
DATE: Wednesday, June 4, 1997               TAG: 9706040464

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER  

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   61 lines

76TH CONTENDERS HEAR SENIORS' CONCERNS

A tight rein on taxes. Crime prevention. A good education for their grandchildren.

These were among the wishes Tuesday of about 40 seniors at the Holland community center. Seniors make up a demographic that could decide the June 10 primaries in the 76th District of the House of Delegates and across the state.

``This is an older generation that believes in the system,'' said Republican candidate Betty Jolly ``Kitty'' Perkinson.

An expected light turnout in the primary means that senior voters - who generally vote in greater percentages than other age groups - could decide which two House candidates will be on the November ballot.

Democratic candidates Michelle Degnan and Charles D. Parr Sr. and Republican candidates Perkinson, S. Chris Jones and Amos D. Neill addressed the forum. They are vying for the seat being left empty by Del. Robert E. Nelms.

The crowd, mostly retirees, politely applauded each of the candidates after five-minute opening statements in the one-room center.

Then they peppered the candidates with questions on topics ranging from fixing poorly marked streets to experimental educational programs. Most touched on taxes, crime prevention and education.

Degnan, a Chesapeake school teacher, said the district needs increased support for experimental programs. ``It requires leadership . . . Every year I've been a teacher, I've advocated for children,'' she said.

Neill advocated a return to conservative Christian values: ``We need to put God back into the schools and husbands back into the homes.''

Perksinson, an English professor at Tidewater Community College, said that good character is the basis for good education.

Suffolk businessman Parr said that the key to economic growth and social well-being is a strong educational system. He advocates hiring more teachers to decrease classroom size.

City Councilman Jones said he would like to see more technology in the classrooms, but believes that additional resources should first be put into teaching children basic skills.

The candidates agreed that crime is an important issue.

Freddie Adkins, 69, who lives in Holy Neck and has three grandchildren in Suffolk, said helped her mother vote when she was a child, and has voted regularly ever since.

She came with a skeptical, experienced eye.

``A lot of times, they come in and promise us this, and they promise us that,'' she said. ``Then they go away, and you don't see them anymore.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

76TH DISTRICT PRIMARIES

Tuesday, June 10

Republican candidates:

S. Chris Jones

Amos D. Neill

Betty Jolly ``Kitty'' Perkinson

Democratic candidates:

Michelle Degnan

Charles D. Parr Sr.