DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711130500

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  144 lines

HAMPTON ROADS [BRIEFS]

Scouts will collect

food donations for

Foodbank giveaway

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts will collect donations of food door-to-door Nov. 22 for distribution to needy families by the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.

The Scouts' ninth annual ``Scouting for Food'' drive will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., when Scouts will cruise neighborhoods looking for nonperishable food left on front porches.

The food can be placed in plastic shopping bags the Scouts will deliver prior to the collection day.

Donations may also be left at a PYA Monarch truck parked at local Hannaford food and drug stores in Virginia Beach and at Wards Corner in Norfolk, Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, Tower Mall in Portsmouth or Wal-mart on Battlefield Boulevard in Chesapeake. Virginia Beach

Thanksgiving dinner

for needy to be held

Christian Action and Open Door Chapel will sponsor their annual Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless and needy, thanks to the donations of several Beach restaurants.

Aberdeen Barn, Captain John's Seafood, Charlie's Seafood, Coyote Cafe, Federico's, Piccadilly Cafeteria and Primo Pizza will supply food for the Nov. 27 dinner from 1 to 4 p.m. at the chapel, 3177 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Honey Baked Ham will donate 10 turkeys to the meal and is accepting financial contributions from the public to cover the cost of 20 additional birds. Donations can be dropped off at Honey Baked Ham, 4701 Virginia Beach Blvd., or across the street at Tele-Video Productions, Pembroke Three Building, Suite 144.

The dinner is free and open to anyone in need in Hampton Roads. Transportation is available from public housing in Norfolk.

Restaurants interested in helping with this meal or one at Christmas can call John Langlois at 499-7202. Volunteers interested in helping serve the meal can call Christian Action at 461-7249.

Holiday parade coming

to Atlantic Ave. Saturday

There'll be glitter galore.

Also, school bands, high-stepping majorettes, beauty queens, politicians, floats and, of course, Santa Claus.

It's the third annual Hometown Holiday Parade on Atlantic Avenue on Saturday night.

The event, which starts at 6 p.m., is an effort to lure visitors to the Oceanfront for one last helping of resort entertainment, shopping and eating before winter sets in.

It's also a warm-up for the third annual Holiday Lights show, which begins Nov. 21 on the Boardwalk.

Top billing in the 105-unit procession, aside from Vice Mayor William D. Sessoms, who is parade marshal, goes to a mega-kilowatt Virginia Power float that will cruise down Atlantic Avenue ablaze with 10,000 lights, said Priscilla Beede, chief event organizer.

Santa himself will pass in review in a separate float sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. plant in Norfolk.

The parade begins at 16th Street and ends at 27th Street. Curbside parking and parking in municipal lots at the Oceanfront will be free for the occasion on a first-come, first-served basis.

The ``grand illumination'' of a five-story-high Christmas tree at 26th Street and the Boardwalk will follow the parade.

Ocean View revitalization

is topic of city forum

An update on revitalization plans for Ocean View and the impact of city cuts in the capital improvement funds for that bayfront community will be discussed at tonight's ``Town Hall Meeting,'' sponsored by the Ocean View Coordinating Committee.

The forum will be at 7 p.m. in the Ocean View Baptist Church, 9513 Wells Parkway, in the Pinewell neighborhood.

Speaking on the revitalization and funding issues will be R. Patrick Gomez of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and Ernest Freeman, director of Norfolk's Department of City Planning and Codes Administration.

The meeting also will include discussions of:

A proposal by the Southland Corp. to build a 7-Eleven convenience store and gas pumps at East Ocean View Avenue and Chesapeake Boulevard.

A proposed $12 million renovation of the 450-unit Ocean Air Apartments to create more two- and three-bedroom units.

Also attending will be Del. Thelma Drake, Del.-elect Don Williams, City Councilman W. Randy Wright, and several city planning commissioners and members of the NRHA board of commissioners.

CHESAPEAKE

Open house scheduled

at new Conference Center

A public open house will be held at the new Chesapeake Conference Center from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 23.

``We want the residents of Chesapeake and surrounding communities to know what the center is all about, so they too can be proud of their city's latest attraction,'' said Bill Lindley, general manager of the center.

The center is located at 900 Greenbrier Circle near the intersection of Interstate 64 and Greenbrier Parkway.

The event will feature light refreshments, entertainment and activities for children. The first 100 guests will receive gift certificates to White's Old Mill Garden Center.

PORTSMOUTH

Early Christmas gift:

Take an extra day off

Portsmouth city employees got an early Christmas card this week.

City Manager Ronald W. Massie distributed the green-and-white cards with ``A Special Holiday Message'' on the front.

Inside, Massie announced that City Hall will be closed not only on Christmas Day but also on Dec. 26, giving employees a four-day holiday weekend.

``I wanted you to know now so you can make your plans early,'' Massie wrote.

But, he cautioned in the next paragraph, ``Friday, Jan. 2, will be a workday. Those wanting another long weekend should talk with their supervisors about taking leave.''

Luncheon and fashion show

a Pilot Club fund-raiser

The Pilot Club of Portsmouth is hosting its 13th annual luncheon and fashion show fund-raiser at noon Saturday at the Holiday Inn at Portside.

Tickets are $15, which includes the luncheon, fashion show, a musical program, drawings and raffles. All money raised goes to the Pilot Club's fund for children with brain disorders.

The Pilot Club of Portsmouth is a women's service organization nearly 100 years old.

Tickets must be reserved in advance, and paid for at the door, by calling Virginia Cuthriell at 391-6572.

ALSO. . .

William Hennessey, director of the Chrysler Museum of Art, will speak to the Ghent Neighborhood League at 7:30 p.m. Monday, in Ghent United Methodist Church on Stockley Gardens. MEMO: Staff writers Bill Reed, Pam Starr and Ida Kay Jordan contributed

to this report.

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