DATE: Saturday, July 19, 1997               TAG: 9707190318

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  137 lines

HAMPTON ROADS [BRIEFS]

VIRGINIA BEACH

Curbside recycling

program features

larger containers

The mayor got the first one.

During a fitting curbside ceremony at City Hall on Friday, the city unveiled its new curbside recycling program by assigning Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf the first of 110,000 new blue recycling containers.

When the last one is delivered to more ordinary citizens some time late this fall, the resort city's more environmentally minded residents will once again be saved the task of carting their refuse to drop-off centers.

Last year, in a dispute over money and service, Virginia Beach dropped out of a curbside recycling program run by the Southeastern Public Service Authority.

The new 95-gallon containers, several times larger than the old SPSA variety, will be collected every other week. They'll hold a large variety of recyclable material - everything from newspapers, cardboard, junk mail, brown and clear glass, aluminum, tin and all grades of plastic.

The material will be collected by Tidewater Fibre Corp. using trucks exactly like the ones the city uses to collect non-recyclable household waste from homes each week. The company's trucks will take the material to its Chesapeake facility, where it will be sorted, bundled by type, and sold to waste commodities markets the world over.

Neptune Festival attracts

first ``presenting sponsor''

For the first time in its 24-year history, the Neptune Festival will have a ``presenting sponsor'' to help financially support more than 25 events scheduled during the city's annual fall gala.

Professional Hospitality Resources and Gold Key Resorts have stepped forward to offer backing.

``A presenting sponsorship represents a major investment,'' said Nancy Creech, festival president, in announcing the arrangement.

Just one of the programs to benefit this year will be the masters sandcastle competition, which is expected to double in size and increase its prize money to $6,000, making it one of the top professional competitions in the country, said Creech.

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, the new sponsors manage and own interest in seven area hotels, including the Clarion Resort and Conference Center and the Ramada Inn on the Beach. Professional Hospitality Resources also owns Reservations Plus, a nationwide hotel reservation service.

``The sponsorship helps us to expand events and upgrade the quality and breadth of events,'' Creech said.

The end-of-the-season festival, which features many activities, including an air show, ball, parade, fireworks and carnival atmosphere, will be Sept. 6 to 28.

PORTSMOUTH

Donations send students

to Family Education Days

Gifts of $55,000 from the Beazley Foundation of Portsmouth and $26,000 from the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation will underwrite the participation of Portsmouth students in Family Education Days, a Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation program designed to involve parents in their children's learning.

The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is a state agency that administers Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia, and the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution.

The Beazley Foundation gift will underwrite the participation of all fourth-grade students in Portsmouth public schools in the Family Education Days program at Jamestown Settlement during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years.

The Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation's gift will sponsor all fifth-grade students from Portsmouth public schools in the program at the Yorktown Victory Center during the 1997-98 school year.

The Family Education Days program initially was offered in the 1994-95 school year for Petersburg public schools, and last year it won an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History.

Dancing, music, sailing

make up Cock Island Race

There will be dancing in the streets at Portside today during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Cock Island Race.

Some 300 sailboats have entered today's competition, which will start and finish on the Elizabeth River near Portside.

Entertainment will begin at 1 p.m. today with music by Swing Time, followed by Dramtreeo at 4 p.m. and Ban Caribe at 7 p.m.

The entertainment, free and open to the public, will be presented rain or shine. For information, call Ports Events at 393-9933.

CHESAPEAKE

Program aims to increase

social services awareness

Representatives from agencies throughout Hampton Roads will be at the Peaceful Village public housing community all day Monday to address residents' concerns.

Officials of a self-sufficiency program overseen by the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority are hoping to increase awareness among residents about employment and social services.

At least 17 participants are expected, including the Chesapeake Police Department, the employment office of the Urban League of Hampton Roads, the Chesapeake Department of Social Services and Commonwealth College.

Agency representatives offering literature about their services will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the authority's 3001 Welcome Road office. The afternoon session is open to the public.

The authority plans to repeat the session at its other public housing complexes.

COMING UP

TODAY

Norfolk - To accommodate the installation of new technology, the Department of Motor Vehicles' Norfolk/Widgeon Road Customer Service Center will temporarily close on two consecutive Saturdays - today and July 26. Customers who need service Saturday may visit the Portsmouth Customer Service Center, 6400 Bickford Parkway, or the Norfolk/Military Circle Customer Service Center, 5745 Poplar Hall Drive.

Hampton - NASA Langley Research Center will hold an open house to celebrate its 80th anniversary, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Norfolk - The Five Points Partnership will sponsor ``A Walk for Safety'' at 7 p.m. at the Norview Recreation Center. The walk will be from the recreation center to Norview Middle School and back. Children at the recreation center will make signs to carry on the walk. For more information, call Bev Sell at 857-1794. MEMO: Staff writers Rebecca Myers Cutchins, Ida Kay Jordan and Liz Szabo

contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHARLIE MEADS/The Virginian-Pilot

Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, center, gets an assist from

children at the Pendleton Child Services Center while christening a

recycling bin with plastic items Friday at City Hall. The new,

larger containers, which also can be used to recycle newspapers,

cardboard, glass, aluminum and tin, will be picked up in front of

residences every other week.

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