Monday, July 31, 2006

 

d-Scan To End Production

Will Continue To Function As Distribution Center, Move Will Displace Around 80 Workers

Another cornerstone of Halifax County’s industrial base is succumbing to international competition and will cease manufacturing later this year.
d-Scan, Inc., a division of the Masco Corporation and a county manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture, announced to its employees last week that they will cease all manufacturing within the next couple of months.
“We don’t have a precise date yet, but it will be within the next two or three months,” said Sharon Rochelle, Masco’s vice-president of corporate affairs. “We don’t anticipate that any of the employees will be terminated prior to September 28, and it could be later.”
Local plant officials did not return phone calls from reporters earlier last week seeking confirmation of the closure.
“I have not received confirmation from local officials,” said Mike Eades, executive director of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority, said Friday, “but we’re obviously very sorry to hear it’s happening.”
But Eades said that given the current business climate, the announcement doesn’t come as a complete surprise.
“I think that given the announcement at O’Sullivan, it clearly indicates that the production capacity for ready-to-assemble furniture is flooded,” he said. “This is just another example of the disease, not a symptom.”
d-Scan’s announcement will result in the loss of approximately $54,765 in tax revenue to the county annually, according to Halifax County Commissioner of the Revenue Danny Jackson.
Currently, d-Scan employs approximately 110. Rochell said that approximately 80 employees work in the manufacturing division and will lose their jobs.
Rochell said d-Scan will continue to have a presence in the county, albeit not as a manufacturer.
“The facility will function as a distribution center for the Tvilum-Scanbirk division of Masco,” she said.
According to the company vice-president, the approximately 80 employees who are losing their jobs will be offered severance pay “as well as other benefits.” She did not elaborate.
Like O’Sullivan, Rochell cited declining sales in ready-to-assemble products as the impetus for the decision to close the plant.
Rochell said she is unsure whether the company will continue to lease storage facilities in the county. Currently d-Scan leases multiple warehouse sites throughout the county.
“d-Scan has developed a significant presence here in the county with their distribution operation and that has expanded significantly in the last few months,” Eades said. “We’re hopeful that this will continue to be the major distribution location for their products.”
d-Scan currently leases the former Lowe’s building and the old Coca-Cola facility, to name a few.
“There may be other leased spaces around the county and maybe even in surrounding counties,” Eades said. “My understanding is that they have recently secured a contract with a major retailer and that could be why their distribution operations have increased and may continue to do so.
“In the meantime, we will be working diligently to secure employment opportunities for these displaced workers,” he added.
O’Sullivan Industries announced earlier this month that the company will cease manufacturing operations at the end of August and will cease shipping operations on September 30.The move is expected to impact 200 workers.

 

Roxboro Takes Plea To Governor To Widen 501

City Seeks Improvements To Virginia State Line

By TIM CHANDLER
C-T Associate Editor
Reprinted With Permission

The Roxboro/Person County Thoroughfare Advisory Committee took Person County’s plea concerning the widening of U.S. 501 North straight to the North Carolina governor’s office Monday.
Dual-laning of 501 north from Roxboro to the Virginia line has been Person County’s top priority highway project for nearly two decades, and within at least the past two years officials here, mainly through the joint Thoroughfare Committee, have tried to step up community pressure on the state Department of Transportation to move the project along.
Led by Chairman Leigh Woodall, the Thoroughfare Committee met with Franklin Freeman, Gov. Mike Easley’s senior policy advisor, Department of Transportation (DOT) Division Engineer Jon Nance and DOT CFO Mark Foster. In addition to Woodall, the Person County contingent present at Monday’s meeting included State Rep. W.A. (Winkie) Wilkins, D-Person, Roxboro Mayor Steve Joyner, Person County Commissioner Larry Yarborough and former Person County Economic Development Chair Alan S. Hicks.
Monday’s meeting was also set up in part because the DOT will release its new Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) next month. Wilkins told The Courier-Times Friday that the 501 project is in the current TIP and “the whole thrust has been to keep it there.”
In a Tuesday interview with The Courier-Times, Woodall said he believed Monday’s meeting “went fairly well.”
“We essentially reviewed the status of our project and the fact that it has been on the TIP for almost 20 years,” Woodall said. During that time, Woodall noted, Person County has sent over $100 million “in the form of motor fuel taxes to the state. And, in that time, not one single dollar has been spent for new road construction in the county.”
Woodall said the committee appealed to Freeman Monday to “at least let the governor know what our interest was.” According to Woodall, Freeman said he would meet with the governor concerning the meeting within 24 hours.
Wilkins said last week that, in accordance with the current TIP, “some of the first money [for the 501 project] will kick in” as of October.
That would be about $4.6 million for right-of-way acquisition, he said.
The committee, Wilkins said, will work to keep the project in the TIP in order to pick up funding for the second and third years as well.
That, he said, “would also keep it on track for the start of construction,” which now is not scheduled to begin until the end of the decade and the final phase of the three-phase project not until 2012.
“Even with the current schedule, Person County will go more than a quarter of a century without any new road construction” funded by TIP, Woodall said.
Woodall said that, while the 501 project has not been removed from past TIP plans it has “been slipped into the future.”
“If [the TIP] holds to the same schedule, it will be the first time in 10 years that [the 501 project] has not been slipped out into the future.”
According to Woodall, Monday’s meeting came on the heels of other meetings slated by the Thoroughfare Committee over the past six weeks.
“We have had two other meetings with various other officials in the past six weeks,” Woodall said. “Essentially, we made the same pitch to those dignitaries. We tried to persuade them to help make this project come to fruition.”
Six weeks ago, the Thoroughfare Committee met with DOT board member Ken Spaulding, who came to a meeting of the committee in Roxboro.
“That was the first time in more than six years that a DOT board member has visited Person County,” Woodall said.
Woodall and Wilkins also went to Raleigh four weeks ago to meeting with Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett and four of his staff members.

 

Community To Gather For National Night Out

A community parade set for 5:30 p.m. will kick off this year’s 2006 National Night Out Against Crime.
Parade participants will gather at the South Boston Fire Support Building on Wilborn Avenue.
The event will feature special presentations, a demonstration of martial arts skills and demonstrations of police equipment .
In addition, this year the Virginia State Police will present items collected during this month’s Tools for Schools collection to officials with the Halifax County School System.
The schedule for this year’s event is as follows:
5:30 p.m. Community Parade
(To begin at South Boston Fire-EMS Support Building)
6:00 p.m. Welcome Remarks
6:05 p.m. Invocation, Rev. Andy Bawtree
6:10 p.m. National Anthem, J.B. Walker
6:15 p.m. Special Presentations, NNO Committee
6:20 p.m. Cake Cutting Ceremony, Dept Heads
6:25 p.m. Tools for Schools Presentation, VSP
6:30 p.m. NWLTF Presentation, David Vaughn
7:00 p.m. South Boston United Marshall Arts Demonstration
7:30 p.m. Drug Dog, South Boston PD
Kim-Bo w/ Officer Corporal Todd Moser
8:00 p.m. Bloodhound Introductions
Sheriff’s Office
Jed w/ Officer Mocarsky
Sadie w/ Officer Barksdale
Bo w/ Officer Henderson
8:30 p.m. Attack Dog, Virginia State Police
Navaho w/ Trooper Kevin Martin
and Master Trooper Joel Totton
9:00 p.m. Fire/EMS Demonstration
South Boston Fire EMS
9:30 p.m. Bicycle Giveaway
9:45 p.m. 50/50 Drawing
Halifax County’s National Night Out was started in Halifax County/South Boston in 1997 by Stewart Comer of the South Boston Police Department.
At the time Halifax County National Night Out was much smaller. It consisted of its supporters from the community as well as all local law enforcement agencies in Halifax County walking from what is now the fire department support building down Wilborn Ave to Constitution Square. After the walk there was a brief ceremony for the participants.
Halifax County National Night Out in its current form began sometime in the early 2000’s.
From then on the committee started to phase in things such as information booths, food vendors, D.J’s or a band, door prizes and demonstrations.

 

Obituaries

Rosa Ann White Coles
Funeral services for Mrs. Rosa Ann White Coles will be held today at 3 p.m. at the Crawford House Chapel in Halifax.
Burial will follow in the family cemetery.
Mrs. Coles, 94, of Wild Turkey Run Road in Halifax, died Thursday, July 27, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
She was born on January 4, 1912 in Halifax County and was married to the late John T. Coles.
Mrs. Coles was a member of Rock of Salvation Refuge Temple.
She is survived by five daughters, Shirley Coles of Buffalo, N.Y., Josephine C. Baptist of Newark, N.J., Catherine C. Barksdale and Marie C. Thornton, both of South Boston, and Frances C. Harris of Halifax; seven sons, James Coles of Buffalo, Henry Coles of Buffalo Junction, Bill Coles of Newark, John Albert Coles of Baltimore, Lloyd Coles of Buffalo, Joe Coles of Halifax and Alexander Coles of South Boston; 51 grandchildren, 64 great-grandchildren; seven great-great-grandchildren, two daughters-in-law, two sons-in-law and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Mrs. Coles was preceded in death by a son, Jesse James Coles.
Marion Andy Crews
Marion Andy Crews, 73, of Berry Hill Road, South Boston, died July 27, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Crews was born in Halifax County on March 13, 1933, the son of the late Dewey Crews and Nettie Ward Crews. He was a member of Childrey Baptist Church and a retired employee of The Lane Company.
He is survived by a number of nieces and nephews. Two sisters, Blondie Glass and Jenelle Lloyd preceded him in death.
Graveside services for Mr. Crews were held at 11 a.m. July 29 at Childrey Baptist Church Cemetery with the Rev. Rodney Barwick officiating.
Benjamin Craig Farley
Mr. Benjamin Craig Farley of South Boston, died Friday, July 28, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
He was born in Hurricane, W.Va. on December 17, 1944 and was 61.
Mr. Farley is survived by one daughter, Laura Farley Smith and husband Gabe of Crozier, Va.; one granddaughter, Mason Emily Smith of Crozier, Va.; one brother, Max Farley of Powhatan; one sister, Deanne Parsons of Hurricane, W.Va.; and special friend Emily Farley of Halifax.
A memorial service for Mr. Farley was held Sunday, July 30, at the Beth Car Baptist Church. The Rev. Dr. Michael Parnell officiated.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Halifax County Cancer Society, P.O. Box 875, South Boston, Va., 24592 or Habitat For Humanity c/o Beth Car Baptist Church, 25 Church Street, Halifax, Va., 24558.

 

Herring Again Eludes Bounty Hunters

Drew Herring Scored His Fifth Win In A Row In Saturday’s 150-Lap LMSC Race At South Boston Speedway

It seemingly hasn’t bothered Drew Herring that he has had a bounty on his head for the past two NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car races at South Boston Speedway.
In fact, it has been business as usual for the young Benson, N.C. resident.
Herring continued about his business here Saturday night, pulling away from Adam Barker of Hurt in a final 35-lap sprint to the finish to win the Randy Waller Memorial 150 presented by Charles Anderson Lawn Care.
The win, which came by a margin of 4.096 seconds, was Herring fifth triumph in a row and his seventh win in his last eight outings at South Boston Speedway.
It vaulted him into a tie with Jonathan Cash of Oxford, N.C. for the track points lead. However, because Herring has the edge in the number of victories, Herring will be considered the track points leader when NASCAR officials compute the national Division I points standings later this week.
Cash, who is still seeking his first win here, finished seventh in the 150-lap race.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Herring.
“We’re on a roll. Everything is going great for us. I know Jonathan and all of the other guys are going to be hunting for it just like we are.
We’re just going to keep fighting hard and try to get some more victories.”
Herring by virtue of his win, has upped the ante for his fellow NASCAR Late Model Stock Car division competitors. Another $500 has been added to the bounty speedway officials have posted for the driver that can end Herring’s winning streak.
As a result, the bounty on Herring will increase to $1,500 for this weekend’s 110-lap Late Model Stock Car race, the co-feature race that will share the billing with the upcoming 250-lap USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series race.
Herring started on the outside pole, bolted in front of pole winner Jason Dickerson of Ruckersville on the first lap and scored a flag-to-flag win.
He first held off Dickerson and, later, fended off Barker who passed Dickerson for second place on the 64th lap. Dickerson eventually faded to a seventh-place finish.
Barker had two opportunities to try to make a move on Herring, the first coming after a restart on lap 78 that followed the race’s third caution period and the second following a restart on lap 115 which ensued after the race’s fourth and final caution period.
However, he was unable to capitalize on the two opportunities and Herring drove away to a comfortable lead in the waning laps.
“I just can’t seem to stay with them on long runs,” Barker said.
“I don’t what we’ve got to do to get the car right at the end of the race but he’s sure figured it out. At the beginning of the race I believe we were a little bit quicker than he was. At the end his car didn’t fall off and ours fell off about a tenth and a half (of a second).”
While Barker was unable to snare the $1,000 bounty that speedway officials had placed on Herring, he took some consolation in the fact that he has finished third and second in the last two races.
“We’ve still got a little work to do. We’re not far off. We’ve come a long way since a few races back. We’re going to keep on digging.”
The driver that made the biggest move of the race was Eddie Johnson of Ashland. Johnson started 15th and drove through the field to finish third.
“That’s a pretty good ending to a terrible beginning,” said Johnson who found himself near the back of the field after a change in weather conditions thwarted his qualifying effort.
“The cloud cover helped a lot of the other guys (in qualifying). I’m just happy we were able to bring the car up to third place in one piece. We knew we had a good car. I felt like if I could stay out of trouble I could get into the top five. We ended up in the top three and that made it that much more pleasurable.”
Nick Smith of Hampton finished fourth behind Herring, Barker and Johnson with Owen Miller of Emporia rounding out the top five finishers.
Cash, Dickerson, Rodney Cook of Reidsville, N.C., Wayne Ramsey of Amherst and Jonathan Bailey of Keysville, rounded out the top ten finishers.
Timothy Peters of Providence, N.C. the 2004 South Boston Speedway track champion and now a competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, was slated to compete here Saturday night.
However a mishap during a Friday test session damaged the car Peters was to drive and Peters was unable to compete in Saturday’s race.
Herring averaged 71.383 mph in the race that took 50 minutes and 46 seconds to complete.

 

Heat Basketball Takes Silver Medal At Commonwealth Games

Heat Finishes Tourney With 4-1 Record

The Halifax Heat, a local AAU boys basketball team, finished with a 4-1 record to take home a silver medal in the 17th Annual Commonwealth Games held July 14-16 in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Heat defeated the Campbell County Wildcats 62-50 in its first game on Friday, before beating the Hopewell Golden Eagles 54-49 and the Lynchburg Quick Release 60-30 on Saturday.
Sunday saw the Heat defeat Richmond 64-48 in the semifinals before falling to the Hopewell Golden Eagles 61-47 in the title game.
Prior to the Commonwealth Games, the Heat traveled to Greensboro, N.C. the weekend of May 14-16 to compete in the State Warm-Up, finishing third in a field of 13 teams with a 3-2 record.
The Heat’s record thus far this year is 13-4.

Belles, Ponytails Hanging On In World Series

Teams Combined 1-2 Thus Far In Alexandria, Louisiana

The Halifax American Belles and American Ponytails all-stars each lost their first games in their respective World Series being played in Alexandria, Louisiana.
The Halifax American Belles dropped a close 2-1 decision to Georgia in their first game on Saturday, while the Halifax American Ponytails lost 6-3 to Alabama.
The local Ponytails rebounded with a 1-0 win over Louisiana yesterday morning to stay alive in the tournament.
No further details were available at press time.