COMPLIMENTARYCAC AuditedJANUARY 2 – 8, 2014 stlamerican.com∞

Vol. 84 No. 39

Coping with cancer together

See CANCER, A7

See McCOY, A6

By Rebecca RivasOf The St. Louis American

“So often in society we tend to give ourselves over to these kinds of biases that make us believe some people deserve it and some people don’t deserve it,” said Rod Jones, president and CEO of Grace Hill Settlement House.

Jones grew up in a housing project in New York City. His life could have gone many different directions, he said. But thanks to the programs at his local

HeadStart and neighborhood centers, he chose education.

Every day at Grace Hill, Jones said, he works to “raise the floor of citizenship in America” and to give everyone a shot at achieving their dreams.

Real Tedx TalkRod Jones wants to spread the idea that we are connected to the poor

By Robert Joiner

The day Sha Fields was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, her fiancé came along to offer moral support, and he has been by her side since then.

She says she used to wonder how to repay his years of unconditional support. The chance came last year, when her husband, Cliff, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Siteman Center for Advanced Medicine at Washington University had no data on how unusual it is for both a husband

Husband and wife survivors find strength from one another

See JONES, A6See CRISIS, A7

By Rebecca RivasOf The St. Louis American

On the same day that the Ferguson-Florissant school board announced its intention to move towards terminating Superintendent Art McCoy Jr., district administrators also sent out an email

to school principals announcing that the district will require all students who transferred from Normandy and Riverview Gardens schools to reapply to the district.

Reapplication is not standard procedure for the statewide Student Transfer Program, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“Our assumption would be that the student intends to return unless they notify the district otherwise,” said DESE’s spokesperson Sarah Potter. “Therefore, there would be no need to reapply.”

According to the Dec. 19 email sent to principals, the district is in the process of mailing parents of Normandy and Riverview students an “Intent to Return” application, which they must return or mail to the Admissions Office directly by

Transfer parents told to re-applyFerg-Flor mailings coincide with ouster of Art McCoy

Photo by Robert Joiner

By Bridjes O’NeilOf The St. Louis American

Stacy Crawford, a single mother of three, had reached her breaking point emotionally when she hastily dialed the St. Louis Crisis Nursery’s 24-hour crisis helpline.

“I was scared and overwhelmed,” Crawford said.

It was March 2009. She and her son’s father were having co-parenting issues, and she was unable to work due to health

For parents in crisisCrisis Nursery provides counseling, care and safe haven

Cliff Fields, Sherrill Jackson of the Breakfast Club and Sha Fields at a recent Breakfast Club event for cancer survivors.

Photo by Wiley Price

Regional Chamber, Minority Business Council coalesce

Page B1

Holiday basketball tournament action

BUSINESS SPORTS

Incarnate Word wins the Visitation Tournament, Edwardsville wins Carbondale, Chaminade wins own tourney.Page B3

‘To advance the aligned and shared goal of greater economic inclusion’

With a little prompting from his physician, Viron Washington stuck to his 2012 New Year’s resolution and lost weight.

Employee loses 100 pounds from exercising

Insert

HEALTH

problems. And she was searching for a stable place where she and her family could call home.

“It’s bad enough to not have anywhere to

go on your own, but when you have children it makes it that much more difficult,” she said.

Dancers with the East St. Louis Performance Ensemble performed for a standing-room-only crowd at the St. Louis Art Museum on Sunday afternoon. The event was the annual St. Louis Art Museum Kwanzaa Celebration that is held in collaboration with the St. Louis Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Dancing the spirit

Rod Jones

n “We’re dealing with loving, compassionate parents who just happen to live in extreme poverty and don’t have the resources they need.” – DiAnne L. Mueller, Crisis Nursery

Art McCoy