DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 1997           TAG: 9709160308

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  132 lines

HAMPTON ROADS [BRIEFS]

DeLaura property

slated to go before

City Council tonight

A 320-home development that is offering several perks to the city while possibly having a negative impact on local roads and schools is scheduled to go before the City Council tonight.

The DeLaura property, 245 acres on Clearfield Avenue, was recommended by city staff but was denied recommendation by the Planning Commission in July.

Crestwood Middle School is nearing its capacity and could be substantially affected by the development. In addition, planning commissioners feared that the new homes would impact local roads, even though public works staff said Butts Station Road and Clearfield Avenue were still within acceptable limits.

Developer Centex Homes Inc. is offering the city a 17-acre site for a new school, another site for a fire station, and the promise of protection for Chesapeake's first historically significant home.

The City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the council's chambers in City Hall. Call the city clerk's office at 382-6151 for more information.

PORTSMOUTH

Port Norfolk recognized for

accomplishing school goals

Portsmouth Schools Superintendent Richard Trumble will present Port Norfolk Elementary School with a High Performing School Award at the school's annual Open House at 6:30 p.m. today.

Each elementary, middle and high school, along with the special centers in Portsmouth, develops its own school improvement plan based on the district goals. Port Norfolk was one of the only two recipients to meet all of its school improvement plan objectives for the school year.

Khrushchev will speak

on development in Russia

Sergei Khrushchev, son of Cold War-era Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, will address the World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads on Monday at Christopher Newport University.

Khrushchev will speak on ``Development in Russia and the Future,'' focusing on the nature of Russia's reformation since the Cold War's end. He is also expected to touch on NATO expansion, the Russian space program and Eastern Europe.

Khrushchev is a political scientist and a widely published writer on the Soviet Union's post-Cold War incarnation. Now teaching at Brown University, he still maintains a residence in Moscow.

Khrushchev's address at 8 p.m. in CNU's Gaines Theater is free and open to the public, but reservations are necessary. Admission to a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 is $16 for council members, $20 for nonmembers and $10 for students.

To make reservations, call 461-3664 by noon Thursday.

Construction crew unearths

what may be human bones

Construction workers removing debris on a lot where a house was torn down discovered what police say may be human bones.

Police secured the area as a potential crime scene.

Tests will be done to determine whether the remains are human, how long the bones have been on the lot and the cause of death, police spokesman Pete Edgette said.

The house was torn down Sunday. An excavation crew was removing the debris Monday when a worker found the bones.

NORFOLK

Tax-exempt bonds will help

buy, renovate new building

The city's Industrial Development Authority has approved the issuance of $1.6 million in tax-exempt bonds to help the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia buy and renovate a building at 800 Granby St., Cynthia Creede, executive director of the Foodbank, said Monday.

Creede said the proposal will go before the City Council Sept. 23.

The building, now under contract for $1.375 million, is owned by Dominion Resources, parent company of Virginia Natural Gas and Virginia Power, said Creede.

The nonprofit Foodbank plans to consolidate its various programs under one roof when it moves into the new 75,000-square-foot building in January. These include a thrift shop, warehouse and food cooperative.

ALSO. . .

Region - Virginia Cooperative Extension is offering a free cholesterol education newsletter entitled ``Change of Heart.'' The newsletter includes six issues that will help one learn how to shop, cook and eat to lower cholesterol. Contact your local Extension office to register by Sept. 26. Call 683-2816 in Norfolk; 382-6349 in Chesapeake; 427-4769 in Virginia Beach; and 925-6409 in Suffolk.

REGION

Citizens tell the candidates

what matters most to them

What do citizens want from candidates? The truth, stated in clear, certain terms. That's the word from a collection of 16 Hampton Roads residents participating in a series of forums sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot, Local News on Cable, WVEC television and WHRO television.

g2hrdig16

The citizens amplified what many voters have said about 1997's campaigns and other elections. Here are some opinions voiced last Tuesday:

Back up pledges with past actions. ``I want to hear not so much about what they will do, but about what they've been doing,'' said Stuart Violette, an optician, 41, living in Virginia Beach.

Back up assertions or allegations with facts.

Let voters see for themselves ``how real'' the candidates are. Eileen Huey, 53, a community-college teacher and paralegal living in Chesapeake, wants candidates to answer issues questionnaires and tough questions from the media and public.

Show community leadership by getting involved in voter-registration and education efforts.

Explain the impact of campaign platforms. ``We want to know whether they can implement these ideas,'' said Rudy Langford, 63, of Hampton, postmaster at Hampton University.

But spirited citizens never fail to debate their opinions. Several were repelled by ``mudslinging.'' Others said it helped bring out the true character of the candidates slinging the mud. Brian Kirwin, 28, a planning analyst from Virginia Beach, wants negative ads only if they are ``true and relevant.''

The citizens meet weekly. Today they will begin taking on some sticky issues, including taxes and spending, education and crime. MEMO: Staff writers Mac Daniel, Nancy Lewis, Bill Sizemore and Debbie

Markham contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Kruschev

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu