Teen Killed In Crash

A popular 16-year-old high school student athlete was killed Thursday morning on his way to school when the pickup truck he was driving was struck by a logging truck on U.S 501 north of Halifax, according to state police.
Virginia State Police Sgt. Dave Cooper said Tyler Wayne Hunt, a junior at Halifax County High School, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Cooper said Hunt pulled his 1990 Chevrolet Silverado pickup from a private drive onto the highway and into the path of a 1997 International tractor trailer hauling logs.
George W. Osborne, 44, of Chase City, was traveling north on U.S. 501 in the logging truck owned by H&M Logging, Inc. of South Boston, Cooper said.
The crash occurred at 7:45 a.m. on U.S. 501 (L.P. Bailey Highway), four-tenths of a mile north of Rt. 610.
Cooper said Osborne was transported by EMS personnel to Halifax Regional Hospital where, according to a hospital spokesperson, he was treated and released.
Trooper D.J. Cline was the investigating officer. No charges were filed.
Tyler Hunt played both varsity football and baseball at HCHS. He was the starting pitcher for the Comet baseball team Wednesday night and pitched five innings in the 6 to 5 11-inning win over the Bluestone High School.
Hunt becomes the seventh traffic fatality of 2008 on Halifax County roads.

Eades Out At IDA

Mike Eades, executive director of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA), resigned Wednesday morning.
He tendered his resignation behind closed doors during a special called meeting of the IDA.
Eades came to Halifax from Florence, S.C. in March 2005 and has served as the executive director for the past three years. His contract expired at the end of March.
IDA members met behind closed doors at their March 21 meeting to evaluate the executive director’s performance and to discuss his employment contract.
However, instead of renewing his contract at that time, a committee composed of IDA members Lisa Kipps-Brown and William Kelehar were asked to come up with benchmarks and to draft a list of specific measurable goals and objectives for the IDA to accomplish.
This list is scheduled to be presented at the board’s April 11 meeting.
IDA members accepted Eades’ resignation Wednesday morning and offered him a four-month severance package totaling $35,191.68 for the 120-day period.
Eades will continue to receive a base salary in the annualized amount of $105,575 for a period of 120 days, payable in semi-monthly installments on the 15th and last day of each month through July 31.
He also will receive compensation for accumulated annual leave through April 2 and will continue to be paid for any holidays.
In addition, the authority will continue to pay Eades’ hospitalization, major medical, prescription drugs, dental, vision care, disability, life insurance, and other benefits provided under the employee benefits program during the 120-day period.
The IDA also will continue to pay his wife’s insurance premiums during the 120-day period.
According to the severance agreement, the IDA will continue to pay the quarterly premium of $437.50 for the purpose of maintaining a supplemental term life insurance policy in the amount of $250,000 during the 120-day period, as well as continue to contribute to Eades’ Virginia Retirement System account.
The authority also agreed to reimburse Eades for professional association dues and fees that are payable during the four-month period.
At the end of the 120-day period, Eades will be entitled to receive his retirement benefits, annual leave and any other accumulated benefits provided under the employee benefits program.
Terms of the severance agreement call for Eades to surrender all property including his vehicle, mobile telephone, credit cards, laptop computer and any other property belonging to the IDA.
After accepting Eades’ resignation, the IDA board appointed IDA Assistant Director Patsy Vaughan as interim executive director. She has been employed with the IDA office since it opened and has served in the interim capacity in the absence of previous directors.
“Mike decided to resign to pursue other interests,” IDA Chairman Garland Ricketts said Wednesday morning. “We appreciate what Mike did for the IDA while here. He has been an extremely professional employee, and the IDA has benefited from his efforts.”
Halifax County Board of Supervisors Chairman William Fitzgerald said he supported the IDA’s decision and recognized the need for change.
Fitzgerald said he did not support granting the four months severance pay, “but I respect the decision of the IDA board.”
“We as a board of supervisors have invested greatly in the educational system here in this county,” Fitzgerald said.
However, Fitzgerald associated the lack of jobs with the increased tax burden taxpayers are being forced to bear.
“In the absence of new job creation, I support the decision of the IDA board in recognizing the need for change,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said the board had budgeted the IDA executive director’s salary through June 30.
“I would’ve hoped it would have been clear at the beginning of the new fiscal year,” he said, referring to the board’s decision to pay Eades through July, the first month of the new fiscal year.
When contacted at his South Boston home, Eades said he and his wife are eager to stay here.
“This is a nice county to live in, and we both like it here and have made many friends,” Eades said.
Ricketts said the IDA will now begin its search for a new director.

Semora Man Shot In Alton

A Semora, N.C. man was shot and wounded by an unidentified assailant at an Alton residence late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, according to Halifax County Sheriff’s Capt. Larry Fears.
Fears said Deputies T.B. Sargent, F.L. Holland and J. Adams were called at 1 a.m. Wednesday to 2126 Medley Road for a report of a shooting. When the deputies arrived at the residence they found John Medley of Semora suffering from what appeared to be shotgun wounds to his back, side and legs, Fears said.
Medley was transported by the county rescue squad to Halifax Regional Hospital, and then he was transferred to the Duke University Medical Center, according to Fears.
Fears said the investigation into the incident is continuing.
In other police business, Joseph David Harmon, 25, of Mill Road, Clover, was served a capias warrant from Halifax County Circuit Court to show cause why his bond should not be revoked for violating the conditions of his post-trial supervision.
The capias warrant was served on Harmon Wednesday.
Dianna Crall, 34, of Bradley Creek Road, Nathalie, was served a capias warrant for failure to appear in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Jan. 11.
Deputy D.H. Barksdale served the capias warrant on Crall Wednesday.
Michael Eugene Wheeler, 53, of Philpott Road, South Boston, was served a show cause capias warrant from circuit court for violation of the conditions of his post-trial supervision.
Deputy J.M. Burton served the capias on Wheeler Tuesday.

Obituaries

Joe Louis Leigh Sr.
Joe Louis Leigh Sr., 67, of 2132 Swain Road, Halifax died April 1, 2008, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Leigh was born in Halifax County to the late Belgium Leigh and Alice Edmonds Leigh, and was married to the late Frances Crews Leigh. He was a member of New Arbor Baptist Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Carolyn L. Logan and Sandora L. Leigh, both of Halifax; four sons, Joe L. Leigh Jr., Shirley L. Leigh and Thomas B. Leigh, all of Halifax, and Mark W. Leigh of Bridgeport, Conn.; three sisters, Alice ‘Nel’ Davis and Georgia Sims, both of Halifax, and Emma Chappell of South Boston; four brothers, Belgium ‘Ed’ Leigh, the Rev. Louis Leigh and the Rev. John Leigh, all of Halifax, and Derwin Leigh of South Boston; 14 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one God-daughter, Lula Claiborne; one son-in-law, Major Thomas Logan of Halifax; and one daughter-in-law, Gwendolyn Leigh of Halifax.
One sister, Grace Hubbard, and two brothers, William and Grove Leigh, also preceded Mr. Leigh in death.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow, April 5, at 1 p.m. at New Arbor Baptist Church with the Rev. Nelson C. Stamps officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends this evening, April 4, from 6 to 7, at Jeffress Funeral Home Chapel, and other times at the home.

Alice B. Perez
Alice B. Perez, 72, of New York, formerly of Halifax County, died March 30, 2008.
Mrs. Perez was born in Halifax County on September 14, 1935, the daughter of the late Clarence Britton and Alice Lacks Britton, and was married to the late Luis G. Perez.
Survivors include one daughter, Patricia Whipple of New York; four sons, Luis Perez Jr., Eduardo Perez, Mario Perez and Christopher Perez, all of New York; five grandchildren, Eduardo Perez Jr., William Perez, Lil Luis Perez, Myra Perez and Brandon Whipple; three sisters, Martha Garner of Clover, Maggie Ann Davenport and Emma Lee Watkins, both of Scottsburg; one son-in-law, Barry D. Whipple; one daughter-in-law, Linda Perez; one sister-in-law, Alice Britton of South Boston; and two brothers-in-law, Edward Davenport of Scottsburg, and Ernest Garner of Clover.
Two brothers, John Edward Britton and Howard N. Britton, also preceded Mrs. Perez in death.
Funeral services will be held today, April 4, at 11 a.m. at Bethel Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. William Hicks officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Byron Leon Ragsdale
Byron Leon Ragsdale, 44, of 1120 Pine Height Trail, Halifax died April 1, 2008, at MCV Hospital in Richmond.
Mr. Ragsdale was born in Halifax County on August 12, 1963, the son of Harold Ragsdale Sr. and Mattie Pearl Brown Ragsdale. He was a member of New Vernon Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Gregory Ragsdale of Richmond; his father and stepmother, Martha Ann Ragsdale of Nathalie; his mother of South Boston; two sisters, Tracey Y. Ragsdale and Deborah D. Chandler, both of South Boston; four brothers, Harold E. Ragsdale Jr. of Halifax, Chester B. Ragsdale of Danville, Kercin L. Ragsdale and Derrick M. Ragsdale, both of South Boston; one brother-in-law, Damon Chandler of South Boston; and devoted friends, Linda Miles, Danielle Miles, D.J. Miles and Darrayn Miles.
Funeral services for Mr. Ragsdale will be tomorrow, April 5, at 3:30 p.m. at New Vernon Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Otis Dillard officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home.

Jean Jeanette Evans
Jean Jeanette Evans, 72, of 2053 Mountain Road, Halifax died April 2, 2008, at her home.
She is survived by one daughter, Jeanette Brown; three sons, Karl Evans of Halifax, James Edward Evans and Samuel Edward Evans, both of South Hill; one sister, Jacqueline Brown of Philadelphia, Pa.; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Funeral services will be held April 7, at 1 p.m. in Mill Hill Baptist Church with the Rev. Frederick Wilson officiating. Burial will be in the Winstead Family Cemetery.
The family will receive friends Sunday at Cunningham and Nelson Funeral Home in Roxboro, N.C. from 1 to 7 p.m., and other times at the home. The body will lie-in-state in the church for one hour prior to the service.

Foster HR Lifts Comets

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Jeremy Foster gave himself and his Halifax County High School teammates a big lift when they needed it the most.
After having battled his way through six tough innings of relief work on the mound, Foster nailed a solo walk-off homer in the bottom of the eleventh inning to give Halifax County a 6-5 win over Bluestone Wednesday night.
“It was right there on the (sweet) spot,” Foster said of the pitch he launched over the fence.
“My eyes were wide open when I saw that ball.”
Foster’s homer gave the Comets their fourth win of the season and improved the team’s record to 4-2 overall.
“I was just glad to see it,” Comets head coach Kelvin Davis said of Foster’s game-winning homer.
“ I told the guys we’re going to take this win and run with it.”
Not only did Foster lift the Comets with his bat, he also came up big in a relief role in his six innings on the mound.
Bluestone led 4-3 after five innings and took advantage of a walk by Foster to Cody Wilson and a base hit by Franklin Watson in the top of the sixth inning to extend its lead to 5-3.
Halifax County tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-RBI single by Justin Bagbey, a hit that scored Kaleb Long and Michael Ferrell, both of whom had reached base on a fielder’s choice earlier in the inning.
Foster followed by hurling five scoreless innings in succession to give his team a chance at a win.
“I thought “Whop” did a heck of a job for us on the mound,” said Davis.
“It was just his night. I’m glad for the kid because he works his butt off. Good things are going to happen for him because he’s a hard worker. I asked him every inning if he was getting tired. You could see in his eyes he wanted this game.”
Halifax County opened the game by taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a hit by Daniel Wilborn, a walk to Bagbey and an RBI-single from Kyle Long. A solo homer by Bagbey in the bottom of the third inning put the Comets up 2-0. The Comets ran the lead up to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Eric Brandon reached base on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Ferrell.
Bluestone tied the game with three runs in the top of the fourth inning which started with a single from Chris Overton. A double by Bradley Weston scored Overton, Malcolm Miller was struck by a pitch and a hit by David Owen plated Weston for the second run. Miller scored later when D.J. Desantis hit into a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 3-3.
Bluestone took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning when Overton was struck by a pitch and later scored on a single by Owen and added to its lead by tagging Foster for a run in the top of the sixth inning to go up by a two-run margin.
The Barons had chances to score in the top of the seventh inning when they had two runners on the sacks and again in the tenth inning when they left the bases loaded without scoring.
While the Barons came up shy, coach Dan Powell, a former Halifax County High School player, said his team gave a great effort.
“I’m tickled to death to come up to what is home for me and play 11 innings,” Powell remarked.
“I’m almost speechless. You hate to lose anytime. Losing to Halifax, I can take that. It’s home and the way our guys played was great. They (Halifax County) have a good team. That proved a lot for us. We should take a lot out of that.”
Powell said this was the type of game his team needed.
“We go into district play next week and we needed this,” Powell pointed out.
“ We needed to see some plays made. We made some big plays that saved some runs. This type of ballgame prepares us for the next step.”
Davis said the game was a game his team needed as well. He also gave credit to Bluestone for its effort.
“Coach Powell has that Bluestone team geared up,” Davis said.
“He’s got some quality players over there. My hat goes off to them. Bluestone is a good ballclub and they were fundamentally sound all night.”
Halifax County had six hits in the game with Bagbey leading the way with two hits. Wilborn, Kyle Long, Dale Trent and Foster had one hit each.
Bluestone had six hits in the game with Weston and Owen getting two hits each. Watson and Overton had one hit each.
Halifax County High School junior Tyler Hunt, the Comets’ starting pitcher in the game, was killed in a highway traffic accident in Halifax County yesterday morning.
Hunt threw the first five innings for the Comets Wednesday night, striking out two batters and walking five batters. Bluestone got four scattered hits and four runs during Hunt’s stint on the mound.

Lady Comets Blank Bluestone 8-0

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
The Halifax County High School varsity girls soccer team had an easy time of it with an 8-0 win over Bluestone High School Wednesday night.
However, the Comets’ performance wasn’t up to the level that Comets coach Sid Young felt it should have been.
“Even though we won, we didn’t play as well as we wanted to see the girls play,” Young remarked.
“Some of the things we needed to do, like ball-handling and passing, things we’re going to need to do well in district play, we didn’t do as well as we should have. I think that some of that, though, had to do with the level of the competition we played against.”
The Comets took control of the game early and had put up a 6-0 lead at halftime with everybody seeing a good amount of playing time.
Lacy Will opened the scoring for the Comets with a goal that came just two minutes and 44 seconds into the contest and added another before the half ended. Melissa Smith followed with a goal at the 10:17 mark and Will added her third goal at the 10:45 mark to put the Comets up 3-0.
Mary Beale scored at the 12:32 mark with an assist from Smith, Wishee Marable scored a goal at the 23:29 mark and Taylor Raney scored the final goal of the half for the Comets at the 39:35 mark.
In the second half, the Comets got a goal from Beale at the 34:01 mark and Raney added her second score of the game with a goal at the 35-minute mark.
Young said he played all of his players in the second half and put his starters back into the game for the final 10 minutes simply to work on skills in preparation for tonight’s game against Tunstall High School and next week’s district opener against Franklin County High School.
The Comets coach said even then he instructed his players to focus on moving the ball and making a number of passes before attempting to score. On several occasions, the Comets pulled back when they could have attempted to score.
“We didn’t do it to embarrass them,” Young said.
“We’ve been on that end of things before.”
The Comets had 26 shots on the Bluestone goal. In contrast, Bluestone got off only two shots on the Comets’ goal.
Bluestone’s goalkeeper had 11 saves. Halifax County goalkeeper Nia Brown had two saves.

Girls Tennis Falls At Home

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
Shanna Luck and Taylor Edmunds recorded a win at number one doubles, but that was it for the Comets girls tennis team in a 8-1 loss at home Wednesday to E.C. Glass.
It was simply a case of a more experienced and well- prepared Glass team having the advantage over the Comets at this point of the year, according to coach Greg Donner.
“We have not faced anyone as strong in our earlier matches, and it was an excellent experience for our younger players,” said Donner.
“I think we will be better in upcoming matches because of the exposure to strong competition.”
Luck and Edmunds defeated Caroline Gough and Taylor Riley of Glass in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 for the Comets’ only win of the day.
Luck lost to Gough at number one singles, Edmunds fell to Riley at number two, and Seanna Bradley fell at number three singles to Kaitlin Swann, all in straight sets.
Lauren Tetterton, Fallon Farmer and Jessica Palmer lost to Catherine Valentine, Mary Katherine Frantz and Caty-Betz Holcomb at numbers three through six singles, all in straight sets.
At number two doubles, Tetterton and Farmer lost to Anna Wade and Lalia Asghar of Glass, and the Comets’ number three doubles tandem of Carlene Link and Blair Jeffress lost to Frantz and Valentine, again in straight sets.
Donner added that he was especially proud of Luck and Edmunds at number one doubles.
“They played a great second set and dominated play in the deciding third set tie-breaker for the win,” he said.
“I hope this team can duplicate the success we had last year when we got both singles and doubles to the regional championships.
“Also a surprise was Jessica Palmer. Playing in her first year of competition, she pushed a much more experienced Glass player for a close 7-5, 6-2 loss.
“The match lasted almost two hours and was closer than the final score indicates, and it was a strong showing for a freshman player.”