By DOUG LOFTIS
What the nation and Wall Street investors are finally consenting to, the building trades that serve Halifax County would appear to have been experiencing for the past two years.
Call it what you will, but the construction boom that rocked the community for several years, before hitting a snag in late1998, has quieted. Hit hard by the slowdown is housing, particularly custom-built homes, where in the Town of South Boston, just six starts valued at $6,010,310 were permitted in all of 2000. A year earlier, a total of 17 housing starts with an estimated value of $2,176,438 occurred.
The Town of Halifax, which had not issued a single housing permit during 1999, had two conventional housing starts in 2000. However, Halifax recently annexed areas where several housing developments are located including popular Golf Course Road.
Even manufactured or modular home placements slowed during 2000. In South Boston, nine units valued at $105,100 were approved by the town's building code enforcement, while a year earlier a total of 21 having an estimated value of $260,159 were placed.
In the county where manufactured housing finds a friendlier environment, placements numbered 289 during 2000 compared to 325 in 1999.
Missing from the construction equation for the past two years are industrial and commercial expansion projects. The largest industrial project started in 2000 was at O'Sullivan Industries in the Halifax County Industrial Park where a $5.3 million project is underway.
Other industrial projects in the county include a trucking terminal for Estes in the Halifax County Industrial Park valued at $225,000 and a $600,000 project at Virginia International Raceway's industrial park.
In the Town of South Boston, major commercial projects included an addition to The Woodview nursing home ($1,157,000), additional tenant space at Halifax Square Shopping Center ($375,000) and a $540,000 expansion for toolmaker Bohler Uddeholm.
The health care sector accounted for some other significant construction projects and included an addition to Fuller-Roberts Clinic ($420,000) and The Gillispie Clinic ($109,304).
More classrooms and gymnasiums at Sydnor-Jennings, Clays Mill and Scottsburg elementary schools are being built at an estimated cost of $8,190,000.
In South Boston's tobacco warehouse district, a $2,982,369 construction project is transforming former manufacturing space into a college campus for the Continuing Education Center.

After 75 years as the maestro of the Halifax County Fair, W.W. "Buck" Wilkins has seen his "fair" share of cotton candy, sideshows and ferris wheels.
Never one to brag about personal accomplishments, Wilkins nevertheless was the recent recipient of an award he deeply cherishes.
Wilkins was honored last week with the Virginia Association of Fairs "Fair Person on the Year" award for 2001.
Wilkin's father, W.W. Wilkins Sr. started the fair along with Tucker C. Watkins Jr. in 1912, with the first location being a lot just south of the old South Boston News office, now Constitution Square.
The fair's unofficial origins date back to 1910, when schoolchildren at the Main Street Grammar School started having shows and exhibits at the school at harvest time.
"The first fair was held about where Constitution Square is now," Wilkins recalled.
"In 1910, all they had were exhibits. Next, they brought in a brass band, and then a ferris wheel."
Wilkins started working at the fair when he was about 12 years old and never stopped until last year, when health problems forced him to ease up - just a little.
According to the letter of recommendation for the award written by son-in-law Les Powell III, Wilkins has always been a "hands on" employer.
"Many fair people love managing personnel issues, booking acts, etc. This is not Buck. He has always loved more being in the trenches. Any night of the fair, Buck can be found in the parking lot making sure the cars are lined up properly.
"During the day, he can be found lining the lot, making sure the water and sewer are functioning properly, and making sure the barn smells good.
"That last one has always gotten me because it usually leads me having to do something I had rather not do.
"People are willing to help Buck with the most menial of tasks because there is not any task that Buck will not attempt to do himself."
No one knows more about Wilkins' dedication to the fair than his wife of 49 years, Jenny, herself a 50-year veteran of the Halifax County Fair.
"We met while I was working and living downtown, and Buck would drive home to Turbeville and back to town to see me about every day," said Mrs. Wilkins.
"When we were looking at our date to get married, I found out that October was not a possibility because the fair was in town.
"I didn't realize until then that anyone owned the fairgrounds. I asked him if the fair was more important than our wedding!"
The fair moved later to a location off Wilborn Ave. and McKinney St., and stayed there until 1965, when it moved to its present location, a site it shares with the South Boston Speedway.
Wilkins purchased about 300 acres for both the fairgrounds and the speedway.
The Wilkins shared memories of the "great big red barn" used as the exhibit hall at the Wilborn and McKinney location, and all of the canned goods people would bring to have judged.
"I was shocked at the amount of trouble people went to in bringing as much as 30 canned goods to be judged," said Jenny Wilkins.
And, of course, if any of the local farmers needed rain, all they had to do was ask Buck Wilkins to bring the fair to town.
The Wilkins spoke of the time when fairgoers registered for a car to be given away at the grandstand.
A winner was announced, never reported to the grandstand to claim the car.
"He was at the "hoochie-cootchie show, and didn't hear the announcement," said Jenny Wilkins.
It's difficult now to book the type of grandstand acts- acrobats, animal acts, and the like - that were a staple of years gone by at the fair, but Buck remains committed to bringing a variety of country musicians and others to the fair.
That's part of his motto of "bigger and better," something he works on year-round, even out of his own home, where he lays out promotional items and pictures in order to select that next up-and-coming star.
Wilkins has not let recent health concerns get in the way of his life-long and continual passion.
It was while helping to mark off reserved seats in the grandstand in intense summer heat for the Billy Ray Cyrus concert two years ago that Wilkins suffered his first stroke
During the next fair, he returned, according to son-in-law Powell, riding a golf cart through the parking lots.
A second stroke caused Wilkins to miss this year's fair, but the groundwork he laid made it run smoothly, with his usual attention to detail.
People who come to the Halifax County Fair know you cannot mention the fair without mentioning Buck Wilkins at the same time.
That's a track record to be proud of, but Wilkins hasn't finished yet - not by a long shot.

The South Boston Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing this Wednesday, January 17, on the Recommended Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Fiscal Years 2001-2202 through 2005-2006.
The public hearing, during which town staff will present its recommendations for the CIP to the public, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at council chambers on Yancey Street.
Capital Improvement Programming is a method of planning for the effective and efficient provisions of public facilities, infrastructure improvements, major maintenance requirements and acquisition of property and equipment.
The first year of the Recommended Capital Improvement Program (CIP) represents the Town Manager's recommendations to the South Boston Town Council for capital projects to be included in the fiscal year 2001-2002 town budget, adopted in June 2001.
According to Town Manager Ted Daniel, a five-year CIP allows the Town Council and the citizenry an opportunity to view both the short-term capital construction and the acquisition needs of the Town of South Boston.
"It's simply smart planning," said Daniel.
"Viewing the short-term needs enables the town to better plan its financing strategy for capital improvements and annual operating requirements."
Following Town Council adoption, the first year of the CIP is viewed as the town's capital budget for 2001-2002.
While this CIP is a proposed expenditure plan, the budget adopted by council in June 2001 will provide legal authorization to actually expend town funds.
Funds and Projects
Total capital outlay expenditures recommended as of November 27, 2000, for Fiscal Year 2001-2002 (July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002) are $2,200,207.
Significant capital projects recommended for the General Fund include: $407,322 for community development (Tobacco Warehouse Adaptive Reuse Project); $66,000 for planning and engineering (geographic information system); $441,322 for public works (street paving, curbs, gutters, sidewalks; $225,000 for the fire department (vehicle replacement; $229,763 for the police department (vehicles and equipment); $40,000 for parks and recreation (Houghton Park improvements).
An additional $250,000 is recommended for the Water and Sewer Fund for ongoing sewer system repairs.
A copy of the Recommended Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2001-2002 through 2005-2006 may be viewed at the town manager's office at 455 Ferry Street during normal office hours.

Richard J. Fitz Jr., long-time journalism instructor and yearbook advisor at Halifax County High School, died Friday at age 70.
Fitz, who had a recent history of heart disease, collapsed on the steps of a church in Paris, France, while on tour with several of his yearbook colleagues.
"He will be missed," said Kenneth Cranford, a close friend and traveling companion the last 20 years of Fitz's life.
"He was one of the most literate people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
"He loved music, the theater, art, and he loved life," said Cranford.
"I had the opportunity of working with Dick from 1996 through the mid-1980s, when he retired," said former HCHS principal Larry Clark.
"He was not just a capable classroom teacher, he was eager to share his knowledge of journalism with his students.
"And I imagine that if you had an opportunity to talk with those young people that they would say that they benefited from having him as a teacher and that, of course, is what teaching is all about.
"From a community perspective, he was active in the community arts program, especially Little Theatre. I know that all persons involved in community theatre and arts projects will miss his support."
Born in Chase City on October 4, 1930, Fitz was the youngest of five children. He is survived by his oldest sister, Irene Buckner, of St. Augustine, Fl.
Fitz attended Richmond College and received his master's degree from the University of Virginia, before beginning his teaching career.
Fitz's family remembered him as a humble, quiet person, who enjoyed the opera and traveling, among other interests.
"He was like a father to us," said Gayle Duncan, of Hammond, Louisiana, who married Fitz's nephew, Robert Gehrig Duncan.
"He was especially proud of his induction into the National Scholastic Journalism Hall of Fame and the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame."
More than a teacher, Fitz was a mentor and a friend to at least two generations of students at the high school, many of whom made a career of journalism.
"Who, what, when, where and why were the first things I remembered from his journalism class," recalled Doug Ford, who was on the yearbook staff at the high school during the early 1970s.
"He was a modest person, with a laid-back teaching style that belied his knowledge of journalism and composition."
Ford, who has worked as a reporter for the Gazette-Virginian for the past year, credits Fitz with giving him the basic journalism background necessary for his current position.
The family plans a memorial service in South Boston in the near future.

Seven is considered a lucky number in some games of chance.
But it wasn't the charm for Halifax County when it faced faced Albemarle Friday night in Charlottesville in the two teams' Western District opener.
Halifax County, which has failed to beat Albemarle in six consecutive games spanning the past two seasons, dropped its seventh game in a row to the Patriots, falling 71-68 despite a valiant late rally in which Sterling Williams cashed in four three point baskets in the final 39 seconds of the contest.
Williams, the game's high scorer with 23 points, finished the game with a possible single game school record of seven three-point baskets.
The Comets, as a team, finished the night with 10 three-point baskets, a possible single game team record for three-point shots.
"I thought we played extremely well," Dillard said after his team dropped its Western District opener and fell to 7-5 overall.
"Even with the moments when we didn't play well we gave ourselves a chance to win. Our guys played the whole ball game. Not playing through is a problem we've had in the past. I feel like we're coming together. It's a matter of doing one or two little things and we'll win games like this."
The Halifax County High School Blue Comets had Albemarle on the ropes for a quarter and a half.
Up by 10 points after the first four and a half minutes of the game and leading by nine points after almost nine and a half minutes of play, the Comets appeared to be on the way to delivering coach Garrett Dillard's first win over the Patriots since taking over the Comets two years ago.
But the Comets could never deliver the knockout punch.
Two Halifax County scoring lapses and foul trouble in the fourth quarter allowed Albemarle to build a 12-point lead with just over a minute and a half to play.
The dozen-point cushion was just enough as the Patriots survived Williams' four late three-pointers to nail down the win.
Albemarle coach Greg Maynard, whose team won its eighth game in a row and improved to 12-1 overall, cited the Comets for playing a good ball game.
"I thought Halifax came out playing with a lot of emotion from the start," Maynard said.
"They shot the ball extremely well, especially the first quarter and a half. Then we gained a little momentum in the second quarter and got back into the game by pounding the ball inside. We held them off long enough to get enough of a lead to survive their great shooting."
The Comets shot the ball well for the most part with 10 of its 22 field goals in the game being three-point baskets.
Williams kept the Comets in contention down the stretch by hitting five field goals in the fourth quarter, four of them being three-point shots in the final 39 seconds that led the Comets late run at the Patriots.
Dashawn Baird, who had 13 points in the game, connected for two three-pointers in the game and Carleton Roach, who followed with nine points, nailed one three-pointer.
The Comets also shot well at the charity stripe, hitting 13 of their 15 attempts.
But a pair of scoring lapses by the Comets, one in the final half of the second quarter and another in the fourth quarter, combined with foul trouble in the second half proved to be too much to overcome.
"We got a little stagnant offensively which is a problem we have had at times," Dillard pointed out.
"Our offense is predicated on the jump shot and when you rely on the jump shot, sometimes you get stagnant and go a couple of minutes without scoring. That hurt when we had the lead and let them get the lead going into the second half."
Halifax County's second half foul trouble contributed to Albemarle loading up a big edge in free throw shooting.
The Patriots attempted 27 free throws in the fourth quarter and made 17 of them. For the game, the Patriots hit 23 out of 35 attempts at the foul line.
"I thought a few extra calls were made (by the officials)," Dillard said.
"I thought our guys were on them tight but I didn't think they were taking anything away from the Albemarle players. We got a couple of fouls early and there were some tough calls made and they went to the free throw line and made their free throws. I thought that was the difference."
Maynard agreed.
"Halifax was playing us very aggressively and bodying us up," Maynard said.
"When that happens, you've got to be able to make your free throws when you get into the bonus and double bonus and I thought our guys did a good job of that."
The Comets started the game with a bang.
Six players got into the scoring act as the Comets ran up a 10-point lead on the Patriots in the first period with a basket from Baird on an offensive rebound following a miss by Roach giving the Comets their high water mark.
Albemarle cut the lead to five points but a basket by Terez Garland put the Comets back on top by seven points at the end of the period.
A 12-foot jump shot by Teddy Bradley to open the second period pushed the Comets' lead back to nine points.
Bradley had four field goals in the first half and finished the game with 10 points.
The Patriots trimmed the lead to four points before a layup by Roach put the Comets up by six at 25-19 with 4:27 to play.
Through the first quarter and a half, the Comets' play was solid and the team's tenacious defense held Albemarle's 6-9 junior center Ian Johnson to three points.
But, suddenly, for the next two minutes, the Comets' offense went dry. And Johnson came alive.
Johnson, who led the Patriots with 20 points in the game, hit three consecutive baskets, the first a 12-foot jumper, the second an easy bucket from the paint and the third a three-pointer to lead the Patriots on a 7-0 run and give them the lead for the first time in the game with 2:53 left in the half.
Williams broke the ice for the Comets with a three-pointer to put the Comets up by two points. But Johnson countered with his fourth field goal of the period, a slam-dunk, to tie the game with 56 seconds left in the half.
Albemarle forward Marcus Twitty scored with 3.3 seconds left in the half to give the Patriots the lead 30-28 at the halftime break.
The Comets regained the lead at 31-30 with two free throws by Shamoni Faulkner with 6:21 to play in the third quarter.
But Halifax County failed to take advantage of four Albemarle turnovers in the first two and a half minutes of the second half to hike their lead.
A three-point basket by Williams with 4:52 left in the period put the Comets up 34-30.
The basket by Williams and a basket by Dante Ballou with 2:53 left were the only field goals the Comets had in the quarter.
Albemarle polished off the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a four-point lead at the end of the third period and started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to complete an 11-0 rally that spanned more than five minutes.
It yielded the Patriots a nine-point lead before a three-point shot by Baird with 6:07 left in the game restarted the Comets' offense.

Jack W. White, age 77, of 522 South Main Street, Roxboro, N.C., died January 12 at the Person Memorial Hospital.
Mr. White was born in Person County to the late Cyrus Clifton and Vivian Iola Oakley White. He was married to the late Rachel Bright White.
Mr. White was a WW II Army Veteran and a veteran of the Korean Conflict. He was a partner in Brooks & White Funeral Home, Roxboro and had served on the Board of Directors of Roxboro Saving Bank.
Mr. White received the Exchange Club Citizenship of the Year award in 1976 and was the oldest active member of the Roxboro Kiwanis Club having held many offices. He was a member of the Long Memorial United Methodist Church.
His survivors include his son: Jack "Bill" White Jr. and his wife, Connee of Roxboro; two grandchildren: Katie White of Raleigh, N.C. and Mary White of Roxboro; three brothers: C.J. White of Hurdle Mills, N.C., Lawrence White of Roxboro and Kermit White of Danville.
A funeral service was held Sunday at the Long Memorial United Methodist Church with the Dr. John Harwood Jr. officiating. Burial was in the Burchwood Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Long Memorial United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 310, Roxboro, N.C. 27573.

Flossie Comer Guthrie, age 96, of South Boston died January 13 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Guthrie was born in Halifax County on October 20, 1904, the daughter of Charlie Peter Comer and Nora Lee Gravitt Comer. She was married to Louis Robert Guthrie and was a member of the Main Street United Methodist Church where she was a member of the Tuesday Circle.
Her survivors include a niece: Harriette Talley Lowder of Columbus, Ohio and two nephews: Joe Talley and Sammy Comer of South Boston.
A funeral service will be held Tuesday, January 16 at 3 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Doug Martin officiating. Burial will take place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family will receive friends tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home and at other times at the home of Joe Talley, 3001 East Hyco Road.
For memorials please consider the Patrick Henry Boys Home.