Monday, March 27, 2006

Halifax Bust Nets Drugs, Stolen Property

A 41-year-old Halifax man was arrested Thursday night on drugs and firearms charges following a two-year investigation, according to Major R.S.B. Pulliam of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.
Halifax County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Department officers arrested Dennis James Wilmouth aka “Rat,” of Cowford Road, and charged him with possession of cocaine and possession of a firearm while in possession of cocaine, Pulliam said.
Wilmouth was arrested as he allegedly distributed pills to a 15-year-old juvenile near a local elementary school, according to Pulliam.
After Wilmouth’s arrest, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office began 24-hour surveillance on Wilmouth’s property, Pulliam said.
Some of individuals allegedly were caught stealing or attempting to steal items from Wilmouth’s property and over the course of the weekend, investigators were able to seize a tremendous amount of alleged stolen property, police said.
Drug investigators also allegedly seized a large amount of pills, powder cocaine, marijuana, cash and a firearm, Pulliam said.
Wilmouth’s arrest follows a two-year investigation conducted by drug investigators. During the investigation, drug investigators were reportedly able to identify many individuals allegedly supplying and/or buying prescription pills and trading stolen goods for drugs with Wilmouth, Pulliam said.
During the investigation, investigators also utilized undercover agents to purchase drugs from Wilmouth or trade merchandise to Wilmouth for drugs, according to Pulliam.
The narcotics investigators were able to locate stolen items in many different states that allegedly were funneled through this operation, Pulliam added.
Wilmouth is being held in the Halifax Regional Jail with no bond, police said.
Halifax County Sheriff Jeff Oakes said this is a major bust that will affect the drug culture in the area.
“This was a very important investigation for our community,” Oakes said. “Many stolen goods are routinely traded or sold in the drug culture.
“This investigation concentrated not only on the drug dealer but the individuals stealing items and funneling these items through Wilmouth’s many resources for disposing and profiting from the stolen goods,” Oakes added. “These arrests will definitely affect the drug culture in our community.”

SoBo Man Charged With Child Porn

David Tetterton Charged With Production, Possession Of Child Pornography

A 40-year-old South Boston man is facing 54 counts related to the production and possession of child pornography, according to Chief Mick Reed of the South Boston Police Department.
Reed said that at approximately 2:45 p.m., Friday, officers arrested David K. Tetterton of Wilkerson Street and charged him with 27 alleged counts of the production of child pornography and 27 alleged counts of the possession of child pornography, according to warrants issued Friday.
According to Reed, the investigation into Tetterton was initiated when authorities were notified by a concerned citizen that a male subject was “possibly engaged in activity that was related to inappropriate conduct involving a juvenile.”
After taking Tetterton into custody, South Boston officers were joined by authorities with the Virginia State Police in executing a search warrant on Tetterton’s residence that allegedly “resulted in the recovery of potential evidence.”
“Due to the sensitivity of the investigation, I cannot comment further or provide any additional details of the case at this time,” Reed said.
The chief said that any additional information would be provided by the Halifax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Contacted yesterday, Commonwealth’s Attorney Kim White confirmed that the juveniles involved were male.
“I don’t know if there were females involved as well, but there was more than one male juvenile in the photographs,” she said.
White said investigators seized “various computer disks and computer equipment that will be turned over to computer forensic experts” for further investigation.
Reed said the South Boston department received assistance in the investigation from authorities with the Virginia State Police and the Richmond City Police Department “due to their expertise in this particular type of investigation.”
“Furthermore, the department worked under the guidance of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office during each stage of the investigation,” he said.
“This arrest results from the observations of private citizens and good and prompt police work of the South Boston Police Department,” White said yesterday. “The public can expect an aggressive prosecution led by a team from the Halifax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Virginia Attorney General’s Office.”
Tetterton was transported to the magistrate’s office and was held in the Halifax Regional Jail under a $50,000 secured bond, according to police.
He has since been released after posting bail, Jail Administrator T. M. Gilliam said yesterday.

South Boston Capital Improvements Budget On Agenda

Proposed Budget To Be Reviewed During Council’s Work Session Tonight

South Boston Council will gets its first look at its staff’s proposed Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget for 2006-2007 during Council’s work session tonight.
The recommended FY 2006-2011 Capital Improvement Budget provides $ 2,661,326 (General Fund) and $107,375 (Water and Sewer) for capital improvements for the next fiscal year which begins July 1, 2006, according to South Boston Town Manager Ted Daniel.
Total General Fund capital projects for FY2006-2007 total $2,661,236, with $955,248 being provided through grant and other state funding programs and $1,706,078 in General Fund revenues.
The 5:45 p.m. meeting is scheduled in Council Chambers at 502 Yancey Street.
The first year of the recommended Capital Improvement Program represents the town manager’s recommendations to Council as the Capital Improvements Program.
A five-year CIP allows Council and the town residents an opportunity to view both the short-term capital construction and the acquisition needs of the Town of South Boston, Daniel said.
“Viewing the short-term needs enables the town to better plan their financing strategy for capital improvements and annual operating requirements,” said Daniel.
Following adoption by the Town Council, the first year of the CIP is viewed as the capital budget for the FY2006-2007. Any changes to the capital budget during the Council’s consideration of the FY2006-2007 budget would alter the first year of the FY 2006-2011 CIP budget, explained the town manager.
The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the Capital Improvement Program at its Monday, April 10, regular meeting. Council may adopt the CIP at its Monday, April 24, or its May 8 or May 22 meetings.
FY2006-2007
Proposed General Fund Capital Projects
The following are General Fund Capital projects recommended:
• Of $905,000 in Community Development projects, $885,000 is grant funded. $600,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding for the Church Hill neighborhood improvement project and $285,000 in a VDOT pedestrian safety grant for work on Route 129 in the vicinity of the high school and Merritt Hills Subdivision. $20,000 is proposed for projects in the North Main Street Historic District.
 • Of $113,000 in Police Department capital projects for FY2006-2007, $ 25,700 is projected in a recent federal grant opportunity to develop a state of the art evidence collection and storage room. The balance, $87,400 is for the replacement of three police vehicles.
• Public Works capital project for FY2006-2007 total $1,578,226. $547,270 is provided by VDOT through the lane mileage reimbursement program. $142,978 will be provided through the VDOT revenue sharing program.
During the next three years, the CIP identifies $1,500,000 in street projects with $750,000 to be provided by VDOT through the revenue sharing program. $887,978 in General fund revenues will be invested in public works capital projects for street paving and sidewalk repairs and replacements, storm water improvements, vehicle replacement, major equipment replacements and traffic light replacements. Traffic signals at Wilborn and Edmunds and Wilborn and Webster will be replaced with modern arm and mast signal systems.
• Community parks are forecast to receive $30,000 in FY2006-2007. The 2006-2007 effort will provide landscaping, sidewalks, park benches and historic markers for an urban public park to be developed on North Main Street adjacent to the Town’s water tank. The small park is to honor and document the historic homes on North Main Street and is part of the Greene’s Crossing and Historic Trail plan for North Main Street from downtown to the high school area.
FY2006-2007 Proposed Water and Sewer Fund Capital Projects
Water plant upgrades in the amount of $74,000 must be made in order to maintain compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Standards for chlorine by-products, Daniel said.
Following an engineering study in 2005, plans were developed to relocate the chlorine injection point in the water plant treatment process. This proposed upgrade will allow incorporation of this mandatory modification and the overhaul of one raw water pump in the intake system.
• Replacement of aging water meters and associated water lines is an ongoing process and $15, 375 is programmed for this effort in 2006-2007.
• One water meter reading vehicle will be replaced in 2006-2007 at a cost of $18,000.
• A total of $107,375 in capital projects must be accomplished in the coming fiscal year. However, an additional $112,000 in identified capital needs for 2006-2007 must be deferred due to lack of funding.
In the water and sewer fund, a total of $6,113,097 in essential capital projects has been identified over the five-year period of FY2006-2011. However, $5,495,281 in capital projects must be deferred due to lack of funding, according to Daniel. $631,816 in critical capital projects are projected for completion during the five-year CIP.

Obituaries

Christopher Arnold Rhys Bowen
Christopher Arnold Rhys Bowen, 62, of Topsail Beach, N.C., died Wednesday, March 22, in St. Augustine, Florida.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 28, at the Union Christian Church in Virgilina, with burial to follow in the Virgilina Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the family home, 1033 Seventh Street, Virgilina.
Survivors include his wife, Luanna Campbell Bowen of Topsail Beach, sister Helen Robinson and husband George of Bradford-on-Avon, England, and nephews Giles Robinson of London, England and Connor Robinson of Denver, Colorado.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Lung Association, 3801 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 190, Raleigh, N.C., 27607.
James O. Beal
Mr. James O. Beal, 81, of Tommie Sneed Road in Oxford, died Saturday, March 25, at the Granville Medical Center.
Mr. Beal was a native of Granville County and was the son of the late Ollie and Willie Jones Beal and the stepson of the late Johnnie Beal. He was a member of Peace’s Chapel Baptist Church and was retired from the Granville County School Bus Garage.
Funeral services for Mr. Beal will be held at 2 p.m. today, March 27, with services at the Peace’s Chapel Baptist Church. The Rev. Jason Hunter will officiate.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Mr. Beal is survived by his wife, Gladys C. Beal of the home; one son, James Beal Jr. of Basset; four daughters, Jo B. Mangum of Stem, N.C., Pat B. Leith of South Boston, Patsy B. Hicks and Gail B. Lane, both of Oxford; four sisters, Annie B. Claiborne of Bullock, N.C., Dorothy B. Holbrook, Nancy B. Claiborne and Louise B. O’Brian, all of Oxford; 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Two brothers, Marvin and Ray Beal, and one sister, Wilma Beal, preceded him in death.
Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made to Peace’s Chapel Baptist Church Building Fund, 4572 Antioch Road, Oxford, N.C., 27565.
Myrtle Hatcher Dunn
Graveside services for Mrs. Myrtle Hatcher Dunn will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Cemetery in Scottsburg.
The family will receive friends tonight from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home and at other times at the home of her granddaughter, Sheila Blanks, 4122 Cowford Road in Halifax.
Mrs. Dunn, 84, of South Boston, died Saturday, March 25, at the Halifax Regional Hospital.
She was born in Halifax County on March 6,1922, and was the daughter of Charles Herbert Hatcher Sr. and Hyacinth Cole Hatcher and was married to the late James I. Dunn.
She was a member of the Ash Avenue Baptist Church.
Mrs. Dunn is survived by three grandchildren, Sheila L. Blanks of Halifax, Donna A. Blanks of Crystal Hill and Denise B. Throckmorton and husband Darrell of Scottsburg; six great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; a sister, Evelyn Stuart of South Boston; a brother, Charles H. Hatcher of South Boston; a number of nieces and nephews and three devoted friends, Janice, Kelly and Kimberly Glasscock.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Joyce Dunn Blanks; a brother, Henry Hatcher; and a sister, Ann Garrett.
Robert Lee Fuquay
Mr. Robert Lee Fuquay, 64, of Bold Springs Road in South Boston, died Sunday, March 26, at his home.
He was born in Roxboro on July 26, 1941, the son of the late Thomas Fuquay and the late Mamie Martin Fuquay. Mr. Fuquay was a member of the Winns Creek Baptist Church and was a retired maintenance worker with South Boston Speedway.
Funeral services for Mr. Fuquay will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, with services at the Winns Creek Baptist Church.
The Revs. James Kopco and Rudolph Jacobs will officiate. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Mr. Fuquay is survived by his wife, Annie Mae Kaywood Fuquay of the home; five children, Robert Lee Smith of South Boston, Ronnie Allen Smith of Alton, Patricia Ann Smith of Vernon Hill, Robert Fuquay Jr. of Lynchburg and Leroy Smith of Jarratt; one sister, Lois Fuquay Martin of Clarksville and brother William Fuquay of South Boston; 20 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Comets Snap Losing Streak At Three

HCHS Downed Tunstall 5-3 Here Friday To End Tunstall’s Lengthy Win Streak At 27 Games
The Halifax County High School varsity baseball team found the tonic it was looking for Friday night to help it recover from its anemic offense and three-game losing streak.
Halifax County produced 10 hits including three hits and two RBIs from Justin Bagbey, and freshman hurler Kyle Long threw a complete game as the Comets downed Tunstall 5-3 to snap their three-game losing streak and stop Tunstall’s lengthy winning streak at 27 games.
“My hat goes off to the entire Comets team,” said Comets coach Kelvin Davis.
“We really wanted this game. We’ve been struggling.”
The win over Tunstall put the Comets at 2-3 overall and gave them a new shot of confidence at time when they realkly needed it.
“A win can do so much for a ballclub,” Davis said.
“ We’ve been struggling and this will do a lot as far as the mental part of the game is concerned. The guys were down because we couldn’t get the bats rolling. Tonight, the sticks finally came around. We got hits when we needed to get hits.”
Along with the three hits from Bagbey, the Comets got a pair of hits from Jacob Swillie and a hit each from Willie Stephens, Scott Gieselman, Jeremy Jeffress, Tony Barbour and Kaleb Long.
Freshman Kyle Long, who was making his first varsity start, picked up the win while throwing a complete game. Long fanned six of the 32 batters he faced and walked only three batters. He yielded seven hits but his Comets teammates backed him up with good defensive play.
“He pitched his butt off,” Davis said of Long.
“ My hat goes off to the kid. He wanted this game. That’s one thing we’ve been talking about – guys really having the heart to want it. Kyle wanted it tonight and it showed. He did a splendid job.”
Just as pleasing to Davis was the fact that in addition to the timely hitting and the solid mound performance from Long, his team made plays on defense when it counted.
“We made some big plays in the outfield to get him (Long) out of tough situations,” Davis pointed out.
“What we’re trying to get everybody to see is that we’ve got to help each other out. The pitchers can’t do it all.”
Tunstall got off to a quick start, scoring a run in the first inning with the help of two hits and walk that came after Long had fanned the Trojans’ leadoff batter.
Halifax County answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning that came when Stephens, the leadoff batter, reached base on an error, advanced a base when Jeffress reached base on an error with one out and scored on a hit by Bagbey.
The Comets took a 2-1 lead in the second inning when Swillie led of with a hit, moved to second base on a sacrifice from Kaleb long and scored on a double by Stephens.
A two-run homer in the top of the third inning put Tunstall back on top 3-2 but the Comets deadlocked the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
That inning started like the first inning of the game with Stephens reaching base on an error. He moved to third base on a single from Gieselman and scored on a hit from Bagbey.
Halifax County took the lead for the second time and for good in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kaleb Long singled to drive in Kyle Long who had reached base on an error.
That run put the Comets up 4-3 and they got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jeffress smacked a double with one out and scored on a hit by Bagbey.
Davis said the win was a good one in that his team was able to bounce back and defeat Tunstall, a team which had beaten the Comets 14-4 in the second game of the season.
“We played well against a quality ballclub,” Davis pointed out.
“They were Group AA state champions for two straight years. You can’t say enough about those guys. They’re going to have a good season this year. We just wanted this ballgame really bad.”
The Comets have two games on tap this week, facing Dan River on Tuesday and Bassett on Friday, both on the road.

 

Varsity Softball Suffers First Loss

Comets Lose 4-2 To Tunstall
The Comets varsity softball team did a lot of the little things right in its 4-0 start to the season, playing fundamentally sound softball in the field and at the plate.
It didn’t do enough of those things here Friday against Tunstall, losing 4-2 to the Trojans for its first loss of the year.
Halifax had beaten Tunstall earlier by the same score, coming back from an early two-run deficit, but the Comets couldn’t recover from a 3-0 defecit in the rematch.
Key Ferrell hit a triple, while Emily New, Liz Trickey, Lashuna Davis and Betty Rose added hits for Halifax, which matched Tunstall’s hit total against Comets hurler Beth Throckmorton.
Throckmorton went the distance for the Comets on the mound, giving up five hits, while striking out four and walking two batters in seven innings.
Ferrell was stranded at third after her three-bagger, and the Comets later had a runner thrown out at the plate, but fielding miscues opened the door for the Trojans to score all four of their runs.
The Comets committed three errors, two of them allowing leadoff batters for the Trojans to reach base, and both eventually scored.
Those errors and failure to execute at the plate to move baserunners were the keys to the game, according to Comets coach Melanie Saunders.
“We didn’t do as well at the plate as before, and Tunstall was very strong at the plate tonight,” she began.
“Errors hurt us in the field, and we didn’t execute fundamentally to move baserunners,” Saunders added.
“But, playing games like this against good competition will help us prepare for the district.”
Each team had a scoring threat in the first inning, the Trojans after a two-out double and the Comets after a Trickey walk and Heather Oakes sacrifice , but neither team scored.
That changed in the third inning, when the leadoff batter for Tunstall reached base on an error.
A flyout, walk and sacrifice put runners at second and third with two outs, and two consecutive base hits plated three runs an a 3-0 lead for the Trojans.
The Comets tried to answer in the bottom of the third after consecutive one-out hits by New and Trickey, but an interference call on an attempted bunt and flyout ended the inning.
Ferrell was stranded after her one-out triple in the fourth, before the Comets rallied in the fifth inning, when an a two-out error, fielder’s choice and another error plated Trickey and Oakes to make it 3-2.
With Davis on second, Rose got a base hit, but Davis was thrown out at the plate for the third out of the inning.
Halifax threatened once more in the sixth, Amelia Saunders and Mandy Watts drawing two-out walks, but a strikeout got Tunstall out of the inning.
The Trojans added another run in the top of the seventh, the the first two batters reaching base on errors, followed by a two-out walk to load the bases.
A base hit made it 4-2, and Davis hit a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh for Halifax, but a strikeout ended the game.
The Comets varsity softball team, now 4-1 on the season, plays Person High School here tomorrow, with game time at 5 p.m.

Denning Takes First Late Model Race At SBS

Winner Endures Three Green-White-Checkers For Win
It took six cautions and a pair of green-white-checkers finishes, but Jon Denning emerged the winner of the Spring Fling 150, the initial Late Model Stock Car race of the 2006 season at South Boston Speedway.
Denning, a Springfield, N.J., resident competing in his first Late Model event at South Boston, held off a determined group of challengers, including Jonathan Cash, Eddie Johnson, Drew Herring and Frank Deiny Jr.
Denning led from the pole, but had Cash in his rear view mirror the entire race, with Herring, Deiny and Johnson not too far behind.
Cash, with two Late Model wins at Orange County Speedway already to his credit, had qualified on the outside pole, with Johnson, Herring and Deiny qualifying in third, fourth and fifth position.
The race turned into a battle between the top five qualifiers, with Denning, Cash, Herring and Johnson running up front, and Deiny, after falling into the field early on, charging into contention by the halfway mark.
After six cautions, the last one coming when the car of Cliff Daniels blew an engine on lap 148, the evolved into a shootout between Denning, Cash, Herring and Deiny.
Denning got a good jump on the field and took the white flag in front of Cash, Herring and Deiny, but Bailey’s teammates Herring and Deiny got together in the front stretch, Herring’s machine slammed into the retaining wall.
That necessitated a second green-white-checkers finish to determine the winner, Deiny being assessed a stop and go penalty for rough driving.
Denning again held off Cash for the win, unofficial results having Denning in first, followed by Cash, Johnson, Adam Barker and Owen Miller in the top five, with Speedy Faucette, Keven Wood, David Quackenbush, Nick Smith and Jeramie Donley rounding out the top ten.
Deiny was black flagged during the second green-white checkers finish and finished as the last car on the lead lap.
Denning, who has H.C Sellers Jr. as his crew chief and many of 2005 National Champion Peyton Sellers’ crew in the pits, said he couldn’t have done it without their help.
“I couldn’t have done it without Sellers’ help, to race with these guys – Cash, Deiny, Johnson – let alone beat them,” began Denning.
“We’re running a completely different chassis from what H.C. is used to running, he’s just a wizard with these cars.”
Denning added it was an all-out battle for just about the entire race between he and Cash, with Cash within a car length for most of the race.
He added that he wasn’t holding anything back, saving his race car “from lap one to five.”
Cash said he tried to get around Denning several times during the race, especially on the restarts, but couldn’t get the run he needed at the right time.
“He definitely had a better car, and we couldn’t come up with the power we needed to get by him,” said Cash.
“The cautions did help me a little, he was better on the long runs, but on the 20-lap runs, I thought we were better.
“Still, we had a good run, and I’ll come back next week.”
Johnson said he ran a good, steady race and took his time in finishing third, avoiding the contact between Deiny and Herring immediately in front of him.
“My car was a little loose the last part of the race, and I was biding my time back there. My guys just got everything together for me today.”