Friday, February 16, 2007

No Decision On School Closings

By KEITH STRANGE
G-V Staff Writer
Halifax County Public School Superintendent Paul Stapleton said yesterday that reports that numerous schools could be closed in the county as a result of the construction of two new elementary schools are “premature.”
“There is nothing happening at this point and nothing has happened yet as far as the closures of any schools in the county,” Stapleton, contacted in Richmond yesterday afternoon, said.
The Halifax County School Board will hold an all-day retreat next Thursday to address issues associated with the opening of the South Boston and Cluster Spring elementary schools – including new attendance zones and the affect they could have on school attendance at existing schools.
“Let me be very clear about this,” Stapleton said. “There are no school closures on the table until they (School Board members) decide whether they want to close schools and receive information next week about attendance zones.
“They can’t make any decisions until they have the information to make the decisions with,” he added. “The Board will look at the current status and make some decisions during the work session and try to come out of the work session with some kind of decision.
“The School Board could very well decide to close schools or they could decide not to close any schools,” Stapleton said. “But nothing has been done at this point and any reports to the contrary are misleading.”
A public hearing on any decisions made during the work session will be held on March 6. Public comment will be welcome during the hearing.

Junior Leaders On Shadowy Trail

“If you want a job that puts you on the run, it’s a good job,” said Gazette-Virginian intern Jordan Bagbey. “It’s interesting. You’re meeting people in the county and learning about events, what’s going on.”
Meeting with county officials, checking warrants at the Sheriff’s Office, dropping by Halifax Town Hall and South of Dan Elementary and checking out the Gazette’s presses, that was Bagbey agenda before noon yesterday.
Bagbey is one of about 20 in his Junior Leadership class at the senior high, a program directed by teachers David Riddle and Dawn Miller.
“Anything regarding politics, journalism and architecture” were high on Bagbey’s interest list.
The junior plans to major in political science in college and is “shooting for Oxford for grad school.”
The Junior Leadership program is one he recommends “because you get to see everything around the county.”
“Each month we go to a different place,” he explained. “We went to Camp Staunton Meadows, to R.O. Harrell’s, visited law enforcement offices, a judge, the commonwealth’s attorney office, a correctional facility and this month, job shadow.”
And Thursday he shadowed two reporters.

Ice Storm Kills Power To Schools ... Again

A winter ice storm is believed to be the culprit behind a power outage early Wednesday that affected approximately 3,900 Halifax County customers, including students and faculty in three Halifax County elementary schools.
Power was interrupted around 8:30 a.m., resulting in the shutdown of four Mecklenburg Power substations, three in Halifax County and one in Pittsylvania County, according to Paula Wilbourne, member and public relations representative for Mecklenburg Power.
Wilbourne said that substations near Crystal Hill, Nathalie and the J.M. Huber plant, as well as one near Altavista in Pittsylvania County, were affected.
The reason for the outage, she explained, was a dropoff in power on transmission lines generated and maintained by Virginia Dominion Power.
That dropoff could be attributed to ice forming on the transmission lines, she said.
“The power level dropped on the transmission side of Dominion Virginia Power,” said Wilbourne, who emphasized that Mecklenburg Electric simply purchases and distributes the electricity generated by Virginia Dominion Power.
Three Halifax County elementary schools relocated their students and staff due to the outage, with students at Clay’s Mill transported to Scottsburg.
Students at Meadville Elementary and Sydnor-Jennings were transported to Sinai Elementary School and Halifax County High School, respectively.
Wilbourne added that power had been restored to the three Halifax County substations by 11 a.m. Wednesday, with students and faculty returning to their respective schools shortly thereafter.
Approximately 50 residents of the Stovall community in northern Halifax County were still without power at 3 p.m. Wednesday, but they had their power restored by 8 p.m. that evening, said Wilbourne.
Outages Affect Three Charlotte County Schools
Students in neighboring Charlotte County could not escape the spate of outages caused by the ice storm, with power cut off in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Dominion Virginia Power spokesperson David Botkins said the outage occurred around 1 a.m. Wednesday when ice and winds caused a cross arm on a power pole to snap.
Approximately 400 customers were affected, including three schools, Phoenix Elementary, Central Middle and Randolph Henry High schools, according to Botkins.
“Each school counts as one customer,” explained Botkins, who added that everyone but the schools had power restored by 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, with electricity to the schools restored by 11 a.m. that same day.

Obituaries

William Keith ‘Jiggs’ Irby

William Keith ‘Jiggs’ Irby, 83, of 3050 East Hyco Road, South Boston died February 14, 2007, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Irby was born April 30, 1923, in Halifax County the son of the late Fannie Newby Irby and late Edward Finch Irby, and was married to Mary Reaves Irby. He was a member of Ash Avenue Baptist Church and Hyco Road Ruritan Club. He was a Veteran of the Army Air Corp and was retired from Boston Lumber Company.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two daughters, Paula Irby Bryant of South Boston and Pamela Irby Dawson of Alton; one sister, Estelle Irby Baynes of South Boston; and two grandchildren, Graham K. Bryant and Trey Dawson. Three brothers, Henry E., Robert E. and Edward L. Irby; and two sisters, Mattie I. Bowes and Hallie I. Thomas, preceded Mr. Irby in death.
A funeral service will be held today, February 16, at 11 a.m. at Ash Avenue Baptist Church with the Revs. John Eure and Don Bryant officiating. Burial will follow in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends at the church this morning from 10:00 to the funeral hour, and other times at the home.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Ash Avenue Baptist Church Building Fund, 900 Ash Avenue, South Boston 24592. Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@earthlink.net

Linwood Dillard Stevens

Linwood Dillard Stevens, 68, of Halifax, formerly of Charlottesville, died February 13, 2007, at his home.
Mr. Stevens was born April 22, 1938, in Lovingston the son of the late Frank L. Stevens and E. Burnice Parrish Stevens and was married to Anne Ankney Stevens. He retired from the Virginia Department of Transportation, served in the U.S. Army, and had been a member of the Charlottesville and Crozet Moose Lodges.
Survivors include his wife of the home; three daughters, Kimbral Dumler of Amherst, Kimberly Haney of Gloucester, and Terri Voight and husband, John, of Charlottesville; two sons, Michael Tritt and wife, Carmen, of El Paso, Texas and Matthew Small of Spring Hill, Kans.; two sisters, Frances Browning of Shipman and Peggy Marshall and husband, Marvin, of Earlysville; one brother, Charles Stevens and wife, Mary Ann, of Waynesboro; and six grandchildren, Michelle and Jennifer Weeks, Emily and Peter Voight, Rondell Tritt and John Haney. Three sisters and a brother preceded Mr. Stevens in death.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. February 18, in the chapel of Hill and Wood Funeral Home in Charlottesville. Burial with Military Honors will follow at Rock Springs United Methodist Church, Faber.
The family will receive friends tomorrow, February 17, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Charlottesville SPCA, P.O. Box 7047, Charlottesville 22906.

Tracy Whitlock

Tracy Whitlock, 37, of 1206 Wilson Memorial Trail, Vernon Hill died February 13, 2007, at her home.
Ms. Whitlock was born in Halifax County on November 7, 1969, to the late Fannie Mae Cole Whitlock.
Her survivors include two sisters, Barbara Whitlock and Sandra Whitlock, both of Vernon Hill; two brothers, Thomas Whitlock of South Boston and Stacy Whitlock of Vernon Hill; one sister-in-law, Nora Whitlock of South Boston; and a devoted friend, Harold Majors.
Funeral services for Ms. Whitlock will be held tomorrow, February 17, at noon at Berry Hill Baptist Church with the Rev. Tommy Crews officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home.

W. Burton Ready For Full Season

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Ward Burton smiles when he talks of this weekend’s Daytona 500 and the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season.
After a layoff of nearly two years, Burton is back at Daytona and ready to take a full plunge back into the realm of NASCAR racing.
Burton is set to drive the Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet for the full NEXTEL Cup Series. He is also set to drive a 20-race schedule in the Busch series for the Brewco Motorsports team, races that are primarily companion events with the Cup races.
The Halifax County resident took part in preseason testing for both the NEXTEL Cup Series and Busch Series at both Daytona and Las Vegas and says he is ready to get down to racing.
“I’ve had a ball,” Burton said late Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s been a lot of fun getting back behind the wheel. I’m like a kid in the outdoor world somewhere.”
Burton pointed out that he is happy to have the opportunity to race in both of NASCAR’s top two racing series this season.
“I’m just excited about going racing,” Burton said.
“ That’s main reason I wanted to do it. I want to race.
“With the Busch car, I feel it gives me another opportunity to show that I’ve what it takes and that I have the desire and that I’m dedicated to racing,” he continued.
“We’re one of only four stand-alone Busch teams in the whole garage. Everybody else has an affiliation with a Cup car or is running out of a Cup program.
“They (the people at Brewco Motorsports) have a real methodical approach and have had a good track record in the past,” Burton continued.
“ It’s probably going to take us awhile to get the program where it needs to be. But, I’m having a ball working with them. I’m looking forward to meeting everybody with Kleenex (the team’s sponsor) this weekend.”
Burton said the biggest thing about running both the Cup and Busch races is making sure that he maintains proper nutrition and hydration.
“The biggest toll is having time to eat and keep my weight up,” Burton pointed out.
“ I’ve got a high metabolism, so it’s pretty easy for me to lose weight. I’m at about 149 (pounds) right now. Hopefully, at the end of the season, I won’t be 140.
“The practices (practice sessions) are so close together,” he added.
“ I’ve just got to have a little bit of support to have people bring me some food, weight-gain shakes, water and things like that to keep myself hydrated and food in my belly.”
Speedweek at Daytona can be tough for a driver and race team with all of the activities that revolve around the season’s opening race. Burton says that is okay, however.
“Daytona is a long drawn-out process, but I have savored every minute of it,” he said.
“ I’ve just enjoyed all of it. I’ve been away a couple of years. I’m itching to get my roots re-established in the sport.”
Burton was facing a daunting task yesterday afternoon with the first of yesterday’s 150-mile Gatorade Duals qualifying races. A good finish in that race was his final hope of getting the State Water Heaters sponsored Chevrolet into Sunday’s Daytona 500.
With Morgan-McClure Motorsports having not finished inside the top 35 in points last season, Burton and the team have to qualify for each of the first five races this season on speed.
Burton faced that task last season and was able to get the car into the starting field in three of his four attempts. Getting into the Daytona 500 through yesterday’s qualifying race was going to be a tough task.
A total of 22 drivers that are not among the top 35 in points from last season were chasing those four precious spots. That on-edge group included four former Daytona 500 champions, Michael Waltrip (No. 55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota), Bill Elliott (No. 37 Huddle House Dodge), Derrike Cope (No. 74 Royal Administration Dodge) and Burton. The group has won 63 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
In addition to preparing for yesterday’s Cup qualifying race. Burton has also been working on the car he will drive in Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race.
“ We were the fastest car down here in testing, but we didn’t draft very well,” Burton said of the Busch Series car.
“ The cars were really pulling me around a lot. We made some changes. They (the crew) felt like the camber wasn’t right in the left front. That could make a ton of difference.”
Burton was busy during preseason testing, shaking down both his Morgan-McClure Motorsports Cup car and the Brewco Motorsports Busch Series car.
“We were behind on pre-season testing,” Burton noted.
“ We didn’t get our primary (Cup) car built in time to be down here to test. We tested with one car. We left Daytona and made some changes to that car. That’s the car we’ve got here. The other new car that we’ve got that’s got the new body on it would possibly be better, but it was an unproven commodity so we were hesitant to bring it.”
Burton said things didn’t go quite as well as he had hoped with the Cup car during testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“We really struggled with the coil binding on the Cup car,” noted Burton.
“We never got it like it needed to be. When I went back the following week in the Busch car we got that car working pretty well. We’re trading some information to the Morgan-McClure group in hopes that they can use some of it.”
Burton said the Morgan-McClure team is in a somewhat better position than last year but there is still work to do.
“We’ve got somewhat of a mountain to climb on the Cup side,” Burton said.
“It’s going to be a struggle in some cases to make some of the races in the Cup car. If they can get the car close enough, I can get it into the field.”
Burton says the team has made improvements in the aerodynamics of the cars.
“I know last year when I got in there, their (cars’) bodies were just too legal,” Burton explained.
“They weren’t cheated up like other people’s bodies like the Gibbs or RCR or whomever, the teams that have the resources. I know we’ve helped the aero but I don’t know if we’ve got it exactly where it needs to be.
“It’s all about getting that right combination,” continued Burton.
“ I can’t fix it, but I know it’s pretty easy to drive when you get them (the cars) fairly close. You’ve got to unload off the trailer pretty close. In most cases you’ve only got an hour and a half of practice. There’s a big difference between being close and being way off.”

J. Burton Hoping For Another Banner Season

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Last season Jeff Burton snapped a 175-race winless streak, made the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and, with his seventh-place finish in the series standings, had his best season since joining Richard Childress Racing.
Burton says he is excited about the 2007 season which opens with Sunday’s Daytona 500 but says this season, with the introduction of the new Car of Tomorrow, will be a difficult one.
“I feel good about it, but this year’s going to be hard,” Burton said.
“I think this year is going to be, without a doubt, the most competitive year that this series has ever seen. You’re going to see a lot of people stumble and some people excel. Of course, we’re hoping that we excel.”
One thing Burton his in his favor is that his team is returning intact from last season.
“We essentially have all the same group that we had last year, which I’m really excited about,” Burton noted.
“I think this team is capable of doing some great things and we’re just working hard to make sure that we have the hardware that e need.”
The Car of Tomorrow will make a big impact on this season’s championship points race. With 16 races scheduled for the Car of Tomorrow starting with this spring’s race at Bristol, teams are going to have to work just as hard on that program as they will their regular cars.
“We’ve worked exceptionally hard to try to be prepared with the Car of Tomorrow,” Burton said.
“We’ve worked very hard to try to take our downforce program to another level. We’ve worked hard on our speedway (restrictor plate) program. By no means have we worked as hard on it (the speedway program) as we have on our other two programs, but we feel good about it.”
Burton says it is very important that his team be good in both its downforce and COT programs.
“If you take the restrictor plate races out, it’s half the year,” he pointed out with regard to the Car of Tomorrow races.
“There are 16 intermediates and 16 Car of Tomorrows. You can’t win the championship, you can’t contend for the championship, if you don’t have a good Car of Tomorrow program. It’s just that simple.
“I think we’ve made a step forward in our downforce cars,” added Burton.
“The COT? Who knows? Nobody really knows how you’re going to stack up against your competition. On those two programs, we’ve got to do well. If we do, we’ll have a chance.
Burton has tested a Car of Tomorrow but says questions still abound.
“I’ve tested that car quite a bit and my experience has been mostly positive,” Burton said.
“I honestly don’t know, nor does anyone else, what’s going to happen when we put 43 cars on the track. But, I can guarantee you that when we go to Bristol and you listen to the race on the radio and you don’t watch the race and you don’t see the (rear) wing or (front) splitter, it’s just going to be a race. It’s just going to be a race and somebody is going to do it better than anybody else and they’re going to win.”
Burton said if he could improve one thing over last season that would give him the ebst chance of winning the championship it would be speed.
“I want to go a little faster,” he said.
“We are mature enough to win a championship. We are together enough to win a championship and are focused enough. We’ve got the right people in place. I can’t say that our road course program needs to be better in and of itself, or our speedway program or our 1.5-mile program needs to be better. What we need to do is create a little more cushion and a faster car will do that.
“If I look at what we need to do better,” Burton continued, “it’s finding a way to lead more laps and get more bonus points and just take it to that next step in speed. Last year there were a lot of times when we were our best and somebody could still beat us. Rarely were we at our best and nobody could beat us. We’ve got to find a way when we’re our best that nobody can touch us the way the No. 48 and the No. 17 or No. 24 could toward the end of the year.”
One of the important things a driver has to overcome, Burton says, is the physical and emotional stress of the tough season.
“I think, number one, you have to physically take care of yourself,” he pointed out.
“You have to do the simple things, the common sense things. You have to get enough sleep. You have to eat the right food. You have to continue to get your workouts in.
“Getting worn out emotionally is harder to combat,” he continued.
“You’ve got to find a way to step away. You’ve got to find a way to put things into perspective. You’ve got to find a way to understand that the whole world isn’t revolving around every lap that you make, so everyone has their own way to step away from that.”
Burton said it is important to understand that things are going to be tough.
“There’s only one guy down here (at Daytona) who is going t win the championship,” Burton pointed out.
“You’ve got to understand that it’s hard. You’ve got to understand that there are pitfalls coming. You’ve got to understand that there’s a huge emotional roller coaster ride that’s about to start. You’ve got to to be willing to understand it, accept it, and know how to deal with it.
“It’s taken awhile for me to get there,” Burton said, “but I think I’m there.”

Lady Comets’ Season Ends

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The Comets varsity girls basketball team let a 23-21 halftime lead slip away in a season-ending 58-42 loss at Patrick Henry in the semifinals of the Western Valley District Tournament Wednesday.
The loss gave the Comets a final mark of 9-14 overall, three of the wins coming in Western Valley District play.
Seniors Taniqua Younger and Kemper Russell finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively for the Comets, while Lashunda Davis and freshman forward Miyisha Younger had four each.
Shauna Harris finished with three and senior Ashley Coleman had two, as did freshman guard Whitney McCargo.
Latoya Flint had 16 points to lead Patrick Henry, while Bianca Jones and Brittany Burns each had nine, the trio hitting a combined 12 of 14 from the foul line.
Patrick Henry was 17 of 21 from the charity stripe for the game, while Halifax was eight of 15.
Halifax had rebounded from a 14-12 deficit after one quarter to lead 23-21 at halftime, but the Patriots outscored the Comets 11-4 in the third quarter to take the lead before pulling away in the final quarter.
Comets coach Ray Reaves said the loss was a disappointing end to a season that began with so much promise.
“It’s disappointing for the season to end this way after we started off so well,” began Reaves.
“We played well in November and seemed to peak in December around the Christmas break, but after that we didn’t seem to improve.
“Teams should be playing their best basketball at the end of the season.”
Neither team was especially sharp on offense early on in Wednesday’s game, according to Reaves, with both defenses playing well out of the gate.
Taniqua Younger had six points in the first quarter, while Davis, Harris and Russell added two points apiece, but Jones scored eight of her nine to give the Patriots the two-point advantage.
An 11-7 run in the second quarter gave the Comets the halftime advantage, with Davis, Russell, Younger, Coleman hitting baskets and Miyisha Younger two of two from the line.
Things unraveled for the Comets quickly after halftime, the Patriots outscoring the Comets 11-4 for a 32-27 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Russell and Taniqua Younger were the only Comets to score in the third period, and the Patriots continued to pull away in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Russell scored seven fourth-quarter points for Halifax, while Taniqua Younger added four, McCargo two and Miyisha Younger two more from the foul line.
The Patriots hit 11 of 15 chances at the foul line in the final quarter to help put the game away.
The first half of the third quarter determined the outcome of the game, noted Reaves.
“Both teams played good defense in the first half and we managed to get one of their key players in foul trouble, but Patrick Henry scored eight or ten straight points right out of the locker room,” said Reaves.
“We kind of got our heads down at that point, and I think we lost our focus. We pulled out all of the stops but just couldn’t get it done.”
Reaves said it was tough saying goodbye to 10 seniors who worked so hard to raise the girls basketball program to new levels, despite the won-loss record and failure to reach goals of a .500 season and regional appearance.
“They wanted to make sure they turned things around after a disappointing season last year,” emphasized Reaves.
“They did and they left a good foundation for a solid group of girls coming up, because we had some success this year.
“I’ve told them all year and I told them again Wednesday that they were the group that initiated that turnaround.
“That was the quietest bus ride home that I can remember, but I think the girls realized they left it all on the floor and did as much as they could.”