THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995                   TAG: 9507070338
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines

TWO SETTLE DISPUTE OUT OF COURT, A LITTLE TOO LATE FOR HICKS AFTER ASSAULT CHARGES HE LOST HIS SEAT ON THE SCHOOL BOARD.

Though it came too late to save his seat on the School Board, former board member Robert L. Hicks Sr. reached an out-of-court agreement Thursday that led to the dismissal of assault and battery charges filed against him in May.

Hicks, 57, and John F. Ramey, 54, who lives in a Bayview neighborhood near Hicks, had lodged counter assault and battery complaints after a May 11 fight over a traffic incident. Ramey also filed charges against Hicks' son, Clifton Hicks.

The case was scheduled for trial Thursday in General District Court, but the men's attorneys told Judge Katherine Howe Jones that the men had agreed to drop the charges, including those against Hicks' son.

The City Council last month voted against reappointing Hicks to the School Board, in large part because of public reaction to the altercation. Vice Mayor Paul Riddick had called on Hicks to resign, reasoning that schoolchildren are expelled for fighting.

``It was sad to see that because of this event, he was not reappointed,'' said Hicks' attorney, Jon M. Babineau. ``It became a politically motivated event, sadly enough.''

Babineau called Hicks a dedicated and conscientious School Board member and said his business skills had saved the school system money on service contracts.

Hicks, co-owner of an accounting firm, served on the seven-member board from 1981 to 1987 and was placed back on the panel in 1993 for a two-year term. The council replaced him with another businessman, consultant James R. Herndon.

In court complaints filed in May, Hicks and Ramey acknowledged throwing punches, but both said they had reacted in self defense. The fight began after Ramey accused Hicks of nearly running over him in a car while he was walking at a street intersection near Hicks' home.

Hicks and Ramey declined comment on the case Thursday, referring questions to their attorneys.

``They shook hands, and both said they're going to put it behind them,'' Babineau said. ``When you live in close proximity, you have to live together.''

``There was satisfaction,'' said Ramey's attorney, Robert Epstein. ``It was resolved outside. My client is happy with this resolution.''

KEYWORDS: ASSAULT by CNB