Wednesday, August 2, 2006

 

No Surprise Here… It’s HOT!

Temperatures in Halifax County were hovering at the triple-digit mark yesterday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologist Dennis Sleighter said Halifax County was in the grips of a heat wave that shows no signs of letting up before the end of the week.
“By Friday, chances will increase to 30-40 percent that a cold front will move into your area,” he said. “That, hopefully, will provide better chances for showers and thunderstorms. There’s nothing on the horizon to cool you off through Thursday.”
Yesterday, county residents struggled with a heat index in excess of 105 degrees, Sleighter said.
County residents can expect more of the same today, according to the weather service.
“It may even be a degree or two hotter,” Sleighter said. “It looks like temperatures could rise to over 100, 101 looks promising with a heat index even higher.”
According to the American Red Cross, county residents are urged to take the following precautions to prevent heat stroke and heat exhaustion:
• Dress for the heat. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflect away some of the sun’s energy. It is also a good idea to wear hats or to use an umbrella.
• Drink water. Carry water or juice with you and drink continuously even if you do not feel thirsty. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which dehydrate the body.
• Eat small meals and eat more often. Avoid foods that are high in protein which increase metabolic heat.
• Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
• Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
• Stay indoors when possible.
• Take regular breaks when engaged in physical activity on warm days. Take time out to find a cool place. If you recognize that you or someone else is showing the signals of a heat-related illness, stop activity and find a cool place. Remember, have fun, but stay cool!

 

SoBo Woman Convicted Felony Hit & Run, DUI

A 44-year-old South Boston woman, Anna Paleologos Rose, pleaded no contest Monday in Halifax County Circuit Court to charges relating to a hit and run incident in South Boston in January.
In return for her pleas of no contest to felony hit and run and misdemeanor DUI, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss an additional charge against Rose, one for refusing a blood/breath test.
The charges for which Rose was convicted stem from a three-vehicle accident at the intersection of N. Main Street and Broad Street around 10 p.m. last January 31.
Multiple people were injured in the accident, including a three-year-old boy who was airlifted to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, police reported.
According to police and witness statements, a 1977 Ford pickup driven by 32-year-old James Thaxton and a 1994 Nissan sedan driven by 25-year-old Christine Faulkner were stopped at the northbound light on Broad Street.
A third vehicle, described by witnesses as a white pickup, struck the Nissan in the rear and knocked it into Thaxton’s pickup before fleeing the scene, according to police.
After an all points bulletin was issued for the truck, it was spotted and stopped a short time later by police in Centerville.
Police reported that Rose was identified as the driver of the truck, which reportedly sustained $6,000 damage in the accident. The two other vehicles involved in the accident were considered by police to be total losses.
Judge Charles L. McCormick III continued sentencing for Rose to the September court term.
Other Court Cases
• Sterling Lynn Lacks, 38, of South Boston, pleaded no contest July 18 to three felony counts of construction fraud, two involving an individual, Charles Hailey, and one involving Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Lacks also entered a plea of no contest to a pair of misdemeanor charges for operating as a contractor without a license.
In exchange for Lacks’ pleas of no contest, the Commonwealth asked the court to sentence the defendant to five years each in prison for the three felonies and one year for the two misdemeanors, with all suspended except one year and six months in prison.
The court ordered the suspended portion of Lacks’ sentence be conditioned on his good behavior for 20 years, and ordered him to be placed on probation for two years following his release.
The court additionally ordered Lacks to pay $4,900 restitution to Charles Hailey and $3,500 restitution to Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church within one year of his release.
• Jessica Renee Ward, 28, of South Boston, pleaded guilty July 14 to four counts of welfare fraud/grand larceny and one count of embezzlement/grand larceny from Sheetz.
In exchange for her guilty pleas, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss 10 additional welfare fraud/grand larceny charges against Ward.
Judge William L. Wellons sentenced the defendant to 10 years each in prison for the four welfare fraud/grand larceny convictions, to run together, and an additional 10 years for the embezzlement/grand larceny from Sheetz.
The court suspended all time for the five convictions, conditioned on Ward’s good behavior for 20 years, and ordered her be placed on probation for two years.
In addition, the court ordered the defendant to pay $1,200 restitution to Sheetz and $4,392 restitution to Halifax Department of Social Services within one year, with $500 payable immediately.
• Michael Al Radosinovich, 25, of Nathalie, pleaded no contest July 24 to taking indecent liberties with a child.
In exchange for Radosinovich’s plea of no contest, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss an additional charge against Radosinovich, one for the object sexual penetration of a child.
The court sentenced Radosinovich to five years in prison, with all suspended to the time the defendant was incarcerated before released on bond.
The court ordered Radosinovich’s suspended sentence be conditioned on his good behavior for five years and ordered him to be placed on probation for six months with the adult probation and parole department.
In addition, the court ordered Radosinovich to have no face-to-face, telephone or written contact with his victim, and further ordered him not to be within 100 feet of school property.
• Sherman Lynn Brame, 38, of South Boston, was convicted July 14 of a third or subsequent offense of DUI.
The court ordered Brame to be evaluated for the Detention and Diversion center programs, and authorized work release for the defendant if he qualified for it.
Brame is free on bond pending sentencing later in the current court term.
• Donald Edward Pulliam, 39, of Virgilina, was convicted July 17 of two separate counts of failing to register as a sex offender.
Pulliam is free on bond pending sentencing in the September court term.
• The court found evidence sufficient July 17 to convict Alphonso Blake Robertson Jr., 19, of Halifax, of grand larceny from Lawrence Richardson.
The Commonwealth nol prossed an additional charge against Robertson during the trial, one for breaking and entering the property of Richardson.
The court withheld its finding of guilt, taking the case under advisement and continuing the case for one year, ordering Robertson to be of good behavior for that period of time.
In addition, the court ordered the defendant to stay in college or maintain full-time employment, perform 100 hours of community service, and to pay $40 restitution to his victim.
• Michael Arthur Poole, 33, of Nathalie, was convicted July 18 of the sexual abuse of a child.
Poole is free on bond pending sentencing, the court ordering the defendant to have no contact with his victim.
• Raashaun De’Shay Newman, 19, of Halifax, was convicted July 18 of a probation violation, the court deferring imposition of sentence until Newman could be evaluated for the Detention and Diversion center programs.
The case was continued to a date later in the current court term, with Newman free on bond until that time.
• Amanda Brown Barksdale, 36, of South Boston, was convicted July 14 of a probation violation.
The court ordered Barksdale be evaluated for the Detention and Diversion center programs and remanded her to custody pending a sentencing date later in the current court term.
• Arnette Davis, 38, of Nathalie, pleaded no contest July 14 to three separate contempt of court charges for failing to appear.
The Commonwealth nol prossed six additional charges against Davis during the hearing, five for check forgery and one for passing a bad check, while the court dismissed another contempt of court charge against Davis.
The court sentenced Davis to 10 days in jail for each of the contempt convictions, to be served consecutively for a 30-day term, and suspended all but time already served, conditioned on Davis’ good behavior for 30 days.
• James Arthur Stevens Jr., 24, of Nathalie, was convicted July 14 of violating court-ordered provisions of good behavior.
The court revoked one year of Stevens’ previously suspended prison sentence.
• Jermaine Lashone Terry, 39, of South Boston, had his prior first offender status revoked July 14, with the court subsequently convicting him of cocaine possession.
Terry is free on bond pending sentencing in the September court term.
• Thomas Gregory Betts, 37, of Halifax, was convicted July 18 of being in contempt of court for failing to report to custody for weekend jail service.
The court sentenced Betts to 10 days in jail for the contempt charge, with credit for time already served.
• Bettie Mae Davis, 41, of Lynchburg, was convicted July 18 of a probation violation.
The court suspended any new jail time for Davis to her completion of the Arise Program, additionally ordering her to be placed on probation for an additional year.
• Webster Antwon Fitzgerald, 25, of Halifax, was convicted July 18 of a probation violation.
The court revoked 30 days of Fitzgerald’s previously suspended prison sentence, with work release or weekend confinement authorized, and ordered the defendant to be placed on probation for six months, beginning immediately.

 

Salaries, Benefits For Public Servants Listed

County, School System Salaries And Benefits Are Published

Taken together, the salaries for four of the top administrators in Halifax County government total more than $320,000, according to the results of a Freedom of Information Act Request.
Responding to the FOIA request, County Administrator Bryan Foster released a list of county employees, their salaries and the benefits available in the county.
Some of the salaries in the county are as follows:
• County administrator - $90,000.
• Circuit Court clerk - $95,614.
• Commissioner of the revenue - $69,948.
• County treasurer - $66,599.
In Halifax County, members of the Board of Supervisors are paid $4,800 annually, with the chairman receiving $5,400.
Supervisors have the option to be included in the county’s health insurance plan, according to County Administrator Bryan Foster.
In the school system, four of the top administrators earn a combined $422,178.
A snapshot of top school salaries are:
• School superintendent - $148,179.
• Deputy superintendent - $105,094.
• Finance director - $87,384.
• Director of instruction - $81,521.
School Board members are compensated at the rate of $200 per month and are eligible for benefits. One School Board member also serves on the Governor’s School Board and receives $400 for the year.
Currently the county pays 100 percent of the employee’s health insurance and the contribution into the Virginia Retirement System benefit plan.
Foster said that as a result of the 30+ percent increase in the health insurance premiums, the county will only pay 90 percent as of January 1, 2007.
In addition, full-time county employees are eligible for the Virginia Retirement System group life insurance plan.
Other benefits include vacation time (scaled dependent on year’s of service), sick leave (10 hours a month or 120 hours annually), worker’s compensation and 12 state holidays each year.
County employees accrue insurance on a sliding scale based on tenure with the county. The scale is as follows:
• From date of hire through five years – eight hours per pay period with a maximum limit of 24 days vacation.
• At five years, employees accrue 10 hours per pay period with a maximum limit of 30 days vacation.
• When the employees reach the 10-year mark they accrue 12 hours of vacation per pay period with a maximum of 36 days vacation.
• At 15 years, employees accrue 14 hours vacation per pay period with a maximum of 36 days vacation.
• At the 20-year mark, employees accrue 16 hours vacation per pay period with a maximum vacation of 42 days.
• When employees reach the 25-year mark, they accrue 18 hours vacation with a maximum limit of 42 days vacation.
Under the county’s flexible benefits plan, county employees’ insurance premiums are deducted on a pre-tax basis.
Additional benefits are available at the expense of the employee, according to Foster’s response to the FOIA request.
These include a deferred compensation plan through Nationwide Insurance or the Virginia Retirement System, AFLAC Insurance, Colonial Insurance and New York Life Insurance.
Employees are also eligible for a YMCA membership and membership in the Tri-County Community Credit Union, Foster said.
Salary and benefit information for the towns of South Boston and Halifax will be published in the Friday edition.
A comprehensive list of positions and salaries is listed in today's Gazette-Virginian.

 

Heat Is A Big Opponent As Pre-Season Drills Get Underway

The heat is on.
Halifax County High School football players reported Monday for the opening day of pre-season football drills, ready to tackle the regimine of exercises, sprints, agility drills and other activities their coaches had planned for them.
While the Comets football players and coaches are preparing for the team’s September 1 season opener against Rustburg and the pair of pre-season scrimmages that will precede that game, they are facing what may be their biggest opponent of the season – the heat.
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg yesterday issued a heat advisory with temperatures forecast to hit the upper 90’s with heat index values climbing to between 105 and 109 degrees.
In yesterday’s forecasts, the National Weather Service was forecasting high temperatures today of around 100 degrees with heat index values predicted to be up to 109 degrees by this afternoon.
It was pretty much the same song with the forecast for Thursday having temperatures in the upper 90’s and heat index values up to 109 degrees. The forecast for Friday is only slightly better, with temperatures in the lower 90’s.
The blistering heat and keeping players free from heat-related illnesses are big concerns of football coaches everywhere, including Comets football coach John Lacy Harris.
“It is a major concern,” Harris pointed out.
“August is hot. It was hot last year. We just have to be smart about it as a coaching staff.”
Harris has scheduled practices this week from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. It will be hot then, to be sure, but that time of the day begins the waning part of the day.
“If need be, we will cut some practices short,” Harris noted.
Harris said players will have access to water and will have breaks during the practices. In addition, coaches will be keeping an eye on the players, watching for signs of heat-related problems.
“They (the players) will have access to water throughout all of the practices,” Harris pointed out.
“ Each position coach will pay particular attention to his players.”
One of the big factors in the players’ favor, Harris said, is that they were in good shape when they reported for practice Monday.
“The players can do a lot to help themselves,” Harris said, noting that being in good physical shape is one thing that helps the situation.
“The players have been instructed about how to prepare for this type of heat. They can help their situation by consuming fluids throughout the day.”
There was once a time when the awareness and concern over heat-related injuries was not as prevalent as it is today, a time when football players were considered a sissy if they asked for extra water or an extra break.
That thought process has changed for the better, however, and coaches and players across the country are much more aware of the need to take precautions against heat-related illnesses.
“It’s been that way since 1970,” said Harris.
“ All coaches in all sports have been educated in how to handle severe heat. It’s just a matter of being smart about it.”

 

Thunderstorm Aborts Comets’ Opening Practice

Preseason Drills Resumed Yesterday After Thunderstorms Aborted The Team’s Practice On Monday

Monday’s opening day drills for the Halifax County High School varsity football team didn’t go exactly as planned.
But, then again, you can’t fool around with Mother Nature.
Late afternoon thunderstorms aborted the Comets football team’s opening day of practice, leaving the Comets coaches and players to try again yesterday afternoon to get in a full workout session.
While the thunderstorm and the heavy rain that accompanied it forced the Comets back inside, head coach John Lacy Harris said the day wasn’t a total washout.
“We got some things accomplished,” Harris said.
“We got outside for a little bit and got some walk-throughs done. We got our meetings done and we got to lift weights. We got some things done.
“There are some things that you don’t challenge,” added the Comets coach, “and thunder and lightning are two of them. I hope that (storm) is all. We don’t need any more of that.”
The focus this week is on conditioning and having the players begin the process of learning the basics of the offensive and defensive schemes that the team will use this season.
On Monday, the team will hold a mini-camp in which the players will stay together for three days. Harris said there will be two practices a day with players studying game films, reviewing offensive and defensive schemes and lifting weights during times when they are not on the practice field.
The Comets varsity football team will get two pre-season tests to prepare it for the start of the upcoming the season. Halifax County will host Gretna in a pre-season benefit game at Tuck Dillard Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 18. A week later, on Friday, August 25, the Comets will take part in the annual GW Jamboree at GW High School in Danville where they will scrimmage Green Run High School and Varina.
Halifax County High School opens its season on Friday, September 1 on the road against Rustburg High School.

 

Rinker Wins First HCC Memorial Tournament

For close to half a century the Halifax Country Club has hosted the Walter McCormick Memorial Golf Tournament, played in honor of the late Walter McCormick, a club member who died in a traffic accident in 1962.
This year the annual handicap tournament was held as a tribute not only to Walter McCormick, but also to another late member who in himself and his family meant a lot to Halifax Country Club –Les Dillard III.
Phil Rinker emerged as the winner of the first-ever Memorial Tournament last Sunday, finishing with a low net of 60, while Craig Nuhfer and Chris Lumsden each shot a 63, Nuhfer awarded second-place after a match of cards.
Woody Clay was low gross winner with a 67.
Judge Charles L. McCormick III, who has annually awarded the trophy to the winner in honor of his late brother, said that his family fully supported the change both in the name and the tournament format.
He said that a lot of the younger club members may not remember his brother, and that the time was right for a change, adding that the younger generation needs to have someone they can relate to.
“This way we are combining the past with the present and it makes for a winning combination,” said McCormick.
Members of both the McCormick and Dillard families were on hand this year at the awards ceremony to honor the memory of Les Dillard III, a South Boston native who returned home to practice law.
A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, the ex-Marine joined the law firm of Tuck, Dillard, Bagwell, Mapp and Nelson, practicing with his father until his untimely death one day after his 40th birthday.
Next year and in the years that follow, a HCC committee will pick a new name to be honored at the Memorial, with the handicap format for the tourney remaining in place.
The low net winner will receive the McCormick Cup and the low gross will serve as a qualifier for the HCC County Cup team.

Obituaries

Robert Garland Cunningham Jr.
Robert Garland Cunningham Jr., 83, of 4149 Leda Grove Road, Nathalie died July 30, 2006, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Cunningham was born in Halifax County on August 22, 1922, the son of the late Robert Garland Cunningham Sr. and Betty Richardson Cunningham and was married to Betty Wright Cunningham. He was retired as owner and operator of Crescent Restaurant in Brookneal, was a World War II Veteran and a 50-year member of French Lodge #270 of the Masonic Fraternity. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Republican Grove.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Robert B. Cunningham and wife, Judy, of Gretna; four grandchildren, Dawn C. Shelton and Angela C. Lambert, both of Gretna, Tamara W. Neal of South Boston and Michelle C. Lawson of Farmville; eight great-grandchildren; Amanda G. Cunningham, Jason Shelton, Sarah Shelton, C.J. Claiborne Jr., Kaitlyn G. Claiborne, Cori L. Neal, Callie M. Neal and Shane Lawson.
One son, Michael Cunningham; one daughter, Gayle C. Wade; one brother, Raymond Cunningham; and four sisters, Glenna Reeves, Gladys Blackstock, Flossie Walker and Alice Ragsdale, preceded Mr. Cunningham in death.
A funeral service will be held today, August 2, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Republican Grove with the Rev. Shelton Miles officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with Masonic Rites and the folding and presentation of the flag.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Building Fund of First Baptist Church of Republican Grove.
Shirley Smith Scearce
Shirley Smith Scearce, 58, of Danville died August 1, 2006, in Roman Eagle Memorial Home.
Mrs. Scearce was born March 1, 1948, in Halifax County the daughter of the late Henry Smith and the late Geneva Falls Smith Dalton. She was a member of Holland Road Baptist Church where she was active in the Ladies Group, and she was retired from Dan River Inc.
Survivors include one daughter, Tonia Scearce Robertson and husband, Brett, of Danville; two brothers, Thomas Henry Smith of Florence, S.C. and Fred Richard Dalton of Hurt; two sisters, Carolyn Smith Phillips of Halifax and Joyce Wade of Hurt; and two grandsons, Trevor Blake Robertson and Calub Michael Robertson.
Graveside services for Mrs. Scearce will be held in Halifax Baptist Church Cemetery on August 4 at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Jack Robertson officiating.
The family is receiving friends at the home of her daughter, 1172 Ridgecrest Drive, Danville.
Wayland Watkins “Fox” Wilson
Funeral services for Mr. Wayland Watkins “Fox” Wilson will be held Thursday at 4 p.m. at Mill Creek Baptist Church with the Rev. Ben Gault officiating.
Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends tonight from 7:00 – 8:30 at Brooks & White Funeral Home.
Mr. Wilson died Tuesday, August 1, at Duke Medical Center.
He was born in Halifax County to the late James Woodrow Wilson Sr. and Flossie Elliott Wilson.
Mr. Wilson was a member of the Mill Creek Baptist Church and a 1963 graduate of Halifax County High School.
He was employed by Collins & Aikman Corporation.
Mr. Wilson is survived by his wife, Judy Harrison Wilson of the home; a son, Anthony Wayland Wilson and wife Misty; a daughter, Angela Wilson Whitfield and husband Byron, all of Roxboro; three brothers, James Woodrow Wilson Jr. of Virgilina, Henry Lee Wilson of Scottsburg and Larry Elliott Wilson of Virgilina, and five grandchildren.