usually has only two cars on patrol.
Britt said he would like to train extra officers he might get in community policing and put them in troubled areas. Britt added that he plans to send an officer to meet with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg gang unit to get training on how to deal with gangs.
At the end of the meeting where public comments are heard, Whiteville resident and former councilman Andy Anderson said that not enough prevention is being done to help troubled young people. He noted that in Germany on a tour he took of the schools there, the schools don’t have police officers, they have social workers who deal with problems before they start.
Dr. Victoria Webster, Whiteville Greater Chamber of Commerce president, offered assistance from the chamber on the Central issue.
Almeta Fairfax, who moved to Whiteville from Kershaw County, S.C., in 1998, said she has seen a steady deterioration of the neighborhood around Central.
“I’ve seen how our young males gather in low-income areas and many have been lost to peer pressure,” she told council. “When I came here in 1998 and I rode down Virgil Street, there was always a police presence. As time went on, you could see a crowd here and a crowd there and it’s escalated to the point where it is now in a matter of eight years. If you want the thugs to take over, just lay back. They’ll get it.”