DATE: Thursday, July 3, 1997                TAG: 9707030618

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

LOCAL SCENE

NORFOLK

SECOND QUARTER SALES UP FOR DOLLAR TREE: Dollar Tree Stores, a Norfolk-based discount variety store chain, reported sales for the quarter ending June 30, 1997, of $129.3 million. This represents an increase of $26.6 million, or 25.9 percent, over sales of $102.7 million during the same period last year. Year-to-date sales increased 31.7 percent from $187.7 million to $247.1 million for the six months ending June 30.

PORTSMOUTH

WOOD NAMED SALES MANAGER: Coldwell Banker Harbor Group Real Estate named Delaine Wood as the company's sales manager. She was formerly director of training and career development for Sasser Realty Co. in Portsmouth.

CHRISTMAS SHOP TO REOPEN: The Barn Christmas Shoppe at 830 Broad St. will have its grand reopening July 11. The shop has undergone nearly a year of reconstruction and remodeling after a fire caused by a lightning strike during Hurricane Fran last year.

VIRGINIA BEACH

COX FIBERNET TO CONNECT BEACH SCHOOLS: Cox Fibernet, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Communications, has signed a seven-year, $2.3 million contract to connect and provide service to 57 Virginia Beach school facilities in a Wide Area Network. The WAN will allow the facilities, mostly elementary schools and administrative offices, to access the Internet and transfer grades and other data. The new WAN will be connected to another WAN that Cox built in 1996 that connects 27 middle and high schools. Construction will begin this month, and the network is scheduled to be completed by June 1998.

PENINSULA

JOHNSON OPENS FIRM: K. David Johnson, a certified public accountant, has opened a full-time public accounting firm in Yorktown. He retired from UHP Projects Inc. in Newport News as a certified public accountant.

NEWPORT NEWS

CRANDALL APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF MATERIAL LOGISTICS: Steve Crandall, a retired Navy captain, was appointed director of material logistics at Newport News Shipbuilding. In this newly created position, he will be responsible for all physical distribution processes including shipping and receiving, warehousing, inventory management, material delivery and disposal of surplus material.

INDUSTRIAL RESOURCE TECHNOLOGIES HAS GRAND OPENING: Industrial Resource Technologies held a grand opening last week for its new plant in Gloucester. IRT, jointly owned by Canon Virginia Inc. in Newport News and Canon U.S.A. Inc. in Lake Success, N.Y., will reclaim reusable toner cartridge components from laser printers, personal copiers and facsimile machines. The new 102,850-square-foot facility is the first occupant of Gloucester County's new 70-acre business park.

MOBIL NAMES NEW TANKER AT NEWPORT NEWS YARD: Mobil Oil has named its new petroleum product tanker American Progress. The ship is under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding. Originally named the Despotico, the 45,000-ton ship was the first of four ordered by Eletson Corp., a Greek shipping company. It was sold to Mobil in January for an undisclosed price. The Fairfax-based oil giant will take delivery of the double-hulled tanker later this year. American Progress will join Mobil's 33-ship ocean-going fleet, replacing the 37-year-old single-hulled tanker Seminole, the only tanker Mobil uses to serve the domestic market. The new U.S-flag ship will haul petroleum products from Mobil refineries to South Florida and other domestic ports.

NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING OPENS EAST ASIAN OFFICES: Newport News Shipbuilding opened offices in the Philippines and Taiwan to better position itself for ship construction opportunities in the growing East Asian market. The new offices will pursue sales of the fast frigate that the big Peninsula shipyard wants to build for foreign militaries. Both the Philippines and Taiwan are seen as potential clients. Newport News Shipbuilding recently reactivated and modernized two former U.S. Navy tank landing ships for Taiwan. The offices will also seek other opportunities in the Pacific Rim. MEMO: To submit an item, send it to Local Scene, The Virginian-Pilot

Business News Department, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510.

Photos are welcome. Or fax your submission to 446-2531. ILLUSTRATION: Wood

Crandall

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