Wednesday, May 3, 2006

The Votes Are In
Plaster Remains Mayor In Town Of Halifax

Incumbent Mayor Leon Plaster was elected to a second term in the Town of Halifax during yesterday’s municipal elections, defeating challenger E.T. “Tommy” Reagan 154 to 112.
In Ward A, Reagan defeated the incumbent 43-16.
The race for the council seat in Ward A was won by incumbent Cabell Daniel 39-30 over write-in challenger Frank Carr.
Ward B voters gave the nod to incumbent Wistar Allen Stevens, 22-16 over challenger and planning commission member Lisa Waller. In the mayor’s race, Plaster defeated Reagan 26-11 in Ward B.
Incumbent councilman Jack Dunavant, facing no challengers, received 48 votes in Ward C.
Ward C voters re-elected Plaster over Reagan, 40-27.
Plaster handily won the nod of Ward D voters, 72-31 over Reagan.
Dick Moore was elected to represent Ward D over challenger Kelly Shaw 83-21.
In the Town of South Boston, incumbent councilman Ed Owens won his unopposed bid for re-election with 107 votes.
Newcomers W.R. “Bill” Snead Jr. and Don P. Thompson won their unopposed bids for Council seats with 90 and 85 votes respectively.
Voters in the Town of Virgilina elected Elizabeth Youngk Andre mayor with 23 votes.
Council seats in the Town of Virgilina will be filled as follows:
R.E. “Ed” Chandler Jr. – 24 votes; Mary Helen Gravitt – 23 votes; Kirke C. “Kit” Hooper – 23 votes; R. Owen Murray – 26 votes; Richard T. Seate – 20 votes and Thomas Keith Tuck Jr. – 24 votes. All were running unopposed for the Virgilina seats.

 

Few Turn Out For Budget Hearing
Farmers Oppose Additional Taxes

The Halifax County Board of Supervisors spent less than a half-hour Monday listening to public comment on the county’s proposed $129,785,741 fiscal budget for 2007, but the few speaking during the public hearing told the Board that farmers are being overburdened by tax increases.
The hearing came as supervisors met for their regular monthly meeting at the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.
The proposed budget reflects a decrease in real estate taxes to 37 cents per $100 from the current rate of 41 cents per $100 due to last year’s reassessment, but increases the real estate tax by six cents to cover debt service on a $60 million school construction project.
If approved, the county’s adjusted tax rate will be 43 cents per $100.
Supervisors’ proposed budget also increases the county’s personal property tax rate from $2.50 to an effective $3.30 due to reassessment.
Nathalie resident Thomas Hines told the Board that the increased taxes due in large part to the $60 million school construction project is too much of a burden on the county’s property owners.
“I wish I had something to say to you except you really did it with the $60 million bond issue,” he said. “You’ve dug us a hole and you can’t dig yourselves out – you have to be lifted out and you’re going to lift yourselves out on the backs of the property owners in this county.”
Hines said he has been attending Board meetings for 25 years.
“I’ve never heard anyone say they’re going to take less of your money,” he said.
The Nathalie resident urged Board members to do everything they can to ease the burden on the county’s taxpayers.
“I know we can’t do anything about the $60 million,” he said. “But you all need to buckle down everywhere else and get the very most you can back so people like me will have less of a burden.”
County Farmer Weldon Anderson agreed, saying farmers have already lost the majority of their income with the loss of the tobacco industry.
“Seventy percent of the farms in this county didn’t earn enough off of the farms last year to pay this year’s taxes,” he said. “Tobacco is gone and grain is gone and you all are looking for us to pay more and more and more.”
Bernard Mitzler said increasing fuel and fertilizer costs are already burdening farmers enough.
“And you want us to keep paying more money,” he said. “It’s outrageous this year what you want us to pay. How are we supposed to have anything to eat?
“We can’t keep on spending, giving away and buying land so the IDA (Halifax County Industrial Development Authority) can play with it. If they were doing so well we wouldn’t have to pay for all of this with taxes. When will it start paying off for the taxpayer?”
Republican Grove resident and former Burlington Industries employee Betty Dawson said farmers aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch.
“I haven’t worked in four years,” she said. “Jobs in the county are very scarce. Never in my lifetime will the number of jobs that have been lost in the county be replaced.”
Addressing a proposed three-percent increase for county employees in next year’s budget, Dawson said now isn’t the time to be thinking about raises in the county.
“Raises are nice, but sometimes you need to be thankful if you have a job and the benefits to go along with it,” she said.
Supervisors have scheduled a public hearing on the proposed tax rate changes for their May 15 meeting.
Two county residents spoke during a public hearing on a proposal to restrict through truck traffic on Foster Road.
Citing the danger to schoolchildren when trucks are transporting cars to Virginia International Raceway, resident Hilda Williamson called the traffic since the raceway has been reopened “horrendous.”
“Walking one morning, I saw a school bus meet an 18-wheeler,” she said. “The truck pulled into a field to let the bus get by. It’s a hazardous situation with school busses and they have to be there.”
Foster Road resident Joseph Levy pointed out that not only is the road narrow, there is no shoulder for vehicles to pull over.
“If you have to pull over, you’re in a ditch,” he said.
Supervisors, on a motion by Supervisor Doug Bowman, asked VDOT Resident Administrator Joe Barkley to study possible restrictions on the road.

 

Supes Study Options On County Personnel Costs
Board Considering Asking Employees To Pay Portion Of Health Insurance

During Monday’s budget work session, the Halifax County Board of Supervisors studied options that could ease some of the county’s burden on personnel costs.
Currently, personnel costs account for $6.9 million of the county’s $96,616,342 budget.
The Board is considering a proposed $129,785,741 budget for fiscal year 2006-2007.
“The budget includes the adoption of a pay and classification study and includes either a three-percent salary increase or the employee is placed at the minimum of the new pay scale if they are currently below the new scale,” County Administrator Bryan Foster said.
Members of the policy and personnel committee asked Foster last week to investigate the impact of a 1.5 percent raise for the county’s employees rather than three percent.
“It is estimated to reduce the budget by about $75,000,” Foster said. “That’s an estimate because we don’t know what the state budget is yet.”
With insurance costs increasing by 24 percent in next year’s budget, the personnel committee also asked Foster to explore having employees pay a portion of their health insurance premium.
Health insurance, currently paid entirely by the county, costs around $800,000 a year before the increase.
Committee members asked Foster to look at the impact on the budget of employees paying five, 7.5 and 10 percent of the premiums.
“If you did that for a whole year, the annual savings at five percent would be around $54,000; at 7.5 percent the savings would be about $82,000; and at 10 percent would be $109,600,” Foster said. “The only thing I’d recommend to the Board is if you want to have the employees contribute to health insurance, make it effective after the first of the year to give them time to prepare.”
Responding to a question from Supervisor Tom West, Foster told the Board that the premium for each employee in the county is $5,400. Next year’s increase will mean an additional $1,056 per employee.
“Ten percent of the current rate is $540 a year,” Foster said, adding that employees who have family members covered pay 100 percent of the premium for the additional coverage.

Obituaries

Christian Jarvis Jackson
Christian Jarvis Jackson, 20, of 1032 Gabrieline Lane, Crystal Hill died April 29, 2006, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
Mr. Jackson was born October 23, 1985, in Brookland, N.Y., to Carnell Jackson Sr. and Gabrieline St. Lawrence Jackson. He was a member of Christ Temple Church in South Boston.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Jackson is survived by two brothers, Antonie St. Lawrence of Newport News and Carnell Jackson Jr. of Crystal Hill; his maternal grandmother, Agnes Warner of Trinidad West Indies; one sister-in-law, Quanta St. Lawrence; and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be held May 5, at 11 a.m. at Greater Mayfield Apostolic Church with Elder Branford Edmonds officiating. Burial will follow in the Family Cemetery in Crystal Hill.
The remains will lie-in-state at the Crawford House Chapel in Halifax on Thursday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The family is receiving friends at the home.
Viola Grimes Tetterton
Viola Grimes Tetterton, 92, of South Boston, died May 1, 2006.
She was born in Martin County, N.C. on July 23, 1913, the daughter of the late George David Grimes and Nora Taylor Grimes and was married to the late Milton Dale Tetterton Sr.
Mrs. Tetterton was a member of Main Street United Methodist Church, Tuesday Woman’s Club, Richmond Quilter’s Guild and a former member of James River Woman’s Club.
Survivors include three sons, Milton Dale Tetterton Jr. and wife, Nancy, of South Hill, Darrell G. Tetterton and wife, Carolyn, of Midlothian, and Joseph Dean Tetterton and wife, Anita, of Richmond; one daughter-in-law, Charlotte P. Tetterton of South Boston; one brother, Ben Hassell Grimes of Raleigh, N.C.; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. One son, C. David Tetterton, preceded Mrs. Tetterton in death.
Graveside services will be held tomorrow, May 4, at 11 a.m. at Oak Ridge Cemetery with the Rev. Robert Johnston officiating.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home this evening, May 3, from 6 to 8.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Main Street United Methodist Church, 701 N. Main Street, South Boston, 24592, or South Boston-Halifax County Museum of Fine Arts and History, 1540 Wilborn Avenue, South Boston.

 

Gregory-Clay Win Another Green’s Folly Golf Tourney
Pair Has Taken Four Out Of Last Five Member-Member Titles
Mike Gregory and Jimmy Clay have become familiar faces at the awards presentation following recent Green’s Folly Golf Course Member-Member Golf Tournaments, and this year’s tourney was no exception.
Gregory and Clay made up a three-stroke deficit on the second day of the tournament to overtake Kevin Haskins and Chris Young for their fourth title in the past five years, but this one was far from easy.
Haskins and Young shot a gross score of 62 on Saturday, and Gregory and Clay shot a 65, but Sunday proved to be an up and down day for both teams.
Clay used his mulligan on the fifth hole and made it count as he chipped in for a birdie, and later chipped in for an eagle on the par four 11th hole.
He then birdied 13, 14 and 15 in succession to give his team a one shot lead over Haskins and Young, but Clay and Gregory bogeyed the par three 16th hole.
That left the door open for Haskins and Young, Haskins hitting a two-foot put for eagle on the 13th hole to tie for the lead, but Gregory broke the tie for his team on their very next hole.
Gregory birdied the 17th hole, while Haskins and Young bogeyed the 14th hole, and that proved to be the difference in the match, Gregory and Clay firing a 65-61 for a two-day total of 126 and Haskins and Young a 62-67-129.
A total of 56 teams took part in the tournament, the largest field in several years, and competitive golf was the rule, rather than the exception in all five flights.
Finishing third in the Championship Flight with a two-day total of 65-66-131 were Bill Burton and David Graham, just five shots off the pace.
Bob Hoppe and Brad Hoppe finished atop the First Flight with a 67-66-133, one stroke ahead of David Day and Sammy Puryear (67-67-134). Finishing third in the First Flight were Tommy Spencer and Grady Spencer, who shot a two-day total of 68-68-136.
Tom Wade and Bobby Murray shot a 71-70-141 to win the Second Flight, five strokes ahead of Butch Cumbey and Stuart Guthrie (72-74-146) and Butch Dawson and Chris Prevett (72-74-146).
Cumbey and Guthrie were awarded second after a match of cards, with Dawson and Prevett finishing third.
Only two strokes separated the top three teams in the Third Flight, Ken Dockrill and Ronnie Pate winning the flight with a 74-75-149, and Phillip Saunders and Woody Long finishing second with a 73-77-150.
Saunders and Long were awarded second after a match of cards with Jeff Hardy and Kenneth Hardy (73-77-150).
Bob Bates and Justin Crews emerged the winners in the Fourth Flight, carding a 78-78-156 over two days for a three stroke win over Troy Strickland and Mark Smith (77-82-158).
Alan Gravitt and Mike Lindley carded a two-day total of 77-83-160 for third-place in the Fourth Flight.
Green’s Folly Golf Course Member-Member Golf Tournament Scores
Championship Flight
Jimmy Clay-Mike Gregory 65-61-126
Kevin Haskins-Chris Young 62-67-129
Bill Burton-David Graham 65-66-131
Bill Carter-Robert Fallen 63-69-132
Dave Ashwell-Scott Martin 63-71-134
Peter McCready-Jimmy Crews 64-70-134
Carroll Moore/Ronnie Moore 65-69-134
Billy Payne-Larry Guill 66-69-135
First Flight
Bob Hoppe-Brad Hoppe 67-66-133
David Day-Sammy Puryear 67-67-134
Tommy Spencer-Grady Spencer 68-68-136
Freddie Jones-Chris Melvin 67-70-137
Paul Glass-T.J. Stevens 68-70-138
Ricky Buchanan-Rodney Watts 67-72-139
Billy Ford-Walter Robertson 69-70-139
Donald Gravitt-Kyle Gravitt 67-74-141
Joel Hughes-Warren Pulliam 70-73-143
W.D. Holland-Scott Vaughan 70-75-145
Evans-Allen 70-75-145
Buck Weatherford-Dan Thompson 70-77-147
Bob McNamee-Curt Adams 70-81-151
Second Flight
Tom Wade-Bobby Murray 71-70-141
Butch Cumbey-Stuart Guthrie 72-74-146
Butch Dawson-Chris Prevett 72-74-146
Ray Harman-Richie Wentz 71-76-147
Mikey Bomar-Richard Harrell 71-77-148
Lee Womack-Monty Moore 72-76-148
Jim Conner-Teto Guill 71-78-149
Donnie Lloyd-Russell Puckett 71-79-150
Billy Henderson-Irving Carter 72-79-151
Rodney Burchette-Dan Shaw 72-80-152
Casey Spencer-Justin Sheppard 72-82-154
Craig Spencer-Dickie Crowder 72-86-158
Third Flight
Ken Dockrill-Ronnie Pate 74-75-149
Phillip Saunders-Woody Long 73-77-150
Jeff Hardy-Kenneth Hardy 73-77-150
Joe Watts-Gene Wheeler 75-75-150
Wayne Bailes-Ray Hunter 73-78-151
Sam Moser-Gene Perkins 73-80-153
Billy Hanks-Lewis Chappell 74-80-154
Mike Daniel-Preston Crowder 74-81-155
Owen Vernon-Carroll Solomon 74-84-158
Jim Shotwell-Mike Allen 75-85-160
Fourth Flight
Bob Bates-Justin Crews 78-78-156
Troy Strickland-Mark Smith 77-82-159
Alan Gravitt-Mike Lindley 77-83-160
Donnie Hughes-Mike Dunn 77-86-163
Donald Womack-Joey Womack 79-90-169
Jackie Trent-Jacob Trent 83-88-171
Robert Cheek-Eric Waller 87-84-171
Donnie Ellington-Jeff Oakes 82-90-172
Bruce Terrell-Randolph Bordelon 83-98-181

 

 

Tickets Now On Sale For Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals At VIR
Tickets are now on sale for the 2006 edition of the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals, featuring the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, scheduled for the weekend of August 18-20 at VIRginia International Raceway.
The event will be promoted this year by M1 Entertainment, a new company formed by Cameron Gray, who was previously vice-president of Race Promotion Management, which promoted the race last year. M1 has contracted with www.gettix.net to handle all pre-event ticket sales, which will make things easier both for the promoter and the fans.
As always, the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals will offer a variety of ticket packages. Standard three-day general-admission tickets with paddock access will be available ($65 advance/$75 at gate), as will one-day tickets for Friday ($10/$20), Saturday ($45/$55) and Sunday ($45/$55).
General car parking will be available for $5, and infield car parking is priced at $10. Motorcycle parking will be free. Those who wish to camp can purchase a weekend camping pass for $50 per vehicle (all persons in a campsite must have an admission ticket), and a parade lap of the track can be obtained for $10.
Pit Walk Passes, which allow cold pit access, will be available for $20 in advance or $25 at the gate. There are only 1000 of these passes available, and access is good for all practice and qualifying sessions throughout the weekend. Fans are reminded that closed-toe shoes are required in the cold pit area.
The Big Kahuna Super Ticket is sure to be popular with fans, and includes three-day admission, paddock access, a Pit Walk Pass, a Parade Lap, a car parking pass and an official 2005 Big Kahuna T-Shirt. This offering is limited to 2000, and is available for $99 (sold in advance only).
There are two levels of Hospitality Passes available. The Big Dog Hospitality Pass includes three-day admission, Paddock Access, a car parking pass, an official event program and hospitality access to the banquet hall and balcony located above The Pagoda Grille in the main paddock on Saturday and Sunday.
Only 400 Big Dog Hospitality Passes will be available, and are priced at $110 (sold in advance only). For children 5-12 years of age, the Little Dog Hospitality Pass is available for $40 (sold in advance only).
Perhaps the most remarkable bargain for fans is the Trackside VIP Suite ticket, priced at $245 (sold in advance only). This ticket includes three-day admission, paddock access, a Pit Walk Pass, car parking pass, official event program and access to one of VIR’s brand-new pitside suites overlooking the pit lane.
Each climate-controlled suite can accommodate 20 people, and features closed-circuit coverage on a flat-panel plasma TV, private bathroom and catered continental breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack with drinks (cash bar service also available). There are only 40 Trackside VIP Suite tickets available, and they are expected to sell out quickly, so interested fans are advised to act quickly to reserve theirs.
All current military personnel will receive a 30-percent discount and free parking with a copy of a current military ID (advance) or by presenting their ID card at the gate. Similarly, college students will be eligible for a 15-percent discount with a copy of a current college ID (advance) or by presenting their ID card at the gate.
Groups of 20 or more will also be eligible for a 15-percent discount, providing the order is paid for with one credit card. Discounts do not apply to Trackside VIP Suite and Big Kahuna Super Tickets, or to Big Dog Hospitality Passes or Pit Walk Passes.
Children aged 12 and under will receive free admission, provided they are accompanied by a paid adult, but must have a Little Dog Hospitality Pass to enter the Big Dog Hospitality area.
Advance ticket sales will end at 5:00 pm on August 14. Tickets ordered too late to mail will be able to be picked up at Will Call at the track.
M1 Entertainment president Cameron Gray promises that fans will once again get well more than their money’s worth at the 2006 Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals.
“We are totally psyched about this year’s Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals,” he enthused.
“We raised the bar last year, providing fans with a weekend full of on- and off-track excitement, and we are going to put it completely out of reach this year! We have a mind-blowing collection of promotions, exhibitions, displays and vendors lined up that we will be revealing in the weeks to come, and we guarantee that the fans will go home happy, excited and exhausted. The 2006 Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals will be the can’t-miss Superbike event of the year. We have an awesome facility at VIR, the best motorcycle racing in America from the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited and the greatest, most knowledgeable fans in any form of the sport. That adds up to a knock-down, drag-out, weekend-long motorcycle party, and anyone who misses it is going to be sorry!”
To purchase tickets, visit www.m1event.com or www.gettix.net.

Comets Boys Tennis Team Takes Third In Heritage Invitational
Moore Wins Singles Finals For Halifax
Chris Moore took home a win in the singles finals, and Michael Boyd, Justus Eisenbeiss and Patrick Barnes all won in singles consolation finals Monday to give the Comets boys tennis team a third-place finish in the Heritage Invitational.
Virginia Episcopal School (VES) took first with 22 points, followed by Heritage with 15, Halifax with 12 and GW with five points.
Richard Evans got a win for the Comets in first round singles before falling in the finals, Michael DeJarnette lost in the singles consolation finals, and two Comets doubles teams, DeJarnette/Eisenbeiss and Barnes/Moore reached the doubles finals before falling.
The Comets doubles team featuring Boyd and Evans lost in the doubles consolation finals.
The tournament featured one of its more competitive fields, and Halifax did well to finish third, according to Comets coach David Riddle.
“This was probably the most balanced that I have ever seen this tournament since we have been playing in it,” said Riddle.
“All of the teams had a solid shot at getting a good number of points going into the final round of play. It’s always a lot of fun when you have solid competition.”
Riddle noted the play of Moore as probably being the most sound of any of his team during the tourney.
“Chris was really sound throughout the tourney, having a great match in the singles finals and also coming close to pulling out his doubles championship match with Barnes at the number three spot,” said Riddle.
“They were just a few points away from winning there.”
Also playing well was Evans, according to Riddle.
“I was pleased to see Richard rebound from his loss Friday against GW and come back with a win against the same opponent,” noted Riddle. “He also came close to pulling out a championship win.”
Overall, it was a total team effort to give the Comets their third-place finish, he added.
“The team effort was great, we scored points at seven of the nine spots, especially impressive considering the competition,” said Riddle.
“We would have liked to improve upon our second-place finish from last year, but coming out of this tourney in third-place and being that close to second is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Heritage Invitational Tournament
VES 22, Heritage 15, Halifax 12, GW 5
First Round Singles
Richard Evans (H) defeated Ben Hodges (GW) 10-7
Singles Finals
4. Richard Evans (H) lost to Matthew Slater (VES) 10-7
6. Chris Moore (H) defeated Robert Hudson (Heritage) 10-4
Singles Consolation Finals
1. Michael DeJarnette (H) lost to Brad Harris (GW) 10-2
2. Michael Boyd (H) defeated Matt MacFarland (Heritage) 8-4
3. Justus Eisenbeiss (H) defeated Will Sanford (GW) 11-9
5. Patrick Barnes (H) defeated Terrance Farmer (GW) 10-6
Doubles Finals
2. DeJarnette/Eisenbeiss (H) lost to Dunn Hunter/Andrew Beverly 10-1
3. Barnes/Moore (H) lost to Jason Ohmart/Chris Wilmouth 11-10 (7-5)
Doubles Consolation Finals
1. Boyd/Evans (H) lost to Brandon Brown/MacFarland (Heritage) 10-1