THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605100192
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 129 lines
Saturday, May 4
2 p.m. - A catalog retailer on Independence Boulevard.
A man, middle-aged and burly, steps up to the return counter and holds out a shiny white woman's electric razor that's humming softly.
``Can I help you?'' asks the clerk, eyeing the contraption.
``This is the strangest thing,'' explains the man. ``We bought this yesterday and we can't get it to shut off.''
``Well, I declare!'' says the clerk, who picks up the razor and tries to find the off button.
``Trust me,'' says the man. ``I've tried everything and it will not turn off.''
Several folks in line laugh as the man agrees to another model.
``Gee,'' says a woman to the man. ``It's a good thing that wasn't a chain saw!''
- Lori A. Denney
Sunday, May 5
8 a.m. - A street in Bellamy Manor Estates.
A Virginia Beach schoolteacher is looking out her bedroom window when a late model blue car with a broken right front headlight drives quickly into her court. The car slows slightly and a young boy wearing an orange vest jumps out.
``I thought he was the paperboy delivering the paper,'' says the woman. However, instead of delivering a newspaper, the boy, who looks about 10, picks up the thick Sunday paper from her neighbor's yard, then snatches the one from her yard and dashes for the car. He jumps in as the car speeds away.
The woman says sadly, ``That was an adult driving that car. I wanted to say, `What are you teaching this child?' My husband and I are both teachers and we're trying to teach children to do the right things, and then an adult, maybe a parent, is teaching a child to steal.''
- Melinda Forbes
Noonish - Red Mill Farms.
Charles Behrens hears a noise up the road that sounds like woman screaming.
When he investigates, he discovers a beautiful blue peacock sitting in a tree. The peacock is hollering its unique human-sounding cry.
While he's jogging, Behrens' next-door neighbor discovers the peacock. The big bird - 12 to 15 feet long - flies right over him and the jogger says he thinks it's a plane.
- Mary Reid Barrow
9 a.m. - Red Mill Farms.
The peacock is becoming the talk of Red Mill Farms, says Nola Reed, a wildlife rehabilitator with the Wildlife Society of Virginia Beach.
``This morning he's making his mating calls,'' she says. ``He sounds like someone calling, `help! help!' at a real loud pitch.''
In hopes of luring the bird out of the tree, Reed has borrowed a female peacock from nearby Hunt Club Produce on London Bridge Road. The female and a nice plate of food are both in a cage on the ground in the area where the peacock has been hanging around.
The peacock seems to be enjoying his freedom however. He flies from tree to tree and from roof top to roof top.
``It's funny,'' says Reed, ``seeing a big old peacock on top of someone's house!''
- Mary Reid Barrow
Monday, May 6
Noon - Stoplight at Virginia Beach and Independence boulevards.
A man waits at the stoplight in pick-up that's not new and shiny. A child sits next to him.
On the bumper is a sticker reading: Lost Wife and Dog: Reward for Dog.
- Gary Edwards
2 p.m. - Pembroke Elementary School
The teacher assistants have decided to show their appreciation for the teachers with whom they work daily.
They bring out a cake and set it on a table. The inscription reads: ``Happy Apprecation Day.''
- Gary Edwards
6 p.m. - Red Mill Farms.
The female peacock at the foot of the tree apparently has no effect on a wayward male peacock causing a stir in Red Mill Farms. He's flown the coop and no one knows where he is, said wildlife rehabilitator Nola Reed.
- Mary Reid Barrow
Tuesday, May 7
7 a.m. - Le Cove.
Stanley and Deborah Foster and children Krystle, 7, and Stanley, 3, peek through the glass storm door to see what progress the robin eggs in a nest on the front-door wreath have made. Yesterday, the first egg had hatched. This morning two more babies have been born.
``Now we have three healthy little baby robins behind the storm door,'' Stanley Foster said.
Although the Fosters stopped using the door to come and go, the mama robin got used to seeing the family on the other side of the glass.
``She doesn't even fly away,'' Foster says.
Consequently the family was able to watch from the beginning as the robins built their nest in the grapevine wreath decorated with artificial flowers. Now, they are looking forward to seeing the babies fledge. Although they've enjoyed watching the whole process, they hope the birds don't come back next year.
``We'd like to use our front door again,'' Foster says.
- Mary Reid Barrow
9 p.m. - A victory party for Mayor Meyera Oberndorf at the Sheraton Oceanfront.
After making the regulation ``victory'' speech where Meyera Oberndorf thanked her constituents, friends and family for re-electing her to another four years as mayor of Virginia Beach, she assures the audience that the win has not gone to her head, that she does experience rejection ``every now and then.''
``My daughter called and said that Lila, my granddaughter who's 3 now, has been practicing all day to tell me something on the phone,'' says Oberndorf, recalling the story to the audience. ``When my daughter called her to the phone, Lila said (in the background), `you took too long on the phone. I don't want to talk now' and went back to playing with hand cream.''
- Lori A. Denney ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
That's using the ol' noggin
Janet Wickham, a school teacher from Norfolk, showed her support for
Virginia Beach School Board candidate Rosemary Wilson by making her
own personal billboard. The publicity must have helped. Wilson
finished first in the balloting for the four-year, at-large seat.
by CNB