Friday, January 12, 2007

Pair Charged In Fullenwider Home Invasion

A 23-year-old South Boston man and a 16-year-old Alton juvenile were charged Monday with a brutal November home invasion that sent a 68-year-old man and 91-year-old woman to the hospital, according to South Boston Police Investigator T.M. VanAernem.
Charles L. Jennings, of Sinai Road, faces 15 indictments, including aggravated malicious wounding, malicious wounding, burglary with the intent to commit larceny armed with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit larceny of firearms, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and ten counts of larceny of a firearm, VanAernem said.
The juvenile faces 14 indictments, including conspiracy to commit larceny of firearms, burglary with the intent to commit larceny, armed with a deadly weapon, ten counts of larceny of a firearm and one count each of malicious wounding and aggravated malicious wounding, VanAernem added.
The charges against Jennings and the juvenile stem from their alleged involvement in a November 5 home invasion of the Fullenwider residence in the 700-block of Berry Hill Road, investigators said.
During the home invasion, Edward and Katherine Fullenwider were assaulted by the intruders with Katherine sent to Halifax Regional Hospital for minor head injuries and Edward sent to Duke University Medical Center in Durham in critical condition with head injuries, police said.
“When officers arrived on the scene further investigation revealed that unknown suspects forced their way into the residence and assaulted the occupants with an undisclosed weapon,” VanAernem said.
Petitions were served on the juvenile on Tuesday by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office while the juvenile awaited an advisement hearing at Halifax County Juvenile Court on separate charges, VanAernem said.
According to South Boston investigators, the arrests were the result of an intensive two-month investigation involving the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, agents with the ATF and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries officers.
Community involvement was also critical to the investigation, according to South Boston Police Chief Mick Reed.
“The publicity generated by this offense and community involvement resulted in charges being placed,” Reed said. “The participating agencies worked in coordination with the Halifax Commonwealth’s Attorney Office to produce the indictments.
“A good community with a strong, positive relationship with law enforcement stands together against this type of violence against our citizens,” Reed added. “We very much appreciate the support and assistance we enjoy. We cannot over emphasize how important the community and inter-agency involvement is to our mission.”
According to investigators, additional suspects have been identified for their alleged involvement in the incident and the investigation is ongoing.
The juvenile is being held awaiting a trial date in juvenile court and Jennings is being held without bail, police said.

Broadband In Every School

A proposal currently being considered by legislators and education officials in Southside would provide true high-speed connectivity to every school in the region, according to W.W. “Ted” Bennett of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center.
Bennett said yesterday that as part of the Center for Regional Education and Economic Development, a plan is being considered to set up a network to oversee the program.
Plans call for the initial equipment purchase to be funded by the Virginia Tobacco Commission, with additional funding coming from the federal government’s e-Rate program, which covers 70 percent of the cost. Bennett said he hopes that interested school systems will help fund the final 30 percent of the project.
“We will raise the money to purchase the necessary equipment,” Bennett said. “Historically, the Tobacco Commission hasn’t been willing to invest money in K-12 education, but with the investment in the 700-mile fiber optic backbone, they need customers on the network to provide the revenue to run it.
“Right now, there aren’t enough users per mile to entice the Commission to put fiber in the ground in every community, but with the school systems’ online, homes and businesses along the route could access the high-speed backbone as well.
Bennett credited Del. Clarke Hogan, who also serves as the chairman of the Virginia Tobacco Commission’s technology committee, for his tireless efforts to bring the program to fruition.
“Del. Hogan understands that the public schools in our region could and will be the biggest users of the network,” he said. “He has taken the lead as the chairman of the Tobacco Commission’s technology committee to extend the network to every school in the region, but they have to say they want it.”
Hogan said it is imperative to provide high-speed access to all Southside residents.
“We must do everything we can to make high speed broadband available to all of our citizens. I will continue to work with anybody and everybody who is interested in furthering this goal.”
Currently, a survey is being conducted among the school divisions to determine the interest in the project.
To illustrate the need for a Southside-specific network serving the schools, Bennett pointed to the state’s Virginia Performs website.
“That website tells potential businesses and industries – and any other interested parties – how Virginia is doing in economic development, education and other areas,” he said. “The killer for our region is they have reports broken into regions to show how they do on certain standards. It’s a performance thing, and when you pull up information for Southside, it’s at the bottom.”
According to Bennett, educators see it as a wonderful asset.
“Talking to a representative of the Curry School of Education at U.Va., they wanted to know why anyone would want to locate in one of the lower-performing regions,” he said.
“What we’re trying to do is help our schools overcome their image in be attractive to someone looking at the website,” Bennett added. “This is what’s important. People don’t realize the implications that education has on jobs for the region.”
The quality of education, Bennett said, can “attract or detract from the viability of a community” depending on performance.
“People have got to connect the dots between education and jobs and the overall value of a community to outsiders in the purest economic development sense,” he said. “To help the schools add to the value of Southside rather than detract from it, they have to have some resources and help.
“For example, in order for children taking dual enrollment (taking college classes while still in high school) classes in high school to be accredited and accepted by colleges, they have to be taught by master’s-degree level teachers,” he said. “Attracting enough of that level of teacher is an almost impossible task when they can go to an urban area and receive more pay and have a different quality of life.”
“This deal will, if not solve the problem, relieve some of the difficulties in attracting teachers who are in high demand to the region.”
Which is why, Bennett said, having the Tobacco Commission help fund the initial equipment to network the various divisions in Southside is critical.
“One way to overcome that challenge is to have every school in Southside connected to the high-speed backbone of the Regional Broadband Initiative,” he said. “With this advantage, we can have a physics or Latin teacher in one of the larger divisions – through the broadband network – deliver the same course to some of the smaller schools without the resources to pay a master’s degree teacher to teach the classes otherwise.
“Why would any school system not want the world brought to their doorstep?” Bennett asked rhetorically.

Planners Recommend Founder’s Rezoning

It was standing room only Wednesday night as South Boston planning commissioners approved the Founders College request to rezone 223 acres from Residential-1 to Planned Development Residential.
The Founders College project drew overwhelming public support during the one-hour public hearing, with only one voice raised in opposition via letter.
The Commission’s endorsement will be forwarded to South Boston Council for action at its February 12 meeting.
“The IDA is 100 percent behind this,” businessman Bill Kelehar, one of several Industrial Development Authority board members to speak in favor of the rezoning, told commissioners during the public hearing.
IDA Executive Director Mike Eades said that “from day one we realized this was one of the most unique opportunities,” one with the potential to attract the semi-retired and retirees to the college/residential setting. Eades described the proposed project as another legitimate economic engine.
The only opposition came in a letter from the Rev. Terry Blevins, pastor of Berry Hill Presbyterian Church, which is located near the project.
“I have concerns about this planned community and the impact it will have on the existing homeowners,” wrote Blevins. Specifically, the pastor said he feared the development will drive property values higher, creating higher property taxes and forcing existing owners to sell and relocate or pay higher taxes. He also questioned the location of a golf course and strip mall in the development, saying he thought they constituted business, not residential zoning.
“There are too many unanswered questions” about financial arrangements and plans for the project, he wrote, asking the the Planning Commission to set aside the application until such time as those plans become transparent.
But sentiment at the Planning Commission meeting was overwhelmingly positive, as speaker after speaker lauded the proposed project.
“For those of us struggling in Halifax County, we need a project like this,” businessman Charlie Payne told commissioners.
Payne, as did fellow speakers, complimented the vision behind the Founders College project - which includes a residential and recreation component - as well as complimenting those who have brought previous projects to fruition here, naming Carlbrook, VIR and The Prizery, among others. “I hope you will keep Ms. Fuller’s vision alive,” he said of the project spokeswoman.
John Cannon asked commissioners to move the project forward as fast as possible. He described the location of the Founders College project here as a tremendously important addition. “They will bring new jobs, professional residents and increase the tax base ...,” he said, increasing economic vitality. Cannon, who is also building a residential complex, cited the need and urged support for the project.
Realtor Scotty Felton noted the synergy, describing the county as “like a flower waiting to blossom,” and Founders College as that main nutrient. needed to flower. She cited the new families that the Carlbrook School had brought to the area, and said she was excited about the location of Founders College and its positive impact. “Let’s see that flower bloom,” she urged.
The college will give more educational advantages and lifelong learning opportunities, IDA member and YMCA Executive Director Marcus Hargrave told commissioners. Since moving here, Hargrave said that he and his family had enjoyed the wonderful quality of life available in the area.
“This is going to be our all-star project,” said Supervisor Doug Bowman of the Founder’s project. The supervisor said he could think of no better way to preserve the historic asset of Berry Hill than by the proposed Founders College development.
World champion tobacco auctioneer Bob Cage urged support of the project, calling it “a fantastic plan” for the site. He described the “breathtaking beauty” of Berry Hill’s Greek Revival architecture, its aesthetic draw and the overall benefits of the proposed college and residential area.
In response to the Rev. Blevins concerns, Commissioner Patty Nelson said the proposed project would enlarge the tax base and help spread the costs.
Commissioner Harriet Claiborne said the vision was one to be proud of, noting Founders College is an enticement to bring young adults back to the area. She called the project “an excellent idea.”
In response to questions, rezoning applicant Tamara Fuller, the college’s strategy officer, twice told commissioners that rezoning the 223 acres was critical to the project. She said if the plan was not put in place, developers would not be able to implement the project here.
Earl Dickerson, president of the Lynchburg-based engineering firm Hurt & Profitt, noted examples of college/retirement communities, noting a national trend drawing retirees to college settings. He named communities in New York, Arkansas, Florida, and The Pines at Davidson College, among others.
In other business Wednesday night, following public hearings planners recommended an ordinance amendment to regulate electric fences in the R-1 through T-1 districts. The Commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to South Boston Council for action.
The amendment would prohibit electric fences in any R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 or T-1 districts except where the keeping of livestock is a permitted use. “Invisible fences for dogs are not affected,” said Town Planner Lee Pambid.
No one spoke in favor of the amendment or against it during the public hearing.
Commissioners also endorsed an ordinance amendment to define and require survey plats for new construction. Planners want developers to come with a survey plat with the zoning permit application.
The plats will show the most recent configuration of the land, including all easements and physical encumbrances.
“This protects homeowners,” added Planning Commission Chairman George Leonard.
Again, no one spoke for or against the amendment during the public hearing. Commissioners unanimously endorsed the recommendation.
There also were no speakers during the public hearing on the 2007-2012 Capital Improvement Plan. The plan will next go before South Boston Council for action.
In closing, Leonard congratulated Pambid who has been designated a Certified Zoning Administrator by the Virginia Association of Zoning Officials.

Obituaries

Helen Hall Roark

Helen Hall Roark, 90, of 1010 Cody Road, Nathalie died January 10, 2007, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Roark was born in Halifax County on December 2, 1916, to the late Joseph Benjamin Hall and Minnie Vassar Hall and was married to the late Randolph R. Roark. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Republican Grove where she was a Sunday school teacher and pianist.
Survivors include four daughters, Patricia Roark Short and husband, Rufus, of Nathalie, Nancy Roark Price of Mt. Dora, Fla., Janet Roark Williamson and husband, Barry, of Charleston, WVa., and Kathy Roark Nance and husband, Tom, of Madison Heights; one son, Buddy Roark and wife, Emily, of Martinsville; seven grandchildren; and her caregivers, Betty Booker, Edna James and Sharon Martin. One son, Randy Roark; and two sisters, Annie Henry and Myrtle Alverson preceded her in death.
Funeral services for Mrs. Roark will be held today, January 12, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Republican Grove with the Rev. Shelton Miles III officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends following the service in the fellowship hall of the church.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider First Baptist Church of Republican Grove Building Fund, c/o Margaret Anderson, 2201 Leda-Grove Road, Nathalie, or North Halifax Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue, c/o James Burton, 2066 Tobacco Road, Nathalie, 24577.

Irving Milton Fuller

Irving Milton Fuller, 93, formerly of South Boston, died January 10 at his daughter’s Salisbury, N.C., home.
Mr. Fuller was born Nov. 26, 1913, in Vance County, N.C., to the late Charles Edgar and Minnie Greene Fuller. He was a WW II Army veteran, receiving a bronze star. He was retired from R.J. Reynolds, and was a member of First Presbyterian Church in South Boston, where he served as an elder on the church session, Sunday school superintendent and Sunday school teacher.
His survivors include his wife: Margaret Littlefield Fuller; a son: Charles Fuller of Cincinnati, Ohio; three daughters: Sarah Hall of Salisbury, Katherine McKenzie of Toano, and Vicki Lippard of China Grove, N.C.; two sisters: Mary Lou Abbott and Alyce Blanton of Jacksonville, Fla.; and seven grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held Sat., Jan. 13, at 2 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, South Boston. Visitation will be held at the church at 1 p.m., preceding the service.
In lieu of flowers, please remember the Alzheimer’s Association or First Presbyterian Church.

Willie Matthew Hudson

Willie Matthew Hudson, 72, of Newark, N.J. died Januar 4,2007.
Mr. Hudson was born in Robersonville, N.C. July 9, 1934, to the late Fred Hudson and Corlanda Hudson, and was married to the late Ruby Williams Hudson.
Survivors include one daughter, Carolyn P. Whitaker of Hamilton, N.C.; four sisters, Shirley Hudson of Hempstead, N.Y., Deloris Latta of Uniondale, N.Y., Julia Sherrod of Charlotte, N.C. and Elsa Bloise of Greenville, S.C.; one brother, Melvin Hudson of West Babylon, N.Y.; one daughter-in-law, Hazel Faulkner of N.J.; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. One son, Larry D. Perkins; three sisters; and one brother preceded him in death.
Graveside services for Mr. Hudson will be held tomorrow, January 13, at 2 p.m. at Jeters Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Jeffress Funeral Home Chapel tomorrow from noon until 1:30 p.m.

Comets Fall To New Horizon

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Tonight is rivalry night at Halifax County High School as the Comets take on arch-rival GW. The question surrounding tonight’s game is can and will the Comets come out and compete with the Eagles.
The Comets (6-7 overall, 0-1 district) took a 77-38 thrashing from New Horizon Tuesday night, a team that GW (11-3 overall, 2-0 district) recently defeated 94-91, and looked terrible in doing it.
Halifax County trailed 14-4 after the first four minutes, later picked up back-to-back baskets from Allen Stephens and Leon Glenn to cut the deficit to five points at 17-12 with 1:39 left in the opening quarter, and trailed 21-12 at the end of the period.
The Comets whittled the Warriors’ lead down to five points twice in the first two minutes of the second quarter, the last time coming on a basket by Glenn with 5:55 left in the first half that made the score 23-18.
Halifax County went dead after that. The Warriors outscored the Comets 15-2 over the remainder of the half, taking a 38-20 lead at halftime.
The lifeless-looking Comets got no closer than 21 points in the third quarter, which ended with New Horizon leading 55-27. New Horizon did what it wanted the remainder of the game and finished with a 39-point win.
Tuesday’s game was not the kind of game that the Comets needed as a tune-up for tonight’s Western Valley District game against GW.
“The only thing I saw is a team that didn’t compete,” Comets coach Ron Parson said after Wednesday night’s debacle.
“That bothers me more than anything. I don’t care how much we get beat as long as we’re competing. We did not compete, not one bit. We competed a little bit when the score got up to 23-18 and then we shut down. Once they (New Horizon) got up, we just quit competing. That’s hard to live with.”
Parson said the problem with his team is mental and that the players and coaches are apparently not on the same page.
“We’ve got to approach it from a mental standpoint,” Parson pointed out.
“If it was physical, that’s something we can fix right off. We can handle the ball, we can pass the ball and we can shoot the ball. But, mentally we’re not doing it.”
One of the perplexing aspects of the situation Parson and the Comets are facing is that different problems have cropped up at different times.
“I feel like I’m in a rowboat with holes popping up,” the Comets coach said.
“One game we plug three or four holes and the next game three or four more pop up. It’s continuously plug, plug, plug. If we can get them all plugged, maybe we can have a decent game.”
One Comets player that had a solid outing Tuesday night against New Horizon was post player Leon Glenn. Glenn scored 15 points, seven in the first half and eight in the second half, to lead the Comets in scoring.
“Inside, the thing I liked about Leon was that even though he got his shot blocked a couple of times, he was still challenging,” Parson pointed out.
“He kept fighting and never gave up.”
Pierre Brandon scored six points, all in the fourth quarter, and Stephens, who was hampered by muscle spasms in his back, and Marcus Stovall chipped in five points each.
Senior point guard Morgan Brown, who went to the bench after picking up three fouls in the first five and half minutes of the game and didn’t play again until the third quarter, scored four points before fouling out of the game with 2:48 left.
Yarnick Ford scored two points and Michael Ferrell scored one point to round out the Comets’ scoring.
New Horizon had three players in double figures with Calvin Daniels leading the way with a game-high 17 points. Andrew Griffin scored 12 points and Delvorius Robertson chipped in 10 points for the Warriors.
NEW HORIZON
NAME FG FT F TP
Swinton 0 0-0 0 0
Emmanuel 1 2-4 2 4
Clarida 3 1-4 0 7
Grooms 3 3-5 2 9
Robertson 5 0-0 4 10
O'Bryant 3 3-4 1 9
Daniels 7 2-3 2 17
Griffin 5 1-2 1 12
Johnson 3 0-0 2 6
Brown 1 1-2 0 3
Ohuorgee 0 0-0 1 0
Totals 31 13-24 18 77
HALIFAX COUNTY
NAME FG FT F TP
Glenn 6 3-6 3 15
Ferrell 0 1-2 2 1
Pippen 0 0-0 1 0
Smalls 0 0-0 0 0
Brown 0 4-4 5 4
Brandon 3 0-0 2 6
Ager 0 0-0 0 0
Waltman 0 0-0 1 0
Ford 1 0-0 0 2
Stephens 2 1-4 1 5
Stovall 1 3-4 4 5
Totals 13 12-20 19 38
Three Point Field Goals: Daniels (NH) 1, Griffin (NH) 1

New Horizon 21 17 17 22-77
Halifax County 12 8 7 11-38

Lady Comets Fall In OT

By Doug Ford
GV Staff Writer
This wasn’t the kind of game the Comets varsity girls basketball team needed before tonight’s big district matchup at GW, dropping a physical 53-50 overtime decision to William Campbell Wednesday.
Taniqua Younger led the Comets with 14 points, five in the fourth quarter to help force overtime, while Shauna Harris (four for four from the foul line) finished with ten.
Lashunda Davis had nine, including her team’s only three-pointer to tie the game with little more than a minute remaining. Talesha Medley and Kemper Russell scored six points apiece, and Ashley Coleman five, including a foul shot that gave her team a one-point lead with seconds remaining in regulation.
Amber Marstin and Shamika Hubbard led William Campbell with 13 points each, Marstin with three treys, while Hubbard hit nine of 15 foul shots, including four of six in overtime.
Despite a cold shooting night from the floor - nine for 26 in the first half alone - and a poor performance at the free throw line (11-28), the Comets still had their chances to win the game.
“You can talk about the cold shooting all you want, but our strength is getting points off our defense and we didn’t do that tonight,” said Comets coach Ray Reaves.
“If we have to play a half court game we usually struggle, because we’re not normally a good shooting team, and we didn’t get many points in transition.”
Reaves said he changed a few things defensively from the first time the teams played - a 41-36 William Campbell win in December - and those adjustments didn’t work as planned.
“They had a couple of girls who could shoot from outside and we didn’t rotate well on defense, especially in our zone,” noted Reaves.
The first quarter went back and forth with neither team taking control, Younger scoring four points early, while Russell hit a basket and Medley a basket and free throw.
Samantha Younger hit one of her team’s six treys for the game to help William Campbell to a 11-9 lead after one period.
The game was tied four times in the second quarter, two Marstin three-pointers helping give the Generals a 25-19 lead, but a Younger follow in the final seconds cut the Comets’ deficit to 25-21 at halftime.
Davis had four second-quarter points, while Medley, Russell, Younger and Coleman added two apiece, but Halifax was only two for six from the foul line.
Those woes continued after halftime, but Harris scored six points in the third quarter to help the Comets stay within five points at 35-30, despite a buzzer-beating trey by Marstin.
Halifax chipped away in the fourth quarter, a Younger follow getting her team to within two points at 39-37 with half the quarter gone.
A Coleman basket got the Comets to within two points, and, after a Hubbard foul shot made it 44-41, Davis nailed her trey to force a tie with a minute and a half remaining.
After two missed foul shots by the Generals (12-23 for the game), Coleman drove the lane and was fouled with seven seconds remaining.
She hit the first of two foul shots to give the Comets a one-point lead, but her second made free throw was called off on a lane violation.
The Comets appeared to have Hubbard trapped along the sideline after the inbounds play, but a foul was called, Hubbard making one of two free throws with five seconds left to force overtime.
Younger hit a basket and one of two free throws in the extra session and Harris added a basket, but the Generals countered with Younger’s third trey of the game, and four of six free throws from Hubbard to win the contest.
Reaves said he thought the Generals would go to their quickest player, Hubbard, to bring the ball down court the final seconds of regulation.
“We tried to make her give it up, but we got a questionable call on a trap that gave her two free throws.
“But, what’s done is done and it shouldn’t have come down to that. We played well in the second half, but we can’t put ourselves in a hole every game.
“I give credit to William Campbell for doing what they had to do in order to get a road win. Their coaching staff made good adjustments and utilized timeouts to their advantage.
“And, we didn’t take care of business.”
Halifax needed to get over the disappointing loss to William Campbell in a hurry and focus instead on tonight’s district game at arch rival GW, but the district season is still young, emphasized Reaves.
“Of course, we’ll be a little more pumped up, but we won’t hype this into anything other than a district game.
“This game was an absolute disappointment, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Lions Slip Past Russell 35-27

By Doug Ford
GV Staff Writer
The Halifax County Middle School boys basketball team needed a win here Wednesday against Russell to keep its chances alive for a top seed in the upcoming Southside Middle School Conference Tournament.
Halifax got that win, surviving a poor shooting night from both the field and foul line to get past Russell 35-27.
Wendell Adams scored 12 points to lead Halifax, while Trey Cole had nine, Cordaro Brown six, and Demetre Faulkner and Cameron Dailey four apiece, as the Lions improved to 4-2 in the Southside Middle School Conference and 9-3 overall.
Defense, particularly in the second half, and defensive rebounding were keys to the win for the Lions, who shot only 30 percent from the floor and 23 percent (six for 26) from the foul line for the game.
Russell had only four chances at the charity stripe and made only one.
While the Lions were stout on the defensive end, they struggled on offense, according to coach Mike Hailey.
“Our offensive and defensive game plans were good, but we only executed on the defensive end,” began Hailey.
“It was absolutely the most horribly played offensive game I’ve ever been involved with.”
“And, irony of all ironies, we beat them at the free throw line, but if we hit our free throws and “chippies” this game is a rout.
“Our defense in the second half was very good and our defensive rebounding was excellent throughout the game. Those two factors saved us.”
Brown and Adams each scored four points, and Cole added two as the Lions led 10-8 after one quarter.
Adams added a trey, Cole a basket and foul shot, and Faulkner, Brown and Dailey baskets in the second quarter to give Halifax a 22-16 halftime lead.
A low-scoring third quarter saw only Faulkner, Adams and Dailey hit field goals for the Lions, but Russell only scored four points as Halifax held a 28-20 lead with a quarter remaining.
Each team scored only seven points in the fourth quarter, Cole with four and Adams with three for the Lions.
Halifax would have had a bigger cushion had it not missed 10 of 13 foul shots in the final quarter.
The Lions have back-to-back games next week, beginning at Westwood Tuesday.
Halifax returns home Wednesday to play Park View in another key conference matchup.

Lady Lions Blast Russell 56-38

By Doug Ford
GV Staff Writer
The Halifax County Middle School girls basketball team, behind double-figure scoring from Destiny Betts, Jamilia Smith and Jameshia Smith, beat Russell 56-38 here Wednesday to remain unbeaten (12-0) on the season.
Betts finished the game with 22 points and Jamilia and Jameshia Smith 12 apiece, while Melyse Brown added five, Jessica Stamps three and Jaynee Campbell two, as the Lions got back on track after getting their biggest test of the season Monday at Bluestone.
Arlissa Cleaton led Russell with 21 points and Tammy Stitch had eight, but this game belonged to Halifax, which raced to a 27-5 advantage after one quarter.
Betts finished the quarter with 12 points, going four for four from the foul line, while Jameshia Smith scored seven, including the first of her two three-pointers. Stamps added her field goal and Brown two foul shots.
Cleaton came alive in the second quarter with 11 points, but Halifax countered with six from Betts and two from Campbell to lead 35-18 at halftime.
Jameshia Smith nailed her second trey and added a field goal in the third quarter to help give her team its biggest lead of the game at 48-18. Jamilia Smith and Betts added four apiece as Halifax led 48-20 with a quarter remaining.
Jamilia Smith scored four, Brown three and Stamps one in the final quarter for the final 18-point margin.
Cleaton added 10 more for Russell and Andrea Walker all of her six points in the fourth quarter, but the Lions were on cruise control by that time.
The Lady Lions seemed to have shaken off most of the rust that accumulated after the long holiday break, according to Lions coach James Smith.
“We played real well and came out with a little more intensity than at Bluestone, and we got a big lead early on,” remarked Smith.
“If you can score 27 points in a six-minute quarter, your offense is doing well.”
Smith thinks his team is approaching the level it needs to be at going into a key conference matchup against Park View here Wednesday.
The Lions have a game at Westwood Tuesday, and Smith plans to give the team the weekend off to help it prepare both physically and mentally for the back-to-back games.
“I think that Park View has only lost one game (to Halifax), and they’re going to be tough, so I’m trying to keep the team fresh.”