THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994 TAG: 9406070115
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: MIKE KNEPLER
DATELINE: 940609 LENGTH: Medium
Poet Robert Frost definitely did not have Spartan Village and Norfolk State University in mind when he wrote ``Mending Wall,'' in 1914.
{REST} But Frost, known for his straight-forward style, might have liked Dennis Brickhouse, a retired trucker and board member of the Spartan Village Homeowners Association.
Like Frost, Brickhouse isn't one to mince words. On the telephone the other day, he came right to the point.
He wanted to praise Norfolk State for repairing the fence around the Spartan Village neighborhood.
``They helped us out for a change instead of tearing something down,'' Brickhouse said. ``Doggone it, I'm glad I don't have to report negative on them again.''
Brickhouse never has shied from speaking his mind. He's been blunt about Norfolk State spillover problems such as parking, speeding and rowdy students.
He even was part of a homeowners contingent that went to court to stop neighborhood townhomes from turning into student rooming houses.
Now Brickhouse wanted to talk about a good deed: that the university repaired the Spartan Village fence which had been battered by cars, broken by trespassers cutting through the neighborhood and blown apart in a storm.
The fence had gotten so bad that James Jones, a city inspections supervisor, had come out to investigate. He then asked the university to help out.
``We thought it was good to plug the holes in the fence because of the opportunity to reduce crime,'' said Carolyn Bell, associate vice president for development and community relations.
Norfolk State did more than plug holes. It replaced large sections of the fence, including anchoring the uprights in concrete. The school also is helping homeowners with painting.
Most of the work was done by 10 apprentices in an NSU building trades training program that helps renovate homes in nearby neighborhoods.
``There's been a lot of bad rap, but we're trying to mend that,'' said Walter Parker, supervisor of the renovation program. ``We're trying to let them know that the university wants to support them.''
The program is supported by a $500,000 federal grant, mostly used for renovating eight old houses in central Brambleton.
``We took a break from that,'' Parker said. ``We did the fence as a community service and a training effort.''
The work helps NSU-area residents in another way. Most of the apprentices - seven men and three women, ages 22 to 50 - live in central Brambleton.
Spartan Village residents now are looking forward to a ``new era'' in their relations with Norfolk State, said James McCormick, president of the homeowners association.
``This has established good harmony,'' he said. ``We're trying to live together as brothers and sisters with the university.
``It's a good community relationship. That's what it all boils down to.''
Had Robert Frost known all this, he might have written:
``Good neighbors make good fences.'' by CNB