Trustees Struggle With Budget

No decisions were made on final budget line item allocations during the school board’s budget work session Monday night, but the board is standing firm on making pay raises for employees top priority.
The board is considering a 3 percent salary increase for teachers and administrators, and 4 percent for classified personnel, which is one percent higher than the increase in the draft budget proposal submitted by school officials.
The draft budget presented to the board Monday night leaves another $717,485 to be pared down to reach the total budget amount of $63,938,928 approved by the board of supervisors to operate the county’s schools next year.
One option presented by school officials to the board would give an across-the-board 3 percent raise for school employees and provide a 5 percent increase in the amount the school board pays for employee health insurance.
That option calls for eliminating five teaching positions, four administrative positions, two support positions, one custodial position and five bus driver positions. All these eliminated positions would be by attrition, or resignations and retirements.
Deputy Superintendent Larry Clark told the board the five teaching positions to be eliminated would have no negative effect on the teacher-student ratio. Two teacher positions at the high school, two at the middle school and one elementary position would be eliminated. Clark said those eliminated teaching positions could be absorbed with a “minimum of impact.”
Superintendent Paul Stapleton told the board seven central office positions have been cut during his tenure, and the proposed four cuts would make a total of 11 administrative positions cut. Stapleton also said this is the first time since he became superintendent that teaching positions would be cut.
“We have held our teaching positions as they are,” he explained. “We can no longer do that, and because we have the attrition of retirements and resignations, it appeared it was time we made these five cuts of teaching positions.”
The five bus driver positions eliminated would be from South Boston, where the school system runs 10 bus routes with 10 buses and drivers. The 10 routes would be reduced to five, with each driver making two runs, according to Stapleton. Finance Director Bill Covington said that also would take five buses off the road for an additional savings.
Additionally, extra duty pay would be reduced, and contracted services in the maintenance department also would be reduced.
If that option is accepted, it would be a savings of $789,937, or $72,452 under the amount of reductions needed to balance the school budget.
Board member Joe Gasperini had suggested an increase of $150,000 for instructional materials and supplies. The amount submitted in the budget proposal is $600,000, which is the same as in the current year’s budget. Gasperini said most teachers spend their own funds to purchase supplies for their class.
Gasperini told his fellow board members students at the two new elementary schools in South Boston and Cluster Springs are lacking proper play areas outside and an adequate amount of playground equipment. He said only a small number of students can go outside to play or for physical education at one time. Because of a lack of grass, paving areas outside the schools could be used for play areas.
Dr. Melanie Stanley said one principal indicated she didn’t want blacktop play areas because of student safety. Board Chairman Steve Anderson asked if blacktop could qualify as a capital project. Stapleton directed Stanley to meet with the P.E. teachers, and he instructed Joe Griles, assistant superintendent for instruction, to meet with the two principals to gauge their feelings about paving these areas for play activities.
One area outside South Boston Elementary, the plateau area which currently consists of weeds and dirt, was originally considered for holding P.E. classes, but Stapleton said that area is still in dispute with the group that built the school. He said the board shouldn’t do anything with that area until he resolves the dispute with the builder to have the area reseeded.
Stapleton said the schools need grass fields as play areas. “You need a good grass field to take kids out on,” he said. “Kids get hurt on blacktop.”
Gasperini said the schools need more playground equipment, but Stanley said moving old playground equipment from the closed schools is not an option because of safety considerations. Stanley said also two separate play areas were set up because one was for grades K-2, and the other for grades 3-5.
Stanley told the board grant money is currently not available for playground equipment, but funding runs in a cycle, and it could come back around. Stapleton instructed Stanley to work with the principals and teachers to determine the amount of playground equipment needed and bring back an estimate of the cost for the board to consider.
Stapleton said the issue is not paving, but rather expanding the playground areas at the two schools. Stapleton said paving the teachers parking lot at Sinai Elementary is a priority.
Gasperini said he would like to see funding for the summer sports camps added back into the budget. Roger Long stressed the need for a higher increase for classified personnel than the 3 percent presented in the proposed budget. Mac McDowell said some line items would have to be decreased if others were to be increased.
Gasperini suggested a 2 percent raise for teachers and administrators and 4 percent for classified personnel. Stapleton said, as superintendent, he has no problem with giving classified personnel a 4 percent raise, but he would have a problem giving teachers only a 2 percent raise.
“I think 3 percent for teachers is not doing what any of us want to do,” Stapleton said. “I just really would have a problem at this point cutting it back to 2 percent.”
Stapleton indicated he would rather cut more positions than to cut teachers raises back to 2 percent. To give 3 percent to teachers, 4 percent to classified personnel, $150,000 additional for instructional materials and supplies, and $40,000 for the summer all-sports camps, would require cutting additional teaching personnel.
Clark spoke in opposition to the additional $150,000 for instructional materials and supplies, because cutting more teaching positions could require removing teachers.
Gasperini said he would rather not include the additional instructional money than to lose additional teaching positions. Stapleton said if they eliminate that additional $150,000, he felt the $40,000 for the summer camps would be workable, with the 3 percent for teachers and 4 percent for classified personnel and the built-in $72,452 from the budget reductions presented to the board and some additional adjustments.
The board elected not to make a final decision on the budget Monday night, but it set a second work session for Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Supes Support Up-Fit At Riverstone

Halifax County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution of support Monday night for the Modeling and Simulation Center of Excellence project at Riverstone and the Industrial Development Authority’s (IDA’s) loan application for $400,000.
The resolution received supervisors’ support following their joint meeting with the Halifax and South Boston town councils.
As part of the resolution, supervisors agreed to reimburse the IDA for the first 18 months of interest-only payments (totaling about $24,000) of the proposed loan from the Lake Country Development Corporation as an incentive to the project.
The loan will allow the IDA to accomplish the design and construction of the required M and S Center up-fits at Riverstone.
IDA is in the process of applying for $400,000 to up-fit approximately 6,000 square feet of first floor space in Suite 102 at Riverstone for the M and S Center’s use.
According to County Administrator Bryan Foster, the maximum principal amount of the loan will not exceed $400,000, and the IDA is seeking to finance this debt through LCDC at the maximum rate of 4 percent with up to a 15-year amortization schedule with no penalty for prepayment.
The partners in the M and S Center also have requested the IDA forego the lease payments for the first 18 months as an inducement to the project.
Prior to approving the resolution of support for the M and S Center Monday night, ED-5 Supervisor Doug Bowman introduced Brian Caldwell, a hydrogeologist with Tetra Tech who updated supervisors and South Boston and Halifax Town council members on progress being made at Riverstone.
“The county has been involved with the M and S Center, and (ED-6 Supervisor) Mr. Conner and I have attended some of their sessions to stay updated on it,” Bowman said.
He explained the M and S Summit held at Riverstone in January “was extremely successful” drawing attention and potential partners to the center.
“From the synergy of that summit has come a working memorandum of understanding between the IDA and Virginia Tech and Tetra Tech,” Bowman said. “The point here is there are a lot of interested players, and we hope it will be a real spark plug for the development of Riverstone Building One and other things.”
Caldwell told county and town representatives that since the M and S Center received a $1.2 million grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission in February, partners at Riverstone have been researching equipment and getting into the Virginia Tech “procurement bureaucracy.”
“We ordered the equipment on Friday and will have the first batch coming in and have it installed and interfaced by May 12,” he said.
The M and S Center currently has 10 people from Virginia Tech and Tetra Tech reporting regularly to the Riverstone Technology Building with five of the 10 being Halifax County residents, including Dr. Carol Inge, the center’s executive director.
“The other five are from Tetra Tech and are planning on relocating,” Caldwell said.
“Our staff has grown quite a bit in the last month. We now have a staff of 10 including four sub-contractors there on a weekly basis, two staff requisition positions, and four PhDs and six graduate students scheduled to come to work this summer,” he added.
He said as of today, all the space scheduled for up-fitting by October has been filled.
“We don’t have room for anymore,” Caldwell added.
However, he noted that over the course of the two years, the employee projection stands at 39.
Since its inception last year, partnerships have been developed at the center with Tetra Tech, Virginia Tech, Environmental Ingenuity, Conservation Management Institute and the Ward Burton Wildlife Federation, Northrup-Grummon and Frontline Testing Services.
“The current contractural awards that we have backlogged over the next two years total over $750,000,” Caldwell said, with Tetra Tech receiving modeling requests from offices in Pasadena, Calif., Lafayette, Calif., Oak Ridge, Tenn., Boulder, Colo., and Fairfax and Sterling, Va.
The Tetra Tech hydrogeologist said the center currently has modeling contracts with a defense contractor, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, Army Ammunition Plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. and Anderson Army Depot in Alabama.
He showed county and town officials a stack of Dell computers that have been “souped up” to operate the center’s flex system which will include touch screen technology and tele-presence capable of bringing global communication to Riverstone.
The flex, according to Caldwell, will be the centerpiece of the whole unit at Riverstone.
“It is three walls that are 10 by 10, and they can fold in on themselves and project on the floor as well, so it gives you the full three-dimensional effect, or you can spread the three panels out to be 30 feet wide,” he said.
Halifax Town Councilman Jack Dunavant questioned the center’s affiliation with the military.
“I’m a little concerned that Big Brother is snooping on us. Rural areas are considered by big government and big corporations as ‘sacrifice zones,”’ he explained. “You know the government dumps the city sludge and looks to locate waste dumps in poor, rural areas. And I was just wondering if you are going to be an arm for that sort of thing, and we’re going to be sorry that you came here.”
Caldwell responded that he hopes leaders will not be sorry that Tetra Tech and the center’s other partners have located at Riverstone.
“These models we’re doing cost a lot of money, and all this equipment costs a lot of money. The budget for this type of work is with the military, but on the other hand, what we are trying to do is clean these sites up,” Caldwell added.
Tetra Tech is in the business of cleaning up military properties that have been abused, he said.
Dunavant pointed out the Eastern Compact, composed of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, is now looking for another dumpsite.
“Gentlemen, we are going to be subject to their scrutiny in the future,” Dunavant said.
He questioned whether Tetra Tech does modeling for people like those involved in the Eastern Compact.
“Yea, we do modeling of that type. We do environmental impact statements, and generally speaking those require some type of modeling,” Caldwell told Dunavant.
Being an engineer himself, Dunavant said the thing that bothers him about engineers, is that they never saw a problem they didn’t want to solve or think they couldn’t solve.
“But there are many insoluble problems out there, and I think we all need to be eternally aware of that,” he concluded.
Caldwell also pointed out that some of the work that will be conducted at the center in Riverstone will be highly confidential.
“I wouldn’t call it classified, classified, but they are pretty choosy about who they get to work on it. It’s not the kind of work where if I told you something, I would have to kill you,” he quipped.
In other business Tuesday night, supervisors approved a resolution supporting the establishment of a community based outpatient clinic for Halifax County veterans.
According to the resolution, it is estimated over 4,000 veterans currently reside in Halifax County, with many being disabled and facing significant health issues which require them to travel substantial distances to receive veteran’s health care.
County veterans are forced to travel over 200 miles round trip to veterans health facilities located in Richmond, which veterans advocates say places significant physical and economic burdens on them.
In an effort to provide better access to medical care for veterans, the board of supervisors is being asked to endorse the resolution supporting the establishment of a community-based veterans medical clinic to improve health care access for Halifax County veterans.
Bowman said Congressman Virgil Goode Jr. had expressed his support for the establishment of a veterans’ outpatient clinic in Halifax County.
“The people involved seem to think we have reason to be optimistic that we can get some sort of veterans’ support center located here,” Bowman said making the motion to approve the resolution which received unanimous approval from the five supervisors attending the Tuesday night joint meeting.
Supervisors R.E. “Dickie” Abbott, Lottie Nunn and Bryant Claiborne were absent.

What’s A Town To Do With ‘Green Waste’?

Soaring fuel costs to transport trash to the regional landfill plus no disposal site for construction materials and yard debris are adding up to one gigantic headache for town and county residents.
Supervisors and town councils tackled the issue during their quarterly joint meeting Monday evening in Halifax.
South Boston Town Councilman W. R. “Bill” Snead opened the conversation when he asked County Administrator Bryan Foster the status of the new transfer station on Plywood Road and its scheduled opening date.
Foster said the contract opening date is the first of August, but he added the contractor appears to be ahead of schedule.
“We’re going to open it as soon as we can,” the county administrator said.
Snead pointed out disposal of trash at the regional landfill in Mecklenburg County is costing the town $4,000 a month.
With spring here and residents cleaning up their properties, councilmen questioned how the town residents could best dispose of yard debris and waste.
“Yard waste is not going to be taken at the transfer station,” Foster told council members. “It never was a part of the plan for the transfer station.”
He explained that yard waste is not an issue for the county since residents burn the debris.
“Yard waste is an issue for the county,” Snead countered. “I live in the county. I live on Marshall Avenue in the town of South Boston, and it hit me when I did some clean up Saturday. I probably had about eight to 10 wheelbarrow loads of limbs off crepe myrtles that I just raked up. What am I supposed to do with that? Where do I carry it. Does the county have a plan?”
He said the urban area and outlying area of Centerville has got to include 13,000 people.
“That’s a third of the county that can’t go in their back yard and burn trash. There’s got to be some way that people can get rid of it,” Snead added.
“What do I do with my brush,” questioned Halifax Mayor Leon Plaster.
Prior to the landfill’s closing, town residents could dispose of their trash at a separate section designated for yard debris, Foster confirmed.
However, he pointed out the towns – not the county – prohibit burning in their jurisdictions with ordinances each has in place.
“It’s just a common sense rule that I can’t burn trash in my back yard when somebody lives 100 feet from me,” Snead said.
The towns questioned whether they would be charged a tipping fee to haul their debris to Mecklenburg County during their spring clean-up efforts.
Carl Espy said the Improvement Council has addressed this very issue, and the town of Halifax has decided not to do its spring clean-up since there is no place currently available to dispose of the yard debris.
Foster explained when this was first discussed before the Halifax County landfill closed, South Boston had planned to take its brush to Hamilton Boulevard where grass clippings, brush and leaves could be disposed.
“You don’t have to have a solid waste facility to do this,” Foster said.
South Boston Councilman Coleman Speece recalled that conversation. “We also discussed the possibility of using Bethel, but I think the mistake we made was not following through. We got hung up on the solid waste at the landfill, and we really didn’t close the loop on the question about this green waste.”
Councilman Snead questioned whether Bethel could be used as a disposal site for concrete, bricks and asphalt type materials.
“When a guy wants to tear his patio up in the back yard, where does he carry this concrete and rock. What does he do with it,” Snead asked. “We certainly don’t want to haul that to Mecklenburg.”
He further questioned whether the Department of Environmental Quality would allow the Bethel site to be used for such disposal.
“You don’t have to have a permitted facility for that,” Foster said. However he cautioned that no organic or metal debris could be disposed of at the Bethel location. “It’s very restrictive, and the issue becomes the moment something gets out there in Bethel that’s not supposed to be out there while we’re in post-closure, then it’s a big deal.”
Snead questioned who the CEO is in charge of solving this dilemma.
“You’ve got to have some kind of plan that will answer these questions, put it together and make it happen,” he added.
Snead suggested the county-owned site at Bethel would be the perfect location for disposal of green waste.
He referred to a pile of brush and mess off a sweet gum tree that fills up a 10 x 14 trailer from his rental property.
“It’s not feasible for me to burn it, so what am I going to do with it?” Snead questioned.
“There’s got to be hundreds if not thousands of other homeowners in this same situation.”
Supervisor Chairman William Fitzgerald acknowledged this is a county problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
“We’ve got to address it. If not it’s going to be along the highways,” the chairman said.
ED#4 Supervisor Doug Bowman suggested a steering committee be appointed composed of members of the board of supervisors and two town councils to find a solution to the green waste disposal issue.
Appointed to the committee were South Boston Town Manager Ted Daniel, County Administrator Bryan Foster, Supervisors James Edmunds and Tom West, Halifax Councilmen Phil Hollis and Jack Dunavant and South Boston Councilmen Coleman Speece and Morris Bryant.
In the meantime, the county will provide a yard debris container and South Boston is providing a chipper for disposal of yard debris at the Hamilton Boulevard convenience center one day a week on Thursdays.
Halifax Councilman Jack Dunavant said disposal of green waste is just one of many issues the three governing bodies need to discuss.
“This brings me to a broader point. We get together and have a good time and do some feel good things. I’d like to see us get together and hammer out some solutions to problems that affect us all. Have some real roll up your sleeves meetings and address issues like this and others such as taxation.
“We were put here to represent the people and not just be good old boys around the table. I’m hoping we can do that,” Dunavant said.
In other county business Monday night, supervisors and both town councils authorized the Department of Conservation and Recreation to initiate preliminary studies concerning designating the Banister River and Dan River as scenic rivers to encourage the protection and preservation of each river.
The action was taken following a scenic rivers presentation by Lynn M. Crump, an environmental programs planner with the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Obituaries

Allen Rudolph Adkins Jr.
Allen Rudolph Adkins Jr. of Nathalie died Saturday, April 19, 2008, at the Halifax Regional Hospital. He was 44.
Born April 8, 1964 in Halifax County, he was the son of Allen Rudolph Adkins Sr. and Eunice Tuggle Adkins.
He was a member of First Baptist Church of Republican Grove and the French Masonic Lodge and was the shipping supervisor at J. M. Huber Corporation.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by one son, Justin Allen Adkins of Nathalie; one sister, Tammy Adkins Powell and husband Lewis of South Boston; three brothers, Michael Thomas Hines and wife Kim of Gladys, Charles Phillip Hines and wife Evelyn of Nathalie, and Anthony Lee Hines and companion Tammy Beadles of Nathalie; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held at First Baptist Church of Republican Grove on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Shelton Miles conducting the service.
Burial followed in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home, 1013 Cornelias Lane, Nathalie.

Iola Garrett Collins
Iola Garrett Collins, 88, of Clover died April 19, 2008, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Collins was born in Halifax County on December 20, 1919, to the late Julius William Garrett Sr. and the late Mary Ella Palmer Garrett, and was married to the late George Langston Collins Sr. She was a member of Ellis Creek Missionary Baptist Church.
Survivors include three daughters, Mamie Foster of Randolph, Annie Traynham of Nathalie and Mattie Owen of South Boston; one brother, Lilton Garrett of South Boston; two sisters, Agnes Coleman of New York and Alice Farmer of New Jersey; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; four sons-in-law, James Foster, Joseph Traynham, Bret Owen and Eugene Coleman; eight sisters-in-law; one brother-in-law; two devoted friends, Yvonne Carter and William Hailey; and other relatives and friends.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one daughter, Joyce Lane Collins Coleman; one son, George Langston Collins Jr.; one sister, Frances Coleman and one brother, Julius W. Garrett Jr.
Funeral services for Mrs. Collins will be today, April 23, at 1 p.m. at Ellis Creek Missionary Baptist Church with the Rev. Bruce Featherston officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home of James and Mamie Foster, 4186 Black Walnut Road, Randolph.

James Hugo Coleman Jr.
James Hugo Coleman Jr., 66, of 5211 Black Walnut Road, Saxe died April 18, 2008, at his home.
Mr. Coleman was born in Halifax County on August 8, 1941, to Georgia Ann Lacks Davis and the late James H. Coleman Sr. He was a member of St. Matthew Baptist Church and was a United States Army Veteran.
Survivors include his mother of Saxe; his stepfather, Ernest Davis Sr. of Saxe; one sister, Mary Mitchell of Randallstown, Md.; one brother, George Alfred Coleman of Crystal Hill; four stepsisters; one stepbrother; one sister-in-law, Mary Coleman; one brother-in-law, Moses Mitchell; and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Coleman will be tomorrow, April 24, at 1 p.m. at St. Matthew Baptist Church with the Rev. Whitfield Scott officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with Military Rites.
The family is receiving friends at the home.

Odell Ligon Poole
Odell Ligon Poole, 94, of Buffalo Junction, widow of Kenneth H. Poole, died April 21, 2008, at MeadowView Terrace in Clarksville. She was the daughter of William Henry and Harriett Slagle Ligon, born in Buffalo Junction.
Retired from F.T. Willis and Son Department Store, she was a member of Buffalo Baptist Church.
Funeral services will be held at Buffalo Baptist Church at 2:30 p.m. today, April 23, with interment to follow in the church cemetery. The Rev. Rev. William J. Bess will officiate.
Surviving Mrs. Poole are her brother and sister-in-law, Bobby and Alice Ligon of Buffalo Junction; sisters, Lillie L. Murray of Virgilina, and Evelyn L. Williams of Richmond; five nieces; seven nephews and several great nieces and nephews, including her special boys, Alec and Brandon Ligon.
In addition to her husband and parents, Mrs. Poole was preceded in death by a sister, Maybelle L. Long; and brothers, Jack and Billy Ligon.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.wclfh.com.

Geraldine Grinstead Winall
Geraldine Grinstead Winall, 79, of 3051 Williamson Road, Alton died April 21, 2008, at Danville Regional Medical Center.
Mrs. Winall was born in Halifax County on November 19, 1928, the daughter of the late William ‘Jack’ Grinstead and Cremona Williamson Grinstead. She was a member of Calvary United Methodist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Laverne W. Fuller of South Boston; one son, Butch Winall of Alton; one grandson, Stephen A. Novak; three granddaughters, Jennifer N. Toms, Julie N. Cruz and Katie Winall; and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Mrs. Winall will be held today, April 23, at 4 p.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church with the Rev. Billy Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Calvary United Methodist Church, 2194 Calvary Road, Alton, 24520.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@embarqmail.com

Rolex Sports Car Series Coming To VIR

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
The powerful, exotic Daytona Prototype racers and the nimble GT series cars of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 are headed to Virginia International Raceway for this weekend’s Bosch Engineering 250.
This weekend’s event, which will feature competitors in several racing series including the popular SunTrust MOTO-ST motorcycle racing series, is one of the biggest events of the season at the fabled 3.27-mile road course.
Highlighting the weekend’s action is the Bosch Engineering 250 for the Daytona Prototype racers and the GT Series cars of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. That event gets the green flag Sunday at 1 p.m. and will go for 250 miles or two and three quarters hours, whichever comes first
Three-Day Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the gate. Friday’s admission is $15. Saturday’s admission is $25. Admission on Sunday is $30 in advance and $40 at the gate.
The events will be run rain or shine.
There will be plenty of on-track action throughout the three-day event that starts Friday. Practice, qualifying and races are scheduled for the SCCA SPEED Challenge Touring cars, the SunTrust MOTO-ST motorcycles, the BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Series presented by Mazda and the SCCA Volkswagen Jetta TDI Series.
Also this weekend, VIR will host the Formula SAE Collegiate Design Challenge. FSAE pits university students against each other in a competition to design and build the best formula racecar. Attracting entries from across the country plus some international schools, FSAE is the training ground for race and street-car engineers of the future.
Entering this weekend’s Bosch Engineering 250, Memo Rojas and Scott Pruett, the drivers of the Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Lexus/Riley entry, lead the Daytona Prototype division standings. They stand 16 points ahead of Marc Goossens and Jim Matthews who co-drive the Pontiac/Riley entry from the Bob Stallings/Riley-Matthews Team. Just one point behind them are the tandem of Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney who co-drive a Pontiac/Riley fielded by the Bob Stallings/Riley-Matthews Team.
Rojas and Pruett have won the first two races of the season and finished second in last week’s race in Mexico. Goossens and Matthews won last weekend’s race in Mexico.
Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards, the drivers of one of the two Pontiac GXP.R entries fielded by Banner Racing, lead the GT Division standings by 10 points over Dick Werner, Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George Jr. who co-drive one of the Porsche GT3 Cup entries out of the TRG team stable.
Friday’s schedule includes practice and qualifying for the Skip Barber and SPEED Touring Cars and practice for the VW Jetta TDI Series. The first of the weekend’s two Skip Barber races will start at 1:55 p.m. Friday.
Saturday’s action will start at 8 a.m. and will feature practice for the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series from 8 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. and practice for the Rolex Sports Car Series from 9:45 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Warm-ups for the Skip Barber series will go from 11:50 a.m. until 12:05 p.m.
The second of the weekend’s two Skip Barber series events will start at 1:35 p.m. and will go until 2:20 p.m. Another round of practice for the Rolex Series starts at 2:30 p.m. Rolex GT qualifying starts at 3:30 p.m. and Rolex Daytona Prototype qualifying starts at 3:50 p.m. The SPEED Challenge Touring Cars race will start at 4:10 p.m. and will go for 50 minutes.
On-track action starts Sunday with a final Rolex Sports Car Series practice from 8:30-8:50 a.m. The SunTrust MOTO-ST Series motorcycle race will start at 9:15 a.m. and will go for 96 laps (500K) or two and a half hours, whichever comes first
Pre-race activities for the weekend’s featured event, the Bosch Engineering 250 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race for the Daytona Prototype and GT Series cars starts at 12:45 p.m. with the race, which will go for 250 miles or two and three quarters hours, whichever comes first, getting the green flag at 1 p.m.
The VW Jetta TDI race will start at 4 p.m. and will go for 30 minutes.

Key Games Coming For Lady Comets

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
With a 3-0 record in the Western Valley District and 9-1 mark overall the Comets varsity softball team is entering a crucial portion of its schedule with three consecutive district games on the horizon.
The Lady Comets face Patrick Henry Thursday in Roanoke before two district games at home, Friday against GW and Tuesday against William Fleming.
Halifax County has only one non-district game remaining, April 30 at Martinsville, before finishing the regular season with four district games, two each at home and away.
Coach Melanie Saunders said that her team would approach the stretch of district games one at a time, knowing the dangers of looking past any team at this point of the season.
Things are where they need to be with two crucial district games this week, she noted.
“The kids have played hard this year and we’re practicing hard right now on things we need to do in the next stretch of games,” said Saunders.
“We’re trying to stay mentally prepared as well as physically.”
Saunders said that the team has maintained a positive outlook and attitude, despite numerous postponements and delays due to a rainy spring.
The Comets’ opponents have had to practice under the very same circumstances, she emphasized.
“Everyone else has had the rain to deal with and have had to go inside to work on what they can, with the hope that when they come back to the field everything can come together,” said Saunders, who pointed to the leadership of co-captains Lashunda Davis, Betty Rose and Ally Thompson as key elements in the quick start.
“They’ve helped hold the team together and keep everyone focused, so the coaches look to them to keep the team mentally prepared, while we try to keep everything else rolling.”
The Comets can score runs, and have broken the 10-run mark five times this season, but more importantly the team has played solid defense behind four pitchers thus far.
Those trends need to continue, noted Saunders.
“Defense has really been solid and we hope that continues, but we have to improve each day because nothing is perfect and nothing is 100 percent.
“We have to get better every practice and every game. You see players get frustrated when they strike out, but we tell them to keep their heads up on defense, because that’s where we need them.
“That’s where the plays are made that wins ball games.”
With the Comets approaching the halfway point of the district schedule, now is not the time to look ahead, according to Saunders.
“We don’t look at standings when we come to practice or games, we play each game as if we’re behind with the goal of improving each time out,” said Saunders.
“We’re taking it one game at a time, as it’s always been, and we’re preparing the same way we’ve always done before.
“It’s more mental and physical, keeping our minds set and our goals in place.
“We have goals each game and for the end of the season, and you can go with what you’ve learned from the past to a certain extent, but each game you’ll see something different, so you have to be ready.”

Rain Forces Game Postponements

Rain throughout the day on Monday and rain again yesterday has forced Halifax County High School and Halifax County Middle Schools to postpone and reschedule numerous games.
At Halifax County High School, Monday’s scheduled boys and girls tennis matches against E.C. Glass were postponed and rescheduled for yesterday afternoon, weather permitting.
Monday’s Halifax County Middle School baseball and softball games against Bluestone Middle School were postponed.
A make-up date has not been announced.
Yesterday’s Halifax County High School varsity and junior varsity baseball games against Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke were postponed and have been rescheduled for today. Both games will be played at 5 p.m.
The Halifax County High School varsity and junior varsity girls softball games against Patrick Henry High School that were scheduled to be played yesterday in Roanoke were postponed.
Those games have been rescheduled for Thursday with both games set for a 5 p.m. start.
In addition, the Halifax County High School varsity and junior varsity boys soccer games against Patrick Henry High School that were scheduled to be played at home last night were postponed.
Those games have been rescheduled for tonight with the jayvee game starting at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity game set for a 7:15 p.m. start.
The Halifax County Middle School girls and boys track teams’ scheduled meet yesterday at Nottoway was postponed.
A make-up date has not been announced.
Halifax County High School’s varsity and junior varsity girls soccer teams were set to play their scheduled contests against Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke.