Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Smoking Ban Could Flame Out

Bill Would Prohibit Smoking In The Majority Of Public Places

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Despite the Virginia Senate voting to move a bill forward that would make it against the law to smoke in most public places, Del. Clarke Hogan said yesterday that he doesn’t expect the measure to clear the House of Delegates.
Lawmakers meeting just a few miles from the headquarters of the world’s largest cigarette company advanced a bill Monday to prohibit smoking in all of Virginia’s restaurants, taverns and most other public, indoor places.
“I don’t think it will pass the House,” Hogan said. “Traditionally, those kinds of measures are not supported in the House. The Senate tends to be more liberal than the House.”
Hogan said he believes the matter should be left to individual businessmen to make the decision.
“I think restaurants have the ability to decide on their own whether they have smoking or not,” he said. “It’s their prerogative and I don’t see any point in interfering with that.”
Despite opposition from Southside senators including Mecklenburg County’s Frank Ruff and Pittsylvania County’s Charles Hawkins, the Virginia Senate voted 21-18 to pass legislation expanding the state’s Indoor Clean Air Act, which has been on the books since 1990. The bill now goes to the House of Delegates.
‘‘I would be pleasantly surprised if it goes all the way through,’’ said Anne Morrow Donley of the Virginia Group to Alleviate Smoking in Public, which vigorously lobbied for the less-restrictive 1990 law. ‘‘It’s time we had more protections for everyone.’’
Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County, said his measure is intended to shield Virginians from the potential cancer-causing effects of secondhand smoke. Even taverns would be smoke-free under his bill, which would ban lighting up in virtually all indoor venues except private homes, hotel rooms designated for smokers, specialty tobacco stores, tobacco manufacturers and public facilities hosting private functions.
‘‘This is about the rights of the nonsmoker not to be exposed to this for health reasons,’’ Bell told his colleagues.
Such arguments against public smoking have traditionally been a hard sell in Virginia, the nation’s fourth-biggest tobacco producing state and home of Richmond-based Philip Morris USA, the world’s top cigarette maker. Philip Morris spokeswoman Jennifer Golisch said the company is reviewing Bell’s legislation.
Kevin Hall, spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, said the governor believes restaurant owners should be free to decide whether to ban smoking.
“He thinks it should be voluntary and should be a decision made by business owners in conjunction with their employees and customers and not mandated by the state,” Hall said yesterday.
Ruff and Hawkins, whose districts are in the heart of Virginia tobacco country, led the opposition to the bill.
‘‘What we’re doing today is managing people’s businesses,’’ said Hawkins, R-Pittsylvania. ‘‘This has nothing to do with clean air. The marketplace has already taken care of that. There are all types of places you can go without smoking. What this does is close options for those who choose not to be in that sort of environment.’’
Ruff agreed.
“This is not an issue of smoking or not,” he said. “It is an issue of the rights of businesses to make decisions that they believe best suit them and for consumers to decide which establishments they wish to spend their hard-earned money in.”
The Mecklenburg County senator said he was “very disappointed that 21 of the 40 senators believed Richmond knows best.”
But Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, argued that restricting smoking is akin to regulating restaurants’ storage and handling of food to protect public health.
‘‘This doesn’t have a thing to do with property rights,’’ Saslaw said. ‘‘We have a right and an obligation to protect people from a health menace or a health danger.’’
Currently, 18 states prohibit smoking in restaurants, according to GASP, and 12 of those states ban smoking in all other workplaces.
Under Bell’s proposal, violators who continue to smoke after being warned could be fined $100 for a first offense and $250 for subsequent offenses. Proprietors of establishments failing to comply could be fined $200 for a first offense and $500 for additional violations.

 

House OKs Martinsville’s New College

Measure Passes House Of Delegates 95-5

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s House of Delegates on Monday gave final approval to a bill that would create a new public college in the state’s economically troubled Southside.
The legislation passed the House shortly before noon yesterday on a 95-5 vote.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the bill will establish the ‘‘New College Institute’’ in Martinsville or Henry County, a region that has seen textile and furniture jobs dry up in recent years.
Halifax County Del. Clarke Hogan said yesterday that the location of a new institute in beleaguered Henry County could assist the area in retaining young people.
“I think it meets the needs of their community in the same way our Higher Education Center meets the needs of ours,” he said. “It’s a far cry from a new college, but it’s a fiscally responsible and measured approach to the needs for higher education in the Henry County and Martinsville area.”
Hogan said he expects the proposal to pass the full General Assembly and be signed into law by Gov. Tim Kaine.
Former Gov. Mark R. Warner included $4.5 million for the New College Planning Commission’s efforts in his two-year budget plan, and Gov. Kaine has said he strongly supports a new school.
The bill is sponsored by Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County.
The New College proposal originated from the Harvest Foundation, a community group funded by the $200 million sale of a local hospital. The foundation approved a $50 million matching grant on condition that the state establish a four-year public college in the area, which it thinks will improve the region’s quality of life.
The college would initially serve students who have completed a community college associate degree or the first and second years of a baccalaureate degree.
“What this does is empower them to do what we’re doing, broker courses from other degree-granting institutions,” said W.W. “Ted” Bennett, executive director of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. “This basically gives them five years to make the case to become a separate institution of higher education that can grant bachelor’s degrees, become a satellite campus or continue as a higher education center.”
Proponents of the school argue that young people from Southside are forced to head elsewhere for college, and have little incentive to return to an area plagued by unemployment.

 

 

Obituaries

George William York

George William York, 58, of Chase City, died February 13, 2006.
He was a member and elder of First Presbyterian Church, an Army Veteran of the Vietnam War, Chase City American Legion Post #43, and a member of Chase City Masonic Lodge 119 A.F. & A.M.
He is survived by h is wife, Phyllis York; one daughter, Monica Adcock and husband, Gary, of Halifax; two sons, Adam York and Lewis York, both of Chase City; six grandchildren, Lindsey and Patrick Adcock, Allissa, Alizsha, Aleah, and My’Teauna York.
Funeral services for Mr. York will be held tomorrow, February 16, at 2 p.m. at Wood Funeral Chapel in Chase City with the Rev. Ken Davis officiating. Burial will follow in Woodland Cemetery with Military Honors and Masonic Rites.
The family will receive friends this evening, February 15, from 7:00 until 8:30 at the funeral home.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider a charity of choice.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at woodfs@verizon.net

John Fleet Satterfield

John Fleet Satterfield, 72, of 9218 Philpott Road, South Boston, died February 14, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Satterfield was born March 10, 1933, in Halifax County, the son of John Thomas Satterfield and Daisy Long Satterfield Martin. He was married to Violet Carter Satterfield, was a member of Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church, a Life Member of Turbeville Volunteer Fire Department, and was a member of Union local 147. He was a retired farmer and construction worker.
Funeral services for Mr. Satterfield will be held at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel tomorrow, February 16, at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Rudolph Jacobs officiating. Burial will follow at Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife; his mother; one daughter, Katie Satterfield Weatherford and her husband, Alvin, of Sutherlin; two sisters, Margaret S. Owen of Buffalo Junction and Gladys S. Lowery and her husband, Bill, of Forest; and one granddaughter, Taylor Grace Weatherford. He was also preceded in death by one sister, Lilly S. Powell; and a brother-in-law, George Lee Owen.
The family will receive friends this evening, February 15, from 7:00 until 8:30 at the funeral home, and other times at the home.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Turbeville Volunteer Fire Department, 8146 Philpott Road, South Boston, 24592, or your favorite charity.

 

Comets Grapplers Send Nine To Regionals

HCHS Takes Fourth In WVD Meet

The Halifax County High School wrestling team is sending nine grapplers to the Northwest Regionals, after a fourth-place showing Monday in the Western Valley District Meet at Franklin County High School.
Host Franklin County won the meet with 300.5 points, followed by E.C. Glass with 153, Patrick Henry with 151, Halifax County with 96 and GW with 60.5 points, respectively.
The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to the regionals, slated for February 24-25 at Colonial Forge High School.
Comets Cavanaugh Smith (275), Robert Stanfield (215) and Damon Chambers (189) all advanced to the regionals with second-place finishes, while Ray Albert, Brent Messick (112) and Charles Crawley (171) both recorded third-place finishes to lock up regional appearances.
Jordan Litchfield (119), Heather Oakes (125) and Jonathan Chappell (135) each finished fourth in their weight class to advance.
Shayna Oakes (130) and Josh Brooks (140) were each fifth in their weight class, just missing out on a trip to the regionals.
“We finished about where we thought we would, some wrestlers did better than expected, while a few didn’t perform as well as we would have hoped,” said Comets coach Brady Taylor.
“Still, the coaches are happy with how we finished. Starting the season, we figured we would be fighting for fourth in the district, and we accomplished that goal.”
Halifax collected six match wins at the district meet, Albert with a win over J. Burton of Glass, before losing to J. Mason of Franklin County and defeating R. Day of Patrick Henry in the consolations.
Crawley lost his opener to D. Murrell of Patrick Henry before defeating M. Tucker of Glass in the consolations, and Chambers defeated B. Bonnell of Glass before falling to I. Ward of Patrick Henry in the finals.
Stanfield and Smith both made it to the finals of their weight classes, Stanfield defeating D. Harris of GW before losing to A. Driggers of Franklin County, and Smith defeated Watkins of GW before losing to Casey of Franklin County in the finals.

 

VIR Revs Up

New And Rescheduled Events Highlight 2006 Schedule

VIRginia International Raceway is revving up for the 2006 racing season, and the track’s menu of events for this year features once again some of the best professional and amateur automobile and motorcycle racing in America on one of the world’s most picturesque and challenging circuits.
This year’s schedule includes two new spectator weekends and a rescheduled major race in addition to the existing selection of popular events.
The season gets underway March 18-19, with the Sports Car Club of America North Carolina Region’s SCCA NCR March Memories event. This event will bring together many of the finest amateur road racers in the Southeast, as this event will be open to all South Atlantic Road Racing Championship (SARRC) drivers, to challenge the North Carolina Region regulars for whom VIR is their home track. In addition, this event will also feature the SCCA Southeast Division Enduro Championship Racing (ECR) Series.
With the arrival of spring comes a new date for one of VIR’s biggest events, the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve VIR 400.
The weekend of April 21-23 will feature the world’s fastest-growing professional sports car series, headlined by its signature Daytona Prototype class. The Daytona Prototype formula has grown by leaps and bounds since it was introduced in 2003, when only four DPs raced at VIR.
A record 31 entries took the green flag at the recent season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, and most of those will be on hand for the VIR 400. As always, the Daytona Prototypes will be joined by the GT class for production-based coupes, featuring Porsche 911s, BMW M3s, Pontiac GTOs, Chevrolet Corvettes and Mazda RX-8s, for a 400km/three-hour race on Sunday afternoon.
The weekend’s supporting acts will be the popular Grand-Am Cup series for street stock cars, divided into two classes for a 250-mile enduro on Saturday, plus the Skip Barber National Championship Series presented by RACER magazine..
The SCCA’s North Carolina Region will return in force over the weekend of May 12-14 with the Sixth Annual Double SARRC/Double MARRS Challenge. This event has grown into the largest SCCA regional east of the Mississippi, featuring more than 400 cars from all over the East Coast.
Entrants from the Washington, D.C. area and northward compete in the Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series (MARRS) and will continue their friendly “North vs. South” rivalry with their southern counterparts who race in the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship (SARRC).
Over the weekend of June 9-11, VIR’s signature vintage racing event, the Gold Cup Historic Races, will pay tribute to the racing cars of Germany. The German manufacturers have played a major role in the history of motorsport, and the names Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche are all synonymous with racing excellence.
Historic examples of each will be on hand for the weekend, along with a variety of vintage racing machinery running the gamut from MGs, Triumphs and Lotus to Ferraris, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos to the sports racers and fire-breathing American muscle cars of the 1960s and ‘70s.
VIR has joined forces with the renowned California-based sanctioning body Historic Motor Sports Association to provide the most spectacular entry of historic racing machines in the event’s history. Off-track activities will include the fifth annual Gold Cup Car Show, which will take place on Saturday, June 10, plus car corrals and parties.
The first big motorcycle racing event of the year will take place over the weekend of June 23-25, as the sixth annual Virginia Festival of Speed, featuring Formula USA and the 23rd season of the Championship Cup Series, will provide a combination of America’s best Sportsman and professional motorcycle road racers going handlebar-to-handlebar at 160mph for their share of purse and prizes.
Friday afternoon is the Virginia 200, Saturday it’s Sportsman action and on Sunday the professionals take to the track in Sportbike, Superbike, Thunderbike and the no-holds-barred Unlimited GP classes.
The Fourth of July weekend (June 30 - July 2) will bring a new event to VIR, the 31st annual convention of the Shelby American Automobile Club. The SAAC annual convention pays tribute to the cars built and raced by the legendary Carroll Shelby’s Shelby American organization, including Cobras, Shelby Mustangs and Ford GT40s.
This unique event will attract cars and Shelby enthusiasts from all across the country, and the weekend will include vintage racing, a concours d’elegance, car shows and a memorabilia auction. This will be a rare opportunity to see and hear some of America’s most historic automobiles.
The North Carolina Region of the SCCA will return over the weekend of August 12-13 for the annual Oak Tree National. The national SCCA calendar wraps up in late September with the annual Valvoline Runoffs® at Mid-Ohio, which makes the Oak Tree National a critical event in terms of collecting precious championship points required to obtain a coveted invitation to the Runoffs®.
As a result, drivers from the host region as well as other regions all along the Atlantic seaboard will be headed to VIR in order to collect those valuable, last-minute championship points. This can lead to some very interesting and unusual match-ups on the track and unforgettably intense racing.
The fastest and most exotic road racing motorcycles in America will return to VIR for a sixth time over the weekend of August 18-20, as AMA Pro Racing’s wildly popular Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals brings the best in the business to do battle on VIR’s challenging 2.25-mile North Course.
The doubleheader format will give fans two feature races for the headlining AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, in which the factory teams and world’s best riders compete for corporate bragging rights utilizing staggering budgets to produce some of the most technologically advanced bikes on the planet.
Rounding out the program will be AMA’s other pro series, the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, AMA Repsol Lubricants Superstock Series and Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series.
Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd. (HSR) will visit VIR over Labor Day weekend (September 1-3), providing a rolling history lesson in road racing. The highlights of the event will be the High Horse Power Stock Car and American Muscle Car Spectacular, featuring the Historic GTP/Group C & WSC Series, BOSS Super Cup Series for big-bore open-wheel cars, Anglo-American GT Challenge, Historic GT Series, Klub Sport Porsche Challenge, Rolex Endurance Challenge Series and feature races.
Many of the cars that race with HSR raced at VIR in its early days, between 1957-74, and will be right at home on the challenging and beautiful 3.27-mile circuit. With the vast array of machinery ranging from small-bore production cars through stock cars and prototypes, there will be something for everyone!
The Championship Cup Series motorcycles will return to VIR for a second 2006 event over the weekend of September 23-24, providing more of the spectacular elbow-to-elbow racing featuring some of America’s best amateur motorcycle racers and giving area fans of the two-wheeled sport an additional chance to enjoy the picturesque surroundings at VIR.
The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association will make its annual visit to VIR over the weekend of September 29-October 1. The SVRA weekend has become a tradition since VIR reopened in 2000, both for the track staff and the racers.
The highlight of the event will be the MotorCheck Formula Car Festival, featuring the finest vintage open-wheelers in America in the HSR BOSS Super Cup Series for Formula 1 and Indy-type big-bore formula cars as well as the Monoposto Classic and Formula 70 Series. Also on the schedule are the Mike Stott-UBS Sprint Series and MotorCheck Sprint Series.
The weekend of October 6-8 will see the inauguration of an exciting new event at VIR. The Grand-Am Cup 12-Hour Enduro will serve as the series’ season finale. It will be the longest race in the series’ history, and Grand American officials hope that it will become the series’ signature event.
Another exciting component of the weekend will be the first-ever east coast appearance of GT Live, the wildly popular “motorsports theme park” concept that accompanied the 2004 visit of the Japanese GT series to California Speedway. GT Live is aimed at younger enthusiasts, and will provide non-stop on- and off-track activities for fans throughout the weekend, including demonstrations by Japanese GT racers (with ride-along demonstrations for fans), drifting, Time Attack, autocross, karting, radio-controlled cars, car shows and audio challenges, plus music and vendors
The 2006 racing season at VIR will end with a pair of SCCA North Carolina Region events, the Goblins Go regional over the weekend of October 28-29 and the unique Charge of the Headlight Brigade 13-hour endurance race on November 4.
The Goblins Go event is a long-standing tradition at VIR that dates back to the 1970s and gives the NCR regulars one last shot at their favorite track in the customary sprint-race format, while the Charge of the Headlight Brigade, now in its fourth year, is the perfect way to wrap up the season with a marathon event that ends in darkness.
No matter whether you like your motorsports on two wheels or four, VIR will have all the bases covered in 2006. The beautiful setting, with the rolling hills of Southside Virginia framing an incredibly fast and challenging road racing circuit, combined with world-class amenities and good, old-fashioned southern hospitality, creates the perfect setting for high-speed family fun.
“We think the 2006 season at VIR is going to be our best yet,” said VIR co-owner Connie Nyholm. “The VIR 400 and Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals are going to be bigger and better, and we’re really excited about the Grand-Am Cup 12-hour enduro combined with GT Live and the Shelby American Automobile Club’s annual convention. With such a great schedule of events, combined with the ongoing construction and growth at VIR, it’s going to be a busy year, but a fun one!”
For more information, visit the track’s website at www.virclub.com or contact VIR at 434-822-7700.

 

Comets Swimmers Close Record-Breaking Season

The Comets swim team by all accounts has enjoyed one of its best seasons ever, setting numerous school records in both individual and relay events, and sending 17 swimmers to the recent Northwest Regional Swim Meet.
Five records had been set at the Western Valley District Meet, one by Dane Ferguson, Eric Nelson, Bryan Slagle and Jarrett Pearce in the 400 freestyle relay.
Ferguson set another school record in the 200 freestyle, and Caroline Clements broke two records, in the girls 50 and 100 freestyle events.
The final record set at that meet came courtesy of the girls 200 freestyle relay team, will Lacy Will, Megan Rosche, Sara Rosche and Clements forming a winning combination, according to coach Spencer Ferguson.
“As a result of a lot of hard work by the Comets girls swimmers and after trying many different relay combinations, these girls proved to be fastest in this event.”
The girls 200 freestyle relay team swam a time of 1:53.58 to break the old mark of 1:54.48, set by Nora Lee, Emily Rand, Kristi Grubbs and Beth Scott, Ferguson adding that the coaching credit for this particular record goes to assistants Shawn Torian and Dennis Seamster.
“At each meet, Shawn and Dennis are very busy recording split times during each event for every swimmer,” said Ferguson.
“This information is used to make any changes that are necessary. These girls came so close in the two previous meets, and I told them prior to their swim (district meet) that this was their day.
“They did great and I’m happy for them.”