DATE: Saturday, March 15, 1997              TAG: 9703150418

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  152 lines

HAMPTON ROADS

VIRGINIA BEACH

Judge extends order

to stop sand hauling

along country road

A Circuit Court judge on Friday extended his order to stop the hauling of sand temporarily from a farmer's property while the city, the farmer and the hauler work out the details of repairing Colechester Road.

All sides met this week to try to iron out the details of how Thompson's Grading Co. and property owner Steve Barnes can obtain a city hauling permit to continue the trucking of sand from the site on McClannan Lane off Colechester.

Thompson's and Barnes supplied the city with alternative ways to repair the 1 1/4-mile, two-lane country road, which has been heavily damaged over the past year by 10-ton dump trucks hauling up to 15 additional tons of sand from Barnes' property. Barnes is having a 10-acre fish pond dug at the site.

City engineers are reviewing those alternatives. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 28.

Allen signs law protecting

teachers from lawsuits

Gov. George F. Allen signed a teacher immunity bill into law Friday morning before an audience of students in the library of Kellam High School.

The law protects Virginia public school teachers from lawsuits that might stem from conduct such as breaking up a fight or protecting a child on school grounds. The law goes into effect July 1, but Allen is pushing for an amendment that would enact the law in April.

The General Assembly passed the measure last month, after two years of rejection along partisan lines. The law codifies a precedent set in 1988 by the Virginia Supreme Court.

Some argued that teachers are already afforded such protection through insurance from the Virginia Education Association. VEA membership, which includes the insurance, is not mandatory for public teachers, though.

Allen chose to sign the bill at the school because several teachers there were among the original group who requested the legislation a few years ago.

Shamrock Marathon today

will disrupt Ft. Story traffic

The 25th annual Shamrock Marathon will be routed through Fort Story today and will close off some traffic to motorists in the resort area, North End and Army base.

Runners will enter the West Gate, go through Fort Story via Atlantic Avenue and exit the East Gate beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until about 2 p.m.

All vehicular traffic must enter the East Gate adjacent to 89th Street and exit via the West Gate. Traffic will be strictly controlled during the marathon. No recreational bicycles will be allowed on Atlantic Avenue during the course of the race.

The Master's 8K starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the marathon at 9 a.m., Open 8K at 9:30 a.m. and 5K walk at 10 a.m.

All races start and end at the Pavilion on 19th Street, where a sports and fitness expo is under way until 3 p.m.

PORTSMOUTH

Officials to present plan

to raise school standards

School officials will make a public presentation Thursday on Superintendent Richard D. Trumble's proposal to raise the district's academic standards.

The presentation begins at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers. Residents may comment on the proposal after the presentation.

The proposal is a combination of tougher academic requirements for high school students to get a diploma; higher standards for third-, fifth- and eighth-graders to be promoted to the next grade; and more steps to help academically weak students.

The School Board may decide to vote on the plan at Thursday's meeting.

Trumble discussed the plan at the board's retreat earlier this year. He wants to implement it this fall.

For more information, call 393-8743.

Benefit will raise funds for

African-American Museum

A benefit dinner to raise money to establish The African-American Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth will be held 6 p.m. Sunday at Temple BethEl on U.S. Route 17 in Suffolk.

Sponsored by the Charles H. Bowens Foundation, the banquet will be organized as ``An Evening of Enlightenment.'' The foundation plans future exhibits of artifacts of artistic and historical significance to African-American culture.

For information, call 487-8511.

NORFOLK

Nauticus cuts admission

for civic league members

Nauticus has slashed admission prices for Norfolk civic league members and their families as part of Civic League Appreciation Week, which runs through March 23.

``It's a way of saying thanks to the civic leagues for their involvement and their help,'' said Nauticus Director David T. Guernsey Jr.

Admission for adult civic league members is $5.95, while children 6 to 18 years old pay $3.95. Children 5 and under get in free.

The special admission price includes entry to the ``Titanic: The Expedition'' exhibit, the Aegis Theater, the interactive Virtual Adventures and the Academy-award nominated film ``The Living Sea.'' Nauticus, on Waterside Drive, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

NEWPORT NEWS

National president to speak

at NAACP state conference

Kweisi Mfume, national president of the NAACP and a former Congressman, will speak today to the organization's three-day state conference.

Mfume will give the keynote address at the conference's ``Leadership Luncheon'' in the Newport News Omni Hotel today at 12:30 p.m.

Hazel O'Leary, the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, will speak at the conference's banquet tonight. O'Leary is a native of Newport News.

Mfume, 48, took over the presidency of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People a little more than a year ago, ending 10 years in Congress that put him in the national spotlight as an African-American leader.

The native of Baltimore said when he became president of the group one of his aims would be healing a rift between the national office and the branches. He also has begun a fund raising campaign for the financially-troubled group.

On March 26, Mfume will return to the area to speak at an Urban League of Hampton Roads dinner and awards program in the Waterside Marriott hotel in Norfolk.

COMING UP

Today

Newport News - John V. Quarstein, administrator of museums and historical services, will speak about historic resources during the 12th annual Virginia Preservation Conference this weekend. He joins representatives from Petersburg and the Hanover County Board of Supervisors in a panel discussion on the economic benefits of preservation at 11:30 a.m. at the Williamsburg Lodge and Conference Center.

Sunday

Norfolk - The 1855 epidemic that killed nearly a third of Norfolk's population will be the topic of a talk, ``Poor Norfolk Looks Like a Deserted City: Women, Community and Yellow Fever'' at the annual meeting of the Norfolk Historical Society at 2 p.m. The public meeting will be held in the Army Corps of Engineers building adjacent to historic Fort Norfolk at the west end of Front Street, off Colley Avenue, overlooking the Elizabeth River.

``Whose Jerusalem? The Status of Jerusalem in International Law'' will be the topic of a community lecture at 10 a.m. at ODU's Mills Godwin Building. The lecture will be given by professor Moshe Reicher, an expert in the field of international law and diplomacy.

MEMO: Staff writer Vanee Vines, Tony Wharton, Toni Guagenti, Nia Meeks,

Jon Glass and Ida Kay Jordan contributed to this report.

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