AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
February 25 - March 3, 2021
VOL. 70, No. 8
www.tsdmemphis.com
$1.00
COVID-19 UPDATE:
The boil-order advisory put in place by MLGW still was in place on Wednesday. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku)
Water worries!
Born into a publishing empire, Whittier Sengstacke Jr., who died on Saturday (Feb. 20), became editor of the TriState Defender in the late 1960s. (Courtesy photo)
Former Tri-State Defender Editor Whittier Sengstacke Jr. dies at 76 by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Whittier Sengstacke Jr., former editor of the Tri-State Defender and the dedicated newsman credited with helping the newspaper continue rolling as it encountered turbulence in response to coverage of lynchings in the South, has died at 76. Mr. Sengstacke died early Saturday morning. His uncle, John Herman Henry Sengstacke Jr., founded the Tri-State Defender in November 1951. Born in Chicago on June 22, 1944, he was the second of Mattie and Whittier Sengstacke Sr.’s four children. His father came to Memphis as the publisher and editor in the early 1950’s. The publishing empire he was born into was built upon the pioneering work of John Sengstacke’s uncle, Robert Abbott. Once John Sengstacke assumed leadership, he built the largest Black-owned newspaper chain in American history. As publishers of Black newspapers across the nation provided extensive and detailed coverage of 14-year-old Till’s lynching (Aug. 28, 1955) and the ensuing trial, the Tri-State Defender did like-
Keep on boiling water, for now
by Jim Coleman
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Shelby County Schools on Wednesday began full-scale distribution of vaccinations for all employees at the Board of Education, 160 S. Hollywood. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)
Discarded COVID-19 vaccines prompt local move to clarify
TSD Newsroom Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter, during a news conference Wednesday (Feb. 24) afternoon, gave an explanation to why 2,400 COVID vaccine doses were allowed to expire Haushalter also pushed back on reports about how and why 51,000 doses have gone unused. The situation resulted in the Tennessee State Health Department criticizing the county for the high number of wasted doses and general mismanagement that
led to a reported 51,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines sitting in cold stores. Some 30,000 of those doses are set to expire March 6. Haushalter said a number circumstances can lead to doses being lost, including that they were thawed and expired before they were used, that they were left over after clinic sessions, or they were returned after a clinic but had to be destroyed due to changes in temperature. She added the closing of vaccination sites, resulting from the snow storm, did not help the sit-
uation. The county Health Department has yielded administration of the vaccine to the City of Memphis, hospitals and pharmacies. Haushalter disputed the numbers the Tennessee Department of Health provided, explaining that the county counts five doses per vial, while the state counts six. Haushalter also said the county inventoried 10,000 to14,000 doses to vaccinate teachers. That, along with the inclement weather
SEE VAX ON PAGE 2
SEE TSD ON PAGE 2
Faced with an extended boil-water advisory following a pair of winter storms, the Memphis City Council voted unanimously to require car washes to cease operation until the city’s water system is back to full. The measure, which was voted on during the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday (Feb. 23), calls for code enforcement to ensure businesses abide by the edict. “Hopefully, that is in a couple of days. All we want them to do is stop until we get our water under control,” said co-sponsor Patrice J. Robinson, while reading the language of the resolution. Councilwoman Cheyenne Johnson was the other sponsor. Voting in favor were council members J. Ford Canale, Chase Carlisle, Michalyn Easter-Thomas, Martavious Jones, Rhonda Logan, Worth Morgan, Robinson, J.B. Smiley, Jamita Swearengen, Dr. Jeff Warren and Frank Colvett, Jr. Successive winter storms led to the worst cold snap in recent memory. The first rolled through, leaving a layer of ice and 42,000 MLGW customers without power last Thursday (Feb. 18). It was followed by a blanket of snow. Water main and pipe failures
SEE WATER ON PAGE 2
Lucky to be alive, Woods faces difficult recovery by Stefanie Dazio and Doug Ferguson
Although he never has played in a professional tournament in Memphis, Tiger Woods made a visit to the Links of Pine Hill in South Memphis in 1997, putting on a golf clinic and a display of power and accuracy that has become lore. (Tyrone P. Easley)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a career filled with remarkable comebacks, Tiger Woods faces perhaps his toughest recovery of all. Woods was driving alone through a sweeping, downhill stretch of road through coastal suburbs of Los Angeles when his SUV struck a sign, crossed over a raised median and two oncoming lanes flipped several times before coming to rest on its side. Its
airbags deployed. A sheriff’s deputy poked his head through a hole in the windshield to see Woods, still wearing his seatbelt, sitting in the driver’s seat. The crash caused “significant” injuries to his right leg and he underwent what was described as a “long surgical procedure” at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Anish Mahajan, the chief medical officer, said Woods shattered tibia and fibula bones in multiple locations. He suffered “open fractures,”
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meaning the skin was broken. The bones were stabilized by a rod in the tibia. He said a combination of screws and pins were used for injuries in the ankle and foot. A statement on his Twitter account said he was awake, responsive and recovering. No charges were filed, and police said there was no evidence he was impaired. The golf world was stunned by the
SEE WOODS ON PAGE 3