Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Combining Four Into One

The Halifax County School Board deferred action on a proposed change to the county’s attendance zones Monday after Halifax Mayor Leon Plaster charged the transfer to Sinai Elementary School would have a “tremendous impact” on the town.
Board members will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday to consider an alternative plan that Superintendent Paul Stapleton described as “the only one I can give you.”
The decision came as the Board met for its regular monthly meeting at the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.
Prior to revealing the alternative plan, Stapleton allowed Plaster to address the approximately 75 people attending the meeting.
“I come here representing Halifax Town Council and the citizens of the town,” he said. “I understand how difficult your task has been, but I come here tonight to respectfully ask you to reconsider the proposed changes in the plan with respect to closing Halifax Elementary School.”
Plaster told the Board that work has been under way for several years to revitalize the town and “improve the business climate for our merchants and make our town a better place to live.”
To this end, Plaster said a continuing educational presence in the town is in the long-range plans.
The mayor said studies show that where there is a lack of an educational system people stop moving in and property values plunge.
“It is the opinion of our Council and several residents that it will have a tremendous impact on our town,” he said. “This does little to unite our town, to say nothing of our children.
“The proposed plan puts Halifax at a disadvantage to our southern neighbor in that they will have a new school and we won’t have one,” he added.
Plaster concluded that more time is needed to allow Council to work with the School Board to reach a compromise.
“Maybe we could put our heads together and come up with something in short order, but it wouldn’t be more than a one-year delay to come up with a compromise,” he said.
An Alternative
Stapleton told the Board that he had an alternative that he thought could appease the Town of Halifax.
“Through a lot of long hours and hard work, the School Board staff tried to present a plan to keep schools open,” he said. “The idea of moving Halifax to Sinai was we have three schools in very close proximity to each other and that’s when the idea came up of moving the Halifax Elementary School’s K-2 students. It seemed like a workable plan.”
The superintendent said he had reviewed the numbers and “I don’t know if it’s something you want to look at, but this is an option.”
“Even combining Halifax and Sinai, you will have around 347 students in that school and 700 in South Boston,” he said. “But if you want to tie the two towns together, we could move Halifax and Sinai into the new K-5 school in South Boston, take the Halifax school and make it a Law and Leadership academy and make Sinai a pre-school.
“That way, both towns are cooperating because all of the students get to go with the new facility and this would give the preschool an opportunity to continue,” he said. “It would fill up the South Boston school and would make every school in the county K-5.
“If you want an alternative, that’s the only one I can give you,” Stapleton added.
But he cautioned the Board that if Halifax is kept open, the second-grade students need to be moved to Sinai because they’re all currently housed in mobile classrooms.
“If we keep Halifax open next year, it will have around 110 students and Sinai will have about 219,” he said. “You’re going to have to move the second grade to Sinai because they’re all in mobile classrooms behind the school and I believe it’s better to have children in classrooms.
“The two viable options I believe you have to look at the proposal you have in front of you or move them all to the new school,” Stapleton said.
Asked by Board member Steve Anderson about the capacity at the South Boston school, Stapleton said that if the Board chose to move the students to the new school, it would be “right at capacity.”
“It would be about 40 students shy,” he said. “It would have 910 students and can accommodate 950.”

South Boston Council Approves Lease Plan For 12 Police Cars

South Boston Council, with Councilmen Morris Bryant absent, unanimously voted to approve a plan to lease-to-own 12 new vehicles for the police department during its Monday night session.
The action followed an earlier executive session.
In the plan, the vehicles will be paid for over a four-year period at an estimated $97,000 per year, according to town officials.
Town Finance Director Erle Scott said yesterday that the police department has not purchased new vehicles for several years. The finance director said $87,400 is available in capital funds for vehicles this year.
“Under the lease program we only have to make one lease payment this fiscal year and, if everything stays status quo, that will probably be about $24,400 for one quarterly payment this year,” added Scott. “Then everything will be budgeted forward next year to accommodate the lease requirement.”
Contacted yesterday, Police Chief Mick Reed cited the need.
“We had a number of vehicles approaching over the 100,000 mile mark and had determined the best way to get back on track was to find a way to replace a large number of vehicles at once, but not spend more money than we had budgeted for the next three or four years,” explained the chief. Reed estimates there are 32 or 33 vehicles in the fleet, which he said includes asset forfeiture cars, the crime van and tactical truck.
In other business, after reviewing health care insurance options for town employees, Council voted to renew its contract with The Local Choice Health Benefits program for 2007-2008. Council declined to join the county in a pooled effort.
South Boston officials noted the town’s policy increase was about 8 percent while the county’s was higher.
Following Town Planner Lee Pambid’s resignation announcement, Council appointed Town Administrator Ted Daniel as zoning administrator and Hope Cole as assistant zoning administrator effective April 1.
Health Care Center
During a public hearing, two speakers, Gail Moody, senior planner with the Southside Planning District Commission, and Halifax Family Health Center Advisory Committee member Stuart Nelson, spoke on behalf of the project, which will be located in Houghton Industrial Park in South Boston.
No one spoke in opposition to the $700,000 Community Development Block Grant application. Funds will be used to buy medical equipment for the new center.
The proposal is for a 15,000-square-foot satellite comprehensive primary care center to provide primary care, including medical, dental and mental health. Proponents project that 76 percent of the clients treated at the new facility will be low-and moderate-income. A sliding fee scale will be used in order to offer affordable health care to low-income patients.
The South Boston project is affiliated with Health Care on the Square in Boydton.
Following the public hearing, Council authorized Daniel to prepare the necessary documents to seek CDBG funding.

Pambid To Step Down As SoBo Planner

The man who organized South Boston’s first planning office is stepping up to a 277,000-resident Henrico County planning job beginning next month.
After eight years as town planner, Lee Pambid tendered his letter of resignation, effective March 30, during Council’s Monday night meeting.
“I really hate to see him go,” Town Manager Ted Daniel said yesterday.
“He is the first planner and zoner the town had ever had. We really did not have a planning office set up and organized, and we were able to accomplish that. From the beginning he did a critical job for us putting together the new subdivision zoning ordinance and zoning map.”
However, Daniel calls Pambid’s decision a good career move.
“I think working in a larger metropolitan planning department like Henrico County will give him the additional experience that he needs as an urban planner,” he added. “I think he has a very bright future.”
For Pambid, the move will take him from an estimated 8,500 population in South Boston to around 277,000 in Henrico.
“The amount of development they do up there is unreal,” said the planner. “They reviewed over 100 site plans last year compared to approximately six for South Boston.”
His duties at the new job focus on site plan review, but the planner also has his eye on academic goals.
While he has a BS in Urban Planning from VCU, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Urban Revitalization, he hopes to pursue a master’s degree. “It’s one of the reasons to go back to Richmond, to complete a master’s program,” he said.
What is Pambid’s greatest sense of accomplishment here?
“That’s easy,” he replied. “Being the first town planner we an opportunity to build a planning organization from scratch. And, we were able to revamp the processes and bring a sense of fairness and consistency to the development process.”
Prior to Pambid’s employment, the town manager was the zoning administrator and planner. “There’s a level of activity now that a full-time person needs to pay attention to these things,” added Pambid.
“It has always been my belief from Day One of my employment that Halifax County and South Boston will see an increase in the amount of residential and commercial development during the course of my tenure due to our proximity to major metropolitan areas, as well being a desirable place to live and work,” Pambid wrote in his letter of resignation. “That has come to pass, and it continues to be true eight years later.”
What will the South Boston planner miss most in his new urban setting?
“Most definitely the people. I’ve forged a lot of nice relationships in the office and in coming back to my hometown,” he added.
To Council, Pambid wrote: “I am indebted to you for giving me the wonderful opportunity to serve this community for nearly the past eight years and we have accomplished much in the field of town planning during our service together.I have enjoyed working hand in hand with the excellent staff, Town Council, Planning Commission, and Board of Zoning Appeals and I know I will miss them all greatly. Together, all of us on dstaff have grown this office and Planning Commission and BZA collectively into a true planning organization with knowledge, expertise, firmness and fairness.”

Obituaries

Annie Mae Newcomb Peck

Annie Mae Newcomb Peck, 81, of 1046 First Street, Riverdale, South Boston died March 13, 2007, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Peck was born December 20, 1925, in Halifax County the daughter of the late Henry Edgar Newcomb and the late Lila Hudson Newcomb, and was married to the late Linwood Peck. She was a member of Revelation Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Clifton Peck of South Boston; and one sister, Lorene N. Fossett of Clarksville. One son, Mitchell Scott Peck; three brothers and one sister, also preceded Mrs. Peck in death.
Funeral services will be held at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel tomorrow, March 15, at 2 p.m. with the Revs. Billy Coghill and Jack Stewart officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family will receive friends this evening, March 14, from 7-8:30 at the funeral home, and other times at the home.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@earthlink.net

Laura Elizabeth ‘Lu’ Shelton

Laura Elizabeth ‘Lu’ Shelton, 12, of Pilesgrove, N.J, died March 6, 2007, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pa.
Born in Stratford, N.J., she was the daughter of Fred V. Shelton and Elizabeth ‘Lisa’ Howerton Shelton. She was a member of the Harrison Township Girl Scouts.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by two sisters, Valerie A. Willis and her husband, Frank, of Glassboro, N.J. and Jessica M. Shelton of Pilesgrove; one brother, Fred D. ‘Moose’ Shelton and his wife, Kelly, of Pennsauken, N.J.; her grandparents, Alice Shelton of Fairton, N.J. and Robert ‘Bob’ and Myrna Howerton, of Clarksville.
The funeral service took place March 10 at noon at the Woodstown Presbyterian Church in Woodstown with the Rev. Jonathan Hoeldtke officiating. Burial will be private.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Laura E. Shelton Fighting For A Cure For Childhood Leukemia Fund, c/o Commerce Bank, Attn: Frank VanVianen, P.O. Box 729, 148 N. Main Street, Mullica Hill, N.J. 08062.

A Rush To Success:

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
Most anyone who plays youth sports dreams of playing on the professional level, but the odds are not in their favor.
Precious few realize their dreams, but former Comets star and Seattle Seahawks running back Don Testerman is one who has.
Testerman is one of four 2007 inductees into the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame, along with Mason Day Jr., William E. “Scooter” Dunn and the late Sanford Ray “Dock” Ballou.
The annual Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held Saturday, April 14 at 6:30 p.m. at C.H. Friend Elementary School.
Testerman’s journey from back yard pickup games to the Seattle Kingdome began in his hometown of Danville, where he played youth football.
“I played for the Redskins in the youth football program at the Schoolfield YMCA, and played two-on-two with my brother, Clyde, and my neighbors in my backyard,” recalled Testerman.
Testerman moved to South Boston by the time he was 11-years-old and he played Midget League football with the Blue Devils at C.H. Friend Elementary School.
He played freshman football at Halifax County High School his eighth- and ninth-grade years, before his life took an unusual turn.
“I dropped out of school in 1969 and spent six months in the Navy,” said Testerman, adding he went to summer school upon his return in order to graduate with his class.
That experience helped him realize the direction he needed to take in order to pursue his dream of playing football at a higher level.
“It hit me that if I wanted to get back and play football, I had to get bigger,” said Testerman. “I weighed a little more than 160 pounds when I went in the Navy and 190 when I got out.”
Testerman went on to play two years of varsity football for the Comets, compiling 1,466 yards rushing and scoring 114 points in the 1971 season, his senior campaign.
He was named All-Western District, All-Northwest Region and All-Group AAA State, and was also named as a High School All-American as a senior, following that up with an MVP performance in the annual VHSL Coaches Association All-Star football game.
He rushed for 263 yards on 36 carries against Person High School on September 3, 1971, at that time a school record.
That was the game he remembered most from high school.
“I didn’t practice for two weeks prior to that game because I sprained my ankle,” he recalled. “Coach [Coleman] Starnes wrapped my ankle before the game, but I that I ran better and better as the game went along.”
Testerman, along with teammates Jack Crews and Moses Foster, were recruited by Coach Charlie Coffey and Virginia Tech, where Testerman spent his freshman year returning kicks and getting spot duty at half back.
He spent his sophomore season at Ferrum, then a junior college, under the tutelage of legendary coach Hank Norton, before transferring to Clemson.
Testerman played at Clemson his junior and senior years, before being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1976.
He explained the circumstances that bought him to his final pro football home.
“They played six preseason games back then, and they traded me to Philadelphia after the fourth one,” recalled Testerman.
“Philadelphia put me on waivers and tried to hide me, but I had a good game against Minnesota in the preseason.
“The coach at Seattle, Jack Patera, used to coach at Minnesota and he called me.
“I came home and Mom told me that he had called,” he continued. “I called him back and he asked me if I could get on a plane and fly there.
“I got home on a Monday, flew to Seattle on Tuesday and played the following Sunday.”
Thus began a five-year professional football career, the first three with Seattle and one with Washington, before Testerman finished his career in 1980 with the Miami Dolphins.
A typical week for Testerman had him playing on Sunday and meeting to go over film on Monday.
“We’d have a little run-through on Monday and have Tuesday off,” he said.
“We’d come back on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to look at film before going back on the field Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“Saturday was a travel day if we had an away game, but we practiced whether at home or away,” he continued.
“We met and had dinner Saturday night, watched film and then went to sleep. It started all over again after Sunday’s game.”
Two pro games in particular stand out from the others, according to Testerman, one against Cleveland in 1976 or 1977, where he had over 100 yards rushing before a holding penalty reduced his total.
The other was against the Dallas Cowboys in 1977, where he scored the winning touchdown in overtime.
He said that he played hurt many times, remembering one game against the Denver Broncos as being particularly rough.
“I got hit in the back three different times, but we all played with bumps and bruises,” he recalled.
“One teammate had a finger out of joint, had the trainer put it back, and went back out there. You don’t see things like that anymore.
“Coach Patera had a saying, ‘we can tolerate you until we can replace you,’” he said with a laugh.
Testerman has owned his own business in Seattle, worked for the U.S. Postal System in Danville and has coached football at several high schools in North Carolina.
He spent last season coaching backs and tight ends at GW-Danville, and plans to volunteer for the football team at Averett University in 2008.
Testerman thinks that nothing is impossible if you work hard and have determination in achieving your goals.
The first priority is finishing school, he noted.
“I lived the dream of playing pro football. I see now that players can go anytime after their sophomore season, but if I had my say, I would tell them to get their college degrees before being drafted.
“It’s also a case of being physically and emotionally mature. You could be the meanest, biggest, baddest guy in town, but you won’t get looked at unless you go to college.
“You can go to any good college, including small schools like Averett, Norfolk State, or Chowan. If you’re good, the scouts will find you.
“For instance, Chris Warren went from Virginia to Ferrum, and later to Seattle and had a good career there.”
Discipline is another key to success, he added.
“I think there’s a whole lot less discipline than when I came through, what the coaches said then was what you did. Some teams now are run by the players and I think that sends the wrong message.
“Coach Starnes was a disciplinarian. I like what he did, he never changed and I thank him for that.”
Testerman said he wouldn’t trade his experiences in sports in general and football in particular for anything.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing, no sir, no even the two-a-days.
“Young men and women can set their sights high, but you have to work hard every day as an athlete,” he continued.
“Do that and stay away from alcohol and drugs.”

Defense, Pitching Key For Comets

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Defense and pitching are the primary concerns as the Halifax County High School varsity baseball team opens its season today on the road against Martinsville High School.
The graduation of star hurler Jeremy Jeffress has left the Comets without an overpowering hurler and, as it was the case last season, defense is also a concern for Comets head coach Kelvin Davis as his team kicks off the 2007 season.
In this case, the two concerns go hand in hand.
“We don’t have anybody that can go out there and take the ball and throw it by a lot of guys,” Davis said of his pitchers.
“One of my biggest concerns coming into the season was knowing that were weren’t going to have a fllamethrower like Jeremy. Instead, we would have pitchers that could throw strikes, but weren’t going to throw it by a lot people.”
Then comes the element of the defense.
“When you look back at last season, we lost a lot of games when Jeremy was not on the mound because of a letdown on defense,” Davis pointed out.
“Our main goal is to try to pick up our defense a lot. We’ve been doing a lot of drills trying to improve upon or defense.”
The Comets coach said a strong message is being drilled into the team’s pitchers about the importance of throwing strikes.
“It is very important that they throw strikes and that they keep the defense in the ballgame,” Davis noted.
“When a pitcher gets up there and throws a lot of pitches and walks people, it tends to put the defense back on its heels.”
The Comets’pitching roster includes sophomore Kyle Long, the team’s most experienced hurler. Long pitched in 13 games last season and compiled a 2-2 record with 3.67 earned run average.
Senior Jacob Vest, who pitched in seven games last year returns for the 2007 campaign and is joined by juniors Daniel Wilborn, and Justin Jacobs, both of whom pitched for the Comets junior varsity team last season.
That group of pitchers gives the Comets’ mound staff a different look this season as all but one are lefthanders.
“When we didn’t have a lefthander, we were wishing we had a lefthander on the staff,” Davis said.
“Now we have three or four of them that can throw.”
While Davis notes that having lefthanders is a good thing, especially in the ability of a left-handed pitcher naturally having a better pick-off move to first base, the focus is on throwing strikes.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from the right side or the left side,” Davis pointed out. “Whomever gets on the mound has to be able to throw strikes.”
Davis and the Comets baseball team enter the 2007 season looking to extend their streak of three straight seasons of postseason play. The Comets made it to the state quarterfinals in 2004 and made it to the Northwest Region Tournament semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
Nine players from last year’s Comets team that produced 14 wins return this season but only four of them were starters. That group includes Kyle Long, sophomore catcher Kaleb long, senior first baseman Justin Bagbey, senior shortstop Tony Barbour and senior third baseman Billy Joe Garrett who was a catcher last season and could double as a catcher this season.
As far as the infield starters go, Bagbey has the nod at first base with senior Brad Rogers available to play that spot as well. Senior Patrick Currie, one of the returnees from last season, and junior Michael Ferrell who is up from the JV team, are working to get the start at second base.
Barbour has shortstop and Garrett has the early nod at third base with junior Jeremy Foster and Jacobs also available for action. Kaleb Long is behind the plate with Garrett looming as a backup there.
The outfield spots are still somewhat up in the air with Kyle Long, Wilborn, Allen Stephens, Trey Garrett Joey Rogers and Stanley Thomas all competing for playing time. Joey Rogers is one of the leaders as far as landing playing time with his spot probably being right field.
Offensively, Currie, who played in 13 games last year, is the player that brings the best batting average from last season with a .429 mark. Among the players that played in the most games last season, Long batted .333 and Bagbey, who hit two homers last season, batted .324. Billy Joe Garrett and Barbour, who batted .313 and .304 respectively, also came in above the .300 mark last year.
Davis says he feels this year’s edition of the Comets baseball team has the potential to do as well as the Comets teams of the past few seasons.
“I do see that this team has the potential to be district champions and move on to the regionals,” Davis remarked.
“I’ve been telling the guys we have the potential to be contenders. It’s going to take a lot of hard work on our behalf. They have the tools and the ability to be contenders. It all depends upon how much they want it. My main concern is that we take it one game at the time.”
With a change this season in which the regular season champion will earn the district’s top seed for the Northwest Region Tournament and the district tournament champion receiving the second seed, the regular season district games take on an added measure of importance.
“All of the district games, at home and away, are going to be very important,” Davis said.
“This year the regular-season champion gets the district’s number one seed in the Northwest Region Tournament. That’s going to make a difference because now we’re not leaning so much toward the district tournament. We’re looking at who competes well during the regular season.
“The tournament is a fallback if you’re not in first place,” he added.
“That’s something we have to look at but we need to make sure we take care of the things we need to take care of during the regular season.”

Lady Comets Blend Youth With Experience

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The Comets varsity softball team has reached regional play three times in the past four seasons, with two wins in the first round of the Northwest Regional Tournament to show for it.
Six players graduated from last year’s regional semifinalist and for this year’s varsity Comets to repeat that success, the veterans and newcomers will need to blend into a competitive and cohesive unit, according to coach Melanie Saunders.
“In order for us to duplicate our recent success, the returning players need to step up the intensity level, particularly at practice,” said Saunders.
“We as coaches can’t do that. The returnees know what it takes to reach that point and they need to help the new kids realize what it takes, the importance of the drills we put them through in practice.”
Halifax graduated six players from last year, including pitchers Beth Throckmorton, Jessie “Moo” Morris and Jessie Lloyd, infielders Mandy Watts and Heather Oakes and outfielder Jasmine Parker.
The returning players Saunders and assistant coaches Charity Milam and Jennifer Rutledge are counting on include seniors Liz Trickey, Shayna Oakes, Melissa Sims, Emily New and Key Ferrell.
Trickey will play the outfield and New, Oakes and Ferrell the infield, while Sims is listed as in infielder and outfielder.
Junior infielder Lashunda Davis and sophomore catcher Betty Rose also return to the roster which includes six new varsity players, including juniors Ally Thompson, Janie Watkins and Amber Bowman, sophomores Paige Rickman and Heather Hudson, and freshman Stephanie Clark.
Team chemistry is vital with that blend of experience and youth, according to Saunders, and it all begins in practice, where the players learn each other’s capabilities and tendencies.
“In the past, groups of girls have come up together, sometimes as sophomores, and have stayed together.
“When you’re used to playing with someone, you know what they’re going to do before they do it. These kids have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of someone beside them.
“We as coaches have to learn what they’re capable of, and we’ve been learning throughout practice, but we can only do so much to prepare them.
“Players can hit at this [varsity] level. You have to work different pitches at different speeds, because the level of competition is far greater.”
Saunders said that she and her assistant coaches will experiment with different players at different positions through preseason scrimmages and prior to the district opener to find the right combination.
Five of the 13 players on the varsity roster are listed at multiple positions, Thompson at catcher and infielder, Clark and Rickman at pitcher and infielder, and Sims and Hudson at both infield and outfield positions.
Rose is listed at the catcher’s position, Davis, Oakes, New, Bowman and Ferrell as infielders, and Trickey and Watkins as outfielders, but positions may change as the season progresses, according to Saunders.
“Our goal is not just to go out and try to win each scrimmage and non-district game,” noted Saunders.
“We’re going to work them at different positions, and we told the jayvee players and coaches that we’ll experiment with pulling some jayvee players up and down.
“That’s what it’s all about, preparing the kids to play at the varsity level. We may pull some of them up, and if it doesn’t work, they’ll go back down so they can learn for next season.”
The non-district schedule is loaded with tough competition, including Person High School, Albemarle, Tunstall and Chatham among others.
Wins will not be as important as the experience gained before the district opener here April 17 against E.C. Glass, emphasized Saunders.
“We don’t want to go into district play undefeated by playing weak teams, that’s not important and it will defeat the purpose of what we want to do,” she said.
All that the Comets do in the pre-district schedule is to prepare them for the always-tough Western Valley District, which is again strong, noted Saunders.
Franklin County, a regional finalist last season, returns most of its lineup, while Glass has improved by “leaps and bounds,” she said.
Patrick Henry has developed a strong program and GW lost some key players, but will still be competitive, she added.
“Varsity softball is at a different level, now. When you come to high school, it’s a different world, a different ball game and it’s at a lot higher level of competition, ” she explained.
“That’s why we have to build chemistry and confidence for our players in order for them to recognize they’re playing people just as good if not better than they are.
“I need everybody to step up both at the plate and in the field, and that’s what it’s going to take.”
That is the challenge facing the Comets varsity softball team this season.