Power Plant Proposed At G-P Site

NOVI Energy, LLC, based out of Novi, Mich., is eyeing development of a $150 million wood-fired power generating facility at the former Georgia-Pacific site, IDA Executive Director Mike Eades announced Friday.
Halifax County’s Industrial Development Authority has entered into a purchase option agreement with NOVI Energy to develop an energy facility that will provide between 30-35 jobs here.
Following the IDA board meeting Friday, Eades said he notified Anand Gangadharan, president of Novi Energy Inc., the IDA board had approved the memorandum of understanding.
According to the agreement, NOVI will pay $1 for the 100-acre Georgia-Pacific site, and pay another $1 option fee for an initial term of 18-months immediately upon signing the purchase option agreement.
During this 18-month period, the agreement states NOVI will demonstrate progress toward the project by receiving approval from the Halifax County Board of Supervisors for a conditional use permit for the project.
The initial 18-month period can be extended for two additional six-month periods each at a cost of $5,000 per period, Eades said. NOVI can close on the property with a 60-day notice of intent to the IDA.
“This is a pretty massive undertaking due to the permitting process,” the Eades explained. He anticipated the facility could be in production by the end of 2011.
NOVI Energy already has conducted technical and economic feasibility studies on the project to determine an adequate supply of reasonably priced wood-waste fuel exists in the region, as well as a market for the power to be generated at prices adequate to ensure positive returns.
According to the memorandum of understanding between the IDA and NOVI, a possibility exists that the project could be developed as a “co-generation” facility making steam available for sale to end-users located close to the project.
The IDA plans to assist NOVI in financing this project through a combination of taxable and tax-exempt vehicles at favorable rates.
Potential financing options could include taxable financing and tax-exempt financing such as tax-exempt bonds, the agreement states.
Access to a high voltage electric transmission system and highways as well as the availability of potable and non-potable water and the potential for the extension of rail service to the facility attracted NOVI officials to the former Georgia-Pacific site.
The IDA board, in conjunction with the board of supervisors, plans to apply to the Virginia Department of Transportation for an industrial access road grant to improve Plywood Trail so it will accommodate increased traffic.
Should the VDOT grant not cover the entire cost of road improvements, the IDA and supervisors plan to help locate additional matching funds in order to complete the VDOT improvement project, according to the memorandum of understanding.

Hearings Before Planners Tuesday

Halifax County Planning Commission will hold four public hearings Tuesday night during its regular monthly meeting that begins at 7 p.m. at the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.
Withdrawn was a request by Lee Rexrode Jr. and Tom McElhone to locate an automotive garage and excavating company office in an existing building on L. P. Bailey Memorial Highway in ED-1.
Leading the four public hearings will be Korey R. Snead’s request to seek a conditional use permit for a commercial composting operation on the south side of South Terry’s Bridge Road at its intersection with Easley Crossing Trail, Route 914. The property is located in ED-5.
The Halifax County Board of Supervisors has requested a conditional use permit to locate an RV campground at the fairgrounds property in ED-5. The property is located on the east side of Plywood Trail (Route 879) .20 of a mile south of its intersection with James D. Hagood Highway (U.S. 360).
A hearing will be held Tuesday on Allen Haynes’ request for a conditional use permit to hold an eight-day music festival May 22-28 on his Kerns Mill Road farm located in ED-6.
If approved the music festival will be held on the south side of Kerns Mill Road (Route 688) approximately one mile east of Hackberry Road (Route 656).
A fourth hearing is slated on Brian C. Hitchon’s request for a conditional use permit to locate a motorcross and ATV practice facility on the southeast side of East Hyco Road (Route 744) near its intersection with Cherry Hill Church Road (Route 658) in ED-7.
In other matters Tuesday night, planners will be informed of the board of supervisors’ decision to grant a conditional use permit for Gene Comer to locate a contracting office on Loftis Road.
Last month, the planning commission recommended supervisors approve Comer’s request.
Under new business, planners are expected to set an April 22 public hearing on a rezoning application from Albert R. and Mary Y. Vaughan in ED-8 to rezone property from A-1 to B-2.
The property is located on the northwest corner of Huell Matthews Highway (U.S. 501) and Memorial Drive (Route 744).
Also, planners are scheduled to set an April 22 hearing on a request for an extension of a conditional use permit at a SBA site at Five Forks in ED-5.
SBA Towers II, LLC is the applicant seeking the extension for the site located on the southside of Bellevue Road (Route 729), .20 of a mile east of its intersection with James D. Hagood Highway (U.S. 360).

Heritage Fest To Feature Horse Show

The Halifax County Heritage and Antique Machinery Festival Committee and the Southside Virginia Horse Council will partner to present the first Halifax County Fun/Game Horse Show on Saturday, May 3, from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. during the festival at the Halifax County Fairgrounds.
According to Southside Horse Council organizers, the show is designed for riders and spectators and will offer something for everyone in all age groups.
Some of the games include Musical Feed Sacks which is just like musical chairs except riders have to mount and proceed when the music starts, but must place the horse’s hoof on a feed sack when the music stops.
The Panty Race will challenge riders who must take their horse through a pattern of barrels and then put on a pair of panties at a designated spot. The Egg and Spoon Race is just like any other egg and spoon race except it’s done on horseback and the last rider left holding a spoon wins.
Daring riders will want to Ride a Buck Saddled. Riders will ride sitting on a dollar bill and the last rider still sitting on the money wins.
Other games planned include Trail Class, Gamblers Choice, Barrel Races, Pole Bending, and more. First, second, and third place winners will be awarded ribbons for each game.
Members of the Southside Horse Council say horse owners must present negative Coggins for each horse at check-in, and equestrian helmets are required for riders 12 years old and under.
Entry fee is $7 per class or $35 flat fee for all classes for non- members, and $5 per class or $25 flat fee for Southside Virginia Horse Council members.
Participants may pre-register on line at www.SouthsideVirginiaHorseCouncil.org, or may register May 2 or May 3 at the horse area at the fairgrounds. Deadline for entry is 9 a.m. May 3. For more information, call Debra Stewart at 434-575-5298 or Pat Newton 434-585-1760.
In addition to the Fun/Game Horse Show, the 5th Annual Halifax County Heritage and Antique Machinery Festival will offer three days of great family entertainment. Festival times are Friday, May 2, from noon-9 p.m. Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m.-p.m., and Sunday, May 4, from 1-5 p.m. at the Halifax County Fairgrounds, U.S. 360 East.
Delicious festival foods will be available on the grounds all weekend, as well as live local musical entertainment and lots of games and activities for the children. Vendors and crafters will fill the Exhibit Hall, and antique farm equipment and machinery will be demonstrated on the Midway. Hot Car Burn Outs are planned for Friday and Saturday evenings at 6:30. Tractor Pulls are scheduled Saturday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m., and from 1-5 on Sunday.
Exhibitors and vendors are welcome. For more information visit www.halifaxcountyheritagefestival.org, or call 434-572-6879.

Obituaries

Leona Royster
Leona Royster, 93, of South Boston, formerly of Clarksville, died March 17, 2008, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Miss Royster was born in Mecklenburg County on February 22, 1921, to the late Squire Babe and Cora Johnson Royster. She attended Mecklenburg County Schools, and was a member of St. John Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sisters, Mary C. Franklin and Zulene Adams, both of Washington, D.C.; one brother, Edward Royster of Washington; and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services for Miss Royster will be held at 11 a.m. today, March 24, at St. John Baptist Church, Buffalo Junction, with Rev. Charles Sands officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends at the church today from 10 a.m. until the funeral hour.

Tressie Walden Dennis Green
Tressie Walden Dennis Green, 93, died Friday, March 21, 2008, in Clarksville.
She was born and reared in Buckingham County and was the daughter of the late William David and Bettie Gormus Walden.
A homemaker, she was a member of Clarksville Baptist Church, and she loved to volunteer her time in helping others.
One of her favorite pastimes was crocheting hats for the newborn babies at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Graveside services are at 11 a.m. Monday at Southlawn Memorial Park in Petersburg with the Rev. Greg Randall officiating.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, George S. Dennis and Edward Green, and is survived by her daughters, Betty D. Rodenhizer and Diane D. Davis, both of Buffalo Junction.
She also is survived by her grandchildren, Robert Davis Jr. of Chase City and Paul Davis of Fairfax; great-grandson, Travis Storm Davis of Chase City and step-granddaughters, Donna Schrum of Arizona and Lisa Schrum of Georgia.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.wclfh.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to Clarksville Baptist Church.

Nannie Davis Reed
Nannie Davis Reed of North Main Street, South Boston, died Thursday, March 20, 2008, at the Berry Hill Nursing Home at the age of 95.
She was born in Halifax County on June 3, 1912, to the late Walter T. Davis and the late Bessie Barksdale Davis and was married to the late Richard Freddie Reed. She was a member of Emmanuel Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Mrs. Reed is survived by one daughter, Alease Gilliam of Winston-Salem; one son, Freddie Reed and wife Marie of Alton; two brothers, James Davis and Ural Davis, both of Albany, N.Y.; one sister, Connie Davis of Albany; seven grandchildren, including Veroncia Calloway and husband Charlie of South Boston; nine great-grandchildren; and a number of other relatives and friends.
In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Reed was preceded in death by one brother, Alfred Davis.
Funeral services will be held at noon Monday at Emmanuel Seventh Day Adventist Church with Elder Fred Betts officiating. Burial will follow in the New Zion Baptist Church cemetery in Meadville.
The remains will lie-in-state at the church one hour prior to the service Monday, and visitation will be from 11:30 until noon.
The family is receiving friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Freddie Reed, 1224 Paradise Road, Alton, and also at the the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Calloway, 1121 Hunter Lane, South Boston.

Comets End Northern Series With Split

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
It was a matter of the good, the bad, and the ugly when the Halifax County High School varsity baseball team concluded its three-game series against northern U.S. opponents at Comets Field Friday with a doubleheader.
The good was a 13-1 win Friday morning over previously undefeated Garden City, N.Y. The bad and the ugly was a 6-5 loss Friday night to Loyalsock Township (Penn.) High School in a game that saw the Comets commit six errors, including one to start the seventh inning that allowed the team coached by former Comets standout Casey Waller, escape with the win.
“We really played well against Garden City, “Comets coach Kelvin Davis said after the split that saw the Comets fall to 2-2 on the season.
“Garden City was 5-0 and had already beaten GW. We knew we had to play ball. The guys came out and we jumped on them early and were able to do what we wanted to do.”
Davis was obviously disappointed, however, after seeing his team blow a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh inning in the game that his team could have prevailed in despite numerous errors.
“We were right in the ballgame, and had the lead going into the seventh inning and just didn’t make the play when it counted at crunch time,” Davis said.
“It happens, major leaguers make mistakes like that. I’ve played this game and made mistakes like that before. The guys hate it right now but I see the long-term and I see good things that can happen for us.”
The Comets did well offensively, pounding Garden City for 18 hits and adding four more in the nightcap against Loyalsock Township. Senior Justin Bagbey was the kingpin of the Comets’ offense in the two games, going for a combined 4-7 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Courtney Ervin had three hits in the first game against Garden City with Michael Ferrell, hurler Daniel Wilborn, Bagbey, Kyle Long, Dale Trent, Eric Brandon and Kaleb Long getting two hits each. Jeremy Foster also had a hit.
Bagbey’s first homer of the day, a two-RBI shot, gave the Comets a 2-0 first-inning lead over Garden City. Two runs in the second inning and three runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings respectively were enough to put the Comets well in front.
Wilborn had a good day on the mound, allowing four scattered hits, one walk and one run while fanning two batters.
“Daniel’s performance today was excellent,” Davis said.
“He kept the ball down. His off-speed pitches were working. He was just on. Those guys (Garden City) had a hard time adjusting to his change-up and off-speed pitches.”
Tyler Hunt came to the hill in relief for the final two innings. He allowed one hit and one walk and struck out two batters.
Garden City’s lone run came in the top of the fifth inning and resulted primarily from a trio of Comets errors committed in the inning.
The Comets got off to a rough start in the nightcap against Loyalsock Township, with the Lancers taking advantage of three Comets errors, a walk and a hit to plate four runs for an early 4-0 lead.
Bagbey made up half of the deficit in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homer that also plated Ferrell who reached base on a walk. A second two-run homer by Bagbey in the bottom of the third inning tied the game at 4-4. Kyle Long reached base on an error and scored on a hit by Trent to put the Comets up 5-4.
Neither team scored again until the Lancers broke through in the top of the seventh inning. Leadoff batter Justin Cozza reached base on an error and scored on a triple by Shane Carey. A hit by Matt Frick plated Carey to put Loyalsock up 6-5.
The Comets got Ferrell, the leadoff batter, on base with a walk to start the bottom of the seventh. But, Loyalsock hurler Alex Cillo mowed down Wilborn, Bagbey and Kyle Long on strikes in succession to end the game.
“We knew we were going to be in for it,” Davis said.
“Casey had told us he had some quality pitchers coming in. It was good for us. It’s just the game of baseball. Sometimes you get the breaks and sometimes you don’t. “
Waller said he was pleased to get the win in what was his team’s first game of the spring.
“I was very pleased with the effort,” Waller said.
“It was a great game. I’m happy. It was the first time we’ve been on the field. It was good to see that. This atmosphere-everybody was into it. This atmosphere will prepare us for later in the year when we play in districts. It was a competitive game all the way around.”
Waller said one of the big things he was pleased with was the way his team battled back after having lost its four-run cushion.
“We kept competing even when they (Halifax County) came back,” Waller noted.
Big Bagbey over there can swing the bat. He turned on a couple of them, but we kept battling and Cillo came in and closed the game out.”

Bagbey Leads Comets With Career-Best Day

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Justin Bagbey is feeling very comfortable at the plate these days.
That spells trouble for opponents of the Halifax County High School varsity baseball team.
Bagbey, the Comets’ senior first baseman, had a career-best day in the Comets’ pair of games Friday against Garden City, N.Y. and Loyalsock Township (Penn.) High School, going 4-7 at the plate with three home runs and seven RBIs.
“This was my best day ever in high school and it means a lot,” Bagbey said.
“It helped my team get a good victory earlier today. We had a tough loss Monday against Great Valley (Great Valley Pa. High School) and I felt I needed to help the team out a little more and try to do what I could to try to get the guys back on track. Since I’m a senior, I need to be a leader for the team and I need to help everybody as much as possible.”
The big day also was special in that it made a very favorable impression on a college recruiter who was in the stands Friday night watching Bagbey and the Comets play Loyalsock Township High School.
“There was a coach here looking at me that I didn’t know was here,” Bagbey pointed out.
“The big day paid off for me because he’s interested in me coming to college to play ball for them.”
Comets head coach Kelvin Davis says he can’t put a finger on the exact reason for Bagbey’s big start but that he is very happy to see it.
“I can’t explain it,” Davis said.
“He’s just on. He’s really hitting well right now. I’m glad to see it because he works so hard at it. He’s going to be a threat every time he gets into the batter’s box.”
Bagbey says his early-season hitting binge is coming from the fact that he’s relaxed.
“I’m just real comfortable at the plate right now,” Bagbey remarked.
“I’m seeing the ball real well and hitting the ball real well.”
The only disappointment of the day, Bagbey said, was his last turn at the plate when he went down on strikes while being in a position to give his team a win with one last big swing of the bat.
“It was in my mind that I could end the game right there,” Bagbey said.
“I was trying too hard when I shouldn’t have. I was trying to do too much when I could have done a little bit and helped the team more than what I did. I tried to take it all into my hands when I should have just trusted everybody else on the team and taken a walk instead of trying to hit the ball out of the park. All I can say is I tried.”

Johnson Takes SBS Season-Opener

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Justin Johnson almost cost himself a shot at winning Saturday’s season-opening Easter Bunny 150 NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division race at South Boston Speedway.
Embroiled in a tense three-way battle with former NASCAR national champion Philip Morris and C.E. Falk III, Johnson slipped up into Morris as they battled for the lead coming off of the fourth turn with 15 laps to go. The contact was sufficient enough that it provided an opening for Falk to slide his way into second place and force Johnson to drop back to third place.
“It was my fault that C.E. got in there,” Johnson said.
”I went on the outside and when I got back down, I ran straight into the back of Philip and turned him sideways. I let off and let him save it and that’s when C.E. jumped up under me. It messed me up pretty good. I messed myself up, in all honesty.”
Johnson, however, rallied back, dispatching Falk back to third before dropping to the inside of Morris as they battled down the backstetch with seven laps to go. The move stuck and Johnson was able to hold off Morris to win the 150-lap event.
“I’ve won a couple of races the past couple of years at Orange County Speedway, but there’s nothing like winning at South Boston Speedway,” Johnson said.
“It’s a great track. It’s great track and a lot of people have come from here that I have respect for as drivers that run here now and have run here in the past. This is a pretty famous place to win.”
The win, the sixth victory of Johnson’s Late Model Stock Car Division racing career and his first win at South Boston Speedway in three years, came by a .624 second. Falk, the pole winner, finished third, with Dude Gibbs of Seaford and Tommy Lemons Jr. of Troy, N.C. rounding out the top five finishers.
Eddie Johnson of Midlothian, Jonathan Bailey of Keysville, Deac McCaskill of Raleigh, N.C., Wayne Ramsey of Amherst and Rodney Cook of Reidsville, N.C. rounded out the top ten finishers.
Johnson had to battle his way from back in the pack twice, having started ninth and raced his way into the lead for the first time on lap 130 when Morris encountered trouble getting by some lapped cars.
He held the lead for a brief five-lap period before having it slip away when his car slid up into Morris’ car and opened the door for Falk to get into the mix and falling back to third place.
Morris, who led 81 of the first 129 laps, tried to hold off Johnson but a combination of a broken throttle spring and worn tires prevented the former South Boston Speedway and NASCAR national champion from getting the win.
“When Justin got me, I knew I was going to have be creative to keep it out front,” Morris said.
“There was noting I could do about it (the final pass). I couldn’t keep it (the car) on the bottom. If I could have kept four tires on it, maybe I could have done something, but he was too strong for us.”
Morris, who is gunning for another NASCAR national championship, said while he would have liked to have won the race, it was still an encouraging day for his team.
“It (second place) wasn’t where we wanted to finish and it doesn’t fit our plans to win the national championship,” Morris remarked.
“Nevertheless, it was a good start, better than leading and breaking a wheel like I did here last year.”
Falk, said that when Morris and Johnson made contact and opened the door for him, he saw a shot at getting past Morris only to have the brief door of opportunity go away.
“They got loose off of turn four and I just drove my car down to the bottom and got past Justin,” Falk explained.
“I probably could have gotten by Philip, but he drove us down to the wall. Philip was locking up the brakes getting into the corners. Justin got into the back of me and we were done after that.”
The race featured five lead changes among three drivers with three of the lead changes coming in the final 21 laps. Johnson led twice for a total of 12 laps, including the final seven circuits.
Johnson averaged 72.130 mph in the race that was slowed by five caution periods.