Shooting Report Brings Arrest

A Dan River Church Road man was arrested Friday afternoon for carrying a concealed weapon after South Boston Police were called out to a report of shots being fired.
Arrested was Maurice Daniel Dance, 21, of 2088 Dan River Church Road, South Boston.
A second charge was filed Saturday against Daniel of possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
"A domestic situation is what it was," Loftis said.
Dance, Loftis said, had been arguing with a 16-year-old female Friday afternoon when the unfounded reports of gunfire were received by the police department.

According to Loftis, Dance, who was driving a 1996 Saturn registered to Paul Rues of Powhatan, allegedly rammed into an unoccupied brown Audi parked along Grace Avenue, causing minimal damage to the Audi and approximately $200 damage to the Saturn.
Minutes later, Loftis said, Dance allegedly attempted to ram the vehicle again, as the vehicle's owner, Gregory Hamlett, 19, of Watkins Avenue, South Boston, drove along College Street just below Grace Avenue.
By this time, several SBPD units had arrived in the area in search of the Saturn.

South Boston Officer W. Ozmec spotted the vehicle on Spring Avenue and called for back-up.
Dance, according to reports, did not immediately respond to the blue lights and sirens and continued down Spring Avenue and turned east on College Street with at least six marked patrol cars in pursuit.
Dance finally pulled over on College Street near Hamilton Boulevard.
While making the arrest, officers reportedly seized a .32-caliber revolver.
He remains jailed without bond in the Blue Ridge Regional Adult Detention Center in Halifax awaiting an appearance in Halifax County General District Court, August 25.
Loftis said no charges were filed against a juvenile male who was in the car when Dance was apprehended. The youth was released to his parents, Loftis added.

Bennett, Davis To Address Ky. Task Force

Del. W.W. "Ted" Bennett, a director of the National Tobacco Certification Corporation, citizen member J.T. Davis of Halifax and Dr. Rebecca Reeve are addressing the Kentucky Legislative Task Force today.
The Kentucky Task Force is composed of 20 House and Senate members of the Kentucky Legislature.
J.T. Davis is a board member of Concerned Friends of Tobacco and Dr. Rebecca Reeve is the director of the Southern Tobacco Communities Project, Virginia.
"Some of their (Kentucky) leadership heard us on this panel in Kansas City," explained Bennett of the 53rd annual meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference this summer.
"We related the Virginia experience in getting our tobacco bill for the farmers under Phase I of the Master Tobacco Settlement," continued the delegate. "And they wanted to hear about our coalition with the National Health Community and how that helped us get the bill through the Virginia General Assembly.
"We are proud to be representing Virginia and are glad to know the bill we got through is regarded as a model for the other tobacco states," added Bennett.
Last month, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore announced that Virginia's tobacco growers and quota holders will receive up to $340 million over the next 12 years in direct aid as a result of the National Tobacco Grower Settlement Trust. Kentucky has not yet passed a distribution process and is asking for advice.
Bennett is the sole corporation member from the Virginia House of Delegates and Sen. Charles Hawkins represents the Virginia Senate.
The National Tobacco Certification Corporation is to hold its first meeting Tuesday in Richmond at the Capitol.
"Our task will be determine the distribution formula to appropriate this year's receipts of the $340 million to determine how much will be paid to quota holders and producers," said Bennett yesterday.
During the Southern Legislative Conference held in Kansas City, Missouri, Bennett, Davis and Reeve were joined by Phil Carlton, a lawyer who has represented the tobacco industry in the private settlement discussions, and Mark Farrow, chief of staff and general counsel, Dept. of Agriculture, Kentucky.
The main topic was the private trust fund settlement and what the future might hold for tobacco farmers.
The SLC is one of four regional legislative groups operating under The Council of State Governments. The SLC encourages intergovernmental cooperation in the South through the promotion of regional and state-by-state responses to common governmental problems.

Country Due For Major Drought

By PHILIP BRASHER
AP Farm Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - As dry spells go, the drought of 1999 is merely average in size.
But if historical climate patterns hold true, Americans are due for a major one that would cover at least a third of the country - and they are not prepared to deal with it, say government officials and drought experts.
Such droughts come about once a decade; the last one was in 1988.
The country does not have an integrated network of observation  stations for monitoring droughts as they develop. Communities frequently do not implement water conservation measures until they are running low on water. Thousands of farmers do not buy crop insurance even though the government heavily subsidizes the premiums.
''We have to do more,'' said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who heads a new federal commission charged with recommending a national policy for dealing with droughts.
Tornadoes and floods are ''like heart attacks, quick strikes that compel people to spring immediately into action. But drought is like a cancer, slow, insidious and not always easy to detect in the early stages,'' he said.
This year's drought has parched crops from Virginia into parts of the Midwest and forced suburbs from Washington to New York to restrict water use. Philadelphia has banned the use of tinder-dry athletic fields. So far, the drought has affected about 15 percent to 20 percent of the country, about normal for most years.
If it continues into the winter, and weather forecasters think it may, the drought could expand across the nation's heartland and become one of the droughts of the century. If it's not this one, another big drought should be coming soon, said Albert Peterlin, the Agriculture Department's chief meteorologist.
''There is a history of drought spreading westward into the crop area. If this drought were to continue into the winter, it could be the drought we're talking about,'' he said.
The 1988 drought reached 36 percent of the country and destroyed  crops throughout the Plains. Droughts in 1977 and 1963 covered 32 percent of the nation, and in 1954, nearly 50 percent.
At the height of the Dust Bowl, in 1934, two-thirds of the country was in drought.
Close to normal rainfall is expected in the Northeast this fall, but that will not be enough to make up for this year's shortfall, according to the National Weather Service.
Drought experts say farmers and community leaders on the East Coast could have been better prepared for this year's drought if they had been warned sooner or if they had paid closer attention to weather forecasts - drought conditions were showing up on precipitation reports 13 months ago.
''In this country, we spend very little money with regard to drought. We spend very little money on mitigation,'' said Don Wilhite, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska. ''What we tend to do is wait until the next drought and the federal government opens its checkbook.''
He recently told Glickman's commission that the government should force communities and farmers to take responsibility for addressing droughts.
Outside of the Plains states, many farmers do not bother with crop insurance. Although more Eastern farmers bought policies this year, according to USDA, coverage levels are still expected to be relatively low.
In Maryland last year, just half the soybean crop was insured and 43 percent of the corn. In Ohio, 48 percent of the corn was covered and 37 percent of the soybeans.
By comparison, 99 percent of the cotton in Texas and 94 percent of the wheat in North Dakota was insured last year. Coverage figures for this year are not available.
In an effort to entice more farmers into the system, Congress is considering doubling the federal insurance subsidy to $3 billion a year.
Melvin Baile, Jr., who farms near New Windsor, Md., said he learned his lesson two years ago when he lost an uninsured corn crop to drought.
This year, he paid $15 an acre to insure his corn and $10 an acre to cover his soybean crop. The policies guarantee him a minimum return this fall regardless of what happens with the weather or commodity prices.
''When it wasn't raining, I was going to bed sleeping at night, because I knew we were able to lock in very close to our cost of production,'' Baile said.

Insurance Not Enough

By DAVID KINNEY
Associated Press Writer

The latest crop reports show the extent of the Northeast's farm disaster in the federal government's colorless charts: Losses caused by this year's historic drought will be counted in the hundreds of millions of dollars, most of it on uninsured farms.
One of the few who does have insurance is Bob Puskas, whose  stunted, sickly corn near Somerset, N.J., stands only 2 feet high.
But when crop adjusters told him last week that his 300-acre corn crop was a 100 percent loss, he learned that he'll be lucky to get back $10,000 of the $75,000 he spent to raise it.
''Insurance doesn't pay. Really, it's next to nothing,'' Puskas said.
Critics say it's more proof that the federally subsidized crop insurance program doesn't provide much of a safety net.
Farmers say the premiums are too expensive, the paperwork too  complicated, and the payments too paltry.
Since Congress scaled back production-based crop subsidies in 1996, the Department of Agriculture has encouraged farmers to buy insurance by covering a wider variety of crops and offering a 30 percent discount on premiums.
But the majority of growers in the Northeast still go without, unlike farmers in the bigger agricultural states across the Midwest. In Pennsylvania and New York, just 23 percent of the corn and soybean acres are insured. In New Jersey, 31 percent of corn and 43 percent of soybeans are covered.
By comparison, 99 percent of the cotton in Texas and 94 percent of the wheat in North Dakota was insured last year.
Many Northeast farmers say they buy insurance only because they're required to, to qualify for bank loans or USDA programs.
Catastrophic insurance, like Puskas' policy, is actually pretty cheap, a lump sum of $60 per crop. But if a farmer wants a policy that would pay him whenever he couldn't recoup his planting costs, he would have to spend several hundred dollars more.
''What are you going to spend that extra money on? Crop insurance or fertilizer?'' asked Tom Shockley, executive director of the Maryland Farm Service Agency. ''Farmers honestly believe that the crop insurance in existence at this point does them no good. They've got to have a total disaster to get anything back.''
Some farmers complain of being asked to take out separate policies on each crop, or separate policies on the same crop planted on different rental properties.
Bill Beam, who expects to recoup barely 40 percent of the $250,000 he spent planting 1,000 acres of corn in Chester County, Pa., got fed up when he tried to get insurance this year.
''I got an agent from across the state who sent me a form I didn't quite understand and it kinda slipped by me,'' Beam said.
New Jersey's corn crop is projected to yield just 40 bushels per acre, down 57 percent from last year's 92 bushels. Soybean yields are projected to be down 25 percent. Losses could reach $80 million, according to the state.
In Pennsylvania, corn and soybean yields could be down 36 percent from 1998. The governor's office estimated Friday that losses may reach $500 million.
''If you have guys that are on the verge right now, it's gonna put 'em under,'' said Jim Etsch, a farmer in Monroe Township, N.J.
But is it enough to send them shopping for insurance?
''Next year, I may evaluate it a little closer,'' said Stan Guest, an uninsured farmer in East Nantmeal Township, Pa. ''But you know, we may not have another year like this one for 50 years.''

Feds To Study Southern Forests

By DAVID PACE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal officials are traveling through the South this month seeking public input into a major two-year assessment of how best to sustain the region's vast but threatened forests.
Spurred by three decades of explosive population growth and steadily increasing timber production, the study by the Forest Service and three other federal agencies will provide information to help policy makers and private landowners decide how to use the forests well into the 21st century.
''This is a descriptive study, it's not prescriptive,'' said a study co-chairman, David Wear of the Forest Service's Southern Research Station in North Carolina. ''The objective is to compile in one place the best available knowledge on conditions and changes in forests in the region.''
The study proposed last spring has drawn solid support from both loggers and conservationists, with each apparently expecting the assessment to support its view of how best to utilize the South's forests.
Environmental groups see the study documenting their contention that a recent proliferation of wood chip mills is exploiting the region's forests and threatening its economic future.
Chip mills turn trees into wood chips that either are exported or transported to the pulp mills that feed the South's vast paper industry. More than 100 of the 140 chip mills in the region have started up since 1985.
''The biggest threat in the South is the industrial-scale clear-cutting that follows in the wake of the wood chip industry,'' said Danna Smith, executive director of the Dogwood Alliance.
The alliance was formed in response to the growth of chip mills and has members throughout the South. The group is pushing for a moratorium on new chip mills until the study, formally known as the Southern Forest Resources Assessment, is completed in 2001.
''We hope this study will provide an opportunity to have the timber industry operate with some checks and balances, because right now there are none,'' said Trevor Fitzgibbon of the Southeast Forest Project, another environmental group that's fighting the spread of chip mills.
But industry officials are looking forward to the study as well. They contend that it will provide the facts needed to halt the emotionalism that has characterized past logging debates.
''It's obvious the industry supports sustainability,'' said Deborah Baker, executive director of the Southern Timber Purchasers Council. ''Clearly, we want to be in business long term and we want to get along with all the partners out there and the public. It's important for us to address it.''
Wear said the assessment team - drawn from the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Valley Authority - hopes to put both the environmentalists' concerns about chip mills and the industry's concern about timber availability into a broader context.
''You take all those concerns together and ask what are the implications for forest resources, whether they be wildlife-related or water-quality related, or timber supply concerns,'' he said. ''They all seem to be coming together at the same time.''
In its first public workshop last week in Shreveport, La., the study team focused on five areas: forest land ecosystems; social and economic factors in forest use; timber markets and forest management; the extent, conditions and health of the forests; and watersheds, aquatic ecosystems and forested wetlands.
Additional workshops are planned Monday in Starkville, Miss.; Tuesday in Knoxville, Tenn.; Thursday in Raleigh, N.C.; and Aug. 31 in Tifton, Ga.
Wear said the study probably won't resolve the ongoing dispute over how Southern forests can best be used and sustained. But at the very least, he said, it will provide a common ground for those discussions.
''We have a lot of change going on and it's perceived by different groups from different perspectives,'' he said. ''This isn't necessarily going to provide all the answers but it will perhaps provide a foundation.''

Berry Hill Boundary Line Adjustment Tonight

Town and county officials face a busy session tonight, one which opens with a 6 p.m. public hearing on a request for a boundary line relocation agreement between South Boston and Halifax County.
South Boston and Halifax County officials have been discussing AXA Berry Hill's request to become part of the town.
The worldwide training center for the company's managers is unable to serve liquor by the drink while located in the county, which is dry, but would be able to in the Town of South Boston which permits liquor by the drink.
The proposal provides that the boundary line between the two jurisdictions be changed by incorporating within South Boston 329.79 acres of land which are presently located within the unincorporated portion of Halifax County adjacent to the western boundary of the town.
Should the agreement be reached between the county and the Town of South Boston, the boundary line adjustment will become effective September 1.
The public hearing will be held in the Mary Bethune Office Complex in Halifax.
Following the public hearing, supervisors, South Boston and Halifax town council members are slated to tour the Urban Planning Area during their regularly scheduled joint session.
The urban area includes both towns, stretching from Halifax to South Boston and spilling out into the county.
At the close of the joint session, supervisors are expected to meet in closed session to discuss litigation and annexation concerns associated with the Town of Halifax's proposed annexation of county land.
Halifax Town Council agreed early this summer to proceed with annexation, seeking to extend its boundaries to meet South Boston's in the Centerville area, west up Mountain Road, and including Salishan and Golf Course Road communities as well as the Burlington plant.

Pedestrian Struck, Killed

A 22-year-old Charlotte Courthouse resident was struck and killed late Saturday night while kneeling in the road on Route 40 in Charlotte County.
According to a state police spokesman, William Alexander Frank was killed instantly when he was struck by a car driven by Rachel Ballard Edmunds.
Trooper G.M. Gilliam's report indicated that Frank was kneeling in the road tying his shoe when he was struck and killed at 9:45 p.m. Saturday.
The mishap occurred on Route 40 near the intersection of Route 751.
No further information on the accident was available.

Evelyn Edmonds Hutcherson

Evelyn Edmonds Hutcherson, 101, of Danville, formerly of South Boston, died Sunday, August 15, 1999, at Roman Eagle Nursing Home in Danville.
Mrs. Hutcherson was born in Pittsylvania County on July 29, 1898 the daughter of James Chesley Edmonds and Mildred Starkey Edmonds and was married to Jessie Martin Hutcherson Sr. She was a member of Beth Car Baptist Church, and a member of the UDC in South Boston.
Survivors include five son, Jessie M. Hutcherson Jr. of Danville, A. Kenneth Hutcherson of Luthersville, Md., James W. Hutcherson of Greensboro, N.C., Cecil T. Hutcherson of Ocrocoke, N.C., and Robert D. Hutcherson of Laurens, S.C.
Funeral services for Mrs. Hutcherson will be held Wednesday, August 18, at 2:00 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Melvin J. Bradshaw conducting the service. Burial will take place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home Wednesday, from 12:00 until 2:00 p.m.

Eunice Jordan Murray

Eunice Jordan Murray, 84, of Cluster Springs, daughter of Andrew Jackson and Ellen Seate Murray, died Thursday, August 12, 1999, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Miss Murray was born in Halifax County and graduated from Cluster Springs High School. She worked at Woodview Nursing Home until her retirement, and prior to that was employed by South Boston Hospital. She was a member of Union United Church of Christ.
Graveside services for Miss Murray were held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, August 13, in Virgilina Cemetery, with Rev. Jack Stewart officiating.

Surviving are many cousins, including William 'Billy' and Carolyn Slagle of Cluster Springs. In addition to being preceded in death by her parents, she had a brother who also is deceased, William Murray.

Lidid Tune

Lidid Tune of Jersey City, N.J., formerly of Scottsburg, died Wednesday, August 11, 1999 in New Jersey.
Ms. Tune was born in Halifax County the daughter of James Tune and Edna Hughes Tune. She was a former member of St. James Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sons; two daughters; one sister, Louise Tune Sydnor of Halifax; and one brother, Frank Tune of Scottsburg.
Funeral services for Ms. Tune will be held Monday, August 16 at 9:00 a.m. in Jersey City.

Joe Hugh Farmer Jr.

Joe Hugh 'Pete' Farmer Jr., 74, of 13076 Chatham Road, Java, died Friday, August 13, 1999 at his home.
Mr. Farmer was born in Halifax County on August 12, 1925, the son of Joe Hugh Farmer and Molly McGregor Farmer and was married to Sally R. Farmer. He was a member of County Line Baptist Church, and a veteran of World War II.
Funeral services were held Sunday, August 15 at 3:00 p.m. at County Line Baptist Church with Rev. Joseph Cantrell officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.

Mr. Farmer is survived by one daughter, Terrie F. and her husband, Woody Spell, of South Boston; one grandson, Ian Spell of South Boston; two sisters, Ella Louise Collins, and Ruby Tate, both of Richmond. He was preceded in death by one brother, Raymond T. Barker.

Edith Mildred Purgason

Edith Mildred Purgason, 85, of South Boston, died Saturday, August 14, 1999 at The Woodview.
Ms. Purgason was born in Halifax County on August 10, 1914, the daughter of Samuel Hale Burgess and Nannie Lee Henderson. She was a member of First Baptist Church, and a longtime employee of Hardees.
Survivors include two sisters, Pauline Richardson of South Boston, and Lessie Evans of Henderson, N.C.; two brothers, Wilson Burgess of Alexander, and John Burgess of Alton.
Graveside services for Ms. Purgason will be held Monday, August 16, at 11:00 a.m. in Oak Ridge Cemetery with Rev. Bob Fox officiating.

Joyce Blair Martin Mayo

Joyce Blair Martin Mayo, 65, of 3120 H.P. Anderson Road, Halifax, died Friday, August 13, 1999 at The Woodview.
Mrs. Mayo was born in Halifax County on August 3, 1934, the daughter of Bruce Dennis Martin and Pearl Owen Martin and was married to W. Archie Mayo. She was a member of Winns Creek Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday school for over 25 years.
Survivors include her husband; one son, W. Bruce Mayo, and daughter-in-law, Dana C. Mayo of Nathalie; one sister, Frances Hudgins and brother-in-law, Wallace Hudgins, of Richmond.

Funeral services for Mrs. Mayo will be held Monday, August 16 at 2:00 p.m. at Winns Creek Baptist Church with Revs. Kenneth Williams and Richard Welch conducting the service. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.

Nelle Temples Anderson

Nelle Temples Anderson, 90, died Friday, August 13, 1999 at The Woodview. She was the wife of the late John Andrew Anderson Jr.
Mrs. Anderson was born November 6, 1908 in Johnson, S.C. She was a member of Lynchburg Business Professional Women's Association, and a member of Beulah Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Betsy J. Anderson of Halifax; one son, John A. Anderson of Pasco, Wa.; one sister, Myrtis Temples Hicks of Evington; one granddaughter, Tammi Sue Anderson Cross of Pasco; and two great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held Monday, August 16 at 11:00 a.m. at Diuguid Waterlick Chapel with burial following at Fort Hill Memorial Park.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Beulah Baptist Church, 528 Leesville Road, or the charity of your choice.

Irene Conner Gravitt

Irene Conner Gravitt, 92, of Rustburg, died Tuesday, August 10, 1999 at Lynchburg General Hospital. Twice married, she was the wife of the late Palmer Meritt Gravitt and the late Barksdale Easley Gravitt.
Born January 25, 1907, Mrs. Gravitt was the daughter of William Albert and Nannie Puryear Conner. She was a retired seamstress with Lynchburg Manufacturing Co., and a member of Rebecca Lodge 41. She was a member of Thomas Road Baptist Church.
Survivors include five daughters, Nannie Ealy and her husband, Elza of Palm Desert, Ca., Mary Pettygrew and husband, Jack of Chesterfield, Elizabeth Creno and Marlene Polge and husband, Julian, all of Syracuse, N.Y., and Connie Gravitt of Rustburg; 19 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by three sons, Swanson O. Gravitt, Lloyd M. Gravitt, and Conway Gravitt.
Funeral services for Mrs. Gravitt were conducted at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 14, at Whitten Timberlake Chapel by Revs. Charlie Harbin and David Heerspink. Burial followed in Spring Hill Cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider International Order of Odd Fellows.

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