DATE: Tuesday, September 30, 1997           TAG: 9709300293

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  145 lines

HAMPTON ROADS - NEWS BRIEFS

CHESAPEAKE

Carlo family being featured in Dateline report on bike theft

NBC's Dateline program (10 p.m., WAVY-TV 10) tonight will include a feature on the Carlo family of Chesapeake.

The story by Dateline reporter David Hinchman will recount a January Virginian-Pilot story about a boy's stolen bike and the generous response of the community.

The newspaper story by Nancy Young was originated by a letter to the editor from Great Bridge resident Cathy Carlo, mother of 13-year-old Michael, whose hard-earned money bought the bike that was stolen on New Year's Day. The letter prompted an outpouring of support from friends and strangers alike. Friends of Michael also spotted the thief riding the bike in the neighborhood and recovered it.

Carlo said the number of offers of bikes and money - if accepted - would have added up to ``one heck of a bike shop.''

``NBC came out to our house last June with the camera crew and the whole nine yards,'' she said. ``The reporter had been working on a story about bike theft and came across our story on the wire.''

Broken landing gear forces private plane to set down

A private plane was forced to make an emergency landing Monday afternoon when its landing gear malfunctioned.

The plane's pilot and two passengers were treated at the Chesapeake Municipal Airport for minor injuries, according to Tammy Van Dame, spokesperson for the Virginia State Police.

The plane circled the airport until its fuel tank was nearly empty and it had to land, Van Dame said. One wing was damaged.

Information about the identity of the plane's occupants and its destination was unavailable.

PORTSMOUTH

Man killed in truck crash identified in police report

Police have identified a 19-year-old man who died when the truck in which he was riding hit a tree and caught fire early Saturday.

Bryan E. Taylor of the 100 block of Channing Ave. was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not released the names of the two injured passengers in the truck, an 18-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man.

Both were listed in stable condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The accident occurred just after 2 a.m. Saturday in the 3400 block of Astor Ave.

The truck had been reported stolen and police officers patrolling the area had spotted the vehicle on Frederick Boulevard.

Police were not attempting to stop the vehicle when it crashed, according to police spokesman Amber Whittaker.

Officers reportedly pulled the occupants from the burning truck which had several propane gas tanks in its bed.

The incident is still under investigation and no charges have been filed, Whittaker said.

Kiwanis Club honors City Employee of the Year

Dewey H. ``Rock'' Bell III will be honored tonight as the City Employee of the Year by the Merrimac Kiwanis Club.

A dinner in his honor will begin at 6 p.m. at the Coast Guard Support Center at Craney Island.

Bell is assistant city engineer. He has worked for the city since 1985, when he joined the engineering department as a civil engineer. He was promoted to his current job in 1994.

He has been responsible for the day-to-day management of many projects, including the new Churchland High School that opened in 1992 and currently the new I.C. Norcom High School, which is nearing completion.

Bell also has been credited with computerizing the city's engineering department, which now creates all designs and plans on computers. He also has been cited for training the staff to adapt its office functions to recently acquired computers.

The nomination that got him the award was written by his boss, City Engineer Richard Hartman.

Sailors will give tours of local historic dungeon

In conjunction with Fleet Week, sailors from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth will be giving tours of the historic dungeon in Building One on Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The dungeon was recently featured in an episode of the New Dominion Pictures production of ``Ghost Stories.''

The tours will begin on the front steps of Building One and will start at 10 and 11:30 a.m., and 1 and 2:30 p.m. They will last about one hour and 15 minutes. In addition to the dungeon, the tour will cover the history of Hospital Point, the cemetery, and the general history of Building One.

For more information and directions, call 953-7986.

NORFOLK

NSU Career Fair attracts about 140 employers

Norfolk State University students and alumni will meet with about 140 prospective employers on Wednesday during NSU's annual Career Fair.

The recruiters will staff 104 booths from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall.

Online job search computer demonstrations will be held at the fair. Four concurrent one-hour seminars on networking and career opportunities will be held today and Wednesday.

All Career Fair activities are free and open to the public. For more information, call 683-8918 or 683-8462.

Local school featured on The Learning Channel

Ruffner Middle School will be featured on The Learning Channel show ``Cable's High Speed Education Connection'' today at 11:30 a.m.

The national, 30-minute program will highlight three schools and their partnerships with private businesses. The Ruffner story will concentrate on its work with Cox Communications, which has donated approximately $1.3 million in technology and computers to the school. Vice President Al Gore is participating in the program and it is hosted by CNN's Bernard Shaw.

VIRGINIA BEACH

City breaks ground on Chesapeake Bay Center

Ground was broken Monday morning for Chesapeake Bay Center, a 2,500-square-foot facility at First Landing/Seashore State Park that will serve as the city's Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay.

The $1.5-million project, which also includes renovation of the park's bayfront administrative complex, is designed to be a tourist welcome center and an education laboratory. It will feature a visitor reception area with exhibits and a classroom with three aquariums and wet labs.

The city's Department of Convention and Visitor Development will develop exhibits and staff the reception area. The Virginia Marine Science Museum designed the classroom, aquariums and wet labs and will conduct education programming there year round.

Construction funds came from the state's 1992 Parks and Recreational Facilities General Obligation Bond. Plans call for completion by next summer.

Twenty-two percent of the city's annual 2.2 million visitors arrive at the Beach via Route 60 on Shore Drive and the center will provide them with local tourism information, particularly on the area's natured-based activities.

COMING UP WEDNESDAY

Virginia Beach - The Virginia Beach Central Library will sponsor a National Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration from 7 to 9 p.m. highlighting music and dancing from Mexico, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Panama and Ecuador. The event is free and open to the public, but the library advises those interested to make reservations. MEMO: Staff writers Mary Reid Barrow, Ida Kay Jordan, Janie Bryant and

Denise Watson contributed to this report.

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