Monday, June 19, 2006

 

Man Killed On U.S. 501
A 62-year-old Raleigh man was pronounced dead at the scene following an early-morning accident on Route 501 Friday, according to Virginia State Trooper D.T. Spencer.
The accident occurred at 6:40 a.m. approximately two-tenths of a mile north of the intersection of Route 628, Spencer said.
The trooper said William Wilson High was traveling north on 501 in his 2003 GMC Sonoma pickup when he veered into the pathway of a 1996 Freightliner truck owned by Fallen Trucking and operated by 33-year-old Erica Lynette McNear of Nathalie.
The GMC struck the Freightliner head-on, according to police.
“McNear was traveling south on the highway and as she crested a hill the pickup was in her lane,” Spencer said.
A third vehicle, a 1996 Honda Passport operated by Casey Brandon Owen, 23, of Nathalie, was traveling behind the Freightliner and struck debris from the GMC, the trooper added.
High was pronounced dead at the scene by the Halifax County Medical Examiner, according to police.
No charges have been filed and the accident is still under investigation, according to police.

 

Burton Named VAB’s Distinguished Virginian
Halifax County conservationist and Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton was named the recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Virginian Award Friday night by the Virginia Association of Broadcasters.
The leading association for broadcast media in the state, the VAB gives the award annually to a Virginian or group of Virginians who have contributed significantly to the well-being of the state over the past year.
Burton said yesterday that while he doesn’t seek recognition, it is an honor to be tapped for the award.
“It meant a lot to me,” he said. “We can all try to make a difference but we can’t do it alone. I was a little lucky starting out with the publicity racing created, and I have been able to use that to help not only racing but other passions like conservation.”
In announcing this year’s winner, the VAB cited Burton’s work in conserving Virginia’s open spaces as well as his advocacy for environmental issues in the state.
While accepting the award the five-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion said everyone needs to be proactive in working to save the state’s most valuable resource – the land.
“I have been very fortunate in my life to have had some success on the racetrack,” Burton said. “This has afforded me the ability to promote issues I believe in. The rural culture is dying and unless we take some action to protect it, we may lose the fight to preserve the land for future generations.”
Burton said he didn’t become involved in conservation issues to receive awards or recognition.
“I did not do these things for awards or recognition and do not believe I am deserving of this award tonight but am very thankful nonetheless. I did these things because I care about our future, our land and our environment. This is a lifetime commitment for me,” he said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is our inherited responsibility to take care of our natural resources, the outdoors, and the history that it represents. The outdoors is like a child that must be cared for and nurtured,” Burton added. “Like a child, we need to care for it and not abandon it-we need to give the outdoors a voice. We need to honor our forefathers and carry on their stories. We need to instill passion and love for the outdoors for the children in our local communities and the state.
“It is this belief that drove my passion to commit my time and energy to conservation and conservation education.”
Burton is the national spokesman for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National 4-H Shooting Sports organization, the National Park Service, Beretta Corporation, the American Association of Foresters and is on USDA Radio across the country where he promotes the U.S. Department of the Interior’s programs for the USDA Secretary.
He also serves as a Board member for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and is regularly featured on the Nature Conservancy website.
He founded the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation a decade ago to promote education about the state’s natural resources.
“I would say that Ward is just as well-known for his conservation advocacy as he is for his racing career,” Dr. Carole Inge, director of the NASA-Virginia Tech STEM program said. “Halifax County is lucky to have a conservation advocate of his stature.”
Burton was recently on cable television’s SPEED Channel, which he purposely filmed at the South Boston Speedway to promote the local community and economic development efforts in Southside.

 

House, Senate Reach Agreement On Budget
From Staff And Wire Reports

State legislators reached a tentative agreement Friday on a new state budget, ending an unprecedented stalemate just two weeks ahead of what would have been a fiscal and constitutional crisis.
The compromise, 96 days late, sets up a frantic scramble to push the $72 billion, two-year spending plan through the full House and Senate, gubernatorial review and legislative reconsideration of vetoes and amendments by June 30.
“We are glad to finally have an agreement,” Halifax County Del. Clarke Hogan said yesterday. “I think we are hopeful that as unfortunate as this impasse has been, it has settled the notion that one particular point of view can be advanced by holding up the budget. I think most people would recognize that as a disservice to the state no matter what they think about transportation or any other issue.”
Did the impasse affect the state’s financial image?
It is “more harmful if we are not going to follow our own constitutional process, which is what the Governor and Sen. Chichester advocated,” the delegate said.
“The position that the House supported and I subscribe to is that we have a process that says if you don’t get an issue advanced, you don’t hold the budget, you come back next year.
“This impasse shows an inappropriate way to go about advancing public policy. “
The delegate said that such a policy could cause chaos within the state.
“I support legislative policy that has worked well for hundreds of years. The end of this impasse without this tax increase included in the budget is actually a win for the Commonwealth and improves its image (as one) where the will of law prevails.
After weeks of dickering and bickering, false starts and abrupt halts, the deal fell into place after rival House and Senate negotiators agreed to continue new transportation funding later this year.
The agreement no longer has approval of new, permanent taxes, fees or both for road, rail and transit projects as a condition for the allocation of $339 million in general funds for transportation projects next year.
The proposal now goes before the full Senate for approval on Monday and before the House on Tuesday. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will have up to seven days to amend or veto line items in the budget.
Looking haggard but relieved, the six House members and five Senators announced their agreement at 6:45 p.m.
‘‘We’re tired but happy,’’ Sen. John H. Chichester said.
‘‘Once it’s all put together and everyone reflects on it, it’s a very fine document, one of the best I think we’ve seen for a long time,’’ said Chichester, R-Stafford.
House Appropriations chairman Vincent F. Callahan Jr. said relations between the House and Senate after their protracted five-month debate were ‘‘cordial.’’
‘‘We respect each other. We fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but we do that internally also,’’ said Callahan, R-Fairax.
The accord ended a clash over efforts by the Senate and Kaine to boost transportation taxes by about $1 billion annually and the unbending resolve against any new taxes by the House’s majority Republicans.
‘‘This is what this was all about, who are we kidding,’’ said Del. M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights. ‘‘I think this forever discredits the practice of trying to put tax increases in the budget.’’
House GOP leaders insisted that imbedding taxes into an appropriations bill is unconstitutional. Tax bills have to be separate measures, they argued.
Transportation was the marquee legislative issue of 2006. Kaine successfully campaigned on it in the governor’s race last year and held two dozen town hall-style forums across the state to whip up support for it.
Kaine was relieved to see a budget in place, but is not conceding the unlikely possibility of increased fees or taxes for transportation when lawmakers take up the issue, said press secretary Kevin Hall.
‘‘No one is claiming the discussion is over,’’ Hall said. ‘‘House leaders have said in recent weeks they wanted to take care of the two-year budget and return to transportation and we take them at their word.’’
Other key agreements in the new budget include:
— Fully repealing the estate tax — a posthumous levy on the estates of millionaires — at a cost of $35 million over the next two years, but at an estimated annual revenue reduction approaching $130 million after that.
— Pay increases of 4 percent over the coming year for all state employees, state-supported local employees and public school teachers; the following year, state workers and state-subsidized local workers would get 3 percent raises with 1.5 percent boosts reserved for teachers.
— $25 million over two years to help preserve the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, targeted for closure by the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission, as a military base.
— $200 million for Chesapeake Bay cleanup; $17 million to clean up Virginia rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; $55 million for the Water Quality Improvement Fund.
This year’s impasse marks the third time in five years that the General Assembly, which once prided itself on budgetary punctuality, has failed to finish work on a budget during their regular winter session.
Callahan said this year’s delay, the longest ever, does not set a precedent for 11th-hour budgeting and fiscal brinksmanship.
‘‘I think this was an aberration, very frankly,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s something out of the normal that I don’t think we’ll be seeing in the next couple of years.’’

Big Island ‘Walks’ To A Sweep
South Boston Post 8 Pitchers Gave Up A Total Of 25 Walks In 18-6, 9-6 Losses To Big Island Post 217
A day that started well for the South Boston American Legion Post 8 baseball team ended up being a nightmare.
South Boston hurlers allowed a total of 25 walks in Saturday’s doubleheader here against Big Island Post 217 and Big Island turned the freebies into 18-6 and 9-6 wins.
Saturday’s pair of losses dropped the Post 8 record to 1-2 overall.
In Saturday’s opener, Post 8 trailed 6-4 at the end of the first five innings but didn’t appear to be out of the game by any means.
Big Island opened the game with two runs in the first inning but Post 8 rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the inning when Blake Waller singled and Scott Gieselman walked, both with one out. Waller scored when Justin Bagbey reached base on an error and Gieselman scored when Eric Brandon was erased when he hit into a fielder’s choice.
Post 8 took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Ryan Gieselman reached base on an error and scored on a single by Waller. A solo homer by Bagbey in the bottom of the third inning put Post 8 up 4-2.
Big Island regained the lead with four runs in the top of the fifth inning, three of which came on a three-run homer by C. Tomlinson to make the score 6-4. Post 8 saw an opportunity to tighten up the game go by the wayside when it left the bases loaded without scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Then everything fell apart for Post 8.
Big Island, with the help of six walks from Post 8 pitchers, muscled up seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 13-4.
South Boston tried to get something going in the bottom of the sixth inning and plated two runs with a two-RBI single from Eric Brandon to make the score 13-6.
Big Island, with the help of two walks and a pair of Post 8 errors, added five more runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 18-6.
South Boston had another scoring opportunity go by the wayside in the bottom of the seventh as it stranded a pair of runners on the sacks without scoring, leaving the final score to stand 18-6.
It was a tough game for South Boston as it’s hurlers walked 10 batters and yielded 14 hits in the contest. In addition, Post 8 stranded seven runners on the sacks through the final three innings.
Offensively, Post 8 had seven hits in the game with Brandon leading the way with two hits and two RBIs and Bagbey and Waller each chipping in two hits and one RBI. Dale Trent had the other hit for Post 8.
Big Island 9 Post 8 6
The misery of the unusually high number of walks continued to plague Post 8 in the nightcap.
Post 8 out hit Big Island 5-3 in the game, however 15 walks given up by Post 8 pitchers gave Big Island more than enough opportunities to make up for it and they did just that in downing Post 8 by a 9-6 score.
South Boston’s offense was led by Waller’s two hits. Brandon, Ryan Gieselman and Kaleb Long each had one hit.
Big Island opened the game with a five-run first inning with four of the runs coming on a grand slam homer by B. Brown.
Post 8 trimmed its deficit to four runs in the bottom of the first inning when Waller walked and scored when Bagbey reached base on an error with two out to make it a 5-1 score.
Three walks and a passed ball allowed Big Island to add another run in the top of the second inning and make it a 6-1 score.
Post 8 scored twice in the bottom of the third inning to trim its deficit to three runs at 6-3. Waller and Brandon put together back-to-back hits. Waller later scored on a passed ball, a play that allowed Brandon to go to third base. Brandon scored when Jacob Swillie hit into a fielder’s choice to make the 6-3 count.
Two hits and a Post 8 error allowed Big Island to add two more runs in the fifth inning and up its lead to 8-3.
Post 8 countered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 8-5. Waller started the rally with a hit with one out, stole second base and scored when Brandon reached base on an error. Brandon scored when Swillie reached base on an error to bring Post 8 back to within three runs.
Big Island added its final run in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 9-5. Post 8 added its final run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Swillie reached base on an error and scored on an error.

 

Herring Scores Third Win At SBS
Drew Herring Survived An Early Battle With Jonathan Cash And Drove To Victory In Saturday’s 150-Lap LMSC Race
The way Drew Herring saw it, it was only appropriate that he won Saturday’s Dad’s Night Out 150-lap NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car race at South Boston Speedway.
“I told my father after the race it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t win on Father’s Day weekend, being that I won on Mother’s Day weekend,” Herring said after recording his third win of the season here.
“I’ve got to thank my dad. If it weren’t for him, none of this would be possible.”
Herring scored a convincing win, driving away from the field over the course of an 85-lap green-flag run to score a 4.986-second win over Jon Denning of Springfield, N.J.
Veteran Eddie Johnson of Midlothian finished third, 1.77 seconds behind Denning with Jonathan cash of Oxford, N.C. and Owen Miller of Emporia, driving the car owned by Dolly Fallen of South Boston, rounding out the top five finishers. Only the top five finishers were on the lead lap at the end of the race.
Jason Dickerson of Ruckersville, Nick Smith of Hampton, Justin Johnson of Roxboro, N.C., Rodney Cook of Reidsville, N.C. and David Quackenbush of Lorton rounded out the top ten finishers. All were a lap down.
Herring noted that his car was very good over the last long run, but that it had been better in his two previous wins here.
“It was fast, but it wasn’t great,” Herring said of his Chevrolet which led the final 93 laps of the race.
“Our car was better when we won those other two races (here at SBS) than it was tonight. It always makes you feel good to know that you can win with something that’s a little off and you can make it faster.”
While Denning proved to be no match for Herring in the late stages of the race, his second-place finish still was good enough for him to regain the lead in the South Boston Speedway NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division points standings.
Denning’s second-place finish coupled with a fifth-place finish by Miller, the points leader entering the race, gives Denning a two-point lead over Miller in the points chase.
“It feels real good (to regain the points lead) but it can be taken away very easily,” Denning pointed out.
“ We’ve just got to keep on digging.”
One driver who was digging and digging hard in the race was Cash, who, with Herring, brought fans to their feet with a sterling display of short-track racing.
Cash caught up with Herring shortly after the restart following the race’s third and final caution period and pulled alongside on the bottom of the racetrack. For 15 laps, from laps 44-59, the pair circled the four-tenths of a mile oval side-by-side in a dazzling display of racing and sportsmanship.
The battle would have continued longer had Jonathan Bailey of Keysville not spun in turn two on the 59th lap. Herring was awarded the lead for the restart on lap 64 and, once he jumped out in front there was no catching him again.
“It was a blast,” Herring said of his battle with Cash.
“When the caution flag came out, I hated it. I was grinning from ear to ear when we were racing like that, throwing the thumbs-up sign to him. I know the fans enjoyed that side-by-side racing. That’s what it’s all about, running side-by-side and racing clean like that.”
Cash, too enjoyed the battle.
“I hated that the caution came out,” Cash said.
“I think Drew would have gotten me eventually, but it was fun for the fans for a little while. I felt like I led a few laps when we were up there side-by-side. I just didn’t lead that one when the caution came out.”
Cash said once the race got going again, his car went away.
“My car got really, really bad,” Cash said noting that he found it impossible to hold his ground until the end of the race.
“A lot of that was contributed to me racing him (Drew) so early. You take a chance to get up under somebody like that, especially Drew. You’ve got to go when you get the chance.”
Denning took second place from Cash on lap 126 and Johnson dropped Cash to fourth place with 18 laps left in the race. He said he had nothing for Herring at the end.
“At one point, I thought I had something for Drew, but as the race went on and we ran longer green flag laps he just kept pulling away,” Herring pointed out.
For Johnson, the third-place finish was the first time he had finished in the top three since the first race of the season. He had finished fourth in the previous race here.
“We got on the board the first race of the year now we’ve found our way back to it,” Johnson said.
“ This was a little stronger run than the first race of the year. We’ve been working real hard. It’s a joy to be able to get up there and be competitive with these guys.”
Herring averaged 75.954 mph in the race that saw the lead swap hands four times among two drivers.

Four County Youths Qualify For National Shooting Competition
Ryan Tribble, Christopher Wilmouth, Carol Nichols, Paul MacCarty Hit Big Marks In State SCTP Competitions
 
 Four local shooters have qualified to compete in the upcoming Scholastic Clay Target Program national skeet and sporting clays championships to be held July 14-16 in Rush, N.Y.
The local youths were members of Virginia State 4-H shooting teams that won top honors in the recent SCTP state skeet and sporting clays championships.
Virginia 4-H Shooting Team members Ryan Tribble of Nathalie, Christopher Wilmouth of Halifax and Jacob McPherson of New Kent won their division in the SCTP Virginia Skeet Championships held May 21 at Charles City.
The team won by a nine-point margin over the runner-up Arrowhead Skeet Team composed of Jesse Mullins of Buffalo Junction, Gill Coffee of Kenbridge and Jason Mawyer of Farmville.
In the Senior Novice Division (Grades 9-12) the Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team (Squad D) consisting of Carol Nichols of Halifax, Marty Cogar of Blackstone and Travis Wagner of Powhatan finished as the runner-up to another Virginia State 4-H shooting team.
Earlier, in the SCTP Virginia Sporting Clays Championships held April 30 at Providence Forge, the Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team (Squad A) consistting of Tribble, Trevor Baldwin of Pamplin and Sloan Burns of Midlothian won the Senior Experienced Division (Grades 9-12).
That group edged the Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team (Squad B) consisting of Wilmouth, McPherson and Tyler Scruggs of Spout Spring by a two-point margin.
In the Senior Novice division (Grades 9-12), the Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team (Squad C) consisting of Nichols, Coger and Wagner won first place by an 18-point margin over the Virginia Freeland Shooters Team. The Virginia Highlanders team consisted of Jesse Mullin sof Clarksville, Devin Cody Hall of Brodnax and Timothy Austin Tackett of South Hill.
In the Junior Experienced Division (Grades 6-8) the Timber Ridge Junior Claybusters team consisting of Paul MacCarty of South Boston, Daniel Foster of Drakes Branch and Jacob Lawson of Skipwith won first place.
SCTP was developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and offers young men and women in grades 12 and under the opportunity to compete as a team in trap, skeet and sporting clays.
The program is designed to instill in participants safe firearms handling, commitment, responsibility, leadership and teamwork. Nearly 40 states and 8,000 youths take part in SCTP.
Nationally, SCTP has seen phenomenal growth. Last year, the program attracted a record 1,564 young shooters from around the nation to the SCTP National Trapshooting Championships in Vandalia, Ohio.
Its skeet and sporting clays nationals also continue to gain popularity. Overall participation in the program grew by over 50 percent last year, not to mention an 84 percent increase among female participants.
Virginia State Championship Results
SCTP Virginia Skeet Championships
(Held May 21 at Conservation Park, Charles City)
Senior Experienced (Grades 9-12)
1. Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team - 291. Jacob McPherson, New Kent; Ryan Tribble, Nathalie; and Christopher Wilmouth, Halifax.
2. Arrowhead Skeet Team - 282. Jesse Mullins, Buffalo Junction; Gill Coffee, Kenbridge; and Jason Mawyer, Farmville.
3. Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team - 282. Timothy Berry, Virginia Beach; Elizabeth Anne Daubenschmidt, Virginia Beach; and Tyler Scruggs, Spout Spring.
Senior Novice (Grades 9-12)
1. Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team - 275. Trevor Baldwin, Pamplin; Sloan Burns, Midlothian; and Chris Pherson, Mosely.
2. Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team - 265. Marty Cogar, Blackstone; Carol Nichols, Halifax; and Travis Wagner, Powhatan.
3. VA Top Gunners - 256. Brandon Lee Anderson, Glen Allen; Kyle Humphrey, Mechanicsville; and Dean I. Wardell, Virginia Beach.
Junior Experienced (Grades 6-8)
1. Timber Ridge Junior Claybusters - 283. Daniel Foster, Drakes Branch; Corbin Headley, Lively; and Jacob Lawson, Skipwith.
2. Not awarded.
3. Not awarded.
Junior Novice (Grades 6-8)
1. Old Dominion 4-H Shurshots - 278. Robert Kline, Edinburg; Lawson Philpy, Mechanicsville; and William Watson, Blackstone.
2. VA Top Gunners - 265. William Geoffrey Seemueller, Virginia Beach; Christopher Kobiela, Virginia Beach; and Taylor Kane, Virginia Beach.
3. Not awarded.
SCTP Virginia Sporting Clays Championships
(Held April 30 at Old Forge Sporting Clays, Providence Forge)
Senior Experienced (Grades 9-12)
1. Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team (Squad A) - 245. Trevor Baldwin, Pamplin; Sloan Burns, Midlothian; and Ryan Tribble, Nathalie.
2. Virginia State 4-H Shooting Team (Squad B) - 243. Jacob McPherson, New Kent; Tyler Scruggs, Spout Spring; and Christopher Wilmouth, Halifax.
3. Virginia Freeland Shooters - 203. Victor Fuller, Freeman; Chappell Hawthorne, Kenbridge; and Nolan Thomas Hudson, South Hill.
Senior Novice (Grades 9-12)
1. Virginia State 4H Shooting Team (Squad C) - 211. Marty Cogar, Blackstone; Carol Nichols, Halifax; and Travis Wagner, Powhatan.
2. Virginia Freeland Shooters - 193. Jesse Mullins, Clarksville; Devin Cody Hall, Brodnax; and Timothy Austin Tackett, South Hill.
3. Virginia 4-H Shooting Team (Squad D) - 189. Timothy Berry, Virginia Beach; Chris Pherson, Mosely; and Dean Wardell, Virginia Beach.
Junior Experienced (Grades 6-8)
1. Timber Ridge Junior Claybusters - 218. Daniel Foster, Drakes Branch; Jacob Lawson, Skipwith; and Paul MacCarty, South Boston.
2. Not awarded.
3. Not awarded.
Junior Novice (Grades 6-8)
1. Old Dominion 4-H Shurshots - 224. Robert Kline, Edinburg; Lawson Philpy, Mechanicsville; and William Watson, Blackstone.
2. Top Gunners - 152. Carter Naff, Virginia Beach; Christopher T. Kobiela, Virginia Beach; and Taylor C. Kane, Virginia Beach.
3. Not awarded.