IDA Grilled About G-P Bid

Three local contractors who collectively bid on the demolition project of the former Georgia-Pacific plant had some questions for the Halifax County IDA Board during its meeting Friday.
Mac McDannald, Jack Dunavant and Cabel Carrington, who put together a bid package for the job, asked the Board why they weren’t interviewed regarding the project.
Although the three contractors were not the low bidder for the project, McDannald, serving as spokesman, said they were disappointed they had not received an interview.
IDA Executive Director Mike Eades answered, saying that interviews could be conducted, but they were not mandatory. He added that all bids were followed up, but none of the bidders were interviewed.
McDannald said that most of the materials that had been used to construct the plant could be recycled in one form or another rather than just filling up a landfill. They also stressed that they were local and would provide jobs for local workers if selected for the job.
Board member Bill Kelehar said that the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that is providing most of the funding for the project stipulated that the job must go to the lowest bidder. D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. of Greensboro, N.C., submitted the low bid of $983,580, about $250,000 lower than the one submitted by McDannald, Dunavant and Carrington.
Dunavant addressed the Board regarding the uniqueness of the Georgia-Pacific buildings that would be demolished. He talked about beams that were constructed of California or west coast fir used in the buildings. He said each beam is 100-feet in length, 5-feet in height and 12-inches thick.
Kelehar said the committee that reviewed the bids was told that the beams were laminated and were not salvageable.
Dunavant said those beams could be removed from the buildings, sanded, varnished and used in some other capacity in South Boston or Halifax County. He said preserving them would be, “saving our industrial heritage.” Dunavant said Griffin indicated it was not interested in preserving the beams and was planning to grind them up.
Eades replied that the IDA Board can only recommend the contractor for the job and it must be approved by the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.
IDA Board member Carlyle Ramsey said the Board should explore the point brought up by Dunavant and determine if the beams could be salvaged.
Board member Marcus Hargrave agreed and suggested that the Board should see if the materials could be salvaged and donated back to the IDA.
Kelehar said there is room to negotiate the contract with Griffin because the project was bid in steps.
Eades said the Board has more flexibility in deciding upon a contractor when it is spending its own money, but this project is funded mainly by federal money.
The Board agreed that it would explore the possibility of preserving the materials from the demolition of the Georgia-Pacific buildings.

IDA To Buy Additional Land Near Riverstone

During its meeting Friday, the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority Board approved the purchase of two parcels of land adjoining the Riverstone Technology Park property.
IDA Executive Director Mike Eades told the Board that when Riverstone was built, a right of way on Sandy Beach Rd. was abandoned. He said the IDA would be required by VDOT to purchase that abandoned right of way.
Overlooked in earlier research of the property, a small parcel consisting of .05 acres was found to be within the Riverstone property between U.S. 58 and Sandy Beach Road, according to Eades
Eades told the Board the parcel belongs to Frances Dixon Leete of Charlotte, N.C. Eades said she had indicated that she would be willing to sell the parcel along with another 2.16 acres just to the west of the current Riverstone property for $10,000 plus legal fees.
Eades said the estimated total would be approximately $12,500. Board member John Bosiger made the motion to purchase the two parcels of property; the Board approved the purchase unanimously.
In other IDA business the Board recognized former member and chairman Larry McPeters, presenting him with a framed resolution of appreciation and a plaque.
Eades reported to the Board that the expansion project at ABB is on time and on budget.
Regarding the demolition and disposal project at the former Georgia-Pacific plant, Eades said the IDA received seven bids for the project. He told the Board that the selection of a contractor was based on five criteria: Work Plan 10 percent, Project Management 10 percent, Cost 50 percent, Experience and References 20 percent and Project Team 10 percent.
Eades said the bids were solicited in steps and the Board could approve the demolition and removal of everything or approve portions of the total job.
The total low bid of $983,580 was submitted by D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. Inc. of Greensboro. Eades told the Board that Griffin had worked with the clean-up after the 9-11 tragedy.
Marcus Hargrave made the motion to recommend the approval of Griffin as contractor for the job to the Board of Supervisors. Bill Kelehar provided the second, and the Board approved the motion unanimously.
The Board also approved a four-percent commission on the sale of all IDA-owned property, as recommended by IDA staff. And the Board decided to hold in abeyance, or set aside the motion regarding the move of the IDA office to Riverstone. The Board had previously approved the move, but that was negated.
Hargrave commended the IDA staff on a good fiscal year, and he recommended that the Board hold its future meetings on Friday mornings instead of Thursday.
The Board approved the change in meeting days.
Following adjournment of the regular meeting several members of the IDA Board toured the construction site of the ABB expansion project.

Area Unemployment Rate Jumps In June

The jobless rate in Halifax County jumped nine-tenths of a point to 6.7 percent in June. That represents 1,081 workers unemployed in the county out of a total work force of 16,124, according to Virginia Employment Commission figures.
The June unemployment rate statewide rose four-tenths of a point to 3.2 percent, according to William F. Mezger, chief economist for the VEC.
The increase in the state jobless rate from May’s 2.8 percent was due in part to students and new graduates flooding the summer labor market with close of schools, Mezger said.
The 3.2 percent June rate was the highest jobless level in four months, since February 2007, when unemployment in Virginia was also 3.2 percent, Mezger added.
Danville’s June unemployment rate of 7.2 percent is unchanged from May’s rate, but it still represents the second highest jobless rate in the state. Martinsville’s 8.4 percent was the highest statewide.
Pittsylvania County’s rate rose to 5.9 percent in June, Mecklenburg County’s rate increased to 5.2 percent and Charlotte County’s rate rose to 5.2 percent.

Obituaries

John Robert Mitchell
John Robert Mitchell of Hopewell, formerly of Halifax County, died Saturday, July 28.
Mr. Mitchell was retired from the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Civil Service.
He is survived by his wife, Iris Mitchell; two daughters, Lisa Goldmann and husband Dr. Peter Goldmann and Kimberly Mitchell-Newman and husband, George Newman; and two grandchildren, Mathew and Rachel Newman.
Mr. Mitchell is also survived by five sisters, Margaret Epps and Janice Mitchell of Vernon Hill, Christine Fallen, Mary Harris and Diana Conner, all of Nathalie, Carolyn Midkiff of Halifax and by one brother, Leonard Mitchell of Nathalie.
A graveside service for Mr. Mitchell will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Providence Presbyterian Church with Rev. Jeff Jones officiating.
The family will receive friends tonight from 7 until 8 at Powell Funeral Home.

Davis Earns All-State Honors

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
Comets shortstop Lashunda Davis continued her collection of post season honors Saturday with her selection to the All-Group AAA Softball Second Team.
Davis, a rising senior, had earlier been selected to the First Team, All-Western Valley District, and First Team, All-Northwest Region, sharing Northwest Region MVP honors with Lori Botkin of regional champion Osbourn.
Davis was one of the key players for the Comets this past season, helping lead Halifax County to a 19-5 record and a final eight appearance in the Group AAA Softball state playoffs.
A starter for the varsity softball team since her freshman year, Davis brings speed, power and defense to her shortstop position.
Davis said she was both surprised and honored with her selection to the All-Group AAA Second Team.
“It really surprised me. It was unexpected but I’m happy and honored,” said Davis.
“I try to play my best each time I go out there and I guess it paid off this season.”
Halifax County reached the state tournament for the first time in 17 years this past season, and Davis thinks the exposure the team received along the way helped in her selection.
“I think we had a great team and a great season, and it was a total team effort that got us to the state tournament,” said Davis.

Junior Boys Take State Title

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The Halifax County Dixie Junior Boys all-stars scored four runs in their first at-bat and never looked back in defeating Madison Heights 10-5 to win the Virginia Dixie Junior Boys championship Friday in Christiansburg.
Halifax, which edged Buckingham 3-2 on Thursday to reach the title game, travels to Muscle Shoals, Alabama this Saturday for the Junior Dixie Boys Baseball World Series.
Halifax added two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth to offset a single Madison Heights run in the first and two each in the fourth and fifth innings.
The win was payback of sorts for Halifax, which fell 7-6 to Madison Heights earlier in the week, its only loss of the tournament.
Halifax Co. 10 Madison Heights 5 (Championship)
Halifax jumped on Madison Heights pitching for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the first to give Halifax a lead it would not relinquish.
Trailing 1-0 after Madison Heights tallied a run in the top of the first, Dylan Sons led off with a double and L.J. Barnett hit a RBI triple. Tyler Long singled home Barnett and stole second, before William Worley hit a RBI single.
Worley advanced to second and then stole third, before Dustin Davis hit a RBI groundout for the fourth run of the inning.
Halifax got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the second with two Sons strikeouts, but Madison Heights pulled to within 4-3 in the top of the fourth with the help of two walks and an error.
Sons got two strikeouts to end the rally, and Halifax added two runs in the bottom of the fourth on walks to Will Nichols and Cody Palmer, a double by Sons, and a RBI single by Barnett to make it 6-3.
A walk and two-run homer pulled Madison Heights to within a run again at 6-5 in the top of the fifth, but Long, on the mound for Halifax, got a strikeout with runners at second and third to end that rally.
Halifax plated three runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth to end the scoring, the fifth-inning runs coming on a Ryan Puryear single, walk to Davis, RBI triple by Dillon Wazeka and RBI single by Sons.
Barnett singled, stole second and scored on Puryear’s triple in the sixth for the final run of the game.
Halifax pitching gave up five runs on only two hits in the championship game, with Sons starting and hurling the first four innings, before Long came on to finish the game.
Sons struck out nine and walked four in four innings, while Long struck out five batters and walked three in three innings.
Halifax Co. 3 Buckingham 2
Long walked, stole second, advancing to third on an error on the same play, and scored on Worley’s RBI groundout in the sixth inning for the game-winning run, as Halifax edged Buckingham 3-2.
Halifax had taken a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a Long triple, Worley RBI double and Davis RBI groundout, and Buckingham tied the score in the fifth on a base hit, double and single.
Will Nichols led Halifax County with three base hits for the game, one each in the third, fifth and seventh innings, while Sons had a double and single, the double coming in the third and the single in the fifth.
Long had a triple and Worley a double for Halifax, which got a combined three-hitter from Puryear and Long.
Puryear allowed no hits and only one base runner (walk) through four innings, before finishing with a three-hitter.
He struck out 11 batters, including one-two-three innings in the first, second and third frames, and finished with 12 strikeouts and three walks.
Long allowed no hits in two innings of relief, while striking out four and walking two batters.

HCS Runner-Up In State AAA Tournament

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
The Halifax County South (HCS) all-stars lost to Salem 7-1 Friday and finished in a tie for the runner-up spot in the Dixie Baseball State AAA Tournament at Salem.
Besides the runner-up trophy, HCS also came away with the coveted Sportsmanship Trophy for the state tournament.
Three teams, including HCS, Salem and Buckingham, had one loss after Thursday, with Buckingham drawing a bye to Saturday’s championship game.
Buckingham won the Dixie Baseball State AAA title with a 11-6 win over Salem on Saturday.
Salem 7 HCS 1
Salem scored four runs on a walk and five hits in the first inning, and went on to a 7-1 win over HCS, denying HCS a chance at the state title.
HCS finished with five hits for the game, Tristan Howerton and Drew Link with doubles, and Dion Lassiter, Ethan Woltz and Zack Holt with singles.
HCS scored on back-to-back doubles by Howerton and Link in the fifth inning, but stranded a total of 10 base runners for the game.
Howerton and Link walked and Lassiter singled in the first, and Ben Major and Noah Seate walked in the second.
Holt singled and Howerton walked in the third, and Eddie Chaney walked and Woltz singled in the fourth inning, but HCS could not get the key hit to score.
Major reached on an error in the sixth, but did not score.
Salem added a single run in the second on a base hit and HCS error, and two more in the fourth on three base hits and a walk, before HCS plated its run in the fifth inning for the final score.
Luke McCann started the game for HCS on the mound and hurled the first inning, before Lassiter came on to pitch the final five frames.
Lassiter recorded two strikeouts, while McCann recorded one strikeout.