DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 1997          TAG: 9711120444

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Staff writers Ida Kay Jordan, Jack Dorsey and Erika Reif

        contributed to this report.

                                            LENGTH:   71 lines

HAMPTON ROADS

PORTSMOUTH

Norcom book honors school; offers work

by grads, students

I.C. Norcom High School graduates who have made contributions to the community in which they live will be profiled in a booklet celebrating Norcom's contributions to the 150-year history of Portsmouth Public Schools.

The committee is seeking nominees for inclusion in the book, to be known as I.C. Norcom Notables. Nominees must be Norcom graduates or students.

Applications may be picked up at the main office of the school between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The deadline for returning the information is Dec. 15. For information, call 393-8793.

NEWPORT NEWS

Cultural Alliance plans

Celebration of the Arts

The Cultural Alliance of Hampton Roads, the ``umbrella arts organization'' of the area, is sponsoring A Celebration of the Arts in Hampton Roads from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 18.

The program at the Mariners' Museum will present the 1997 Alli Awards, which honor businesses, individuals and the media for support of the arts in Hampton Roads.

Admission to the Alli Awards, including the reception and tour of the exhibits, is $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

For reservations, mail checks made out to Cultural Alliance, to 5200 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, Va. 23508. For more information call (757) 889-9479 or fax your reservation to 489-0007. The deadline for reservations is Friday.

HAMPTON

Thomas Nelson will stay

at Hampton Roads Center

The Thomas Nelson Community College Board has rejected a controversial proposal to move its main campus to Newmarket Fair mall in Hampton.

Monday's unanimous vote concurs with an independent study released Nov. 5 that recommends keeping the campus at its location off Interstate 64 at the Hampton Roads Center Parkway exit.

The General Assembly approved the $50,000 study in February after months of discussions between mall developer, ESG Companies, and college officials.

The study, by Via Design Architects of Norfolk, determined ``there is no compelling reason to move'' to the mall. Relocating would not improve the school's academic environment and image, space or technological attributes, according to the study. Most students and teachers opposed moving the college, which serves about 6,700 students. The majority are part-time students over the age of 25 involved in work-force training or transfer programs.

The TNCC board recommendation is being considered by the Virginia Community College Board, which oversees the state's 23 community colleges. The Virginia Community College System chancellor will incorporate those recommendations in a report to state legislative committees, which is expected by Friday.

Public hearings on the mall proposal will be held during state board meetings at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Thursday at Fort Magruder Inn off Route 60 in Williamsburg.

ALSO. . .

Dr. Joseph A. Arminio, chairman and co-founder of The National Coalition for Defense, will present a lecture on ``Global Power Lost,'' a discussion about whether the drawdown in the nation's military power has gone too far. He will lecture at 2:30 p.m. today at the Virginia Beach Central Public Library, Meeting Room B, and again at 7 tonight in the Martin Room at Kirn Memorial Public Library in Norfolk. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

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