DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997              TAG: 9703050510

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  122 lines

HAMPTON ROADS

It was a case of good timing, clear thinking and the knowledge of how to save a life.

Police said three men used those abilities Thursday to save the life of a fourth, 57-year-old Robert Cale, who suffered a heart attack and stopped breathing.

Cale, a forensic services technician, was working for Polynesian Pools when he had the heart attack. One of his rescuers was Larry Norton, a retired Virginia Beach police officer, who has known Cale about 25 years.

It happened Thursday morning in the 400 block of Bamboo Lane, when Cale was installing an in-ground swimming pool at Norton's home. Norton's wife, JoAnne, saw Cale collapse and fall into the 8-foot hole that was being dug with a backhoe. Cale's co-workers, Steve Burman and Steve Green, went to his aid, police said.

Then Larry Norton climbed into the hole and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Burman and Green administered chest compressions. Cale's breathing and heartbeat were restored, and when paramedics arrived, he had a pulse. He was released from the hospital Monday, police said. Councilwoman apologizes for her incorrect slang

City Council member Nancy K. Parker has issued an apology for a comment attributed to her Tuesday in a Virginian-Pilot article about funding for a proposed soccer stadium.

The article said she asked citizens what they thought of the proposal and that ``they looked at me as if I were deaf, dumb and blind.''

In her apology, Parker wrote that she ``was horrified to think I had made that comment. I can only apologize for the use of a very old slang expression which is very politically incorrect and very insensitive. As an elected public official, I must be more diligent in my conversations and thoughts as I represent people from all backgrounds.'' SUFFOLK Weapons permits now cost applicants $24 more

Costs of applying for a concealed weapon permit here have increased from $33 to $57 due to a change in the way the FBI provides analysis of applicants' fingerprints.

The FBI no longer allows access to its national registry via teletype for administrative purposes such as fingerprint checks. Now an additional set of fingerprints must be sent to State Police and forwarded to the FBI for background checks.

Local costs for the application include $18 for Suffolk Police and $15 for the Circuit Court. In addition, applicants now must submit a certified check or money order for $24 payable to the Department of State Police. The additional fee was effective March 1. CHESAPEAKE Central library needs help with overwhelming workload

The Chesapeake Central Library has become a victim of its own popularity, staff members say.

So many books are being checked out by Hampton Roads residents that every six to eight weeks the library needs volunteers to put books - thousands of them - back on the shelves.

A two-week backlog - about 10,000 books - has piled up, and staffers are offering pizza and other refreshments as an incentive for volunteers to come to their ``shelving party'' Saturday from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., after the library closes. Volunteers can sign up at the circulation desk at the library, at 298 Cedar Road.

``We're being loved to death, we're overwhelmed,'' said Elizabeth Griffing, circulation supervisor at the main branch. ``People are reading so much, and there are so many kids doing reports and projects for school that we don't have the manpower to get the books back on the shelf.'' NEWPORT NEWS CNU will host conference on history education

Christopher Newport University's Dr. Mary Bicouvaris, Dr. Mario Mazzarella and Dr. Robert Saunders will host the inaugural conference for the Virginia Council for History Education on Saturday.

Dr. Akira Iriye, professor of history at Harvard University and former president of the American Historical Association, will be the keynote speaker.

VCHE, headquartered at CNU, is being formed to promote the study and teaching of history in schools from kindergarten to the university level.

The conference is open to the public and will be held in the Student Center on the CNU campus from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration is $25. For more information, call 594-7931 or 594-7187. ALSO. . .

NORFOLK - Saturday's Boathouse concert featuring Paula Cole has been postponed until April 3 at 8 p.m. because the singer is suffering from the flu. Tickets will be honored then, or they can be refunded at the place of purchase. COMING UP

Thursday

Virginia Beach - The Virginia Beach School Board will hold its first public hearing on the superintendent's 1997-98 proposed operating budget. The budget, as proposed, could require a tax increase under a new spending formula approved last week by the City Council. The hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Larkspur Middle School, 4696 Princess Anne Road.

Also, the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission's regular monthly meeting will be at 4 p.m. at the Municipal Center Complex, Building 18. The public is invited to attend these meetings.

Norfolk: The 1997 Hampton Roads Volunteer Achievement Award honorees will be recognized at the annual awards banquet at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott from 6 to 9 p.m. Call 624-2400 for ticket information.

Portsmouth: I.C. Norcom High School is holding Scheduling Night at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium. Scheduling Night, for parents and students, features course options and tips for standardized testing.

The school is at 2900 Turnpike Road. For details, call 393-8793. MEMO: Staff writers Larry Brown, Tom Holden, Eric Feber and Susie

Stoughton contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

Nancy Parker

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