By Associated Press &
Gazette-Virginian Staff
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Home furnishings retailer Heilig-Meyers Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday and said it will close 302 stores, five of which are located in the communities of Martinsville, Collinsville, Christiansburg, Radford and Emporia.
Heilig -Meyers has a store located at Centerville in South Boston and it will remain open.
In all, about 4,400 jobs will be cut.
The closings will leave the Richmond-based chain with 596 stores and about 12,900 employees in 29 states, company spokesman Barry Brockwell said.
The bankruptcy petition lists assets of $1.35 billion and liabilities of $868 million. The company reported a net loss of $15 million for the quarter ended May 31. ''Continued disappointing operating results coupled with an inability to secure alternate financing sources limit our ability to achieve the necessary strategic and capital improvements to compete in today's retail marketplace,'' Heilig-Meyers president and CEO Donald S. Shaffer said Wednesday.
Shaffer took over the company last month after William C. DeRusha resigned as chairman and CEO. DeRusha had come under increasing fire as Heilig-Meyers lost money in each of the last three fiscal years.
Kenneth M. Gassman Jr., a retail analyst with Davenport & Co. in Richmond, said Shaffer's predecessors failed to respond to a changing consumer credit marketplace.
''We used to call Heilig-Meyers a bank disguised as a furniture retailer,'' Gassman said. The company bolstered its revenue by financing furniture purchases for customers who had few other credit options. But then credit card companies began issuing cards to those customers, who were able to buy furniture elsewhere because they did not have to rely on Heilig-Meyers' in-house financing, Gassman said.
Heilig-Meyers said Wednesday that it will quit offering in-store credit. The company will contract with a third party to handle credit transactions - a move Gassman said was long overdue. Gassman said Heilig-Meyers' problems peaked when the company decided to delay making $18 million in interest payments that were due this month.
Many furniture suppliers either stopped shipping to the company or required cash up front, and Heilig-Meyers executives ''found themselves quickly spiraling into a financial abyss,'' Gassman said. Shaffer said he believes manufacturers will work with the company during its reorganization.
Heilig-Meyers also announced that it has received a commitment from a group of lenders for $215 million to help the company through its reorganization. The funding is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval. Shaffer said bankruptcy protection will enable the company to reduce overhead and focus on operations that have been most profitable, including its 57-store RoomStore division.
None of those stores, which are in major markets, will be closed. In addition to closing unprofitable stores, Heilig-Meyers will shut down distribution centers in Hesperia, Calif., and Thomasville, Ga., Brockwell said.
The company will seek Bankruptcy Court approval to conduct inventory liquidation sales at the stores that are closing. Brockwell declined to say whether the company has a potential buyer for those stores.
Heilig-Meyers, founded in 1913 in Goldsboro, N.C., grew to a chain of 1,249 stores at its high point in 1998. The company's stock traded as high as $39 in late 1993. It closed Tuesday at 50 cents, down 6 cents. Trading was halted Wednesday because of the bankruptcy filing.

A single-vehicle crash resulted in an injury Wednesday morning on Mountain Road after the driver fell asleep at the wheel and his vehicle slammed into a utility pole.
Trooper D.J. Cline said the 8:40 a.m. crash occurred on State Route 360, one-half of a mile east of High View Road (Route 671), after William J. Howerton Jr., 25, of South Boston, fell asleep while driving a 1987 Nissan.
Cline said the vehicle ran off of the left side of the road, reentered the highway and the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to run off of the left side of the road again.
The vehicle then struck a utility pole, the force ejecting the driver through the windshield, said Cline.
Howerton, who was not wearing a seat belt, received lacerations to an arm and was taken to Halifax Regional Hospital where he was listed in good condition Thursday afternoon, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Cline estimated $1,500 in damages to the vehicle and charged Howerton with reckless driving.
· A two-vehicle accident occurred Monday afternoon at the intersection of U.S. Route 360 and Piney Creek Road (Route 721).
Trooper Cline said the 1:20 p.m. crash involved a 1972 Ford truck, driven by Douglas E. Lacks, 51, of Red Oak, which was struck in the rear by a 1998 Jeep, driven by Jason R. Clanton, 22, of Richmond.
Cline said Lacks was attempting to make a right turn when his vehicle was struck.
The trooper estimated $8,000 in damages to the Jeep and $500 to the truck.
Clanton was charged with reckless driving.
· A two-car incident occurred Tuesday morning as a result of a vehicle on the wrong side of the road.
Trooper Cline said the 11:20 a.m. accident occurred on Chatham Road (Route 832), three-tenths of a mile south of Ashbury Church Road (Route 676), when a 1998 Volvo tractor-trailer, driven by David Allen Calloway, 41, of Chatham, was driving on the wrong side of the road.
Cline said a 1995 Ford, driven by Naomi Fay Hawley, 54, of Bassett, attempted to avoid the tractor-trailer and ran off of the right side of the road, striking a mailbox.
Hawley was injured by the incident and taken to Halifax Regional Hospital, where she was treated and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The trooper estimated $400 in damages to the vehicle and $75 to the mailbox.
Calloway was charged with driving on the wrong side of the highway.
· A two-vehicle crash occurred Tuesday evening at the intersection of Route 501 and Sinai Road (Route 654).
Trooper D.O. Cooper II said the 6:12 p.m. crash involved a 1997 Ford, driven by Carrie B. Jackson, 23, of Chase City, which struck the rear of a 1999 Hyundai, driven by Sherrie R. Held, 23, of Alton.
Cooper said Held, as well as a passenger in her vehicle, Norma Louise Kaywood, 25, sustained injuries.
Both were treated at Halifax Regional Hospital and released, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The trooper estimated $400 in damages to Held's vehicle and $100 in damages to the Jackson vehicle.
Jackson was charged with following too closely.

In other police reports,

A 36-year-old Nathalie man was arrested Wednesday by the South Boston police on a felony charge of forcible sodomy.
Officers C.L. Carswell and W.M. Garner made the arrest while Crews was leaving his place of work.
Crews allegedly committed the offense in the Town of South Boston on April 30, which involved a 45-year-old woman.
· A stolen vehicle was recovered Wednesday afternoon after the South Boston Police Department received a telephone call about the vehicle's whereabouts.
Lt. H.B. Rice said a red 1989 Mitsubishi pickup, belonging to Johnny Williams of Hunting Tree Apartments, which was reported stolen on Monday, was seen in a residential driveway at 1109 Lower Liberty Road in Nathalie.
Rice said the vehicle was not damaged and that the owner had indicated that he had been missing his keys to the automobile.
The lieutenant declined further information in the case.
An investigation by Lt. R.D. Loftis and Sgt. B.K. Lovelace is on-going.

A letter outlining "four primary concerns" about the proposed war memorial's design is being forwarded to the Halifax War Memorial Commission by the Courthouse Building and Grounds Committee.
The building and grounds committee unanimously endorsed the letter outlining design issues during its Thursday afternoon meeting.
The committee had been asked by the War Commission to come up with specific issues detailing why its proposed design is deemed not appropriate.
Following a joint meeting last month, the War Commission asked that the committee respond in 30 days.
The committee declined to publicly release its letter yesterday, but indicated information would be provided to the public at a later date.
Yesterday, Supervisor R.E. "Dickie" Abbott, chairman of the building and grounds committee, and the committee - with one member, Robert "Chip" Pottage III, absent - enthusiastically endorsed the letter drafted by Davyd Foard Hood, an architect and landscape historian serving as a consultant to the committee.
"It seems it (the letter) gets to the problem," said Abbott. "In my mind, it solves the problem."
The main issue between the courthouse committee and the War Commission appears to be the Commission's design featuring an obelisk within a dome.
Committee member Jane Edmunds said yesterday that five different architects had been contacted and "more or less came up with the same critique" regarding the War Commission's proposed design.
Foard Hood and other building and grounds committee members have described the combination as not appropriate.
Committee members also agreed to include the letters from the architects that Edmunds' had contacted with the letter the committee is sending to the War Commission.
Committee member Pottage has the original replies, she explained.
As a consideration, Foard Hood recommended that the War Commission be given time to receive the committee's letters and respond before any additional information is made public.
Committee member Betty Bane urged cooperation and working together to see the project completed. If need be, Bane also advocated having a professional third party join the effort in producing an appropriate monument suitable to the site.
War Memorial Park is located at the corner of Main Street and Mountain Road in Halifax. Once a memorial design is completed, the property will be appropriately landscaped.
The building and grounds committee set its next regular meeting for September 21 at 1 p.m., with an alternate date of September 28.

Wanted...someone with knowledge of social work treatment modalities - knowledge of the criminal justice system, and knowledge of the principles and practices of court proceedings.
...Skilled in interviewing and counseling - ability to identify and utilize community agency services - ability to interpret regulations, guidelines and statutes.
...Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
And, yes, ability to work with people and with paperwork - lots of it.
Such are the qualifications desired for a probation and parole officer, a job very unique for its daily routine, or lack of one.
C.W. "Corky" Rorrer Jr. can identify with that job description.
Rorrer, who has served as an officer for about 25 years, is the chief probation and parole officer for District Eight, division of field operations for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
High Caseload
District Eight is one of 42 such districts throughout the state, and encompasses the counties of Halifax, Mecklenburg and Lunenburg counties.
"In terms of the number of felony cases disposed, we (this district) do the highest number of presentence reports of any district in the state, percentage wise," Rorrer said.
According to Rorrer that percentage is between 85 to 90 percent.
"That percentage is as low as 20 percent in other districts. We see it as having some tough commonwealth's attorneys. There is a very low amount of plea agreements," said Rorrer.
The local office employs about seven probation and parole officers. Virginia is one of the states that combines the duties of probation and parole, two separate entities that are sometimes confused, according to Rorrer.
"Probation involves a suspended sentence from a judge. If somebody violates probation, that person goes back before the judge to reconsider his sentence.
"In considering parole, a person has already been sentenced to a term in the Department of Corrections. They are paroled according to certain guidelines set out by statutes that are set out by a parole board.
"If they violate parole, they go back before that board," Rorrer explained.
However, effective January 1, 1995, Virginia's sentencing reforms abolished parole and adopted truth in sentencing, which reduced good time allowances to ensure that inmates serve a minimum of 85 percent of their sentence, and increased prison sentences for violent and repeat offenders.
That in itself, according to Rorrer, did not increase the prison population as much as originally projected.
In regards to probation, officers are appointed by judges in a particular district.
Never a Dull Moment
"We work for the judge - we're kind of his right-hand man," said Carroll Harrell.
Harrell has served as a probation and parole officer for nine and one-half years.
"A great deal of emphasis is placed on public safety. Our primary job is always to keep the public safety in the foreground and monitor our people in the community," said Harrell.
According to Harrell, one of the benefits of the job is flexibility.
"I may come in on a Monday morning with an idea of what I want to get accomplished, but something could come up to change my schedule. I don't see people on a daily basis.
"I go into the community to do home verifications and make sure my client is still in their home of record, and speak to people in the community to see how my client is adjusting to supervision."
But the paperwork in relation to presentence reports is a big part of Harrell's job, as well as the other officers.
"There are approximately 43 presentence reports to do every two months," said Harrell.
"It's a pretty comprehensive look at an individual's life and can include anywhere from 10 pages to 15-20 pages."
Subsequently, much time is spent in the courts, with the presiding judge asking probation and parole officers about sentencing guidelines for certain offenses.
Probation officers must also be familiar with the alternatives to normal incarceration.
The abolition of parole in Virginia has resulted in one of the biggest changes in the responsibility of probation officers.
As an alternative to incarceration in the prison system, a judge now has the option of assigning an offender to boot camp, or to the Detention or the Diversion centers. A probation officer explores those options for eligible offenders.
"These options are another tool for us," said Rorrer.
Other than the abolition of parole, Rorrer has noticed two big changes in his years as a probation and parole officer.
"I've seen a change in the type of individual who we supervise," said Rorrer.
"Twenty-five years ago, it was rare to have a female under supervision. Also, crack cocaine has had an impact. Drug cases have moved to the forefront," Rorrer added.
"More and more I've seen younger people come through the system," added Harrell.
As a result of the increase in substance abuse among offenders, probation officers have also been trained to screen their clients for drug use.
"For any offense that occurred on January 1, 2000, or after, an offender who comes before the circuit court has to be screened for substance abuse," said Rorrer.
"We do an initial screening to determine the possibility of drug abuse problems, and, if substance abuse is detected, we do one more in-depth assessment to determine to what degree they do have a problem.
"That's just one more thing probation and parole officers have been asked to do."
The ultimate challenge for any probation officer is supervision of a client.
At present, Harrell has a case load of 70 individuals.
"There are three levels of supervision - intense, irregular and relaxed," said Harrell.
"Those under intense supervision are seen up to twice a month, and include high-risk, violent offenders. For instance, home electronic monitoring is a tool used for offenders under intense supervision.
"Relaxed supervision is for non-offenders who would have committed a non-violent crime and would have done very well under more intense supervision for five or six years, possibly holding a full-time job.
"We generally see them quarterly or on a six-month basis. The majority of people we have are at the intense or irregular level of supervision."
Rorrer and Harrell concede that different subjects react to probation in different ways.
"In all honesty, the vast majority of people have been successful in completing their probation," said Rorrer.
"I wish we had more time supervising cases than we actually do."
"What we have to do is pick the higher risk people and spend the majority of time with them," Rorrer added.
"That type of person is known as a 'fence-sitter,'" said Harrell.
"A fence-sitter is one who could go one way or the other - we need to be there to push that person the right way."
Rorrer emphasized, "Public safety is at the forefront of what we do. I like to tell my officers that anybody can be put in jail.
"It takes a special person to keep somebody out of jail, and not have them be a danger to themselves or to the rest of the public."

A 30-year-old Alexandria man was sentenced yesterday in Halifax County Circuit Court to a total of 21 years in prison for five driver-related charges.
Darrell Andrew Glascock was sentenced to five years each for the following charges - forging a Virginia traffic summons, forging a Virginia certificate of blood alcohol analysis, forging a recognizance bond and forging a counsel waver form.
The court ordered two of the five-year terms to be served concurrently and two to be served consecutively for a total of 10 years in prison.
Glascock also received a one-year suspended sentence for one charge of a subsequent offense of driving under the influence.
Judge Charles L. McCormick III suspended all but two years of Glascock's 10-year sentence on the condition of Glascock's good behavior for 10 years upon his release.
The court also ordered a five-year probationary period for Glascock.
· David Carroll Waller, 45, of Gretna, was sentenced yesterday to a total of 11 years in prison for two counts of distributing cocaine and one count of possessing cocaine.
David Carroll Waller's entire sentence was suspended by Judge Charles L. McCormick III on the condition that Waller complete the Detention Center and then the Diversion Center programs.
Waller's suspended sentence was also conditional on his good behavior for 11 years upon his release.
Waller will be on probation until two years upon his release from the Detention and Diversion centers' programs.
· Randy Tyrone Acree, 23, of Nathalie, had five years of his previously suspended prison sentence revoked yesterday for a probation violation.
The court suspended Acree's sentence on condition of his good behavior upon his release from incarceration.
· Ricky Nelson Barksdale, 34, of South Boston, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for the distribution of cocaine.
The court suspended all but three years of Barksdale's sentence on condition of his good behavior for 10 years upon his release.
· William Edward Buster Jr., 45, of South Boston, was sentenced on Thursday to five years each for counts of distributing cocaine and conspiring to distribute cocaine.
The court suspended Buster's sentence on the condition of Buster's good behavior for 10 years.
Buster will be on probation for two years and was also ordered by the court to pay restitution of $250 to the commonwealth.
· James Thomas Hutcherson, 35, of South Boston, was sentenced yesterday to five years each in prison for two counts of the distribution of cocaine.
The court suspended Hutcherson's entire sentence on the condition that he complete first the Detention and then the Diversion centers' programs.
Hutcherson's sentence was also suspended on condition of his good behavior for 10 years.
The court also ordered a probationary period for Hutcherson to begin the day of sentencing and to end two years after his release from the Detention and Diversion centers' programs.
· Terrance Kirby, 26, of Halifax, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for unlawful wounding.
The court suspended all but three months of Kirby's sentence on the condition of his good behavior for 10 years following his release.
Kirby will also be on probation for two years after incarceration and is required to make restitution to his victim in the amount of $1,385.
· Andrea Gowen Sandel, 30, of Alton, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
The court suspended all but six months of Sandel's sentence on the condition of her good behavior for 10 years after her release.
The court ordered two years of active supervised probation for Sandel if she remains in Virginia.
Home electronic monitoring was also authorized for Sandel if she qualifies for it.
· Lawrence Randolph Wilson, 35, of Halifax, was sentenced yesterday to 90 days in jail for a misdemeanor subsequent DUI offense and to 12 months in jail for driving after being declared an habitual offender.
Wilson was ordered to serve both sentences concurrently for a total of 12 months in jail.
Wilson will get credit for time already served and he was also authorized for home electronic monitoring.

A 36-year-old Nathalie man was arrested Wednesday by the South Boston police on a felony charge of forcible sodomy.
Officers C.L. Carswell and W.M. Garner made the arrest while Crews was leaving his place of work.
Crews allegedly committed the offense in the Town of South Boston on April 30, which involved a 45-year-old woman.
· A stolen vehicle was recovered Wednesday afternoon after the South Boston Police Department received a telephone call about the vehicle's whereabouts.
Lt. H.B. Rice said a red 1989 Mitsubishi pickup, belonging to Johnny Williams of Honey Tree Apartments, which was reported stolen on Monday, was seen in a residential driveway at 1109 Lower Liberty Road in Nathalie.
Rice said the vehicle was not damaged and that the owner had indicated that he had been missing his keys to the automobile.
The lieutenant declined further information in the case.
An investigation by Lt. R.D. Loftis and Sgt. B.K. Lovelace is on-going.

James Francis Popek, 69, of 100 Duncan Court, South Boston, died August 16 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Popek was born in South Boston on September 17, 1930, the son of Frank Popek and Mary Balek Popek and was married to Carol Conner Popek. He was a member of St. Paschal's Catholic Church, past president of the South Boston Lions Club and a member of the American Legion Post 8 in South Boston.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, James E. Popek II and wife, Daphne of South Boston and Patrick F. Popek and wife, Lisa of Richmond; one daughter, Patricia P. Hicks and husband, Paul of Farmville; two step-daughters, Terrie Satterfield of Chicago, Il. and Vicky S. Oakley and husband, Scotty of Roxboro, N.C. one sister, Barbara Popek Guill of Halifax; two grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
A funeral service for Mr. Popek will be held today, August 18 at 11 a.m. at St. Paschal's Catholic Church with Sister Edna Maier, S.N.D. conducting the service. Burial will take place in Halifax Memorial Gardens.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the H alifa County Cancer Association, PO Box 875, South Boston 24592, or the South Boston Lions Club, PO Box 372, South Boston.

John William 'Tang Tang' Talley, 72, of Alexandria, formerly of Halifax County, died in Alexandria.
Mr. Talley was born in Halifax County on August 8, 1928, the son of Irvin Talley and Bettie Gravitt Talley. He was a member of White Oak Fork Baptist Church and was a U.S. Army Veteran.
Survivors include a devoted companion, Zader Morgan of Virgilina; two daughters, Cathy Gaines of Virgilina and Deborah Matthews of Alexandria; one son, John William Talley Jr. of Alexandria; one stepdaughter, Cheryl Blow of Chase City; one stepson, Clyde Morgan of Virgilina; four grandchildren; two sisters, Nannie Mae Talley and Elaine Talley, both of Virgilina; two brothers, Joseph Talley of Alexandria and Otis Talley of Baltimore, Md.
Funeral services for Mr. Talley will be held August 19 at 2 p.m. at White Oak Fork Baptist Church with the Rev. Glen Faulkner officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the home of Nannie Talley, 1238 White Oak Fork Road, Virgilina.