Link Farms, Inc., has filed suit against county supervisors and two county officials to force them to execute the local government ordinance form required as the Links attempt to triple their farm's swine confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Alton.
In papers filed in Halifax Circuit Court on Monday, August 9, the court is asked to order either Board Chairman J. C. Satterfield Jr., County Administrator W.D. Sleeper or County Planner Gerald V. Lovelace to execute the local government ordinance form.
In a petition signed by Ray Link, president of Link Farms, Inc., the court also is asked to award the petitioner his costs and attorneys' fees associated with the petition.
County officials have 21 days to reply after being served.
Link is suing the county for a writ of mandamus, which is an order of the court demanding that the county do its job as identified by its local ordinance, explained County Administrator Dan Sleeper yesterday.
The Board of Supervisors will be discussing the Link petition with counsel in closed session Thursday night, according to Lovelace.
Link Farms , Inc., currently houses approximately 2,760 hogs, but in June the Department of Conservation and Recreation approved the farm's nutrient management plan for coverage under a Virginia Pollution Abatement permit for a proposed expanded 8,520-head finishing hog operation.
Any operator has to apply to the county for a permit in addition to applying to the Department of Environmental Quality, County Planner Jerry Lovelace explained in late July.
Part of the permit application is certification by the county that the proposal is within zoning compliance, not within zoning compliance or that the county has no zoning regulations applicable to it, added the county planner.
Also, Department of Environmental Quality Engineer Senior James Golden said that it was his personal understanding that an application must include a certified local ordinance form to move forward.
However, on December 7, 1998, supervisors had directed the county administrator and staff to refrain from approving any applications for confined animal feeding operation permits until the Board and the Planning Commission completed their work on proposed zoning ordinance amendments.
At the Board of Supervisors' meeting the first week in August, Nelson Link formally asked supervisors to instruct their staff to execute the form that Link Farms, Inc., must have as the brothers, Nelson and Ray, sought to increase the swine operation.
In papers filed on behalf of Link Farms Inc., in Halifax Circuit Court on Monday, August 9, the petition alleges the Board of Supervisors did not have authority from the state to not process the application.
The "said moratorium" is described as violating the Right to Farm Act and also as being invalid and void and described Link's proposed CAFO as being in complete compliance with the current zoning ordinances passed in Halifax County pursuant to the Virginia Code.
The petition also alleges that the refusal of the Board, acting through Satterfield, Sleeper and Lovelace, to execute Link's Local Government Ordinance Form was unlawful.
In addition to all members of the Board of Supervisors, W.D. "Dan" Sleeper, Gerald "Jerry" V. Lovelace and John Greenbacker, Commonwealth's Attorney, were served. If a county attorney is not identified, the Commonwealth's Attorney is served, explained Sleeper yesterday.

AXA's request for a boundary adjustment taking 329.79 acres of its Berry Hill property into South Boston moved into its final phase Monday night, but with one challenge.
The boundary adjustment will allow Paris-based AXA's Berry Hill executive training center to serve liquor by the drink, which is not legal within the county.
Following public hearings conducted by both the county and town Monday night, supervisors voted 5-1 and South Boston Town Council members 6-0 to approve a boundary adjustment resolution with a midnight September 1 effective date.
No one spoke for or against the boundary adjustment during the public hearings.
Attorneys for both the county and the town will examine the proposal which will then be forwarded to circuit court for action, according to County Administrator Dan Sleeper.
Court action could come within days or weeks, according to Sleeper.
During the Monday night meeting Supervisor R.E. "Dickie" Abbott, ED-1, opposed the boundary adjustment action.
"Liquor by the drink is the only reason for it, and we could have others coming down the road asking for the same," said Abbott.
Saying he had received telephone calls about the issue, Abbott added, "It sets a bad precedent."
Supervisor Bill Abbott also raised some questions about the boundary adjustment but voted for the resolution.
Supervisors Tom West, ED-2, and Robbie Smart, ED-8, were absent from the Monday night meeting.
The county administrator described the biggest problem as the ABC Board's "most unusual" regulations.
Supervisors also were advised that the liquor-by-the-drink issue already had been raised by one developer with land in the county near Taco Bell in the Centerville area, which is adjacent to South Boston. But, supervisors were told there has been no official request for a boundary adjustment.
R.E. Abbott urged a referendum in the county to let the people decide the liquor-by-the-drink question.
Supervisor Garland Ricketts asked county staff to put together something on the issue for supervisors' next session.
In a November 1982 referendum, South Boston residents voted to allow for the sale of mixed drinks in qualifying restaurants within the town.
The proposition failed by less than 100 votes in the county in a 3,275 to 3,367 vote.
In South Boston, the issue passed by more than 400 votes.
In other business, county and town officials discussed Westside Land Development Corporation's request for the county to amend its ordinance from a one-acre to 15,000- square-foot lot size in an agricultural area when served with municipal water and sewer. The area of interest is undeveloped land near Westside Village.
Since the property is within the urban planning area, County Planner Jerry Lovelace said he wanted to bring the matter before the two towns for discussion.
The two towns also have 15,000- square-foot requirements with water/sewer service within their own designations.
South Boston Mayor Glen Abernathy suggested the two town managers and county officials get together on the lot size served by municipal water/sewer services issue and report back at the next joint meeting.
Supervisors also decided to advertise for a part-time position for Recycling Coordinator and Litter Control Manager.
The position would be 25 hours a week until the solid waste study is completed, explained county officials, because that study will address litter control and recycling in the context of all solid waste collection and disposal.
Halifax and South Boston town council members joined supervisors in a tour of the urban planning area following the public hearings and initial joint session.

A 16-year-old Alton boy was killed Sunday night as the result of a single-vehicle accident near his home.
According to reports from the Virginia State Police, Justin Thomas Walker, 16, of Alton, was driving along Old Cluster Springs Road (Route 704) around 9 p.m., August 15, when he lost control while attempting to negotiate a curve at a high rate of speed approximately one-half mile south of Route 58.
A report filed by investigating Trooper D.T. Conner indicated that Walker lost control, ran off the right side of the road and struck three trees, causing an estimated $3,000 to the 1990 Ford Mustang Coup.
Both Walker and a passenger, 16-year-old Stephen Todd Leith, of South Boston, neither of whom was wearing a seat belt, were ejected from the vehicle, according to reports from the Virginia State Police Division Headquarters in Appomattox.
A spokesperson with the Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston reported Tuesday that Leith was listed in good condition.
According to family members, Walker was an organ donar.
"His kind generosity will continue to help others even with such tragedy," said friend Stacey Jackson. "He will truly be missed and loved forever."
Walker, a student at Halifax County High School and a member of the school's junior varsity baseball team, also worked at the Cluster Springs Amoco. He also played in the South Boston Dixie Youth Baseball League where he was on all-star teams for several years.

A Saxe man was injured and his 1999 Pontiac destroyed in a predawn accident Saturday, August 14.
Reports indicated that at 4:40 a.m., Charles N. Brogdon, 26, failed to stop at the intersection of Mt. Laurel Road (Route 746) and Rodgers Chapel Road (Route 607) and struck a tree, at which time the 1999 Pontiac burst into flames.
A spokesperson with the Halifax Regional Hospital said Brogden was admitted to the hospital and was listed in good condition.
Investigating State Trooper S.M. Krantz declared the vehicle a total loss with $18,000 damage, and charged Brogdon with reckless driving.
The following afternoon, a South Boston man was injured in a freak motorcycle accident near Neals Corner.
Trooper D.O. Cooper II indicated in his report that Tinik McFarland, 24, was injured Sunday around 1:45 p.m. when the front wheel of the 1083 Kawasaki he was riding along Hunting Creek Road (Route 603) lifted off the roadway, causing him to lose control and crash approximately seven-tenths of a mile west of Neals Corner Road (Route 616).
Cooper charged McFarland, who was released from the hospital Monday, with reckless driving.
The heavy but isolated rainfall Saturday afternoon contributed to at least one accident near Halifax.
Reports indicated that Doris E. Worsham, 36, of South Boston, was driving along Route 360 at 4:35 p.m. when she hit a patch of water that caused her vehicle to hydroplane off the road where it collided with a power line pole, a highway sign and a telephone pedestal box.
Investigating Trooper R.C. Compton charged Worsham, who was injured, with reckless driving, and estimated that her vehicle, a 1997 Dodge, sustained $8,000 in damages.
Worsham was treated at the Halifax Regional Emergency Room, according to a hospital spokesperson.
An Alton juvenile and another man were injured early Friday morning when the teen ran into a parked vehicle near Clover.
Reports indicated that the 17-year-old Alton boy was driving a 1992 GMC pickup truck along Route 92, one-tenth of a mile north of Mosely Ferry Road (Route 716), around 5:30 a.m. when he collided with the rear of a 1973 Ford pickup truck parked along the side of the road.
Both the teen and Thomas Edward Brooks Jr., who was sitting in the parked vehicle, were treated for injuries at the Halifax Regional Emergency Room and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Reports indicated that investigating Trooper D.O. Cooper II charged the teen, who, he said, was speeding and apparently not paying attention to the road, with reckless driving.
Four people, including two infants, were injured Friday afternoon in a multiple-vehicle accident that occurred around lunch time.
Reports indicated that around 12:55 p.m., Frank K. Jones Jr., 33, of Vernon Hill, pulled onto Chatham Road (Route 832) into the path of a 1995 Mercury being driven by Michael A. Womack.
The two vehicles collided, causing an estimated $7,500 damage to the Womack vehicle, and the Jones vehicle, a 1990 Ford pickup truck, continued east on Chatham Road, turned into a parking lot, and struck a parked 1997 Kia wagon, injuring a two-year-old child and five-month-old infant inside the van.
After striking the parked vehicle, the Jones vehicle continued to roll out of the parking lot and onto Ashbury Church Road, where it finally came to rest.
Jones, Womack, and the two infants were treated for minor injuries in the Halifax Regional Emergency Room and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Trooper S.M. Krantz charged Jones with reckless driving. Damage to the Jones vehicle was estimated at $3,500.

By LARRY O'DELL
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A private board headed by Gov. Jim Gilmore began laying the groundwork Tuesday for a program that will funnel about $340 million to Virginia tobacco farmers over the next dozen years.
The money is Virginia's share of a $5.15 billion trust established between 14 tobacco-growing states and major cigarette makers to help farmers cope with revenue losses as a result of the national tobacco settlement.
The trust fund is separate from the $206 billion settlement reached last year by the tobacco industry and state attorneys general who sued to recover the costs of treating sick smokers. Virginia's cut of that deal will be about $4 billion over 25 years.
Gilmore and Attorney General Mark L. Earley helped negotiate the side agreement for farmers, who expect to receive their first payments by Dec. 31. In the first year, about $25 million will be divided among approximately 25,000 tobacco growers and quota holders - typically those who have government permission to grow tobacco but lease their quotas to others.
''Clearly, by securing this side agreement we have helped stabilize an important component of Virginia's economy,'' Earley said.
At the Virginia Tobacco Trust Certification Board's first meeting, Gilmore said the side agreement stems from tobacco-growing states' determination to protect the interests of farmers and tobacco-reliant communities.
''We concluded nobody should be left behind, nobody should be made a second-class citizen, nobody should be picked on,'' Gilmore said.
However, the president of the National Black Farmers Association complained that the board that will determine who gets the money has no black members.
''It looks as though when money is put on the table, we are excluded,'' said John Boyd, who grows six acres of flue-cured tobacco on his Mecklenburg County farm. ''We were promised we would be included in any dialogue.''
Gilmore spokesman Mark Miner said the governor appointed Boyd and another black farmer to another board dealing with the major tobacco settlement, and ''the two boards are going to be working very closely together. Everyone will be represented.''
The board faces some tight deadlines, even though the trust fund will not be official until a judge in North Carolina acts on it Thursday.
By Oct. 1, the board must identify the categories of farmers and quota holders who will be eligible for payment. By Dec. 1, the board must provide Chase Manhattan Bank the names of everyone entitled to a check.
''General Earley and I are anxious for decisive action to be taken so growers and quota holders can get paid this year,'' Gilmore said.
The agenda for the first meeting included adopting bylaws and making a number of preliminary decisions, such as which year's data should be used in calculating payments. The board decided the base year will be 1998.
The board will be exempt from the state's Freedom of Information Act because it is a private entity handling private funds. That means the board can hold secret meetings, or conduct meetings by telephone conference call, and its records can be kept confidential.
Gilmore told reporters the board would be as open as possible.
''We have nothing to hide,'' he said.

By MARK R. CHELLGREN
Associated Press Writer
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Public health advocates have long viewed tobacco as a killer. In turn, tobacco farmers have long viewed public health advocates as the real killers, out to destroy their livelihoods.
But in these desperate times for the tobacco industry, farmers have found an unusual ally - health advocates. In Virginia, the two sides even worked out an agreement for dividing the money from a settlement with cigarette companies that defied political odds.
Some of the architects of that unusual alliance came to Kentucky to offer some direction and advice, but things don't seem so agreeable here.
''We absolutely need them,'' Del. Ted Bennett of the Virginia House told Kentucky's Tobacco Task Force on Monday. ''These people were godsends.''
Kentucky is scheduled to receive $3.45 billion as its share of the settlement between state attorneys general and cigarette manufacturers. The companies settled in order to avoid lawsuits seeking damages and payments to cover the states' costs of treating people with tobacco-related illnesses.
There is no shortage of ideas on what Kentucky should do with the money, which comes with virtually no strings attached. Farm groups have already put together a package of agriculture initiatives that would cost $85 million a year out of the $134 million annual estimated payment. Some health officials said all of it should go for anti-smoking efforts and treatment. Legislators have offered ideas ranging from health research to a statewide health insurance fund.
Bennett, a Democrat from Halifax County, the heart of Virginia's tobacco growing region, said the General Assembly there created a special fund that will get half of the state's share of the tobacco settlement. All those proceeds will go to help agriculture.
A 10 percent share was set aside for programs to stem youth smoking.
The remaining 40 percent was left alone for others to fight over, Bennett said. The bill passed without a dissenting vote.
Rebecca Reeve, director of the Southern Tobacco Communities Project and a public health administrator at the University of Virginia, said most in the health field wanted a bigger share.
But the smaller figure was accepted as a compromise in the spirit of cooperation with tobacco farmers, who have long feared and scorned health advocates as anti-tobacco.
Reeve said the public health lobby will try to get a piece of the settlement.
''We've got more people looking at that 40 percent than you can shake a stick at,'' Bennett said.
J.T. Davis, a tobacco grower from Virginia, told the Kentucky lawmakers that health interests understand that the price support and quota program for U.S. tobacco works to keep prices high and supplies low, which ultimately keeps tobacco use down some. And they know that the death of tobacco in the United States would only mean tobacco imported from other countries and damage to American farmers.
''These people have actually gone to bat for us to save the program,'' Davis said.
Kentucky Sen. Joey Pendleton, D-Hopkinsville, said it has been refreshing for him to meet with health advocates in a civilized setting. ''It is certainly great to have that group with us,'' Pendleton said.
But another legislator said Kentucky's tobacco farmers, who reside in nearly every county, should get virtually all the money. ''If this doesn't get but one vote in the General Assembly to send this money back to the tobacco communities and farmers, it's going to be mine,'' said Rep. John Will Stacy, D-West Liberty.

While a handful of Halifax County schools made strides in improving their Standards of Learning test scores, none of the local schools met Virginia's eventual accreditation standards.
Halifax County High School, Halifax County Middle School, Clays Mill, Meadville, Virgilina, Volens, and Washington-Coleman were the big gainers in this, the second round of the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests.
Schools that showed major declines were South of Dan, Sinai, and Clover.
Halifax County's other schools either noted improvement in a majority of their core subject areas or the gaining areas and losing areas were pretty much equally split.
Among the more sparkling of the test results were those compiled by Virgilina Elementary School.
There 91 percent of the fifth graders taking the tests passed the computer technology test, 86.666 percent of the students passed the third grade Math test, 81 percent of the fifth graders passed the Writing test, and 80 percent of the third graders passed the History and Science tests.
Virgilina's lowest mark was in the fifth grade History test where 36.36 percent of the students passed. Yet, that was a gain of 14 percent over the 1998 score.
At Halifax County Middle School it was all thumbs up as 66.94 percent of the students passed the eighth grade Science test which was a gain of 15 percentage points over 1998 and 66.76 percent of the students passed the eighth grade English test which was a gain of 10 percentage points from 1998.
Also, 53.02 percent of the students passed the eighth grade Math test which was a gain of 19 percentage points over 1998, and 30.48 percent of the students passed the history test, a gain of six percentage points over the previous year.
At Clays Mill Elementary School, the third grade showed big strides with the percentage of students passing the English test rising from 45.31 percent in 1998 to 66.67 percent and the percentage of students passing the Math test up from 56.25 percent a year ago to 63.27 percent in 1999.
A 13 point gain was noted in Science which hit 64 percent this year and a slight gain of a point and a half was noted in History where 50 percent of the students passed.
Meadville Elementary School was a school that improved its percentages in each area.
Highlighting Meadville's report was a 23 percentage point gain in third grade English, and a 26 point gain in third grade History which hit 37.5 percent passing.
Grade five Math, where 39.29 percent of the students passed, showed a 29 percentage point gain and fifth grade Science, which had 64.29 percent of the students passing the test, had a 32 point gain.
Volens was another school that made big strides in the percentage of students passing SOL tests.
In fifth grade English, 84.48 percent of the students that took the test passed. Seventy percent of the fifth graders taking the Science test passed which was a gain of 18 points over 1998, and 56.67 percent of the students taking the fifth grade Math test passed it, a gain of 18.74 percent over the previous year.
At Halifax County High School, 42.51 percent of the students passed English which was a 17 percentage point increase over the previous year.
Figures showed 32.53 percent passed the History SOL test which was a gain of 16.91 percent from 1998 and 56.06 percent passed the Science test which was a gain of 4.68 percent over 1998.
For the English test, 62.93 percent passed it but that was down 1.27 percent from 1998.
Washington-Coleman Elementary School made marginal improvements in virtually every area and, thus, was among the group of gainers.
Disturbing, however, was that only 43.82 percent of the fifth grade students taking the History test passed. That mark represented a drop of 24.08 percent from 1998.
Other local schools that came in with generally favorable marks were Sydnor Jennings, Turbeville, Wilson Memorial, and Scottsburg.
Turbeville Elementary showed 70 percent passing the third grade History and Math, 77.27 percent passing the fifth grade Science test, and 65 percent passing the third grade Science test.
However, only 36.36 percent of the students passed the fifth grade Math test, a drop of 1.74 percent from 1998.
Sydnor Jennings, with over 55 percent passing the third grade English, 55.93 percent passing the third grade History test, and 61.02 percent passing the Science test showed well in those areas.
And even though 62.71 percent of the third graders passed the Math SOL test, that mark was down slightly from last year.
At Wilson Memorial Elementary School, 92.31 percent passed the third grade Math SOL test and 78.57 percent passed the fifth grade Science SOL test.
While those marks were good, the school's overall performance was tainted by the fact that only 20 percent of the students passed the fifth grade Math test, a drop of 22.86 percentage points from 1998, and only 30.77 percent of the third graders passed the third grade English test, a drop of 30.77 percentage points from 1998.
Results for Cluster Springs Elementary School were mixed as the school noted a 17 percentage point increase in the percentage of students passing the fifth grade computer technology test, a 14 point gain in fifth grade History, and a 13 point gain in fifth grade Writing test.
The most disturbing item at Cluster Springs was that the school experienced a 23 percentage point drop in the percentage of students passing the fifth grade math test.
C.H. Friend Elementary School was generally up in its marks but saw the percent of students passing the fifth grade English test drop from 71.88 percent in 1998 to 65.34 percent this year.
Also, the percentage of students passing the fifth grade History SOL test dropped from 67.9 percent in 1998 to 43.82 percent in 1999.
Losers in this year's round of SOL tests included South of Dan which had 32.86 percent pass the third grade English test, 44.29 percent pass the Math test, 28.57 percent pass the History test, and 31.43 percent pass the Science SOL test.
Those marks represented sizeable drops ranging from a high of 16 percentage points in History to 10.67 percentage points in third grade English.
Sinai Elementary School experienced declines in the percentage of students passing the SOL tests as only the percentage of students passing the third grade English, the third grade History, and fifth grade Science SOL tests improving over the 1998 figures.
The trend was also a downward one at Clover where the percentage of students passing SOL tests fell in six areas.
Gains were noted in only two areas. The gains in the percentage of students passing SOL tests were achieved in fifth grade English test (94.44 percent in 1999 as compared to 76.67 in 1998) and in the fifth grade History SOL test (55.56 percent as compared to 53.33 percent in 1998).
The story of the local schools was pretty much mirrored across the state as many of the state's public schools showed improvement. But only a small percentage, 6.5 percent, actually met accreditation standards.
The 6.5 percent figure was a good jump from the 2.2 percent figure of last year.
The SOL tests measure students in the core academic areas of English. Math, Science, and History. They will eventually determine which students will graduate and which schools will remain accredited.
Tests are administered to students in the third, fifth, and eighth grades and in high school.
In the 2006-2007 school year when the state SOL program goes into full effect, at least 70 percent of a school's students must pass tests in all four core areas.However, for the third grade Science and History tests, the figure is 50 percent.

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 followed 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. Farmer.

Justin Thomas Walker, 16, of 1006 Evans Trail, Alton, died August 15, 1999, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Walker was born February 9, 1983, in Halifax County, the son of Jan Walker and Pamela Hughes Walker. He was a member of Centerville Baptist Church, and was a student at Halifax County High School, where he was a member of the JV baseball team. He also played in the South Boston Dixie Baseball League, where he was on all-star teams for several years. He was a clerk at Cluster Springs Amoco.
The funeral will be held at Centerville Baptist Church, Wednesday, August 18, at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Richard Saunders officiating. Burial will take place in Halifax Memorial Gardens.

Survivors include his mother and father; two brothers, Christopher J. Walker of South Boston and Nicholas S. Walker of Alton; one sister, BreeAnn D. Walker of Alton; his maternal grandfather, Jimmie Hughes and his wife, Leila Hughes of Cumberland; his paternal grandfather, Nathan Walker and his wife, Sharon Walker of South Boston; and his maternal great-grandmother, Ethel Hughes of Nathalie.

Paul Franklin Blanks, 42, of 331 Wickham Street, South Boston died Sunday, August 15, 1999, at his home.
Mr. Blanks was born in Halifax County on September 4, 1956, the son of Norman Franklin Blanks and Eva Mae Brammer.
Survivors include two sisters, Rita Diane McGregor of Mechanicsville and Norma Jean Blanks Dix of South Boston; one brother, David Allen Saunders of South Boston; his step-father, Bill Brinkmeyer of South Boston; several nieces and nephews, and two great nieces.

Graveside services for Mr. Blanks will be held Wednesday, August 18, at 2:00 p.m. in Black Walnut Baptist Church Cemetery. Rev. Rudolph Jacobs will conduct the service.

Leslie Simmie 'Frog' Bradley Jr., 80, of 3146 Dan River Church Road, South Boston, died Monday, August 16, 1999, at Berry Hill Nursing Home.
Mr. Bradley was born in Halifax County on December 6, 1918, the son of Leslie S. Bradley Sr. and Annie Terry Bradley, and was married to Millie Keatts Bradley. He was a member of First Baptist Church, and was retired after many years as a mechanic with C&G Tractor Company.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter, Lisa Bradley Landrum of South Boston; one son, Herman Leslie 'Pete' Bradley of Mechanicsville; two grandsons, Stephen Lesley Bradley and Brian Keith Bradley, both of Mechanicsville. He was preceded in death by three brothers, Elmo, Atkins and Watkins Bradley.
Funeral services for Mr. Bradley will be held Thursday, August 19, at 2:00 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. David Dickerson conducting the service. Burial will take place in Catawba Baptist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home Wednesday from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m. and other times at the home.

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.