Friday, February 10, 2006

A Catch 22
No Child Left Behind

Move To Pull Out of NCLB Could Take Away Funding For County’s Schools

Virginia legislators want to know what would happen if they withdrew most of the state’s public schools from the federal No Child Left Behind program.
The House Education Committee on Wednesday unanimously endorsed a bill directing the State Board of Education to pose that question to the U.S. Department of Education and then make a recommendation to the General Assembly.
According to Halifax County School Superintendent Paul Stapleton, the move creates a Catch-22 for the school system.
“There’s no winning with this thing,” he said, “because it will be impossible to meet the standards (mandated by No Child Left Behind) without more state and federal money, but if you take the federal funding (the county receives from NCLB) away, it will be extremely difficult for us to continue to do what we’re doing now.”
Stapleton said some of the standards mandated by NCLB will be “extremely difficult” to meet without additional funding from the federal government.
“The problem we’re faced with is NCLB has a huge set of requirements and standards school systems have to meet. It’s just huge,” he said. “There’s no way the federal government will ever fund them fully because they’re far-reaching standards. That’s a major problem.
“But on the other side of the coin, if we lose the funding we’re getting, we’ll have a hard time just surviving as a school system,” Stapleton added.
As originally introduced by Del. Steve Landes, R-Augusta, the bill would have withdrawn all Virginia schools from No Child Left Behind. Landes amended the bill in consultation with state Department of Education officials.
‘‘In essence, we want to know if Title I funds will be withheld if we exempt non-Title I schools that don’t get the money,’’ said Patricia Wright, acting superintendent of public instruction. ‘‘That is the million-dollar question.’’
Title I schools are those that serve a large number of children from low-income families. Of the state’s 1,843 public schools, 762 received more than $223 million in Title I funds under NCLB in the last fiscal year, according to the state Department of Education. Virginia’s total NCLB funding was $335.7 million.
Halifax County schools receive around $1.7 million a year in Title I funding, according to school Finance Director Bill Covington.
“All of those funds would be impacted by the proposal,” he said.
NCLB seeks to have all students, regardless of race, poverty or disability, proficient in reading and math by 2014.
Critics have said the law is onerous and that the federal government has not provided adequate funding to help schools meet the standards, a sentiment Stapleton echoed.
“If the feds aren’t going to put the money up, either the state is or the local Boards of Supervisors will,” he said. “The requirements are increasing each year and some of those will be impossible to meet without a large influx of money.”

 

Supes To Ask VIR To Double W/S Payments

Flat Rate Paid To County Expected To Jump From $5,000 To $10,000 Monthly

The Halifax County Service Authority is seeking an additional $5,000 a month from Virginia International Raceway to cover debt service on the loan taken out by the county to provide water and sewer service at the motorsports park.
Membership on the Authority is the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.
VIR Co-Owner Connie Nyholm said yesterday that she will work with the Board to set rates for the park.
“We’re looking forward to cooperating with the service authority to establish long-term rates that are fair to all users of the various util systems in Halifax County,” she said.
Contacted yesterday, Supervisor Doug Bowman, chairman of the Board’s finance committee, said the current payment of $5,000 by VIR does little to cover the payments on a $1.6 million loan taken out by the Board to provide service at the park.
“We’re proposing to double the fee we’re charging VIR,” he said. “Right now, we don’t have the revenue coming out of there (VIR) to support the debt service.”
County Administrator Bryan Foster said yesterday that the rates were set following a meeting with Nyholm.
“When this issue came up last summer, we met with Connie and (she) suggested a flat rate in the interim until we could set the rates,” he said. “(The $5,000 per month rate) was her decision and we said okay.”
Foster said that prior to the meeting, supervisors had “crunched the numbers.” “The idea is the rates paid should cover the total costs of the system,” he said.
According to Bowman, the annual debt service on the loan is around $135,000, with operating costs totaling about $60,000 annually.
“We’re looking at $195,000 that the service authority needs from VIR to cover its debt service,” he said.
During a meeting of the Authority Monday, supervisors appropriated $250,000 from the county’s general fund to cover the debt service for this year’s payments on the loan, Bowman said.
Bowman said VIR’s current payment of $5,000 is sufficient to cover the operating expenses, “but we aren’t getting the revenue to cover the debt service.”
“That’s what the additional $5,000 is going to help with until we can get the operators on line to help them pay for it,” he said, referring to additional customers on the VIR water/sewer line.
Because any rates set would be exorbitant, Bowman said supervisors have not set a concrete rate for the park, rather allowed them to pay a flat rate until additional customers were available to offset the expense for VIR.
“Initially, we didn’t set a rate structure because the volume (of customers) hasn’t built up out there where we could set a rate structure that makes sense,” he said. “W e hope to be able to do that this year, but in the interim, we need VIR to pay a larger share of the debt service and operating costs.”
VIR co-owner Connie Nyholm is expected to address the issue and present some options to supervisors during their March 6 meeting, Bowman said.
“We want her to present her plan on how we can get the VIR project to cover its operating expenses and debt service,” he said. “We’re asking for ideas that will allow them to pay more than they’re paying now. Ten thousand isn’t enough.”
According to Bowman, the county needs to receive a total of $188,210 annually, or $15,684 monthly, to reach the break-even mark on the debt service.
The finance committee chairman said that while “something has to be done,” the county is seeing financial benefits from the motorsports park.
“The county can’t continue to subsidize VIR’s utilities,” he said. “The objective is to have VIR’s revenue covering the debt service. That’s where we’re hoping to get, but if you look at what’s going on out there, there is some growth. The water/sewer volume (number of customers) is going to increase and the tax revenues to the county are going to increase rather nicely. Every time they build a new structure at VIR, there is additional tax revenue coming in.”
According to Bowman, the county received $68,000 from VIR in 2004, a number that rose to $105,000 last year.
“This year, I think it’s going to be closer to $125,000,” he said. “We’re getting some money from the project, we just aren’t getting enough from water/sewer to cover the water/sewer debt service. We’ll get there, but we have to do something to cover our debt service in the meantime. We have to have a plan that will get us there quicker than the growth of the facility will get us there.
“We’re glad they’re here,” Bowman added. “It’s good for the county and they are growing. The water/sewer volume is growing at an attractive pace, just not fast enough.
Bowman said the “line will be crossed” where the utility payments meet the county’s debt obligation.
“The tax revenue to the county is supporting this right now and it will grow exponentially,” he said. “The county is getting enough revenue from the VIR project to break even, we just haven’t gotten the revenue from where we need the revenue to come from.”

 

Nathalie Man Plead Guilty To Drug Charges Wednesday

A 27-year-old Nathalie man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Halifax County Circuit Court to multiple drug charges, according to Major R.S.B. Pulliam of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.
Nicholas Jerome Breedlove, of Lower Liberty Road, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, two counts of possessions of crack cocaine and one count of breaking and entering, according to Pulliam.
Breedlove was sentenced to serve one year and four months, according to police.
The guilty pleas were a result of a two-month investigation that concluded with a search warrant last April, Pulliam said.
The investigation revealed Breedlove was participating in a crack cocaine distribution operation that was distributing crack cocaine and marijuana out of a residence located on Little Road Lane in the Town of Halifax, according to investigators.
After the search warrant was executed, six people were arrested on drug violations and various other charges.
The search warrant led to the seizure of cash, drugs and a firearm, Pulliam said.
TV’s, stereos, VCR’s, DVD players and various other electronics were also seized. The investigators also conducted searches at other homes and properties in Halifax County, Pulliam said.
Sheriff Oakes said that this residence represented a significant threat to the community due to the crimes and violence associated with drug distribution. He also thanked the concerned citizens and law enforcement officers of Halifax County for the valuable information provided.
On Monday, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Department arrested Cathy Bowman Clark, 49, for possession of crack cocaine.
Bowman, of Riverdale Drive in South Boston, is being held without bond.

State Taxes Are Up 55 Percent
Over Ten Years

By Bob Lewis
The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Census Bureau report showing state taxes per person increased 55 percent from 1994 to 2004 in Virginia sent Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s administration scrambling Wednesday to explain that the increase reflects prosperous times, not runaway taxation.
Virginia ranked 31st nationally with a per capita state tax burden of $1,903 in 2004, lower than the national average of $2,026. In 1994, the census report showed that Virginians paid $1,229 on average per person.
Nationally, the taxes Americans paid to their states increased by an average of 41 percent over the decade, with tax burdens increasing in every state except Alaska. For Kaine, on the eve of a series of town hall-style meetings, the report presented problems in pushing his package of transportation reforms and the fee, fine and tax increases necessary to generate nearly $1 billion more a year to pay for them.
The administration rushed to portray the report more as a barometer of a 72 percent growth in personal income and 26 percent inflation in Virginia over that period. Finance Secretary Jody M. Wagner said the Census figures were misleading for several reasons:
—They include corporate income taxes, which increased 36 percent over the 10 years and represent several major multinational corporations based in Virginia; —They don’t reflect the 1998 car tax cuts under which cities and counties have reduced locally assessed personal property tax on cars and pickup trucks by 70 percent with the state reimbursing localities for their lost tax revenue, roughly $950 million annually;—It includes money that the state collects for such purposes as public schools only to return it to the localities. When the per capita tax burden is assessed as a percentage of income, the administration argued, Virginia ranks 44th nationally.
‘‘Virginia has always had — and still has — a very low percentage of taxation per taxable income,’’ Wagner said.
The years encompassed by the census report take in the enormous corporate profits and shareholder dividends of the ill-fated dot-com boom of the late 1990s. It also accounts for a strong economic rebound in Virginia fueled by heavy defense and national security spending in northern Virginia and a hot real estate market. The report, however, does not reflect most of the $1.4 billion annual tax increase package passed in 2004. The increases did not take effect until late in 2004 or in 2005 and included boosting the sales tax from 4.5 cents on the dollar to 5 cents and a tenfold increase to the state’s 2.5 cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes even as the state tax on groceries was phased out.

 

Metro Magazine Sets
Its Sights On Halifax
Raleigh’s Metro Magazine will feature three Halifax County sites in its March issue, Katie Reeves, Metro’ s vice-president of sales and marketing, said yesterday. The upscale magazine boasts a circulation of 40,000, according to Reeves. Dr. Ralph Wileman’s home in the Vernon Hill community, Berry Hill Plantation Resort and The Prizery will be featured in Diane Lea’s article. Copies of Metro’s March issue will be available at The Prizery and Berry Hill, Reeves said. On Wednesday, Wileman welcomed members of the Raleigh Fine Arts Society to his home during a day trip that also included Berry Hill and The Prizery. “Some of our members are saying it was the best day trip we’ve made,” said Reeves, who is also program director for the Society. “We’ve had a great day,” said Barbara O’Herron, president of the Society. “I think everybody’s been enchanted by their surroundings. “I’m impressed with all the arts, and The Prizery I thought was just wonderful,” added O’Herron. “I think having all the facilities they have under one roof is just great. It’s an historic building with banquet facilities, the art gallery and the theatre, which we were especially interested in.” “It’ been absolutely fabulous,” said Society member Carol Ann Foster. “I didn’t know that this place existed so close to Raleigh. It’s a wonderful day trip. It has a lot of interesting things: art, history, the views, nature, the geography. It’s lovely. They have done a great job restoring and packaging and others should take note.” “I just loved it,” added Society member Celia Poole. “It’s wonderful to see that the tobacco buyout money is being used for something so worthwhile.” As the group completed its tour, Wren Rehm summed up the day. “Everybody’s been very accommodating, the service wonderful and the whole experience very welcoming. We’ll definitely be back.”

 

Comets Face GW Tonight In Season Finale

The HCHS Varsity Boys Cagers Hope To Rebound From Two Disappointing Losses When They Face GW Here In Tonight’s Senior Night Contest
The question Halifax County High School varsity boys basketball coach Ron Parson and many others are asking is which Comets team will show up for tonight’s Senior Night game here against arch-rival GW in the regular-season finale.
After having recently beaten Franklin County to stay in the battle for second place and a home game in the first round of the district tournament, the Comets hit the skids.
In a pair of disappointing lackluster performances, the Comets fell to Patrick Henry 66-33 Tuesday in Roanoke and lost to Carlisle School 66-60 here Wednesday night in a non-district contest.
The pair of losses have been a setback to the Comets who will enter tonight’s game against undefeated GW with a 7-13 overall mark and a 4-3 slate in Western Valley District play.
In fact, the two losses have been so much of a setback that Parson said after Wednesday night’s loss to Carlisle School that he had no clue as whether it will be the “good” Comets team or the “bad” Comets team that will show up tonight.
“This group has been so up and down that you never know,” said Parson.
“ Can we come out and play well and make it a game? Certainly we can. Can we come out and play poorly? We’ve proven we can do that.
“The only thing we can do,” the Comets coach continued, “ is practice, prepare them, show them what they (GW) are going to do and show them what we’ve got to do. If we do what we need to do, we’ve got a chance. Against a team like GW, all you want is a chance at the end. But, you’ve got to play well to get to the end.”
The important thing at this point in the season, the time when the district tournament is less than a week away, is for a team to be playing well. For Parson, to see his team play as it has in the two games earlier this week is a big disappointment.
“It’s disappointing, especially here at the end of the season and you’re talking about getting ready to go into the playoffs,” Parson pointed out.
“You want to be playing well going into the playoffs. Even if you play well and get beat, you still want to play well. Even if you lose, you can build on what you’re not doing well. When you play the last two games like we played, you really don’t know where to start to repair things. There is so much that you see that you’re not doing that you don’t know where to begin. We’re about starting all over again.”
The Comets played somewhat better against Carlisle School Wednesday night than they did against Patrick Henry on Tuesday night. However, a lengthy dry spell that began in the third quarter and spilled over into the early part of the fourth quarter was too much for the Comets to overcome.
Halifax County trailed 31-25 after Derek Brooks hit two free throws with 5:43 left in the third quarter. Then, the drought hit.
For the next six minutes and 15 seconds the Comets, fumbling through a sequence of poor shooting, mistakes and turnovers, went scoreless. That opened the door for the Chiefs to make a 17-0 run that put them up 48-25 with 7:42 left in the game.
“For some reason our total offensive concentration has broken down,” Parson said.
“ We seem to go through stretches where we can’t put the ball in the basket. We just seem to lose our focus and it seems to happen at the wrong time. It seems like the other team will pick things up and we will drop totally off instead of upping things with them. When that happens, you’re going to get yourself in a bad way and we’ve done that for two straight games.”
Blaine Key snapped the drought for the Comets with a basket with 7:28 left in the game to make it 48-27. That basket started a 9-3 run for the Comets, a run that pulled the Comets to within 19 points with six minutes to play.
Later, trailing 53-34, the Comets put together a 10-0 run in a brief 90-second span with baskets from Brooks, Morgan Brown and Mark Ferrell to cut the Carlisle lead to nine points at 53-44 with 3:33 to play.
Halifax trailed by nine points and then fell victim to a 7-0 run by the Chiefs, a run that put Carlisle up 62-46 with just under two minutes left in the game.
The Comets trailed 66-49 entering the final minute of the contest but got two free throws from Derwin Leigh that were sandwiched among three three-point baskets from Larry Burrell, the last one coming with 4.7 seconds left in the game, to make the six-point margin at the end.
Halifax County led the game twice in the first quarter, the last time coming when Brown hit a trey with 1:11 left in the period to put the Comets up 8-7. After that, the Comets fell behind by as many as nine points in the second quarter and trailed 24-19 at halftime.
Brooks led the Comets in scoring with 14 points with a trio of players, Burrell, Jeremy Jeffress and Brown each chipping in nine points. Key scored eight points.
Carlisle School was led in scoring by Steven Echols with 18 points and Joe Manns with 16 points.

CARLISLE SCHOOL
NAME FG FT F TP
Manns 7 1-6 1 16
Trent 2 2-2 3 6
Echols, D. 1 2-2 1 4
Franklin 0 0-0 0 0
Echols, S. 6 4-6 3 18
Reese 0 0-0 0 0
Hunt 3 0-0 1 9
Burnett 3 2-5 0 9
Goggins 0 0-0 0 0
Robertson 0 0-2 0 0
Hamlet 0 0-0 0 0
James 2 0-0 2 4
Totals 24 11-25 11 66
HALIFAX COUNTY
NAME FG FT F TP
Terry 0 0-0 1 0
Burrell 3 0-0 2 9
Leigh 1 2-2 1 5
Jeffress 3 0-2 1 9
Brown 3 2-2 4 9
Key 4 0-2 4 8
Brooks 5 4-4 2 14
Edmonds 0 0-0 1 0
Pippen 0 0-0 0 0
Sibley 0 0-0 1 0
Ferrell 3 0-0 3 6
Totals 22 8-12 20 60
Three Point Field Goals: Jeffress (HC) 3, Burrell (HC) 3, Leigh (HC) 1, Brown (HC) ,Hunt (CS) 3, S. Echols (CS) 2, Manns (CS) 1, Burnett (CS) 1

Carlisle School 9 16 21 20-66
Halifax County 8 11 6 35-60

 

HCHS Varsity Girls Cagers Fall To Carlisle 68-47

Comets Finish Season Tonight At GW

The Comets varsity girls basketball team, its chances for a berth in the Western Valley District Tournament gone after a Tuesday home loss to Patrick Henry, looked to bounce back here Wednesday against Carlisle School.
Things didn’t work out as planned, a promising start wilting after a taller, faster and deeper Carlisle team took control in the second quarter on the way to a 68-47 win over the Comets.
The loss marked the twelvth straight for the Comets, who face district foe GW in Danville tonight to end the season. Halifax is 0-7 in the Western Valley District and 2-15 overall.
Kemper Russell led the Comets with 10 points, while senior Deelyn Leigh, playing her last home game, added nine, including a seven for 10 game at the foul line.
Lashunda Davis and Key Ferrell each finished with eight points, Talesha Medley with five points and Shauna Harris, Dachrista Teeters and Brittany Gayles with a bucket apiece.
Taniqua Younger added a foul shot to the Comets’ point totals.
Carlisle finished with three players in double figures, Meridith Young with 22 and Gabrielle Scherpiet and Lattiece Pettie with 12 points each.
Comets coach Ray Reaves repeated the same story line that has followed his team this season, the Comets falling behind early and never catching up.
“We had some success early on breaking their trap defense and we got some good looks at the basket, but they just didn’t fall,” said Reaves.
“Our lack of height has been a disadvantage for us, but we attacked the basket fairly well. Defensively, I’ve been surprised because I thought that would be one of our strengths, and we played well at times, but not with enough consistency.”
“We need to keep the game close in order to have a chance to win, because once we fall behind, we have a hard time finding the energy to come back.”
Halifax broke the Carlisle trap to get several good looks at the basket early in the game, Ferrell hitting a trey and layup and Davis another layup, as Halifax trailed 11-7 in the first quarter.
A Carlisle trey and basket helped it to a 16-8 lead after one quarter the Chiefs led 24-12 midway through the second, the Comets breaking the Carlisle press but missing several more close-in shots in the quarter.
Teeters, Ferrell, Russell and Leigh hit baskets for Halifax, but Carlisle’s lead ballooned to 37-18 at halftime.
Davis hit three baskets, and Russell two buckets in the third quarter, but Carlisle responded with a 21-14 run to make it 59-32 with a quarter remaining.
Halifax turned the tables on Carlisle in the final period, Medley hitting two inside hoops, and Russell, Harris and Gayles one each. Leigh hit all four of her free throw chances in the quarter, but the Carlisle advantage was too big to overcome.
Reaves hopes the same Comets team that played one of its better games of the season here recently against GW is the same one that will travel to Danville to play the Eagles on Friday.
“We probably played our best game of the year here against GW, and we always seem to get up for them,” noted Reaves.
“I told the girls after the game that I was proud of them, but we haven’t played well on the road all year.
“GW is tough and talented, and we’ll have to play nearly a perfect game to compete with them.
“If we play hard, I’ll be satisfied, but I don’t want us to go up there and just lay down for them.”
The Comets jayvee girls get the action under way today at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity contest at 7:30 p.m.

 

Comets Trio Earn Second Seed For WVD Tourney

Three Halifax County High School wrestlers, Charles Crawley, Robert Stanfield and Cavanaugh Smith will be Halifax County High School’s top seeds entering Saturday’s Western Valley District Wrestling Tournament at Franklin County High School.
Crawley (171 pounds), Stanfield (215 pounds) and Smith (275 pounds) will enter the tournament with a number two seed.
Brent Messick (112 pounds) and Damon Chambers (189 pounds) will enter the tournament as number three seeds.
Jordan Litchfield (119 pounds), Heather Oakes (125 pounds) and Josh Brooks (140 pounds) will enter the tournament as number four seeds.
Entering the tournament with the bottom seed at number five are Shayna Oakes (130 pounds), Jonathan Chappell (135 pounds) and ray Albert (145 pounds).
The Comets will not have entries in three weight classes including 103, 152 and 160.
With the top four finishers in each weight class advancing to the upcoming Northwest Region Tournament, Messick, Litchfield, Heather Oakes, Crawley, Chambers, Stanfield and Smith are guaranteed to advance to the Northwest Region Tournament as there will be less than five participants in their respective weight classes.
While the Comets are guaranteed to have a handful of wrestlers advance to the Northwest Region Tournament, there is still a goal for coach Brady Taylor’s grapplers to shoot for.
The wrestlers will be seeking to finish as high as possible within their respective weight classes because higher finishers will draw lower finishers in the opening round of the regional competition.
Also, the Comets grapplers will be looking to finish as high as possible because Saturday’s district event is also a team event with the Western Valley District championship at stake.
A good finish in Saturday’s Western Valley District Tournament will add a little extra spice to what has been a fairly good season for the Comets grapplers.
The Comets finished with an 8-15 mark in dual matches this season with the eight wins being the most wins a Comets wrestling team has posted in four seasons.
“To win the most matches we have won in four years is a pretty good accomplishment,” said Taylor.
“The kids worked hard. They wrestled better this year than they did last year.”

 

Obituaries

Iva Lee Wilkes Barrett
Iva Lee Wilkes Barrett, 90, of 404 Westwood Drive, Altavista, died February 7, 2006, at Lynchburg General Hospital. She was married to Russell Edwards Barrett, who preceded her in death.
Born February 8, 1915, in Victoria, she was the daughter of the late Sterling Lewis Wilkes and Lula Estelle Wilkes. She was a member of Central Baptist Church where she was the daughter-in-law of charter members, P.L. and Ella Edwards Barrett; a charter member of the Altavista Garden Club; and a lifetime volunteer at the Altavista Life Saving Crew Thrift Shop. Mrs. Barrett taught third grade at Altavista Elementary School where she was also their cafeteria manager, and operated Barrett’s Private Kindergarten for 30 years.
She is survived by one daughter, Luella Hubbard and her husband, Don, of Halifax; one grandson, Todd Temples and his wife, Michele, of Green Brook, N.J.; one foster daughter, Connie Thomas of San Francisco, Calif.; and her caregivers, Mamie Nowlin, Lillian Womack, and Marie Pannell,
She was preceded in death by three older sisters and four older brothers.
A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. tomorrow, February 11, at Central Baptist Church, Altavista, by the Revs. Michael Duncan Jr. and Brian Reynolds, her great nephew. Interment will follow at Green Hill Cemetery.
The family is receiving friends from 7:00-8:30 p.m. this evening, February 10, at Finch & Finch, Inc. Funeral and Cremation Service, Altavista, and other times at the residence.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Central Baptist Church, P.O. Box 387, Altavista, 24517 or the Altavista EMS, P.O. Box 1, Altavista, 24517.
To send condolences, visit www.finchandfinchfuneralservice.com.

Herman Lee Burleson
Herman Lee Burleson, 74, of Clarksville, Tenn., died February 7, 2006, at his home.
Mr. Burleson was born May 17, 1931, in Yancey County, N.C. the son of Samuel Burleson and Doshie Ollis Burleson, and was married to Gurdine Wilkins Burleson. He was an automobile mechanic.
Survivors include his wife of the home; two sons, Steve Allen Burleson of Crestridge, N.C. and Danny Grover of South Boston; two daughters, Debbie Lee Watson of Roxboro, N.C. and Wanda Colf of Clarksville; one sister, Mary Lou Tolley of Burnsville, N.C.; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
No services are planned; McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider AseraCare Hospice, 1539-C, Ashland City Road, Clarksville, Tenn. 37040.

Edward Robinson III
Edward Robinson III, 36, of Piscataway, N.J. died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J.
He was born in Paterson, N.J. on April 3, 1969, the son of Edward Robinson Jr. and Mary Robinson and was married to Janifer Rice Robinson.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Jalen Robinson of the home; his father and mother, Edward Robinson Jr. of New York, N.Y. and Mary Robinson of Cumberland; two sisters, Judy Dunn of Landsdowne, Pa. anSabrina McDowe of Lithonia, Ga.; his paternal grandmother, Goldie Robinson of Paterson; his father-in-law, William Robert Rice of South Boston; and his mother-in-law, Janice Rice of South Boston.
Funeral services for Mr. Robinson will be held tomorrow, February 11, at 2 p.m. at New Shiloh Baptist Church with the Rev. Sylvester Crawley officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Maggie L. Brown-Williams
Maggie L. Brown-Williams, 69, of Jersey City, N.J., died February 2, 2006, in Christ Hospital in Jersey City.
She was born in Halifax County, and was employed by the Division of Youth and Family Services in New Jersey.
Survivors include two sons, Andre and Shawn Williams; three daughters, Geraldine Ware, Renee Shuler and Anissia Best; 12 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow, February 11, at 10 a.m. at St. Johns Baptist Church in Jersey City.