A 15-year-old girl charged with two sodomy counts and one count of fornication in the wake of a June 3 incident at Halifax County High School was found not innocent Wednesday in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Judge Frank M. Slayton stated he found the evidence "overwhelming" that the girl was a willing participant in the sexual acts and rejected arguments from the girl's defense attorney, Stacey Moreau, that the girl was raped.
Two teenage boys, both 17, who were also charged in connection with the incident entered pleas of no contest to charges lodged against them.
One of the two boys faced one count each of sodomy and fornication while the other faced a sodomy charge.
Judge Slayton ordered juvenile court officials to prepare a home life background report on the girl. Sentencing is slated for March 11.
The girl testified that "we were getting ready for a band assembly in the gym. The band teacher said for us to go one at a time to get our instruments. When I got to the bottom of the stairs (near the band room) these five boys surrounded me and pushed me around."
Further, the girl testified that after being led by the boys to an area outside the school they forced her to engage in sexual acts with them.
One of the male codefendants, she said, "pushed me down, pulled my underwear off, got on top of me and raped me. I said 'no' three times before (the codefendant) raped me."
That, however, was not enough to counter the testimony of the two male codefendants, two other boys involved in the incident, a teacher, and school officials, all of whom said that the girl never indicated that she was forced by the boys to engage in the sexual activity.
The two male defendants admitted that they engaged in sexual acts with the girl and stressed that the girl was a willing participant. They also testified arrangements were made during a lunch period for the girl to meet them and one other boy in an area outside the school at a designated time at which time the girl would perform sexual favors for them.
Both said that the girl arrived at the designated site and willingly agreed to perform sexual acts with them. They testified that the girl never screamed, protested or indicated in any manner that she was being forced to perform the sex acts against her will.
One of the two male defendants testified that another youth told him and the other male codefendant to meet him outside the school behind the gym at a designated time.
"We went out the back door around behind the school and (the girl defendant) was outside," the youth stated.
"She asked (the other youth who was not a defendant) what do you want me to do."
One of the two codefendants added that the third youth who was among the trio that met the girl outside the school laid a jacket down on the concrete and that the girl pulled down her underwear, stuffed them into her shirt, and "laid down and said come on."
While there were only two male defendants, there were actually five boys in the area at the time that the sexual acts occurred. According to one of the two male defendants one of the other three boys "just felt on her" and did not engage in any sex acts with the girl. The other two boys did not take part.
The incident occurred while the faculty and student body was gathered in the high school gym attending a Class Day program.
Both of the male codefendants stated that they did not know the girl personally but that they knew she had a reputation throughout the school for engaging in such sexual activity.
"It was a happening thing," one of them remarked.
"She has a reputation all over the school."
When asked by Commonwealth Attorney John E. Greenbacker, Jr. about what the girl's reputation in school was, one of the male codefendants replied "she had oral sex with a lot of guys. It was an everyday thing."
One of the two codefendants stated that the sex acts were consentual because "if she didn't want to do it she'd never have been out there."
John Looney, a physical education and coach at the high school at the time, walked up on the girl and one of the two codefendants as they were engaging in oral sex. There were other students in the area at the time, he said.
One student in the area fled upstairs and ran back into the school building, Looney said, and another ran off toward Wal-Mart. The boy who was engaged in the sex act with the girl "zipped his pants up and took off," Looney added.
"The girl turned and looked at me and I said 'let's go,'" Looney testified.
"She got up off her knees and picked up a coat. She picked up her panties and put them on."
The teacher said the girl never told him anything.
"She never said one word from the time I walked in until the time we got to the (main) office," stated Looney.
"She appeared to be somewhat embarrassed and shameful. She didn't appear to be in any trouble. She never said anything to me."
Halifax County High School principal Larry Clark stated that after he was advised of the incident he had all of the students involved brought to the office and had the girl and assistant principal Gail Bosiger go into a separate location within the office.
He stated that he talked to the girl and told her that he had been advised that there had been some sexual misconduct and that he wanted to talk to her about it.
Clark testified that he asked Bosiger to talk to the girl about the incident and that he asked the girl to write a statement about the incident. In the statement, the girl indicated that she had been forced.
The principal stated that after he read the girl's statement he asked her if she had been threatened and the girl indicated she had not.
"I also asked her if she was in fear of her personal safety and she said she was not," Clark added.
Those answers to his questions, Clark said, led him to believe that the girl had not been forced to engage in the sex acts.
Greenbacker asked Clark if there had been any previous problems with the girl.
"It had been brought to my attention that there had been some suggestion of some sexual improprieties that (the girl) had been connected with," Clark replied. That occurred either in January or February, he noted.
He added that on that occasion he instructed an assistant principal to contact the girl's parents and make them aware of that situation with the hope that it would prevent further incidents.
Bosiger testified that in talking to the girl the girl led her to believe that she had consented to engaging in the sex acts.
"She had led me to believe she consented," Bosiger stated.
"She said nothing about being forced."
While that testimony dealt a major blow to the girl's allegation that she was raped, perhaps the most damning piece of evidence surfaced late in the trial in the form of a letter that the girl allegedly wrote to one of the youths.
During the rebuttal portion of his case, Greenbacker put one of the five boys on the stand to testify that he (the youth) had received the letter by hand directly from the girl and that the girl's name was written at the bottom of the letter.
The letter, written in orange ink on notebook paper, contained graphic explicit sexual language referring to the June 3 incident.
Moreau attempted to negate the damaging letter by telling Judge Slayton that the letter "is clearly heresay" and that the girl in earlier testimony had denied having written the letter.
"We don't know whose handwriting this is," Moreau argued.
"All he (the boy) said is that she gave it to him."
During her stint on the witness stand, the girl, under direct questioning by Greenbacker, said that the two male codefendants, the two other boys that testified, the teachers, and Halifax County High School officials all lied in stating that she never indicated to them that she was forced to perform the sexual acts.
Cherri Kindler, a licensed clinical social worker with the Halifax Behavioral Health Center, testified as part of a defense attempt to bolster the girl's contention she was raped.
Kindler stated that two days after the incident, the girl's grandmother called her and that she saw and talked to the girl the following day, three days after the incident at the high school occurred.
Kindler then contacted the sheriff's department to report an alleged rape after the girl revealed to her that she had been raped.
The social worker stated that the non-emotional reaction that was exhibited by the girl following the incident is common among rape victims. And, she stated that after having had sessions with the girl, she determined that the girl was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
The charges on which the trial was based resulted from an investigation by sheriff's department investigator C.A. Bates and are different from initial allegations made in the wake of the incident.
Originally, juvenile petitions charging rape, forcible sodomy and abduction were filed against the male codefendants with the girl being cited as a victim.
Halifax County High School principal Larry Clark says he did not report the June 3 sexual incident at the school to authorities and was unaware he should have.
The statements by the high school principal were made during his testimony Wednesday in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in the trial of a 15-year-old girl who was one three of youths facing sex charges relating to an incident that occurred during Class Day last June.
Halifax County High School officials did not report the incident to the sheriff's department even though a deputy was on duty at the school at the time the incident occurred.
It was three days after the alleged event that Halifax County Sheriff's Department investigators were first alerted to the incident.
A clinical social worker with the Halifax Behavioral Health Center, Cherri Kindler, contacted the sheriff's department on June 6 about the alleged incident after the girl sought counseling.
The girl told the counselor that she had been raped at the school.
Clark stated on the witness stand that after the incident was brought to his attention he had the girl write a statement concerning what had occurred.
He stated that at the outset, after teacher John Looney brought the girl to the office, he told the girl that it had been reported to him by Looney that he (Looney) had come up on an incident of sexual misconduct involving oral sex. The girl was subsequently asked to write a statement concerning what happened.
"She didn't tell me anything directly," Clark said.
He said that after the girl wrote out her statement "I read the statement back to her and asked her questions about certain information contained in the statement."
The high school principal said that in the statement "she indicated she had been pushed down on her shoulders to perform this act." In addition, the girl admitted in the statement to having performed the sexual act.
Clark said after reading the statement he asked the girl if she had been threatened and if she was in fear of her personal safety. The girl responded 'no' to both questions, Clark said.
The girl's defense attorney, Stacey Moreau, asked Clark if he felt the need to contact law enforcement authorities after having read the statement.
"Not at that time," Clark replied.
Commonwealth Attorney John E. Greenbacker, Jr. asked Clark why he didn't report the incident to the authorities.
"I did not refer it to the police because I did not consider it to be something that went beyond an infraction of a school rule," Clark replied.
"We have a uniform code of discipline in the Halifax County Public Schools. At that time, this kind of offense was left at the discretion of the principal to be handled. After having talked to (the girl) I decided that it would best be handled as an infraction of a school rule."
Under further questioning by Greenbacker, Clark admitted that he was not aware that consentual sodomy was a violation of state law.
The high school principal stated that had he known it was a violation of state law he would have turned the matter over to the deputy on duty at the school at the outset. He also added that he would have referred the matter to authorities if he had felt that the sex act that the girl was engaged in was a forceful act.
Under further questioning by Moreau, Clark explained that a hearing was held at the school the day after the incident with the youths, their parents, and school personnel being involved in that hearing.
Clark testified that during that hearing there was no mention of force.
"If there had been, the hearing would have been stopped and the matter referred to legal authorities," Clark said.
Clark also said that he had no recollection of the girl having stated during the hearing that she said 'no' to the boys.
Moreau tried to point the blame for the charges being filed against her client at Clark. She pointed out to Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge Frank M. Slayton that the affidavit sheriff's department investigator C.A. Bates used to bring the charges against the girl was based on statements that Clark made to the investigator.
"He (Clark) is testifying against (the girl)," Moreau contended.
"He (Clark) is the one pointing fingers."
Moreau also contended that Clark did not report the incident to the authorities because he wanted to cover up the alleged rape in order to prevent negative publicity about the school surfacing in the area news media.
The girl's attorney asked Clark if he failed to report the incident because he wanted the local press to be "kind" to the school.
Judge Slayton jumped in immediately and responded "It's hard to tell when the press is kind to anybody. Your perception of kindness by the press may be completely opposite from someone else's."
Moreau, pointing to prior testimony by Clark that alluded to there possibly having been some prior problems with the girl, asked Clark if he had a predisposed opinion of the girl prior to this incident.
"No maam," Clark replied.
"I deal with incidents as they occur."
A Halifax Behavioral Health Center social worker insists the case against the 15-year-old girl found not innocent Wednesday on sex charges is a miscarriage of justice.
Cherri Kindler, a licensed clinical social worker who has been counseling the youth since shortly after incident last June, expressed that opinion in a December 31 press release distributed to area news media.
And, she remained steadfast in that opinion in the wake of Wednesday's trial in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
"My perception then was that it was a miscarriage of justice and still is because she has been convicted," Kindler said after Wednesday's trial.
Kindler testified Wednesday that she believes the girl is telling the truth when she says she was raped by one of the two young men who entered pleas of no contest Wednesday to charges of sodomy and fornication in a related case.
"I think the results reflect the ignorance of the legal system in regard to the definition of consent," the social worker said.
Kindler, accepting responsibility for distributing the press release, said that she distributed the press release to area media with the intent that it be used as an educational tool.
"I felt it was a good opportunity to educate people about what consent is," Kindler remarked.
"It was for education and to gain as much support for her as possible."
Kindler explained that part of her job is to educate the public on various aspects of major issues such as rape and sexual abuse.
"The agency I work for has been supportive of my efforts to do this," Kindler noted.
"It (the case of the youth) provided me an opportunity to do some educating."
The text of the press release issued by Kindler on December 31, 1997 follows:
In a possible miscarriage of justice, a 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by 3 boys at Halifax Senior High School has been charged with sexual misconduct.
The girl, who was accosted by 5 boys while on her way to the band room to fetch her instrument for an assembly, is an honor roll student and listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students. School officials have refused to believe the girl, choosing instead to believe the boys' version of events, and did not call the police after the incident. A mental health worker consulted by the family did call the police. The girl was medically examined by a doctor at MCV, as requested by the Commonwealth's Attorney, and found to have been raped. She has passed a lie-detector test about the incident, also requested by the CA, who has nonetheless charged her with fornication. Two of the boys were also charged.
The most common defense currently used by perpetrators in sexual assault cases is that of consent. Because it is a common reaction when confronted with a violent situation for the target of the violence to freeze with fear, victims of rape often do not struggle or call for help. Consequently, the "consent defense" is often believed by those who do not understand why a victim has not fought with her attackers. Under Virginia law, rape is defined as "sexual intercourse against a person's will by force, threat or intimidation, or through the use of the victim's incapacity or physical helplessness." Intimidation may occur without direct threats of harm to the victim. A victim is not required by law to have struggled with her attacker to prove a charge of rape. In this instance, the sheer weight of numbers (three against one) would indicate that intimidation took place.
The trial will take place Wednesday, January 7, in Halifax Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
For more information, contact Cheri Kindler 804-572-6916.
With roots in the Great Depression and later going through a mid-life crisis of its own, the Staunton River State Park near Scottsburg is suddenly blossoming into one of the top parks in the state.
In his annual report to the Halifax County Board of Supervisors, Park Manager Tim Vest outlined the results of a very successful year for the 1,297-acre park.
Not only did the park open its extensively-renovated pool and experience another 25% increase in attendance, the facility was named the Most Improved State Park Operation in 1997 by Virginia State Parks. "Quite often, we are approached by people who tell us that when they were children, they learned to swim here at the park," commented Vest. "We have worked hard to see that the park will be a place where their children and grandchildren can say the same thing."
Vest was brought in as Park Manager in 1993 to help oversee a renovation and even re-awakening of the park. With the help of dedicated staff, numerous volunteers, and strong support from local business and political officials, the park has experienced a remarkable turnaround, according to Vest.
That turnaround can best be illustrated by park attendance figures. In 1993, Staunton River State Park recorded 97,678 people who attended the park. In 1997, that rate jumped to 197,000, Vest told the board.
While that increase can be attributed to renovated facilities and better promotion, another important factor came from a turnaround in security concerns, Vest pointed out.
"Many people had gotten away from the notion that the park was a family-orientated facility," Vest explained. "Changing that was one of our earliest and most important goals."
In 1993, park officials wrote more citations for possession of alcohol than had been written in the previous 50 years of the park, Vest said.
The concentrated effort at enforcing the alcohol ban paid off handsomely as well as quickly. As more families began to return, so too did more revenue which, in turn, allowed the park to better maintain its operation.
By state law, revenue gained from user fees cannot be used for capital improvement projects, but can be used for maintenance and other refurbishment, Vest explained.
Symbolically, the park's recent turnaround is an example of its very own roots. While attempting to rebuild the national economy during the first years of the Great Depression, the federal government created the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Teams of federally-funded CCC workers built numerous public facilities throughout the nation. One of those was the Staunton River State Park which still has many of the buildings which were constructed between 1933 and 1937.
The Staunton River State Park officially opened on June 16, 1937.
The immediate future holds the opening of a new boat launch site which is expected to occur this Spring. There will also be continued renovations to the seven framed cabins located on the premises, the 46 camp sites, and playground areas throughout the park.
As with the park itself, the cabins have experienced a drastic increase in popularity in the past six years. In 1993, the cabins had an occupancy rate of 18%. During 1997, the cabins increased that rate to 63%, Vest pointed out.
"I think one of the things we are seeing is that people who live in the hustle and bustle of urban life have suddenly taken notice of one of the best attributes of the Staunton River State Park: peace and quiet," explained Vest
While the cabins have running water, electrical appliances, a fireplace, kitchenware, and even linen, there is a distinct lack of two modern day so-called necessities: the television set and the telephone, Vest said.
"We have had people who have come here and just had to leave because they missed the television or telephones," Vest said. "But, we're getting an increasing number of people renting the cabins just to get away from such staples of civilization."
Tranquility, safety, and the natural beauty of the park, combined with extensive renovations, will ensure the tradition of Staunton River State Park, according to Vest.
"This park has been a very important part of Halifax County and the state for the past half century," reflected Vest. "We are proud to say that it will enter the next century on solid footing."
For more information about the Staunton River State Park or to reservations, call 1-800-933-PARK (7275).
Little if any flooding is expected along the Dan River at South Boston as a result of heavy rains-as much as 13 inches in the western part of North Carolina- that fell late Wednesday and Thursday. A huge storm stretching from Mississippi to Canada has caused the deaths of at least six persons, forced residents from their homes, closed highways and schools, damaged homes and even displaced coffins in a Mississippi cemetery.
The Dan River is predicted to reach 10 feet (17 feet is flood stage) at Danville sometime Saturday based on rains that have already fallen. Flows by Saturday are predicted to reach 17,000 cubic feet second (CFS); normal flow is about 2,000 CFS.
More rain is expected today, including possible thunderstorms, and into Saturday but not in quantities that produced a local state of emergency in Rockbridge County yesterday where a flash flood warning was posted.
Roanoke, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Winchester area public schools systems were either closed or delayed opening by at least two hours.
The rain was alternating between drizzle and downpours, said Bob Claytor, spokesman for the Rockbridge County emergency services department. "During these downpours, they (rivers and lakes) come up quick, very quick," Claytor said.
Officials throughout western Virginia said residents should watch for flooding on low-lying roads and standing water. In Halifax County, VDOT officials had no reports of flooding but said they were keeping a watch on roads and bridges in low-lying areas just in case.
In Greensboro, N.C., a mudslide pushed down a 30-foot retaining wall at an apartment complex, damaging several cars. In Birmingham, Ala., floodwaters swept a 5-year old girl to her death, and a 62-year old Owingsville, Ky., woman drowned when she fell off a foot bridge into a rain-swollen creek.
In Carter County, Tenn., four people were confirmed dead today in flooding there. A police helicopter rescued 18 people from a rooftop in the county, near the eastern tip of the state. An emergency worker suffered hypothermia when he had to cling to a tree for six hours after the boat he was in capsized.
It wasn't just rain in some areas: It was wind, fog, ice, thunder or high winds. In Easley, S.C., four people were treated at hospitals late Wednesday after a storm, possibly a tornado, destroyed several mobile homes. Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and power lines in Camden, S.C., and nearby communities, police there said.
The rainfall in Canada and parts of the Northeast turned to ice in many areas inland. The town of Sabattus, Maine, was hit so hard even road crews were told to stay home until sunrise.
''Everything is ice coated. There are trees down everywhere,'' said Janice Bailey, owner of the Settlement restaurant and grocery store, where doughnuts, cigarettes, bottled water and batteries flew off the shelves.
This afternoon, 185,000 customers or 35 percent of Central Maine Power's business, were without electricity after icy buildup and wind knocked tree limbs onto power lines.
''We're now talking about major, hurricane-type damage,'' said Central Maine Power spokesman Mark Ishkanian. In Augusta, nonessential state workers were told to stay home today. An additional 100,000 customers lost power in upstate New York, 20,000 in New Hampshire and 10,000 in Vermont.
''You can stand outside and hear the screech of the branches,'' said Diedre Scozzafaza, mayor of Gouverneur, N.Y. An apartment complex in Malone, another upstate town, had to be evacuated overnight because of falling trees.
Canadian power authorities said 800,000 households without power, including 150,000 in Montreal, from ice storms that struck Monday and Wednesday.
In Shubuta, Miss., downstream from the dam failure, Angela Chapman and her family struggled to move furniture and personal items from their home.
''Every time it floods, we have to move, and it has happened about five times before,'' she said. Nearby, other families struggled to drag a half-dozen mobile homes to higher ground.
Even before the dam failed today, Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice had declared a state of emergency in some areas because of the problems created by several days of heavy rain.
Some Hattiesburg area families were evacuated Wednesday after the rain sent several feet of water into their homes. Damage assessment and emergency shelter teams were on standby.
Two coffins at a church cemetery in a Hattiesburg cemetery floated to the surface due to the saturated ground.
(Note: Contributors to this story include Polly Anderson, Associated Press and Doug Loftis, Gazette-Virginian staff writer)
A revision of the plat of the J. Aubrey Houghton Industrial Park and approval of an access road to a large track in Waddell Woods will be recommended to South Boston Town Council at its next meeting.
The South Boston Planning Commission will make the recommendation. The Planners quickly approved both items at their January meeting Wednesday evening.
Town officials agreed that both actions could, and probably do, signal the start of development in the two areas--business of some sort in Houghton Park, and residential in Waddell Woods, which was taken into the town January 1.
The plat change involves lots designated J-1 and J-2, located on the northeast side of Houghton Avenue near the northern boundary of the park.
The Planning Commission will be asking Council to approve the moving of 1.019 acres of land from Lot J-1 to Lot J-2, to accommodate the needs of a prospective buyer and developer. This will leave Lot J-2 with 5.454 acres and Lot J-1 with 4.140.
In the other matter, the Planning Commission will seek Council approval to convey 31 feet from Lot 4 on the north side of North Main Street to allow ingress and egress to a 15-acre tract to the east of Lot 4.
The request was filed with the Planners by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Slayton, who presently own the site under discussion.
The deed accompanying the conveyance provides that the place has to be used only for a "non-exclusive means of ingress and egress to North Main Street," and will support only one single family resident on the 15-acre property.
In another matter before the Planning Commission, Mrs. Gertrude McLean asked approval of a special use permit to allow her to operate an adult care facility, Mac & Rich Adults Home, in an R-1 zone at 521 Webster Street.
The Planners approved, on condition that Mrs. McLean complies with all code requirements pertaining to such facilities.
A special use permit to allow Sandy Palmer to expand an original home occupation usage, a tailor shop, at 1406 College Street, was tabled when no one appeared to speak either for or against the proposal.
What originally appeared to have been a purse snatching Tuesday evening that caused injuries to a Roanoke woman is under question, according to South Boston Police Chief Jim Hall.
Dawn Sheri Boyd told police that a black male snatched her pocket book as she was exiting the John Randolph Motor Inn, then fled on foot, according to the investigation.
Boyd also told investigators that she cut her hand on a glass window of the building while struggling with her assailant, Chief Hall said.
"After we canvassed the area for potential witnesses and conducted several interviews, we are currently re-evaluating what may or may not have happened," Chief Hall said.
The woman left the scene and walked towards the police station, passing out at the corner of Main and Ferry streets at approximately 7 p.m., police said.
She was treated and released from the Halifax Regional Hospital for cut wounds to her hand.
The incident is still under investigation.
In another incident, police are investigating the breaking and entering of Swanee's Restaurant located at 1076 Huell Matthews Highway in Riverdale.
The break-in was discovered at 4:15 a.m. Thursday. A thief or thieves entered the building through a ventilation duct on the roof which led to the kitchen area, police said.
Entry was then gained to the restaurant's office by someone who pried open the door. An undetermined amount of cash was reported stolen and the subject or subjects exited through a back door, according to the investigation.
The incident is still under investigation by South Boston Police Department Officer B.K. Lovelace.
A single-vehicle wreck Saturday night on Rt. 699 resulted in a driving under the influence charge against an Alton man, according to the Virginia State Police.
George L. Medley, 46, was traveling northbound on Rt. 699 at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his 1996 Chevrolet and crashed one-tenth of a mile north of Rt. 701, according to the investigation.
The vehicle ran off the right side of the road and struck several fence posts owned by Bill Wilkins, police said.
A passenger in Medley's vehicle, Joanne Crawley, was injured during the 11:25 p.m. wreck. Medley was not injured.
Damages to the Chevrolet were estimated at $8,000 and damages to the fence were estimated at $800, according to the investigation. Medley was charged with DUI by Virginia State Trooper D.T. Conner.
In other wrecks investigated by state police:
· A two-vehicle collision on Rt. 678, three-tenths of a mile west of Rt. 654, occurred early Saturday morning.
A 1986 Honda driven by Charlie D. Betts, 45, of South Boston was parked in an oncoming lane of Rt. 678, when it was struck by a 1989 Pontiac driven by Don Gray Moore, 19, of South Boston, police said.
A passenger in Moore's vehicle, Cora Elaine Bailey, was injured. Damages to the Honda were estimated at $500 and damages to the Pontiac were estimated at $3,500, according to the investigation.
Betts was charged with reckless driving. The 2:02 a.m. incident was investigated by Virginia State Trooper S.M. Krantz.
· A three-vehicle collision occurred Saturday afternoon at the intersection of U.S. 58 and U.S. 360.
Arthur Townsend, 60, of Keysville was driving a 1974 Dodge van which pulled into the path of a 1988 Oldsmobile driven by Darwin S. Chandler, 22, of Halifax, police said.
Townsend's vehicle then struck a 1996 Geo driven by Algie Lee Pleasant, 48, of Saxe. A passenger in Townsend's vehicle, Wayne L. Whitehead, was injured, police said.
Damages to the Dodge van were estimated at $1,800; damages to the Oldsmobile were estimated at $2,000; and damages to the Geo were estimated at $2,000, according to the investigation.
Townsend was charged with failure to yield right-of-way. The 5:35 p.m. incident was investigated by Trooper Conner.
Doris Perkins McDaniel of 2248 L.P. Bailey Hwy., Halifax died Thursday, January 8, 1998 at her home. She was 71 years of age.
Mrs. McDaniel was born in Halifax County on August 18, 1926 the daughter of Joe Perkins and Mamie Simmons Perkins and was married to Carlton James McDaniel.
Survivors include her husband; six brothers, Branford Perkins, Keister Perkins, Theodore Perkins, Wesley Perkins and Thurman Perkins, all of Halifax, and Lawrence Perkins of Cluster Springs; two sisters, Ethel P. Perkins of Halifax and Bernice Spencer of Crystal Hill.
Funeral services for Mrs. McDaniel will be held Saturday, January 10 at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Millstone with Rev. Bob Watts officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home tonight from 7 until 8:30 and other times at the home.
Annie Sue Epps Brown of 1229 Winns Creek Road, Halifax died January 8, 1998 at Twin Oaks Nursing Home. She was 101 yearsof age.
Mrs. Brown was born in Halifax County on July 14, 1896 the daughter of James Henry Epps and Meades Irby Epps and was married to Luther Monroe Brown. She was a lifetime member of Winns Creek Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter-in-law, Thelma Brown of Crystal Hill; and one grandson, Barry Brown of Crystal Hill. She was preceded in death by one son, Charlie James Brown.
Funeral services for Mrs. Brown will be held Saturday, January 10 at 3 p.m. at Winns Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Richard Welch conducting the service. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home tonight, January 9 from 7 until 8:00.
On January 5, 1998 Deacon John Henry Scott died at Halifax Regional Hospital.
He was born January 8, 1915 in Halifax County the son of Frank B. and Mildred Faulkner Scott and was first married to Martha D. Scott, and later to Annie Parthenia 'Polly' Scott. He was a member of Jeters Chapel Baptist Church, a member of the Masonic Lodge, Christian Union Lodge and Eagle Lodge.
Funeral services for Mr. Scott will be held Saturday, January 10 at 1 p.m. at Dan River View Baptist Church, South Boston with Rev. Roderick Fitz officiating.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one daughter, Mildred A. Coley of Brooklyn, NY; one son, Clark R. Scott Sr. of South Boston; two stepsons, Charles Woodall of Roxboro, NC and Rod Howell of South Boston; 10 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; 13 step-grandchildren; 15 step-great-grandchildren; three step great-great-grandchildren; four daughters-in-law; a devoted nephew, George D. Scott of South Boston; and other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by three sons, John E. Scott, William D. Scott and Tom C. Scott.
Jeanne Bouchez Blanks of 2123 Link-Puryear Road, South Boston died Wednesday, January 7, 1998 at her home. She was 71 years of age.
Mrs. Blanks was born February 9, 1926 in Harchies Hainaut, Belgium the daughter of Sylva Florent Fenord Bouchez and Germaine Lewillion Bouchez and was married to Mitchell Jasper Blanks.
Funeral services will be held at Brooks Funeral Home chapel today, January 9 at 2 p.m. with Rev. Jim Smith officiating. Burial will take place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Mrs. Blanks is survived by her husband of the home; three sons, Jimmy M. Blanks of Roxboro, NC, Berkley G. Blanks of Greensboro, NC and Garry S. Blanks of Kernersville, NC; six grandchildren, Travis Blanks of Vernon Hill, Yvette Crews of Halifax, Justin Blanks and Kelly Blanks, both of Greensboro, Susan Blanks and Michael Blanks, both of Kernersville; and one half-sister, Marthe Lavoins of Soissons, France.
She was preceded in death by one daughter, Betty Blanks; and one grandson, Jonathan Blanks.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Halifax County Cancer Association, PO Box 875, South Boston, or Hospice Support Care of Southside Virginia, PO Box 1355, Halifax.