Up To 225 Affected By Workforce
Re-education Program Deficit

From Staff Reports
A program designed to provide re-education for those seeking new skills for employment has encountered budget deficits that may leave many area students faced with unexpected tuition bills.
The program is operated under the Workforce Investment Act and funded with federal monies.
South Boston Virginia Employment Commission Manager Linda Daniel estimated yesterday that 255 people will be affected in our area.
“Keep your expenses,” she urged those participating in the program. “We have applied for additional funds for the region. And hopefully they will be forthcoming.”
“As long as students have their documents, we would honor those commitments at that time,” she added.
Daniel said yesterday that the South Boston office serves the most customers of the four One-Stop Centers in Area 8.
“The other One-Stops are faced with staff layoffs as well, but we’re not because we have such a high customer volume,” said Daniel. However, she noted only 2.5 WIA staff work in the South Boston office.
“The budget deficit was discovered in early July, according to South Hill VEC Manager Carolyn Leslie.
“As soon as we discovered the problem we brought it to the Workforce Investment Board that funding would be deficient to follow through with the commitments that were made,’ she said. “There has been an effort in the past five days to secure additional funds. We anticipate that they are forthcoming, but we don’t know if we will get them before classes begin.”
Leslie did not have exact figures of the number of students affected by the deficit in the South Central Workforce Investment Region, but said 25 to 30 people served by the South Hill office would be affected.
The South Central Workforce Investment Region has four offices, each with unique customers.
In the Farmville area, the funding is expected to involve approximately 70, according to Leslie. No information regarding the Charlotte Courthouse figures was available at press time yesterday.
Normally the program reimburses the schools for tuition and textbook expenses along with assistance for the students, in limited cases, with transportation and child care costs.
But Leslie said because of the deficit students were notified this week that they would likely have to pay tuition and book costs themselves and hope the program will be able to reimburse them.
“We have encouraged everyone we authorized for the program in the prior semester to apply their financial aid to books and tuition,” she said. “We have told them to keep records of travel and attendance just as they always have and to maintain contact with their case manager. Hopefully we can go back and reimburse them for their expenses.”
“We should not be facing this deficit after this quarter,” she added. “I am hoping it will be rectified very soon. We have been operating this program for seven years and this is the first time we have ever run into this.”
Leslie said the deficit was a result of funding cuts made at the federal level.

New Schools Plan Dedication, Open House, Orientation

Cluster Springs and South Boston elementary schools are inviting parents and students to the new school buildings to meet the school faculty and staff on the following dates:
South Boston Elementary
Monday, Aug. 13: Grades 2 and 5 3-6 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 14: Grades 1 and 4 3-6 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 15: Dedication Ceremony 9:30 a.m.
Kindergarten and Grade 3 3-6 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 16: Open House noon-7 p.m.
South Boston Elementary School Principal Beverly Crowder is delighted with the new building, “It’s wonderful, it’s just like moving into a new house. You have to leave some things, but the new building has so many new and exciting things, especially in the area of technology.
“Halifax County is very fortunate to have two such modern facilities, these buildings (Cluster Springs and South Boston elementary schools) are on the cutting edge of technology,” she added.
Cluster Springs
Elementary
Monday, Aug. 13: Kindergarten and Grade 5 6-8 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 14: Grades 1 and 4 6-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 15: Dedication Ceremony 2 p.m.
Grades 2 and 3 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 16:Open House noon-7 p.m.
Parents and students arriving at Cluster Springs Elementary School will be taken to the gymnasium for a welcome session beginning at 6 p.m. Homeroom teachers will take students and parents to the classrooms. Teachers will share information about the coming year.

South Boston Seeks To Expand Historic District

Expanding South Boston’s historic district, updating its existing historic survey and adding properties within it were the focus Tuesday when town and state officials met with Phil Thomason, president of Thomason & Associates, during a meeting seeking public comment.
Thomason, who is conducting the historic survey for the town, was joined by Ann Miller Andrus, director of the Capital Region Preservation Office of Richmond.
The town hopes to expand the properties included in its National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmark historic district.
“There are some properties within the existing historic district that were not contributing in ‘86 when we first got out historic designation,” explained Tamyra Vest, South Boston Community Development director.
“After his (Thomason’s) survey work the last two days, he is looking at possibly extending beyond Cole Street, possibly to Hamilton, and he is looking at more structures,” explained Vest. “Including the Church Hill area and Mizpah Church,” she added.
Barbara Bass, president of the Halifax County Historical Association, asked that several houses near the old Cotton Mill be investigated. She also told officials that she understood one of the buildings in that area might be a school built for the employees’ children.
Vest said the number of historic properties included could reach 140 to 150. “That includes the current (ones) and those that might be added,” she said.
One of the main benefits of state or federal historic designation is the opportunity to gain tax credits for renovations, she explained.
Private investment and renovation of historic neighborhoods are spurred by tax credit opportunities, according to the director.
“We also need (historic) documentation for planning purposes,” she explained. “When you have information it allows more informed decision making.”
In the past, The Prizery, as well as downtown businesses, have taken advantage of historic tax credits, according to Vest.
“We have no local historic district,” she added. “That’s the one that can impose restrictions on renovations and building.”
The deadline for Thomason’s work, which got under way in April, is 25 percent complete this month, with a 75 percent goal set for January.
Vest said the town hopes to have nominations complete for the state and National Register by the end of February. “All the documentation and complete packages are due by May with the state meeting in June,when the nomination and paperwork goes in,” she said.
The town received a $10,500 grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, with a town match of $7,500, to fund the surveys, according to Vest.

Obituaries

Grace Pulliam Bradshaw
Grace Pulliam Bradshaw, 92, of 3231 Cedar Grove Road, Alton died August 9,2007, at The Woodview.
Mrs. Bradshaw was born January 13, 1915, in Halifax County to the late Walter Scott and Mary Gordon Pulliam, and was married to the late N. Reid Bradshaw. She was a member of Alton Baptist Church and was a retired CAN with The Woodview.
Survivors include one daughter, Merle Osborne of Alton; two sons, Wayne Bradshaw and wife, Harriett, of South Boston, and Lloyd Bradshaw and wife, Patricia, of Alton; one sister, Janie Pulliam Nichols and husband, Elmer, of South Boston; four grandchildren, Kelly Bradshaw of Wake Forest, N.C., Scottie Bradshaw and Tracey Reaves and husband, Barry, all of South Boston, and Christy Sherrill and husband, Brian, of Raleigh, N.C.; five great-grandchildren, Kelsey Bradshaw, Madeline and Jon-Michael Reaves, and Karli and Mallory Sherrill.
Three brothers, John, Ned and Ernest Pulliam, also preceded Mrs. Bradshaw in death.
The family will receive friends this evening, August 10, at Brooks Funeral Home from 7 to 8, and other times at the home of Lloyd and Patricia Bradshaw, 4243 Cedar Grove Road.
Funeral services for Mrs. Bradshaw will be held tomorrow, August 11, at 2 p.m. at Alton Baptist Church with the Rev. Dennis Ball officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Alton Baptist Church, P.O. Box 11, Alton, 24520.
Online condolences may be sent to brooksfh@embarqmail.com

Robert Phillip Brodhead
Robert Phillip Brodhead, 69, of Red Oak died August 7, 2007, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Brodhead was born in Norwich, Conn. March 29, 1938, son of the late Edward Leo Monin and Margaret Lucille Bonin.
Survivors include two sisters, Patricia Scott and husband, Roger, of Red Oak, and Lucille Gaudreau of Kingman, Ariz.; three nephews and two nieces.
A memorial service and burial for Mr. Brodhead will be at a later date in Voluntown, Conn.

Shirley Mae Sydnor Coleman
Shirley Mae Sydnor Coleman, 57, of 1118 Cole Street, South Boston died August 7, 2007, at her home.
Ms. Coleman was born in Halifax County April 6, 1950, to the late Thomas Newton and Alice Sydnor. She was a member of First Baptist Church, Ferry Street, and was a former employee of The Woodview Nursing Home.
Survivors include one daughter, Tonkaneka Ferrell of South Boston; one brother, Willie R. Sydnor of Halifax; two grandchildren; and one son-in-law, Steven Ferrell.
Funeral services for Ms. Coleman will be held August 12, at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church with the Rev. Wallace Pierce officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home.

Margaret Ann Terry
Margaret Ann Terry, 63, of 1120 Old Concord Road, Nathalie died August 7, 2007, at her home. She was born in Lynchburg December 26, 1943, the daughter of the late Joel Phillip Terry and Frances Brumfield Terry. She was a member of Mulberry Baptist Church.
Survivors include three sisters, Ellen T. Tunnicliff and husband, Jerold, and Deborah S. Terry, all of Nathalie, and Betty J. Terry of Danville; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Ms. Terry will be held today, August 10, at 11 a.m. at Mulberry Baptist Church with the Revs. Latta Terry and Coy Terry officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the North Halifax Volunteer Fire Department or a charity of your choice.

Comets On Track Heading Into First Test

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Despite the blistering heat Halifax County High School’s football players are well on track as they look toward Saturday’s pre-season scrimmage at Liberty High School in Bedford.
Saturday’s scrimmage will be the first of two pre-season scrimmages the Comets will undertake before going on the road to face Petersburg High School in their Aug. 24 season opener.
“After seven days in, I’m real excited about where we are in all three phases of the game,” said first year Comets head coach Stan Hodgin.
“We’re really going to get tested Saturday. That will give us a much better gauge as to how much progress we’ve really made.”
Hodgin has had nothing but praise for his players about the work that has been put in since practice began.
“I’m pleased with the enthusiasm, the leadership and their focus,” Hodgin said.
“For the amount of things we have installed, the players have really embraced it well.”
Saturday’s scrimmage with Liberty and Louisa is coming at an earlier point in time than has been the case in most previous seasons.
“We’re still in the learning phase of our own (offensive, defensive and special teams) schemes,” the Comets coach pointed out.
“We have had some contact and some one-on-one competition in practice but not as much as we have had in past. We need to see different looks. We need to see some bullets from quality opponents. Saturday we will face two good opponents.”
One of the things Hodgin is looking for Saturday is to get some idea as to which players have stepped up their game enough to become frontrunners for starting positions left vacant by graduation.
Twenty nine seniors from last year’s team which made its way into the Northwest Region Division 5 playoffs graduated, leaving a number of holes to be filled.
“We’ve got holes we need to fill for people who were either starters or who played significant amounts of time,” Hodgin noted.
“This (Saturday’s scrimmage) will be used as an evaluation period.”
Progress has been good in all facets, Hodgin said. The offensive unit, however, appears to be a little ahead of the defense at this point.
“Offensively, I think we’re further ahead than we were two years ago (when former Comets coach John Lacy Harris started his first season with the Comets) but we were starting at ground zero,” Hodgin remarked.
“We have a fair number of guys who have been with us for one or two years, so they have had some basic fundamentals to grow from.”
Defensively, Hodgin noted, the Comets are not quite where they were two years ago when Harris began his first season.
“Defensively, we’re running an entirely different scheme than we have over the last two years,” Hodgin explained.
“The kids are having to start at the foundation. They don’t have the luxury of building on what we did last year.”

Gridders Handling Extreme Heat Well

By Joe Chandler
Sports Editor
Everyone has been sweltering under this week’s heat wave, especially high school and college football players engaging in pre-season drills.
Halifax County High School varsity football coach Stan Hodgin says that despite record-high temperatures and heat indexes that have risen to around 110 degrees, the Comets gridders have reacted well.
“I’m amazed at how well the players are handling the heat,” Hodgin said.
“The heat is really a major concern. The extreme heat we’re experiencing didn’t kick in until we put on pads, which compounded the problem. Our summer conditioning program was targeted to get the guys acclimated to the heat and we’re seeing the results.”
Hodgin said preventing heat illness and other problems related to the hot weather is everyone’s responsibility. He noted that he and the coaching staff are continually educating the players on how to properly take care of themselves.
“We tell our guys every day about the importance of hydrating themselves during the day, not just when they’re here at practice,” he pointed out.
Hodgin said players have been told that they should drink water throughout the day before coming to practice, that they should eat proper meals, especially breakfast, that they should stay hydrated throughout practice and that they should continue to drink water after they get home from practice.
The Comets coach said that the team’s two-hour practices, which run from the late afternoon into the early evening hours, have been structured in a manner to help reduce the threat of any heat-related issues.
“Under Virginia High School League rules we could go in full pads the whole time,” Hodgin pointed out.
“The last couple of days we’ve gone out in shorts. We started practice with no pads, put on pads for an hour in the middle of practice and then finished up in no pads. That way, we have still been able to get our teaching time done and get our contact work done.”
In addition, Hodgin and the coaching staff have structured practice in such a way as to provide players more frequent water breaks and that coaches and the team trainer, Sid Young, are watching players carefully for any signs of problems.
Young said the players went through an estimated 150 gallons of water each day during Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s practices. Towels with ice wrapped inside were also prepared for players to place on their heads in order to cool down, if needed.
“Dealing with the heat is a cumulative effort,” Hodgin said.
“The coaching staff has the input in the structure of practice and we have plugged in more frequent hydrating (water) breaks. Everyone that needs water gets it.”
Hodgin said Young has done an outstanding job of making sure that the players get the water they need when they need it and in keeping a watchful eye over the players.
“I can’t say enough about the good job Sid Young is doing keeping the guys as hydrated as possible during practice,” Hodgin said.
“He also provides them with ice towels during breaks if they need it.
“So far, we haven’t had any players that have had a problem,” Hodgin added.
“We’re going to do everything we can to help make sure it stays that way.”

St. Amant Aims For Pro Cup Division Clincher Saturday

By Doug Ford
G-V Staff Writer
Gary St. Amant has won several championships in his racing career, most notably a pair of titles in the American Speed Association, in 1998 and 2000.
The Delaware, Ohio, resident, has another championship in his sights, this one in the Hooters Pro Cup Series, and a big step toward a title comes Saturday night at South Boston Speedway in the final Pro Cup Northern Division race of the season.
St. Amant leads Benny Gordon by 65 points entering the Miller Lite 250 presented by Halifax County Tourism, and would like nothing better than keep momentum pointed toward the Pro Cup Championship Series with a division title under his belt.
At stake is a $20,000 bonus and 25 bonus points heading into the Championship Series.
St. Amant has experienced some success in the Pro Cup at South Boston Speedway, finishing in the top ten in five of six races, with three top fives.
His best finish was a second-place effort in his first-ever Pro Cup race April 17, 2004, and he finished fifth in the first Northern Division race of the season at South Boston in April.
A similar finish Saturday in the Hooters Pro Cup Miller Lite 250 will lock up the Northern Division title for the short track veteran.
That first race at South Boston set the tone for the first five races and the rest of the season, according to St. Amant.
“We unloaded the car and were third, fourth or fifth fastest in practice, and we didn’t change anything on the race car the whole weekend,” he recalled.
“The next four races after South Boston, it was exactly the same way and we didn’t have to change anything on the car.
St. Amant had several top-five finishes in that race car, the same he used last year, and promptly won at Salem his first time out in a brand new machine.
“We now have two good race cars and can go out and compete if not for wins, top four or five finishes each time out,” said St. Amant.
“It’s been a great year for us both performance-wise and luck-wise.”
South Boston has always treated the short track veteran and two-time ASA champ well, part of that attributable to similarities between it and St. Amant’s home track in Columbus, Ohio.
That was St. Amant’s destination on Thursday before packing up and heading to South Boston.
Hot on St. Amant’s trail for the Northern Division points title is Gordon, who led halfway and led the most laps before winning the previous Northern Division race at Lake Erie.
St. Amant said he would need to finish seventh or higher at South Boston Saturday to hold onto the title, if that same scenario unfolds for Gordon on Saturday.
St. Amant feels that racing for championships while in ASA has prepared him for that challenge.
“With only one race left and knowing we need to finish seventh or better to clinch, we’re going to be racing Benny there and keeping an eye on the points.
“I know Benny has his program turned around right now, it’s a totally different Benny Gordon than what you saw at the first South Boston race [in April].
Gordon at one point was racing St. Amant for a top-five finish in that event, before a late-race wreck with another driver put Gordon back in the pack at the finish.
“He’s going to be awfully tough to beat from here on out, and we want to make sure that we do beat him for the championship for the Northern Division.
“I’m sure we’ll need to get a lot better to be able to compete with him for the overall Series championship.
“He’s won the Northern Division championship the past three years and he’s the 2005 Series Champion, so he’s the guy to beat.
“It’s a little extra incentive to beat Benny for the Northern Division.”
St. Amant feels that patience is the key to a good finish at South Boston as it is at any short track, recalling a pair of earlier Pro Cup race experiences at South Boston.
“You never give up and I can remember two instances at South Boston where I got caught up in an early wreck.
“It’s real easy to give up, if not park your stuff, but you need to at least get back out there and run about 60 or 70 percent to get to the end.
“The first Pro Cup race I ever ran there, we got wrecked in the first 50 laps, got out of lap sequence but finished second, so you never give up.”
With Gordon and several other drivers coming on strong, Saturday’s race will be as competitive if not more than ever, according to St. Amant.
“Shane Wallace seems to be getting better every week and Brandon Ward is a contender to not only win but sit on poles each week.
“Joey Lavender started off a little slow this year with a new team, but he seems to have gotten stronger, so the Northern Division seems to be picking up as a whole now that Benny’s rolling.”
Heat has been an issue in the Midwest as well as Southside Virginia the past week, and St. Amant will grin and bear it in order to bring home a title.
“It’s been in the high 90s here also, and hopefully we’re used to the heat, so we can get down there, put in a long, hard day, and come out with a top-five finish and the Northern championship.”