An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people attended Saturday's 17th Annual Scottsburg Fourth of July Parade and Celebration.
But, early evening thunderstorms that settled in over the area put a big dent into the supper crowd, put an early ending to the Street Dance, and forced cancellation of the evening's gala fireworks displays.
"The rain came at a good time for the farmers and their crops," Francis said, "but not for us."
Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department president Johnny Francis said that the fireworks displays have been rescheduled for Saturday night at 9:30 p.m.
This year was only the second time in the 17 year run of the Scottsburg Fourth of July Parade and Celebration that rain has forced an early end to the festivities.
Francis pointed out that on one other occasion the parade went through as scheduled but that rain settled in early in the afternoon and forced fire department officials to postpone virtually all of the afternoon and evening activities.
When that happened, Francis said, fire department officials rescheduled the music, the evening's dinner, and the fireworks for the following Saturday night.
"The weather has generally been pretty good for us," Francis noted.
"We were disappointed but this was only the second time in 17 years. That's not bad at all. We look forward to next year and hope it will be better."
The annual parade, which featured approximately 100 units, was as large as any Fourth of July Parade seen in Scottsburg. But, the estimated 5,000 to 6,000 persons that viewed the event was a smaller crowd than is usually on hand for the parade that is a major highlight of the day's festivities.
"The crowd was a little smaller than we had been having," Francis pointed out.
"We really don't know why the attendance was down unless it was just the way that it fell on the weekend. We know that there were a lot of ball tournament games going on and that may have hurt us some. It was hot but it wasn't as hot as it has been some times in the past. I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not or whether it was just a combination of things."
The smaller than usual parade crowd coupled with the rain putting a big damper to the evening's activities left the fire department approximately $4,000 short of what it usually takes in for the event that serves as the department's primary fund raising event of the year.
Even with that, Francis called the event a success.
"Eventhough the crowd was a little off, I think everybody that was here had a good time and enjoyed it," Francis remarked.
Francis stated that much of the crowd that attended the parade stayed around to enjoy lunch and hear some of the musicians and singers that performed during and around the lunch hour. However, a portion of the crowd left by early afternoon.
As is usually the case, the crowd picked up again in the late afternoon as the early evening hours neared. Unfortunately, so did the thunderstorms and rain.
"The crowd was really coming back good right before the storm," Francis said.
"A storm came up and people went into the fire station and stayed awhile to see if it would quit raining. But, it never did quit (raining) and the band had to stop (playing). The people left and we had to postpone the fireworks."
When it came to food, those that attended the Scottsburg Fourth of July Parade and Celebration ate and ate well.
Francis said that the fire department sold all of its 175 pound supply of chicken and all of the 100 gallons of Brunswick Stew that was prepared for the event.
He added that overall, the fire department sold about 75 percent of the food and drinks that it normally sells during the course of the event.
In the big prize drawings, Jerry Hollingsworth of Scottsburg won the $200 first prize. Joe Angel of Volens won the $100 second prize drawing. And, Clyde Thomas of Scottsburg won the $50 third prize drawing.
During the post-parade ceremonies, Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department officials presented service awards to eight members of the Ladies Auxiliary.
As far as awards from the parade went, the Scottsburg Post Office unit and the unit entered by One Stop Cellular earned first and second place respectively in the contest for Best Appearing Float.
In the judging competition for the visiting fire fighting units Halifax won the award for the Best Appearing Pumper with Virgilina taking second place. Midway won the award for Best Appearing Tanker with Halifax taking second place.
Bacon District won the award for Best Appearing Salvage Squad Truck with South Boston earning second place. And, Bacon District won the award for the department having traveled the furthest distance to take part in the parade.
In the judging of antique cars, James Drummond won first place for his 1972 Buick Century and Charlie Womack earned second place for his 1955 Chevrolet.
The judging of the antique trucks saw Lloyd's 1971 Chevrolet pickup truck and Roger Sizemore's 1968 Chevrolet pickup take first and second place.
Several awards were presented in the judging of the horse and rider and horse and buggy units. Heather Hines earned first place and Country Hines was second in the judging of Western Horse & Rider while C.L. Cisco and Bonnie Throckmorton earned first and second place respectively in the judging of Gaited Horse and Rider.
Stanley Cole won the top award for Horse & Wagon, Gene Ridgeway won the first prize for the Horse & Buggy, and Herman Roller took first place in the judging of Horse & Antique Wagon.
Details of three applications to create commercial hog farm operations in Halifax County will be outlined during tonight's meeting of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the second floor meeting room of the Mary Bethune Office Complex in Halifax.
Jerry Lovelace, Assistant County Administrator for Planning and Zoning, will brief supervisors on the applications. After reviewing the applications, Lovelace stated in a June 30 letter to each supervisor that "it appears that all three submittals are in compliance with Halifax County Zoning Ordinance requirements."
Since the proposed hog farms will be in land already zoned A-1 (agricultural) and they meet state and local ordinances, no public hearing or conditional use permit process is required, explained supervisor Page Wilkerson, who represents Election District #6.
The applications include:
· Ray Link of Alton has applied for permission to operate a hog farm on Rt. 711 (Alton Post Office Road), west of Rt. 655 (Blane Road). The operation would be located in ED #6.
The capacity of the hog farm would be 2,760 hogs housed in three buildings, with each holding 920 hogs. Of that total, the operation has a designated total of 414 animal units (hogs weighing at least 250 pounds each) with the remainder being raised up to that 250-pound level.
The facility is estimated to produce 1.5 million gallons of waste material per year, Lovelace said.
· Scott Hudson of the Red Bank area (ED #7) has applied to operate a hog farm on Rt. 734 (Red Bank Road), south of Rt. 602 (North Folk Church Road).
The operation would have a capacity of 2,760 hogs, with 414 hogs designated at the 250-pound level. The facility would generate an estimated 1,486,000 gallons of waste each year, officials said.
· James Wilson of the Virgilina area has applied to operate a hog farm on Rt. 740 (Wilson Road), north of Rt. 96 (Virgilina Road), also in ED #7.
The facility would hold 2,760 hogs, with 414 hogs designated above the 250-pound animal unit level. The farm would generate an estimated total of 1.5 million gallons of waste per year, officials said.
David Harley Stevens, 35, of Halifax was charged with a misdemeanor count of assault and battery and threatening to kill a family member, according to the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Stevens allegedly assaulted Tinnell Stevens on June 13 and he was arrested Saturday by Deputy S.A. Moore, according to the investigation.
Stevens was released on bond pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on July 14.
In other cases:
· Everett Lee Fariss, 37, of Scottsburg was arrested Sunday on a misdemeanor count of assault and battery of a household or family member, police said.
He allegedly assaulted Clara Fariss on Sunday and was arrested by Cpl. S.T. Moser, according to the investigation.
Fariss is currently being held in the Halifax County Jail pending his trial in the Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on July 15.
· Angelo Keith Hendren, 33, of South Boston was arrested on a misdemeanor count of stealing two Maryland vehicle license plates owned by Paul Stanard, police said.
The stolen plates were discovered after a traffic stop of Hendren's vehicle on Friday. He was also charged with driving on a suspended operator's license.
Making the arrests were Investigator M.A. Womack and deputies Cassie Ragsdale and Q.W. Clark.
Billy Baxter Bettis of 100 King Richard Lane, South Boston died Friday, July 3, 1998 at Duke Medical Center. He was 73 years of age at the time of his death.
Mr. Bettis was born in Shelby, NC on August 4, 1925 the son of Austell Bettis and Zela Harper Bettis and was married to Bessie Waller Bettis. He was a member of New Hope Baptist Church in Shelby, a veteran of World War II, Merrill's Marauders 5307 C.U.P./475th Infantry and American Legion Post 8.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two step-sons, Daniel T. Long of Mosley and C. Dewey Compton of South Boston; two brothers, Howard Bettis of Selma, NC and Allen Bettis of Greensboro, NC; two sisters, Mary Love Phee of Blacksburg, SC and Leola Boughman of Granite Falls, NC; five step-grandchildren, Todd and Tony Long of Mosley and Chad, Anne Ashley and Kristen E. Compton, all of South Boston. He was preceded in death by four brothers, Don, Gene, Ralph and Jack Bettis.
Funeral services for Mr. Bettis were held Sunday, July 5 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Revs. Horace Murray and Bob Watts officiating. Burial was in Oak Ridge Cemetery with Military Rites.
Lucille Haley Hoffman of 1704 Wilkerson Street, South Boston died July 3, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital. She was born in Ontario on May 2, 1919 and was 79 years old.
Mrs. Hoffman was the daughter of Rufus D. Haley and Laura Beville Haley and was married to Travis Filmore (TF) Hoffman Jr. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and was a retired School teacher with the South Boston School System.
Mrs. Hoffman is survived by one sister, Nancy Haley, of Falls Church; one brother, Rufus B. Haley, of Seveirville, TN; and was predeceased in death by three sisters, Christine Anderson, June Haley and Laura H. Wright and her husband, T. F. Hoffman, a tobacconist, who died in 1994.
Graveside services for Mrs. Hoffman will be held today (Monday) July 6 at 11:00 AM at Ash Camp Baptist Church Cemetery, Keysville with the Rev. Dr. Russell Lee conducting the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to the First Presbyterian
Church, South Boston.
Ernest Franklin Coon, age 77, of 1074 Coon Trail, South Boston died July 4, 1998 in Duke Medical Center.He was born September 20, 1920 in Pittsylvania County and was the son of the late Arthur Franklin Coon and Mary Morris Coon.
Mr. Coon was retired from the former Westinghouse of South Boston with 15 years of service. He was a member of Arbor Baptist Church. Mr. Coon also served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mr. Coon was marriedd to the late Mattie Dodson Coon, who died on August 12, 1983. On May 7, 1986 he married Eunice Gentry Coon, who survives.
Survivors include his wife, Eunice G. Coon, of the residence; three sons, Leonard A. Coon, Arthur R. Coon, of Danville; Ernest F. Coon, Jr. of Buffalo Junction; two daughters, Patricia C. Bradshaw, of Alton; Robin C. Mahan, of Gretna; two step-sons, Mack Oscar Gentry, of Sutherlin and Mike Otto Gentry, of Roxboro; three sisters, Clara C. Crowder and Lillian L. Coon of Danville and Eunice C. Dodson, of South Boston; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildrenn and 1 great-great grandchild; 10 step grandchildren and 2 step great-grandchildren..
Funeral services were held Sunday, July 5 at 3:00 p.m. at Wrenn-Yeatts Westover Chapel and burial was in Danville Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Averette Witcher conducting the service.