DATE: Thursday, June 26, 1997               TAG: 9706260418

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Staff writers Jon Glass, Stephen Kiehl, Ida Kay Jordan, Debbie

        Markham and Cindy Clayton contributed to this report.

LENGTH: 128 lines

HAMPTON ROADS NORFOLK Hearing will address city plans to rezone Church Street tract

Plans to rezone and change the land use of property on the west side of Church Street is the subject of a public hearing today before the city's Planning Commission.

The proposed action would provide a new home for some Church Street businesses, including Graves Funeral Home, that will be dislocated during the widening of the street, expected to begin next year.

The zoning would be changed from industrial and low-density residential to C-2 commercial corridor. The new land-use would allow for the operation of businesses and offices.

The property is bordered by Augusta Avenue to the south, 18th Street to the north and Elmwood Cemetery to the west.

The commission will hold the hearing at 2:30 p.m. in the City Council's chambers on the 11th floor of City Hall.

Man, 36, killed after car

leaves road and hits tree

A 36-year-old man died Tuesday when his car went off the road and hit a tree.

Clarence T. Kidd of the 100 block of West Lorengo Ave. was headed east in the 100 block of Thole St. when his car veered off the right side of the road and struck the tree.

The accident occurred about 3:45 p.m. Kidd was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

PORTSMOUTH

Patrol officer thrown from

horse and knocked out

Veteran mounted patrol officer Greg Phipps, 36, was thrown by his horse, Hawk Eye, Tuesday at Portside.

He was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for observation overnight and released Wednesday afternoon.

The incident occurred in late afternoon around the parking garage entrance at Portside. Portsmouth police spokeswoman Amber Whitaker said the horse apparently was frightened and reared up, causing Phipps to hit his head on the cement beams of the garage.

``We don't know why it happened,'' Whitaker said. ``And the horse isn't talking.''

The blow apparently knocked the police officer unconscious and caused him to fall from the horse, she said.

``But he was not seriously injured because he was wearing his helmet,'' Whitaker said.

PARC Place Shelter for

homeless gets spruced up

WAVY-TV 10 and other stations in the LIN Television Group will spruce up the Portsmouth Area Resources Coalition Inc.'s shelter for homeless families today.

The PARC Place Shelter for Homeless Families, which provides short-term residential housing during family crises, will receive coats of fresh paint, landscaping and new furniture.

Each year the LIN Television Group donates time and funding for a charitable cause. WAVY-TV 10 is the host station for this year's project at the PARC Place Shelter. For more information on the LIN Television project, call Judy Triska at 393-1010, Ext. 3053.

Change in bylaws transfers

auxiliary assets to hospital

Members of the Portsmouth General Auxiliary voted overwhelmingly Wednesday in favor of a plan that would transfer the organization's assets to the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation.

By a vote of 88-2, the members authorized a change in bylaws, then voted for the dissolution of the organization and distribution of assets to be carried out by the board of directors. A total of 43 people attended the meeting. Other votes were cast by proxy.

The money, which could be about $200,000, will be designated for care of indigent sick people in Portsmouth. The foundation will match the money 50 cents to a dollar to increase the principal.

The auxiliary board originally presented a plan to transfer the assets to Eastern Virginia Medical School for a scholarship. That plan was rejected by a majority of members, who wanted the money to stay in Portsmouth.

ALSO . . .

Portsmouth - The time and focus of a Sunday service to remember the city's 12 homicide victims this year has been changed.

The service now is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Simonsdale Presbyterian Church, 5016 Vick St.

While the families of the murder victims are invited to attend the service, it will not be a memorial service, said the Rev. W.P. ``Matt'' Matthews, pastor of Simonsdale Presbyterian. He said it will be a ``service of prayer for healing in our community.''

After the 30-minute service, the Simonsdale Civic Club will lead a candlelight walk to the basketball court behind Simonsdale Elementary School where Michael L. Hedge, 19, was killed June 15.

COMING UP

TODAY

Suffolk - Identification cards for senior citizens will be issued from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Suffolk Senior Citizens Center, 350 N. Main St. Those seeking cards need one picture identification and one of the following: Social Security card or Social Security print-out, birth certificate, and proof of address. The cost of the cards, issued the fourth Thursday each month, is $5. For more information, call 925-6388.

The Suffolk Community Forum on Welfare Reform will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Holiday Inn, 2864 Pruden Blvd. (Route 10) Keynote speaker will be Scott Oostdyk, Virginia's deputy secretary of health and human resources. RSVP 925-6448.

SATURDAY

Norfolk - Faith Deliverance Christian Center will host its 4th annual Community Health Fair Saturday. The fair will provide extensive health care screenings and services, including breast and Pap smear exams, immunizations, school sports physicals, dental screenings and confidential HIV testing.

Virginia Beach - A community forum to introduce the ``Neighbor to Neighbor'' welfare mentorship concept to the public and start a recruitment drive for mentors will be held at 6:30 p.m. at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 712 Little Neck Road. For more information, call Ofelia Wattley at Virginia Beach Social Services, 437-3270.

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