The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners heard a proposal yesterday to raise the salaries of Sheriff Ron Barker and Register of Deeds Dickie Wood.

The proposal would give Barker a 3 percent raise.

However, that would push his annual salary above the $96,075 maximum allowed for the sheriff's position by the county's pay scale.

To get around the limit, commissioners would give Barker a single "merit payment" of $2,163.20, making his total salary $98,238.20.

Under the proposal, Wood would also get a 3 percent raise, increasing his annual salary $70,512.

Both increases would be retroactive to Dec. 9, the anniversary of when elected county officials take their oath of office.

The commissioners will vote on the raises at their meeting Monday.

Co-author of 'Runaway Slaves'

to discuss award-winning book

Loren Schweninger, a co-author of the book Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation, will read and discuss the book at 2:30 p.m. Saturday during a reception at the Forsyth County Public Library, 660 W. Fifth St.

The event is part of the library's recognition of Black History Month.

Schweninger, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, wrote the book with John Hope Franklin, a renowned history professor at Duke University.

Their book received the Lincoln Prize last year.

Call 727-2264 for more information.

Two men indicted on federal

charges in bank robberies

GREENSBORO - A federal grand jury has indicted two men on bank-robbery charges for robberies last year at banks in Rural Hall and Winston-Salem, court records show.

The jurors returned the indictments last week in U.S. District Court.

Derrick Nelson Neal was accused of threatening a teller at Central Carolina and Trust Co. in Rural Hall with a handgun and stealing $1,389 on Nov. 17, the indictment says.

Leon Clarence Hundley was accused of threatening a teller at First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. in Winston-Salem and stealing $1,795 on Oct. 13, the indictment says.

Neal was being held yesterday in the Guilford County Jail with his bond set at $100,000.

Authorities are still searching for Hundley.

Same-sex ceremony at WFU

subject of documentary film

A documentary film about events leading up to the same-sex commitment ceremony on the campus of Wake Forest University last September will premier Feb. 15.

The film, A Union in Wait, will be shown at 8 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium on the Wake Forest campus.

It details the controversy surrounding the union ceremony between Susan Parker and Wendy Scott at Wake Forest Baptist Church.

The church is an autonomous congregation that worships in Wait Chapel, which belongs to the university.

Ryan Butler, assisted by fellow students from the N.C. School of the Arts, produced and directed the film and said he hopes to sell the documentary to a television network.

• Have a story idea? Call the Winston-Salem Journal at 727-7211.