By Doug Loftis
Construction activity - $30 million worth - in the South Boston/Halifax County area for the first half of 1998 is almost double that of a year ago when the number was just over $18 million.
The surge in building starts can be traced to such projects as a major expansion of Dollar General Distribution Center in the Halifax County Industrial Park, a new jail in the Town of Halifax, a shopping center expansion in Riverdale, two restaurants and a health clinic on Hamilton Boulevard for starters.
As impressive as it sounds, those figures do not include a planned $4.6 million Twin Oaks Nursing Home replacement nor renovation and new construction at historic Berry Hill plantation which is owned by French-based AXA. Other than site improvement permits which reflect only a fraction of the cost, plans for Berry Hill indicate the project will cost millions.
The largest single project to begin in 1998 is the $16.3 million expansion of Dollar General Distribution Center that will increase from 16.5 acres to 27 acres the total space it will have under roof. The expansion will boost employment to approximately 525 persons and when complete represent a total investment of near $40 million in the Halifax County Industrial Park.
The second largest building project in the county is taking place in the Town of Halifax where an $8-million jail is under construction in sight of the old facility.
Annexation by the Town of South Boston that went into effect the first of the year took in areas such as Riverdale and Centerville where the area's commercial growth is now concentrated. The town's gain comes at a loss for the county in both tax and fee revenues while shifting the duties of the respective building inspection departments.
For the first six months of the year, South Boston issued 253 permits showing a construction value of $4.7 million compared to $3.1 for the same period in 1997. A total of 31 new construction permits have been issued this year accounting for a total value of $3.2 million.
Those projects include Shoney's restaurant in Riverdale on U.S. 58 at a cost of $247,440 and Sonic Drive-In restaurant on the Old Halifax Road at a cost of $264,550. Shoney's is located on an outparcel of Riverdale Plaza which is undergoing a $420,000 expansion that includes four separate retail units.
One of those units has been leased to Dollar General for a retail store.
At 2045 Hamilton Boulevard beside the Social Security office, South Boston Urologic Clinic is being built at a cost of $950,000 while just around the corner in the Aubrey Houghton Industrial Park, Blue Ridge Beverage is constructing a distribution center at cost of about $700,000.
Capstone of Virginia is proposing to construct a replacement 120-bed facility on property adjacent to Twin Oaks Convalescent Home which is 32 years old and no longer meets modern nursing home standards.
A resolution supporting Capstone's application tot he Virginia Department of Health will be presented to South Boston Town Council on Monday.
While Halifax County may have lost some of its prime commercial property, construction activity for the first half of '98 is twice that of a year ago. A total of 520 permits having a value of $27.5 million compares to $14.8 for the same period in 1997.
Dollar General accounts for $16.3 million of the total while 17 commercial projects show a value of $1.2 million.
A total of 174 manufactured home permits have been issued reflecting a value of $4.8 million. Conventional home construction starts in the county number 43 for a value of $3.3 million.
School trustees will be asked yet another time Monday night to adopt a proposed $25-$29 million long term school facilities plan that will close five county elementary schools.
But, this time, the eight county school board members will be armed with more data on which to base a vote.
The county school board is expected to take another vote on school facilities when it meets Monday night at 7 p.m. in the second floor public meeting room at the Mary M. Bethune Office Complex in Halifax.
And, a good crowd may turn out Monday night to see what direction the school board will take.
Architects from a Richmond architectural firm have toured schools targeted for renovations and or additions under the plan aired earlier this spring by county school superintendent Dennis Witt and have compiled a report outlining recommendations of what work will be needed and cost estimates for the work.
Witt said yesterday the numbers compiled in the report are "very close" to the $25 million to $29 million cost estimates that were stated with the proposed plan. And, the report reveals enough flexibility to give school trustees some maneuvering room in terms of work that could be deleted or delayed until a later time, thus allowing for a paring down of the costs.
"This is a doable plan," Witt pointed out.
"It's not a pie in the sky type of thing. It's a conservative approach. We just have to strategize how we can accomplish it."
At the school board's fiscal year ending meeting in late June, Witt informed board members that the reports would be made available to them in advance of this upcoming meeting. He stated yesterday that the reports should be in the hands of board members by the weekend.
And, at the time, he indicated he wanted the trustees to come to this meeting with the idea of either adopting a plan or rejecting the idea.
Trustees deadlocked 4-4 on a June 8 vote to adopt the plan that targeted Clover, Volens, Washington-Coleman, Halifax, and Virgilina for closing and the other schools for extensive renovations and additions.
And, at the same meeting, they deadlocked 4-4 on a vote to table the school facilities issue until a later date.
The trustees, did, however, instruct Witt to have an architect visit the school sites and compile a report outlining what should be done to the buildings and cost estimates for doing that work. That now having been done, the stage is set again for another vote.
"I hope we can have a healthy discussion about the proposal, look at the numbers, and see if we can come to some kind of agreement, vision, or whatever you want to call it," Witt said.
"To me, it's really a very reasonable, very good plan. We just need to come together on some sort of plan."
Although it is an unrelated issue, school system officials are going to ask the school board Monday night to approve installing mobile unit at Turbeville Elementary School.
Witt said yesterday that the student enrollment at Turbeville will be such this year that a mobile unit will be mandatory if the school is to be able to accommodate the students.
That, situation, Witt says, underscores again the need for the school board to adopt a long range school facilities plan. The plan that Witt has been pitching to school trustees, would make it possible to eliminate the use of mobile units from the schools.
Those items are just a couple of the numerous items that school trustees will consider on its crowded agenda.
School board members are expected to take action Monday night on raising coaching supplements, supplements paid to individuals coaching sports teams at Halifax County High School and Halifax County Middle School as well as the individuals that coach academic competition teams, forensics teams, and the like.
Witt indicated yesterday that the average raise in supplements will be in the neighborhood of one 1.5 to 2 percent. And they will be based on a scale determined by the number of years that the individual has served in a particular coaching or sponsor capacity.
Also coming up for discussion is a request from officials of the Halifax County South Dixie Youth Baseball League to construct a new baseball field at Cluster Springs.
School system maintenance director Larry Roller said yesterday that the field that Dixie Youth officials are proposing to build would be located in a wooded area behind the left field area of the current field.
Roller noted that the league will bear all of the costs involved and there will no cost to the school system. He added that league officials have said that the school system could use the facilities as needed.
Monday night will also be Reorganization Night for the county school board with elections for the school board chairman and vice chairman, and appointment of a clerk and deputy clerk. And, the body will be asked to establish its meeting dates for the next year.
Plus, numerous reports will be aired including those on the new state testing program, the upgrade of the Halifax County High School technology lab, and the status of the career center and library technology at Halifax County Middle School.
A report on the year's maintenance costs for the county schools will be presented and the routine attendance and financial reports will also be aired.
Two South Boston men were arrested in Person County, N.C. early Thursday morning on multiple counts of grand theft auto and breaking and entering motor vehicles.
Bradford Donnell Woody, 18, and Johnnie Dunn, 28, of the Fairmont Apartments area of South Boston are currently being held in the Person County Jail, according to South Boston Police Lt. Rick Loftis.
The spree began at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday with the alleged grand theft of a 1998 Ford Mustang from the sales lot of Crowell Motor Company, Lt. Loftis said.
Police were called to the Popular Creek Street area after receiving calls about a red Mustang with no license plates spinning its tires and "cutting doughnuts" in the roadway, according to Lt. Loftis.
The two subjects left the scene and made their way to Person County where they ditched the vehicle, he explained.
Woody and Dunn then allegedly broke into four vehicles which were parked at private residents in Person County and unsuccessfully attempted to break into a fifth vehicle, according to Sgt. H.G. Carver of the Person County Sheriff's Department.
Woody and Dunn were arrested shortly after 2 a.m. while walking on Hurdles Mill Road in northern Person County, according to Sgt. Carver.
They allegedly stole a quantity of tools and a .25-caliber handgun, which were later recovered on the side of road near where they were arrested, according to the investigation.
In North Carolina, the subjects are each facing four felony counts of breaking and entering motor vehicles and one felony count of attempted larceny of a motor vehicle, Sgt. Carver said.
In South Boston, they are each charged with a felony count of grand theft (auto), according to Lt. Loftis.
The red Mustang was returned to Crowell's on Thursday and sustained an estimated $1,000 in damages. "Its clutch was burnt out," Lt. Loftis said.
Woody and Dunn are currently being held in the Person County Jail, each under a $20,000 bond, pending their first appearances in court.
It is expected that after they are tried on the North Carolina charges, they will be extradited to Halifax County where they will face the grand theft (auto) charges, Lt. Loftis said.
Virginia's first Secretary of Technology said he was told to go see The Software Factory in South Boston when he was first appointed to office seven weeks ago.
Yesterday, Secretary Don Upson met with the company's co-founders, Jerry L. Hill and Beverly B. Lucas, local business and community leaders and The Software workforce.
Upson described the workforce issue as "at the heart of what the Software Factory is doing".
"We think it is an interesting model because if it is working here, it might work in other parts of the state," said the technology czar. "And it is based on business."
To deal with state technology policy, Upson said a commission is being created, one with 21 business executives - with about half from Northern Virginia, six legislators and three cabinet secretaries.
Upson named at least four issues to be addressed by the commission: workforce training - with business leaders identifying classifications of jobs needed; tax and business regulatory laws; statewide investment strategy; statewide Internet policy.
"This is the capital of the Internet globally," said Upson. "There has never been so much change brought about so quickly."
Noting the 2,400 companies in the state, Upson said it was because the state has a good business environment.
Bill Confroy, Industrial Development Authority executive director, asked Upson about the possibility of a state program for office space like the current one for manufacturing with shell buildings.
Upson indicated he would investigate and described the question as the kind of input he needed from communities.
Dr. Carlyle Ramsey, president of Danville Community College, also asked about the role of the Center for Innovative Technology in the new agenda.
The technology secretary said the emphasis on technology and its expansion in the state reflected Gov. Gilmore's commitment
Upson's office deals with both the public side of technology - how the state itself deals with its technological resources in state government, and the private sector - to help make Virginia an even better state for technology and technology companies.
Upson's post is the only such cabinet office in the nation, according to Todd Reid of Upson's office.
Accompanying Upson yesterday was Fred Williamson, expected to be named assistant secretary.
Skipping out of a trial, moving away, then moving back to Halifax County for a job is not a feasible personal business plan, according to Major Ray Link of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Shannon A. Jackson, 25, recently moved back to South Boston and applied for a job at a local industry. One of the requirements for the application process was to obtain a police background check, Major Link said.
"She came to the sheriff's department earlier this week to get the computer report on her background," Major Link said. "Not only did she get the report, she also got arrested."
It was electronically determined that an outstanding felony warrant for her arrest was on file from a breaking and entering case which occurred in 1992, he said.
Jackson allegedly broke into the Bold Springs Road residence of Willis Wade on November 11, 1992. She was arrested in early 1993 for a felony count of breaking and entering and a misdemeanor count of petit larceny, according to police records.
She attended her preliminary hearing in the Halifax County General District Court in 1993, but allegedly failed to appear for her trial in the Halifax County Circuit Court, Major Link said.
After her latest arrest, Jackson was released on bond pending an appearance in the Halifax County Circuit Court on Monday.
"People with outstanding warrants should realize that their past is not going to just disappear," reflected Major Link. "It's just a matter of sitting here and typing in some numbers."
A Nathalie woman was injured Wednesday afternoon when her car collided with a truck on U.S. 501, about 500 feet south of Rt. 603, according to the Virginia State Police.
The incident began when Detra Lewis Carr, 44, of Halifax was driving a 1970 Ford truck and attempted to slow down for a vehicle which had stopped, police said.
The truck skidded, crossed the centerline, and struck an oncoming 1984 Ford driven by Shirley Woodall Elder, 48, of Nathalie. Elder was injured during the 2:40 p.m. crash.
Damages to the Ford truck were estimated at $500, while Elder's vehicle sustained an estimated $1,500 in damages, according to the investigation.
Carr was charged with reckless driving. The incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper R.C. Compton.
In other wrecks:
· Marc Hudson McCrory, 24, of Virgilina was driving a 1995 Dodge pickup truck early Sunday morning when the vehicle came upon a tree that had fallen across Rt. 744, one-half mile south of U.S. 501, police said.
McCrory was not injured, but the vehicle sustained estimated damages of $2,500, according to the investigation.
No charges were filed. The 2:35 a.m. incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper R.T. Ridgeway.
· Simon F. Jones, 32, of Rustburg was not injured when his 1980 Toyota pickup truck struck and killed a deer Tuesday morning. The incident occurred on U.S. 501, one-half mile north of Rt. 610.
Damages to the pickup truck were estimated at $1,000, according to the investigation. No charges were filed and the 10:30 a.m. incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper D.J. Cline.
· A rear-end collision occurred Wednesday afternoon on Rt. 716 at the intersection of David Street of Fordland Estates, police said.
Jonathan Daniel Miller, 16, of South Boston was driving a 1986 Chevrolet when he struck the rear of a 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Jeremy Michael Lambreth, 16, of South Boston, police said.
No injuries occurred and each vehicle sustained an estimated $3,000 in damages, according to the investigation.
Charges are pending and the 2:30 p.m. incident is still under investigation by Virginia State Trooper C.M. Fleming.
Even as Alex Williamson returned to Halifax County this week, the state was sending new crews of firefighters to battle the Florida wildfires.
A state Dept. of Forestry employee, Williamson and his four-man bulldozer team spent a little over two weeks trying "to protect and preserve" Florida's residents and property.
To date, almost 500,000 acres have been consumed by giant fires, some sweeping through 10,000 to 15,000 acres at a time in a towering leap of flame during Williamson's days on the line.
At times the firefighters were successful in their battle, but not always.
Photographs taken by Williamson tell the story of one mammoth fire jumping U.S. I and moving into Palm Coast before jumping Interstate 95 then raging on to a natural barrier and stopping point, the Intracoastal Waterway.
Other photographs document fires, some featuring smoke filled landscapes so dense that mid-day was turned to a midnight scene.
The 45 Virginia firemen recently dispatched to Florida are finding a very different scene. Assigned to mop-up details, they are doing a job that has to be done, although certainly not the one they expected.
While the fire clean-up effort continues, debate is already heating up over the use of controlled burning as a preventive measure.
The controversy involves timber landowners, home owners who fear controlled burns will spread beyond their set limits or generate unpleasant effects in their neighborhoods and fear of liability by those who wish to practice controlled burning.
Some blame red tape for stopping controlled burning and say the practice would have removed fuel for the current wildfires.