Money, Land, Smart Growth

The simple economic bottom line makes the case for land use value tax assessment and a veritable “conservation toolbox” of easements, according to a series of conservation, preservation and realtor presentations during a two-day conference held here last week.
Land use assessment in taxing, a key tool, is currently used by 73 of Virginia’s 95 counties in some form, but not Halifax County, Kevin Schmidt, coordinator for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Farmland Preservation, told the crowd Friday.
Land use value assesses property taxes based on current use and not fair market value.
In Virginia, there are special assessments for agriculture, horticulture, forestal and open spaces.
While real estate taxes constitute a major funding resource for county governments to provide services, tax records and smart growth seem to suggest a bottom line review, according to tax/services records.
A 2003 report compiled by Halifax County staff when supervisors addressed land use revealed the following:
“While increasing the number of taxpayers seems to preclude an increase in local revenues, a growing population is in effect increasing local expenditures.
“Studies indicated that on average, per $1 of tax revenue from an individual homeowner, local governments in Virginia expend $1.20 in services.
“Farmland, on the other hand, demands very little in the way of expenditures for local services: for each $1 of revenue generated from open land, merely $0.20 is spent for services,” according to the report.
“New residents mean services, higher taxes,” said Gerry Cohn of the American Farmland Trust, on Friday. “Landowners bear a disproportionate tax burden. Farmland requires virtually nothing in services.
“More development increases land prices,” he noted. And higher prices make it difficult for farmers to continue or expand or for new farmers to enter the market.
A Charlotte County farmer agreed, saying some landowners are facing double or triple in tax bills.
Tom Jewell, past president of the Virginia Realtors Association, urged land use assessment here.
“Your greatest asset is your land,” said the veteran realtor. “Don’t destroy it.”
The Northern Virginian told the crowd there are no working farms left in Loudon County. But he said there is land under easement.
“We also have a lot of people who want what you have here. You have beautiful land,” he repeated. “Don’t think putting an easement on your property devalues it. Educate yourself,” he urged.
“The cost of doing this (establishing easements) should not be an impediment,” said Taylor Cole of Conservation Partners, an organization that will handle the paperwork for applications.
P.K. Pettus of Roanoke River Rails to Trails cited the creation/preservation of walking and riding trails as well as river access for current and future Virginians.
Throughout the day, a series of programs and strategies for land conservation and easements were introduced. Among those were Ducks Unlimited, American Farmland Trust, Va. Outdoor Foundation, Va. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Realtors Association, Conservation Partners, LLC, Piedmont Environmental Council.
Included in the conference were easement programs that could offer value in estate planning to allow farm operations to continue rather than be fractured and sold to pay taxes at the landowner’s death. Federal and state tax credits also factor into various programs.
During a panel discussion, cattle producer Greg Wade described his participation in the Grassland Reserves Program; J.T. Davis, his participation in a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and Matt Farris in a conservation easement program.
“I think my boys are better off to get these farms with a conservation easement (than) not get one at all,” said Farris.
Davis described agriculture as “one of my passions.”
“I want to see Halifax Count preserve its rural nature,” said the panelist. Davis said there is a tool to help landowners whether they are small, medium or large. “It’s good for the bottom line and good for Virginia,” he said, noting various programs can help the farmer stay on the land rather than have to sell to developers.
“There are other tools,” said Davis. “We hope to take this to the next level and walk people through (programs) from A to Z.”
Agriculture and forestry remain big business in Halifax County and in Virginia.
In Halifax County, if you combine the $27 to $28 million of total agriculture receipts with about $159 million from forestry -- money in the economy spent as a result of the direct money that comes from forestry - you are knocking on the door of $200 million, according to one agriculture spokesman.
And in the state, Gov. Tim Kaine has described agriculture/forestry as Virginia’s leading industry employing tens of thousands of Virginians and accounting for more than $64 billion in annual sales and economic benefits.
And Virginia ranks 16th among the 50 states in the rate of loss of prime farmland, according to the American Farmland Trust.
Keynote speaker Bob Lee, executive director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, noted Kaine has warned that if development continues at the current pace “...Virginia will develop more land in the next 40 years than we have in the last 400 years.”
Tourism, a leading moneymaker for Virginia, is also a compelling reason to plan local and state development, preservationists noted.
“Appreciate what landowners bring to life,” said Cohn who noted the decreasing number of farms, weakened rural economies and an urban public that doesn’t understand agricultural issues.
“Farms bring wildlife habitat, water quality, local food, scenic areas and families working together,” he said.
Cohn noted 70 percent of farmland/farm businesses are expected to transfer over the next 15 years.
A second sobering statistic: Between 1992 and 1997, 23,260 acres of farmland and over 44,640 acres of forest land were lost to developed uses each year, according to Cohn.
Land use policies, economic development and town/county comprehensive plans are key, according to the speaker.
South Boston Planner Leo Pambid said that “planning together” is essential as areas develop.
Assistant County Administrator Jerry Lovelace told area landowners and local officials that the “comprehensive plan is a guide” and urged citizens to participate in its creation by attending planning commission meetings.
“I think the involvement of the towns of South Boston and Halifax, the county, the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Forestry should clearly demonstrate that this is not solely a farming issue, and I applaud those colleagues for trying to raise the level of awareness,” said Linda Wallace, Halifax County Agricultural Development director. “The key to this is education, education, education.”
The 2007 Land Conservation Workshop Planning Committee included Jerry Lovelace, Halifax County assistant administrator, Linda Sheppard, director Halifax County Dept. of Tourism, Chamber of Commerce President Nancy Pool, South Boston Town Planner Lee Pambid, Halifax Town Manager Carl Espy, landowner J.T. Davis, P.K. Pettus of Roanoke River Rails to Trails, Shannon Lewis of the Va. Dept. of Forestry and Linda Wallace, Agricultural Development director.
For additional information, contact any member of the Workshop Planning Committee.

Four Plead Guilty To Drugs

Four people entered guilty pleas last week in Halifax County Circuit Court to charges connected with the drug and stolen property organization allegedly operated by Dennis James Wilmouth, according to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Department.
Wilmouth, aka “Rat,” 41, of Cowford Road., Halifax, pleaded guilty Thursday to 26 drug, firearms and stolen property charges, and entered Alford pleas to two counts of possession of a firearm while in possession of a Schedule II drug.
Shannon Thomas Wilborn, 23, of Newbill School Road., Clover, Steven Michael Watts, 44, of Burton Road., Scottsburg, and Debbie Lynn Green, 27, of East. Hightower Road. in Sutherlin, all pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with Wilmouth and others to manufacture, sell, give, distribute or possess with intent to manufacture, sell, give or distribute a Schedule I/II controlled substance, according to Maj. R.S.B. Pulliam, Chief Deputy and Narcotics Dept. Coordinator.
Pulliam added that George William Ford Jr., 33, of Paul James Road., Halifax, pleaded guilty to the same charges on Friday.
Major Pulliam said that three additional alleged co-conspirators, Michael Brumfield, 33, of Valley Drive, South Boston, Christopher Allen Stanley, 26, of Wagstaff Lane., Scottsburg, and James Aster Reagan Jr., aka “Jimmy,” 36, of L.P. Bailey Highway, Halifax, will be tried in the near future for their alleged roles in the organization.
Wilmouth’s arrest came on March 23, 2006, following a two-year investigation, after which the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office began a 24-hour surveillance on Wilmouth’s property, according to Pulliam.
Some individuals were arrested after they were caught stealing or attempting to steal items from Wilmouth’s property.
Pulliam said that, during the investigation, authorities were able to identify individuals allegedly supplying and/or buying prescription pills and trading stolen goods for drugs with Wilmouth.
Narcotics Department investigators were able to locate stolen items in many different states that were allegedly funneled through this operation, he added.
Search warrants executed following the arrest of Wilmouth allegedly uncovered large quantities of brand new items, including more than 100 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition, riding lawn mowers, chain saws, pressure washers, Bosch, DeWalt and Makita power tools, fishing rods and reels, digital cameras, computers, home and care stereo systems, and weed eaters, said Pulliam.
Sheriff D.J. Oakes characterized the investigation of Wilmouth’s operation as “one of the most detailed and thorough ever conducted by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Department.”
Other Court Cases
n George Russell Davis, 21, of Bushkill, Pa., was sentenced Tuesday in Halifax County Circuit Court to 10 years in prison each, with all suspended to time served, for breaking and entering and cocaine possession.
The court sentenced Davis to 10 years in prison for breaking and entering the dwelling of Earl Ross and Tajonda Davis, and 10 years for possessing cocaine.
The court suspended the entire sentence, conditioned on Davis’ good behavior for 10 years, effective immediately.
The court also ordered Davis be placed on probation for one year, effective immediately, to submit to random drug tests and to pay $67 restitution to Tajonda Davis within 60 days.
n Garland Keith Johnson, 43, of Nathalie, was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison, with all time suspended, for cocaine possession.
The court also convicted Johnson of a probation violation and for driving on a suspended/revoked operator’s license, the later in a misdemeanor case appealed from a lower court.
The court sentenced the defendant to 90 days in jail, with 80 suspended, for the driving violation and one year in jail for the probation violation, with all time running together for a total of one year in jail.
The court authorized work release for Johnson and ordered him be placed on probation for one year following his release.
• Katina Francette Ballou, 27, of South Boston, was convicted Tuesday of a probation violation.
The court revoked two years of Ballou’s previously suspended prison sentence.
n Silas William Barnett, 50, of South Boston, was convicted Tuesday of a probation violation.
The court revoked one year of Barnett’s previously suspended prison sentence, and ordered him to enroll in the Good Samaritan Program upon his release.
n Cassandra Leshawn Stovall, 34, of South Boston, was convicted Tuesday of a probation violation.
The court revoked four months of Stovall’s previously suspended prison sentence and extended her probation for two years.

Obituaries

Mazy Carver Wilborn

Mazy Carver Wilborn, 96, of 103 Robin Hood Road, South Boston died February 23, 2007, at Hillside Nursing Center, Wake Forest, N.C.
Mrs. Wilborn was born June 22, 1910, in Person County, N.C. to the late Henry J. Carver and Louvenia Brann Carver, and was married to the late Algie Willard Wilborn. She was a member of McCanless Memorial United Methodist Church and was retired owner/operator of Wilborn’s Bar-B-Que.
Survivors of Mrs. Wilborn include one son, Phillip S. Wilborn and his wife, Sylvia, of Youngsville, N.C.; one sister, Foy Harris of Roxboro, N.C.; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Two sons, Jerry Wilborn and Erdis Wilborn, preceded her in death.
Funeral services were held February 25, at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Phil Showers officiating. Burial followed at Black Walnut Baptist Church Cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider McCanless Memorial United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 876, South Boston, 24592. Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@earthlink.net

Barbara Newton Fanelli

Barbara Newton Fanelli, 65, of Morrisville, N.C., died on Saturday, February 24.
She was born on November 20, 1941 in South Boston, a daughter of the late George Newton and Mabel Campbell Newton.
Mrs. Fanelli is survived by her husband, Thomas Fanelli, her four sons; Willis Moore and partner Sheldon of N.J., Gary Moore and wife Kathi of Raleigh, Michael Fanelli of Fla, Angelo Fanelli and wife Bonnie, also of Fla.., daughter-in-law Sarah Power of Oregon. Also surviving are six grandchildren; Taylor Moore, Ashley Moore, Keith Fanelli, Tyler Good-Moore, Isaac Fanelli and Noah Good-Moore, three sisters; Mary Daniel, Kay Reeves and Sylvia Morris, all of Virginia.
Mrs. Fanelli was preceded in death by two brothers, Carl “Hub” Newton and Billy Newton, and her sister, Geraldine Dalton.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday February 28, at 11:00 a.m. in the Mitchell Funer Home Chapel in Raleigh with Pastor Mark McKinney officiating. Burial will follow at Raleigh Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday, February 27, from 6-8 p.m. Those wishing to make memorial donations are asked to consider the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 5005 LBJ Fwy., Suite. 250, Dallas, Texas 75244.