DATE: Wednesday, October 1, 1997            TAG: 9710010495

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  148 lines

HAMPTON ROADS - NEWS BRIEFS

VIRGINIA BEACH

Proposals to move F/A-18s to Oceana available at libraries

Want to learn more about what 180 F/A-18s and 12,500 new residents will mean to you?

The city of Virginia Beach has placed copies of the Navy's Draft Environmental Impact Statement - which outlines proposals to relocate the jets to Oceana Naval Air Station - in all Virginia Beach public libraries. Residents are invited to review the document, which includes the proposed noise zone and accident potential zone maps. A technical appendix to the report is available at the Central and Great Neck libraries.

The Navy will hold informational meetings and public hearings to allow public input on the proposals. Two meetings will be held:

Oct. 27 at the Pavilion Convention Center, 19th Street, Virginia Beach; Informational Session: 3:30 to 7 p.m.; Formal Hearing, 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Oct. 28 at Butts Road Intermediate School, 1571 Mt. Pleasant Road, Chesapeake; Informational Session: 3:30 to 7 p.m.; Formal Hearing: 7:30 to 10 p.m.

For additional information, call the Virginia Beach Public Information Office at 427-4436.

Determine your risk for breast cancer at lecture

The Coastal Cancer Center at Virginia Beach General Hospital will host a lecture on ``How to Determine if You're at Risk for Breast Cancer,'' at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Health Education Center.

Dr. Marcia Moore, director of the High Risk Breast Clinic at the University of Virginia Medical Center, will discuss breast cancer risk factors such as family history of breast cancer, early menstruation, late menopause, alcohol consumption, obesity, previous pregnancies and physical inactivity and how to reduce your risk.

Call 481-8889 to register for this free lecture.

PORTSMOUTH

Senior Citizens Center opens temporary location

The Portsmouth Senior Citizens Center, which has closed at its former facility on High Street, will reopen Oct. 14 in a temporary location at Port Norfolk Recreation Center, 432 Broad St.

A permanent center at Tower Mall will be ready for occupancy later this year.

The temporary site will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. An all-day open house will be held Oct. 15 to acquaint current and new members with Parks and Recreation Department programs and activities that will be available at Port Norfolk.

Nutrition and transportation programs offered by Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia also will resume Oct. 14.

For more information, call Marge Connor at 393-8709.

Local bodybuilding contest takes shape this weekend

Norfolk Naval Shipyard's eighth annual bodybuilding contest will be held Saturday at the Scott Center Annex Drydock Club.

The event is sponsored by Norfolk Naval Shipyard and its Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department.

Sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union, the contest is open to all active-duty military, retirees, reservists and dependents 18 or older.

Awards will be given to top finishers in all men's and women's categories. AAU rules will apply.

Pre-judging will be held at noon, with the evening show at 6:30 p.m. All contestants must be registered by 10:45 a.m.

The event is open to the public. Admission is $3 for the noon session, $5 for the evening or $7 for both. For information, call Mike Becton at 396-2754.

NORFOLK

Kirn Library remains open despite heavy construction

Despite heavy construction in downtown Norfolk, Kirn Memorial Library will remain open regular hours.

City Hall Avenue is closed from Granby Street east to St. Paul's Boulevard until mid-October. The library can be reached by Plume Street. There is a small metered parking lot behind the library accessible from Atlantic Avenue.

Library patrons also may park in the Waterside, Main Street or Freemason Street garages and bring their parking ticket to the library for validation to receive one free hour of parking. Those patrons doing research may request additional validation to receive discounted rates after the first hour.

SUFFOLK

National Bone Marrow Donor registry open today

A National Bone Marrow Donor registry program will be held in Suffolk in the Obici Hospital lobby today from noon to 7 p.m.

Sponsored by Obici Hospital, the donor registration program will be free to participants who take 15 minutes to give a small sample of blood and agree to be entered on the National Marrow Donor Program registry.

According to the Red Cross, 2,000 persons a day search the registry for a life-saving match. Out of those, 30 or 40 will die without finding a suitable donor.

For more information or to register for the testing, call 934-4999.

WILLIAMSBURG

Area's largest congregation given gift for new church

The Williamsburg area's largest congregation has received a 45-acre land gift for construction of a new church.

St. Bede Catholic Church will build new quarters on an undeveloped parcel donated by the Digges family of Williamsburg, church pastor Father William H. Carr announced Tuesday.

The 6,000-member congregation can expect to move into the new church on Ironbound Road by May of the year 2000.

Parking is limited at the current church, and the congregation is expected to grow 41 percent by the year 2015, church officials say. The church now serves more than 2,000 students from the College of William and Mary.

The new church will probably be in a Colonial architectural style.

The church was built in 1939. Its Social Outreach Ministry distributes nearly $100,000 annually in assistance to the needy, church officials say.

Global warming is topic of White House teleconference

Global climate change is the topic of a White House satellite-downlinked conference to be held at the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science/School of Marine Science (VIMS/SMS) on Monday.

In addition to video appearances by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, the event will feature several local experts who deal with the issue, including Joel S. Levine, a noted atmospheric researcher from NASA Langley.

The event, entitled ``The White House Conference on Climate Change: The Challenge of Global Warming,'' is designed to increase awareness of the risks, impacts and policies associated with global warming.

The conference begins at 10 a.m. and is free and open to the public. To register, call 1-800-438-2474.

COMING UP

TODAY

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 by calling the library at 431-3071.

SUNDAY

Norfolk - The Blessing of the Animals will be at Christ & St. Luke's Church at the end of the Sunday service from about 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. All animals - real or stuffed - are invited.

Virginia Beach - The Friends of St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery will host the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 9 a.m. in front of the mausoleum followed by the recitation of the rosary. All are welcome. For details call 499-7202. MEMO: Staff writers Erika Reif, John Murphy, Ida Kay Jordan and Pam

Starr contributed to this report.

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