Trustees Seek More Local Funding

School board members and administrators are seeking more county money to fund teacher pay raises, while supervisors are striving not to increase the tax burden on county citizens.
That is the dilemma county leaders struggled with during the first morning of their two-day retreat held at Riverstone Thursday.
School Finance Director Bill Covington informed supervisors the governor’s proposed budget has earmarked no increased funding for teacher salary increases, an issue administrators have to deal with when trying to hire new teachers for specialized curriculum.
Superintendent Paul Stapleton said the county has given three percent raises over the years, while other nearby counties have increased teachers’ pay – ranging from seven percent to 18 percent -making it more difficult for Halifax County to recruit specialized teachers.
A comparison of the 132 state school divisions indicates Halifax County ranks 113th in beginning teacher pay, 116th for teachers with five years experience, 120th for 10 years experience, 115th for 15 years experience, 111th for 20 years experience,128th for 25 years experience, and 111th for teachers with 30 years experience.
Deputy Superintendent Larry Clark said, “It’s not a question of losing teachers, it’s more about getting people here.”
He added Halifax can’t compete for specialized teachers because of the pay scale of neighboring counties and the private sector.
With final departmental budgets due to supervisors by Feb. 29, Supervisor Finance Chairman Doug Bowman said supervisors will be considering all expenditures increasing countywide including $5 million in school construction debt service for each of the next 20 years.
“Landowners are going to see increased taxes, there’s no question,” Bowman predicted.
Supervisor Wayne Conner pointed out just paying the debt service on construction of the two new elementary school and renovations at the middle school will account for 30 cents of the current 48-cent real estate tax rate.
“People in the county know that,” Conner said explaining the school construction debt is just one increase in expenditures supervisors will be faced with in the coming budget process.
(Due to the recent reassessment, state law requires the current 48-cent tax rate be lowered to 40.5-cents per $100 value as supervisors begin budget deliberations.)
Chairman William Fitzgerald said the board also is faced this year with the added costs of building a transfer station since the county was forced to close its landfill and send its refuse to the regional landfill in Mecklenburg.
He admitted that when he became a supervisor six years ago, teachers’ salaries were about the same as they are today.
“I certainly would like to fix it, but I don’t know how. The only way for us to get money is to go to the people in the county,” he said speaking of tax increases. “These teachers deserve better, and I don’t know how to get it.”
Bowman encouraged the school board “to be diligent” when submitting budget requests recognizing that last year the school board submitted a budget with a zero percent increase in operating expenses.
In past years, Covington said schools have not purchased new buses in order to cut expenses to offset unexpected increases such as the rising cost of fuel. Now these cuts are resulting in the county operating a fleet of old school buses.
Knowing the local funding for the school budget may not be as much as sought each year, Stapleton praised the county for giving the school system a lump sum each year and allowing the school board to distribute it as members deem appropriate.
With 85 percent allocated for teachers’ salaries, Stapleton said very little room is left for adjustments.
“In the three years I’ve been here, we’ve not come back and asked you for more,” he told supervisors. “The process is a good process because your board allows the school board to make decisions as needed.”
Newly elected school board member Devin Snead told supervisors the situation with the teachers’ low salaries and the need for constructing new buildings didn’t happen overnight, and he urged supervisors not to “go on this concept this year or we’ll have problems 15 years down the road.”
Also new to the school board, member Roger Long also expressed concern about what will happen if the county doesn’t increase its local funding to the schools in the upcoming budget.
He compared the $13.8 million in local monies supervisors gave the schools in 2002-03 to the $13.2 million budgeted in 2007-08.
“Inflation has gone up, but local funding has not increased,” he said.
Another newcomer to the school board, Joe Gasperini pointed out “pure dollars” in local funding has decreased $600,000 over the six-year period.
He questioned why revenues for the county have gone up regularly, but the percentage of revenues for schools has not increased.
“It appears to me the school system has been subsidizing the county for the last 10 years,” Gasperini said.
Quickly, several supervisors reminded the school board to consider the $60 million in construction debt the county has to pay back over the next 20 years.
County Administrator Bryan Foster simplified what supervisors are faced with when developing a county budget each year.
He pointed to the situation with the county landfill closing which is costing the county $1.5 million “in pure expense” in addition to other rising costs outside the school system.
The only way a county can get new revenue is by raising taxes or increasing the tax base.
“The county’s finances are much more complicated than just what we give to the schools. The board wants what’s best for the students, but we have to think about the entire county,” Foster said noting this year’s budget is $100 million with 60 percent of the budget total allocated to the school system.
The county administrator also pointed out supervisors last year funded over $2 million to the schools above the minimum state requirement.
“I very much appreciate the county giving more than the minimum amount required,” Gasperini said, but he also pointed out the state continues to give the county more money, but the county gives the schools less money.
“The pure dollars that have been coming into the local school system have gone down,” he reiterated.
Conner noted that taxpayers do not distinguish between the $5 million in school debt and $13 million in local funds going to the school system.
“You have to include that (school debt) because from the taxpayers’ perspective it’s one and the same,” Conner said noting that it all comes from taxpayer dollars.
Clark warned that if the schools are under funded to the point personnel is impacted in the coming budget, “it’s going to have to come from the classroom.”
He said budget cuts would mean classroom teacher cuts that would result in an increase in pupil/teacher ratios.
Without reaching a solid resolution to the school budget dilemma during the Thursday morning joint meeting, school board members were encouraged to meet individually with their respective supervisors to further discuss their concerns.
“Remember the times. It requires us to sit back and be patient. We’re doing the best we can, and these problems are not going to be resolved over night,” Supervisor Bryant Claiborne concluded.
Stapleton urged both boards “to keep all lines of communication open because that’s how we get things done.”

MRSA Found At South Boston Elementary

Dr. Charles Devine, district director of the Southside Health Department, confirmed Thursday a case of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has surfaced at South Boston Elementary School.
Working with the the school system, Devine sent a letter home to parents of all children in South Boston Elementary School Wednesday informing them that MRSA had been positively identified at the school.
”We’re doing everything we can as a division to make sure our schools are clean and our students are safe,” School Superintendent Paul Stapleton said.
Stapleton said the student who had the infection was under the care of a physician and was homebound until the physician determined the student fit to return to school.
“The classroom was sanitized before students returned to school today (Thursday),” Stapleton added. “And our school nurses and teachers are aware of students who have bandages or other wounds, making sure they are kept clean and covered.”
“We use a cleaning solution in all county schools that will control staph,” the superintendent said. “We’re handling this the way the health department advised. As a division, we’re working to keep our schools clean and sanitized.”
Devine said MRSA is an infection that is most commonly spread by direct skin to skin contact. “Don’t share common items, such as combs, razors or towels,” Devine warned. “And make sure you wash your hands often with soap and water, and keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered,” he added.
In the letter sent to parents, Devine wrote, “We are working closely with the Halifax County Public Schools to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to prevent the spread of MRSA infection. Frequent hand washing with soap and water remains the primary means of preventing MRSA infections. Alcohol-based skin sanitizers and other disinfectants are effective against staph. Because the bacteria live on the skin, they may be reintroduced into any environment at any time.”
Devine said, “School officials know what to look for and are doing the right thing. The infection was recognized, treatment was provided, and the student was homebound until it was determined it was safe for him to return to school.”
According to Stapleton, the school system put a plan in motion when the first case of MRSA was reported in August in our part of the state. “We put all of our principals and nurses on notice about the possibility of the MRSA staph infection,” Stapleton said.
The school nurse department sent a list of preventative measures for MRSA to all faculty and staff in September. The measures for all schools include hand washing or use of an alcohol-based sanitizer by teachers and children and keeping cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage. Preventative measures for elementary schools included not sharing personal items, such as blankets, mats or clothing.
Devine said the MRSA bacteria is common in the environment. “It’s carried primarily on the skin of healthy people and is the cause of minor skin infections,” he said. “One out of every 100 people are colonized with it.”
Staph bacteria, such as MRSA, can cause skin infections that may look like a pimple or boil and can be red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage, according to the fact sheet released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The more serious infections may cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections or surgical wound infections.
In the 1990s, a different type of MRSA began showing up outside of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The Mayo Clinic said in an article on its website that form of staph is known as community-associated or CA-MRSA.
MRSA is a form of staph that is resistant to antibiotics called beta-lactams. These include methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin, according to Millie Lavaway, infection prevention and control practitioner for Halifax Regional Health System.
This strain of staph is responsible for a number of serious skin and soft tissue infections and also for a serious form of pneumonia. Devine said this form of MRSA can produce toxins, and if they become invasive they can spread through the bloodstream, making it much harder to treat.
“We have no reports of any deaths attributed to MRSA in our health district,” Devine said. “That includes Halifax, Mecklenburg and Brunswick counties.”
For more information about MRSA, contact the Halifax County Health Department or your personal medical professional.

Transfer Station Bids Range From $1.8-$2.2 Million

Halifax County supervisors and South Boston and Halifax town council members were updated on the status of the county’s transfer station during their joint meeting Tuesday night in Halifax.
The solid waste transfer station will be built off Plywood Trail with J. Harman Saunders Construction offering the low bid of $1,847,000 for the 180-day project.
According to County Administrator Bryan Foster, the county received seven bids on the transfer station by the Jan. 17 deadline with base bids ranging from a high of $2,298,000 to Saunders’ low bid of $1.8 million.
County officials anticipate the project will take approximately six months to construct.
Draper Aden Associates of Blacksburg is the engineering firm charged with development of the solid waste transfer station to be built on a wooded lot adjacent to the Norfolk Southern Railroad.
Architectural drawings call for the 10,000 square-foot two-level pre-engineered metal building featuring three bay doors to be fully enclosed.
Similar transfer stations have been built in Danville, Martinsville, Bedford City, and in the Richmond and Roanoke areas, according to Foster.
Once constructed, the transfer station will primarily be used by the county and towns that provide commercial use garbage collection, but will not be available for use by individual residents.
The transfer station will operate from 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7-9:30 a.m. on Saturdays, ending its day in time to make the last haul to Mecklenburg before the regional landfill closes.
Six to eight tractor-trailer loads filled with between 100 to 140 tons of trash are expected to pass through the transfer station each day with a typical tractor hauling an average 20 tons per load to the regional landfill.
“These bids are higher than what we have budgeted or anticipated,” the county administrator said, noting supervisors had budgeted $1.5 million.
“We need to look and see if there are adjustments that can be made to bring the bid down,” he said explaining the need to go into closed session at the conclusion of the open meeting Tuesday night.
Following the meeting, supervisors met in closed session to iron out details for the transfer station and are expected to award the contract at their Feb. 4 meeting.
In other action, supervisors and South Boston council members voted to proceed with combining each jurisdiction’s transportation safety commissions.
According to Ray Owen, chairman of the Halifax County Transportation Commission, the two commissions have been meeting jointly on a bi-monthly basis with representatives from VDOT, the Halifax County School System and the Virginia State Police for the past two years.
At their January meeting, Owen said the two groups discussed the merits of formally consolidating the two bodies into one, with all members present considering it to be a logical move.
According to Owen, South Boston Town Clerk Jane Jones has contacted the VDOT Highway Safety Division to ensure that if the two commissions were merged, there would be no reduction in local safety grant funding.
Michael B. Sawyer, P.E., assistant division administrator, responded that he believed a consolidated effort would be beneficial, Owen said.
“He advised that VDOT safety improvement funding was based upon benefit-cost ratios and concentration of severe crashes and felt consolidation of the two commissions would have no detrimental effect whatsoever,” he added.
Upon Owen’s request, both the supervisors and South Boston Town Council members approved consolidating the two commissions into one body Tuesday evening.
County Adminstrator Foster explained the consolidation would require the county to advertise a change in its code.
Also Tuesday night, supervisors and town council members were introduced to Halifax County Service Authority (HCSA) Director William E. “Willie” Jones.
A Gladys resident, Jones joined the HCSA from the Bedford County Public Service Authority, where he served as executive director since 1987.
Prior to his Bedford County PSA position, he worked as Brookneal’s public works director.
Jones said he has received a gracious welcome from the localities and has been gratified at the support he has received from the county and towns’ staffs.
Supervisors also made appointments during their Tuesday evening meeting.
Those appointed include James R. Davis from ED-4 to the planning commission, Ronnie Vaughan, Douglas Bowman and Kenneth Cassada to the William M. Tuck Airport Commission, and Victoria Jackson to the Lake County Area Agency on Aging.
Supervisors made one change to board committee assignments when they named Wayne Conner to chair the building and grounds committee and appointed Bryant Claiborne to serve on that committee also.

Obituaries

Mabel Stevens Bowen
Mabel Stevens Bowen, 85, of 3148 Rip Rap Road, Virgilina died January 23, 2008, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Bowen was born in Halifax County on April 18, 1922, the daughter of the late Claude L. Stevens and the late Nadie Huffman Stevens and was married to the late James Aubrey Bowen. She was a member of Union Christian Church.
Survivors include five sons, Claude D. Farmer and wife, Yvonne of Ringgold, Robert E. Farmer and wife, Lorine of South Boston, Donald Wayne Bowen and wife, Paulette, Beverly A. Bowen and wife, Jan, of Buffalo Junction, and Larry D. Bowen and wife, Robin, of Clarksville; a devoted nephew, Woodrow Stevens and wife, Frances, of Danville; 14 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Two granddaughters, Veronica Bowen Miller and Tina Marie Wray; and one great-grandson, Brian Robert Farmer, also preceded Mrs. Bowen in death.
The family will receive friends this evening, January 25, from 7:00 to 8:30 at Brooks Funeral Home, and other times at the home.
Funeral services for Mrs. Bowen will be held tomorrow, January 26, at 2 p.m. at Union Christian Church with the Rev. Jimmy Pulliam officiating. Burial will follow in North Fork Baptist Church Cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@embarqmail.com

Stanley Alonzo Strange
Stanley Alonzo Strange, 48, of Roxboro, N.C., formerly of Halifax County, died January 19, 2008, at his home.
Mr. Strange was born in Halifax County on December 3, 1959, the son of the late Douglas Strange and Mary Watkins Strange and was married to Toni Bowman Strange.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one daughter, Marlena Pheney of Washington, D.C.; two sons, Demaine Broodie and Quintin Strange, both of Washington, D.C.; one stepdaughter, Trina Torian of Roxboro, N.C.; three brothers, Brian Strange, Moses Miller Jr. and Lamont Miller, all of South Boston; six grandchildren; his grandmother, Elsie Strange of South Boston; one daughter-in-law, Tiffany Broodie; two sons-in-law, Carlton Pheney and Robert Torian; five sisters-in-law; and three brothers-in-law.
Funeral services for Mr. Strange will be held tomorrow, January 26, at 2 p.m. at Greater Mayfield Apostolic Church with Elder Barnard Wilkerson officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Public viewing for family and friends will be at Jeffress Funeral Home Chapel. The family is receiving friends at the home, and at the home of Brian Strange, 1126 Sinai Road, South Boston.

Edgar Felton Armstrong
Edgar Felton Armstrong, 83, of Lewis Lane, Vernon Hill, died Jan. 23, 2008, at his home.
He was born Jan. 26, 1924, in Baltimore, the son of the late Charles William Armstrong and Mary Wilson Armstrong and was married to Christeen Farmer Armstrong.
Mr. Armstrong was a merchant seaman and a World War II Marine veteran, and he was a member of Mt. Tabor Baptist Church.
He is survived by his wife of the home; one son, Ernest Lee Armstrong Sr. of Westminster, Md.; one step-daughter, Kathryn Evangeline Shelton of Virginia Beach; five grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Mr. Armstrong will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church with the Rev. Carl E. Burger officiating. Burial will be in the Amelia Veterans Cemetery at a later date.
The family will receive friends tonight from 6-8 p.m. and other times at the home, 1098 Lewis Lane, Vernon Hill.
For memorials, please consider the Mt. Tabor Baptist Church.

Mazy Coleman Brown
Mazy Coleman Brown, of Gatha’s Trail, Halifax, died Tuesday at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 81.
Mrs. Brown was born in Halifax County on August 8, 1926, and was the daughter of the late John Thomas Coleman and Sarah Jane Lacks Coleman.
She was married to the late Qually Stewart Brown and was a member of Ellis Creek Baptist Church.
Mazy Coleman Brown is survived by one daughter, Sarah Judkins of Halifax; one brother, Paul Coleman of Vernon Hill; six sisters, Katherine Coleman of Vernon Hill, Pauline Cousins of Teaneck, N.J., Lenora Bowman of Manhatten, N.Y., Pearl Coleman of New York, and Estelle Coleman and Eva Bates, both of South Boston; two grandchildren; one great-grandson; two sisters-in-law, Sandra Coleman and Ernestine Coleman; one son-in-law, Leigh R. Judkins; and a number of nieces, nephews, other relative and friends.
Funeral services for Mrs. Brown will be held Monday, January 28, at 1 p.m. at Ellis Creek Baptist Church with the Rev. Bruce Featherston officiating.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Public viewing for family and friends will be held at The Crawford House Chapel Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., and the family will be receiving friends at the residence, 1020 Gatha’s Trail, Halifax.

Stephens Hopes For Early Playing Time

By Chris Horne
Recruiting Analyst
TechSideline.com
One of Virginia Tech’s four high school senior linebacker recruits, Halifax County star Allen Stephens believes there is an opportunity for playing time as a true freshman next year.
He says the message was clear this past weekend, when he, along with the other three linebackers and a handful of other commitments, made an official visit to Blacksburg.
“We talked to Bud Foster. He said there are a lot of positions open. The senior linebackers are graduating, so someone might need to step up early,” Stephens said.
“I think it looks pretty good. I think there is some depth, but whoever shows up and is competitive could earn playing time.”
Stephens was excited to learn of the possibility of early playing time. He also had a great time this past weekend, getting to know fellow recruits and current Virginia Tech players. His roommate was fellow linebacker Lyndell Gibson and his host was someone he knew quite well.
“My host was [former Halifax County standout] Patrick Terry,” Stephens said.
“He is rooming with Tyrod Taylor, so I got to know Tyrod too. I talked to a lot of other guys. I talked to Macho. I talked to Davon [Morgan]. I talked to Kam Chancellor. We all got to know each other. I liked getting to know more about them. I talked a lot with Lyndell because he is my roommate and I also got to know Tony Gregory real well. I really liked going out with the players and I liked hanging out in the dorms.”
While Stephens was spending most of his time with the players and fellow recruits, his parents were off spending time with head coach Frank Beamer.
“My mom and dad even went to Coach Beamer’s house,” Stephens said.
“They took a tour around the house. They had a good time.”
Stephens, a 6-1, 240-pound prospect, earned Western Valley district defensive player of the year honors his junior season but missed half of his senior year due to a knee injury. He says the knee is now “back to normal.” His focus now will turn to the classroom, where he says he needs to finish out in solid fashion in order to fully qualify.
“I just need to stay where I’m at and I think I’ll be fine,” Stephens said. “I have to send my stuff to the NCAA Clearinghouse, so I’ll do that sometime soon.”
Stephens is an impressive physical specimen. Asked if any of the recruits looked college-ready, he of course stayed with the linebacker position.
“I’d probably say Bruce [Taylor],” Stephens said.
“He looked pretty big.”

Comets Face Big Game Tonight

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Tonight kicks of a stretch of a series of important Western Valley District contests for the Halifax County High School varsity boys basketball team.
After having played three of their first four district games on the road, the Comets (10-6 overall, 1-3 district) will return home tonight to face Patrick Henry of Roanoke (8-8 overall, 1-3 district).
The Comets and Patrick Henry are tied for fourth place in the Western Valley District standings and both teams need a win tonight to stay within hailing distance in the chase for the regular-season championship.
More importantly, however, with the top four teams in the district standings gaining a home game for the first round of the district tournament, the Comets need a win to maintain a grasp on one of the top four spots.
“This game is huge for us,” Comets head coach Lynn Ramage said of tonight’s game here against PH.
“I would say that this is a “must win” for us if we are going to contend and try to get one of the top four spots to host a tournament game. This is a game we’ve got to take. It’s still a dogfight. We’ve got to fight like everything to get to that spot.”
Ramage said Patrick Henry is a good ballclub, a team that can play with anyone in the Western Valley District.
“They’re a scrappy club,” Ramage remarked.
“They lost by only six points to GW at their place last week. They shoot well and execute well. They attack the glass very well. They may be one of the few teams that we will play that are smaller than we are. But size doesn’t mean anything. It’s the size of your heart that counts.”
Ramage said he hopes a large crowd will come out and support the team tonight, including a large crowd of students.
“We need the support of the fans,” Ramage said.
“We call the fans our “Sixth Man” and we’re going to need the fans down the stretch. We’ve got one of the biggest high school facilities in the state and we need to fill it up and have people come out and support our kids. The kids have worked hard and deserve the support of the fans.”
Tonight’s game is not only important as far as the Comets’ hopes of maintaining fourth-place is concerned, it is an important game because it launches a series of key home games for the Comets.
Halifax County has six Western Valley District games remaining including tonight’s contest and four of those six games are home games.
After tonight’s game, the Comets will host Franklin County on Tuesday and travel to Lynchburg to face E.C. Glass Feb. 1.
Patrick Henry, Franklin County and E.C. Glass are the teams that the Comets are contending with for the coveted third and fourth-place spots.
District leader GW and William Fleming currently hold down the top two positions in the district standings.
“We’ve got a stretch of three games coming up in which we can get back into the thick of things and be over .500 in the district,” Ramage noted.
“It’s anybody’s game these next three games. We feel confident about those games. We have a shot to do some things here. We’ve got to protect our home court. This is a big stretch for us.”

Swimmers Best GW

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The Comets swim team prepped for the upcoming Western Valley District Swim Meet with a home win over an undermanned GW squad on Tuesday.
The Halifax boys recorded a 93-28 win over GW, while the Comets girls won by a 106-12 margin.
A total of 12 Halifax swimmers won individual events, while the Comets took each of six relay events at the meet.
Double winners for the Comets included Macaulay Hammond and Johnanna Spencer in both the boys and girls 200 free and 500 free events.
Jarrett Pearce took the 100 breast, Tyler Lewis the 50 free, Andrew Wilkins the 100 free, and Hunter Fulcher the 200 IM for the Comets boys.
Shelby Rutledge won the 200 IM, Sarah Rosche the 50 free, Megan Rosche the 100 butterfly, Betty Rose the 100 free, Peyton Ferguson the 100 back and Emily Rosche the 100 breast events for the Comets girls.
“This was a big win but in all fairness to GW we had many more swimmers than they did, and no matter how good a swim team is, you can’t win without having entries in each event,” said Comets coach Spencer Ferguson.
Ferguson said many of the points accumulated in the win against GW were scored by younger swimmers.
First-time winners included Fulcher, Ferguson, Shelby Rutledge, Rose and Spencer, while a number of other swimmers also had good meets, according to Ferguson.
Those included Brandon Garner, Shannon Rutledge, Taylor Elliott, James Popek, Zak Ford, Drew Henderson, Antoine Weldon, Luigi DiTommaso, Brooks Gentry, Kelly Price, Mayghan Strange, Emily Conner and Anne McDonald.
“This is a good sign for the future,” said Ferguson, who added that although the team as a whole has performed well, he’s seen what seemed to be a drop in desire in some of his swimmers as the season progressed.
“This I do not understand nor will I ever understand, but one thing I know for sure, this team is made up of some great young people.”
Now it’s on to the Western Valley District Meet today at the Gator Center in Roanoke, with Patrick Henry serving as host.
The top eight swimmers in individual events and top seven relay teams from the district championships advance to the Northwest Regional Meet, scheduled for Feb. 1 at the George Mason Freedom Center in Manassas.
Only those swimmers with a top-eight finish at Districts or with a Regional Qualifying Time (QT) may advance to the regionals.
Halifax County has been well represented in the past at regionals, with as many as 20 swimmers qualifying for a spot, noted Ferguson, who said that he is hoping to take a large number of swimmers to the regionals again this year.
“I’m very proud of the progress that this team has made since the season began and I’m looking for good finishes at the district meet,” he said.
.Comets Girls Meet Results And Times
Halifax 106 GW 12
200 Medley Relay
1. Halifax “A” 2:42.29
2. Halifax “B” 2:48.0
200 Free
1. Johanna Spencer 3:06.56
2. Kelly Price 3:19.63
200 IM
1. Shelby Rutledge 3:44.12
50 Free
1. Sarah Rosche 31.94
2. Mayghan Strange 35.57
100 Fly
1. Megan Rosche 1:42.91
100 Free
1. Betty Rose 1:17.36
500 Free
1. Johanna Spencer 6:43
2. Emily Conner 7:51.41
100 Back
1. Peyton Ferguson 1:41.97
2. Anne McDonald 1:43.19
100 Breast
1. Emily Rosche 1:40.19
400 Free Relay
1. Halifax “A” 6:07.77
2. Halifax “B” 6:24
Comets Boys Meet Results And Times
Halifax 93 GW 28
200 Medley Relay
1. Halifax “A” 2:15.67
200 Free
1. Macaulay Hammond 2:39.45
2. Brandon Garner 3:01.44
200 IM
1. Hunter Fulcher 3:14.53
2. Shannon Rutledge 4:07.37
50 Free
1. Tyler Lewis 27.97
3. Taylor Elliott 30.27
100 Free
1. Andrew Wilkins 1:07.81
2. Dru Henderson 1:09.53
500 Free
1. Macaulay Hammond 6:01.32
2. Antoine Weldon 6:01.53
200 Free Relay
1. Halifax “A” 1:58.82
3. Halifax “B” 2:13.53
4. Halifax “C” 2:22.69
100 Back
2. Luigi DiTommaso1:47.91
100 Breast
1. Jarrett Pearce 1:20.20
2. Brooks Gentry 1:32.60
400 Free Relay
1. Halifax “A” 4:55.77
2. Halifax “C” 5:42.38