THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609130244
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: CITY REORT
LENGTH: 61 lines
Around Town is a look at people and events special to the Portsmouth community.
SIGN LANGUAGE: The message on the sign at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Churchland reads: ``George, You can pay for it now!''
Someone slipping on their tithe at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Churchland?
Or is heaven sending a sign to Georges everywhere to burn the plastic and start paying cash?
Actually the message was meant for George Martin, the church's treasurer.
The messenger was Milton Monteau, chairman of the church committee in charge of St. Andrew's new sign.
The bronze-colored aluminum sign was installed and partially paid for more than four months ago. But it took a while to get the company that installed it to iron out the kinks.
So every time Martin asked if he could pay the bill for the sign, he was told to hold off until everything was done right.
``George was asking me, asking the pastor, asking the church secretary,'' Monteau said.
Finally the treasurer got tired of asking and said just put it on the sign when it's time to pay the bill.
He wasn't serious, but Monteau obviously liked the idea.
- Janie Bryant
ACROSS THE WATER: Portsmouth Planning Director James Gildea made the move about two weeks ago.
Gildea and his wife, Anne, have moved into a house that was the residence of architect John Paul Hanbury on Washington Street in Swimming Point.
The Gildeas formerly lived on Cambridge Crescent in the Larchmont section of Norfolk. Gildea worked for a number of years in Norfolk's planning department and became Portsmouth's chief planner last year.
Gildea said Tuesday that he's happy the move is over.
``And we're finally beginning to see the floor beneath the boxes,'' he said.
- Ida Kay Jordan
CHURCH MESSAGE: Two churches got the message from Mayor James W. Holley III and sent their ministers to the United Way campaign kickoff to send a message of their own.
The Rev. D. Talbert of St. John's Baptist Church and the Rev. William Hampton of Mount Calvary Baptist Church made contributions from their congregations to the campaign.
Talbert said they were responding to Holley's request for churches to do more in the community.
Holley, seated at the head table for the kickoff luncheon, beamed over his success.
- Ida Kay Jordan ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
The anxious church treasurer finally gets the message: He can pay
the bill for the new sign now that the contractor has finished the
work. by CNB