THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9412300254
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: Charleen Cason, Eric Feber, Julie Goodrich, Patricia Huang, Francie
Latour, Scott McCaskey, Susan Smith
LENGTH: Long : 419 lines
IF WE WITNESSED anything in 1994, it's that Chesapeake residents can really put their foot down.
In 1994, residents demanded changes at City Hall. They demanded to be heard at City Council meetings. They fought private and government developers, driving away builders of a pre-release jail facility and those proposing multifamily units. They even drove away the canebrake rattlesnake.
Here are some year-end updates on a few of the top news stories in Chesapeake during the year just past:
Conflicts over growth
Chesapeake residents had a very vocal way in 1994 of letting developers know when they were unhappy.
More than once, fierce opposition from residents forced developers to drop their building plans and bow to neighborhood consensus.
The developer of a proposed 272-unit apartment complex in Western Branch withdrew his plan when neighbors protested in force. The opponents said the multifamily dwellings would burden the area's roads, schools and water supply.
``We were just trying to get a site-plan approved, and we were beat down by 600 people,'' said Richard Barrick, the developer's executive director. He called the protesters ``obnoxious'' and said he and other company board members had received threatening calls at home and work from angry residents.
The residents, who formed a community group called ``Concerned Citizens of Western Branch'' over the issue, criticized the city for allowing too much growth and vowed to keep a eye on any future developments in the area.
Earlier in the year, residents of Bowers Hill accomplished a similar feat when Dominion Leasing Inc., a private firm proposed building a minimum-security facility for more than 300 prisoners near the end of their parole.
The center would house both male and female low-risk non-violent offenders and provide them with classes and job training to prepare them for life after their release. It would have been the 14th such facility in the state. There are two similar facilities in Norfolk and Newport News.
Most residents said they liked the idea of the center but didn't want it on the 15-acre site in their Sunray neighborhood. They didn't trust the state or the developer to keep violent offenders out of the facility. They said they were not convinced that inmates could be rehabilitated, and they feared that the project would be a ``revolving door'' that would make their community more dangerous.
Developers withdrew their plan, citing ``irreconcilable opposition,'' in September. Another company, Virginia Beach-based Twin Star, proposed another such facility in Chesapeake but has not applied to the city's Planning Department.
A shift in power at City Hall
Six-to-three votes have been showing up regularly on City Council since a new Republican majority assumed control after the June elections.
The new Republican members of the council are: John de Triquet and W. Joe Newman. The Republicans field their candidates as a ticket calling it ``The Leadership Team.''
Although in theory the Council is not supposed to operate on a partisan basis, the six Republicans now sitting on council have used the majority vote to push through some major decisions. Among those have been rezonings for residential development, rejection of the Southeastern Expressway and a $77 million road bond referendum in November.
That majority also has manifested itself in one of the most partisan processes historically within the City Council: the appointment of boards and commissions. In both the Planning Commission and the School Board, members up for reappointment were instead replaced by Republican nominees. One planning commissioner, Rodney Foster, had contributed to the campaign of one Republican council member, while Larry Brayboy, who was appointed to the School Board by a 6-3 vote, had run on a Republican election ticket with one other council member.
While the Republicans pledged more open-door decisions and participatory government as part of their campaign, citizens called those promises to task several times since their election. Decrying what he called the disrespectful comments of council gadflies, Vice Mayor Arthur L. Dwyer spearheaded an effort to move citizen speakers on non-agenda items off-camera and after adjournment of the official meeting. Civic leagues and residents countered that effort with mounting opposition that forced the council to reverse itself on that decision.
More money for roads
Ask any Chesapeake citizen or public official about the city's needs and the first thing they'll tell you is new and improved roads.
Chesapeake roads and highways are considered arteries, important to the city's life and well-being, said John O'Connor, director of the city's public works.
``They are our links between the other cities and communities of Hampton Roads,'' O'Connor said.
With that in mind, last November Chesapeake citizens overwhelmingly supported a $76.9 million road bond issue to pay for more than 20 major road building projects throughout the city.
``We had expected the bond to pass,'' O'Connor said. ``Most of these were projects people requested and hoped for.''
O'Connor said the main impetus for the referendum came from the City Council.
``Our council said, `Let's go for a road bond,' '' he said. ``That pleased us (Public Works Department) to no end.''
O'Connor said his department has already received proposals from various design contractors for some of the projects included in the referendum. He said he and his staff will review them over the next couple of weeks. Some of the projects will be completed in about two years; other, more complicated ones could take as long as four years.
Actual construction on any project will not begin for another year at the earliest.
``We have to have hearings and input from citizens,'' he said. ``We have to get approval from the Planning Department and Council, find and hire design consultants, relocate utilities, buy the rights of way and then begin construction. And that's only if no wetlands are impacted.''
Bateman era to end
The Chesapeake School Board expects to hire a new school superintendent this month to replace C. Fred Bateman, who has been at the helm of Chesapeake Public Schools for 15 years.
Bateman, 54, announced in November that he would be retiring to join the faculty of Old Dominion University as a professor in the education department.
His last day on the job will be July 31.
Bateman, who arrived in Chesapeake in 1976, had served as a principal of a middle school in Richmond.
He started in the city as an assistant superintendent for finance, then quickly moved up to deputy superintendent, spending 19 of his 33 years as a public educator in Chesapeake.
He became superintendent of Chesapeake schools in 1980, far outlasting superintendents in other South Hampton Roads cities.
Under Bateman's leadership, the school system has pursued an aggressive building program to keep up with escalating student enrollment. He also has pushed hard to add technology in schools. He hired the first black high school principal in the mid-1980s and the first woman assistant superintendent in 1990.
Roadblock on Expressway
Always lukewarm in its support of a proposed Southeastern Expressway, bridging Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, a majority of City Council members tried to kill any future hopes for the 20-mile road in several actions this year.
Homeowners, civic leaders, farmers, state legislators and even media personalities banded together in opposition to the half-billion-dollar project, which they said served no purpose, was a waste of money and was out-of-sync with the city's top road priority: the widening of Battlefield Boulevard to the North Carolina border. The possibility of a road that could cut through the city's Greenbrier section only added to citizens' pleas to drive a nail through the expressway's coffin.
While a majority of council members insisted they would not be bullied by state or federal transportation agencies into supporting the road, some city officials warned that derailing the project prematurely could affect efforts to get federal funding and environmental approval for Battlefield Boulevard and the Oak Grove Connector. But those warnings fell on deaf ears in December, as the council struck against the expressway for a second time, not only eliminating it from consideration in the near future, but also striking it from its master plan of 2015.
Since the council's last rejection, the expressway has taken another hit at the federal level, making its chances for survival even slimmer. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers said the project was environmentally unacceptable. Although transportation officials can appeal the decision, Chesapeake's lack of support will make that appeal more difficult to win, according to Virginia Beach city officials.
Still no School Board elections
More than a year has elapsed since Chesapeake voters expressed their wish to choose School Board members by direct election rather than by City Council appointment. But the first elections could still be years away: The city's resistance to a Justice Department mandate for a ward system halted the transition to elections and left residents and city officials to grapple with charges that its at-large voting system has discriminated against blacks and made it impossible for that community to elect the candidates of their choice to office.
Mayor William E. Ward, now the only African-American serving on the City Council, spearheaded the effort to change to a ward system. His testimony contributed to a Justice Department letter in June that cited a pattern of racially polarized voting and rejected the city's at-large voting method for new school board elections.
Divisions over the issue took surprising turns as some prominent black civic leaders rejected wards as the answer to black political disempowerment. The local chapter of the NAACP and the Chesapeake Forward, two leading black organizations, have come out in favor of the at-large system. At the same time, white civic leaders called for wards as a solution to other problems, such as the predominance of Great Bridge representation on the City Council and on boards and commissions.
Faced with the options of complying to federal demands or launching a costly legal battle, the City Council voted in executive session to try to preserve the at-large system. In their fight, they have hired the same attorneys who litigated on behalf of the city of Norfolk, which also sought to keep at-large voting for City Council elections and lost.
In the meantime, three of the city's most important boards and commissions - the School Board, the Hospital Board and the Planning Commission - all took on new appointments in December. While council appointments preserved racial and gender diversity on the School Board, the Hospital Authority and the Planning Commission both lost black and female representation with the new round of appointments.
Less talk at Council meetings
Chesapeake City Council passed a resolution Sept. 27 that delayed citizen comments about items not on the council's official agenda until after the council had adjourned, the television cameras had been turned off and the city staff had been excused.
The amendment passed 6-2 with Mayor William E. Ward and Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff casting the only ``no'' votes.
That action led to a storm of protest by many citizens and civic groups throughout the city. The council eventually bowed to pressure from the dissenters and allowed citizens to make comments on non-agenda items but only at the end of council's regular Tuesday evening business.
Citizens like Adele Whitener and her husband, James, a former independent candidate for the City Council, were not fully satisfied with the way the matter was resolved.
``They did resolve it,'' Whitener said. ``But they put it at the end of the meeting prior to adjournment. So you have to play their game to be there. They're actually forcing you to sit until the end of the meeting.''
Council's action was applauded by the Chesapeake office of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Whitener said.
``Both council and the chamber think city business comes first,'' she said. ``But to me and others like me who protested the original amendment, people are the city's business.''
Whitener thinks relegating citizen comments to the end of the meeting may deter some speakers who are not up to council's late hours.
But she said the council's reversal of the Sept. 27 resolution was still a positive move, showing that they do listen to the people and heed their input.
High-tech high school
The high school of the future opened in Chesapeake in 1994.
Oscar Frommel Smith High School, which opened its doors to 1,558 students in September, is high-tech from its hall clocks to its parking lot surveillance cameras.
There's satellite receiving equipment, computerized driving simulators, classroom telephones, television monitors and classroom video systems.
The Technology Lab 2000 is equipped with laser discs, Macintosh computers, wind tunnels, data centers for robotics and bays for design and publication.
Along with military science and leadership studies, the ROTC program offers aerospace science and space travel and communication skills.
The halls and rooms are wheelchair-accessible and all signs are encoded in Braille. A detailed program is designed to meet the needs of the severe and profoundly handicapped.
``It's all very current and very sophisticated for a school,'' said Roger Geyer, the school's computer resource center teacher, on opening day.
``We're constantly looking at new programs and anticipating ways to expand the technology lab so that we can stay on the cutting edge of high tech,'' said Koonce.
In December, Koonce and Harrison B. Wilson, president of Norfolk State University, officially signed a partnership committing to an exchange of students and staff with special programs, mentoring, counseling, ROTC and technology training.
``Project Success'' is another sharing program that Smith has undertaken with B.M. Williams Primary School. A dozen high school students routinely tutor kindergartners who have been identified as at-risk kids.
Math sequential courses, physics for technology, marine biology and anatomy and physiology classes have been added to the academic course schedule.
The special education department has added job coaching and job training.
Ready for a January opening is a new Parent Resource Center stocked with school information and programs from academic to athletic, from special help to clubs and activities.
``Parents can browse or request to see a counselor or staff person,'' said Koonce. ``We would like to keep the parents involved and up-to-date on our activities.''
According to Koonce, there's also a lot of community activity going on at a school. A dog show, civic league meetings and pageants are scheduled for nights and weekends.
Fire destroys place of worship
Tragedies often bring communities closer together.
Members of the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads said they discovered this when a fire in October destroyed the single-story Chesapeake temple.
``Every time we get together for a function now, everybody is always inquiring and asking what's taking so long (to rebuild the temple),'' said Ashok Patel, president of the temple's executive committee. ``It's hard to explain to everybody because it's (an insurance holdup).''
The temple, near the Steel Bridge off Dominion Boulevard, remains roped off with yellow police tape, a gate and ``no trespassing'' signs. Much of the debris from the charred and mangled building still lies on the site untouched.
Patel said the temple committee has been waiting for contractors' bids and for the insurance company to settle the claim on the fire that caused about $1.5 million in damages.
``We will start building as soon as we settle with (the insurance company) in January or February,'' he said.
Fire officials said the cause of the early morning blaze was undetermined, but they had ruled out arson.
About 450 Indian families, who belong to the temple, came from as far as Williamsburg to participate in activities there. Most members said that the temple fostered a social atmosphere and some would congregate there weekly for badminton games, birthday parties and cookouts.
``The day I heard (about the fire), I was lost. I was so broken,'' said Bharti Desai of Virginia Beach last fall. ``I felt like their was a death in the family. That was the only place we Indians could get together.''
The temple was a safe place that her family enjoyed visiting, and it gave her sons a place where they could learn more about the Hindu religion and speak Hindi, she said.
Members now wait impatiently, collecting donations and making their own pledges. The fire has inspired them to improve the temple, they said. In the meantime, the community is renting halls at Old Dominion University for its larger functions and hosting parties and services at private homes at other times.
Violence disturbs Christmas peace
It was just two days before Christmas when city police reported what they said was the first triple homicide in Chesapeake's history.
A 32-year-old woman killed her husband and two children while they slept early that morning and then phoned a relative in North Carolina to tell about it. The slayings brought the number of homicides in 1994 in Chesapeake to 20. The year before there were 13.
``This is definitely one of the most tragic cases this year,'' said Officer Tony Torres, a Police Department spokesman.
The woman, Janice Eastman, was arrested at a home in the 400 block of Blanche Court near Deep Creek High School and charged with three counts of murder.
When police arrived, they said they found the bodies of her husband, Kenneth Eastman, 36; her 11-year-old son, Kenny; and her 9-year-old daughter, Kelly, in separate bedrooms. They had been beaten and stabbed, police said.
Of the 20 homicides in Chesapeake in 1994 - most of which involved domestic disturbances or drugs - three remain unsolved at year's end, Torres said.
Other than homicides, crime in Chesapeake was down in 1994. Here are the comparative statistics for the past three years:
1992 - 60 rapes, 340 robberies, 448 aggravated assaults and 1,766 burglaries.
1993 - 61 rapes, 327 robberies, 385 aggravated assaults and 1,612 burglaries.
1994 (through November) - 59 rapes, 305 robberies, 385 aggravated assaults, 1,423 burglaries, 591 auto thefts and 5,178 larcenies.
Biologists banned
Nearly a dozen venomous snakes continue to sleep soundly in their hibernation beds scattered throughout Northwest River Park, safe in the fact that no one will be looking for them until this spring.
Then biologists Alan H. and Barbara A. Savitzky must find the 11 canebrake rattlesnakes and copperheads they have implanted with $300 radio transmitters, take them back to their Old Dominion University laboratory, remove the transmitters and return the reptiles to the family-oriented park.
The City Council ruled in September that a three-year, $49,000 study of canebrake rattlesnakes conducted in the city park had to be abandoned a year short of completion. After the snake was put on the state's endangered species list in 1992, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries opted to fund a study of its natural habitat, including tracking its paths in and around Northwest River Park.
But, apparently, the general population was not aware of the study until a couple of the snakes being studied slithered onto nearly private farmland. More than 125 concerned citizens showed up at a Chesapeake Farm Bureau meeting in late August, protesting the study.
Some landowners feared that the species would be moved to the federal endangered species list and further study could, ultimately, compromise their property rights.
``The farmers see so many infringements today on their land use,'' state Del. J. Randy Forbes said. ``I think they're just afraid of a domino effect. They've been told in the past that this would never happen, but they've seen it with an owl and a shrew.''
State championship - almost
If other issues in Chesapeake divided residents, Deep Creek football served as a rallying point. The Hornets took the 1994 season by storm and ran off a 13-game winning streak before losing in the Group AA-Division 5 state final.
Along the way, Deep Creek won the Southeastern District championship and claimed Chesapeake's first Eastern Region title.
But if the coaches and players found time to bask in the glory of a Cinderella season, it wasn't for long.
Coach Jerry Carter capped off his finest year with back surgery. Carter, who is a guidance counselor at the school, is at home recuperating and should return to Deep Creek at the end of January.
Several players have gone on to participate in other sports. Tommy Rapier, Joe Verdi and Nick Cuffee are on the wrestling team; Arnie Powell, Vernon Boone, Brad Watson, Chad Sorrell and Shelton Davis all suit up for the Hornets' basketball team.
Lawrence Claiborne, Dee Harrell, Jason Waters and Deon Dyer are spending the winter on the indoor track team. The four recently returned from the Diamond State Invitational in Delaware, where Harrell took first place in the 200 meter dash among runners from 135 schools. Harrell and Claiborne ran legs on the Hornets' first-place 4 x 200 relay team, Dyer finished third in the shotput, and Waters took fourth in the long jump.
Although Carter loses 22 seniors, Powell (quarterback) and Dyer (fullback) will be back to lead Deep Creek's title defense in 1995.
Youth baseball nears home plate
Major league baseball may still be in a deadlock April 22, but in Chesapeake, the day will signal the start of a special season.
It will mark the grand opening of the Great Bridge Baseball Association's Charlton-Mott Youth Complex in Hickory, the beginnings a 90-acre facility that will eventually have 12 lighted fields, concession stands and a playground.
``We expect to have five fields ready for play by the 22nd,'' said John Fulford, president of the association. ``It will be the completion of the first phase in a three-phase project.''
The ground-breaking ceremony took place in November 1993. Work began in early 1994. At present, the drainage and septic systems are in place and the roads and fields are ready. The lighting, bleachers, fencing and operations/concession building are in the works. The complex will be the new home for the nearly 2,000 Pony League baseball players in the association and one of the largest complexes of its kind on the East Coast.
But the project has had some slow innings: A non-profit organization, the association has had to depend solely on private and public donations. While Fulford is confident the first - and most expensive - phase will be finished on schedule, he remains uncertain about the future timetable.
``Community enthusiasm is high, but donations have been a little disappointing,'' said Fulford. ``It's a sign of the economic times, I guess. It may take longer to complete than we'd hoped.''
More than $600,000 already has been raised and spent. An additional $250,000 will be needed to complete the first phase. Association administrators are concentrating their efforts on raising that sum. The cost to finish the entire project is estimated at $1.4 million, so that still may be three to four years off. ILLUSTRATION: File Photos
TRAGEDY: The Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads, located near the Steel
Bridge off Dominion Boulevard, was destroyed by a fire in October.
SPEAKING UP: Voters lined up at the polls in November. In the June
elections, they tilted the balance of power on the City Council in
favor of the GOP.
NOT SPEAKING: Chesapeake resident Adele Whitener created her own
button to protest the City Council's action curbing citizen speeches
at Council meetings until Council had adjourned and the television
cameras were turned off. After a storm of protest, Council changed
the rule, allowing speeches on non-agenda items but only at the end
of Council's regular Tuesday evening business.
A $49,000 study of canebrake rattlesnakes in Chesapeake was halted
by the City Council after a public protest.
Oscar Frommel Smith High School, which opened its doors to 1,558
students at a new facility in September, is high-tech from its hall
clocks to its parking lot surveillance cameras.
KEYWORDS: YEAR IN REVIEW by CNB