Over 45 exhibitors are expected to provide new cutting edge technolgy relating to tobacco production at the Tobacco Conference and Trade Show scheduled for Saturday, February 10, at Halifax County High School.
Tobacco producers, allotment holders and other persons interested in tobacco production/marketing are being encouraged to view table-size exhibits from seed, heat exchangers, greenhouses, fertilizers, new pesticide products and many other tobacco related topics inside the gym.
Displayed in the parking lot will be equipment exhibits of interest to tobacco producers.
The trade show is sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Tobacco Growers Association and runs from 9:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the school cafeteria - "Dutch treat."
At 1:00 p.m., the tobacco conference begins in the school auditorium where speakers will provide the industry's most recent information on the following topics:
· Special awards presentations - Virginia Tobacco Growers Association and Delegate W.W. "Ted" Bennett.
· Tobacco Stabilization Corporation update by its director Arnold Hamm will discuss (1) Barn Conversion Grant Program, (2) Quota prospects 2002 (3) Stabilization's role in contracting marketing system (4) Export market in contract system.
· Philip Morris, USA - Mike Farriss, Vice President for Leaf will discuss Philip Morris and contract purchase program - "Farmer Partnering Program" and priority issues for Philip Morris; Universal Leaf - contracting 2001, Exports.
· Master Settlement Agreement Update - Don Anderson, Director Virginia Tobaccco Growers Association- Phase I and Phase II.
· Rep. Virgil Goode - comments relative to federal legislative agendas for year 2001.
Following the tobacco conference, the Virginia Tobacco Growers Association will hold their annual meeting .
TOBIO will provide information to those interested about transgenic tobacco production.
The conference is open to everyone, and there is no registration or entry fee for attending. Tobacco producers are especially encouraged to attend and become updated on production, marketing, and legislative issues associated with tobacco.
For additional information about the Tobacco Conference and Trade Show, contact the Virginia Cooperative Extension - Halifax Office at (804) 476-2147.

Town of South Boston residents offered no comments at a public hearing on Wednesday before the South Boston Planning Commission on a proposed five-year Capital Improvement Program.
Town Manager Ted Daniel also presented to commission members a proposed budget of approximately $2.2 million in total capital outlay expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2001-2002.
Among the priorities addressed by Daniel were street repair and paving, traffic signal, curb, gutter and sidewalk upgrades, and vehicle replacements for both the fire and police departments.
After a brief discussion, the Planning Commission approved a motion to recommend approval of the five-year plan, with amendments, to South Boston Town Council.
Town residents will have another chance to comment on the proposed Capital Improvement Plan at a public hearing to be advertised for the Town Council meeting on February 12.
Daniel also updated the commission on two major ongoing projects involving the town's landfill and the upgrade of the sewer system.
Landfill Update
According to Daniel, significant progress has been made toward the closing of the town's landfill, under a state mandate to close by December 31, 2005.
By Daniel's estimate, $1.8 million is needed over the next five years in order to close the landfill, with significant monies already spent to build perimeter roads and a leachate collection trench around the site and for collection tanks to monitor ground water runoff.
State requirements also call for the entire 15-acre site to be capped by a two-foot layer of clay, an expensive proposition costing approximately $50,000 an acre, with four to five acres to be closed at a time.
Sewer Expenses
Daniel briefed the commission on the continuing progress in the identification and correction of severe problems in the town's waste collection system.
The system has been under a Consent Order to correct the infiltration and inflow conditions present in the system, with approximately $1 million having been spent on abatement during the current Fiscal Year.
The evaluation period to determine if sufficient repairs have been made to return the system within permit limits is December 2001 through May 2002.
Daniel told the commission that initial cost estimates for the project were out of line, due to unforeseen difficulty in gaining access to the areas being studied and corrected, and the time-consuming process of video camera work to identify cracks and obstructions in the lines themselves.
According to Daniel, the evaluation phase of the project has been completed, with bids expected to go out soon for repair work identified on a priority basis.
Daniel reminded commission members that infiltration and inflow repairs will be an ongoing effort for the foreseeable future, but also that the town has taken the initiative in addressing the system-wide mapping and evaluation necessary not only for current repairs, but also for the benefit of possible future industrial and private-sector development.
Daniel estimates an additional $1.2 million in corrective action in addition to the $1 million already spent in upgrading the wastewater treatment system, assisted by potential federal grant money.
This stands in contrast to the estimated $7 million to upgrade the water treatment plant to a higher capacity, which is the alternative to the town's present efforts.
Taylor Building
Time is running short for determining the fate of the Taylor building, according to Daniel.
The Taylor building, located on Ferry Street in South Boston, is partially used at present for several town offices, including that of the town planning and zoning administrator.
Proposed future uses for the building have included refurbishment and rewiring for use as a call center and an industrial outlet mall, in order to attract retail business downtown.
If the decision is made to raze the Taylor building, Daniel said, it must be made by 2005, in order to use the rubble to accelerate the closure of the landfill.
New Commissioners
W. C. "Buddy" Wilborn will retain his chairmanship of the Planning Commission after a unanimous vote on Monday, with Fields Thomas elected as vice-chairman.
New commission members George Leonard and Reed Edwards attended their first meeting. They replace outgoing commissioners Charles Edwards and Jimmy Popek.

A vision for the development of the new 100-acre Paul C. Edmunds Park could be finalized by early summer.
The Halifax County Recreation Committee will compile a list of needs and possible recreational uses for the park by its February meeting.
That list will be submitted to representatives from the Virginia Tech Community Design Assistance Center who are expected to meet with members of the recreation committee within the next month to hear comments and ideas regarding potential facilities and uses for the park.
County officials recently accepted a proposal from the Virginia Tech Community Design Assistance Center for conceptual planning for the park and coordination of recreation programs county-wide.
Input will also be sought from the joint South Boston-Halifax County Recreation Commission as well as the general public.
Anyone wishing to offer suggestions for the park may do so by contacting Brad Ballou at the Halifax County Recreation Department, Brad Ballou, submitting a letter to County Administrator Joe Morgan, P.O. Box 699, Halifax, Va. 24558.
Suggestions may also be e-mailed to info@Co.Halifax.Va.Us.
The ideas and proposals will be assembled by the Halifax County Recreation Committee and passed on to the Virginia Tech personnel.
After receiving them, the Virginia Tech representatives will return to Blacksburg, develop a set of possible plans and return here to air them in front of the recreation committee.
The process, Morgan told the recreation committee Tuesday night, "gets us to a point where, by early summer, there will be a vision there to try to begin putting together."
Morgan said Tuesday night that the tract of land for the proposed park, appraised at $460,000, was deeded to the Halifax Educational Foundation on December 28.
The Halifax Education Foundation, a private nonprofit agency, is leasing the tract of land back to the county for a two-year period.
That lease, Morgan said, can be extended for an additional three-year period to make a total of five years.
Halifax County, Morgan noted, is paying the expenses for the property as if it owned it.
The interim transfer of the property to the Halifax Educational Foundation was made as a move that would put the county in an advantageous position with regard to future park development funding.
"We are trying to be in a position that if there are grants available, we can get them and spend as little cash as possible," Morgan explained.
The county administrator noted that when it came to applying for matching grants, if a local government owned the property it could not use the value of the property to match against the grant.
Halifax County is allocating $20,000 to a capital expense line item within the recreation committee budget to cover costs related to the park site acquisition and initial planning during the remainder of the 2000-2001 fiscal year.
Bethune Complex Bank Erosion & Maintenance
The recreation committee gave its authorization to proceed to procure the stabilization of an embankment between the former Mary M. Bethune school maintenance buildings and the adjacent ball field.
The county school system has pledged repair cost up to $20,000.
The recommended repair is a terraced wall that will create a grandstand effect, control erosion and allow maintenance of the terraces by mowing.
Cost of the repair is estimated at less than $50,000.
Bethune Softball Field
The recreation committee authorized infield preparation of sod removal and installation of "diamond Pro Infield Conditioner" and installation of backstop and field fencing at an anticipated cost of $7,000.
AYSO Soccer Support
The recreation committee agreed to allocate $2,500 in the current budget to support the local AYSO youth soccer program.
AYSO officials and volunteers are continuing to work in the development of the new Burlington AYSO Soccer Center.
However, the first use of the new soccer complex is not anticipated until this fall.
The AYSO youth soccer league will continue to use the fields at the Mary M. Bethune Complex this spring.
Dixie Majors & PreMajors
The county recreation committee voted Tuesday night to allocate funds separately to each league for the upcoming season.
Maintenance Arrangements
The recreation committee voted Tuesday night to implement a policy making field maintenance the responsibility of the teams or leagues that are assigned fields owned or otherwise under control of the schools or general county government.

"We can't lose this ball game."
That's how Halifax County High School basketball coach Garrett Dillard describes the position his Comets are in tonight when they host E.C. Glass.
Actually, it's the position that both the Comets and Hilltoppers find themselves in entering tonight's 7:30 p.m. contest here at Halifax County High School.
Both teams are looking for their first win of the season in Western District play and the opportunity to remain alive in the race for the regular season Western District title.
The Comets dropped a tough 71-68 contest to Albemarle in last Friday's Western District opener.
E.C. Glass fell to GW of Danville last Friday in its Western District opener.
The loser of tonight's game will fall to 0-2 in Western District play and drop to the cellar of the district standings.
That will almost surely eliminate the loser from a shot at winning the Western District regular season title.
Conversely, the winner improves to 1-1 and moves into a tie for second place in the district standings with the loser of tonight's GW - Albemarle game.
"I expect that to be us," Dillard pointed out.
"You win and you're tied for second place in the district with whoever loses the GW-Albemarle game.
"Then, it's almost like starting over," continued Dillard.
"We face GW (on the road) in our next district game and then play Albemarle again (at home). That's why this game is so important."
The fact that there are only four teams in the Western District and each team plays only six district games makes every district game a critical contest.
As one would expect, the winner of tonight's game will be in a much better position down the road than the loser.
"When you play only six district games, if you go 0-2 to start with the best you can finish is 4-2," Dillard pointed out.
"I'm not saying it can't be done. But there haven't been many times that a team that has lost its first two games comes back and wins the last four.
"If you go 0-2 what you have to do is start praying that the other teams will beat up on each other and hope that will allow you to get back into the race."
Finishing first in the regular season standings is important on two fronts - one being that the regular season champ advances to the Northwest Region Tournament.
The other important factor in winning the regular season title is that the top team has the home floor advantage for the Western District Tournament as long as it remains alive.
If a team cannot win the regular season title it certainly wants to finish second in the regular season standings.
The reason for that is that the second place team gets to play its first Western District Tournament game at home.
If the regular season winner plays its way into the district tournament title game, the two teams that play the district tournament championship game will advance to the Northwest Region Tournament regardless of the outcome.
Dillard has seen E.C. Glass play and calls the Hilltoppers "a pretty decent ball club."
Led by 6-7 sophomore Brad Butler and standout A.G. Robinson, E.C. Glass can be a dangerous opponent.
"I think that if we can continue to play as energized as we have been playing the past few games, especially playing here at home, we stand a good shot at beating them," Dillard said.
"We need to put everything together - the perimeter shooting, the post play, the rebounding and the pressure defense - to have a good night.
"Glass plays hard," continued Dillard, "and we have to do the things we need to do to be successful.
"I want to send a message through E.C. Glass that Halifax County is as good a team as you'll find in the Western District."
BOYS
OVERALL DISTRICT
TEAM W L W L
GW 12 3 1 0
Albemarle 12 1 1 0
Halifax County 7 5 0 1
E.C. Glass 5 5 0 1
GIRLS
OVERALL DISTRICT
TEAM W L W L
GW 15 0 1 0
Albemarle 6 7 1 0
E.C. Glass 9 1 0 1
Halifax County 4 2 0 1