THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512290299
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
LENGTH: Long : 303 lines
The ancient Romans, who were the first to celebrate Jan. 1 as the first day of the new year, dedicated the day to their god Janus, who reputedly had two faces - one for looking backward and one for looking forward.
The beginning of the new year is still a time for looking back at the past and forward into the future. In that spirit, we asked several Chesapeake residents for their expectations for 1996.
``Improving the transportation network will be one of the big projects for the city this year,'' said Clarence V. Cuffee, Chesapeake's interim city manager. ``There will be a lot of temporary adjustments as we strive to improve the roads and the heavy traffic flow on the city's main corridors. I just ask that the citizens bear with us and that the public understands that there will be inconveniences before it gets better.''
William Holloran, executive direc tor of the Chesapeake Division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, predicted that Chesapeake's growth would continue to be on the upswing.
``We can expect growth in international firms and to a lesser extent technical businesses in 1996,'' said Holloran. ``I also expect to see more fulfillment firms or back office operations like customer service or telemarketing.''
Holloran is hoping that the city will nab a major high-tech industry or Fortune 500 company in the coming year.
``We have so much to offer a major company. There's really no reason one wouldn't want to come here,'' he added.
``1996 will be a bullish year for Chesapeake,'' agreed Donald Goldberg, director of economic development. ``The city will certainly attract a cross section of manufacturing and back room businesses as well as sales, service and warehouse operations,'' he added.
Goldberg also believes the international business presence in Chesapeake will strengthen as overseas companies look to the area's close port proximity and strong employee pool.
``Right now we have almost 50 international businesses, and I think two or three more international firms will locate here in 1996,'' he said.
Goldberg also believes Chesapeake will benefit from military downsizing and relocation.
``I expect one or two military commands to relocate here,'' he said.
``Reducing crime is the main goal of the Chesapeake Police Department in any year,'' said Chief Ian M. Shipley of the Chesapeake Police Department. ``Overall we want to keep Chesapeake as one of the safest cities in the nation.''
Shipley said his department would concentrate heavily on youth-related crimes and community policing during 1996.
Community policing, in which officers become recognized, active participants in the community, is already in effect in South Norfolk. Shipley said the Fourth Precinct in Western Branch will be the next targeted area for the program.
Lt. Kelvin L. Wright of the Chesapeake Police Department's Second Precinct said seven more officers will be assigned to South Norfolk in January to aid in the fight against crime.
The officers will continue to be involved in the community, joining civic organizations and setting up security block watch programs and McGruff Houses.
Wright said the officers will work closely with citizens, civics groups and businesses for better lighting, trash removal and addressing the problem of overgrown lots and abandoned houses.
The Rev. Fred Bates of Chesapeake's First Church of the Nazarene on Cedar Road believes churches will face real challenges in the new year.
``It's going to be a year where more and more demands are made on churches,'' Bates said. ``I've already seen it with many of my church members. There will be more businesses tightening their belts, more downsizing, more layoffs. People will turn more to the church for help.
``More will be demanded of churches than just spiritual needs. People will be seeking financial help, help with their children and support when their husbands go off to war.
``We'll see all the problems of society - battered women, alcohol and drug abuse, teenagers who don't trust their parents - and we, the church, will be called upon to fill all those voids.''
With all these demands, Bates predicts, will come more stress within the local church. Churches, he said, will have to change direction.
``People don't just want to hear our message. They need help. They also want to feel love and they want to feel that there is hope . . . You have to prove so much to them. You have to prove you love them and respect them before they'll come and be a part of your church.''
How will the church meet the challenge in 1996?
``The church must wake up and realize that times have changed,'' Bates said. ``Society is looking for long-range help. The federal government is pushing it to the states, who are pushing it onto the cities, who are going to turn around and push it onto the local churches. That's the reality.''
Dr. Timothy H. Kerr, provost of the Chesapeake campus of Tidewater Community College,went out on a limb:
``The sun will generally rise in the east and set in the west,'' he predicted.
Among his other predictions for 1996:
``Chesapeake will have an elected school board.
``There will be a new face in City Council.
``Battlefield Boulevard will still be congested.
``Chesapeake will continue to attract new and exciting industries.''
Linda D. Scott, principal of Chesapeake's Center for Science and Technology, believes technology will continue to escalate in the new year.
``We will be using it for conducting business and for learning that will apply to the school setting and at home,'' she said.
``The nature of communication will change and we will be networking more with the worldwide community.
``I think the nature of the way we learn will change.
``We will see more community-based instruction. More instruction will be taking place outside the school building.''
Before Mindy L. Hughes, public relations coordinator for Chesapeake General Hospital, hazarded a guess about the events of 1996, she looked back to the accomplishments of the old year:
In the Spring of '95, Chesapeake General Hospital in partnership with DePaul Medical Center opened the Cancer Treatment Center at Chesapeake General. Hughes said it was a full scope service center for diagnostic tests, treatment, education and support.
In November The Family Health and Wellness Center at Deep Creek opened. The center offers exercise, cooking, health, childbirth and first aid classes.
A Hospice Program for care and support was started.
The Older Adult Mental Health floor was renovated with bright new color schemes and refurbished with beds and furniture designed for older adults.
The Neighborhood Helper Program has received national, award-winning recognition. The program, a joint venture with the Chesapeake Health Department, teaches volunteers first aid and basic health care. Each volunteer then becomes a neighborhood contact person. So far, 50 volunteers from 19 Chesapeake neighborhoods have participated.
Hughes predicted 1996 would be just as eventful.
The year kicks off with a birthday party. In January the hospital will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a multitude of happenings. Approximately 22 employees will also be recognized for their 20 years of continual service.
Hughes sees even more construction and growth.
The Lifestyle Fitness Center will undergo major renovation. New equipment and a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program are on the agenda. A child-care facility at the center will be ready by June.
Construction will begin on expanding the hospital's critical care unit.
Ground breaking will begin on The Western Branch Wellness & Fitness Center, a 40,000-square-foot facility that will include an indoor pool and track, weights, physical therapy and health care. It's scheduled for a 1997 opening.
Then there's another party scheduled for June. It's the 10th anniversary for the hospital's BirthPlace and all children and families will be invited back to celebrate.
Dr. Nancy M. Welch, director of the Chesapeake Health Department, also took stock of the old year before she looked forward to the new:
During 1995:
More than 25,000 patients were seen at by health department personnel for various health care services.
About 10,000 visits were made to home-confined patients.
There were 21 reported HIV positive cases.
Nearly 500 animals bites were investigated.
In 1996, Welch said, the Chesapeake Health Department would continue to advocate health care reform, especially for the growing number of uninsured adults, like the 10,000 in Chesapeake.
When L. Randy Harrison, Chesapeake's fine arts coordinator, looked ahead at the city's arts and cultural scene for 1996, she sees a rich and vibrant new year.
Just look at what was achieved this past year, she pointed out.
``We're still excited over the response we got for the `Symphony Under the Stars' concert,'' Harrison said.
The ``Symphony Under the Stars'' concert, which took place at Chesapeake City Park last September, was the Virginia Symphony's first ever visit to the city. Officials hoped to have at least as many people in the audience as there were on stage. The response went beyond anyone's expectations, with the event attracting between 1,500 to 2,000 people of all types, not just high-brows.
Harrison said that pivotal event drew people of all ages and every ethnic group.
``That said to us that people are ready for more,'' she said. ``I'm still getting more comments on that event. I still go back to this letter that this one lady sent us that said after her husband died, it was that symphony concert that gave her joy and hope. That said a lot to me.''
Harrison also cites last year's outstanding crop of highly talented youngsters winning Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission education grants; Maestro Russell Stanger's comments about Chesapeake's young arts talent; the ``Healing Arts'' exhibit, an innovative exhibit of art created by cancer survivors which was jointly sponsored by the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission and Chesapeake General Hospital; and the makeup of the Fine Arts Commission itself.
``We have some very dynamic folks on the commission,'' she said. ``They are determined to bring more and more arts and cultural events to the city.''
Harrison predicted that Chesapeake would continue to have strong support for the arts. At the recent ``Celebrate the Arts'' reception, Mayor William E. Ward was quoted as saying ``a city without music and arts has no soul.''
She said 1996 is already shaping up to be as busy, and as successful, as last year's: Mid-January will see the Actors' Theater production of the Broadway comedy ``Nunsense'' being staged over two weekends at the Oscar F. Smith High School theater; another ``Healing Arts'' exhibit will be displayed at the Chesapeake Central Library; more Virginia Symphony events are planned; more talented youngsters will be discovered through the Fine Arts grants auditions; the Generic Theater is trying to bring several productions to the city; and the Hotel Paradise Roof Garden Orchestra will stage a spring dance at Lakeside Park.
Harrison said the city enjoys an abundance of ``teachers who are unsung heroes at promoting fine arts'' to their students and she sees more and more city businesses joining in and sponsoring arts projects in the city.
``I feel really, really good about what will happen to Chesapeake in 1996,'' Harrison said. ``I see the arts growing here dramatically, I really do. Arts for Chesapeake are no longer untouchable frills.''
Claire Askew, director of the Chesapeake Department of Parks, Recreation and Building Maintenance, said 1996 will be a year of growth for the city's parks.
``We're looking forward to the acquisition of three additional parcels of land,'' she said. ``They are large parcels in Deep Creek, Greenbrier/Kempsville and southern Chesapeake.''
Askew said her department is looking forward to developing these parcels to enhance the city's leisure climate and opportunities.
She said March will see the dedication of a new Western Branch sports complex to include five softball fields, four soccer pitches and one football field.
``We're moving into the year 2000,'' Askew said. ``And our No. 1 goal this year is land acquisition.''
She said her department recently received a parcel of land in Dunedin from the Chesapeake public school division. Contingent on the weather, she sees this land being developed sometime in the spring and summer. The lakefront property will include basketball courts, picnic shelters and a trail system.
Askew predicted one trend that will continue in 1996 is the development of more multi-use facilities.
``Soon we hope to dedicate the new Camelot Community Facility,'' said said. ``It's attached to Camelot Elementary School and is not quite as large as a regular community center. It will be jointly used by both our department and the school. The school will use it as a gymnasium, and we'll it as a neighborhood center. It will contain the gymnasium, a game room and two meeting rooms.''
In addition, she sees more volunteer/community involvement in projects such as the recent successful Fun Forest built at Chesapeake City Park.
``With tight money and budgets everywhere we see this kind of active community involvement as a good way to develop more facilities for the city,'' Askew said.
The September opening of the new Hickory High School will be a big adjustment for many, according to Stephanie R. Stevenson, 17, a senior at Deep Creek High School.
Students from Great Bridge and Deep Creek will make up Hickory High's student body.
The ancient Romans, who were the first to celebrate Jan. 1 as the first day of the new year, dedicated the day to their god Janus, who reputedly had two faces - one for looking backward and one for looking forward.
Stevenson predicted that teenagers will face many of the same problems during the year year as they faced during the old: drugs, alcohol and unprotected sex.
Stevenson said he fears that more drugs will become more available to middle school children in 1996.
Briana Coons, 16, a junior at Oscar Smith High School, said that violence in schools would continue to be a major issue for both teens and administrators during 1996.
``Many more precautions are taken, such as video cameras, on-campus detectives, tougher penalties and committees to discuss problems, but fights and weapons are still a concern,'' she said.
Coons agreed with Stevenson that drugs, alcohol and unsafe sex will continue to be troubling for teens.
``Although we are more educated, and we are continually given information, teen-agers often don't make the best choices.'' Coons said.
Robin Brinkley, a sports reporter for The Virginian-Pilot, scooped the leading sports stories for '96.
For Chesapeake student athletes, he made the following tongue-in-cheek predictions:
``In January, Indian River High School's basketball game will be stopped when it is discovered that the gym floor is secured with chewing gum.
``In February, Great Bridge High School will win its sixth consecutive state wrestling championship when Carl Perry pins his opponent in three seconds in the 130-pound final. Then Coach Steve Martin will stun the Wildcats faithful by announcing he is leaving to coach Ric Flair in his bid to regain the WCW title. Western Branch's Terry Perdew will be tabbed to replace Martin.
``In March, Indian River will win its first state basketball championship since 1987, completing a football/basketball sweep last accomplished by Allen Iverson and Bethel in 1992. In the championship game at Liberty University, Jason Capel will throw up a prayer at the buzzer that will ricochet off the ceiling, off the scoreboard and off Jerry Falwell for the winning basket.
``In June, Great Bridge's Mike Cuddyer will hit four home runs in an Eastern Region playoff game, but the Wildcats will lose 31-30. Coach Martin Oliver will announce he intends to coach for 10 more years.
``Also in June, Deep Creek's Deon Dyer will win the state shot put title with a world-record toss of 302 yards. `I just kept imagining we were playing Hampton,' he will say.
``In November, Indian River High School will end a 29-year jinx by beating Deep Creek 35-34 for its first Southeastern District football championship. James Boyd will rush for 150 yards and pass for 150 yards and to become the first area player to rush and pass for more than 3,000 yards in a career. It will be revealed afterward that Boyd also lined the field and sold drinks at halftime.
``In December, Indian River's first basketball game back in its gym will be stopped when it is discovered the new floor was set with silly putty.'' MEMO: Staff writers Janelle La Bouve, Robin Brinkley, Eric Feber, Jennifer
O'Donnell, Susan Smith, Elizabeth Thiel and Betsy Matthews Wright
contributed to this story.
[For a related story see: WHAT ONE ASTROLOGER SEES IN THE STARS, also on
page 10 of The Clipper for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 1996
Cuffee
Holloran
Goldberg
Kerr
Welch
by CNB