Wednesday, March 2, 2005

$1.2 Million

Higher Education Center To Get State Operating Funds

The Virginia General Assembly voted yesterday on a budget compromise that will provide a total of $1.6 million in funding for a state-supported Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, Delegate Clarke Hogan, R-Halifax, said yesterday.
The SVHEC, created as an off-campus center of Longwood University, will now operate as a state-designated, independent higher education center.
The funds will come from an annual General Fund allocation at $1.2 million, with the remainder from lease arrangements at the SVHEC. The general fund allocation will come every year, according to Higher Education Foundation (HEF) President W.W. “Ted" Bennett.
“What it amounts to is we have achieved state status as a recognized higher education center," he said. “It anchors us perpetually for the community."
Bennett said the $1.2 million in state funds is more than double the $475,000 annual budget the center currently uses to operate.
“That will give us enormous flexibility in expanding the programs and offerings of the center itself," he said.
“It also allows the SVHEC to be in the state maintenance reserve fund for the building," Bennett added. “If the roof goes or boiler blows, the state will repair it."
The SVHEC building, currently owned by the HEF, will be leased to a 15-member Board of Trustees appointed by the legislature and governor.
“We have the best of both worlds here," Bennett said. “We’re recognized by the state as far as funding and the HEF still owns the building."
Hogan said the designation as a state higher education center will enable a curriculum tailored to the needs of Southside.
“It will give us the ability to respond to the educational needs of our area," he said. “We’ll be able to focus our training on where we think it’s important to our community."
“What this is going to do is allow us to tap into the higher education resources around the state and bring their strengths to the area," Bennett added.
The HEF president said conversations with institutions like UVA and Virginia Tech to bring their expertise to the area have already been initiated.
Bennett said it was “extraordinary" for a local institution like the SVHEC to secure funding in the second year of a biennial budget.
“The whole thing is just a tribute to the people of this community," he said. “This community built the higher ed center from scratch without a nickle of state funding."
During their December meetings, both the Halifax County Board of Supervisors and the South Boston Town Council passed resolutions requesting the center be designated a state higher education center.
The request was made on behalf of the Higher Education Foundation.
On February 1, legislation that created the state-supported center passed committees in both the House and Senate, with full funding in the House budget but no funding in the Senate.
Hogan’s bill creating the state-supported center, without funding, passed the House 96-0 on February 3, and passed the Senate 40-0 on February 14.
Hogan described the negotiations to secure funding as “touch and go."
“There were several times during the past week when I didn’t think we’d get it," he said. “But we were ultimately able to convince the Senate that this was a good use of money.
“We got what we asked for, that’s the important thing,” Hogan added.
After the legislation is signed by Gov. Mark Warner, a Board will be appointed to oversee the operations of the center.
The Board will be officially created July 1, although Bennett said some of the appointments will be made in the interim.
“And then we need to go to work," Hogan said.

 

New Budget Guts Surplus

State Catches Up On Some Unpaid Bills

BY BOB LEWIS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RICHMOND, Va. — In minutes, the House and Senate voted in a Sunday overtime session for a budget compromise forged in a week of nearly round-the-clock haggling and ended the 2005 General Assembly.
The state’s new spending blueprint for the next year is notable largely for using much of the expected $1.2 billion surplus to defray old debts rather than create new spending projects.
Even one-third of the largest single new cash infusion — $848 million for transportation — is earmarked to paying off highway projects finished years ago.
Plenty of interests went away without the funding or projects they wanted, but the budget cleans up the state’s balance sheets and sets up next year’s push for long-term transportation funding, said Sen. Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico.
‘‘When people look at the budget and see the hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars, it hard for them to see that what we’re doing this year is mostly paying the bills we already have in the drawer,’’ said Stosch, one of 11 legislative negotiators who haggled over the final budget compromise until about 2:30 a.m. Friday.
From the outset, the House and Senate were determined to end the ‘‘accelerated sales tax,’’ a budget-balancing gimmick which has forced large retailers to prepay an estimated month’s worth of sales tax collections each summer since 2002.
Under the compromise, only about 2 percent of the largest stores will be subject to prepayment, and they’ll only have to remit about 20 percent of the monthly estimate. By 2007, the tax will be removed completely. That cut $200 million in revenue from the budget.
Lawmakers were also unified in cutting the state share of the sales tax on groceries, reducing the overall tax effective in July from 4 percent to 2.5 percent — the share of the tax that goes to localities. It will save a family that spends $100 a week on groceries $78 over the course of a year at a cost to the state of about $100 million.
Nevertheless, legislators found an additional $119 million to provide state classified employees with 3 percent across-the-board raises late this fall and sweeten seniority benefits for employees of five years or more.
There are additional pay boosts of 4.4 percent and state-supported local staff such as court clerks, and 4.2 percent for college faculty.
The budget gutted some of Gov. Mark R. Warner’s pet programs. It stripped his Virginia Works economic development program for Southside and southwestern Virginia of $18.5 million and redistributed about $9 million to related projects.
It cut $1.2 million in funding for his Race to the GED program to provide high school equivalency degrees for adults. It eliminates a $1.6 million boost Warner proposed for reduced-price school breakfasts for children of the poor.

 

Frances Nealy Mullis

Frances Nealy Mullis, 70, of Sutherlin died February 22 at Roman Eagle Memorial Home in Danville.
Ms. Mullis was born February 24, 1934 in Danville the daughter of Henry W. Nealy and Hazel Allie Sigmon Nealy, both deceased. She was a member of the Sunshine Club, was of the Baptist faith, and had worked for Dan River Mills.
Survivors include one daughter, Jennifer Morris and husband, Allen, of Ringgold; one son, James Swift and his wife, Sandra, of Nathalie; four grandchildren, Marcus and Hunter Swift, Brittany Mullis and Ashleigh Morris. She was preceded in death by one brother, Elmer Nealy.
Funeral services for Ms. Mullis were held February 24, at 11 a.m. at Swicegood Funeral Home Chapel in Danville with the Rev. Lawrence Morris officiating. Burial followed in Schoolfield Cemetery.

Emily Nunn Crowder

Emily Nunn Crowder, 98, widow of Atlee Bryan Crowder, died February 24 in South Boston.
Born in Buffalo Springs, the daughter of James Harper and Gracie Efronia Davis Nunn, she received her teaching certificate from Longwood College. Mrs. Crowder retired from the U.S. Postal Service.
Memorial services were held February 26 at 4 p.m. in the chapel at Watkins Cooper Lyon Funeral Home with the Rev. Dorothy Finn officiating. Burial will take place at Gravel Hill Cemetery at a later date.
Mrs. Crowder is survived by two daughters, Betty Gay Gould of Clarksville and Peggy Love Watkins of Knoxville, Tenn.; one sister, Kathleen Nunn Walker of South Boston; grandchildren, Gay Dodson, Ren Hite, Shari Kilgariff, Bryan Watkins and Laura Pittard; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Mecklenburg County Life Saving and Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 1539, Clarksville, 23927; or the Clarksville Volunteer Fire Department, P.O Box 1371, Clarksville.

Bernadine Brown Forrest

Bernadine Brown Forrest of Saxe died February 18.
Survivors include her husband, Earl; sons, Earl Jr. and Brian; three sisters, Nannie Lacks, Phyllis Brown and husband, Kenneth, and Sandra Brown; mother and father-in-law, Violet and Richard Forrest; brothers-in-law, Max and wife, Pam, Ronnie and wife, Phyllis, and Alton; one sister-in-law, Gwen and husband, Wayland; and her stepfather, Raymond Goode.
Funeral services were held February 20 at 2 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church in Drakes Branch with burial in the church cemetery.

Nakisha Lacks Wynn

Nakisha Lacks Wynn of Drakes Branch died February 18.
Survivors include her husband, Charles; daughter, Malasia; mother, Annie Brown Lacks; four sisters, Angie and husband, Vince, Cassandra, Lawanda, and Shannon; her step-grandmother, Mrs. E. Goode; mother and father-in-law, Charles Sr. and Deborah Wynn.
Funeral services were held February 20 at 2 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church in Drakes Branch with burial in the Lacks Family Cemetery in Clover.

Garland Sylvester Elliott

Funeral services for Garland Sylvester Elliott will be tomorrow, March 1, at 2 p.m. at Grassy Creek Baptist Church, with the Rev. Robert Bayard officiating.
Burial will be in the church cemetery
Mr. Garland Sylvester Elliott, of Nelson, died Saturday in South Boston at the age of 81.
Garland Elliott was born in Granville County, N.C., the son of the late Willie Franklin and Annie Mae Bray Franklin. He was married to Ruth Matthews Elliott.
Garland Elliott graduated from Oak Hill High School and attended technical school.
He was a member of Grassy Creek Baptist Church, where he served as a Deacon and was a chairman of the deacon board. He also taught Sunday School.
He served in the U.S. Marine Air Corps during World War II before moving to Nelson in 1952, where he was a farmer.
Garland Sylvester Elliott is survived by his wife of 61 years, Ruth Matthews Elliott; two daughters, Karen and husband Bryant Strother of Franklington, N.C. and Rosemary and husband Jimmy Noblin of Bullock, N.C.; one son, Garland S. Elliott Jr., and wife Linda Elliott of Henderson, N.C.; three sisters, Lucille Puryear of South Boston, Dorothy Forlines of Nathalie, and Gail Wade of Henderson, N.C.; five brothers, Otis Elliott and Ralph Elliott of Bullock, N.C., Elvin Elliott and Owen Elliott of Oxford, N.C., and Clifton Elliott of Nelson; eight grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
A brother, Julius Elliott, preceded him in death.
The family will receive friends today from 7 to 9 p.m. at Watkins Cooper Lyon Funeral Home.
Condolences may be expressed at www.wclfh.com.

Beatrice Clark Bomar

Beatrice Clark Bomar, 71 of 102 Laurel Dr. in Madison Heights, died Sunday, February 27, 2005. She was the wife of Edwin C. Bomar, Sr.
Born June 12, 1933 in Richmond, she was a daughter of the late Chester and Gertrude Lacks Clark. Mrs. Bomar was a member of the Randolph Memorial Church.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Chester W. Clark, Jr. and George Thomas Clark.
In addition to her husband, survivors include a daughter, Carolyn Wright and her husband Bob of Amherst and a son, Edwin Bomar, Jr. and his wife Lisa of Monroe, two sisters-in-law, Faye Clark and Frances Clark, five grandchildren, Sandy B. Lewis and husband Chris, Chris Johnson, Scott Johnson and wife Karen, Jade Bomar and Ryan Bomar, four great grandchildren, other relatives and friends.
A funeral service will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, 2005 at the Randolph Memorial Baptist Church, by the Reverend Mark W. Beck.
The family will receive friends from 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Whitten Monelison Chapel and at other times at the residence.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Randolph Memorial Baptist Church organ fund, or to the Monelison Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad.
To send condolences to the family, please visit, www.whittenfuneralhome.com.

 

Smiley, Wilborn, Crews To Be New Sports Hall Of Fame Inductees

Baseball Standout John ‘Click’ Smiley And Former Comets Basketball Standouts Bobby Wilborn and Calvin Crews Will Be Inducted April 16

By Joe Chandler
G-V STAFF WRITER

A trio of outstanding athletes, noted baseball player John “Click" Smiley, and two former Halifax County High School stars, Bobby Wilborn and Calvin Crews, will be this year’s inductees into the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame.
This year’s Sports hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held Saturday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. at C.H. Friend Elementary School.
Advance tickets are priced at $20 each and may be purchased at several area outlets including Electric Service Company, Woodall Chevrolet, Waskey Cleaners, Edmondson Cleaners, Halifax Pharmacy, Runt’s Store, and the Gazette Virginian.
Tickets at the door on the night of the event will be $25 each.
No more than 250 tickets will be sold for the event.
Smiley was the oldest member of an athletic family and played all sports for Clover High School. He was a mainstay in the former Halifax County Baseball League, playing for both the Mount Laurel and Clays Mill teams.
In addition, Smiley played centerfield for the former South Boston Wrappers semi-pro baseball team.
Not only was Smiley an outstanding baseball player, he is also an accomplished bowler, having won several local bowling tournaments and having rolled in several state and national bowling tournaments.
Crews played for the Halifax County High School varsity boys basketball team in 1972 and 1973 under former Comets head coach Don Thompson.
The 1973 Comets team that Crews played on made it to the Virginia High School League Group AAA state championship game where it faced Petersburg High School and Moses Malone who had averaged 33 points per game for the season.
Crews, in one of the most outstanding games of his career, blocked Malone’s first attempted shot of that game and held Malone to just 14 points in the game.
After high school, Crews attended North Florida Junior College where he led the team in blocked shots and rebounding for two years.
Crews was named as a Junior College All-American and, from there, went to Southwestern Louisiana. While at Southwestern Louisiana, Crews led the conference in blocked shots and rebounding and, in 1977, was tabbed as one of the top big men in the country.
The NBA Atlanta Hawks drafted Crews but Crews didn’t sign and played professional basketball in Europe.
Crews resides in Danville and is employed by Dan River.
Wilborn, another former Comets basketball star, was one of the standout players on the great Comets basketball team of 1960. He was the point man for the team and had the ability to can more than his share of long-range shots. Many of his shots came from near the half-court line.
Two of his teammates on that 1960 team, Chip Conner and Bill Morningstar, and their coach, Hank Hamrick, have already been inducted into the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame.
Wilborn coached basketball in the South Boston Midget Basketball League for several years and was a good teacher of young men.
Today, the South Boston resident is one of the county’s top golfers.
Recently, the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted to award three college scholarships each year, keeping the Buck Williams Scholarship Award and the Matze Family Scholarship Award and adding a third scholarship which will be known as the Hugh M. Moore Memorial Scholarship.
Those scholarships will be presented April 16 during the induction banquet.

The Real Work Starts Today

With Most Coaches Having Completed Making Cuts, Practice Beings In Earnest Today

By Joe Chandler
G-V STAFF WRITER

Last week was all about conditioning and paring down rosters for most of coaches of spring sports team at Halifax County High School and Halifax County Middle School.
Today, weather permitting, the real work begins.
The spring sports teams of the two schools are expected to turn up the wick today as preparations will begin in earnest for the start of the upcoming season.
If yesterday’s forecasts of inclement weather did happen to ring true, work today will be trimmed down to those things that can be indoors with the plan being to get back outdoors and onto the playing fields as soon as possible.
Scrimmage games, by the way, are right around the corner.
The first of the preseason contests is set for Wednesday, March 2 when the Halifax County High School’s varsity boys soccer team has a scrimmage scheduled on the road against Bluestone.
Two days later, on Friday March 4, the Comets varsity girls softball team has a road scrimmage game scheduled against neighboring Dan River High School with the jayvee girls softball team hosting a scrimmage game against the Dan River jayvees that same day.
On March 8, the Comets varsity girls softball team will host Chatham while the Comets jayvee softball team travels to Chatham that day,
The Halifax County Middle School Lions baseball team has an early opener, that coming on Wednesday, March 9, with a 4 p.m. home date against Holmes Middle School. Also that day, the Comets varsity and jayvee girls soccer teams go on the road to face Heritage in scrimmage games.
On Friday, March 11, the Comets girls soccer teams will host Brookville in scrimmage contests.
Then, on Saturday, March 12, the Comets varsity baseball team hosts Brookville at 1 p.m. in scrimmage game while the Comets varsity and jayvee boys soccer teams go to Danville to participate in soccer jamboree at GW.
After that, it’s on to the start of regular-season play.
One coach who didn’t have to spend a lot of time and effort studying players to make cuts is Comets boys tennis coach David Riddle.
Riddle had only nine or ten players on the court last week for the opening of drills and everybody that has chosen to stay has made the team.
That, in one sense, has helped Riddle in his preseason preparations.
“Practice is going really well so far," said Riddle.
“The guys all have tremendous work ethic and seem ready to prepare for the season. One thing I noticed this year as opposed to previous seasons is that the guys were playing more during the off-season.
“We have had situations in the past where a lot of the players did not pick up their racquets until the season started," noted Riddle.
“I am really pleased with the overall effort. All of the guys seem ready to learn. There is a strong, positive vibe to the team so far."
The Comets netters are in a rebuilding mode.
Riddle lost five seniors from last year’s team, four of which occupied spots among the top six on the ladder. Returning are four players that have either top-six singles or top three doubles experience.
“Right now, we are working toward preparing the newcomers and figuring out how the ladder is going to set up."