DATE: Wednesday, October 22, 1997           TAG: 9710220560

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  121 lines

HAMPTON ROADS [BRIEFS]

NORFOLK

Basketball program

for kids gets boost

from new sponsor

A nighttime basketball league formed three years ago to keep city youths off the streets and reduce crime received a boost Tuesday that could help ensure its long-term success, city officials say.

Mayor Paul D. Fraim announced at a press conference at City Hall that the Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame has agreed to help sponsor the Nighthawks Basketball Program.

The program is held year-round at eight recreation centers around Norfolk and attracts about 350 teens and young adults a week, officials said. Games are played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and at 10 p.m.

It was launched by the Police Assisted Community Enforcement or PACE, the city's Department of Parks, Recreation and General Services and the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

The group, said president Curtis Williams, will provide the program $500 initially, plus basketball equipment.

Curtis Cole Jr., a board member, said the group's main focus will be to promote excellence of youth through various sporting activities, including bringing in professional sports stars and figures.

To help raise money for Nighthawks basketball and other programs, the group on Nov. 14 is holding its first hall of fame induction banquet at the Waterside Marriott in downtown Norfolk.

Among those who will be inducted are Julius Erving, the professional basketball star who once played for the Virginia Squires in Norfolk, and former pro football star Roger Brown, a Portsmouth resident who was a member of the Los Angeles Rams' defensive line.

PORTSMOUTH

Ghost Walk will feature

tours of ``haunted'' homes

The 17th annual Olde Towne Ghost Walk is set for Friday from 7 to 10 p.m.

Sponsored by the Olde Towne Civic League, the walk features guided, historical tours past the ``haunted'' homes and mansions of Olde Towne. Entertaining from dark porches along the route, costumed re-enactors will entertain visitors.

For details on tickets, which cost $5, call 399-5261. One tour group at 7 p.m. will be led by an interpreter for the hearing impaired.

The tour begins at the moss-covered tombstones of Trinity Episcopal Church, at the corner of Court and High streets.

Proceeds from the Ghost Walk go back into the community. Each year, the civic league contributes more than $3,000 to landscaping projects, church emergency funds, holiday decorations and restoring old homes in Olde Towne. This year, a portion of the proceeds will buy composition notebooks for Park View Elementary School.

CHESAPEAKE

Planning Commission

to review Home Depot site

The Planning Commission will review a site plan tonight for the city's first Home Depot store.

The 130,060-square-foot superstore on a 16-acre site with 650 parking spaces would be located in the Stonebridge Landing planned unit development at the southeast corner of Hanover Lane and Raintree Road at Dock Landing Road.

Though the plans presented tonight will need approval only from the Planning Commission, Home Depot has also applied for a conditional use permit to build the structure 40 feet in height. Scheduled to be reviewed at the commission's Dec. 10 meeting, that permit would exceed the 35-foot-limit and need City Council's approval.

Tonight's Planning Commission meeting, which will also include a review of a new Food Lion proposal for South Norfolk, begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

VIRGINIA BEACH

Oyster Roast will benefit

community outreach center

Samaritan House, the Virginia Beach program that provides services for homeless families and victims of domestic violence, will sponsor an Oyster Roast on Sunday at the Fort Story Beach Club.

All proceeds will go to support a recent undertaking, the Safe Harbor project.

While Samaritan House is best known for sheltering homeless families, Safe Harbor is a nonresidential community outreach center for victims of domestic violence and their children.

Tickets will be available for $25 each at the door. Admission includes food, festivities, music and door prizes. Call 631-0710 for information.

ALSO. . .

Suffolk - The Salvation Army, 400 Bank St., is accepting applications for Christmas food baskets and toys (for children under 12) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. Participants need a picture ID, Social Security cards for each member of the family, proof of income, and proof of government assistance.

For information, call 539-5201.

COMING UP. . .

TODAY

Virginia Beach - City Council member Louisa Strayhorn will host her monthly town meeting at Green Run High School from 7 to 9 p.m. The topic of discussion will be an update on public transit needs. All Virginia Beach citizens are invited to attend.

Portsmouth - The Central Civic Forum will be hosting a candidates forum at 7 tonight at the Disabled Veterans Home, chapter 27 at 3019 Portsmouth Blvd. Democrat Johnny S. Joannou and Republican D.R. ``Dan'' Evans, candidates for the 79th District House of Delegates seat, have been invited to speak.

THURSDAY

Norfolk - Ambassador of Belgium to the United States will address the World Affairs Council. Reception, 6:15 p.m.; dinner, 7 p.m.; speech, 8 p.m.; Norfolk Airport Hilton. $17 members, $20 nonmembers, $10 full-time students. Reservations, 461-3664.

SATURDAY

Virginia Beach - 4-H Halloween Pet Costume Contest, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Weber's Pet Supermarket, 2700 Avenger Drive, Suite 110. Registration fee given to charity. 427-4769 or 340-4133.

Portsmouth - Hunter safety class, 1 to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday (attendance both days required), Coast Guard Support Center, 7000 Coast Guard Blvd., Portsmouth. 485-3036. MEMO: Staff writers Jon Glass, Jo-Ann Clegg, Matthew Dolan, Liz Szabo,

Jen Mystkowski and Nancy Lewis contributed to this report.

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