THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509010194
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sun Spots
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
1:45 a.m. - Downtown Suffolk
A woman approaches Peggy Hopewell and her daughter, Christine, walking north on Main Street. She asks about the news that the Hopewells have sold their business, Nansemond Drugs.
Smiling, but with a look of frustration that seems to imply that she's been asked the question numerous times, Peggy Hopewell says that she and her husband, Dave, are not selling the business and would like to know how the rumor began.
``I've been told who we've sold the business to and even how much we've been paid for it,'' she said, laughing. ``Suffolk is a small town. I guess people don't have anything else to talk about.''
- Shirley Brinkley Tuesday, Aug. 22
1:35 p.m. - City Council chambers, Suffolk
State Sen. Fred Quayle has come to the U.S. Senate Agricultural Committee's field hearing on the peanut program to support area farmers.
``One time I carried the flag for peanuts in the national Jaycees parade in Dallas,'' he says. ``I wore the Mr. Peanut costume.''
But that was years ago, says Quayle. ``I don't think I could get into it today,'' he says.
- Susie Stoughton
1:50 p.m. - City Council chambers, Suffolk
Sen. John Warner tells the audience - many of them peanut farmers - that he spent his boyhood years on a farm. He still owns farmland, though he had sold his cattle farm.
``My Daddy warned me, `Son, don't ever own anything that eats while you're asleep,' '' he says.
- Susie Stoughton
3:05 p.m. - City Council chambers, Suffolk
Whitney G. Saunders, executive secretary for the Virginia-Carolina Peanut Association, is testifying at the Senate Agricultural Committee's field hearing on the peanut program.
Saunders, a Suffolk lawyer, poses a persuasive argument, urging that the government's support price for quota peanuts be lowered from $678 a ton to $550 a ton, to make domestic peanuts more competitive with those from other countries.
As he speaks, an assistant is passing out Snickers candy bars to every one in the court room.
``The Mars Corporation is making this candy bar in Canada,'' Saunders says. ``Now why? One of the main reasons is the peanuts in the candy bar can be bought at world market prices in Canada.''
One of Saunders' helpers places a candy bar in front of Warner, who notes that laws restrict legislators from accepting gifts above a certain value.
Fortunately, the candy bar doesn't meet the minimum. ``I can accept this,'' he says.
- Susie Stoughton Wednesday, Aug. 23
5:35 p.m. - City Council chambers, Suffolk
The meeting of the Suffolk City Council is the scene of some friendly back-and-forth debate over city holidays. Seems the city wants to get their holiday schedule in line with the state. That means adding two and possibly three new holidays to the city's roster.
The proposal upsets Mayor S. Chris Jones, who says Suffolk's citizens would be shortchanged on service with the additional holidays. ``I feel that we have an adequate system in place,'' he says.
Councilman J. Samuel ``Sammy'' Carter, however, wants the holidays. And even when the mayor mentioned his pharmacy's need to stay open during holidays to ``make the dollar,'' Carter has a pretty good comeback.
``Mayor,'' says Carter, ``maybe if you give city employees the day off they'll come to your store and buy something.''
In the end, the City Council votes 4-3 to make the change.
- Mac Daniel
7:15 p.m. - City Council chambers, Suffolk
It seems more like a boxing bout at Madison Square Garden. This is a night for civic leaders all over Suffolk to give City Council their comeuppance.
Round one starts with Hall Place Civic League president Wendy Hill. A reddened and angry Hill blasts the council and the city attorney for their failure to handle several lawsuits pertaining to inspections in her community.
Hill is told the lawsuits sat in City Attorney Edward D. Roettger's office because he was on vacation.
``When the city fire chief goes on vacation, the houses don't sit and burn down,'' she shouts. ``But if these were housing files, they should be on fire by now. . . . Pull your heads out of the sand because there's not going to be anything done until you do something about it.''
Round two brings on Pughsville Civic League President Mary V. Richardson.
Richardson complains that Coldwell Banker Harborview Realty Group took advantage of her community when they constructed shoddy houses known as Pughsville Estates.
Richardson says Hurricane Felix could possibly ease the problem.
``Pat Robertson has been praying that the storm goes that way; I'm praying the storm will come this way to get rid of our problems,'' says Richardson.
- Terri Williams Wednesday, Aug. 30
1:20 p.m. - Suffolk Municipal Airport
The twin-engine airplane, trying to land, has taken a nose dive.
The Beechcraft Baron is sitting on the runway, its nose pressed against the pavement, its tail high into the air.
There's no fire, and the pilot and a passenger are not injured.
But sirens wail as fire engines and police cars continue to rush to the scene of what is ``not a crash'' at the airstrip. The biggest problem, airport officials say, is trying to figure out how to get the crippled aircraft out of the way.
``Their first indication of trouble was when the nose kept going down farther than it should have,'' said Joe Love, airport manager.
``That scraping sound is not what you want to hear,'' Love says.
- Susie Stoughton by CNB