Monday, May 2, 2005

Teen Killed In Head-On Collision

An accident on U.S. 501 early Saturday morning claimed the life of a 17-year-old Halifax County High School student, according to Virginia State Police Trooper T.C. Comer.
Jeffery Allen Wilkerson of Halifax, a junior member of the high school wrestling and cross country teams, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 7 a.m. accident, Comer said.
The state trooper said Wilkerson was traveling south on the highway when his 1995 Mercury Sable crossed the center line of the highway and struck a northbound 1995 International tractor-trailer operated by Kevin Gossier, 31, of South Boston head-on.
The tractor-trailer overturned, spilling a load of logs across the roadway which resulted in both lanes of the heavily-traveled highway being closed for approximately six hours while the logs and vehicles were removed.
According to Comer, much of the closure was the result of the investigation into the accident.
“We did reconstruction and everything to make sure we could determine exactly what happened,” he said. “We don’t know why the teen swerved but it wasn’t the truck driver’s fault.”
No charges were filed in the accident, the trooper said.
Gosier was transported to Halifax Regional Hospital for observation, according to police.
Contacted yesterday, Wilkerson’s wrestling and cross country coach Brady Taylor described him as a “great kid."
“Jeffery was the type of kid every coach wants to have on his team," he said. “He didn’t miss practice, was a good leader, had fun and was successful. He was a great kid.
“All of us affiliated with the wrestling and cross country teams extend our deepest sympathy to Jeffery’s family and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time."

 

Halifax, Other Counties To Share Research Grant

A Halifax County project will be one of the beneficiaries of a $271,000 agribusiness grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission for the Virginia Ornamental Plant Evaluation and Introduction program.
Gov. Mark Warner announced the grant Friday.
A one-acre site at Paul Edmunds Jr. Memorial Park is dedicated as an evaluation site, according to Master Gardener/Horicutural Technician William McCaleb.
The grant to the Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association (VNLA), a non-profit organization, will assist in establishing six tobacco region sites and contract for services to coordinate ornamental plant evaluation/demonstration and propagation and production research/demonstration.
Although unsure about Halifax County’s portion of the grant, McCaleb is pleased with the project.
“This is a good piece of land,” he said of the park site. “We will be turning ground shortly. We’re doing soil samples now. Next week we plan to line it off to prepare for fencing and our first planting is expected in early summer.”
Moving from a tobacco-based economy, McCaleb said horticulture is an option because of the good land here.
“We’re looking at high-value horticulture development,” he added.
“The green industry in 2002 was a $2 billion business in Virginia and it is growing,” said McCaleb.
The horticulturist said “trees to shrubs to ground covers to annuals and perennials” will be evaluated.
“This is a joint effort by our state universities and private industry and the VNLA to bring economic growth to Southside Virginia.” A cell lab at the Institute of Advanced Learning and Research in Danville is expected to start soon, according to the master gardener. “As a plant is developed, they can take leaf cuttings,” he explained.
Developing plants deer might normally eat but are rendered bitter to their taste could be one project. Disease, insect and animal control are part of the research project.
“The development and marketing of new ornamental plants will significantly increase the rate of growth of this industry,” added McCaleb.
“Developing a new plant pipeline for evaluating, selecting, mass producing, distributing and marketing new ornamental plants offers and unprecedented opportunity to move Virginia into the ranks of the top ten nursery production states in the United States,” he said. “We’re not one now, but we are in the top 20,” he said.
“We’re going to have our own weather station” at the park site, added McCaleb. “We need to know what the wind speed is, the rainfall and temperature recordings.”
“We also see this research plot as a teaching garden,” he added. “We’ve talked to the school superintendent and are involving high school students,” added McCaleb, who also serves as state president of the Virginia Master Gardeners Association.
The master gardener said he and county officials have been working on the project since last year.
“One of the reasons we have this site is the strong support we received from the county,” said McCaleb. “Jerry Lovelace, who served as interim county administrator, and I have been working on this project since September of 2004.”
In addition to Halifax, Henry, Patrick, Smyth and Bedford counties, along with Danville, have existing sites.
Commission funds will also be used to develop technical reports and educational materials and to coordinate and promote on-site field days and regional outreach programs.
The program builds on recently-established research sites located outside the tobacco region in Blacksburg, Manassas and Virginia Beach. However, Commission funds will be exclusively used for tobacco region sites.
Approximately 140 cultivars will be studied for characteristics, market appeal and financial cost/benefit.
Roumen Conev was selected to take the reins of the VNLA Plant Introduction Program. “Roumen comes to us from Toronto Canada and will be domiciled at the IALR in Danville,” added McCaleb.

‘Community Of Tolerance,’ Averett President Says At College Graduation

BY BOB LOWRY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DANVILLE, Va. (AP) — Averett University ignored a small protest Saturday and conducted its first commencement since being cast out from a Baptist association for its acceptance of a gay student organization on campus.
‘‘We’re going to be an independent flagship Christian university,’’ Averett President Richard Pfau said in an interview. ‘‘We’re going to be a community of tolerance.’’
Anti-gay activists who had threatened to protest spring commencement could muster only six people, including two children. An estimated 70 people showed up for a peaceful counter-demonstration.
Averett’s acceptance of a Gay-Straight Student Alliance and a Gay Pride Week led the Baptist General Association of Virginia to announce on April 6 that it was ending its 145-year relationship with the university, which has approximately 1,000 students.
Gay Pride Week, which featured films, speakers, discussions and a drag ball, was held in February on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, more than 200 miles from the Averett campus.
Representatives of Averett and the Baptist Association met on March 18 to discuss a possible resolution, but their talks failed. The association later announced it would continue to support Averett’s Baptist Student Union.
Pfau said Averett has returned all funding to the Baptist Association and is operating in the black. He said the school intends to expand fund-raising and development beyond Virginia and is considering aligning with another Baptist organization.
‘‘We have had a sense of where we’re going for at least the past decade,’’ Pfau said.
Members of a virulent anti-gay church in Topeka, Kan., lined up along a street leading to the Averett campus. The two children, ages 7 and 12, held signs, one of which read ‘‘God hates fags.’’
‘‘The homosexuals are taking over,’’ said Rebekka Phelps-Davis, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church and daughter of the Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the church. He did not attend the protest. ‘‘It’s not going to be long before the Lord destroys this country.’’
Across the street, Andrew Abbott was wrapped in a rainbow flag to ward off a drizzle.
‘‘We can’t let these people come in here and ruin something good with a bunch of hate,’’ said Abbott, 18, a student at Danville Community College.
Christopher Clarke, president of the Student Government Association at Averett, said the school’s split from the Baptist General Association isn’t necessarily a negative.
‘‘I think it’s going to help in terms of marketing Averett,’’ Clarke, of Clarkesville, said. ‘‘I think we won’t be seen as just a Baptist university but as a university where anyone can come.’’

Obituaries

Clayton Hunter Barksdale

Clayton Hunter Barksdale, infant son of Cary H. Barksdale Jr. and Jennifer Baker Barksdale, died April 28, at Danville Regional Medical C enter.
Besides is mother and father, survivors include his brothers and sister, Jeremy Baker, Lauren Wilbourne and Charles Barksdale, all of the home in Sutherlin; his maternal grandparents, Jerry and Barbara Baker of High Point, N.C.; paternal grandparents, Cary H. Barksdale Sr. of Sutherlin and Brenda Lewis of Danville; and his maternal great-grandmother, Anne LaFountin of High Point.
Graveside services were held May 1, at 2 p.m. at Mercy Seat Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Sutherlin. The Rev. Roger Wilborne officiated.

Pearly R. Dixon

Pearly R. Dixon, 51, of Hartford, Conn. died at Westside Health Center in Manchester, Conn.
Mr. Dixon was born in Halifax County on June 29, 1953, to the late Richard and Sylvia Guy Dixon.
Survivors include four sisters, Susie White and her husband, Fulton, Sylvia Barrow and husband, Leroy, all of Manchester, Marion Chandler and husband, Lawrence, and Thelma Canada and husband, Henry, all of South Boston. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Leona Wright and Rosa Baldwin.
Funeral services for Mr. Dixon will be held May 3, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Meadville with the Rev. Robert S. Wimbish officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of Thelma Canada, 1301 Porter Lane, South Boston.

Robert Henry Carter Sr.

Graveside services for Mr. Robert Henry Carter Sr., of Chatham Road in Vernon Hill, will be held at 11 a.m. today, May 2, with services at the Ingram Christian Church cemetery.
The Rev. John Campbell will officiate.
Mr. Carter died Satruday at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Salem.
He was 81.
Mr. Carter was born in Halifax County on December 26, 1923, the son of the late Lewis Carter and Sally Perkins Carter. He was a member of the Ingram Christian Church, was a veteran of the U.S. Army and was a self-employed farmer and merchant.
He is survived by his wife, Estelle Womack Carter of Vernon Hill, two daughters, Joan Arrington and husband Billy of Virgilina and Brenda Fontenot and husband David of Ridgeland, S.C., one son, Robert Carter Jr. of Vernon Hill, one sister, Hilda Cranfill of Danville, two granddaughters, Catherine Ellixson and Brittany Carter, two grandsons, William Arrington III and Robert Carter III and one great-granddaughter, Haleigh Ellixson.

Morada Adams Bailey Traynham

Mrs. Morada Adams Bailey Traynham, of Traynham Grove Road in Alton, died Friday, April 29 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
She was 83.
Mrs. Traynham was born in Halifax County on July 1, 1921, the daughter of the late Squire Adams and Betty Lee Barksdale.
She was first married to the late Frank Melvin Bailey and later married to King Melvin Traynham.
Mrs. Traynham is survived by two daughters, Arlene Bailey of Roxboro and Linda Bailey of Alton, one son, Melvin Bailey Sr. of Alton, six grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, two devoted friends, Shirley Barley and Joseph Bumpass, a devoted niece, Bettie A. Barnett of Roxboro, a devoted nephew, Jacob King of South Boston, and a host of other relatives and friends. One son, Willard Lawrence Bailey, two sisters and one brother preceded her in death.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, May 3, at 11 a.m., with services at Dan River Bethel Baptist Church.
The Rev. Sylvester Crawley will officiate.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the Alton Post Office Road residence of Melvin Bailey Sr.

Ann Younger Rainey

Funeral services for Mrs. Ann Younger Rainey will be held Wednesday, May 4, at 1 p.m., at the Chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 304 Lusardi Drive in Brookneal.
Interment will be in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Rainey, a Nathalie resident, died Saturday in Lynchburg.
She is survived by her husband, John Rainey of the home; ten children, Deloris Younger of Chicago, Ill., Sheila Clark, Avon (Kenneth) Williams, Arlease (Collins) Rouff, all of Brookneal, Ricky Younger of Cincinatti, Oh., Ivan (Patricia) Younger of South Boston, Angela Chandler of Roxboro, Marsha (Preston) Chappell of Richmond, Jerry (Terri) Lennon of Nathalie, Janice (Eric) Brandon of Alton; 16 grandchildren, 19 great- grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren.
Condolences may be emailed to Jeffressfh@aol.com.

 

Comets Boys Netters Fall To Glass 7-2

DeJarnette, Palmore Takes Singles Wins

BY Doug Ford
G-V STAFF WRITER

Michael DeJarnette won at number one singles and Bo Palmore won at number three singles, but E.C. Glass had too much depth in defeating Halifax by a 7-2 margin here Thursday.
The setback dropped the Comets boy tennis team to 0-8 in the Western Valley District and 2-11 overall, with only the district tournament remaining on the schedule.
Despite the loss, Comets coach David Riddle said he team gave one of its better efforts against Glass, a strong team from top to bottom.
“Michael [DeJarnette] had a great effort at the number one spot,” said Riddle. “Williams had to stop at the end of the first set due to an elbow injury, but Michael was playing one of his best matches of the season.
“I was glad to see Bo win his last singles match as a member of the team. He has had a really good senior year, and will be missed next year.
“I was pleased that we were able to score more match wins in all of our second meetings with teams in the district this year, with the exception of Franklin County (4-5 decisions both times. We are only losing two seniors this year, and should be real solid next season.”
Halifax 2, E.C. Glass 7
Singles Results
1. Michael DeJarnette (H) defeated Brian Williams 6-3, (forfeit)
2. Michael Boyd (H) lost to Charlie Andrews 1-6, 1-6
3. Bo Palmore defeated John Kim 7-5, 6-2
4. Richard Evans (H) lost to Ben Rielay 4-6, 0-6
5. David Seamster (H) lost to Bobby Laverty 0-6, 1-6
6. Michael Jones (H) lost to Jay Hanna 0-6, 0-6
Doubles Results
1. DeJarnette/Boyd (H) lost to Davis Dawson/Andrews 3-6, 3-6
2. Palmore/Evans (H) lost to Hanna/Laverty 4-6, 2-6
3. Seamster/Josh Martin (H) lost to Kim/Rielay 1-6, 0-6
Exhibition
Ricky Owens (H) lost 1-8
Ray Albert (H) lost 4-10
Doubles Exhibition
Patrick Barnes/Chris Moore (H) lost 3-10

Caudill Scores UARA Win At SBS

Jamey Caudill Strolled To Victory Saturday Night In South Boston Speedway’s First-Ever UARA Late Model Race

BY Joe Chandler
G-V STAFF WRITER

Deac McCaskill looked like he had the win in the bag for much of Saturday night’s inaugural UARA STARS Late Model Stock Car race at South Boston Speedway.
That is, until his car started fading in the waning laps.
Former NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series regional champion Jamey Caudill of Four Oaks, N.C. caught McCaskill, grabbed the lead with 25 laps to go and sped away to win the 150-lap race that marked the first-ever visit of the touring Late Model Stock Car racing series to South Boston Speedway.
Saturday night’s win, Caudill’s first career win here at South Boston Speedway, was worth $2,500.
With the win, Caudill became the third different winner in as many UARA races run this season.
“It’s great to get a win here," said Caudill, who has competed here on occasions in special NASCAR Late Model Stock Car events.
“I’ve been here seven or eight times and had some good runs but never pulled off a win."
Surprisingly, Caudill had all but resigned himself to settle for second place after having seen McCaskill win the pole and roll out to substantial leads on several occasions in the first half of the race.
“Deac had a killer car the first half of the race and I had pretty much settled in for second," Caudill pointed out.
“I didn’t have anything for him the first 100 laps. He was killing everybody. I thought he had it in the bag."
But, the complexion of the race changed in the final 50 laps.
The handling of McCaskill’s Chevrolet appeared to start going away as the race reached the 100-lap mark. Then, the race’s seventh caution period, which set up the final restart with 29 laps to go, came into play.
McCaskill struggled with his car right after the restart and that opened the door for Caudill.
“On that last restart, it looked like his car pushed with him really bad off of (turn) four and I got the nose (of the car) up under him and got position," Caudill said.
Once the door opened, Caudill stepped in, grabbed the lead and never looked back as he sailed to victory.
McCaskill, though disappointed that he couldn’t seal the win, was pleased with the outcome.
“That was one of the best cars I’ve ever had at this racetrack," McCaskill said afterward.
“ I was trying not to get overexcited about how good the car was. It got a little tight on me after about lap 100. I think Jamie had saved his car a little bit. When he (Caudill) got by me, every now and then it felt like I could catch him just a little bit, and then I’d slip a little and he’d pull away again.
“I could catch him and he caught me, but it’s so hard to pass here," added McCaskill.
“ This is one of the hardest tracks to pass somebody I’ve been to."
While Caudill sped away, McCaskill had his hands full in the closing laps trying to stave off a late charge from Rodney Cook of Reidsville, N.C. He won that battle by about a car length.
Cook, a regular competitor in South Boston Speedway’s Late Model Stock Car races, started 16th in the 32-car field and raced his way to a third-place finish.
“Third-place is like a win to me," Cook said.
“ I didn’t want to do anything crazy at the end. I could get under Deac but that was about it. To come here and run third in this deal, the way I’ve been running at South Boston on a regular Saturday night, this is better than a win to me right now.
“My goal today was to get into the top 22 and not have to run a heat race," Cook continued.
“ We started 16th and I was just praying that it would go in my favor. The car was getting batter and better there at the end. I just couldn’t get a good run up off the corner to get Deac."
Jason York, who won the preceding UARA race at Floence, S.C. Motor Speedway, finished fourth, winning a late battle with Lee Tissot.
“We didn’t have the best car, but we had a lot better car tonight than we had up here the last couple of times I’ve been here," York said.
Tissot said he could have raced York harder at the end but chose to settle for fifth and collect on a good points night.
“I saw a lot of guys sitting out there on hooks that were in front of me in points that had already fallen out of the race," Tissot pointed out.
“ He caught me and I just let him go. I knew I was going to finish fifth. Sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do to win the points."
Matt McCall, who won the UARA season opener at Hickory, N.C. Motor Speedway, finished sixth with Keith Stiltner, Gary Weeks, Nick Hutchins and Mark King rounding out the top ten finishers.
The East Tennessee Trailers Hard Charger of the Race Award went to Cook. Gary Weeks was the RH2Way Racing Radios Rookie of the Race Award and Brandon Ward earned the Holley Performance Performer of the Race Award.
The race was punctuated by seven caution flags, four of which occurred in the first 50 laps.
In Other Action
Randy Smith of Basett took the early lead from Mark Cash of Chapel Hill, N.C. and won the 25-lap race for the Virginia Old Timer’s Race Club.
Cash finished second and Gary Lloyd of Efland, N.C. rounded out the top three finishers.
D.J. Krentz of Huntersville, N.C. edged Kyle Beattie of Kannapolis, N.C., to get the win in the 25-lap INEX Thunder Roadster Series race.
Brothers Duncan Molesworth and Patrick Molesworth took the top two spots respectively in the 25-lap INEX Legends Cars Series race.

 

Youth Well-Served For Lions Boys Track Team

HCMS Compiled A 5-1 Record This Track Season

BY Doug Ford
G-V STAFF WRITER

Youth has been well-served this year for the Halifax County Middle School boys track team, the Lions compiling a 5-1 mark going into last weekend’s Southside Middle School Conference Track Meet at Powhatan.
Head coach Frank Lee and assistants Jamie Layne and Lawrence Wilkerson have molded a 32-member team with 24 first-year athletes into a winning unit that has been competitive all season.
“We have 32 athletes, and 24 of them are in their first year of middle school track. Ten of them are seventh graders," noted Lee. “We are young and inexperienced, but we are enthusiastic and energetic, and that helps a lot.
“We felt that enthusiasm would help a lot in overcoming our inexperience and it has been a challenge to promote and encourage a real productive work ethic.
“Coaching has been important, Jamie is a third-year volunteer assistant coach who has worked well with the team. He brings special talent and track experience, having run track at Virginia Tech and at the Commonwealth Games, and in particular works with the middle and long distance runners."
Also returning is assistant coach Lawrence Wilkerson, who has years of experience coaching track at both the middle and high schools, noted Lee.
“Both of them bring outstanding personal credentials, and I couldn’t be more pleased with my coaching staff," he emphasized.
Halifax has eight returnees from last year’s conference championship team, including Cottey Chappell, Travis Stevens, Ben Chandler, Sharwon Logan, B.J. Hughes, Trevor Richardson, Jarell Edmonds and Russell White.
Those veterans have provided stability, as well as depth and points in both track and field events this season.
Eighth-graders in their first year of competition include Quinton Wooden, who specialized in the discus and shot put, and Theodore Coleman, undefeated in the 110-meter hurdles going into the conference meet.
Keith Tucker, whom Lee described as one of his hardest workers, has excelled in both track and field events, and James Jennings has developed into an excellent relay team runner, according to Lee.
Terrance Jennings, JaCorey Howard and Laquan Lynn, all eighth-graders, have stood out in weights events (shot put and discus), the 800 meters and other relay events.
Termain Walton, Deronta Brame and Anthony Wilson, all eighth-graders in their first year, have also improved since the beginning of the season, added Lee, as has Kameron Peacock, who runs the 800 meters.
A group of talented seventh-graders have contributed their talents already, noted Lee, including Douqon Logan, Antonio Bailey, Marcus Williams, Thomas Logan, Tevin Gayles and Shawn Jennings.
Lee and his staff have seen the entire team improve in their times, distances and weights throughout the season.
“Performances have really improved since the beginning of the season, times, jumps, distances have much improved," said Lee, who thinks the track program at the middle school is on target for years to come.
“I see a great future for the track programs, both at the middle and high school, in that the feeder system seems to be in place," noted Lee. “I’ve seen some real accomplishments at the high school, in both the boys and girls programs.
“Having the Tisha Waller Track and Field Complex has done a lot for them. It’s such a lift for the program, and I’ve seen walkers and joggers from the community come down to take advantage of the facility.
“Visiting teams have been impressed, as well."