Pinch At The Pump

County Gas Prices Climbing Steadily With No End On Horizon

From Staff And Wire Reports

With oil prices over $65 a barrel, county motorists are feeling the pinch.
Gas prices have risen to around $2.30 in the county, with some retailers raising prices as much as 12 cents in the past week.
At Bridgeview Express in Halifax, regular unleaded is currently $2.32, although workers at the station say prices are increasing weekly.
“We’ve gone up nine cents in the past week,” said attendant Bobby Hazlewood. “Prices are increasing all the time,
(going up)every week and sometimes twice a week.”
But don’t blame the messenger.
“Our costs are going up,” Hazlewood said. “There’s nothing we can do but increase our prices.”
At John’s Amoco, owner John Humphries reported a cost of $2.28 yesterday.
“It started out about $2.12 a gallon,” he said of the latest round of increases.
Last Thursday, prices went up six cents, with another six-cent increase Monday, Humphries reported.
“I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon,” he said. “We’re second behind Mexico as the cheapest (gas prices) in the world. Other countries are higher than we are.”
Humphries said America’s love affair with the SUV is contributing to the problem.
“America wants these SUVs and we aren’t building any new refineries,” he said. “They’re all running at full capacity all the time.”
But he said that troubles in the Middle East and global politics are playing their role.
“The Army is using way more of it now than anyone else,” he said.
Humphries’ advice?
“Drive less and drive smaller vehicles if you can,” he said.
Homeowners are feeling the pinch as well.
Home heating oil prices have been climbing all summer, with yesterday’s price at $2.14, compared to $1.59 at this time last year, according to Gloria Bridgers, a spokesman for Maddox Oil in South Boston.
“But that’s probably not going to last,” she said. “We’re expecting it to go up soon.
“The price has been climbing all summer,” Bridgers said. “And that’s unusual.”
Propane costs currently range between $1.69 and $2.09, depending on tank size and the type of account, one county retailer said yesterday.
Oil prices zoomed higher Wednesday, touching a new high of $65 a barrel, with buyers focused on refinery snags, shrinking U.S. inventories of gasoline and motorists’ growing thirst for fuel despite record-high costs.
The latest rally — crude futures have risen 14 percent in three weeks — highlights just how nervous the market has become to output threats. It doesn’t seem to matter, analysts said, that the country has enough fuel in inventory to offset routine supply disruptions.
The heightened sensitivity comes amid strong demand in the United States and China, the world’s top consuming nations, where high prices have tempered rising fuel consumption only slightly.
‘‘People talked about $60 crude slowing economies around the world. But here in the U.S., (Federal Reserve Chairman) Alan Greenspan is telling us the economy is doing great and getting stronger,’’ said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Fla. ‘‘It bodes well for crude testing the $70 range.’’
Even so, Cordier said he has been stunned by the recent runup in oil and gasoline prices and the apparent lack of any response from motorists. Gasoline prices averaged $2.37 a gallon nationwide last week, up 49 cents from last year. Demand picked up by 1.4 percent from a year ago, according to government data.
Cordier said prices at the pump may continue climbing ‘‘until consumers are crying uncle, which they’re not.’’
Light sweet crude for September delivery climbed as high as $65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled $1.83 higher at $64.90 a barrel, the highest level since Nymex trading began in 1983.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures jumped 7.39 cents to $1.8963 a gallon, while heating oil rose 6.22 cents to $1.8388 a gallon.
Natural gas futures also surged, rising 42 cents to close at $9.071 per 1,000 cubic feet. Traders attributed the runup in part on extremely strong demand from gas-fired power plants.
On London’s International Petroleum Exchange, September Brent crude rose $2.01 to settle at $63.99 per barrel.
While oil prices are about 46 percent higher than a year ago, they would need to surpass $90 a barrel to exceed the inflation-adjusted peak set in 1980. That — and the fact that the U.S. economy burns fuel much more efficiently than it did 25 years ago — helps explain why the country’s financial engine is still going strong, analysts said.
Energy markets have been extremely jumpy about a spate of refinery outages in recent weeks. Some traders said the recent U.S refinery troubles — the latest reported by BP PLC on Wednesday — is evidence the industry and its aging infrastructure are having difficulty maintaining output at high levels.
But analysts and industry officials said refinery snags are not out of the ordinary for this time of year, when plants run hard to meet peak gasoline demand.
‘‘Hiccups are an unfortunate reality of operating refineries,’’ said Bryan Caviness, who follows the industry for Fitch Ratings in Chicago.
‘‘There have not been any more than what you typically see, but the impact (on prices) has certainly been greater than what you’ve seen in years past,’’ he added.
A BP spokesman wouldn’t comment on how much production would be lost at its Texas City refinery, though the unit that went down because of a leak has the capacity to process 80,000 barrels of fuel per day. The U.S. burns about 9.5 million barrels of gasoline a day.
Mary Rose Brown, a spokeswoman for San Antonio-based refiner Valero Energy Corp., said she has been getting calls from the financial media about minor production snags that in years past would not have received any attention. ‘‘Everybody’s asking, so we tell,’’ she said.
But Fitch’s Caviness noted that ‘‘a side benefit’’ of refiners’ willingness to talk about even the smallest production glitches is that it makes energy traders jumpy, and tends to push prices — and hence refiners’ profits — higher.
The transition of power in Saudi Arabia last week following the death of King Fahd has also unnerved markets, as did the security-related closure of the U.S. embassy earlier this week in the world’s largest oil-producing nation.
OPEC pledged Tuesday to pump more oil if needed, though the market has tended to brush off such talk. That’s because worldwide demand is averaging some 84 million barrels a day. Excess production capacity is about 1.5 million barrels a day and the type of oil available — sour crude — is not the preferred variety for making transportation fuels.
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Energy showed that crude oil inventories grew by 2.8 million barrels last week to 320.8 million barrels, or 10 percent above year ago levels. The supply of distillate fuel, which includes heating oil, increased by 2.6 million barrels to 129.9 million barrels, or 6 percent above last year.
The agency data showed a 2.1 million barrel decrease in the nation’s supply of gasoline, putting inventories at 203.1 million barrels, or 4 percent below last year.
U.S. refiners operated at 95 percent of capacity last week, a slight decline from the week before.

Living The Dream

Many Harbor The Dream, But Maggie Purnell And Charles Tuller Took Action, Buying A 48-year-old Cutter And Then Sailing 60,000 Miles In The Caribbean And Atlantic.

BY Beth Robertson
beth@gazettevirginian.com

In 1986, a couple who knew nothing about sailing set sail on
an 18-year voyage to exotic ports of call.
They would cross the Atlantic twice, surviving a rogue wave that put their craft on its side, live aboard their 36-ft. sailboat in romantic ports of call, and island hop throughout the Caribbean.
And it all began with a dream and a pair of courageous hearts.
In the 1980s Maggie Purnell was a nurse, a RN, in New York, and Charles Tuller was in the restaurant reconstruction business.
“We were trying to come up with a way to travel more and work less,” recalls Maggie.
“So, Charles said, ‘Why don’t we buy a sailboat and go sailing?’”
“Because we don’t know how to sail,” I replied.
And there the adventure began.
Charles, who had taken an Outward Bound sailing course at age 16, suggested the petite, 4’-10” Maggie take a similar course.
She did.
“At first it was really rough,” she recalls. “I was expecting a vacation.”
Instead, 10 students and two instructors sailed off the coast of Maine, learning each job aboard the open, 30-ft. sailboat.
One week on shore, one week sailing, and then a survival challenge.
“We all had to be dropped off on an island separately,” said Maggie.
“On the island I hardly slept. It was so quiet you could hear things crawling, and you wondered if snakes were in the grass.
“It’s just you there on the island and you are waiting for the sun to come up. And then it gets lighter and lighter Ö.and I celebrated.”
Maggie says that experience changed her life.
From fear, came empowerment.
“I think it was one of the best times of my life. You start feeling you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Back in New York, the two were already saving their money and looking for a sailboat.
Charles wanted a wooden boat.
“Someone who knew about wood boats said to go to the Virgin Islands after tourist season in April, that a lot of people get rid of boats then,” recalled Maggie.
The couple took a three-week vacation with the intention of buying a boat.
They took a seaplane to St. Croix and visited St. Thomas, checking the boatyards.
It was during this trip they crossed paths with the owner of the
Fomalhaut,
who was considering selling the boat.
Charles and Maggie made a winning bid.
The 18-year adventure now had sea legs.
The couple would cross the North Atlantic twice, once making a 30-day nonstop sail to the Azores from Miami.
One trip Maggie still describes as unbelievable.
“We had a knockdown, when the whole boat goes on its side and the mast goes into the water,” recalled Maggie.
If the keel breaks, she said the boat continues its roll over and will sink.
Luckily, the
Fomalhaut’s keel didn’t break.
“I was out on deck and Charles was asleep,” she said, explaining someone must always be on watch.
“I slid as far as my harness (allowed). My husband was trying to open the cabin door, and I was a wreck because I had read this could be curtains.”
The second big scare for Maggie was when the boat was trapped in a tropical storm off the coast of Nicaragua.
“The forecast was okay, but the second day out, the weather started changing. A low pressure was forming on top of us, according to the Coast Guard report.”
The weather got worse, turning into a tropical storm, and Maggie and Charles were in the middle of it.
“This was 1988 and we didn’t have any navigational gear onboard except a sextant at the time. GPS didn’t exist for boats,” she added.
And the sextant was of no use since the horizon, stars and sun were not visible to navigate by.
“We pretty much heaved to and took down the sails.”
Then trouble developed in the rigging.
“I had to winch him up the mast during the storm,” said Maggie.
Charles, who was hit in the head by part of the rigging during the climb, secured a damaged spreader and tied it up.
Below him, the boat was filling up with water.
“The two bilge pumps weren’t working. We were with boat buckets for two days to keep the boat from sinking. I thought we were going to die there,” added Maggie.
Although they had a ham radio, Maggie said it was only for receiving.
“We realized how ill prepared for storms we were, but we survived.
“We got to the Honduras islands and were exhausted. When we went up to see the damage, the mast was hanging on by one little thread keeping it from falling down.”
There were also “about 10 close calls” with large ships at sea.
“A wooden boat may be harder to pick up on radar,” suggested Maggie. “That’s why one of us was always awake.”
While tales of close calls might deter a mass rush to buy sailboats for most landlubbers, consider Maggie’s following one-of-a-kind memories.
Watching schools of dolphins – an estimated 100 – “play and talk” as they weave to and fro in front of the boat.
Listening to whales blow in the night.
Docking in Ireland for a month.
“I loved it there,” recalled Maggie. “It is my heritage and the people were so nice. We took our bicycles with us and explored.”
The duo also spent seven months in Lisbon, anchored off Greece, spent a year in Turkey, visited Guatemala “on and off for six years” during hurricane season, and docked in Brazil.
The best trip?
“We went in at LeHavre (France) and came out in the Mediterranean. We went through 300 locks.”
Together, they explored Europe 10 years.
“You must winter in Europe because the weather is so bad,” explained Maggie. “There’s a short sailing season, and no one wants to be in a gale.”
During their years aboard the sailboat, Charles also wrote a specialty book, “Financial Freedom Afloat: How To Pocket A Paycheck In Paradise,” as well as a number of articles for sailing magazines.
At times, he would use his carpentry skills working in boatyards, and Maggie worked as a nurse.
“You would be surprised how many people live on boats, some circling the globe or going to the Caribbean.
“The adventure is so great,” she said.
“I think the lifestyle is one of the richest because you get to meet a group of people who really take care of one another, are helpful, and stay in touch. A wealth of information is shared.”
Maggie also describes the lifestyle as a lot less expensive than living on land.
“No house or car payments,” she said. “You live life so much more simply. Clothes, fashion, don’t matter. And you eat good food.”
With no refrigerator, Maggie said the couple ate fresh fish, a lot of grains, rice and beans, and canned vegetables.
They bought fresh food in port and sampled memorable meals in romantic cafes from Malta to Brazil.
“The really hard cheeses were wonderful,” she recalled. “And I had a beautiful stove and we baked bread every other day.”
And of course, the lifestyle offers one undeniable advantage.
“If you don’t like where you are, just pull anchor and go someplace else,” said Maggie.
“There were some scary times, but most were beautiful.”
Maggie Purnell was a recent guest of Dan River resident Donnell Corelle. Charles Tuller died 10 months ago, and Maggie is living in Miami Beach. The Fomalhaut, which she plans to sell, is docked in Italy.

VDOT: Clarkton Bridge Is Complete

It’s official.
After an initial struggle to save it from the wrecking ball, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) work is complete on the revitalized Clarkton Bridge over the Staunton River connecting Charlotte and Halifax Counties.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony has been scheduled for noon on October 7.
“This project has been a real challenge,” said J. D. Barkley, II, Halifax Residency Administrator. “I really appreciate the support and efforts of those involved – the various VDOT offices and employees, the Clarkton Bridge Alliance, other state agencies and the community. This project will continue to be a tribute to this partnership for years to come.”
“Visitors to the area will recognize and appreciate the unique and detailed workmanship on this structure as they participate in walking, riding, bicycling and birding activities in the Charlotte and Halifax countryside,” he added.
In 2004, VDOT, under the direction of former Commissioner Philip Shucet, VDOT and the Clarkton Bridge Alliance began working together to reconstruct the aging structure as a pedestrian bridge. The Alliance, utilizing the design skills of Swartz & Associates and the construction expertise of English Construction Co., Inc., paid for and performed the design work and substructure repair on the “new” bridge, with input from the VDOT’s Lynchburg District Structures and Bridge section.
As a next step, crews from VDOT’s Halifax Residency and Haymes Brothers Construction, as well as inmates with the Virginia Department of Corrections completed the superstructure work, adding a pedestrian railing and replacing the bridge deck.
That work is complete and the structure is ready for public use.
New plaques adjacent to the bridge will recognize the original 1902 construction and the 2005 rehabilitation project partnership between VDOT and the Clarkton Bridge Alliance.
Signs designed specifically for the site will let visitors know the bridge may be used by bicyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. Additional signs and barricades alert motorists to the closing of Route 620 to vehicular traffic.
According to Halifax Attorney W. W. “Ted” Bennett, Jr., who worked to save the structure, “The supporters of saving Clarkton Bridge cannot thank enough Commissoner Shucet, all of the VDOT personnel and employees and English Construction Company and others for coming together in this great partnership effort to not just save the bridge, but to adapt it to pedestrian, equestrian and bicycling use and enjoyment for ages to come. I don’t believe I can remember participating in many more enjoyable and fruitful partnerships with such high caliber people than this before.”

 

Obituaries

Henry J. Crawley Sr.

Henry J. Crawley Sr., 81, of 1302 Porter Lane, South Boston died August 8 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Crawley was born in WVa. on July 18, 1924, the son of the late John Davis Crawley and the late Portia Newman Crawley, and was married to Ruth Cardwell Strange Crawley. He was a member of Dan River Bethel Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife; children, John Henry Crawley Jr. and wife, Mary, Deborah Medley and husband, Preston, Pamela Sutphin and husband, Geronim, Sharon Lewis and husband, Jerry, and Kimberly Williams; 11 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren; one sister, Mary Rodgers; one brother, Clarence Crawley; and his father-in-law, Lorenzo Cardwell.
Funeral services for Deacon Crawley will be held today, August 12, at 2 p.m. at Dan River Bethel Baptist Church with the Rev. Carl Ross officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with Military Honors by American Legion Post 99.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service and other times at the home.

John Davis Foster

John Davis Foster of Newport News died August 8, at Sentara Careplex Hospital in Hampton at the age of 77.
He was born October 1, 1927, in Clover to the late John A. and Edna P. Foster.
Mr. Foster was preceded in death by his wife, Elnora Hicks Foster; one son, Dan Ezekiel Foster; and one brother, Samuel E. Foster.
Survivors include nine children, John D. Foster Jr. of Stafford, Delilah Armstrong and Edna Victoria Yarborough, both of Newport News, Dale Wayne Foster of Laurel, Md., Bruce Foster, Marcella Young and Wade Foster, all of Hampton, Sheryl Jubert of Suffolk, and Zenobia Terry of Scottsburg; 28 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; six sisters, Bernice Dixon, Allie Clark and Agnest Strange of South Boston, Bettie Delaware and Nadine Staten of Clover, and Irene Faulkner of Alexandria; four brothers, George Foster and Willie Foster of Clover, Robert Foster of Stafford, and Burrell Foster of Hampton; and a sister-in-law, Gwen Foster of Newport News.
Funeral services for Mr. Foster will be held tomorrow, August 13, at 1 p.m. at Second Baptist Church East End, Newport News.

Viola Haskins Newman

Viola Haskins Newman, formerly of South Boston, died August 10, at Britthaven Nursing Home in Keysville at the age of 89.
Mrs. Newman was born March 20, 1916, in Pittsylvania County to the late Nealus Haskins and Nannie Haskins, and was married to the late William Thomas Newman. She was a member of Dan River Bethel Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Lawrence Thomas Newman of South Boston; two sisters, Nannie Cherry of Philadelphia, Pa. and Betty Lee Haskins of Washington, D.C.; 15 grandchildren, including the devoted Barbara Younger of Halifax; 14 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Newman was preceded in death by one daughter, Clarise Owen; and one son, Junior Newman.
Funeral services will be held today, August 12, at 2 p.m. at Crawford House Chapel in Halifax. Burial will follow in Dan River Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery.

Danny Nathaniel Willis Sr.

Danny Nathaniel Willis Sr., 49, of 1037 Bucks Run, Alton died August 11, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Willis was born June 16, 1956, in Pittsylvania County the son of the late Junior Nathaniel Willis and the late Hattie Estelle Averette Willis, and was married to Carol Terry Willis. He was of the Methodist faith, and was a member of NASCAR and D.W. Jr. Motorsports.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one daughter, Melissa Willis and her fiance, Clark Daniel, of South Boston; two sons, Danny Nathaniel Willis Jr. and his fiance, Kimberly Dawn Saunders, of Cluster Springs; and Dwayne Willis of Cluster Springs; one sister-in-law, Margaret Pasquale and husband, Tony, of Raleigh, N.C.; his mother-in-law, Saeko Terry of Vernon Hill; one brother-in-law, Marvin Terry and his wife, Stephanie, of Halifax; and one grandchild.
Funeral services for Mr. Willis will be held tomorrow, August 13, at 11 a.m. at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider The Victory Junction Gang Camp, 4500 Adam’s Way, Randleman, N.C. 27317, or www.victoryjunction.org.

Cassie Davis Richardson

Cassie Davis Richardson, 89, of Danville, formerly of Java, died August 10, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Richardson was born December 3, 1915, in Pittsylvania County to the late Eddie Davis and Nannie Harriett Woodson Davis and was married to the late Elmon Berkley Richardson. She was a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Java.
Survivors include three daughters, Gwendolyn Walker of Danville, Fannie Richardson of Hampton and Odessa Featherston of Halifax; two sons, Ray Richardson of Richmond and Berkley Richardson of Halifax; one brother, Shields Davis of Chester, Pa.; 15 grandchildren; and13 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Richardson was preceded in death by one son, William Edward Logan; one granddaughter; and one great-granddaughter.
Funeral services for Mrs. Richardson will be held tomorrow, August 13, at 11 a.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church with the Rev. Ralph Watkins officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of Odessa Featherston, 1039 Sinai Road, Halifax.

George Robert Poole

George Robert Poole, 81, of Brookneal died August 10, at University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. He was the husband of the late Rebecca East Poole.
Mr. Poole was born in Halifax County on February 26, 1924, the son of the late Linnie Jessie Poole and Nannie Comer Poole. He was a member of Brookneal Baptist Church, Brookneal Lion’s Club and was an automotive dealership owner.
Surviving Mr. Poole are one son, George Dudley Poole and wife, Mary, of Richmond; one daughter, Cathy Poole Jackson and husband, Tom, of Lynchburg; four grandchildren, Lanette P. Stout of Richmond, George R. Poole III of Brookneal, M. Shane Poole of Nathalie, and Troy Akers of Marietta, Ga.; six great-grandchildren; and one sister, Helen P. Lowery of South Boston.
Mr. Poole was preceded in death by one son, George Robert Poole II; one grandson, George D. Poole Jr.; eight brothers; and two sisters.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow, August 13, at Brookneal Baptist Church with the Revs. Troy May and Charles Ward officiating. Burial will follow in Wickliffe Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 8:30 this evening, August 12, at Henderson Funeral Home, Brookneal, and other times at the home.

 

Comets Face First Real Test Tonight

The HCHS Varsity Football Team Will Scrimmage Two –Time Defending Group AA State Champion Gretna Tonight

BY Joe Chandler
G-V STAFF WRITER

After two weeks of drills, the Halifax County High School varsity football team will face its first test tonight.
The Comets will hit the road to face Group AA defending state champion Gretna High School in their first preseason scrimmage. For the players and coaching staff, tonight’s scrimmage will be a welcome change.
“It’ll be good,” said Comets head coach John Lacy Harris.
“The guys are ready to hit somebody different.”
Harris and his coaching staff say the Comets are ready for tonight’s test.
“The kids are ready,” Comets defensive coordinator Ralph Robinson said after Wednesday’s workouts.
“Defensively, we pretty well know what to expect. We expect them (Gretna) to run their spread offense and a power game with some options. We’ll have something for them.”
Robinson said that regardless of what kind of offense Gretna may choose to run, his basic defensive setup will not change.
“We’re going to run what we run,” Robinson pointed out.
The Comets’ defensive coordinator says his defensive unit will be well-prepared for tonight’s action.
“We have put in just about everything in that we’re going to put in,” he noted.
“We’ve got three more blitzes that we’re going to put in.”
The most pleasing aspect of what has been accomplished thus far, Robinson said, is the fact that there has been good competition and good intensity among the players during preseason drills.
“We have had great competition,” he said.
“We’re two and three deep in some spots. We’ve got guys that could be considered starters looking over their shoulders because people are stepping up and people are pushing people.
“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we can play two deep and not lose a lot in the process,” he added.
Offensively, Harris and his offensive coordinator, Stan Hodgin, will get their first look at how well the Comets operate their new Gulf Coast offense under fire.
Like the defense, the Comets’ offensive package has been installed and work throughout this week has been focused on basic fundamentals.
Good progress has been made with the new offense. Harris said, and Robinson credits the good job that has been done by the offensive unit in drills for helping the team’s defense get to the point it has reached.
“Our offense has given us a challenge,” Robinson said.
“Every time we go up against them we see the fast ball every play. I really credit those guys for the work they have done and for the help they have been to our defense.”
The Gretna team that the Comets will face tonight will be a team that is in something of a transition.
Gretna, the two-time defending Group AA state champion, is dropping back into the Group A ranks this season and will be a member of the five-team Dogwood District.
Not only will Gretna be playing in a different classification and a different district, the Hawks have a new head coach in Chris Thurman.
Gretna will be looking at the scrimmage as its first opportunity to continue the pattern of success it has enjoyed for the past two seasons while recording 28 straight wins and back-to-back Group AA state titles.
It will do that with what will basically be a new team.
The Hawks will be looking to overcome the loss of standout quarterback Vic Hall, now at the University of Virginia, and several other key figures from last year’s state championship team as they look toward the start of their season.

Rocky Mountain High For Halifax County Athletes Lee and Laine

County Athletes Compete In State Games Of America

BY Doug Ford
G-V STAFF WRITER

It was a Rocky Mountain high for Halifax County athletes Frank Lee and Jamie Laine, Lee winning two silvers and Laine a silver and bronze medal recently at the State Games of America.
This year’s games, which feature thousands of athletes of all ages and abilities competing in 24 different sports, was held July 28-31 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Lee, division attendance officer for Halifax County Public Schools, took the silver in the 100-meter high hurdles in a time of 20.1 seconds and another silver medal in the 400-meter dash in 1 minute, 14 seconds. His time in the 100-meter high hurdles was a personal best for Lee in his age division (60-64).
Laine, an engineer at the Clover Power Plant, took home a silver medal in the 200-meter dash in a time of 25.98 seconds and a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.35 seconds. Laine competed in the 40-44 age group in both his events.
Lee and Laine, who coach the Halifax County Middle School boys track team, qualified for the State Games of America by medaling in the 2004 Commonwealth Games, held in Roanoke.
They competed again in the 2005 Commonwealth Games, held July 17 at Roanoke College, to prepare for the State Games of America.
Lee won the 100-meter high hurdles in 20.5 seconds and took second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:16.2, while Laine won the 400-meter dash in 57.3 seconds and placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.5 seconds.
Both men kept notebooks detailing their training schedule since February, noting their laps and times in order to prepare for the games, which turned into a “high altitude vacation,” according to Lee.
“We decided to take our wives on a high altitude sports vacation in Colorado Springs,” said Lee, who along with Laine, joined over 9,000 athletes from just about every state in the union to compete in the games.
Pike’s Peak and the Garden of the Gods were among the places the Lees and Laines visited, in addition to the Flying “W” Ranch, where they were treated to a chuckwagon style meal, complete with music from a band similar to the Sons of the Pioneers.
The venue itself, according to Lee, was unreal, with a total of 24 sports being played, the track venue itself the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“It was the most elaborate and well-kept sports facility I’ve ever seen,” noted Lee. “Our meet director, Joseph Gentry, was the coach for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic track teams, and it took your breath away to see the number of athletes taking part in all the sports.”
One participant in the opening ceremonies was Rulon Gardner, gold medalist in wrestling in the 2000 Olympics.
Athletes competed in everything from track and field to basketball, billiards to bowling, soccer to softball, foosball to figure skating at the State Games of America, with Virginia athletes collecting a good share of the medal count.
In addition to track and field, Virginia athletes were winners in everything from martial arts to bowling to figure skating to gymnastics.
In 2004, more than half a million athletes competed in State Games nationwide, including those participating in the Commonwealth Games in Virginia.
Noteworthy State Games athletes include: Ralph Boston, Tracy Caulkins, Dan Gable, Rowdy Gaines, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, Roy Jones, Nancy Kerrigan and Glenn Robinson.
With Frank Lee and Jamie Laine, you can add two more to that list, at least from a Halifax County perspective.

Back to School Night Event Set Saturday At SBS

A Five-Race Card Is On Tap Saturday Night As NASCAR Racing Returns To South Boston Speedway

From Staff Reports

South Boston Speedway has some bad news and good news for area students.
First, the bad news. It’s nearly time to head back to school. Now, the good news. South Boston Speedway is planning a special night for students Saturday night.
NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series racing action returns to South Boston Speedway Saturday night with the Dodge presents Back to School Night race program.
The first event of the evening will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Students with valid ID’s will be admitted throughout the evening for $5.
Five races will be held as part of Saturday’s NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series program at the four-tenths mile asphalt oval.
The featured attraction of the night will be a 150-lap race for the competitors in the Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car Division. Peyton Sellers of Danville, a nine-time winner at South Boston Speedway this season, has reeled off two consecutive victories in the highly competitive division and will be looking to try to make it three wins in a row here Saturday night.
Sellers, who has a total of 12 wins this season, leads the track’s Late Model Stock Car division points standings and is also leading the chase for the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series national titles.
Former track champion Frank Deiny Jr. of Mechanicsville and many more of the region’s top drivers are expected to take the green flag in the highly competitive Barkhouser Late Model Stock division.
There have been six different winners in the 18 races that have been run in the division this season. Drew Herring of Benson, N.C., Seller’s chief rival for the track championship, has four wins and trails Sellers by 64 points in the track championship chase.
Drivers in the Limited Sportsman Division and the Virginia Army National Guard Pure Stock Division are also slated to hit the asphalt Saturday night for racing action with the Limited Sportsman division competitors competing in a 50-lap race.
The season-long battle between Justin Snow of Danville and Jonathan Bailey of Keysville for the track’s Limited Sportsman division title will renew itself Saturday night.
Snow has nine wins and leads Bailey, who has seven victories, by 14 points entering Saturday night’s action.
The two division leaders are the only drivers to have visited Victory Lane in the division this season.
In the Pure Stock Division, South Boston resident Nick Igdalsky is in the division points lead for the first time this season and holds a slim six-point lead over Lee Anderson. Joey Throckmorton of Scottsburg is in third place, four points behind Anderson and only 10 points behind Igdalsky.
Throckmorton enters this weekend’s event as the leading winner in the division with seven victories. He also has led the most laps in the division thus far.
Rounding out the Dodge presents Back to School Night race program will be action for the touring INEX Legends Series as well as the Southern Vintage Modified competitors.
Pit gates will open Saturday at 1 p.m. and practice for all divisions will be held from 2:15 p.m. until 3:45 p.m.
Grandstand gates will open at 5 p.m. and qualifying time trials will
get the green flag at 5 p.m. as well with the first race starting at 7 p.m.
Adult admission for the race will be $8 up to 6:30 p.m. and $10 after that. Youth, ages 10-15, will be admitted for $5 and children under the age of 10 will be admitted free with a paid adult.