Monday, February 13, 2006

Wreck Claims Crystal Hill Man

A 37-year-old Crystal Hill man was killed after his vehicle ran off the road and struck a tree on Route 626 early Saturday morning, according to Virginia State Police Information Officer Sergeant David Cooper.
Richard Alan Hackney was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:51 a.m., according to Cooper.
The accident occurred at approximately 4:14 a.m., two-tenths of a mile south of Route 610, Cooper said.
Hackney was driving a 1994 Ford Tempo when he reportedly lost control of the vehicle, according to the police report.
According to Cooper, Hackney was not wearing a seatbelt.
Virginia State Trooper D.D. Johnson is the investigating officer, Cooper said, and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Hackney’s vehicle was declared a total loss.
In other police business, Michael Al Radosinovich, 25, of Terry Trail in Nathalie, was charged Saturday with destruction of property and the assault and battery of Brandy Beard, a family or household member.
The alleged offenses occurred Friday.
Deputy Stanley Britton issued the summonses.
Lawrence Edward Henderson, 22, of Ball Park Loop in Halifax, was charged Friday with illegally purchasing a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The alleged offenses occurred on January 26.
Deputy S.M. Bowen issued the summonses.
Sandra Sofia Morfin, 21, of Memorial Drive in South Boston, was charged Saturday with DWI.
The alleged offense occurred Saturday.
Deputy Stanley Britton issued the summons.

 

225th Dan Anniversary ‘Crossed’ With Style

For pictures of the event please see our web gallery. In order to view the gallery you will need to have the free flash player installed.

American patriot Gen. Nathanael Greene was at his best Friday night, “spiriting up the people” and recounting his tale of “annoying” Lord Cornwallis and the British general’s troops as Greene battled to forge America’s freedom.
The successful 1781 February 13-14 Crossing of the Dan here is viewed as pivotal in changing the course of the Southern campaign and American history.
“Those are two of my favorites, ‘spiriting up the people’ and ‘annoying,’” said Greene during the performance.
D’oyle G. Moore’s portrayal of Greene’s Race to the Dan was personal, laced with quotes from letters and original sources, one that opened the pages of history in a personal way.
The strategy, hardships, sacrifice and logistics of guiding his army of regulars and militia as they raced to the Dan River in February of 1781 with Cornwallis in hot pursuit, ignited the slumbering fires of liberty in his audience, one which gave him a standing ovation.
The Revolution is not over, the audience was told. The story must be told and retold, and Virginians were urged “to not forget your tears when telling the story of the Crossing of the Dan.”
The evening opened with the Community Chorale’s presentation of music of the Revolutionary War period featuring selections by William Billings (1746-1800) and Supply Belcher (1751-1836). The Chorale was accompanied by Brenda Fincher on cello and pianist Dr. Tim Duncan.
Saturday morning, the late W. Carroll Headspeth was honored when a window at The Prizery was dedicated in his honor. The window overlooks the site of the Crossing of the Dan, a tale the South Boston author and the late Spurgeon Compton are credited with keeping alive with the book, “Retreat to the Dan.”
“He tried to live to see the same thing happen (as the dedication of Staunton River Battlefield State Park) here,” said Douglas Powell, chairman of the Crossing of the Dan Committee exhibit. “At 103 he did his part, we have just taken too long. When the permanent exhibit here on the
Crossing of the Dan is complete the visitors will be able to look out of this ‘his’ window and see where history was made.”
Following the dedication, Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution officials from Virginia and North Carolina placed wreathes in memory of the American patriots.
A batteau ride across the Dan River to Boyd’s Ferry landing drew riders and observers in spite of rain and muddy conditions.
Lectures by authors John Buchanan, “The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas,” and Dr. Lawrence Babits, “A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens,” got under way at 1 p.m., culminating the weekend event.
Throughout the weekend, Revolutionary-era artifacts were on exhibit at The Prizery courtesy of Peggy Hammond and Charles Ware.
A Second Successful Crossing
“I think we’ve established ourselves as a legitimate historic site, as shown by the comments we received by many if not all of the participants that they would definitely come back,” said the event’s coordinator Dan Shaw.
“They were very impressed such a small town was able to put on an event such as this,” said Shaw.
“We were very well pleased,” said Douglas Powell of the event. “What the weather took away from our plans was made up by the realism it provided.”
“There were many who made this weekend a success,” said Barbara Bass, president of the Halifax County Historical Society. “But it could not have happened without great leadership from Dan Shaw, Douglas Powell and Ted Daniel. In sharing this story of the Crossing with the community we hope that we have sparked an interest in this event in history as well as in history in general.”
Virginia Foundation For The Humanities
Roberta Culperson, director of research and education for the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, was joined by VFH media programs associate Lydia Wilson for the two-day event. Wilson interviewed participants and event organizers for a future radio broadcast. A VFH grant helped fund the event, which was free to the public.

Lumber Company Burns

Firefighters From More Than A Dozen Departments Battle Morgan Lumber Blaze

RED OAK – Approximately 80 firefighters from three counties and 16 departments converged on Red Oak early Saturday morning to battle a massive blaze inside one of Morgan Lumber Company’s wood finishing warehouses.
At the Hwy. 92 location Saturday morning, Bacon District Fire Chief Wade Stembridge explained that a small fire apparently started between two stacks of wooden pallets sometime in the pre-dawn hours.
Upon arrival, Bacon district and Chase City firefighters attempted to access the near football field-sized building, but were driven back by intense heat from the fire.
“They used a forklift to tear out some of the wall panels so we could get water to the fire,” Stembridge said. “At the same time we called in the assistance of other units because we knew this one was going to be bad.”
Within minutes, firefighters from across Halifax, Charlotte, and Mecklenburg counties began arriving on the scene, and quickly set up staging areas on all sides of the large metal building.
By 8 a.m., the fire still raged inside portions of the structure that was filled with finished wood products and wooden packing materials.
“We are trying to keep the fire away from the large wood planing equipment at the one end of the building,” said Chase City Fire Chief Marty Lewis. “It looks as though we have been succeeding, but we won’t know the extent of the damage to that machine until after the fire is extinguished.”
With a cold, steady rain making firefighting conditions even worse than normal, Lewis explained that so much water was being pumped into the building it was difficult for those on the scene to keep water supply tanks full.
“We’ve got about a dozen trucks and tankers running back and forth to the pond over there (several hundred yards from the building) to keep the pumpers supplied,” Lewis said. “We even have water lines running from the pond directly to the pump trucks – but we are still having trouble keeping up the supply.”
Lewis added that the fight had also begun to take its toll on truck fuel supplies, forcing those on the scene to call in diesel fuel tankers from the surrounding area.
With water cannons, ladder trucks and firemen working their way inside the structure throwing thousands of gallons on the blaze, the intense heat from the fire continued to buckle the building’s steel panel walls hours after the fire first ignited.
Due to the extremely hazardous conditions within the building, firefighters spent most of the morning battling the blaze from outside the building, especially in the center of the structure and the far end away from the planing equipment.
Later in the day, firefighters utilizing ladder trucks cut through portions of the steel roof for more access to the fire.
Firefighters, rescue squad units from three counties, and even company employees remained on site well into the afternoon as the fight continued.
Countless emergency service auxiliary personnel and local volunteers were also on hand providing water and food to the cold, wet firefighters throughout the morning and afternoon.
Due to the situation on the scene, Stembridge had little time to provide a detailed account of the fire, but said that he would release a more complete report today.
Along with Lewis, Stembridge commended all the firefighters and emergency personnel for their efforts at the scene, and thanked auxiliary members and the local volunteers that were providing food and beverages to exhausted crews.
“It has been an incredible effort, and we are still not finished,” Stembridge said. “But we will continue to everything we can to save as much equipment in there as we can.”
During a brief discussion at the scene, Morgan Lumber Company owner Ken Morgan said that he too would release more details about the company’s losses early in the week.
“There is a lot going on right now, but I do want to take this moment to thank all these firefighters for what they have done, and what they continue to do,” Morgan said. “I also commend everyone else who has come out here to offer assistance, it says a lot about what kind of folks we have in our area.”
While Morgan had no time to discuss the situation further, there is no doubt the fire could seriously affect company operations.
Although the loss may be significant, Morgan and the fire chiefs were glad to report that no one was injured in the blaze.

 

Obituaries

Raymond Lee Jackson III

Graveside services for Mr. Raymond Lee Jackson III will be held Tuesday at noon in the Jackson family cemetery in Halifax.
The family will receive friends at the home of Sandra Jackson, 2165 Chatham Road.
Mr. Jackson, of New York, died February 7, after a lengthy illness.
He was 14.
Mr. Jackson was born in Brooklyn on August 16,1991, the son of Raymond Lee Jackson Jr. and Vanessa McCaskill.
He was a senior at Community Action Junior High School in Manhattan.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Jackson is survived by his step-mother, Synethia; three sisters, Monquia, Justine and Alexus; three brothers, Brian, Richard and Jules; his grandmothers, Sandra Jackson, Delores Johnson and Cynthia Langley; his grandfather, Ronald Victor; a great-grandmother, Mary Langley, and a host of aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends.

Otis Grant Hall

Funeral services for Mr. Otis Grant Hall, 76, of Virgilina, will be conducted at 1 p.m. Tuesday, with services at the St. Mark Baptist Church in Buffalo Junction. The Rev. Kenneth Stokes will officiate.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends tonight from 6 – 7 p.m. at the C.H. Harris Funeral Home in Clarksville.Mr. Hall died Saturday, February 11, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
He was born in Halifax County on April 18, 1929, the son of the late Otey M. and Theresa Cousin Hall. He received his education at the West End High School in Clarksville and was a Korean War veteran. He was formerly employed with Burlington Industries and Lynchburg Transit and was a member of the St. Mark Buffalo Church.
Survivors include his wife, Ethel Hall of Virgilina, six sisters, Otelia Benning of Richmond Heights, Ohio, Frances Newton of Clarksville, Evelyn Jones (Joe) of South Boston, Dorothy Terry (Marion) and Doris Newton (Joe), both of Newark, N.J., Bernetha Mullins (Robert) of Clarksville; three brothers, Clinton Hall of Cleveland, Oh., Leonard Hall (Denise) of North Plainfield, N.J., and Cleo Chandler (Bessie) of Roxboro, five sisters-in-law, three brothers-in-law, a god-daughter, Martina Stevenson and devoted friends Mr. And Mrs. Lee Lester, Mr. Lee Stovall and Mr. Richard Watkins and family.
Condolences may be e-mailed to harrisfh@kerrlake.com

Murray Luther “Sonny” Ashby

A graveside service for Mr.. Murray Luther “Sonny” Ashby will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Memorial Gardens Cemetery in South Boston.
The family will receive friends Tuesday from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at Crowder-Hite-Crews Funeral Home and Crematory in South Hill.
Mr. Ashby, 69, of South Hill, died Sunday, February 12, at his residence.
He was the owner/operator of Grocery/Food Deals in South Hill for the last 17 years, and prior to that he was the area manager of over 30 Colonial stores.
Mr. Ashby is survived by his wife, Jeanette M. Ashby; two daughters, Gayle Lynette Ashby of Carolina Beach, N.C., and Rhonda Carol Ashby of Richmond; a son, David L. Ashby of South Hill, and a sister, Pocahontas Weatherford of Marietta, Ga.
Online condolences may be sent to www.crowderhitecrews.com.

 

It’s Now A One-Game Season

The HCHS Varsity Boys Cagers Will Face Franklin County At 6 P.M. Tuesday In The Western Valley District Tournament Semifinals

The season now boils down to one game for the Halifax County High School varsity boys basketball team.
Halifax County (7-14 overall, 4-4 district) will travel to Rocky Mount Tuesday to face second-seeded Franklin County (16-5 overall, 5-3 district) in the semifinal round of the Western Valley District Tournament.
The winner will advance to Friday night’s district tournament championship game with a berth in the Northwest Region Tournament pretty well assured.
Fourth-seeded Patrick Henry will go to Danville to face GW in Tuesday’s other district semifinal game.
GW, which finished the regular season undefeated and went a perfect 8-0 in district play, has already clinched one of the district’s two berths for the Northwest Region Tournament.
If GW wins Tuesday and advances to the district tournament championship game as it is favored to do, the winner of Tuesday night’s Halifax County-Franklin County game will be assured of a berth in the Northwest Region Tournament.
In other words, a win by the Comets on Tuesday night will all but guarantee they will play at least two more games. That, in itself, Comets coach Ron Parson said, should give his players the incentive they need to bring another stout effort to the floor Tuesday night.
“I think it will be a tremendous boost for the simple fact that everybody except GW is in the same boat now,” Parson said.
“If you don’t take care of your business Tuesday night, it’s over. I think both teams are going to come out and play extremely hard.”
Parson said his team’s stellar effort against GW Friday night coupled with the Comets’ win over Franklin County here earlier this season should give his team a good boost of confidence.
“I think we’ve got to have some confidence,” Parson pointed out.
“ We’ve beaten them once and know we can play with them. We’ve just got to put the doubt out of our mind in terms of the loss (to GW) and build upon the effort. If we can build on the way we played tonight (Friday) in practice on Monday and take it over to Franklin County on Tuesday night then, we’ve got a shot.”
Parson said he likes this time of the season with the district and regional tournaments coming up.
“I look forward to it,” said the Comets coach.
“I think it’s an exciting time of the season. You have to put it on the line. You’ve got no other choice because if you don’t, you’re through. You don’t have to do a whole lot of motivating the guys. If you want to keep playing, you have to put it out there.”

Win Slips From Comets’ Grasp

Crucial Misses Down The Stretch Allow GW To Escape With A 50-46 Win Over HCHS In Regular-Season Finale

The Halifax County High School varsity boys cagers brought their best effort of the season to Friday night’s regular-season finale against archrival GW.
In the process, they almost pulled off an upset of the state’s third-ranked team.
GW slipped away with a 50-46 win over the Comets in a thriller whose outcome rested on a pair of missed stick-back shots under the basket on back-to-back possessions in the final minute of the contest.
“We let them off the hook,” said Comets head coach Ron Parson.
“There’s no question about it. I’m sure they (GW) know that.”
The Comets trailed by three points at 48-45 when Jeremy Jeffress attempted to tie the game with a three-point shot. The shot missed, Mark Ferrell grabbed the rebound and missed the stick-back.
Later, trailing by four points at 49-45 with 14 seconds left, Ferrell and Blaine Key missed contested close-range shots inside. That was all GW needed as the Eagles were able to escape with a four-point win.
“A different bounce of the ball here and there and the game could have gone either way,” Parson pointed out.
“A lot of times, if you play hard, you’ll get the breaks. Unfortunately, the ball just didn’t bounce our way.”
Despite the disappointment of the close loss, Parson was thrilled with his team’s effort on Senior Night.
“All you can do is ask them to give you their best effort,” he pointed out.
“ I thought we gave our best effort. We played exceptionally well. You have to be proud of your team when it plays like that. I thought we put four quarters together. Just a bounce of the ball here or there a couple of times on shots we had and put-backs that we missed would have really made a big difference.
“GW is a very good basketball team and we’re a very good basketball team when we play well for four quarters,” Parson added.
The Comets had a good night shooting the ball, hitting 45 percent of their shots from the floor in the first half and canning 47 percent of their shots in the second half.
Seniors Jeffress and Derek Brooks combined to score 31 of the team’s 46 points with Jeffress leading the way with 16 points and Brooks following with 15 points.
Morgan Brown was next in line with six points, Ferrell followed with four points, Patrick Terry and Stephen Sibley scored two points each and Key scored one point.
One of the keys to the Comets’ effort was rebounding. The Comets, rebounding with a much greater intensity than they did in their first meeting with GW earlier in the season, saw Brooks snare 11 rebounds. Ferrell grabbed eight rebounds and Key pulled down five rebounds.
A new offensive wrinkle implemented by Parson for the game produced good results from the outset as the Comets led a good deal of the game.
“We had practiced that offense only one day,” Parson noted.
“For them to come out and execute it as well as they did, you’ve got to be happy with what they did.”
The Comets trailed 12-6 after the first six minutes but a 10-foot shot from Brooks, a slam dunk by Jeffress and an eight-foot jumper from Sibley in the final 1:44 of the quarter, produced a 12-12 deadlock at the end of the first eight minutes.
Halifax County led much of the second quarter, albeit by slim margins. With the game tied at 20-20, the Comets got back-to-back lay-ups from Jeffress and Ferrell in the final 49 seconds to take a 24-20 lead at halftime.
A 7-0 Comets run in the first 2:34 of the second half, a run that started with a bucket from Brooks, a three-point shot from Jeffress and two free throws from Jeffress, produced a 31-20 lead for the Comets, their biggest edge of the game.
GW, however, didn’t fold.
A 9-1 GW run brought the Eagles to within three points at 32-29 with 2:46 left in the third quarter. Brown stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer with 2:27 left to keep the Comets up 35-29.
GW countered with seven unanswered points in the final 2:02 of the quarter with the help of a pair of three-point baskets to take a 36-35 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Halifax trailed by seven points with 2:11 left in the game but a three-pointer from Brooks with 1:16 left and a stick-back by Ferrell of an offensive rebound with 46 seconds left in the game left GW with a 46-45 lead and set the stage for the exciting ending.

 

Jeff Burton Wins Daytona 500 Pole

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Burton picked a great time to grab his first NASCAR pole in more than five years.
Burton outran 57 other competitors Sunday to earn the top starting spot for the Feb. 19 Daytona 500, his third career pole and first since fall 2000 in Richmond, Va. Burton’s fast lap of 189.151 mph on a chilly day at Daytona International Speedway was the fastest qualifying run on the 2.5-mile, high-banked oval since Dale Jarrett’s 191.091 in February 2000.
‘‘We knew we had a fast car, we just didn’t know how fast these others guys really were,’’ Burton said.
Four-time series champion and defending Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, one of the last drivers to take to the track on the windy afternoon, came close to knocking Burton’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet off the top spot with a lap of 188.877 in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Clint Bowyer, Burton’s RCR teammate, was fastest of the large 2006 rookie class, qualifying seventh at 187.786.
The pole for a good sign for the Childress team, which has struggled in recent years but made significant internal changes over the winter.
Only the top two qualifiers locked in starting positions in the 500. The rest of qualifying results were used to set the lineups for Thursday’s two 150-mile qualifying races.
The top 35 teams in last year’s standings are guaranteed starting positions in the race, leaving just eight positions for the rest of the entries. The two top-finishing nonqualified drivers from each of the Thursday’s races will make the field, along with the fastest remaining drivers from Sunday’s time trials.
Robert Yates Racing teammates Jarrett and Elliott Sadler just missed the front row with laps of 188.849 and 188.810 in a pair of new Ford Fusions. They were followed by Gordon’s teammate Jimmie Johnson at 188.762 in a Chevy and Bobby Labonte, making his first start for Petty Enterprises, at 187.935 in a Dodge.
The fastest of the drivers not guaranteed a starting position was two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott, eighth at 187.715. Travis Kvapil and Hermie Sadler, 19th and 20th, were next fastest among the entries who must drive into the race.
Those three will make the 43-car field, either by racing in on Thursday or because of their qualifying speeds.

 

Comets Swimmer Clements Qualifies For State Swim Meet

Boys 400 Free Relay Team Breaks Own Record At Regionals

Comets 50 freestyle swimmer Caroline Clements qualified for the Virginia State Swim Meet and the Comets boys 400 freestyle relay team broke its own school at the Northwest Region meet Friday at George Mason University.
Clements finished a strong third in the 50 freestyle event to qualify for state competition, the second consecutive year she has qualified for the state meet.
A senior, Clements qualified for the state meet last year in the 100 butterfly event.
The boys 400 freestyle relay team, including Dane Ferguson, Eric Nelson, Bryan Slagle and Jarrett Pearce, broke the school record in that event during the regional meet.
Comets swim coach Spencer Ferguson said he was pleased with the swim team’s effort at the regionals, noting that most of his swimmers are underclassmen and will return next season.
“Several swimmers had good meets, including Dane Ferguson, who was 10th in the 100 freestyle,” said coach Ferguson.
“Eric Nelson had one of his best finishes of the season in the 50 freestyle, and I was very pleased with Lindsey Martin, who took 11 seconds off her previous best time in the 500 free.
“The majority of the team are underclassmen and will return next year for a shot at the regionals and perhaps the state meets.”
The Comets sent a total of 17 swimmers to regional competition this year, including six relay teams.
Along with the 400 relay team, the boys 200 medley relay team, with Nelson, Phillip Saunders, Slagle, Ferguson and Pearce, qualified, as did the 200 freestyle relay team. That team included Nelson, Slagle, Pearce, Ferguson, Griffin and Saunders.
The Comets girls 200 medley relay team, with Emily Bowen, Courtney McDowell, Clements, Sarah Rosche, Lacy Will and Megan Rosche, made the regionals, as did the 200 freestyle relay team.
That team consisted of Will, Sarah Rosche, Megan Rosche, Clements and Bowen.
The final girls relay team to make it to the regionals was the 400 freestyle relay team, with Emily Rosche, Martin, Sarah Rosche, Megan Rosche, Will and Bowen.
Individually, Ferguson and Pearce qualified in the 200 freestyle, Pearce in the 100 breaststroke and Nelson in the 50 freestyle.
Saunders and William McGhee qualified in the 200 IM, Slagle and Andrew Wilkins in the 100 backstroke, Ferguson and Griffin in the 100 freestyle and Saunders in the 500 freestyle.
McDowell, who swam the breaststroke in the 200 medley relay, also swam the individual breaststroke event at the regionals, while Emily Rosche swam the 200 freestyle, Will the 200 IM, Clements and Megan Rosche the 50 freestyle and C.A. Nichols the 100 butterfly.
The top eight individual finishers and the top four relay teams from the Northwest Regionals advanced to the Group AAA State meet, scheduled for this coming weekend at George Mason University.