Friday, April 21, 2006

House, Senate Miles Apart On Transportation

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

The House and Senate revived budget bills Wednesday, at least giving the feuding chambers a new place to resume negotiations toward a state government funding blueprint already weeks past due.
But contacted yesterday in Richmond, Del. Clarke Hogan, a Republican, said the new budget proposals do little to alleviate a philosophical difference between the two houses on the contentious transportation issue.
“The Senate has shown no interest in a compromise and is insisting on $1 billion in new taxes for transportation,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to me that we’re any closer to solving the transportation issue than we were six weeks ago.”
Hogan said House Republicans want to set aside $1 billion for transportation, solve the rest of the budget conflict – relatively minor by comparison to the transportation issue – and address the differences in transportation when the General Assembly convenes in the fall.
“We don’t think it’s appropriate to, when the differences on the other issues are so minor, to not pass a budget,” he said. “Let’s set that difference aside, solve our other minor differences and let the local governments have a concrete number on which to base their budgets. We can agree to disagree on transportation until the fall.”
By overwhelming majorities, vastly different budgets sailed through brief special sessions appended onto the end of a lengthy session to consider Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s vCelebrating A Life Well Lived


Hundreds of members of the Scottsburg community gathered yesterday to celebrate the life of Johnny Hatcher, a founding member of the Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department.
Mr. Hatcher, well-known for his work with the Scottsburg Fourth of July Parade, died Monday at his home.
He was 88.
Firefighters and trucks from each of the county’s fire departments led the processional as an emergency services vehicle carried Mr. Hatcher’s casket to his final resting place.
A volunteer firefighter for over 50 years, Mr. Hatcher was a former chief and chaplain of the Scottsburg department and was the founder of the department’s Fourth of July celebration.
He could often be seen during the annual parade with a huge smile on his face, dressed as Uncle Sam and passing candy to visitors to the community he loved.
He was a World War II veteran and was a retired tobacco farmer.
Shortly before yesterday’s funeral service at the Scottsburg Baptist Church, current Chief Butch Barker said the entire Scottsburg community was mourning the loss.
“He was Mr. Scottsburg as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “Johnny Hatcher was one of the county’s most beloved citizens. He just did so much for our fire department.
“The Fourth of July celebration in Scottsburg will never be the same. He was its heart and soul.”

 

Sen. Allen Tours Riverstone

IDA Awards Contract For Technology Park’s Master Plan

“For this area to succeed, technology will be the key,” Sen. George Allen told the members of the Halifax County Industrial Authority. “We all have to work together to create a technology-based economy. It’s absolutely vital for the future.”
Allen was in town yesterday touring Riverstone Technology Park as part of his listening tour across Virginia.
The senator said he supports technology initiatives in rural Southside and is supporting wireless Internet legislation in the U.S. Senate.
During the IDA meeting prior to the senator’s arrival, the Board voted to award a contract to develop a master plan for the park to the Timmons Group.
The contract, not to exceed $41,500, is contingent on the plan being completed by June 30.
Prior to the vote, IDA Executive Director Mike Eades said that six responses to the request for proposals to develop the plan were received, but due to their prior work with the park, the Timmons Group is uniquely qualified to develop the plan.
“They have access to information that some of the other companies don’t because they worked on the park before,” he said.
Funds for the project are available in the Authority’s existing budget.
The Board also voted to authorize the IDA staff to proceed with possible modifications of the purchase option on the 43 acres known as the motorplex property located behind Bojangles on U.S. 58 west, if needed.
IDA staff recommended earlier this year to purchase the property for $780,000, with funding provided by Community National Bank at 5.8 percent fixed interest. Additional funding for the purchase will come from the Tobacco Commission.
The purchase price reflects a $25,000 per acre asking price.
Eades said yesterday that a prospective industry is considering locating on the property.
The Board also voted to authorize Eades and the IDA staff to proceed with loan and grant applications for the purchase of 200 acres located on U.S. 501 south for a prospective industrial park.
According to Eades, the property is located approximately one mile south of Route 58 on the west side of U.S. 501.
It is currently owned by J.A. Devin of Wyliesburg, Eades said.
“It is our intention to develop the property as a mixed-use industrial park,” he added. “We have already shown it to a couple of prospects.”
The IDA will purchase the property for $5,000 an acre, according to Eades.
In other business, the Board authorized Eades to issue a request for proposals for architectural and engineering services to design the IDA’s new office space at Riverstone.

 

ACC Seniors All-Star Challenge Game Is Tonight

Tonight’s ACC Seniors Hoops Challenge At HCHS Will Begin At 7:30 P.M. And Will Feature Top ACC Basketball Stars

Basketball fans who have been eagerly awaiting the ACC Seniors All-Star Celebrity Challenge basketball game at Halifax County High School won’t have to wait much longer.
A big night of basketball is on tap here tonight as a handful of local basketball standouts will go up against some of the ACC’s top stars in a game set for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
The game featuring the ACC stars will be preceded by a game involving a South Boston youth AAU basketball team which will begin at 5 p.m.
As part of the tonight’s festivities, organizers of the event will auction off a Duke University basketball jersey of Duke star J.J. Redick at halftime. The jersey, which has been autographed by Redick, the ACC Player of the Year, will make a nice piece of basketball memorabilia for some lucky basketball fan.
Halftime activities tonight will include a free throw shooting contest, a Dunk Contest and a three-point shooting contest.
An autograph session with the ACC players is scheduled after the game at approximately 9 p.m.
Advance tickets for tonight’s game are priced at $8 each and will be available until 12 noon today only at Halifax County High School.
Tickets tonight at the door will be $10 each. Children ages two and under will be admitted free.
Dewey Compton, one of the organizers of tonight’s contest, said advance tickets sold well with over 1,400 advance tickets having been sold for the event which is being held as fund-raising event for the Halifax County High School and Halifax County Middle School athletic departments.
The roster of ACC basketball stars featured in tonight’s game is headlined by University of North Carolina standout David Noel, Duke University co-captain Sean Dockery, and Wake Forest stars Justin Gray and Eric Williams.
Participants also include Duke’s Lee Melchionni who was a senior co-captain of the Blue Devils and University of North Carolina player Byron Sanders.
The list of players confirmed for the event also includes University of Virginia player Billy Campbell who was a senior co-captain of the Cavaliers team this past season and Clemson University star Shawan Robinson who was the leading scorer for Clemson this past season.
Three players from the North Carolina State team, Ilian Evtimov, Tony Bethal and Cameron Bennerman are also on the list of players scheduled to be here. Evtimov and Bethal were co-captains of the Wolfpack basketball team this past season and Bennerman was an All-ACC pick this past season.
Rounding out the list of players confirmed for the game is Maryland’s Travis Garrison, who was an All-ACC pick this past season.
Officials of Chase Media, the agency assisting with staging the game, have noted that there may be additions or subtractions to the ACC player roster based upon player scheduling.
The squad of the local team that will face the ACC stars will be coached by Elvin Dyer. The list of players include recent former Comets players Andrew Witko and Quinton Brown, Comets varsity girls basketball coach Ray Reaves, Comets freshman boys basketball team coach Michael Jackson, Halifax County Middle School assistant principal Jeff Davis and Halifax County High School assistant baseball coach Kenneth “Spook” Day.
Other players include Lionel Best, Ronnie Edmonds, former Comets standout Waverly Harris, Justin Saunders, Andre Sims and Justin Shotwell.
Tonight’s ACC Seniors All-Star Celebrity Challenge basketball game is the first such all-star basketball game to be held here in some time and organizers are urging all area basketball fans to come out and support this fund-raising event.

 

Comets Gear Up For Busy Weekend

The HCHS Varsity Baseball Team Tuned Up For Its Busy Weekend By Bouncing Martinsville 11-2

Today starts a busy weekend for the Halifax County High School varsity baseball team, a weekend that will end the non-district portion of the team’s schedule.
The Comets will face Garden City, N.Y. here tonight at 6 p.m. and then will face Group AA Jefferson Forest in a doubleheader here Saturday that will start at 12 noon.
Next week, the Comets get back to the important business at hand, with a pair of Western Valley District games on tap including a big one Tuesday against archrival GW in Danville.
However, as far as this weekend’s games are concerned, Davis said he will do pretty much what he did Tuesday night in his team’s 11-2 win over Martinsville – that is – play a lot of players and play people at different positions.
“I’m using these games as the last tune-up,” Davis said.
“After this week it’s all about business. There are six district games in a row after that. That’s what this season is all about, trying to go in there and win the district.”
“It was really good to get that win over Martinsville,” he added.
“It’s good to get some non-district games before we go into the rest of the district schedule to fine-tune. Our goal is to look at everybody and try to look at our pitchers in different situations. We want to save some arms going into the district.”
The win over Martinsville was a good one, Davis noted.
“We needed a break, but we needed a win, too,” said Davis.
“I was glad we had the opportunity to get everybody into the ballgame and see how they would respond to different situations. We got the key hits when we needed them early in the ballgame.”
The Comets players showed no signs of rust from the time off due to Spring Break as they pounded out 13 hits.
Billy Joe Garrett led the Comets with three hits while Scott Gieselman, Tony Barbour, David Lacks and David Clark each chipped in a pair of hits. Justin Bagbey and Patrick Currie had a hit apiece.
The Comets got a good performance on the mound Tuesday night from starter David Lacks and reliever Chris Fisher. Lacks allowed two hits and fanned two batters in his four innings of work. Fisher yielded two hits and a walk and was tagged for two runs. He struck out seven batters in his three innings on the hill.
“I thought Lacks did a wonderful job pitching,” said Davis.
“He kept them (Martinsville) off balance and sneaked in his fastball every once in a while. That’s what he does and he does that very well.”
Davis said despite the fact that Fisher struggled somewhat in his first inning, he felt Fisher did a good job as well.
“It’s tough coming in but I really want Chris to keep working on that type of situation when he’s coming into a ballgame like that,” Davis pointed out.
“We’re going to need him as a middle reliever.”
The Comets put Martinsville away early, burying the Bulldogs with five runs in the first inning, an inning that started with Matt Conner strking out but making it to first base when the Martinsville catcher was unable to handle the ball.
Gieselman followed with a double and Bagbey followed with a two-RBI double to put the Comets up 2-0. A pair of errors allowed Bagbey to score. Jacob Swillie’s sacrifice fly allowed Tony Barbour to score. Lacks smacked a double and a hit by Garrett plated Lacks to complete the inning.
Halifax added four more runs in the bottom of the third inning with the aid of a run-scoring double from Lacks, a two-RBI double from Garrett and a run-scoring double from Clark.
Leading 9-0, and Davis having gotten everyone into the action, the Bulldogs picked up a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning with the help of two walks, an error and a hit to make it a 9-2 score.
The Comets added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the 11-2 final score and cap the contest.

 

Comets Varsity Softball Team Shuts Out Heritage

Halifax Downs Pioneers 7-0 Here Tuesday

Comets right-hander Beth Throckmorton fired a two-hit shutout, helping her own cause with two hits and two RBI’s, and Key Ferrell had two hits (double), two RBI’s and two runs scored, as the Comets varsity softball team shut out Heritage 7-0 here Tuesday.
Lashunda Davis added three base hits and also scored twice for Halifax, which improved to 6-3 on the season with the non-district win.
Jasmine Parker added a RBI double and Emily New a base hit for the Comets, who banged out nine hits in the win.
As good as its pitching, hitting and defense was against the Pioneers, the Comets could have done better, according to coach Melanie Saunders.
“Mentally, our focus is not where it needs to be right now,” said Saunders, emphasizing that aspect of the Comets’ game needs to improve before a run of six straight Western Valley District games to end the regular season. The first of those games is Tuesday at GW.
“For some reason, the home losses against Tunstall and Person County set us back mentally. We had some base running mistakes tonight and we missed some signs, and that’s all mental.
“We didn’t do a bad job of hitting their pitcher and the defense wasn’t too bad, but the mistakes on the bases hurt us, and we have to address that before the district games next week.
“This [Heritage] team wasn’t a bad team, they had some good hitters and good defense, but Beth did a great job on the mound, added Saunders.
The Comets stranded five base runners in the first two innings, but managed to score a run in each frame to take a 2-0 lead.
Davis singled with one out in the first, advanced on a fielder’s choice and scored on a two-out base hit by Ferrell for the first run of the game, and Throckmorton singled to lead off the second, before Shayna Oakes sacrificed her to second.
Throckmorton went to third on New’s hit and came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the bottom of the third, Davis starting the rally with a leadoff base hit. She advanced to second on Betty Rose’s sacrifice bunt before Ferrell reached base on an error.
Both advanced on Parker’s fly ball out and both scored on a two-out base hit by Throckmorton to make it 4-0.
Halifax added two runs in the fifth and an additional run in the sixth to close out the scoring, Rose reaching base on an error in the bottom of the fifth and getting to second on a passed ball.
Ferrell and Parker followed with back-to-back doubles for a 6-0 advantage, and Halifax added its final run an inning later.
Melissa Sims drew a one-out walk and scored after an error on a Davis single for the final run of the game, and that proved more than enough run support for Throckmorton.
The senior hurler gave up a double to start the game and a single in the second inning, but no hits thereafter in a complete-game performance.
She struck out ten batters and walked only one in seven innings of work.
The Comets have three non-district games remaining this week before the big game at GW, a game at Martinsville yesterday and a doubleheader here today against former district opponent Albemarle.
Saunders is looking for the Comets to regain the mental edge the team had at the beginning of the season when it came out of the gate with four straight wins, including road wins at Tunstall and Person.
“We’ve got to regroup mentally before next week, and we still have time to do it,” she noted.
“Physically, we’re not bad right now, but we want to get back to where we were at the beginning of the season, when all of the aspects of our game came together.”
The doubleheader here with Albemarle is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. today.

 

Obituaries

Vennie Chester Whitlock
Vennie Chester Whitlock, 76, of 4212 East Hyco Road, South Boston, died April 18, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Whitlock was born July 11, 1929, in Halifax County to the late Gordan Coleman Whitlock and Lena Pannell Whitlock, and was married to Dorothy Cole Whitlock. He was a United States Army Veteran and was a member of White Oak Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Fannie W. Marable of Kentuck, Emma W. Stovall and Virginia W. Marable, both of South Boston; one son, Vennie Whitlock of South Boston; one brother, Willie C. Whitlock of Petersburg; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; one son-in-law, Johnnie Marable of South Boston; and one daughter-in-law, Brenda M. Whitlock of South Boston. One sister, Pauline Majors and two brothers, Thomas and Maynard Whitlock preceded him in death.
Funeral services for Mr. Whitlock will be held tomorrow, April 22, at 3 p.m. at White Oak Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. Melvin Fuller officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home.
James Belt ‘Jimmy’ Garrard
James Belt ‘Jimmy’ Garrard, 94, of 1139 North Main Street, South Boston died April 19, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Garrard was born January 23, 1912, in North Carolina the son of the late Edgar Calvin Garrard and Mae Coley Garrard, and was married to the late Em Easley Garrard. He was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, a World War II Army Veteran having served under General George Patton, and was a member of the YMCA Bridge Club.
His survivors include one daughter, Suzanne G. Tuck and husband, J.E. Jr. of Halifax; three sons, James Bruce Garrard of Mebane, N.C., Will E. Garrard and wife, Mary, of Virgilina, and Thornton ‘Tony’ Garrard and wife, Sherri of Haw River, N.C.; one brother, Dr. Clarence K. Garrard and wife, Mootz, of Lynchburg; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth Dixon and husband, Leslie, of Nathalie, Olivia Denise Garrard and David Coley Garrard, both of Burlington, N.C., and Leigh Anne Garrard of Haw River. One brother, Edgar Coley Garrard, and his wife, also preceded Mr. Garrard in death.
Funeral services will be held today, April 21, at 2 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church with the Rev. Andy Bawtree officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Trinity Episcopal Church or a charity of your choice.
Charity Catherine Wilborn Garrett
Charity Catherine Wilborn Garrett, 97, of 1212 Garrett’s Trail, Clover died April 19, 2006, at her home.
Mrs. Garrett was born in Halifax County on February 9, 1909, to the late Charles Wilborn and Lucy Farrar Wilborn, and was married to the late Roosevelt Garrett Sr. She was a member of Bethel Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Annie Jenkins of Clover and Barbara Garrett Carter of Hampton; four sons, Sandy Garrett of Richmond, Earnest Harvey Garrett of Washington, D.C., Roosevelt Garrett Jr. and Charles Henry Garrett, both of Clover; 19 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; one son-in-law, Charles Carter; three daughters-in-law, Betty Garrett of Washington, D.C., Retha Garrett of Clover and Janei Garrett of Richmond; and one sister-in-law, Easter Wilborn of Richmond.
Funeral services for Mrs. Garrett will be held April 23, at 3 p.m. at Bethel Grove Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home.
Mildred Humphries
Mildred Humphries, 87, of Melbourne, Fla. died April 17, 2006.
Mrs. Humphries was born in South Boston and was married to Gordon Humphries.
She was a longstanding and active member of Eastminster Presbyterian Church. For many years she was a volunteer with Meals On Wheels and helped with Habitat For Humanity. She was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Survivors include her husband; her three children Ed and wife, Kathleen, of Whitehall, Mont., Byron and wife, Sarah, of Staunton, and Brenda and husband, Tommy Hicks, of Crawfordville, Fla.; two grandchildren Crissy and husband, Mike Sarvis, Dawn and husband, Justin Rigdon; and four great-grandchildren Michael, Meghan and Madison Sarvis, and Harley Rigdon, all of Crawfordville. Mrs. Humphries is also survived by her long term friends Anna Catherine Wells of South Boston and Nora Foster of Melbourne. She was preceded in death by her parents John and Lucille Thompson of South Boston.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. April 24, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Indialantic.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Eastminster Youth Scholarship Fund, 106 N. Riverside Drive, Indialantic, Fla. 32903.
Vangula Denise Stovall
Vangula Denise Stovall, 41, of 250 Bane Street, South Boston, died April 17, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
She was born in Halifax County on February 23, 1965, the daughter of Hattie Tucker Stovall and the late Herbert H. Stovall.
Ms. Stovall is survived by one daughter, Chanika L. Stovall; one son, Jahmir D. Peartree; a grandson, Khamani T. Baker; her fiance’, Jerome Peartree; her mother of South Boston; two sisters, Doris S. Medley and husband, Jerry, and Tammy M. Stovall, all of South Boston; two brothers, Herbert A. Stovall and Noland J. Stovall, both of South Boston; and her godparents, Ray Lee Newman of Alexandria and Gladys Newman of Philadelphia, Pa..
Funeral services will be held tomorrow, April 22, at 11 a.m. at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church with the Rev. Bruce Featherston officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home.
Dora Norton Barber
Dora Norton Barber, 72, of Providence, N.C. died April 20, 2006. Funeral services will be held at Swicegood Funeral Home in Danville tomorrow, April 22, at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Larry Durham officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Burial Park.
Mrs. Barber was the daughter of the late Ruby Saunders McCormick and Henry McCormick of Halifax County. She was first married to Homer E. Norton and then to George Barber.
Mrs. Barber was active in the VFW Auxiliary where she was chosen Woman of the Year. She was retired from Diston Manufacturing Company.
Survivors include one daughter, Barbara Norton Faulk and husband, Gary, of Charlotte, N.C.; one son, H.E. Norton Jr. and wife, Lili Layne, of Pelham, N.C.; three grandchildren, Dori Faulk Pyles and husband, Jason, of Raleigh, N.C., Brad Norton and wife, Brook, of Pelham, and Todd Norton and wife, Bridgett, of Tampa, Fla.; and four great-grandchildren, Alexandria and Landon Norton of Pelham, and Isabella and Andrew Pyles of Raleigh.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Pelham United MethodistChurch, P.O. Box 82, Pelham, N.C. 27311, the American Heart Association, Memorials Processing Center, P.O. Box 5216, Glen Allen, 23058-5216, or any charity of your choice.
The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until the funeral hour tomorrow. Walter F. Cheek
Walter F. Cheek of South Boston died April 19, 2006, at his home.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Powell Funeral Home.

 

etoes and amendments to bills passed during the regular winter session.
Neither budget, however, helps close a philosophical gulf between the anti-tax House, which won’t consent to any new taxes, and the Senate, which wants more than $1 billion in new taxes for the first long-term transportation funding in 20 years.
The House and Senate both adjourned for at least a week, though members of key committees may be summoned back to town to reconcile details between the two bills.
Disputes over transportation, with long-range project backlogs of $100 billion, have stalled passage of a budget to fund state agencies and provide state assistance to cities and counties through the summer of 2008. If it is not resolved soon, localities attempting to draft their own budgets will be in a crisis.
The only suspense came when Sen. Kenneth Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, asked Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling for a parliamentary ruling that could have scuttled the Senate’s budget. Bolling was asked whether including tax increases in the Senate’s budget breaches a provision in the state Constitution limiting a bill to a single purpose.
‘‘The one-object rule has been around for 155 years,’’ said Cuccinelli, who cited Virginia Supreme Court cases to bolster his claim that raising money and spending it should be done in separate bills.
Senate Finance Committee chairman John Chichester, R-Stafford, said state budgets always have been a mix of disparate but related items.
‘‘Precedent is important,’’ he said. ‘‘The budget bill can have more than one object as long as they are related.’’
Although he opposes the tax increases, Bolling agreed with Chichester that it ‘‘has been the custom and practice’’ of the legislature to write bills into the budget. While it might not be the best way to do business, Bolling said, it does not violate the Constitution.