Crossing Exhibit On Track To Open This Summer

D’oyle Moore, aka General Nathanael Greene, stood at the site where the Colonial Army, cold, wet and exhausted, pulled off probably the most brilliant strategic retreat of the American Revolution.
He asked the crowd of later day Patriots celebrating the 227th Anniversary of the Crossing of the Dan to imagine what it must have been like that cold and icy February day as the Colonials denied the crossing to British General Cornwallis.
“Can you imagine the joy, the relief of being on the north side of the river? Can you see the soldiers plopped on the ground in sheer exhaustion?” asked Moore rhetorically.
“Can you see Gen. Greene on the hill on his horse and imagine the thanksgiving on his part…and what’s ahead?
“Cornwallis is still on the other side of the river, out of sight, but he’s there and not going away.
“First chance he gets, he’s going to cross. We must re-supply ourselves with men, munitions and food and re-cross that river.
“I’m reminded of the words of another general when he left a foreign land, ‘I shall return.’”
That Greene did, and his later actions helped delay Cornwallis long enough to allow the trap to be sprung at Yorktown that ended the Revoluntionary War.
The pilgrimage to the site of the crossing was part of a two-day celebration of the Crossing of the Dan, where Moore and students Jamie Crews, Marilyn Fisher, Haley Schwiebert and Lex Powell tossed a memorial wreath into the water in honor and remembrance of the sacrifice made by those who made the crossing that day.
Moore, along with the Guilford Court House Fife & Drum Corps and Halifax County High School JROTC, led the pilgrimage to the Dan following a morning of events at The Prizery.
Halifax historian Douglas Powell, chairman of the Crossing of the Dan Exhibit Committee, announced that the long-awaited permanent exhibition at The Prizery commemorating the Crossing is nearing completion.
Exhibit plans and detail plans for the exhibit have all been completed, and the text and images needed are on hand and completed, said Powell.
Uniforms for four full-size human figures, including those for Gen. Nathanael Greene and Edward Carrington were custom-made and are also complete, said Powell, who anticipates a late summer 2008 opening for the permanent exhibit.
“Exhibit costs exceed $300,000, and we were recently awarded an anonymous grant for $20,000 that must be matched dollar for dollar,” continued Powell, adding that a fabrication contract is now being finalized in anticipation of the remaining funding.
Joseph W. Dooley, president of the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, presented a $2,000 donation on behalf of the Dan River Chapter, SAR toward that goal, while Dooley himself presented a personal donation of $1,000.
Larry Aaron, author of the book, “The Race to the Dan,” recognized two county citizens for their efforts in bringing the permanent exhibit to life.
Aaron presented the Martha Washington Medal to Barbara Bass and the Bronze Good Citizenship Medal to Dan Shaw.
Bass, president of the Halifax Historical Society, was cited for her fund-raising efforts in addition to her help with the manuscript of Aaron’s book.
Shaw, who has also been involved with planning for the exhibit since its start, has done extensive research on the authenticity of the uniforms to be worn by the life-size figures in the exhibit.
Shaw wore a uniform at the event representative of that worn by a soldier in the Continental Army.

Uranium Study Bill Heads To Full Senate

The Senate Rules Committee on Friday approved a substitute uranium study bill that once again limits the study area to only the Pittsylvania County site.
Last week the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources expanded the study to include the entire state.
However, on Friday the rules committee – with only one dissenting vote – authorized the two-year study on the safety of uranium mining with the most substantive change narrowing the study to the Coles Hill site northeast of Chatham, which isolates it from any other uranium bearing sites in the state.
“I’m very disappointed the rules committee effectively ignored the wishes of the 15-member Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee that had agreed to make it a statewide study,” said Sen. Frank Ruff after the substitute bill emerged from the Rules Committee.
“I think everybody understands the concerns we have are the same concerns that others statewide have about the safety of uranium mining, and if it had been a statewide study, there would have been many more concerns expressed,” he added.
The issue will now go to the floor of the Senate with first reading expected on Monday, Ruff said.
A full vote from the 40 members of the Senate is expected on Tuesday following the bill’s second and third reading.
The bill designed to study the benefits and risks of uranium mining requires the commission to be composed of 17 members, including three from the Senate, five from the House of Delegates, and six “non-legislative” citizen members appointed by the governor.
Of the six non-legislative citizen members, two members from Halifax and two from Pittsylvania counties will be included on the study commission.
According to the substitute bill, the citizen members should have specific education, training, knowledge, or experience in the fields of public health, environmental protection, mining, or similar fields related to the work of the commission.
Under the amended bill, the commission would be required to hold at least three public hearings in any area of the commonwealth where uranium mining is proposed.
The proposed Virginia Uranium Mining Commission also would be required to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to perform the study.
It also will be required to hold a public meeting before beginning work to receive comments and suggestions from the public.
The commission’s report is due by Dec. 15, 2009.
The study is charged with examining the benefits and risks of the uranium mining project discovered in the early 1980s at a site northeast of Chatham in Pittsylvania County.
At that time, Virginians opposed the mining of uranium citing fear of ground and surface water pollution as well as concern about the storage of radioactive tailings, a mining residue.
This past fall, newly formed Virginia Uranium Inc. announced its plans to resurrect uranium mining at the site, and the company began test drilling in December at the nation’s richest uranium deposit valued at an estimated $10 billion.

Virginia’s Delegates At Stake In Tuesday’s Presidential Primary

Voters here will help the Republican and Democratic parties determine their presidential nominees when Virginia holds its dual primary Tuesday.
In Halifax County, both parties will hold statewide primaries with polling places open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m.
Democratic candidates still in the running include Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, while the GOP candidates are Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Ron Paul.
According to Virginia law, a dual primary consists of two separate elections conducted on the same day for the same office.
County Registrar Judy Meeler explained separate poll books, separate ballots and ballot boxes are kept, and results for each primary are tallied separately.
Virginia law only allows persons to vote in one of these two separate elections, but a voter doesn’t have to belong to either political party to cast a ballot.
“When voters go to the polls,” Meeler said, “they will be asked which primary they wish to vote in and will be required to state their preference.”
A person cannot vote in both primaries, and no write-in votes are allowed in the primaries, the registrar further explained.
Virginia’s Democratic ballot will list Joe Biden, Clinton, Christopher J. Dodd, John Edwards, Dennis J. Kucinich, Obama and Bill Richardson.
However, the field of Democratic presidential candidates has been reduced to a battle between and Clinton and Obama, the only two candidates still seeking their party’s nomination.
Virginia has 85 Democratic delegates at stake in Tuesday’s voting, delegate votes that will be apportioned according to how well the candidates do in tomorrow’s primary.
The Republican ballot will include Rudy Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain, Paul, Mitt Romney and Fred D. Thompson.
Of the GOP candidates listed on the ballot, those remaining in the presidential race are Huckabee, McCain and Paul.
Virginia has 60 delegates at stake in tomorrow’s primary – 60 that will be awarded on a winner-take-all basis.
Primaries and caucuses across the nation provide an indication of which candidates local voters support for president.
Due to the close races, political observers feel the Old Dominion may still play an important role in determining the nominees from both parties.
By the time Virginia holds its primaries tomorrow, more than 30 other states will have had primaries and caucuses. Twenty-four states voted Feb. 5.
The final decisions about who will carry the party banners in the November election will be made at national conventions this summer.
This year’s presidential election is Nov. 4.
For more information about voting in the primaries, call the Halifax County Registrar at 476-3322.

Obituaries

Marlene T. Hubbard Slaughter
Marlene T. Hubbard Slaughter, 69, of Mebane, N.C., died January 31, 2008 at her home.
She was born April 21,1938, to the late T. H. Tatum Sr. and Grady Warren Tatum and was married to Richard Slaughter.
In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, Donna Thompson and husband Jerry, and Debbie Marr, both of Burlington, N.C.; three grandchildren, Billy Thompson and wife April, Bryant Duckworth and Tammy Duckworth, all of Burlington, N.C. one-great-granddaughter, Ashley Thompson; one sister, Nancy Rimmer, and one brother, T. H. Tatum Jr., both of Mebane, N.C.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Willie Bryant Hubbard; one son, Billy Mac Hubbard; two brothers and one sister.
Funeral services were held Monday, February 4, at Walker’s Funeral Home Chapel in Mebane, N.C., with interment in Oakwood Cemetery, Mebane, N.C.

Nettie E. Mayo
Nettie E. Mayo, 89, of Birch-Elmo Road, South Boston, died Wednesday, February 6, 2008, in Riverside Health Care Center in Danville.
Born September 6, 1918 in Halifax County, she was the daughter of the late Charlie and Hastine Ferrell Edmonds. She was married to Willie M. Mayo, who predeceased her.
She was a member of New Vernon Baptist Church, a member of the Missionary Circle, and the Eastern Star.
She was retired from the Halifax County Public School System.
Survivors include two sons, Barry Mayo and wife Karen of Maryland, and David Mayo and wife Jacqueline of Danville; two daughters, Estelle Wimbush and husband Wallace of Maryland, and Betty Fitzgerald and husband Ray of Blairs; one brother, James Edmonds of Maryland; 20 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
Rev. Roger Ford conducted the funeral service for Mrs. Mayo Saturday, February 9, at 1 p.m. from New Vernon Baptist Church in Halifax.
Interment was in the church cemetery.
The family is at the residence, 1102 Birch-Elmo Road, South Boston.

Frances Holt Sims
Frances Holt Sims of Wagstaff Lane, Scottsburg, died Thursday, February 7, 2008 at Lynchburg General Hospital at the age of 58.
Born in Halifax County on December 13, 1949, she was the daughter of Bettie Easley Holt and the late Joseph Holt and was married to Aubrey Logan. She was a member of Piney Grove Baptist Church and was employed by Hilden America Inc.
In addition to her mother and husband, Mrs. Sims is survived by one son, Cramman Holt of Scottsburg; three daughters, Alesia Ferrell and Sharon Sims, both of Halifax, and Audrey Sims of Scottsburg; a stepson, Charles Womack of Halifax; three brothers James Easley, Sterling Holt and Eddie Holt, all of Scottsburg; five grandchildren; her mother-in-law, Martha Logan of Halifax; a son-in-law, Kevin Ferrell of Halifax; seven sisters-in-law, one brother-in-law; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends including a devoted cousin, Theresa Puckette.
Funeral services for Mrs. Sims will be held Tuesday, February 12, at 2 p.m. with services at the Piney Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. Whitfield Scott officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the residence, 1159 Wagstaff Lane, Scottsburg, and at the request of the family, there will be no public viewing.

George Louis Spencer
George Louis Spencer, 84, of Crystal Hill Road, Crystal Hill, died Sunday, February 10, 2008, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
He was born October 28, 1923, in Halifax County, a son of the late George Letcher Spencer and the late Clara Crews Spencer, and he was married to the late Bernice Perkins Spencer.
Mr. Spencer is survived by one daughter, Pamela Spencer Jennings and husband John of Raleigh; one son, Michael Louis Spencer and wife Patricia of Crystal Hill; three grandchildren, Chase Jennings of Raleigh, Jason Spencer and wife Amy of Phoenix, Az., and Travis Spencer, also of Phoenix; one great-grandchild; two sisters, Mary Canada and husband W.A. of Petersburg, and Doris Cole of Virgilina; one brother, Jessie Spencer Sr. of Halifax, and by a special friend, Thomas Miller of Crystal Hill.
A graveside memorial service for Mr. Spencer will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Spencer Family Farm Cemetery in Crystal Hill, with the Rev. Bob Hurd officiating.
The family will receive friends at the home of his son, Michael Spencer, 1100 Woodchuck Trail, Crystal Hill, tonight from 7-9.
For memorials, please consider the Crystal Hill Southern Baptist Church, P.O. Box 34, Crystal Hill, VA 24539, or the American Lung Association, 311 South Blvd., Richmond, VA 23221.

Comets Show Character In Loss To WF

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Friday night wasn’t the Senior Night that Halifax County High School head varsity boys basketball coach Lynn Ramage and his players had hoped for.
William Fleming, the second-place team in the Western Valley District standings and the ninth-ranked team in last week’s Associated Press state high school basketball poll, easily dismantled the Comets in a runaway 61-32 win in the Comets’ final home game of the regular season.
While the Comets (12-9 overall, 3-6 district) didn’t fare well on the scoreboard, they did show a never-give-up attitude.
With a 20-point deficit staring them in the face after the first minute and a half of the second half and the home crowd having settled patiently in their seats waiting for the inevitable defeat to unfold, the Comets continued to battle the bigger, more athletic William Fleming quintet.
Cheers of encouragement with nearly every basket or good defensive play rose from the Comets players seated on the bench.
“We’re happy that the kids didn’t quit,” Ramage said.
“They played hard and they played with courage in the presence of fear. They still had the will to go on.”
Trailing 26-9 at halftime, Ramage said it would have been very easy for his players to have given up at that point.
“It took courage for them to come back out on their home court in front of all of their peers on Senior Night,” Ramage pointed out.
“They could have tanked it .Everybody would have expected you to tank it. But, we didn’t. And, I’m proud of them. It’s character. It’s courage. It’s a start.”
Halifax County had a good start to the game, leading the first five minutes while playing a patient, deliberate style of basketball that resulted in both teams having 10 or less possessions in the first eight-minute stanza.
The Comets’ biggest lead was 7-4, that coming when Russell White converted a three-point play with 2:57 left in the first quarter. Then the wheels ran off of the Comets’ machine.
Halifax County did not score again until White sneaked inside the Fleming defense for a short lay-up off of the glass with 38 seconds left in the first half. White’s basket ended a streak of 21 unanswered points by the Colonels that had produced a 25-7 lead for the visitors.
The basket by White made the score 25-9 but William Fleming picked up a free throw with 25 seconds left in the half to produce a 26-9 halftime lead.
During the lengthy drought, the Comets were beset with a spate of turnovers and rushed shots forced by a tough defensive stand by the Colonels. In the first four minutes of the second quarter, the Comets had six consecutive possessions in which they committed a turnover before they could get off a shot.
“We had a plan,” Ramage said.
“We didn’t want to come out and stall the ball. We were trying to get them (Fleming) to commit to back doors (back-door passes) and lay-ups and things like that. We got a couple of lay-ups, but then we started to get out of our game plan. Then it looked like boys to men out there.”
A basket by White to start the second half cut the Comets’ deficit to 15 points. But, a 10-3 run by William Fleming in the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter put the Comets down 36-12, ending any realistic hopes the Comets could have had to come back and win the contest.
The Comets did, however, have their most productive eight-minute stretch of the night in the third quarter when they tallied 14 points. Michael Ferrell, who led the Comets on the offensive end with 16 points, scored eight of them and teammate Durrell Chandler, with a pair of three-point baskets, scored six of the points.
Still, the Comets trailed 44-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
A 7-1 William Fleming run in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter put the Colonels up 51-24. The Coloenls outscored the Comets 10-8 over the final five minutes of the game to seal the 29-point win.
On the William Fleming side, it was another good night for coach Mickey Hardy’s team, especially on defense, The Colonels’ corp of big men, Jamelle Hagins, Marcus Johnson, Eric Thomas and Troy Daniels effectively clogged up the middle and controlled the boards.
“I was impressed with our defense,” Hardy said after the win that improved his team’s record to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in district play.
“We saw what they were doing. They (Halifax) run a deliberate offense and make you work. We just tried to get into the passing lanes and keep pressure on the basketball and get them out of rhythmn. For the most part, we did that.”

Wright Leads Comets Grapplers

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Halifax County High School’s junior 285-pounder Richie Wright led the Comets wrestling team with a second-place finish in the Western Valley District Tournament held Saturday at Franklin County High School.
Wright, the only Comets wrestler to advance to the finals, lost a close 6-4 decision to Franklin County High School’s Greg Clarke.
A pair of Comets wrestlers, 160-pounder Jeremy Roman and 189-pounder Justin Perkins, came away with a third-place finish in their respective weight classes.
Both Roman and Perkins pinned their opponents to win the third-place consolation finals.
Three other Comets wrestlers, 130-pounder Ralph Tuck, 152-pounder Sam Lantor and 215-pounder Michael Puryear, finished fourth in their respective weight classes after bowing in the third-place consolation finals.
All six Comets grapplers will advance to next week’s Northwest Region Tournament as the top four finishers in each weight class qualify for the regional tournament. The Northwest Region Tournament will be held at Woodbridge High School.
In the team competition, Halifax County High School placed fifth in the six-team field.
Franklin County High School, which went 11-1 in the championship finals, won the district championship by a wide margin. The host Eagles tallied 260.5 points with William Fleming taking second place with a 166.5 total. E.C. Glass was third with 159 points, GW placed fourth with 107 points, the Comets followed with 83 points and Patrick Henry rounded out the field with 72 points.
Saturday marked the 21st consecutive year that Franklin County High School has won its district wrestling tournament. The Eagles have been champions of the Western Valley District since the Western Valley District was formed seven years ago.

Comets Girls Track Second In District

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Staging one of its better performances of the season, the Halifax County High School girls indoor track team placed second Saturday in the Western Valley District Indoor Track & Field Championships in Lynchburg.
Despite not competing in the pole vault and the 3,200-meter race and not having a runner to place in the 1,600-meter race, the Comets fell just 10 points shy of meet winner E.C. Glass.
E.C. Glass tallied 129 points with the Comets next in line with 119 points. Franklin County finished third with 86 points and was followed by Patrick Henry (75), William Fleming (37) and GW (15).
The Comets girls won the district title in the 4x200-meter relay with the tandem of Taylor Davis, Tanisha Evans, Felicia Bowman and Stacey Hamlett turning in a time of one minute and 50.61 seconds, a mark that surpassed the Northwest Region qualifying standard.
Also, Hamlett won the district championship in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.38 seconds, a mark that surpassed the state meet qualifying standard and qualified her for the state meet in that event.
Tanashia Medley won the district title in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.96 seconds, a mark that surpassed the regional qualifying standard.
Down on personnel, the Comets boys track team was not in contention for the district team championship, but did place fifth, edging William Fleming to stay out of the district cellar.
E.C. Glass made it a sweep of the day by winning the boys meet. The Hilltoppers edged runner-up GW by a 31-point margin.
Comets junior Clyde Scott had a big day, winning the district championship in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.0 seconds, a mark that surpassed the regional qualifying mark.
Scott also placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and two and three quarters inches. In addition, he finished sixth in the 55-meter race with a time of 6.9 seconds.
The Comets boys 4x200-meter relay team consisting of Scott, Thomas Logan, James Jennings and Courtney Ervin, placed third with a time of 1:41.37.
Jennings placed fourth in the 55-meter race with a time of 6.83 seconds and earned a fifth-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 19 feet and seven and a quarter inches.
The Comets’ girls team was particularly strong in the triple jump where Ferrell, Brittany Foster, Cherena Canada and Jasmine Pointer placed second, third, fifth and sixth respectively to give the Comets four of the top six spots.
Halifax County also had a big showing in the 55-meter dash where Hamlett and teammates Davis and Ferrell finished first, second and fifth respectively.
In addition, the Comets swept three of the top six places in the 300-meter dash with Medley, Bowman and Evans finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Foster, who had already qualified for the state meet in the high jump, placed fourth in that event with a leap of 5-2, a mark that met the state meet qualifying standard.
Ferrell and Foster placed fourth and fifth respectively in the long jump. Teammates Monica Thorpe and Brown placed third and fifth respectively in the shot put with Thorpe’s mark being a best throw of 32-1 and Brown’s best mark being 30-9.5.
Medley and Tyiesha Pannell placed second and fourth respectively in the 500-meter race and Medley and Ferrell swept the top two spots in the 55-meter hurdles.
The Comets girls’ 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Foster, Pannell, Pointer and Bowman placed second with a time of 4:35.62, qualifying it along with the winning 4x200-meter relay team for the Northwest Region meet.
Halifax County’s 4x800-meter relay team consisting of Canada, Tyesha Brooks, Aurora Wright and Brown, placed fourth with a time of 11:31.41.
The top six individual finishers in each event and the top two relay teams in each event qualified to advance to the Northwest Region meet in Maryland on the weekend of Feb. 22.