DATE: Friday, July 4, 1997                  TAG: 9707040501

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

HAMPTON ROADS NEWS BRIEFS

After weeks of dredging, Rudee Inlet is in ``great shape,'' Beach Coastal Engineer Phillip Roehrs said Thursday.

The oft-maligned inlet, victimized by shoaling over the winter and again three weeks ago, has been cleared to a depth of 12 feet throughout the channel that leads from Lake Rudee to the ocean, Roehrs said.

In May, the city hired an outside dredging company for nearly $400,000 to clear the dangerously shoaling channel. But in early June, a prolonged and unusual northeasterly storm brought the shoaling sand back again, and boaters were urged to use caution.

This time, the city's small dredger, Rudee Inlet II, went to work. And instead of fighting a losing battle, Roehrs said, it enjoyed several weeks of good weather.

``The channel is in great shape for a big weekend,'' Roehrs said. PORTSMOUTH Event for power boaters is scheduled at marina

Rendezvous, Mile Marker Zero, a weekend of activities for power boaters, is scheduled for Aug. 15 through 17 at Tidewater Yacht Marina in Olde Towne Portsmouth.

The weekend gathering will be limited to 200 boats, and the registration deadline is Aug. 1.

Events will include a Friday night party, a crab feast and dance on the docks on Saturday, and brunch on Sunday. Saturday's yacht rally will begin at 10 a.m., with a dinghy scavenger hunt at 2 p.m. The awards ceremony will be at 6 p.m.

Rendezvous, Mile Marker Zero is presented by Ports Events and sponsored by INFOLINE. Volunteer chairmen are Dan Griffin and Randy Vaughan.

To register or for more information, call Ports Events at 393-9933 or 1-800-296-9933. For directions, call INFOLINE at 640-5555, Ext. 7678.

Levels of participation begin at $100 a boat. COMING UP

MONDAY

The Social Security office in Suffolk, at 1262 Holland Road, will provide limited service through Monday because a new computer system is being installed.

The public is asked not to use the office until normal operations resume Tuesday.

Most Social Security business can be handled through a toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213.

TUESDAY

Aerobics for people 50 and older is held each Tuesday and Thursday, from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., at the Suffolk Senior Center, 350 N. Main St.

Register at the center. The program is sponsored by Suffolk Department of Parks and Recreation. Call 925-6388. MEMO: Staff writer Paul Clancy contributed to this report.

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