It's confirmed.
Halifax County Administrator Dan Sleeper will begin his new duties as administrator in Pittsylvania County on March 1.
The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 Tuesday night to hire Sleeper.
Sleeper, 51, spent 12 years as administrator in the adjoining county before moving to Halifax County in 1993.
The move offers Sleeper a hefty raise, from $64,513 in Halifax to $80,000 in Pittsylvania County, plus fringe benefits.
"I am looking forward to going to Pittsylvania County," Sleeper said following the announcement. "But I will continue to work with the Halifax County Board of Supervisors through this budget session because it is such an unusual year, because of the school funding formula change. It is a unique problem."

The county is facing a demand for an estimated $2 to $3 million in local funding due to the formula changes for the public school system.
South Boston's reversion and the formula changes combined to fuel the demand for additional local funding this year.
Public school officials and members of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors are expected to explore funding options during the supervisors' annual retreat scheduled later this month.
Sleeper said Wednesday that he had also promised the Halifax County War Memorial Commission's chairman, Brodnax Robertson, that he would try to see that the Memorial Park project was completed.
Last fall, land at the corner of Main Street and Mountain Road in Halifax was purchased by the Halifax Woman's Club and given to the county for use as a War Memorial Park.
The War Memorial Commission plans to erect a memorial in the park in memory of county residents killed during all wars, from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm.
Sleeper's application for the Pittsylvania County administrator's job was one of 32 received by that board. Supervisors there spent a little over an hour behind closed doors Tuesday night before voting to offer Sleeper the position.

School children celebrated yet another free day as over three inches of wet, heavy snow blanketed Halifax County, keeping schools closed.
Halifax County schools have been closed since the Lee-Jackson-King Holiday on Monday, which was followed by the first snow-fall of the new year.
School board offices were also closed yesterday.
The slushy precipitation that hit Halifax County last night delayed business at the county offices, as well.
County offices did not open until 11 a.m., by which time most of the snow had melted off the sidewalks, however, the Halifax County Courthouse was open for business-as-usual at 8:30 a.m.
Virginia Department of Transportation crews barely had time to recover from Tuesday's snow before they had to hit the roads with salt trucks and snowplows again.
According to VDOT resident engineer Joe Barkley, after hearing the forecast that called for snow on Wednesday night, crews were scheduled to come in to work at midnight.
But when the snow began to sift down around 11 p.m., the crews reported an hour early and began applying salt and abrasives to all the primary roads.
"They worked all- night applying salt and abrasives to the primary roads, and once that was finished they started pushing snow on both the primary and secondary roads," Barkley said.
Warmer temperatures compared to Tuesday's snow also helped.
"We're not getting the frozen spots like before. The weather is cooperating," Barkley said.
"When the temperature drops, we'll start applying more abrasives, and crews will remain on duty all night patrolling for frozen spots."
Although this snow was wetter and heavier than earlier this week, Barkley said he had not heard of any problems involving broken tree limbs.

Although it was a late opening, schools in Halifax County opened today after a three-day weather imposed hiatus.
Schools opened an hour late this morning, a move designed to give both students and bus drivers an opportunity to have more daylight time in which to operate.
"The roads are mostly clear," Halifax County School Superintendent Dennis Witt said late yesterday.
"We know it's going to be cold. There may still be some slick spots and the bus drivers will be aware that they need to be careful."
Operating on a one hour delay, Witt added, "gives everybody an opportunity to have a little more daylight."
This week's pair of snow storms have forced a change in next week's exam schedule at Halifax County High School and in the school system's overall schedule.
The early release day that had originally been scheduled for Wednesday (January 26) has been moved to Thursday (January 27) with students across the county getting out of school at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Teachers will have an extended workday on Thursday and will have a workday on Friday. There will be no teacher workday on Saturday.
Students will return to school on Monday, January 31 for the start of the second semester.
Halifax County's students are faced with having to make up three days as a result of their hiatus from school this week.
According to the makeup plan outlined in the school system calendar, Thursday (January 27) will serve as one of the makeup days.
The second makeup date that falls on the school system calendar is Friday, March 31 with the third makeup day set as Memorial Day, Monday, May 29.
If students miss another day from school, the next makeup date listed on the school calendar is Easter Monday, April 24.
Witt said plans are to follow the makeup schedule listed on the calendar that was adopted by the Halifax County School Board late last summer.
However, that does not necessarily preclude school system officials from making changes if a better plan is devised.
Any changes from the makeup plan stated on the calendar, however, would have to be approved by the School Board.

Three state agencies and BGF Industries representatives met with members of the Staunton River PCB Advisory Committee this week to report on testing and clean-up of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Staunton River.
While the Staunton River was the focus of the Tuesday night meeting in Campbell County, local advisory committee members worry about the PCB contamination in the Dan River, particularly its source and impact.
Members also urged funding for clean-up projects before officials of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Staff and funds were among the concerns raised by committee member Doug Powell of Halifax.
"They still have a lot of work to do and I hope they don't give out of funds before they do a thorough job of it," said Powell.
The time it takes the agencies to complete the testing process and issue results as well as the discharge sites along the rivers that are not permitted, were other issues raised during the Tuesday night meeting.
BGF, an Altavista plant, was identified as a PCB source and notified last December that it must halt PCB discharge into the Staunton River.
The company purchased the plant site from Burlington Industries and discovered last year that PCBs were leaching from the sediment into the river.
During the Tuesday night meeting, Dr. Mike Scanlon of DEQ praised BGF officials for their cooperation.
BGF instituted measures to stop the flow of PCBs from the plant site to the Staunton River following notification.
Dr. Scanlon told the advisory committee that the agency planned to do more sampling in Altavista before moving on to Brookneal.
Dan River
Committee members also learned that the agency plans to complete interviews in the Staunton River basin before proceeding to the Dan River.
DEQ issued a health advisory last month cautioning people to limit their consumption of flathead and channel catfish taken from a 42-mile stretch of the Dan River from the Kerr Reservoir at Staunton River State Park to southwestern Halifax County where the river crosses into North Carolina.
The source of the contamination has not been identified.
Of fish collected at South Boston, both flathead and channel catfish were determined to have levels of PCB contamination above 600 parts per billion (ppb), the Health Department's level of concern for potential human health effects.
Health Department officials said that samples of flathead catfish had PCB levels ranging from 271 ppb to 2,689 ppb, while channel catfish samples were found to range from 52 ppb to 648 ppb.
Dan River Warnings
Although Tom Stutts, a member of the Staunton River PCB Advisory Committee, described the Tuesday night meeting as informative, he has concerns.
"We have to keep these agencies' feet to the fire," said Stutts. "To probe and to dig. The public should have known about the PCBs in the Staunton and Dan before they did.
"You are putting out these warnings on fish (consumption) but there are a lot of people, who for one reason or another, are not getting the warning."
Warning signs have not been posted along the Dan River to date but are expected to be posted soon.
South Boston Landfill
One committee member at the Tuesday night session raised questions about PCB contamination in the South Boston landfill and possible leaching into the Dan River from material dumped there years ago.
However, South Boston Town Manager Ted Daniel said there has been no indication of PCB contamination.
"We are constantly monitoring the water coming out of the landfill and there has been no indication of PCBs," Daniel said .
The town manager said that the water is monitored both above and below the landfill, next to Reedy Creek, and tested by a Blacksburg company. "And we have detected no PCBs in monitoring," he said.
The town has been monitoring for over a year as part of the process for landfill closure.
"As far as anything buried there, I have no knowledge of it. Personally, I seriously doubt it. If anyone has knowledge otherwise, we would sure like to hear about it," Daniel said.
"The public can be assured DEQ is watching it closely, and our consultants are monitoring. If there are any problems, we are going to mitigate it. It is a moral, legal and environmental question and we are going to deal with it," said the town manager.
Water Supply Safe
The South Boston town manager also emphasized that the town's drinking water is safe.
He explained that the raw water is tested before it is put into the plant. "We have tested the finished water for PCBs that we put in the distribution system," he added.

The gunman in a group of young men charged with robbing two pedestrians in South Boston last July was convicted in Halifax County Circuit Court this week.
Sean Christopher Hill, 20, of Thompson Store Road, Vernon Hill, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to robbing Charles Eric Chandler as he and Chad L. Anderson walked down a South Boston street on the evening of July 14 .
According to court records, Hill was with co-defendants Kevin L. Traynham of Halifax and Curtis Jermaine Hill of Crystal Hill, when they approached Chandler and Anderson.
Records indicate that one of the suspects asked Anderson if he had any drugs, and when he responded that he did not, Sean Hill pulled out a gun.
The records further indicate that Chandler was robbed of a gold Geneva watch, a 22-inch gold rope chain, an 18-inch gold link chain, a gold and diamond "No Limits" chain, a St. Louis Cardinals ball cap, a pack of Newport cigarettes and his wallet.
Hill, who is the only defendant in this case to be tried at this time, was found guilty of armed robbery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony (robbery), and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Judge William L. Wellons revoked Hill's bond and remanded him to the Blue Ridge Regional Jail in Halifax to await sentencing, which is tentatively scheduled to occur in March.
Wellons also heard the following cases on Wednesday:
· Katherine Nell Ratcliff, 22, of Bold Springs Road, South Boston, who was charged with assaulting Marsha Pulliam on June 20, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of abuse.
She was found guilty and fined $50.
Another charge of extortion by threat involving her ex-fiance, Gary B. Talley Jr., was nol prossed on a motion of Commonwealth's Attorney James Vann.
· David Oliver Boulden, 20, of Meadow Drive, South Boston, pleaded not guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm under the age of 29 after being convicted as a juvenile of an adult felony.
Wellons reviewed the evidence and found Boulden guilty as charged.
The judge ruled that the defendant could remain free on bond until a presentence report could be prepared for the March court term.
· Mary A. Brown, of Rice, pleaded not guilty to forging and uttering.
She was found guilty and presentence report was ordered for the March court term.
Wellons granted a request to dismiss additional charges of forging and uttering.

A Halifax County grand jury this month indicted two accomplices to the alleged gunman in the September robbery at One Valley Bank in South Boston.
True bills of indictment were returned against 15-year-old Bruce T. Pannell Jr., of Poplar Street, South Boston, and David Arthur Canada, 32, of L.P. Bailey Highway, Halifax, who were both arrested after police apprehended Timothy Pannell and charged him with robbing the One Valley Bank branch on Sept. 30.
According to the indictments, Pannell was indicted on the charge of conspiracy to commit robbery, while Canada was indicted on two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
According to court records, 17-year-old Timothy Pannell, was indicted in November on charges of armed robbery, brandishing and attempted capital murder of a police officer.
According to police reports, Timothy Pannell was arrested minutes after the bank alarm sounded.
Brandishing a .38-caliber snub-nose pistol containing five rounds of live ammunition, the masked bandit walked into the bank branch at Wilborn and Logan streets and ordered two customers and all but one bank employee to hit the floor.
Police say that the lone gunman then instructed the single bank employee to fill a backpack with cash from several teller booths, then exited the rear door and fled on foot.
South Boston Police Officer Tim VanArnem stopped the suspect near the Norfolk-Southern Railroad tracks, at which time the two reportedly faced each other with their guns drawn.
Other indictments included the following:
· Lowell David Miller, 23, of Wickham Avenue, South Boston, was indicted on three counts of robbery, three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of conspiracy to commit a robbery, two counts of brandishing, and one count of assault and battery.
According to court records, Miller allegedly robbed Jagdishbhaim Patel of more than $200 on Dec. 3; and then robbed Sherry Mills and Antoniol Darden II on Dec. 10.
Also indicted in these alleged offenses is Jay Francis Anderson, age and address not available.
Charges against Anderson include one count of robbery; two counts of attempted robbery; three counts of the use of a firearm while committing robbery; and two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery.
· Douglas Raymond McCarroll, 50, of King Highway, Drakes Branch, was indicted on charges of possession of cocaine.
The alleged offense occurred on June 11.
· Darnell Bailey, age and address not available, was indicted on the charge of cocaine possession.
The alleged incident occurred on Sept. 16.
· Katina F. Ballou, age and address not available, was indicted on the charge of cocaine possession.
The alleged incident occurred on June 19.
· April Ann Borden, age and address not available, was indicted on the charges of malicious wounding and assault and battery.
The alleged incident, which involved Tom Edward Glaizer, occurred on Nov. 12.
· Joynita Marable Mills, age and address not available, was indicted on the charges of stealing food stamps and Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
The alleged offenses occurred between Dec. 1, 1997 and May 31, 1998.
· Jerry Wayne Moore, age and address not available, was indicted on the charge of possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
The alleged offense occurred on Jan. 6, 2000.
· Richard Noel Puckett, 34, of L.P. Bailey Highway, Halifax, was indicted on charges of grand larceny.
Puckett allegedly stole more than $200 from Virginia Carolina Homes Inc. on August 27.
· Hubert "Wolf" Reaves Jr., 50, of Cavalier Lane, South Boston, was indicted on the charge of possession of cocaine.
The alleged offense occurred on June 12.
· Ronnie E. Ross, 39, of Glendale Drive, South Boston, was indicted on three counts of possession of cocaine.
The alleged offenses occurred on Jan. 23, June 16 and June 18.
· Darrell Wayne Smith, 31, of Mill Road, Clover, was indicted on charges of forgery and uttering.
· Jessie R. Thaxton, age and address not available, was indicted on the charge of selling, pawning or moving an item under loan without the bank's consent.
· Keith Dion Walton, 33, of Cathy Sue Lane, South Boston, was indicted on two counts of possession of cocaine.
· William Jermaine Walton, 29, of Alton, was indicted on charges of theft, forgery and uttering.
Walton allegedly stole and cashed a check from Danielle E. Clark on Sept. 15.
The check was valued in excess of $200.
· Ernest Eugene Williams, 44, of Nathalie, was indicted on charges of hit and run.
The alleged offense occurred on April 7.
· Bradshaw L. Woody, age and address not available, was indicted on charges of reckless handling of a gun to endanger South Boston Police Officer Daniel T. Frazier and possession of alcohol under the age of 21.
The alleged offense occurred on July 31.
· Anthony Worsham, 21, of Moon road, Long Island, was indicted on the charge of driving after being declared an habitual offender.
The alleged offense occurred on Nov. 21.
· Larry Bell, 46, of Hillsborough, N.C., was indicted on charges of abduction and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
Bell allegedly abducted Theresa B. Johnson on June 18.
· April Ann Bordon, 29, of Henderson, N.C, was indicted on charges of malicious wounding and assault and battery.
The alleged offenses, which involved Tom Edward Glaizer, occurred on Nov. 12.
· William Bayron Bowman, of C&C Drive, Bassett, was indicted on the charge of DUI.
The alleged offense occurred on Sept. 27.
· Emma Jean Boyd, 45, of Spring Avenue, South Boston, was indicted on the charge of possession of cocaine.
The alleged offense occurred on June 5.
· Gary D. Boyd, 33, of the Fairmont Apartments, South Boston, was indicted on seven counts of forgery and uttering and obtaining money by false pretenses.
Boyd allegedly falsified time cards through MANPOWER on Aug. 8, Aug. 15, Aug. 22, Aug. 29, Sept. 5, Sept. 12 and Sept. 19.
· Eugene Monroe Barksdale, 21, of Union Church Road, was indicted on the charge of possession of cocaine.
The alleged incident occurred on March 25.
· Kelvin Dewayne Cameron, 25, of Ridge Street, South Boston, was indicted on the charges of possession of cocaine, and assault and battery of a police officer, Dennis W. Barker, and escape.
The alleged offenses occurred on May 22.
· Michael L. Carrington, age and address not available, was indicted on three counts of breaking and entering and three counts of grand larceny.
Carrington allegedly broke into the home of Danny Lacks on May 9 and stole a 12-gauge Mossburg pump shotgun and assorted fishing gear; then between Nov. 18 and Nov. 19, broke into the home of Kenneth Lacks and stole a Mossburg Bull 12-gauge shotgun, and between Nov. 19 and Nov. 24, broke into the home of Betty Sydnor and stole a Harrison-Richard Topper Model 88 20-gauge single barrel shotgun, a 50-piece set of antique silver, a 59-piece wrench set, a 50-piece socket set, a cordless phone, two tires, an auto dolly and a battery.
· James Edward Chaney, 68, of Chatham Road, Halifax, was indicted on the charge of shooting at an occupied vehicle.
The alleged offense occurred on Oct. 19.
· Patricia Ann Coleman, age and address not available, was indicted on charges of theft, forging and uttering.
Coleman allegedly stole a group insurance check valued in excess of $200 on Dec. 21.
· Alvin Eugene Crews, 35, of Turkey Track Lane, Nathalie, was indicted on the charge of possession of cocaine.
The alleged offense occurred on June 25.

CHARLOTTE (AP) - A draft of a two-year study of North Carolina's proliferating chip mills warns that increased logging may thin the state's hardwood forests because regeneration will lag behind tree-cutting.
While the preliminary report on the study - whose scheduled release Tuesday in Statesville was postponed by snow - doesn't blame the chip mill industry for the increased logging, environmentalists were willing to.
''There's no question about causation - they go hand in hand,'' said Josh Abrams of the Dogwood Alliance, an environmental group that opposes expansion of chip mills. ''The clearest thing is that there is no room left for increased logging and new chip mills.''
The preliminary report predicted that in North Carolina over the next decade, hardwood trees in the mountains and Piedmont will be cut faster than they grow. Pine plantations, which support a smaller diversity of wildlife, will continue to replace naturally growing forests.
Fred Cubbage, a North Carolina State University forestry professor and study leader, said logging has increased where chip mills are prevalent. The final report, to be released in March, may explain what the correlation is, he said.
Cubbage said projections showing logging of hardwoods exceeding their growth rate reflects the fact that hardwoods grow slowly. He said researchers found that in 20 years, 3.1 percent of the state's hardwoods would be cut each year, compared to a 2.7 percent growth rate.
''The decline there is hardly precipitous,'' he said.
Gov. Jim Hunt ordered the $250,000 fact-finding study, the first of its kind in the South, where environmental groups say about 100 chip mills have opened in the past decade. The mills shred trees into postage stamp-size pieces. The chips are used to make paper and other wood products.
In 1980, two North Carolina mills sent chips off-site. Now, there are 18, with another of the highly mechanized mills planned in Stokes County, just south of the Virginia border.
Between 1990 and 1997, North Carolina pulpwood production rose 21 percent. Pulpwood from oaks and other hardwoods rose 66 percent in the Piedmont, where nine chip mills are located.
The study was conducted by the Southern Center for Sustainable Forests, a collaboration of North Carolina State University, Duke University and the state Division of Forest Resources.
Mill operators say the mills have created a market for timber once considered unfit for processing.
Robert Slocum of the N.C. Forestry Association, an industry group, said study researchers found ''almost no harvesting done solely because of chipping.''
''What I've seen shows me the forests will continue to be healthy, diverse and productive, and that chip mills will continue to be part of that,'' Slocum said of the study. ''I don't see anything there that says chip mills are a big problem.''

A lot is at stake tonight when - or perhaps, if - the Halifax County High School Blue Comets square off against E.C. Glass in Lynchburg.
The Comets, 5-6, will be trying to snap a four game losing streak and pick up their first Western District win in tonight's contest against the Hilltoppers.
Tonight's game will kick off a busy weekend for the Comets who are also scheduled to play Dinwiddie here Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in a non-district game.
Saturday night's game against Dinwiddie will be the only meeting the two teams will have on the hardwood this season.
And, while Comets coach Garrett Dillard will take a win at any time, a victory over the Hilltoppers tonight will be a huge one.
Tonight's game is the second Western District game of the season for the two teams, both of which suffered setbacks in their district openers last Friday.
With only four teams in the Western District and each team having only six district games to play, each contest is critical.
A loss for either team, for all practical purposes, will kill any hopes for winning the regular season district title.
"These guys on both teams know what is at stake," Dillard pointed out.
With that in mind, Dillard says both teams will come out of the box with fire in their eyes.
"I think everyone will come out competing and scrapping," Dillard remarked, "so that we're not in the cellar in the district."
Last year's Comets-E.C. Glass matchup in Lynchburg was a thriller that went down to the very end of the game.
Comets guard Fred Price sank a big shot at the buzzer to give the Comets the win over the Hilltoppers.
And, that same kind of game is expected this time around as well.
The Comets have faced some tough tests over the past couple of weeks or so, games that were seen as pivotal games that could be turning points in their season.
Tonight's game against the 6-4 Hilltoppers, however, is, arguably, the biggest yet.
"This could be the big game for us," Dillard said.
"With only six district games to play, if you go down 0-2, you can pretty much count on having to settle for third or fourth place. If you win and go 1-1, you've still got a chance to finish first or second."

"I don't say we have to put all of our marbles in this game," he continued, "but we have to go out and play as if this is our only hope of finishing first or second."
If the Comets don't win tonight, Dillard at least wants to see his team play hard and show significant signs of a return to their early season form when they won five of their first seven games.
"We need to go out and play hard and play well," he pointed out, "not so much for first place or second place. We need a win. We need a win badly.
"We're going to emphasize playing hard, playing smart, and trying to hang around long enough to win."
One question mark that will come into play tonight is will or how the brief layoff earlier this week for the holiday and snow will effect the Comets.
"I think the two extra days off this week really helped," Dillard said late Wednesday afternoon after the team's practice.
"Practice went pretty well. We put in a couple of new things on offense. We worked on our shooting. I thought the guys came out and picked up everything as if they're ready to go.
"Some of the guys," he added, "said the two extra days really helped. I think some of the guys are just physically tired."
E.C. Glass, Dillard says, is not big when it comes to size. But, the Hilltoppers are quick and they play good defense.
"They're small and real quick," Dillard said, "and they like to press. It's not like they have blinding super quickness. But, they have five guys that can rebound and push the ball up the floor.

Mary Carrington Medley, age 88, of 8169 Philpott Road, South Boston, died January 16, 2000, at her home.
Mrs. Medley was born in Halifax County on August 7, 1911, the daughter of John Paul Carrington and Addie Richardson Carrington and was married to Joseph Henry Medley Sr. She was a member of Cross Roads Baptist Church and a member of the Order of Eastern Star and the NAACP.
Survivors include four daughters, Edna R. Medley of South Boston, Addie M. Jones of Willingboro, N.J., Mabel L. Medley of Great Neck, N.Y. and W. Anne Green of Philadelphia, Pa.; three sons, Joseph H. Medley Jr. and Edward L. Medley, both of Baltimore, Md. and Rufus O.Medley of Philadelphia; one foster son, Jesse Jerome Medley of South Boston; 16 grandchildren; 27 great grandchildren; six great-great grandchildren; one sister, Mabel C. Edmondson of Scottsburg; one brother, Junious R. Carrington of Norfolk; a devoted niece, Mary Scott Medley of Turbeville; and a devoted nephew, Rev. Elton Medley of South Boston.

Funeral services for Mrs. Medley will be held January 22 at 1 p.m. at Cross Roads Baptist Church with Rev. Dennis White officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home.