Supervisors Slash Budget By $1 Mil

Halifax County citizens were heard loud and clear during two public hearings on the proposed 2008-09 budget last week, and supervisors spent the weekend slashing over $1 million from the proposed $98.4 million budget.
Supervisors declined to hold public work sessions to make cuts to the budget, opting instead to work among themselves individually on the telephone and through emails to reduce the budget.
When contacted Friday, Board Chairman William Fitzgerald said, “Some of our board members are media shy. They prefer to discuss things but not in front of the media.”
Fitzgerald said County Administrator Bryan Foster was spending much of that day crunching numbers in an effort to balance the budget that now calls for between a 44 and 45 cents per $100 assesed real estate tax rate and a $3.60 personal property tax rate.
The advertised budget had called for increasing the real estate tax rate to 48 cents and hiking the personal property tax rate to $3.65.
However, after listening to disgruntled taxpayers during two public hearings last week, supervisors opted for a marathon budget-slashing weekend.
Yesterday, Fitzgerald said supervisors are suggesting department cuts totaling more than $1,000,000, in effect lowering the proposed $98.4 million budget to $97,000,000.
“By eliminating more than a million dollars from the proposed budget, we’ve managed to lower the real estate tax rate from 48 cents to 45 cents at the most and the personal property rate to $3.60,” Fitzgerald said Sunday.
The county administrator learned Friday the General Assembly is planning to cut an additional $50 million in funding statewide with Halifax County expected to be hit with an approximate $250,000 cut.
“That’s taken into consideration as well in this budget,” Fitzgerald said.
“Basically, we’ve worked diligently to get the budget within an area where we can lower the tax rate to at least 45 cents,” he said.
Proposed cuts include lessening the contribution for county employees salary increases from 4 percent to 3 percent, and decreasing the contributions to schools by $350,000, from the proposed $693,000 to $343,000, Fitzgerald said.
Other cuts include the following:
n Cutting $12,000 from the volunteer fire departments’ total budget request of $700,000;
n Not funding two Industrial Development Authority positions effective July 1, including the executive director’s position;
n Eliminating a proposed animal control position;
n Decreasing the appropriation by $11,000 to the Community Services Board with $4,000 earmarked for the Healthy Families Program; and
n Cutting $18,700 from the library’s budget of $238,000.
In addition, Fitzgerald explained the board is restoring $50,000 to the sheriff’s department budget.
The sheriff had requested $60,000 for the drug task force and $15,000 for drug enforcement, and Foster had proposed giving the sheriff’s department $30,000.
According to Fitzgerald, the board is now recommending $50,000 be restored.
“These are difficult times for this county as well as the state,” Fitzgerald said of the board’s decision to cut $1 million from its proposed budget. “It puts us between a rock and a hard place.
“We’ve worked hard trying to identify areas where we could reduce this budget. I can tell you everyone we cut is not going to like what we did, but we took a little bit from each department so as not to impact the services provided.”
Balancing the 2008-09 proposed budget has been a trying process for board members, Fitzgerald said.
In his seven years serving on the board, he said, “This is the most difficult budget I’ve had to go through.”
The board chairman said he feels the recent land assessment has impacted citizens greatly, and he expressed his reservations about the process.
Fitzgerald said he plans to ask the board of equalization to give the supervisors a report on how many appeals were heard and the number of appeals that met with success in having assessments lowered.
With board approval, Fitzgerald said he plans to ask the county administrator to write a letter to assessor Harold Throckmorton expressing their concerns.
“I believe that greatly impacted the negative attitude we received from the citizens Monday night,” he said referring to the turnout at the the budget public hearing. (See related story about the public hearing on the tax rate)
Supervisors are expected to adopt the budget and set the tax rate at tonight’s meeting.

Supervisors To Adopt Budget, Set Tax Rate

Halifax County Supervisors are expected to adopt the 2008-09 budget and set the tax rate tonight during their regular monthly meeting.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with five public hearings in the Mary Bethune conference room in Halifax.
Originally, there were six public hearings scheduled, however one land use public hearing has been canceled since the applicants withdrew their application, according to County Administrator Bryan Foster.
The first public hearing slated tonight is a proposal to relocate the Meadville Election Precinct in ED-3 from Meadville Elementary School to the Banister, Staunton River and Sunnyside Baptist Center approximately three-tenths of a mile away.
If approved, this change is scheduled to take effect for the November general election, Foster explained.
The second public hearing is for a conditional use permit for a commercial composting operation in ED-5.
The planning commission is requesting additional information from the applicant and is deferring action until its next meeting, Foster explained. Once the board hears public comment, it is expected to delay action until the planning commission makes a recommendation.
The third public hearing is for a conditional use permit for a recreational vehicle campground in ED-5. The board of supervisors is seeking to have a campground on a portion of the Halifax County Fairgrounds property, according to Foster.
The fourth public hearing is for a conditional use permit in ED-6 for an outdoor amusement/entertainment area for a music festival, and the final public hearing is for a conditional use permit in ED-7 for a motorcross and ATV practice facility.
In other action tonight, Walter Kraft is expected to introduce a guest from Japan who is visiting the county, and representatives from the Farm Bureau will make a check presentation to the board.
VDOT Residency Administrator Joe Barkley will present his monthly report.
A proposal regarding agricultural and forestal districts also will be distributed to the board, Foster said, with possible action expected at a future meeting.
In a related matter, one land-use application has been filed, and supervisors are expected to set a public hearing for the board’s May meeting, according to the county administrator.
The planning commission has recommended approving extension of a conditional use permit requested by SBA Towers II, LLC to construct a telecommunications tower.
Foster said a conditional use permit was issued June 7, 2006, and SBA Towers is now requesting a one-year extension to complete the project.
Also during tonight’s meeting, ED-6 Supervisor Wayne Conner is expected to present a report from the building and grounds committee updating supervisors on several of the vacant school properties.
Board members also are expected to make several appointments and take action on a resolution to rescind approval of the Route 740 abandonment resolution adopted at the October meeting.
Foster explained the transfer station project continues to progress with the access road to Plywood Trail almost complete, and work on the scale house and personnel building now under way.
Requests for bids are now being solicited for the permanent hauling, Foster said. The bids are due April 24.

Supes Commit To Reducing Proposed Tax Rate

The board meeting room at the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax was filled Thursday night with people opposed to their taxes being raised.
The Halifax County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the proposed real estate tax rate for 2008-09, and 20 people took advantage of the opportunity to tell board members to cut the budget instead of raising taxes.
The board of supervisors has proposed an effective real estate tax rate increase from 41.5 to 48 cents and personal property tax rate hike from $3.30 to $3.65.
When the county underwent a general reassessment of real property that became effective January 1, the total assessed value of property increased approximately 15.9 percent.
At existing rates, the current property tax assessment will result in $23,444,882 in locally generated property tax revenue.
Based on the real estate tax rate of 41.5 cents per hundred, which has been lowered from 48 cents to reflect the recent reassessment, each one cent increase in the tax rate will generate $358,182, and each penny increase in the personal property tax rate will generate $21,431.
The advertised budget reflects a 6.5 cents increase in the real estate tax rate that would bring in an additional $2,328,183.
The 35-cent increase in the personal property tax rate will generate an additional $750,085 in the proposed budget.
Some of those who spoke at the hearing Thursday night had attended the Monday night hearing voicing the same message – don’t raise taxes.
Prior to opening the hearing for public comment, Board Chairman William Fitzgerald expressed the board’s commitment to reducing the real estate tax rate from the 48-cent advertised rate.
“I think this entire board is committed to doing that. It will not be 48 cents. It will be something less than that. We’re working diligently to reduce that tax rate because we all understand the citizens are being hard pressed because of the reassessment, and I want to reassure you this board is working to get the tax rate down as much as we possibly can,” Fitzgerald said.
Walter Cook, who spoke at the Monday night hearing, informed the board about how much his taxes have gone up during the last five years.
Cook’s land value was $26,047 during 2003, and in 2008 it had risen to $48,382, an increase of $22,335 or 86 percent.
“Not one improvement was made on the property during that whole time,” he said.
However, he said assessments of the land went from $93,567 in 2003 to $136,800 this year for an increase of $43,233 or 46 percent.
The value of land Cook owns on U.S. 360 in the Roanoke District saw a 72.2 percent increase over that same five year period with the only improvement being the addition of a 24 x 36 wood cabin with cinder block foundation.
He expressed concern that the school board wants $68 million this year, which according to Cook, amounts to spending $11,333 per student per year.
“How do we explain that, or do we explain it, or does it just keep going up?” he asked.
He called into question the school system providing free car rides to students who have been unruly and forbidden to ride school buses.
“That’s where a lot of our money goes, to things like that,” he concluded.
James Smiley of Clover, who also spoke at Monday night’s hearing, said he found it very difficult to comment on rate hikes without first knowing what the budget is going to be.
“You had a budget hearing on Monday, and it hasn’t been decided whether you’re going to increase it, decrease it or hold it the same,” he said. “So with that in mind I have to assume it’s going to remain the same, and if it’s going to remain the same I assume it’s already been approved, and these hearings are just because they’re required by law and not because you want input from the people,” he told board members.
He told the audience that one of the board members sitting on the board of supervisors had told him and his wife that “people of Halifax County don’t know what’s best for them. We have to decide it,” he quoted the unnamed supervisor as saying.
“I can not have confidence in people representing me that would make a statement like that to my face,” he added.
He explained the proposed 48-cent real estate tax rate would increase the taxes on his land by 20 percent and by 50 percent on another piece of land once owned by his grandfather.
According to Smiley, if the supervisors left the tax rate at 41.5 cents, the recent reassessment would still result in many people seeing an increase in their taxes.
He proposed spending cuts that would reduce the county administrator’s salary in an effort to save tax dollars.
“I think he is getting paid way too much for the job he is doing. We could get someone to do that job for half the money,” he added.
He also suggested eliminating the position of the person hired to find alternative crops for farmers in Halifax County since no new alternatives have been offered.
Smiley offered other spending cuts including purchasing smaller, more gas efficient county vehicles, and stop holding public hearings.
“The closed hearing following the public hearing Monday night cost us $14,000. I would suggest that we stop having closed hearings,” he added.
He looked to the future saying one day he would like to “show up at a supervisors meeting and see all new faces up here and be able to say thank you for a job well done.”
Thomas Hundley said taxes on his property have gone up 128 percent over the last 10 years.
“I don’t know of any other business that has increased that much except for our local government,” he added.
He urged supervisors to cut the tax rate by 6.5 cents instead of increasing it.
“You just can not keep spending and spending and spending. There’s two organizations that are going to break Halifax County, one is the IDA and the other is the school system. Somebody needs to take a close look and do some management of those two organizations,” he concluded.
John Foster, a resident of Halifax County for 20 years, told supervisors he would support a tax increase if it supports “something worth having.”
However, he pointed to money he claims is being wasted by the Industrial Development Authority.
“If we want to buy a business, let’s go out and buy a business and not fool around with building generic buildings that we can’t place, that you can’t put anybody in because they don’t fit.”
Next, he suggested the board take a look at making cuts in the school system.
“We need to take a look at the top. We don’t need an assistant to an assistant to an assistant. We need one man to do the job,” he added.
He also frowned upon hiring consultants “to come in and cover everybody’s rear-ends. We’ve got an elected board that should be doing this, but it isn’t,” he added.
“I don’t see any purpose for a tax increase. We need efficiency from the top to the bottom, but I don’t know how we’re going to get it,” he said. “We don’t need redundancy. We need efficiency,” Foster concluded.
Thomas Hines of Nathalie, also a speaker Monday night, said he had been told to sell his farmland if he didn’t want to have to pay taxes on it.
“I say the same to the people that I pay taxes to pay. If you are not satisfied with the amount of pay you are getting, then find you something else to do,” he said.
“If I were on the board, I would have one simple way of managing this budget. I would just say no until things get better to everyone who wants an increase, and then I think all of us would be happy to support them when things get better,” Hines said.
Long-time Hyco Road resident Jake Bebber suggested supervisors float a bond issue to help absorb some of the increased costs.
He predicted the economy is going to get worse before it gets better.
“I think most of us are dissatisfied because it looks like we have worked our way behind the eight-ball here,” Bebber said. “You’ve got a heck of a problem on your hands, and I hope you can solve it.”
L. T. Ferguson of Nathalie agreed the board has a “thankless, no-win job,” but he asked them as they prepare the budget to consider the widows, struggling farmers, retired people living on fixed incomes and people who have lost their jobs.
He urged the board to start at the top and work down cutting expenses.
“I don’t think our superintendent is worth in excess of $160,000 a year,” Ferguson said.
“It gets harder and harder to pay taxes,” he said. “You’ve got to eat, you’ve got to pay your utilities, you’ve got to have insurance and by that time, there’s nothing left.”
Edwin Ferrell of Vernon Hill, who also spoke Monday night, accused supervisors of trying to raise taxes to get the rebates the federal government is giving back to citizens.
He accused board members of promoting their own personal agendas.
“You are elected representatives of the people to provide a safe place to live, a simple good way of life and a decent place to live. Instead you are causing hardships on the very people who elected you,” Ferrell said.
He called upon the people of Halifax County to unite and “put a stop to this runaway tax and spend government of ours before it is too late. Or I say put the money back in the hands of the people because I believe we can spend it a lot better.”
Thomas Majors of Golf Course Road told supervisors he had to pay two taxes and also complained about the recent reassessment.
“The house is regular falling down, and you keep going up on the taxes. How is that going to solve anything?” he asked as he urged supervisors to “keep taxes down.”
Ned Stebbins of Elmo suggested supervisors consider looking at other ways to tax citizens instead of always raising the real estate rate.
“If you want to get some tax money, double tax decals, put tax on a quart of beer, put it on a lottery ticket cause everybody is buying them things. It’s not that many real estate owners in the county, and you’re milking them to death,” Stebbins said.
Vernon Hill resident Jeff Grimm accused supervisors of raising taxes at an astronomical rate.
When he moved to the county 13 years ago, Grimm said the tax rate was 32 cents. Since that time, the county has moved the trash dump site he used further down the road, closed his child’s school and the roads have deteriorated.
“It’s time for this to stop,” Grimm said of the 15.9 percent increase in a two year period. “It’s time for the county to be responsible.”
Nathalie resident Bernard Mitzler, who also spoke Monday night, echoed what earlier speakers had said.
“Government can not run businesses. If they could we wouldn’t have to pay taxes. But you all want to be in business. You want to run everything and own everything and build businesses. That’s not going to happen,” Mitzler told supervisors.
He accused the board of having “a bad reputation” with everyone knowing it, and he urged them to “cut us a break. This is a poor county.”
Gloria Crute of Nathalie, also a speaker at Monday night’s hearing, repeated her appeal for supervisors “to put a stop to higher taxes.”
She said since speaking at Monday night’s meeting, a number of people have told her they are “fed up with Halifax County” and are urging her to start a petition to halt the rise in taxes.
“You all claim that we have done $30,000 worth of improvements to our property. We ain’t done nothing to our home. We haven’t added on to our house. Our house has not changed, not one bit. I might put a little plant out there, but they’re all dying.”
“I’m ready to fight and it’s time,” she concluded.
Tom Fenimore of Nathalie, a self-proclaimed “damn Yankee,” said he is in Halifax County to stay.
He accused supervisors of wasting taxpayer money.
“I think this board and everyone of you ought to be ashamed of yourself,” Fenimore said.
His 17-year-old son, Taylor Fenimore, told supervisors he was “sick and tired of ya’ll spending all of our money. We’re screwed. There are no jobs left in this county. We’ve either got farming or join the service. You guys are not supporting us in our future. The only thing left for us is to go into the service. How are we supposed to make a living?”
Merle Hundley of Fordland Estates briefly spoke and made one point to supervisors.
“The only comment I have to make is some mention was made earlier of the tax rate in other counties. I do know that Mecklenburg is only 36 cents,” she said.
Virgilina farmer Michael Hudson said he is opposed to increasing taxes as well as leaving them as they are.
“I’m in favor of lowering the tax rate in Halifax County,” he said noting that the area is in a recession and the value of land is decreasing.
He said since the county seems to be willing to hand out tax breaks to attract businesses, maybe they should consider giving breaks to existing businesses like farmers.
“I would be willing to accept a tax break like an exemption on my real estate taxes,” he concluded.
Kelly Foster said when he moved to this area he thought it was a conservative county.
“But it seems like you are more of a tax and spend liberal here because you don’t know when to stop,” he said. “You know what the citizens want. Just tow the line and do what’s got to be done,” he said.
He urged supervisors to “be content with what you have, and He will give you the increase as He sees fit.”
Larry Turner of Turbeville asked each board member to think about their children, grandchildren and the people who have lived here all of their lives as they consider setting the tax rate.
“How are they going to be able to live here in the future?” Turner asked.
Clark Graves of Delila was the last citizen to speak during the hearing.
The tree farmer said he and his brother were hoping to pass the farm on to their children.
“The way things are going, there is no way they are going to be able to stand for the increases in taxes that we’re facing now. I would encourage you to hold them down as much as possible, closer to the 41.5 cents that you’re talking about than the 48 cents, Graves said.
He also encouraged supervisors to take a serious look at land use taxation and ag and forestall districts.
“That’s something that really needs to go into practice like it is in most every other county in the Commonwealth,” Graves said. “People who have forests and farm land don’t need to be paying the same thing as people living in subdivisions.
“Let’s do some things that are positive to keep these taxes down. This reassessment thing and paying taxes twice a year and having your land reassessed every two years is ridiculous,” he concluded.
After the public hearing was closed, Supervisors James Edmunds, Tom West and Doug Bowman each expressed support for the concept of land use taxation and the creation of agricultural and forestal districts in the county.
“I think land use or ag-forestal districts will be the tax break that Mr. Edmunds was talking about,” West said.
Supervisors are expected to adopt the budget and set the tax rate at tonight’s, meeting.

Obituaries

Tyler Wayne Hunt
Tyler Wayne Hunt, 16, of 4178 L.P. Bailey Memorial Highway, Halifax died April 3, 2008, in Halifax County. He was born June 6, 1991, in Durham County, N.C., the son of Bryant and Treva Hunt.
Mr. Hunt was a member of Glenwood United Methodist Church and an honor student at Halifax County High School where he played on the varsity baseball team as a pitcher and first baseman, and on the varsity football team as an offensive lineman. He was also a member of the Halifax County Saddle Club.
In addition to his parents, survivors include his maternal grandparents, Delbert and Mabel Clark of South Boston, paternal grandparents, Joel Winfree and Margaret Hunt of Nathalie; a sister, Dana Noelle Hunt of Halifax; his girlfriend, Grace Gillis of Halifax; three uncles, Claude Clark, Randy Hunt and wife, Debra, and Bruce Hunt and wife, Vaneta; one aunt, Teresa Ranson and husband, Kevin; and eight cousins.
Funeral services for Mr. Hunt were held April 6, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in South Boston with the Rev. Bob Woodfin officiating. Burial followed in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
The family requests in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Tyler Wayne Hunt Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Carter Bank & Trust, 4013 Halifax Road, South Boston, 24592.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@embarqmail.com

Howard Thomas Waller
Howard Thomas “Shorty” Waller, 66, of Cody Road, Nathalie, died Saturday, April 5, 2008, at the Halifax Regional Hospital.
He was born in Halifax County on May 29, 1941, the son of the late Dennis Waller and Berta Powell Waller, who survives.
He was a member of the Brookneal Sportsman’s Club and was a retired agent with Home Beneficial Life Insurance Co.
In addition to his mother, Mr. Waller is survived by one daughter, Carolyn W. Isaacs and husband Kendall of Gladys; two grandchildren, Jerry D. Fisher and wife Andrea of Altavista, and Samantha “Sammy” Isaacs of Gladys; one great-grandchild; two sisters, Linda W. Shields of South Boston and Gladys Davis of Gladys; two nieces and one nephew.
In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by a special friend, Margaret Jazwiecki.
A graveside service for Mr. Waller will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, April 7, at Buffalo Baptist Church with the Reverend Alfred Rimmer officiating.
The family will receive friends at the home of his daughter Carolyn W. Isaacs, 5026 Pigeon Run Road, Gladys.

Dakota Mae Ferguson
Dakota Mae Ferguson, age 11 months, died April 4, 2008, in Gainesville, Fla. She was born in Ft. McCoy, Fla. on April 22, 2007, to Patrick B. and Trisha A. Ferguson.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by two brothers, Trystan James and Brooks Solomon of the home; one sister, Phoenix Elizabeth, of the home; grandparents, Luke and Donna Ferguson of Tampa, Fla., and Thomas and Patricia Mullarkey of Tampa; two great-grandmothers, Dorothy Sneed of Vernon Hill and Elba Osusky of Tampa; one great-grandfather, John Gomez of Tampa; six uncles, Matthew Ferguson of Ft. McCoy, John Ferguson of Vernon Hill, Damon Ferguson of Tampa, T.J., Derek and Ryan Mullarkey, all of Tampa; and three aunts, Angela Avellino of Cary, N.C., Melissa Comer and Nicole Powell, both of Tampa.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 9, at the First Baptist Church of Ft. McCoy with the Rev. Ted Burrell officiating. Burial will follow in the Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fl.
The family will receive friends Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at Roberts Funeral Homes, Downtown Chapel, Ocala, Fla.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Andrew Thomas Puryear
Andrew Thomas Puryear, 98, of Halifax, died Sunday, April 6, 2008, at the Berry Hill Nursing Home.
He was born in Halifax County on November 19, 1909, a son of the late James Thomas Puryear and Nannie Jo Chandler Puryear, and he was married to the late Mae Bane Puryear.
He was a member of the County Line Baptist Church, Halifax Masonic Lodge and Woodmen of the World, and he was a World War II Army veteran.
Mr. Puryear is survived by two sisters, Maidy Landrum of South Boston and Mattie Lee Moore of Roanoke; and a number of nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Molly Williams and Louise Henderson; and by three brothers, Willie Puryear, Stephen Puryear and Louis Puryear.
Graveside services for Mr. Puryear will be held Tuesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. at the County Line Baptist Church Cemetery with the Reverend John Campbell officiating.
In lieu of flowers, please consider the County Line Baptist Church or the Halifax County Humane Society.

Margaret Shelton Fulp
Margaret Shelton Fulp, 90, of Raleigh, formerly of Winston- Salem, died Friday, April 4, 2008 at Sunrise Assisted Living at North Hills.
A funeral service was held Sunday, April 6, at Trinity Baptist Church, Raleigh, N.C. Interment will follow the service at Raleigh Memorial Park.
Margaret was born October 26, 1917 in Chatham, VA to Henry Clay and Garnett Elizabeth Payne Shelton.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 39 years, Vestal Linville Fulp.
Margaret was an active member of Trinity Baptist Church. She was a member of the Prime-Timers Choir. When she lived in Winston-Salem she was an active volunteer with Forsyth Memorial Hospital.
Margaret is survived by her sons, Ronald O. Fulp and his wife, Brenda of Raleigh, Philip L. Fulp and his wife, Jean of Fort Mills, SC; daughter, Jeanne Petty and her husband, Carl of New Bern; seven grandchildren, Keith, Kelley, Kameron, Craig, Chandra, Lin, and Julie; nine great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 8300 Health Park 10, Raleigh, NC. www.cancer.org.
Condolences may be made to www.mem.com

Austin Was Dixie Fixture

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The late Hubert A. “Dude” Austin, candidate for induction into the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame, gave a large portion of his life in service to his country and Dixie Youth Baseball.
Austin will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Dr. James “Jim” Priest, Robert D. “Frosty” Owens and Lawrence Carter during a banquet Saturday, April 12, at the Halifax County Middle School cafeteria, starting at 6:30 p.m.
A native of the Clover community, Austin graduated from Clover High School, where he served as senior class president.
“Dude” was a member of the Clover High School baseball team that won a County Championship and qualified for the State Tournament, but was unable to participate.
Austin served his country during World War II as a member of the U.S. Air Force, flying 51 missions over Germany in a B-25, before returning to Halifax County.
Austin was a member of the Hughes Drug Store fast pitch softball team and also played first base for the Mt. Laurel county champions.
“Dude” was known as a slick fielding, good hitting lefty of a first baseman as a ball player, but his biggest contribution to athletics came in the Dixie Youth Baseball organization.
Austin began as a coach in the Brookneal Dixie Youth program, and served as president of the Brookneal Dixie Youth Baseball League for six years.
In addition, he was the District 6 director for another six years, and was a member of the Dixie Youth Baseball Board of Directors.
Austin served as a National Director of Dixie Youth Baseball for 16 years as part of 27 years overall of service to DYB.

Comets Girls Blank Tunstall 7-0

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
The Halifax County High School varsity girls soccer team scored five goals in the first 22 minutes and went on to down Tunstall High School 7-0 here Friday night.
Friday’s win over Tunstall improved the Comets’ record to 5-0 on the season.
“I was a little more pleased,” Comets head coach Sid Young said of his team’s performance against Tunstall.
“We went to the ball better, at least in the first half. In the second half we got a little sloppy but we were playing people out of position. We had the subs in and we were playing some of them out of the position they normally play in and they were a little confused about what to do. For the most part I was pretty pleased. I was pleased with the effort of some of the girls.”
Young was not overly pleased with his team’s performance in last Wednesday’s easy win over Bluestone High School, noting that his team would need to play better if it was going to compete with the Western Valley District teams it will soon be facing. Friday night, however, he appeared to be a little more satisfied.
The Comets opened the scoring with a goal from Melissa Smith at the 10:20 mark of the first half. Smith scored four more goals in the next 12 minutes to put the Comets up 5-0, a lead they held at halftime. Smith’s second goal came at the 13:31 mark, the 17:18 mark, the 19:14 mark mark and the 22:19 mark of the opening half.
At that point, the Comets were pretty much on cruise control.
“By that time, we had subbed everybody in,” Young pointed out.
Smith added another goal at the 14:04 mark of the second half. Brittnay Marshall scored at the 31:10 mark to add the final goal of the game and put the Comets up by the final 7-0 score.
Young admitted that his team did not try very hard to score in the second half, using that time, instead, to work on ball control, passing and other facets of the game. He also took the opportunity to play a lot of his team in different positions on the field.
“We played people out of position,” Young noted.
“We put Mary Beale in at goal for awhile and put Nia (goalkeeper Nia Brown) at forward just to let her get out of the goal some. She gets bored back there in these types of games,”
The Comets had 26 shots at the Tunstall goal while Tunstall had just six shots at the Halifax County goal. Brown never touched the ball in the first half and had only one save in the second half. Beale logged two saves during her stint in the goal.
Halifax County will play its first Western Valley District game of the season Tuesday when it travels to Rocky Mount to face Franklin County. That game will be a game between a pair of teams that have not yet faced a true test.
“If the girls come ready to play, I think they can play with anybody in the district,” Young said of his Comets team.
“That will be the key for us. We have some people bruised up but, for the most part, we’re injury-free. I think this will be a game that will let us know where we stand.”

Comets Boys Fall To Tunstall

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
For a brief span in the last 10 minutes of Friday night’s game, the Halifax County High School varsity boys soccer team showed its true capabilities.
Unfortunately, it was a little bit too late for the Comets to overcome Tunstall High School at that point.
The Comets fell to Tunstall High School 3-1, giving Tunstall a sweep of the Comets in their two meetings this season. Nevertheless, Comets coach Frank Shealy came away from the game more pleased than he had been in recent outings.
“I’m much more pleased,” Shealy said after the game that saw his team’s record drop to 1-4 on the season.
“Three to one is a little better than 5-1. The last time we gave them a lot of goals. We had cooler heads this time. Pushing and shoving is allowed in soccer but, we kept the fouls down some. When we played Tunstall the last time, we got a little hot heads about us and we committed a lot of fouls.”
The Comets survived a Tunstall onslaught in the first half and held the visitors to one goal, that one by Carlos Manzananes with nine and a half minutes left in the first half.
“Gabe (Comets goalkeeper Gabe Aguilar) did a good job the first half just to hold them to the one goal,” Shealy said.
“Gabe saved us a lot of times.”
Tunstall had 10 shots on the Comets goal in the first half and had seven corner kick opportunities as it dominated the first 40 minutes of play.
After holding a 1-0 lead at halftime, the visitors expaned their lead to 2-0 with a goal in the 20th minute of the second half and added another with 14:30 left in the contest.
After that, the Comets started to find their way a little better and gradually began putting together more potential scoring opportunities. The Comets finally got on the scoreboard when Dru Henderson scored on a penalty kick with 8:30 left in the contest.
“The first half was kind of rough,” Shealy pointed out.
“I told them the last 10 minutes we put together some soccer. We moved the ball effectively, we moved up as a team, talking and making some runs. If we can play a whole game like that we can do better, but when you play 80 minutes, 10 minutes isn’t going to do it.”
Shealy had praise for several players including reserve McCauley Hammond.
“Somehow he (Hammond) finds a way to get the ball,” Shealy said.
“I don’t know how he does it. He made some good passes and some good runs.”
Shealy also had praise for players from the Comets jayvee team that were brought up for the game.
“We had several jayvee guys help us out,” Shealy pointed out.
“They didn’t play a lot of minutes, but they had the first two shots we had in the first 60 minutes. Brandon Garner had one in the first half and Nick Fallen had one in the second half. Up to that point, they were the only two shots we had taken. They came in and did some valuable things.”
Shealy also praised the effort of Henderson.
“Dru Henderson continues to work hard up front,” Shealy said.
“I started the game with five defenders, four players at midfield and one forward, trying to slow the attack down a little bit, but we got a little complacent with that. We finally got Dru some help in the second half.”
Tunstall finished the game with a 14-5 edge in shots on goal. Aguilar had 11 saves for the Comets and Nathaniel Stanger, who came in to play goalkeeper late in the contest, had two saves.
Halifax County opens Western Valley District play Tuesday night at home against Franklin County High School. The Comets jayvees will take the field at 5:30 and the varsity game is set or a 7:15 p.m. start.