By Doug Loftis
If you watched Saturday's Busch Series Grand National Division race at the South Boston Speedway from the grand stand, you were outnumbered by the millions of fans who saw it live on TNN. Chances are, more local residents viewed the televised version rather than drive to the speedway complex located just northeast of town.
Don Slonski can write you a book about traveling to race tracks. He drove in from his Charlotte, N.C. home early Friday morning but already has his ticket for a flight to Bakersville, CA. next week for a Winston Cup event.
Slonski is the unit manager of Worldsports Enterprises' remote broadcast team which TNN and CBS hire to capture all the action and transmit it live to viewers all around the world.
Even before Slonski made the turn into the speedway Friday, two semi tractor-trailer rigs and a third motor home were there with all the equipment waiting to be set up. One trailer contained the wireless communications while a second held the cameras and other production equipment representing an estimated investment of about $9 million.
Those millions did not include several lighting trucks which Worldsports subs out.
The crew of about 40 men and women, mostly in their mid to upper twenties, set up two cameras on top the press box, had two others in turns one and three while a hand-held camera caught speed shots down the straightaway.
The 15 cameras captured virtually every inch of the asphalt, the pit, the stands and the panorama of the South Boston Speedway.
As miles of wiring and harnesses were being unrolled from the trucks to the cameras and sound equipment, satellite antennas atop the wireless unit were being raised into the precise position in the westward sky.
The setup lasted most of Friday, about eight hours, which Slonski considers to be a short day. At other tracks, the task might take twice that amount of time.
Slonski, as you might expect after 11 years on the road, has grown to love the smaller tracks and the "laid back" towns like South Boston. "The Winston Cup stuff has gotten to be big time," said Slonski as he raised slightly his straw Texan hat, sipped iced water and wiped sweat from around his bespectacled eyes.
By race time Saturday afternoon, the World Sports team had swelled to about 70 persons under the direction of Bruce Watson. Cameras focused in on drivers, crew members and fans while anchormen conducted interviews during the running of the Lycos.com 300.
It was beamed up to a satellite, back to earth in Nashville, TN and distributed to cable companies for live coverage and on tape for rebroadcast.
South Boston Town Manager Kenneth L. McLawhon, who helped guide South Boston through a controversial city to town reversion and a subsequent major boundary adjustment, announced Friday that he will resign, effective on August 7.
McLawhon and his wife, Susy Silva-McLawhon, are in the process of accepting new jobs in a "metropolitan setting," a location which McLawhon declined to release Friday. He may release the location prior to his last day in South Boston, he said Friday.
"My wife and I both have been fortunate enough to simultaneously have opportunities to materialize which will allow her to use her translating skills and the "Juris Doctorate" she has completed, while providing an opportunity for my continued professional growth in a metropolitan setting," McLawhon stated in a release.
Susy Silva-McLawhon speaks three languages and studied law at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
"Accordingly, due to these career opportunities and future educational possibilities for our daughter, I feel I must tender my resignation," he added.
McLawhon began his duties in South Boston in January, 1996 at the offset of the reversion of South Boston from city to town status. That issue allowed the possibility of South Boston to annex land, a legal step not given to city jurisdictions.
With the rapid commercial development of Rt. 129 in the vicinity of Wal-Mart and U.S. 501 in Centerville, an inevitable battle for the territory was triggered between South Boston, Halifax County, and the Town of Halifax.
Through a heated time period, South Boston gained the territory through a "boundary adjustment" which took in the growing commercial area, as well as other sections that surrounds much of the old boundaries.
"I have enjoyed working with the Town's governing body, the Town's staff and members of the community," McLawhon wrote in Friday's release. "We have accomplished a great deal together."
Among those accomplishments cited by McLawhon:
· "The current budget has been implemented with several very significant tax/fee reductions;
· The completion of a 'voluntary boundary adjustment' has increased the town's size and ability to grow;
· A new comprehensive plan has been promulgated;
· 'Draft' Capital Improvement Plans/Zoning-Subdivision Ordinances are being refined;
· A new Classification/Compensation Plan is in place; and
· Various important projects have been completed or are currently underway, all of which will positively position South Boston for the future as this century draws to a close."
McLawhon further wrote: "The tools and resources which are now in place should allow the Town and area to move forward and realize the community's full potential."
McLawhon was chosen by the council from a list of 112 applicants to replace former City Manager Gary Christie, who did not receive a contract renewal from the council.
Town councilman Buddy Wilborn, who did not vote in favor of hiring McLawhon at that point, reflected on McLawhon's tenure during an interview on Sunday.
"Although Ken and I often had differences of opinion, we always managed to work things out between us so we could move on to other important issues that faced the town," Wilborn said.
"I think there is no doubt that Ken is a very intelligent person," Wilborn said. "He is someone who knows a great deal about zoning ordinances and other related issues that effects political jurisdictions."
Wilborn did express concern that McLawhon didn't stay in South Boston as long as he did, though conceding that personal and career advancements are "of course, important to any family."
"I would have liked to have him work with the new town council, even though we did have our differences of opinion as to how to achieve particular goals," Wilborn said. "Bottom-line, I feel that Ken always had the best intentions for the future development of South Boston at heart."
The $30.1 million Halifax County Public Schools Facilities Plan will be the center of discussion during tonight's meeting of the Finance Committee of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.
The meeting will be held in the second floor conference room of the County Administration Building at 134 main Street in Halifax. It is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
At issue will be a discussion on whether to put the $30.1 million elementary school renovation and consolidation funding plan as a referendum on the November 3 ballot.
Last week, the board voted to include a $1.75 million general obligation bond referendum on the ballot for the expansion of the Continuing Education Center.
However, the board held off on making a decision about the $30.1 million referendum request until their regular monthly meeting scheduled for Monday, August 3. Supervisor Joe Satterfield referred the matter to the Finance Committee which will make a recommendation to the board at that August meeting.
That formal request was made last week by Alan Gravitt, chairman of the Halifax County Public School Board. The delay was taken to give supervisors more time to study financial data compiled by school officials.
Four public hearings are scheduled for Tuesday night's meeting of the Halifax County Planning Commission. The meeting will be held in the second floor public meeting room of the Mary Bethune Office Complex in Halifax.
The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m., with the public hearings scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
Those public hearings include:
· The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority is seeking a conditional use permit for a proposed trucking terminal on 9.7028 acres of land (Lot 13-B) located in the Halifax County Industrial Park off U.S. 58, west of Riverdale.
That lot is located on the south side of Rt. 939 (Fulp Industrial Road), 700 feet west of Rt. 931 (Industrial Park Road).
The proposed project will include an office building, dock terminal and vehicle parking area.
· An application has been made by Shamrock Investments, Inc. to rezone a five-acre parcel of land in Centerville from A-1 (agricultural) to B-2 (business). The company plans to utilize the lot to sell manufactured homes.
The land is located on the east side of U.S. 501, 100 feet north of Rt. 654 (Greens Folly Road.
· Judith H. Bateman is asking the county for a conditional use permit to operate a small neighborhood business on the south side of Rt. 344 (MacDonald Road), two miles east of Rt. 716 (Falkland and Dryburg roads).
The business will rent canoes, kayaks, other boats, and have fishing supplies and crafts. The three-quarter acre parcel is in the vicinity of the Staunton River State Park.
· Mildred Henderson, Douglas Inge and others are asking for a plat vacation of an alley that is located on the north side of Rt. 748 (Slick Rock Road), 150 west of Rt. 644 (Nathalie Road).
The alley is 20 feet wide and 304 feet long and is 0.14-acre in size.
The question of development of Waddell Woods will be addressed by South Boston Town Council again tonight, two weeks after hearing a plea from Worth H. Carter Jr. that his company was entitled to a permit to begin work there.
But there was some doubt whether or not the public will be let in on the Council decision, if any, since Council two weeks ago asked attorneys for both sides to prepare a report and present it tonight in executive session.
Carter, president and chairman of Community National Bank, asserted to Council two weeks ago that he believed his development company had complied with all the requirements and should be issued the permit to start work at the site immediately.
In contrast, Council made no comment in public to Carter, thus keeping secret its objections to Carter's stated plans to develop an upscale residential subdivision in Waddell Woods.
"I don't feel we have been treated right," Carter told Council in public session two weeks ago.
Monday's meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the conference room at the Town Manager's office. The business for the evening is mostly for matters being considered by the Current Issues Committee and the Finance Committee.
The lead item on the Current Issues Committee agenda is "Executive Session on Legal Matters," and this presumably is when the attorneys will present their report.
As for the committees, demolition of a South Boston landmark building, appointments and a couple of financial matters will occupy their time.
The Current Issues Committee will air an agreement with Main Street United Methodist Church on the demolition of the former South Boston Historical Museum building, hear a request for improvements to Kendrick, Childs and Cole Streets, and consider a request from Berry Hill Presbyterian Church to waive a building permit fee.
The Current Issues Committee also will consider appointments to the Halifax County Improvement Council and changes in lengths of terms.
There is one vacancy to be filled on the Southside Regional Partnership board.
As for the Finance Committee, it will consider refinancing the town's Virginia Retirement System debt, and will take up a request from the Finance Director to publish the annual delinquent tax list and charge off uncollectible water and sewer bills.
The county recorded its fourth highway fatality of the year Thursday night after a single-vehicle wreck near Turbeville claimed the life of a Virgilina man.
Charlie Mattison "Matt" Branscome Jr., 36, was pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck which occurred on Rt. 699, 1.5-miles south of U.S. 58, according to the Virginia State Police.
Branscome was driving a 1980 Chevrolet pickup truck when he lost control, ran off the left side of the road, struck a culvert and overturned, police said.
He was not ejected from the vehicle, but sustained head injuries during the 11:30 p.m. crash, according to the investigation.
The truck was declared a total loss. The incident is still under investigation by Virginia State Trooper D.J. Cline.
In other wrecks:
· A Thursday afternoon collision on U.S. 501, one tenth of a mile north of Rt. 843, injured two people, police said.
William Edward Moore, 50, of Evington was driving a 1994 Mack truck owned by the Solite company when he struck the rear of a 1989 Ford driven by Anne Elizabeth Lawson, 36, of Virgilina, police said.
Lawson and a passenger, John Watson, were injured in the 3:10 p.m. incident, according to the investigation.
Damages to the Mack truck were estimated at $2,000 and damages to the Ford were estimated at $3,000, police said.
Moore was charged by Virginia State Trooper S.M. Krantz with following to closely.
· No injuries occurred during a Thursday afternoon collision on Rt. 746, seven-tenths of a mile west of Rt. 607, police said.
Raymond Eugene Hudson, 17, of Alton was driving a 1984 Buick when he struck the rear of a 1993 Chevrolet driven by David Lee Smith, 23, of Clover, according to the investigation.
Damages to Hudson's vehicle were estimated at $2,000 and damages to Smith's vehicle were estimated at $500, police said.
Charges are pending and the incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper L.G. Perkins.
Two break-ins discovered Sunday morning in the southeastern section of Halifax County are under investigation, according to the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
"The Little Plantation" on Rt. 706 and the nearby residence of its owner, John Gilliam, were broken into sometime between Saturday afternoon and 10 p.m. Saturday night, Major Ray Link said.
Entry was made to the "Little Plantation" by someone who kicked open a rear door, Major Link said.
A camera was stolen from the facility and a trolling motor was taken from an out building, he pointed out.
At Gilliam's residence, guns, jewelry, and a small amount of money was taken, according to the investigation.
The home was broken into sometime between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. and the Little Plantation was broken into sometime between 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., according to the investigation.
The break-ins are under investigation by Investigator J.R. Hicks and Sgt. T.E. Logan.
Police are asking anybody with any information on the break-ins to call the Halifax County Crime Stoppers or the Halifax County Sheriff's Department. No further details were available at press time.
In other cases:
· Deputies arrested Scott Breon, 22, of Clover on a felony count of intimidating a witness, police said. The alleged incident occurred on November 18, 1997 and he was arrested Thursday.
Breon was released on bond pending his preliminary hearing in the Halifax County General District Court.
He was arrested by Sgt. T.E. Logan and Cpl. S.T. Moser.
· Thomas Gregory Betts, 28, of Alton was arrested on a felony count of driving a motor vehicle after having previously been declared a habitual offender, police said.
The alleged incident occurred July 5 and he was arrested on July 20 by Sgt. Logan.
Betts was released on bond pending his preliminary hearing in the Halifax County General District Court on October 5.
· Anthony Louis Logan, 31, of Nathalie was charged with a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of Kim Logan, a household or family member, police said.
The alleged incident occurred Saturday and he was arrested the same day by Deputy C.D. Ragsdale.
He is currently being held in the Blue Ridge Adult Detention Center-Halifax, pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on August 11.
· Robert Scott Stanfield, 18, of Alton was arrested on a felony count of malicious wounding of livestock, police said.
The alleged incident occurred on March 28 and he was arrested on July 23 by Deputy T.K. Redd, according to the investigation.
Stanfield was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Circuit Court.
· Clyde Donald Womack Jr., 18, of Vernon Hill was charged with a misdemeanor count of violating an emergency protective order issued by the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on July 18, police said.
The alleged violation occurred on July 18 and he was arrested on July 23 by Cpl. Moser, according to the investigation.
Womack was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
· Derrick S. Cameron, 18, of South Boston was arrested on a misdemeanor count of trespassing on the property of Leslie Dunaway, police said.
The alleged incident occurred Thursday and he was arrested Saturday by deputies T.K. Redd and C.S. Yeatts.
Cameron was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on August 4.
· Walter P. Drinkard of Powhatan was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana.
He was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County General District Court on September 4. Drinkard was arrested by Deputy S.A. Jennings.
A Danville man has been charged with a felony count of grand larceny of lawn mowers from Good's Lawn and Garden Center, according to Lt. Rick Loftis of the South Boston Police Department.
Wister King Jr., 45, is currently being held in the Person County (N.C.) Jail on similar theft charges involving the Southern States store in Roxboro, N.C.
In the ongoing investigation of that case, North Carolina authorities pooled information with the South Boston Police Department, since the method of operation in the two cases were so similar, Lt. Loftis explained.
Evidence was obtained that allegedly connected King with the June 12 theft of lawn mowers from Good's Lawn and Garden. Two similar thefts at Good's are still under an active investigation which may or may not connect King with those thefts, Lt. Loftis pointed out.
During the June 12 theft, two Toro lawn mowers with a total value of $798 were taken in broad daylight from the store, according to the investigation.
Three people with King during the recent Roxboro theft were also arrested, but no South Boston charges have been placed against them at this time, Lt. Loftis said.
Veronica Brame Duncan of Decatur, GA and formerly of Halifax County died Wednesday, July 22, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, GA at the age of 50.
She was born in Halifax County on November 229, 1947 and was the daughter of Andrew Edward Brame and the late Martha Green Brame. She was a member of the Cathedral of Chapel Hill in Atlanta and was a registered nurse.
Mrs. Duncan is survived by her husband: Ray A. Duncan, one son, Daniel Duncan, of Atlanta, Ga.; her father, Andrew Edward Brame, Sr. of South Boston; three brothers, Andrew Brame, Jr., of Forestville, MD; Rickey Brame, of Clarkston, GA and Randy Brame, of Capitol Heights, Md; three sisters-in-law, Mrs. Marion Brame, Mrs. Arlease Brame and Mrs. Barbara Brame.
Funeral services for Mrs. Duncan will be held today (Monday, July 27) at 11:00 a.m. with services at the Memorial Baptist Church with the Rev. P. H. Wagstaff, officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Roy Edmunds Phillips, 86, of 3015 Virgie Cole Road, South Boston died Saturday, July 25, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Phillips was born December 21, 1911 in Halifax County and was a retired tobacco farmer.
He was the son of William Henry Phillips and Jennie Dora Thomas Phillips and was married to the late Annie Neville Cole Phillips.
Survivors include a son, Earl Brooks Phillips, of South Boston; brother, Arthur Phillips, of South Boston; three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
He was preceeded in death by his wife, Annie Neville Cole Phillips; and two sons, Purvis Burton Phillips and Roy Curly Phillips.
Funeral srevices will be held today (Monday, July 27) at 11:00 a.m. at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Jack Stewart officiating.
Burial will take place in the Grace Baptist Church Cemetery, Virgilina.
Those wishing to give memorials, please consider the Halifax County Rescue Squad, P. O. Box 183, South Boston, Va. 24592.
Mattie Irby Bowes, 78, of 1105 Berry Hill Road, South Boston died Friday, July 24, 1998 at The Woodview. Mrs. Bowes was born in Halifax County on April 9, 1920 and was the daughter of Edward French Irby and Fannie Newby Irby.
Mrs. Bowes was a member of Alton Baptist Church and a homemaker.
Survivors include two sisters, Estelle I. Baynes, of South Boston, Hallie I. Thomas, of Hampton; one brother, William K. "Jiggs" Irby, of South Boston and nieces and nephews.
Graveside services for Mrs. Bowes were held Sunday, July 26 at 2:00 p.m. at Oak Ridge Cemetery, South Boston. The Rev. Rick Hudhock officiated the service.
Charlie Mattison 'Matt' Branscome Jr. of 1162 Ford Lane, Virgilina died Thursday, July 23, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was 36 years of age.
Mr. Branscome was born June 20, 1962 in Richmond the son of Charlie M. Branscome Sr. and Jean Satterfield Branscome and was married to Teresa Lynn Cole Branscome. He was an Auto Mechanic at Moore's Chevrolet.
Funeral services were held Sunday, July 26 at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel at 2 p.m. with Rev. Bill Keen officiating. Burial was in Virgilina Cemetery.
Mr. Branscome is survived by his wife of the home; one daughter, Stephanie Amanda Branscome of Virgilina; one son, David Randall Branscome of Virgilina; two sisters, Nicki B. Granger of Halifax and Dawne B. Emerson of Cascade; and one brother, Jason E. Branscome of Roxboro, NC.
Lewis Edward Neal of 211 Chalmers Street, South Boston died Friday, July 24, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was 80 years of age at the time of his death.
Mr. Neal was born May 28, 1918 in Sylacauga, AL the son of Base Neal and Delia Townsend Neal and was married to Evelyn Williams Neal. He was a retired employee of Chrysler Corp. and a member of the United Auto Workers.
Funeral services were held at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel Sunday, July 26 at 4 p.m. with Rev. Jack Stewart officiating. Burial was in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one son, Dale Neal of South Boston; five step-daughters, Deborah Crews, Cora Larsen, Evelyn Potts, June Potts and Barbara Bricknell; two step-sons, Charles Potts and Clifford Potts; one sister, Kathleen Osborne of South Boston; one brother, Lester Neal of South Boston; a number of step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren.