Monday, February 20, 2006

 

Search Warrant Nets Drugs, Guns

Danville Man Held On Cocaine Charges

The execution of a search warrant at a home on Brandon Chapel Road Friday resulted in the seizure of drugs, cash and firearms and resulted in the arrest of a Danville man on cocaine distribution charges, according to Maj. R.S.B. Pulliam of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Department.
Pulliam said officers executed the search warrant Friday after more than two years of investigation into the traffic of illegal narcotics in the community.
“During the investigation, drug investigators were able to identify the source of drugs to the operation,” he said.
Following the execution of the warrant, officers were able to arrest Anthony Eugene Moore, aka “Maine,” 31, of Noble Avenue in Danville.
Moore was charged with the possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.
According to police, drug investigators seized a large amount of crack and powdered cocaine, marijuana, cash and firearms.
“The street value of the drugs was estimated in the thousands of dollars,” Pulliam said, adding that the investigation revealed a “tremendous amount of drugs and firearms funneled through this operation.”
Pulliam said that when officers attempted to take Moore into custody, the suspect fled the scene.
“After a short foot pursuit, Moore was captured,” he said.
A large amount of crack cocaine and a quantity of cash were seized from the suspect, according to police.
Following the arrest, Moore was released after posting a $50,000 secured bond.
“Indictments are expected to be obtained for James Brooks, 39, of Brandon Chapel Road in Alton for drug and firearm violations,” Pulliam said. “Additional individuals are expected to be arrested in the future.”
Sheriff D.J. Oakes said the arrest could stem the flow of illegal narcotics in the county.
“This was a very important investigation for our community,” he said. “My drug investigators were able to identify another source of drugs arriving and being distributed in our community and neighboring communities. Due to the drug investigators’ many hours of hard work, we were able to eliminate this operation.
“These investigations take time and unfortunately we cannot make an arrest as soon as the drug dealer has been identified. It is important for everyone to know that certain elements of the investigation dictate when we can make the arrests needed to eliminate these problem areas.
“I promise the citizens we will continue to be proactive in our efforts to eliminate these drug operations,” Oakes added. “If you sell drugs, it is not a matter of if you will be arrested, but when.”

 

It’s A Race In Halifax

Two Of Three SoBo Councilmen Not Seeking Re-Election

Golf Course Road resident Edward Thomas “Tommy” Reagan has thrown his hat into the ring announcing that he will seek Halifax’s mayoral post.
“I have supporters who want me to run,” he said, noting that he also considered running for Council.
“I’m for the town’s revitalization and want to see the economy of the town improve,” he added. “I’d like to work hand-in-hand with the Planning Commission and Council on issues.”
Incumbent mayor Leon Plaster announced at February’s work session that he will seek another term as the town’s chief executive.
Also, four of Halifax’s six council seats will also be on the ballot in the May 2 election with March 7 being the deadline for candidates.
Planning Commissioner Lisa Waller has registered to seek Ward B’s seat currently held by Alan Stevens. Stevens has not yet announced whether or not he will seek another term.
Two town residents have registered to seek the Ward D council seat being vacated by Buddy Guthrie who has announced that he will not seek re-election.
Canterbury Drive resident Kelly Shaw is seeking the seat as is Planning Commission Chairman Dick Moore.
“I think the town is at a place where I feel I need to make sure that the town is going in the right direction,” Shaw said, emphasizing the importance of Halifax’s fiber optic project. “I want to do what I can to help.”
Moore said he thinks the town is at a crossroads and wants to do what he can to make sure the town’s projects are successful.
“I had been thinking about running for a while,” Moore said. “The town has a lot of things it can accomplish. I want to be part of that and I feel I can help.”
Councilman Jack Dunavant Jr. announced he will seek re-election and Councilman Cabell Daniel has yet to make an announcement whether he will seek another term.
In South Boston, two of three councilmen up for re-election have announced they are not running.
Councilman Eric Roberts said yesterday he “will not be running” for another term.
Earlier this month Councilman Glen Abernathy announced that he will not seek another term after being appointed to finish out Councilman Tom Raab’s term when he moved to the county. Abernathy is a former mayor of South Boston.
Councilman Ed Owens, whose seat is also up in the May 2 election, could not be reached for comment at press time Sunday.

Lovelace Honored With Merit Award

Assistant County Administrator Says He Was “Humbled” By Surprise Recognition

Halifax County’s Assistant County Administrator Jerry Lovelace was honored last week with an award recognizing his efforts to assist other Virginia governments through his experience.
Lovelace was named the 2006 EBIS (E-mail Broadcast Information System) Special Merit Award from the Virginia Institute of Government at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. He was presented the award Thursday at a dinner in Charlottesville during the winter meeting of the Virginia Local Government Management Association.
“I feel very honored to have been recognized by the Virginia Institute of Government,” Lovelace said Friday. “It was an absolute, total surprise.”
EBIS is a managed e-mail system designed to provide a rapid response to a variety of general and technical questions about issues facing local governments in Virginia, according to County Administrator Bryan Foster.
“Participants in the system can ask questions about a specific topic and then receive responses from counties, cities and towns across Virginia on how that particular issue is being addressed in their community,” he said.
“Whenever a member of local government across the state has a question about an issue they don’t have a regulation on, they send a question out to other jurisdictions so they can work off the experience of other localities,” Lovelace said.
“This just goes to show that when governments work together, they can be more efficient and respond quicker to the issues that arise because this reduces the research time necessary to answer the question.”
Each year, the Special Merit Award recognizes one person who has “done the most notable job responding to requests for information,” Foster said.
“EBIS is a wonderful tool to obtain good information from colleagues across the state with minimal effort,” he added. “Jerry has done a great job responding to requests. The award is well-deserved and we congratulate him on this recognition.”
One of the most popular services provided by the Institute of Government, over 220 localities have joined the Virginia EBIS network. It fields questions on about 300 new topics a year and has a database of information on over 1,750 topics.

 

Obituaries

James Edward Oliver III

James Edward Oliver III, 70, died February 16, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Oliver was born in Lynchburg on July 23, 1935, the son of the late James Edward Oliver Jr. and Virginia Wilkins Oliver, and was married to Nan St. John Oliver. He was a member of Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church where he served as an Elder, was a member of Turbeville Ruritan Club, and Turbeville Hunt Club. He was an Air Force Veteran and a member of the American Legion Post 8.
Survivors include his wife; one sister, Virginia Oliver McCraw and husband, Pete, of Lynchburg; one brother, Addison Wilkins Oliver of South Boston; two nieces, Lee McCraw Leavitt and husband, Kevin, of Lupburg, Germany and Sara B. McCraw of Lewes, Del.
Graveside services for Mr. Oliver were held February 18, at 2 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Elbert Williamson officiating.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Turbeville Volunteer Fire & Rescue or Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church Cemetery Fund.

Lottie Powell Carden

Funeral services for Mrs. Lottie Powell Carden will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Spanish Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. Ronnie Womack officiating.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the residence, 4233 Dryburg Road, Scottsburg.
Mrs. Carden, 69, died Friday, February 17, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
She was born in Halifax County on April 21, 1936 to the late David Powell and Gladys Venable Powell, and was married to the late Charlie Edward Carden Sr.
Mrs. Carden was a member of the Spanish Grove Baptist Church.
She is survived by five daughters, Priscilla Overby, Mattie Carr, Frances Martin, all of Scottsburg, Lottie Penick of Nathalie and Michele Gayles of Manassas; two sons, Norman Carden of Augusta, Ga., and Charlie Carden Jr. of Clover; three sisters, Louise Lewis, Sally Yancey and Dorothy Shaw, all of Baltimore; three brothers, Cecil Powell of South Boston, Ernest Powell and Samuel Powell, both of Scottsburg; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; five sons-in-law; two daughters-in-law; two sisters-in-law; two brothers-in-law and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Mrs. Carden was preceded in death by a son, Caroll Carden.

Sports Hall Of Fame Taps Four Inductees

Don Thompson, Jack Crews, Bill Maxwell And Joseph “Scooter” Savarese Will Be Inducted Into The Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall Of Fame On April 8

Four new members will be inducted into the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall Of Fame when the Sports Hall Of Fame hosts its annual induction banquet on Saturday, April 8.
The four new inductees include Jack Crews, Bill Maxwell, Don Thompson and Alfred Joseph “Scooter” Savarese.
This year’s induction banquet, the 18th annual affair, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, at C.H. Friend Elementary School in South Boston.
Tickets are priced at $20 each in advance and $25 each at the door. Hall of Fame officials noted that only 250 tickets will be sold.
The tickets are available at a handful of locations including Velro Church Supply in Halifax, Halifax Pharmacy, Waskey Cleaners, Electric Service Company, True Value Hardware and from any member of the Board of Directors.
This year’s induction of Crews, Maxwell, Thompson and Savarese will make this year’s class of inductees the largest class to be inducted in 15 years.
Five inductees were named to the Hall of Fame in each of the first three years with three individuals having been inducted each year since that time.
The four new inductees will bring the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 59.
Crews was a star football player for Halifax County High School during the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Playing tackle, Crews was named to the All-State Group AAA team in 1971.
He went on to play football at Virginia Tech and had a stellar career while playing linebacker for the Hokies from 1972-1975.
Maxwell grew up in South Boston and was a standout in several sports. He was a very skilled pitcher in the Dixie Youth Baseball ranks and won MVP honors in the South Boston Midget Basketball League.
He went on to become a standout athlete at Halifax County High School and served as captain of both the football and basketball team in 1969. Maxwell reaped many honors in football in 1969 including being named to the All-State Group AAA team.
Maxwell went on to attend the University of Virginia where he set records as a kicker in both extra points and punting.
Thompson, who made his mark as a coach, was also a good athlete in his own right. He played sports in Lynchburg and, at one time, played for noted E.C. Glass coach Jimmy Bryan.
He came to Halifax County High School in 1972 and served as the school’s varsity boys basketball coach through 1974, taking the 1974 team to the state Group AAA championship game.
Thompson then went to Hampden-Sydney College where he coached basketball from 1975-1986, a span during which his teams won over 200 games.
He returned to Halifax County High School for another coaching stint that ran from 1986-1997. From 1991 until his retirement in 2004, Thompson served as Athletic Director at the high school.
Thompson, an avid and skilled golfer, has been a participant for Halifax Country Club in the annual County Cup Golf Tournament.
Savarese, who was born in New York City, is noted as a stellar baseball player.
He started his baseball career on the streets of New York and, in 1950, began playing professional baseball in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in the Class D ranks. From there, he went to Rome, Ga. and then on to Colonial Heights.
Savarese came to South Boston during the heyday of the South Boston Wrappers baseball team and played shortstop. When the much-heralded Dick Groat came here to play shortstop for the Wrappers before going on to the Major League, Savarese moved to second base.
He liked it so much that he found employment with the Virginia Telephone and Telegraph Co. and retired after 40 years of service with the company.
In addition to playing baseball, Savarese played in South Boston’s fastpitch softball league and played for a team that was sponsored by Ziggy’s Pizza.
Savarese also enjoys playing racquetball and is a good golfer.

 

Swinging Into Spring Sports

Halifax County High School Officials Unveil Spring Sports Schedules

Today marks the start of practice and tryouts for Halifax County High School’s spring sports teams and it will be another tough schedule of games that the teams will face this season.
The Halifax County High School varsity boys baseball team will face a 20-game regular-season schedule this spring with 11 of the games being played here on their home field.
Halifax County’s baseball schedule will include games against a trio of visiting teams from the frosty North including one against a team from Pennsylvania that is coached by former Comets baseball standout Casey Waller.
Baldwin High School from Pennsylvania and Garden City, N.Y., both of which have faced the Comets here for the past several seasons, will return again this season with the Comets facing Baldwin, Pa. here on Wednesday, March 21.
On Friday, April 7, Waller will bring his team from Loyalsock Township in Williamsport, Pa. here to face the Comets. The Comets will face the New York team here on Friday, April 21.
The rest of the Comets’ baseball schedule is filled with teams that the Comets have regularly faced the past few seasons with Group AA Seminole District member Jeffrerson Forest and Group AA Bassett High School being new additions to the schedule.
Halifax County will open its season with a pair of scrimmage games, the first being a home game on Thursday, March 9 against Heritage and the second being a Saturday, March 11 road game against Brookville High School.
The defending Western Valley District champion Halifax County High School varsity girls softball team will face a 19-game slate this season.
This year’s schedule for the Comets softball team is similar to last year’s schedule with the major change being that the Comets will not participate this season in the Richmond tournament that it has played in the past couple of years.
Instead, the Comets will go to Charlottesville and play two games in the Albemarle Invitational Tournament. That tournament is set for Saturday, April 8.
Also, Albemarle High School will come here to face the Comets in a doubleheader that ahs been set for Friday, April 21.
In soccer, the Comets varsity girls soccer team will face a 16-game regular-season schedule with eight of the games being played here at Tuck Dillard Stadium.
The Comets varsity boys soccer team will play a 17-game regular-season schedule with nine games being played here at Tuck Dillard Stadium. New opponents for the boys team are Chatham High School and Dan River High School.
In tennis, the boys tennis team will play a 17-match regular-season schedule with seven matches being played here. The girls team will have a 15-match schedule with sevn matches being played at home.
There is one home meet scheduled for the Halifax County High School boys and girls track teams, that being a Tuesday, April 25 Western Valley District meet with GW and Franklin County.
Halifax County High School Athletic Director Allen Lawter said that while the schedules are pretty much set, changes may need to be made to the schedules at various times as the result of weather or other factors.

 

Clements Swims Well At State Meet

Comets swimmer Caroline Clements swam well at the Virginia State Swim Meet Friday and Saturday, recording good finishes in both days of competition.
Clements, a senior co-captain for the Comets swim team, competed with the top swimmers from across the state at the McKay Aquatics Center on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax.
Coach Spencer Ferguson said that Clements competed in multiple heat races the first day of competition and finished 16th in the 50 freestyle event, good enough to advance to the second day.
“Swimmers from the ninth through 16th positions swam the consolations the second day, while the top eight swam to determine the state champion in individual events,” said Ferguson.
Clements’ performance at the State Swim Meet mirrored the success of the Comets swim team as a whole this season, according to Ferguson.
“Most athletes in high school may have as their immediate goal the district championship, but to go to the regionals and state for two consecutive years is awesome,” note Ferguson.
“Caroline has worked so hard to get to this point, and I’m proud of her.
“It shows that hard work pays off and she was an excellent example of that this year.”