Killing adds urgency to plan

A recording called 'Stopping the Violence' will be available to the public in January.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Local entertainment groups and producers had been planning for several weeks to use Eagle Heights Academy to tape a video and make a compact disc aimed at addressing the spate of violence in the city.
The Aug. 19 shooting death of a Youngstown man in front of about 600 adults and children during a peewee football game at the former South High School stadium gave the project an added sense of urgency. Eagle Heights Academy occupies the former South High School building.
The school at 1833 Market St. was the site of the free program Saturday that featured a taping and video session, sponsored by Whole Man Ministries Stopping the Violence committee.
Performing as part of the video and CD were Charisma, a local R & amp;B group, as well as Andrea Sherfield, a singer from Akron, and Phyllis Jordan, a local gospel and R & amp;B singer.
The audience enjoyed nearly two hours worth of music, most of which will be on the video and CD, that included material by R & amp;B artists such as George Benson, The Temptations, Chaka Khan and Brook Benton.
Purpose
A taste of smooth jazz and gospel music were tossed into the mix, but the underlying purpose of the event was to bring people together and show positive alternatives to violence, organizers said.
"We want to give back to the community," said Thomas Stewart, a singer and founder of Charisma. "We want to offer something good to the community after the tragedy," he added, referring to the homicide.
Stewart said that, despite the shooting, he hopes to see people pull together and not be afraid to attend events in the city.
Echoing those thoughts was Patricia Owens, president of Whole Man Ministries. Owens, a rap artist who's also known as "D.V.A.," said two of her nieces and a 4-year-old relative were at the peewee game when 31-year-old Larry C. Jones was gunned down. The suspect in the shooting, Anthony M. Caulton, 25, of Youngstown, remains at large.
Owens said that the recent shooting shouldn't prevent people from coming to events in Youngstown. Most of the killings in the city are drug-related or committed by someone the victim knows, but young people need to have instilled in them healthy, positive ways to deal with conflict, she noted.
Owens added she's recording a song titled "Stopping the Violence" as a means to tackle the problem. The single, CD and video should be available by January 2007, she noted.
"Music brings people together," she said. "We want to help the community come up with some kind of plan to stop all this violence."
For more information about the projects, call the Stopping the Violence committee's toll-free number, (877) 701-2024.