"If I was a betting man, I'd say it ain't gonna do much!" Riverdale area merchant and auto dealer Phil Propst said yesterday as he watched the rising flood waters of the Dan River slowly cover Route 501 in front of his businesses.
Though skeptical of predictions that would place about a foot of water inside his office, Propst was taking no chances with his rolling stock. He had already moved more than a dozen vehicles and stock trailers off his lot onto safer and higher ground.
Based on the latest predictions by the National Weather Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Dan River was to have crested last night around 328 feet above sea level. If accurate, that would place about a foot of water over Route 501 but leave Route 58 dry for travel.
VDOT maintenance workers closed Route 501 through Riverdale yesterday by early afternoon and were not expected to reopen it to traffic until later today.
Today's flooding was linked to a blustery winter storm moving at a snail's pace across Virginia. For two days snow and rain pounded the state from the mountains to the coast dumping up to 20 inches of snow in parts of the southwest mountains and three inches of rainfall in areas east and north of the Blue Ridge.
Near Danville, rainfall amounts were recorded between three and four inches and that caused the Dan River to react quickly, according to the Corps of Engineers, which monitors conditions throughout the basin. By late Wednesday night, the Dan River had crested at 21.91 feet.
Slower to react to the huge inflows were areas further downstream such as Paces where the river did not crest until late yesterday. Slower still was the crest at South Boston, which may not occur until today.
Moving out of the Riverdale section along Route 501 was less than dramatic yesterday. At Swanee Restaurant plywood boards were being caulked into place while inside, customers continued to enjoy their lunch.
Across the street Mac Ragan was busy, but not moving out of his garage. Ragan was operating a motorized blower and had a whirlwind of dust and dirt in the air.
"This is all I'm going to move!" the veteran Riverdale businessman said while pointing to the blower and the cloud of dust.
"It's rising too slow," Ragan said of the flood waters that were licking at the curbing in front of his shop. "I don't believe it will hit 326 (feet above sea level.)"
High water did force the closing of other roads around the county and inside the Town of South Boston. VDOT listed the following routes closed: Route 600 from Route 746 to Route 778, Route 614 from Route 360 to Route 651, Route 617 from Route 618 to Route 623, Route 691 from Route 658 to Route 659, Route 716 from Route 727 to Route 726, Route 613 from Route 360 to Route 360, Route 617 from Route 616 to Route 618, Route 685 from Route 662 to Route 683 and Route 710 from Route 711 to the N.C. line.
With those closings, highway officials urged motorists to be alert to any standing water in roadways and not attempt to drive through high water since the roadway beneath may be effected.
Once the waters in rivers and creeks subside, the next problems could occur when snow begins to melt in the higher elevations. Snowmelt runoff will be occurring for the next 48 to 96 hours.
And yet another weathermaker is now brewing in the Gulf of Mexico and that could bring more rain by next week.
In addition to rising waters, early Thursday morning motorists endured widespread patches of icy road conditions, especially in the northern end of the county, according to the Virginia State Police.
The most serious wreck occurred at 6:29 a.m. on U.S. 501, approximately two miles north of the Banister River Bridge.
Dale Carpentier, 41, of Halifax was injured after her 1996 Chevrolet slid off the highway and overturned down an embankment, only about 200 feet from her home, according to the investigation.
No charges were filed. Her vehicle sustained an estimated $18,000 in damages, police said.
Several wrecks also occurred around dawn on U.S. 501 near Volens, on Rt. 40 near Cody, and in the Mount Laurel community, police said.
Twenty-four hours before, as the waters first began to rise in the western end of South Boston, a vehicle ran into high waters near the intersection of Summit Drive and Railroad Avenue, according to Lt. Rick Loftis of the South Boston Police Department.
Chevelle Crowder, 28, of Bold Springs Road was driving a 1979 Dodge at 4:45 a.m. when it entered the high waters, according to the investigation.
Crowder, and several occupants were not injured, but the vehicle had to be pulled from the water by a wrecker, causing an undetermined amount of damages.
The vehicle is owned by Adrienne Sentrell Vaughan.
Crowder was later charged with driving a motor vehicle after previously having been declared a felon. The incident was investigated by SBPD Officer Earl Hall.
Approximately 250 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled Wednesday afternoon when a tractor trailer jackknifed on U.S. 58, about 1.5-miles east of the Pittsylvania County Line.
William L. Vestal, 48, of Summerfield, N.C. was headed eastbound in a 1990 Volvo tandem tractor trailer when he lost control and ran off the road, according to the Virginia State Police.
Vestal was not injured, but the rig and cargo sustained approximately $70,000 in damages, according to the investigation.
The crash began when the wheels of the rear trailer of the tandem ran onto the shoulder of the road and began to bog down in mud, police said.
Vestal attempted to ride out the incident, but the rig jackknifed before he could completely return to the road, according to the investigation.
A fuel tank ruptured, spilling diesel fuel onto the side of the highway. Employees of the Virginia Department of Transportation brought in loads of sand to contain the fuel, police said.
A hazardous materials unit from the City of Danville Fire Department was called in to supervise the cleanup efforts. The location of the crash and fuel spill was one-half mile east of Rt. 656.
Vestal was charged with reckless driving. The 1 p.m. incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper D.J. Cline.
In other wrecks:
· James Thomas Holland, 38, of Halifax was not injured Wednesday morning when his 1997 Chevrolet struck a tree which had fallen across Rt. 832, about 50 feet east of Rt. 671, police said.
Holland's vehicle sustained an estimated $1,000 in damages during the 7:25 a.m. crash.
No charges were filed and the incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper C.M. Fleming.
· Dale Carpentier, 41, of Halifax was injured early Thursday morning after she lost control of her car on an icy surface of U.S. 501 and overturned down an embankment, police said.
She was headed southbound in a 1996 Chevrolet which hit an ice patch, ran into the northbound lane, back into the southbound lane, then ran off the road and overturned, police said.
The 6:29 a.m. incident occurred approximately two miles north of the Banister River Bridge. Her vehicle sustained an estimated $18,000 in damages, police said.
No charges were filed and the incident was investigated by Trooper Fleming.
The Halifax County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 2, beginning at 7 p.m. The meeting will take place in the second floor public meeting room of the Mary Bethune Office Complex in Halifax.
Among issues that will be studied and discussed is the ongoing budgetary fallout from the recent boundary adjustment between the Town of South Boston and Halifax County.
In a meeting of the Finance Committee last Monday evening, County Administrator Dan Sleeper estimated that the county will lose $409,958 in revenue because of the adjustment.
However, in a preliminary look at this year's budget, he reported that the county was approximately $600 in the black.
Another major issue scheduled to be discussed is the ongoing efforts to fund and implement improvements for the 50-year-old William M. Tuck Airport.
In a recent meeting of the Airport Commission, Sleeper outlined a five-year plan which proposes approximately $2 million in improvements to the facility.
Other issues that will be discussed in Monday night's meeting is an update on the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority and the clearing and grading efforts currently underway for the new jail in Halifax.
An investigation of the local jail by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice was officially closed earlier this month, Justice Department officials said.
No federal charges will be filed in an alleged June, 1997 incident which involved three jailers, all of whom have since resigned.
One of the three - who were not identified since no charges were filed - was alleged to have had sexual relations with a female inmate. The other two were under investigation for possible violations of departmental policy and guidelines, according to the investigation.
"After a careful review of the investigative reports, we concluded that this matter should be closed," wrote Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division in a January 6, 1998 letter. "Accordingly, based upon the information currently available to us, this Department has no intention of taking any further action."
A total of six agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted interviews of jailers and inmates last year as part of the investigation.
That FBI investigation was initiated upon request of Sheriff Oakes after an internal investigation by the Halifax County Sheriff's Department determined that possible illegal activity had taken place within the Halifax County Jail.
The matter has now been turned over to Halifax County Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker Jr. for his review of the matter, Sheriff Oakes pointed out.
It will now be up to Greenbacker if any state or local charges need to be filed, he said.
By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tobacco executives told a congressional panel Thursday that they would not agree to any settlement without protection from lawsuits, which an industry deal with states provides.
''We cannot agree to any legislation that does not include the limited common sense civil liability protections,'' Nick Brookes, chairman and chief executive officer of Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp., said in prepared remarks.
Congressional Republicans have indicated unwillingness to approve the protection the tobacco companies demanded in the June settlement the industry reached with states attorneys general. Congress must ratify the deal if it is to become law.
The deal would end 40 state lawsuits against the industry if companies pay $368 billion over 25 years and voluntarily change business practices, such as advertising. Part of the settlement money includes payments for the treatment of sick smokers.
In return, the industry would be protected from most lawsuits.
Brookes said that protection is the industry's main incentive for cooperating. Denying it would kill the deal and the companies' willingness to meet terms of the June proposal, he added.
Brookes was one of five tobacco company executives who negotiated the June settlement who were testifying today before the House Commerce Committee.
Chairman, Rep. Tom Bliley, R-Va., a longtime tobacco ally, scolded the executives for secret memos that indicate the industry targeted children, included racial stereotypes in marketing plans and manipulated scientific research.
Before the June settlement can be considered, Bliley said, lawmakers ''must be confident you are telling us the truth - the whole truth.''
''The recent disclosures in documents subpoenaed by this committee and those released by (Rep. Henry) Waxman have shaken my confidence that you companies care about the truth,'' Bliley said in prepared remarks. ''If these things are true, then you should know that kind of behavior is unacceptable and will not be allowed.''
Waxman, D-Calif., said, ''Our only goal must be to pass legislation that protects our children. We don't need the tobacco industry's blessing to do this.''
Many Republicans, who previously defended tobacco companies, feel betrayed by documents showing the industry targeted youths. Lawmakers returned to Congress from their two-month winter recess predicting the death of the protective June settlement.
''Amongst the (Senate) leadership on the Republican side, there's not a lot of interest in granting immunity to tobacco,'' Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., said. ''And if you don't have immunity, the tobacco boys aren't going to be willing to participate.''
Republicans plan to craft legislation that would focus on preventing children from using tobacco, according to Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio. ''If there's no immunity, there's no deal,'' said Pryce, the House GOP spokeswoman on tobacco. ''The tobacco industry won't settle unless there's immunity. I don't know why they would.''
GOP leaders expect to present a plan in February.
''The more we have learned about tobacco's deliberate campaign about addicting children and the more we have learned about their lying (about it), the weaker their negotiating position has become,'' House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said in an interview.
Gingrich has told other GOP leaders he favors legislation that would force the industry to pay the costs of treating sick smokers, but refuse to grant tobacco companies immunity from lawsuits, according to three senior Republican sources.
In a House Republican leadership meeting on Tuesday, no one argued to retain the lawsuit protection provision, three people who were present said.
The GOP's opposition to granting the industry lawsuit protection is based on legal and political grounds. In a year when all 435 House seats and 34 Senate seats are up for election, Republicans leaders are unwilling to grant the industry any favors.
''Providing limited liability to any industry would be a historic precedent,'' said House GOP Conference Chairman John Boehner, R-Ohio. ''I can't imagine we'd do it with just the tobacco industry.''
By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Even before Congress completes hearings on a proposed multibillion-dollar tobacco deal, Republican leaders are coming out against a key provision that would protect tobacco companies from lawsuits.
''Amongst the (Senate) leadership on the Republican side, there's not a lot of interest in granting immunity to tobacco,'' Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., said after President Clinton's State of the Union address. ''And if you don't have immunity, the tobacco boys aren't going to be willing to participate.''
The House Commerce Committee opened hearings Thursday on the settlement. Executives from tobacco giants Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson and RJR Nabisco were expected to testify.
Republicans returned from their two-month winter recess this week widely predicting the death of the landmark settlement reached last summer between tobacco companies and state attorneys general.
The tobacco settlement would end 40 state lawsuits against the industry if companies pay $368 billion over 25 years and voluntarily curb their marketing practices. Part of the settlement money includes payments by the industry to treat sick smokers.
In return, the industry would get protection against most other lawsuits.
Removing that provision from the deal would eliminate its main incentive for tobacco companies to make voluntary changes, such as in their advertising, according to several industry officials.
''You cannot have a comprehensive tobacco resolution that the president called for without civil liability relief for the industry,'' said industry spokesman Scott Williams.
Several lawmakers agreed.
''If there's no immunity, there's no deal,'' said Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio, the House GOP spokeswoman on tobacco. ''The tobacco industry won't settle unless there's immunity. I don't know why they would.''
The deal is subject to ratification by Congress, where it has gotten an unfriendly reception from the start. Republicans plan to write legislation that would focus on preventing children from using tobacco, according to Pryce, secretary of the House Republican Conference.
But she said GOP leaders ''aren't even close to decision time yet.'' Several GOP sources said they are expected to make that decision in February.
''The more we have learned about tobacco's deliberate campaign about addicting children and the more we have learned about their lying (about it), the weaker their negotiating position has become,'' House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in an interview.
Gingrich has told other GOP leaders in recent weeks that he favors legislation that would force the industry to pay the costs of treating sick smokers, but refuse to grant tobacco companies immunity from lawsuits, according to three senior Republican sources.
In a House Republican leadership meeting on Tuesday, no one argued to retain the lawsuit protection provision, said three people who were present.
Republicans cited as one reason for their opposition to the provision secret memos from the 1970s indicating that RJR Nabisco developed an intricate advertising scheme to target teen-agers as young as 13.
In the memos, RJR executives agreed that teen smokers represent the company's financial future, because 90 percent of smokers start before they are 18 and quickly become loyal to a brand.
The GOP's opposition to granting the industry lawsuit protection is based on legal and political grounds. In a year when all 435 House seats and 34 Senate seats are up for election, Republican leaders are unwilling to grant the industry any favors.
''Providing limited liability to any industry would be a historic precedent,'' said Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, chairman of the House GOP Conference. ''I can't imagine we'd do it with just the tobacco industry.''
Edna Jennings Toombs of Red Oak died Tuesday, January 27, 1998 at the home of her son and daughter-in-law in Clarksville.
Mrs. Toombs was born in Charlotte County, was the widow of Edward Jennings and Herba A. Toombs, and was a member of Antioch Baptist Church.
Survivors are a son, Jerry Jennings of Clarksville; one sister, Myrtle Thompson of Tappahannock; two granddaughters, Deborah Jennings Conner of Timberlake, NC and Kimberley Jennings of Raleigh, NC.
Funeral services for Mrs. Toombs were held at 2 p.m. January 29 at Antioch Baptist Church in Red Oak.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Mecklenburg County Lifesaving and Rescue Squad.
Stonewall Jackson Dismuke of 3016 Green Valley Road, Clover died Tuesday, January 27, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 61.
Mr. Dismuke was born in Halifax County on January 3, 1937 the son of Josh Dismuke and Jessie Brooks Dismuke and was married to Queen Cousins Dismuke. He was a member of Zion Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Sandra Dismuke and Sherri Jones of Richmond, and Wanda Vaughters of Clover; two sons, Curtis and Dennis Dismuke, both of Richmond; eight grandchildren; two sisters, Josephine Jeffress of Scottsburg and Margaret McCargo of Clover; three brothers, Joe of Passaic, NY, Johnny and Louis of Clover.
Funeral services for Mr. Dismuke will be held Sunday, February 1 at 2 p.m. at Zion Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Jefferson Goode officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home.
Richard Davis Brandon Sr. of West Hempstead, NY and formerly of Person County, NC, died at the Franklin Hospital Medical Center in Valley Stream, NY at the age of 73.
He was born in Person County, NC on August 24, 1924, the son of Mr. Asa Brandon and Mrs. Sarah Burton Brandon. He was married to Mrs. Alma Grant Brandon and was a former member of the New Ephesus Baptist Church.
His survivors include two daughters: Norma Britt of Freeport, NY and Joyce Brandon of Brooklyn, NY; a granddaughter: Alma Renee Joi Britt of Freeport; four brothers: Burt and Haywood of West Hempstead, Edward of South Ozone Park, NY and Ivery of Greensboro, NC; and a son-in-law: Colbert Britt of West Hempstead.
Funeral services will be held Sat., January 31 at 12 noon at the New Ephesus Baptist Church with Rev. Michael Harris officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will received friends at the New Ephesus Church on Saturday.
Robert R. Harris of Washington Avenue, South Boston died in Lexington, KY on January 25, 1998.
Mr. Harris was born on Feburary 19, 1941 to Novella Ballou. He was married to Frances Duncan Harris in 1962 and later to Mickey Harris.
He is survived by his wife: Mickey; a daughter: Shirley Marie Tucker of Richmond; a son: Robert B. Harris of Norfolk; four grandchildren: Guthrie Lewis Leavell Jr. and Briana C. Harris of South Boston, Michael Howard of Durham, NC and Barbara A. Hass of California; granddaughter-in-law: Leslie Leavell of South Boston; three great-grandchildren: Malik J. Leavell, Teneshawa R. Holt and Deandra Holt; two sisters: Mildred Ward and Gloria Tillis of Alexander; three brothers: Alfred Louis, Curtis Louis and James Ballou of Alexander; uncle: Alfred Ballou; daughter-in-law, Rose Mary Harris of Norfolk; son-in-law, Michael Tucker of Charlottesville; three sisters-in-law: Pat Louis, Bernadette Louis and Debbie Ballou of Alexander; two brothers-in-law: Earl Ward and Richard Tillis of Alexander; and a special cousin, Jack Walton of South Boston.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 31 at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Kent, Ballou and Crowder Funeral Service, Inc., South Boston. Officiating will be the Rev. Robert S. Wimbish.