THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 29, 1996 TAG: 9610290326
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 66 lines
NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Off-track betting supporters appear optimistc
MANASSAS PARK - Backers of off-track gambling in Northern Virginia are optimistic that Manassas Park will give them a lucky break at the polls Nov. 5 because of the city's need for school funds.
Colonial Downs, the company that wants to build a fancy restaurant-bar-betting parlor in the area, has launched a campaign targeting each of the city's 8,000 residents.
The company has promised to raise $500,000 a year in taxes, money Manassas Park needs to rebuild the outdated wooden modular classrooms constructed in 1975.
More patrol dogs needed
FORT BELVOIR - The Custom Service is looking for more drug- and money-sniffing dogs.
Normally, the service finds the dogs it needs at animal shelters. But the demand for dogs has increased, and the Custom Service has gone looking for a few good dogs.
The government has hired 150 dog handlers to patrol the border from Texas to California. It needs the same number of dogs to accompany them.
SOUTHSIDE
Standoff ends in suicide
RINGGOLD - Police found the body of Wilburt Gilbert Scearce's wife in the trunk of his car after he shot and killed himself, ending a standoff with police Sunday.
Police said they had been looking for Scearce's wife, who had been missing since Sunday afternoon, when Scearce led them to his home and threatened to kill himself. After almost five hours of negotiations, Scearce shot himself in the head.
They found the body of his 33-year-old wife, Tammy, in the trunk of the car he had been driving.
MIDDLE PENINSULA
Black cats protected
GLOUCESTER - Fearful that someone might play Halloween tricks on innocent animals, local humane officials have banned adoptions of black cats until after Halloween.
Through the ages, superstitious folks have believed black cats are evil and have magical powers.
The Virginia Beach shelter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Norfolk SPCA and the Cat Corner shelter in Hampton have similar restrictions around Halloween.
Also . . .
STEPHENS CITY - Severe weather has caused Virginia's apple crop to fall about 25 percent from last year's, growers said. Consumers will pay more for apples this fall, but not enough to offset the losses that the weather has brought many apple growers.
COMING UP
WEDNESDAY: Charlottesville - Former presidential candidate George McGovern will speak on foreign policy and elections at 11:30 a.m. at the University of Virginia Miller Center for Public Affairs. Actress Kathleen Turner will appear at the kickoff for the Virginia Film Festival. - From the Associated Press by CNB