Friday, March 11, 2005

Teachers Speak On HCMS Plans

Halifax County Middle School teachers got the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns yesterday with architects designing the school’s upcoming renovation.
Dewberry and Davis Architect Alan Burchette and Director of Design John Paul Lewis were at the school to make sure all the input from the school’s staff was heard. And they scheduled a meeting for the public last night to address the community’s questions and concerns.
Burchette told teachers that construction would be done in four phases. The first phase, scheduled to start in October, would be the construction of two new additions to the school. The second phase would start in the summer of 2006 and would include renovations to the second floor of the main building. The third phase would address the back wing of the building, and the fourth phase, scheduled for the summer of 2007, would be the main floor of the middle school, according to Burchette.
The project is scheduled for completion in September of 2007.
Prior to Thursday’s meeting, the Dewberry architect spent three days meeting individually with teachers and staff members at the middle school gathering input and suggestions on the plans.
Some of the requests will make the cut, some will not.
The handicap lift will be replaced and the elevator probably will be as well, Burchette said. Six new computer labs are included in the design. When the project is finished mobile classrooms will be a thing of the past.
Some teachers requested that the science labs be located with their teams and that three new health labs be included in the plans. Those requests are unlikely to be fulfilled, Burchette said.
The Dewberry representatives also addressed the teachers concerns about construction at the school.
“There’ll be some demolition and some noise,” Burchette said. “But we’ll try and keep them to a minimum.” He said it would go into the contracts with the builders that some work could not be done during the school day and that the safety of the students was a priority in the planning.
Teachers were also told that questions about other issues like traffic flow and other periphery issues would be addressed at a later date.
“What we’re trying to do is get past the initial design phase,” Stapleton said to the teachers. “We have two and a half years to determine the best route for traffic flow.”
Lewis showed teachers the plans to make the school look “less industrial,” as well as plans to plant trees and plants to shield the school from Route 501 traffic.
A teacher also raised a concern over the renovated school being able to meet the county’s needs in the future.
Stapleton told teachers that he has seen no model showing a drastic increase in the county’s middle school population.
“This project will take care of this county’s middle school needs for years and years to come,” Stapleton said.
Stapleton described the feedback he’s been getting from the school’s teachers and staff as really positive.
“They appreciate the time Alan (Burchette) has spent with them,” Stapleton said.
According to the superintendent, the project is going pretty much as planned.
“We’ve done everything we told the Board of Supervisors we’d do,” he said. “And Dewberry has gone through the process just like we asked them to do it.”

 

Final Round Of Police Chief Interviews Set For Today

The four finalists seeking the Town of Halifax’s chief of police position will have their final interviews today, Halifax Town Manager Carl Espy told Council at its meeting Tuesday evening.
The candidates (see bios) will be interviewed by Espy and an advisory panel consisting of Halifax Elementary School Principal Catherine Glass, Carol Throckmorton, president of the Halifax Village Business Association, Rev. Roger Ford, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, Betty Bane, former planning commissioner, town council member and wife of former Halifax police chief Woody Bane, Altavista Police Chief Tom Neil and South Hill Police Chief Norman Hudson.
The candidates must pass a background check before they can be offered the position, according to Espy.
At its Tuesday night session, Council also approved two special use permits for home businesses, Adcock Cleaning Service and Sparkle Wash System. Adcock is operated out of 530 Buena Vista Drive and Sparkle is operated out of 369 Lakeside Drive.
Adcock’s request was passed unanimously. Sparkle’s request was passed with Councilmen Jack Dunavant and Cabell Daniel abstaining following debate over a van with advertising displayed on the side.
Vickie Loftis, the wife of Sparkle’s owner Ricky Dean Loftis, addressed Council about neighbors’ concerns. She said the trailer used for the business could be stored at a relative’s residence in the county, but the van needed to remain at the residence because it was also used as a personal vehicle.
Council asked Loftis to try and minimize the visibility of the advertising while the vehicle was at the residence.
“I would support the special use permit with an emphasis that the trailer be removed and the sign on the van be altered," Councilman Charles Parker said.
Dunavant and Daniel abstained from the vote claiming the restrictions placed on advertising were too strict.
“One vehicle, with one sign, doesn’t bother me," Dunavant said.
Also on the agenda, Council approved the Town of Halifax Business Opportunity Incentives Program.
The program, modeled by the Halifax County IDA and approved by the town’s finance committee, is intended to invest up to one half of the increase in the business license fee and up to one half of the increase property tax assessment based on capital improvements in an effort to encourage new or expanded facility construction in the Town of Halifax.
The investment would be used to assist significant new or expanded business activity in commercial districts resulting in a minimum of twenty new jobs and $3 million in annual growth of total taxable sales within the town.
“I really think this is the way we have to go," said Councilman Phil Hollis.
The program will be available while the county’s unemployment rate is at least 125 percent of the Virginia statewide average.
The program’s benefits will be paid as a rebate of the sales tax and/or property tax increase for the assessment of the improvements.
As part of the consent agenda, Council approved resolutions for Virginia Resource Authority and Virginia Department of Health Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund Applications.
Council also presented certificates of appreciation to departing planning commissioners Richard Dunavant and Sharon Graves for their years of service to the town.

Life After The Leaf

BY Nicholas Elmes
elmes3@gazettevirginian.com
After years of lobbying congress to find some way to save the struggling tobacco growing industry, tobacco buyout legislation is now a reality.
Now what?
“There is still a tremendous amount of uncertainty,” said Halifax County Extension Agent Traci Talley. “Tobacco farmers are finding themselves on unfamiliar territory all of a sudden.”
Faced with rising costs on labor, fuel, fertilizer and curing many area farmers are deciding to stop growing the golden leaf, according to Talley.
“There are still people making the decision day by day," she said. “But there are more getting out than staying in.
“There is a tremendous amount of concern,” she added. “You do not have a locked figure for input costs to calculate a budget for the year.”
And most farmers have no idea what kind of contract they will get in a post-buyout market.
“There are a lot of farmers who have decided not to produce so they can view one year without the traditional quota system,” said Talley. “There is the possibility they will produce next year, but they want to see how things will go. This is a proceed with caution situation because we’re operating under a whole new set of rules.”
Since farmers are still deciding how they will approach the new playing field, no figures are yet available as to how many will actually grow tobacco this year.
But the number of tobacco seedlings being grown at local greenhouses may be a good indication.
Lucy Conner, who in past years has had as many as five green houses full of seedlings for area tobacco farmers, said she is growing seedling for only a quarter of the farmers she supplied last year.
“So many of the farmers couldn’t get enough contract to warrant getting workers, so they couldn’t do it," said Conner. “I’ve gone from supplying 25 farmers last year to only five this year. There is more uncertainty for tobacco farmers now than there was before the buyout.
“The situation is so uncertain right now that they don’t know what they will do,” she added. “A lot are waiting to see what happens. I think people are hoping that once our price has been cut on the world market we may increase sales there."
But in the interim Halifax County will likely see the impact of dramatically reduced crop.
“It is going to be a snowball effect all over," said Conner. “There are not but so many public jobs for people to find. And it is not just on farmers, but also all the businesses they have relied on."
Her husband, Bobby, agreed, expressing concerns for hired help that has traditionally found summer employment in tobacco fields.
“There won’t be any crops to work in," he said. “Any tobacco farmer out there has worked the bottom rung of the labor market, now those people have no where to go.
“Most of the harvest labor is imported, but during the year we all have some local pick up help," he continued. “What has driven that is the tobacco, and if there is no tobacco there is nothing to drive that. There is no safety net for those workers."
Even the lack of jobs for imported farm laborers will affect the local economy, according to Conner.
“The workers who come during harvest time eat here and buy here and spend a lot of money," he said. “They won’t be here."
Local businesses may also see reduced revenues from farmers who have decided not to grow this year, according to Talley.
“More than just the producers are going to feel the effect of this," she said. “Without the amount of revenue flow there has been in previous years, it will impact tractor and fertilizer suppliers. Money for new trucks or cars in the fall may not be there."
Depending on their age some farmers may stop producing altogether after receiving buyout money, while others may use the revenue to transition into other crops or cattle, according to Talley.
“Most of our tobacco farmers are 55-years-old or older," she said.
Many of the older farmers, like J.T. Midkiff, plan to use the buyout funds to retire.
“I’m 60-years-old," said Midkiff. “I can probably get by with the buyout money. In my case it will cover the debts and offer just a medium standard of living."
Midkiff said the money farmers received from the buyout varied on an individual basis.
“It varies on the quota," he said. “Some people had a lot and did very well while others won’t get very much. I fell in-between.
“In my opinion, for farmers in my category the buyout was the only hope we had," he said. “We were going to lose what we had in terms of the quota anyway, this way we still get some payout."
But other farmers worry how they will cover their debts with just the buyout money.
One farming family in the Red Bank area said the funds would help them pay off their house in the next three years.
After that they have to worry about loans for farm equipment and land improvements.
“We won’t have any of the buyout money left after everything is paid for," they said.
And without the quota system to borrow on, many farmers wonder how banks will handle loans necessary to the industry.
Many banks are unsure how to handle the situation as well.
“It is a wait and see thing," said Luella B. Hubbard, operations officer at the Community National Bank branch in South Boston. “Every one has a lot of questions about how things will work this year.
“We intend to be a part of it this year," she added. “It is a huge part of our business, but we will have to look at each case individually."
Tillman Crews, whose Liberty area farm has been producing tobacco for close to 200 years, said that even though the buyout money will likely cover his family’s expenses his decision not to grow this year will make the equipment he has invested in over the years worthless.
“There is $30,000-$40,000 worth of equipment sitting there," he said. “It isn’t good for anything. It’s gone."
For a family that has grown tobacco for generations it is hard to imagine the current situation, according to Crews.
“It really hasn’t sunk in that it’s over with," he said. “I never thought tobacco would go this quick, but things are changing."
Younger farmers may be able to return to the trade if the market improves in a few years, according to Midkiff.
“They will just have to wait and see," he said. “But those in their fifties probably won’t have an interest in going back.
“I am really sorry to see it go," he added. “I have been growing it all my life and it gets in your blood I guess. But it just keeps getting harder. You have to grow in bigger and bigger volume just to make the same thing."

 

Obituaries

Edna Castillo

Edna Castillo of Monroe, Ga. died February 16.
Mrs. Castillo was the daughter of the late William E. ‘Bill’ Sears and Inez Seamons Sears, formerly of Halifax County, and was married to Rey Castillo.
Funeral services were held February 19, at 1 p.m. at the Chapel of Meadows Funeral Home with burial in Hill Haven Cemetery in Ga.
Survivors include her husband; her mother; six sisters, Brenda Clay of Halifax, Doris Terrell, Nellie Sears, Carolyn Cornelius, Bonnie Ellis and Linda Jones, all of Monroe; one brother, John Sears of Monroe; and one grandchild.

James D. Rogers

James D. Rogers, formerly of Nathalie, died March 10.
Mr. Rogers was born July 23, 1936. His survivors include two sons, Mark D. Rogers and wife, Connie, James ‘Jimmy’ D Rogers and wife, Doria; one daughter, Regina Smith; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and numerous step-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Mr. Rogers will be held at Golden’s Funeral Home in Bastrop, La. on March 12 at 2 p.m.

Lester Mae Overby Watts

Lester Mae Overby Watts, 86, of Keysville, widow of ‘Nat’ Watts, died March 9.
She is survived by five sons, William M. Watts, David L. Watts and Thomas N. Watts, all of Keysville, Robert E. Watts of Nathalie and Kenneth L. Watts of Scuffletown; one daughter, Mary Ann Smith of Christiansburg; five grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; one great-grandchild; one great step-grandchild; two brothers, Frank P. Overby of Keysville and Ernest Overby of Hampton; two sisters, Mildred Shelton of Hampton and Kitty Pembelton of Jetersville. Mrs. Watts was preceded in death by a son, Charles K. Watts.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow, March 12, at 11 a.m. at Ash Camp Baptist Church with burial in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Browning Funeral Home in Keysville this evening, March 11, from 7:00 to 8:30, and following the services in the fellowship hall of the church.

Mildred Dennis Wilson

Mildred Dennis Wilson of Nathalie died March 7 in South Boston. She was the wife of the late Deacon Samuel Wilson.
Survivors include four children, Robert Wilson and wife, Gloria, of Clover, Carolyn Williams and husband, Isaac, of Chesapeake, Edwin Wilson of Nathalie and Vivian Brooks and husband, Dublin, of Halifax; one sister, Olivia Dennis of Nathalie; one daughter-in-law, Linda Wilson of Nathalie; two sisters-in-law, Clara Wilson of Chester, Pa. and Estelle Miller of Nathalie; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Funeral services for Mrs. Wilson will be held today, March 11, at 2 p.m. at New Shiloh Baptist Church in Nathalie with burial in the church cemetery.

Gilbert Dodd Thorpe

Gilbert Dodd Thorpe, 84, of Halifax died March 9.
Mr. Thorpe was a retired truck driver with T.N. Snow Trucking and a U.S. Navy Veteran of WWII.
Survivors include four sisters, Lottie Belle Scearce of Danville, Pauline Arthur of South Boston, Josephine Lloyd of Halifax, and Catherine Tharpe of Halifax; three brothers, E.R. Tharpe of Victoria, Vern Tharpe of Clovis, Calif., and Royal Tharpe of Bracey.
Graveside services for Mr. Thorpe will be held tomorrow, March 12, at 11 a.m. at Public Fork Christian Church with Denis Fritz officiating.
The family will receive friends this evening, March 11, 7:00 to 8:30, at Newcomb Allgood Davis Funeral Home.

 

Halifax Native Louis Robertson Honored

Robertson Receives Sportsmanship Award In Alexandria

BY Doug Ford
G-V STAFF WRITER

Halifax County native and long-time City of Alexandria youth sports coach Louis Robertson was recently named the winner of the Sportsmanship Award by the Mid-Atlantic Recreation & Sports Alliance.
Robertson, part of the youth sports program within the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities has been a youth coach in Northern Virginia for the past 18 years.
The Sportsmanship Award was created to highlight positive sportsmanship attributes within local communities in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Robertson has coached youth teams in football, basketball, soccer and baseball, with an emphasis on fundamentals and a good attitude.
He coached the 95-pound Alexandria Titans last fall when they made it to the Fairfax County football playoffs.
Last spring, he served as a youth coach within the Prince William County Soccer League, and in the summer he coaches baseball within the Woodbridge Little League Program. He has also coached winter basketball.
Robertson has made a habit of following his former players as they progress through high school and even as some advance to the collegiate level of play in their respective sports.
He emphasizes teaching the fundamentals as something an athlete will always carry with them as they grow and mature in their athletic endeavors.
In addition, Robertson keeps up with his athlete’s grades and encourages them to do the things necessary in order to succeed.

Butler Seeking To Regain His Place At The Top

Brandon Butler Is Returning To South Boston Speedway Looking For His Second Career SBS ChampionshipBy Joe Chandler
It was four long years ago that Brandon Butler last won a NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock car title at South Boston Speedway.
Butler would like nothing better than to get back on top in South Boston Speedway’s featured racing division once again.
The first step for Butler will come Saturday when South Boston Speedway opens its season with a 150-lap NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car race, the feature event of the South Boston Spring Shootout.
“I’m excited to be back at South Boston," said Butler who will drive a Bailey’s sponsored entry.
“We’ve been blessed here. We’ve had a lot of success, have a lot of good friends and a lot of good memories. I’m excited to be back racing here in front of (sponsor) Mac Bailey and his family again. They’ve been very good in supporting me over the years."
Last year, Butler competed at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas and carried the Bailey’s colors to the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car division title.
He scored three wins there, a number that is below those that Butler is used to accruing.
“We were consistent," said Butler.
“We were quite as good as we had hoped to be but we were really consistent. Any time you win a track championship you have had a good year. We ran well all season in the big races. We didn’t win any of them but we were consistent."
This weekend will be something of a re-learning experience for Butler. After having been away from South Boston Speedway and having run only a couple or three races here a season over the past couple of years or so, Butler will be working hard trying to find the right chassis setup for his car.
“You always lose a little bit but we were fortunate in that both of the races we ran here last year we had one of the best two or three cars here," he pointed out.
“We finished third in the big race (the November Bailey’s 300) but we started so far back. We had as good a car as anybody in the second half of the race but Timothy (race winner Timothy Peters) obviously had the best car.
“In the first race here last year, we were coming on," continued Butler.
“I thought we were going to have a shot at the win but we wrecked late. We’ve always been fortunate here. Everybody has tracks that fit their driving style. This one has seemed to fit mine pretty well over the years. I hope that continues this year."
Butler says while consistency is important, it is also important to come out of the box Saturday running well.
“We need to come out and have good runs," Butler pointed out.
“Everybody wants to come out and win the race. Unfortunately, there is only going to be one winner. There will be a lot of good guys here. We’re hoping to come out of here with a good top-five finish and have the car in one piece so we can work on it and adjust for the following race.
“I remember in 2000 driving for “Goo" and Dolly Fallen," continued Butler.
“I think we probably would have won the championship that year had it not been for the first two races we fell out and finished in the thirties and got so far behind."
One of the question marks for the Late Model Stock Car division competitors this weekend will be the effect of the transition to the new Holley 500 carburetor.
With inclement weather having somewhat curtailed pre-season testing, a lot of teams will be searching for answers this weekend.
“This weekend is going to kind of be a learning game," Butler said.
“It’s going to make it different for everybody. It’s quite a bit more horsepower. You’re carrying a lot more speed at the end of the straightaway and it’s throwing you into the corner faster than what we’ve been used to in these cars. We helped the straightaway speed. Now, we’ve got to help the car handle getting into the corner.
“It’s still going to boil down to who has the good setup," added Butler.
“ You’ve still got to have a good-working chassis, a good motor and everything is going to have to go your way."
The 150-lap NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race is the main event of a four-race season-opening program.
Saturday’s South Boston Spring Shootout will also include a 50-lap race for the Limited Sportsman division as well as races for the Pure Stock and Grand Stock divisions.
Pit gates will open Saturday at 9 a.m. Practice for all divisions begins at 10:30 a.m. and will run until 12 noon.
Qualifying starts at 12:45 p.m. and the first race starts at 2 p.m.
General admission tickets will be priced at $8 for adults up until 30 minutes before race time. Tickets will be priced at $10 each after 1:30 p.m.

HCHS Comets’ Scrimmage Schedule Undergoes Changes

Halifax County High School’s spring sports teams got a busy late-week schedule schedule of preseason scrimmage contests underway yesterday with more action set for the weekend.
Yesterday, the Comets varsity baseball team hit the road to face Heritage while the jayvee team will squared off against the Heritage jayvees here.
Attempting to dodge a predicted influx of bad weather today, the Comets jayvee and varsity girls soccer teams, which were set to face Brookville here today, squared off last night instead.
Preseason action continues Saturday, with the Comets varsity boys baseball team set to host Brookville in a 4 p.m. contest. The Comets jayvee baseball team is scheduled to hit the road to face the Brookville jayvees Saturday at 1 p.m.
Soccer action is also on tap Saturday with the Comets varsity and jayvee boys soccer teams traveling to GW to take part in GW’s annual soccer jamboree. Action starts at 9:30 a.m.
The Comets varsity and jayvee girls soccer teams faced Heritage in scrimmage contests Wednesday.,
Rain and wet field conditions forced cancellation of Tuesday’s Comets varsity and jayvee softball scrimmage games against Chatham. HCHS Athletic Director Allen Lawter said those games likely will not be rescheduled.