
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 23, 1990                   TAG: 9005230165
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IN BUSINESS-BRIEFLY . . .

Norfolk Steel Corp., eastern Virginia's only steel mill, said Monday it was laying off nearly half of its 215 employees because of financial losses and rising costs including maintenance and electricity. The plant expects to lose about $4.5 million this fiscal year.

\ Lynchburg area factory employment dropped by almost 3,300 in the 1980's while 5,000 services jobs were added, following a national trend, according to a study by the Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

\ Abingdon High School was one of three group winners in the Central Fidelity Cup academic competition. Schools won points for creative writing, drama, forensics, school publications and debating. Other high schools in the top five were Blacksburg, Pulaski and Holston High in Damascus.

\ A day after Cooper Industries bought Rockwell Industrial Tools, the Houston firm said it has sold its Martin-Decker unit to Varco International Inc. for $30 million. Martin-Decker makes instrumentation and other systems for the oil industry. Cooper is the parent of Gardner-Denver Mining and Construction in Roanoke.

\ Virginia's wheat crop is expected to reach 13.5 million bushels this year, 7 percent above last year's figure, the state Agricultural Statistics Service said.

by CNB