DATE: Tuesday, May 6, 1997                  TAG: 9705060313

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  163 lines

HAMPTON ROADS [BRIEFS]

THE REGION Feeling anxious? Get a free anxiety disorder screening

Free, confidential screenings to identify anxiety disorders will be offered in Hampton Roads Wednesday, National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day.

The screenings, which include a video presentation, written test and confidential interview with a mental-health professional, will be at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. at Parker, Schlichter and Associates in Virginia Beach in conjunction with Sheppard's Staff Counselors. Screenings also will be from noon to 2 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hampton Roads Behavioral Health in Norfolk.

Symptoms of anxiety include excessive worrying, restlessness, phobias, anxiety attacks, obsessions or compulsions, muscle tension, heart palpitations, lack of concentration and sleeplessness, according to Freedom From Fear, a nonprofit advocacy group that sponsors the national program.

For information on local screenings, call (888) 442-2022.

Two local malls team up

to help flood-relief effort

Lynnhaven and Chesapeake Square malls have teamed up with the Salvation Army to be donation sites for aid to flood victims in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Starting today and lasting until further notice, both malls will accept the following items on behalf of the Salvation Army: cleaning supplies, scrub brushes, garbage bags, personal hygiene items, toilet paper, utensils, baby care items, laundry detergent, snack items, mops, buckets, paper plates and cups, sponges and bleach.

The Salvation Army is not accepting contributions of clothing, furniture, blankets, towels, toys or freezers at this time. Cash contributions are being accepted.

Call (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769) for more information.

Letter carriers to pick up

food donations with mail

The National Association of Letter Carriers, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, the AFL-CIO and the United Way of America, will be collecting non-perishable food items Saturday for distribution to local food banks.

To contribute to this effort, place food donations by your mailbox on Saturday and your letter carrier will pick it up with your mail. Organizers of the food drive are not accepting glass or homemade items.

Beach will dedicate its

first public parking deck

Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf will host a brief ceremony to dedicate the first public parking deck in Virginia Beach at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The Ninth Street Parking Deck will provide access to the new south-end Boardwalk, the entertainment stage on the Boardwalk at Seventh Street, the Virginia Marine Science Museum and restaurants in the resort area.

After the ceremony, menu samples from local restaurants will be served, followed by a trolley ride to kick off TRT's new summer service for the oceanfront.

The parking deck is the result of a public/private partnership with the Ellis Gibson Development Group, which constructed the facility and will lease 612 spaces to the city for public parking.

Treating mental disorders

will be topic of workshop

The Virginia Beach Alliance for the Mentally Ill will sponsor a workshop on the treatment of mental disorders in children and adolescents, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pavilion Convention Center in Virginia Beach.

Speakers will include Dr. Peter S. Jensen of the National Institute of Mental Health, speaking about advances in the treatment of depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

Other topics will include finding a successful medication routine, research of bipolar disorder and depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders.

Fee is $15 for students, clients and their family members; $45 for others. Lunch is included. For more information, call 437-5778 or 437-5779.

NEWPORT NEWS

Flamingos flock to lawns

to raise money for church

Members of Hidenwood Presbyterian Church are paying to have plastic pink flamingos stuck in each other's yards when no one is looking to raise money for a summer youth retreat.

The church's pastor has been the hardest hit. Rev. Howard McKeithen returned Saturday night from a preachers conference in Chicago to find 98 flamingos filling his front yard.

At $1 a flamingo - or $15 for flamingo-prevention insurance - the bird game has proven more effective than previous fund-raising efforts. Since it began a week ago, the game already has raised nearly $2,000 of the $5,000 it will cost to send 10 young church members to a week-long national Presbyterian conference near Asheville, N.C.

SUFFOLK

Civic forum to discuss

use of block grant funds

The Suffolk Civic Forum, a group of residents who hold monthly meetings to discuss city concerns, will meet Wednesday at noon at C&C Restaurant, 1226 White Marsh Road.

Mark Woodward, a senior analyst in Management Services, will speak on community development block grant funds.

The city receives the grant each year to fix up blighted neighborhoods. The City Council will hold a public hearing on the money Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at 441 Market St.

NORFOLK

Foundation creates fund

for waterfront arts festival

The Norfolk Foundation has announced the creation of an endowment fund under the auspices of the Hampton Roads Cultural Endowment.

Income from the fund will benefit the Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival. The first contribution to the fund is $10,000 from the Celia Stern estate.

To increase the fund's assets, the festival will dedicate $1 from the sale of each ticket to its account, starting in 1998 and continuing with each annual festival. It will sponsor at least one fund-raising event for the fund.

With a $25,000 gift from the Stern estate in 1994, the Norfolk Foundation established the Hampton Roads Cultural Endowment to help strengthen the area's art and cultural institutions.

Woman dies from injuries

after being hit by truck

A 19-year-old woman who was hit by a pickup truck in the 1100 block of West Little Creek Road on Wednesday died Saturday afternoon in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

Esther Willey of the 1000 block of Baltimore St. was crossing the road when she ran in front of the pickup truck, police said. The accident occurred about 7:30 a.m., they said.

Earth Day celebration

offers various exhibits

About 300 children are expected to participate in an Earth Day celebration at the Naval Security Group Activity Northwest on Wednesday.

Exhibits are planned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Zoological Society, Sierra Club and Virginia Air and Space Museum.

For more information, call Pam Couch at 421-8239. To attend, call the public affairs officer at 421-8228.

ALSO . . .

Hampton Roads - WKOC-FM (93.7) was off the air Monday while workers repaired the radio station's tower and transmitter. Both were damaged by high winds and heavy rains that moved through Hampton Roads last Friday. The signal was interrupted over the weekend and completely down Monday. A spokesman for The Coast said the station should be up and running today.

COMING UP

WEDNESDAY

Chesapeake - The Chesapeake Committee on Aging will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. at the South Norfolk Community Center, 1217 Godwin Ave. Representatives of the Department of Mental Health, the Virginia Tech Extension Service, Widowed Persons Service and the Office of Mental Retardation will be on hand to discuss available services. More information is available by calling Carolyn Savinsky at 382-8644. MEMO: Staff writers Katrice Franklin, Larry Brown, Debbie Markham and

Pat Dooley contributed to this report. KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY

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