William E. Coleman, a three-term incumbent supervisor, was defeated by Alton farmer Page Wilkerson 696 to 631, a 65-vote margin for the Election District 6 post.
But another incumbent, veteran school board member D.W. (Mac) McDowell, held on to his post, easily defeating Barbara Bass by 171 votes, 709 to 538 for the ED-6 seat.
Coleman, who chaired the board's powerful finance committee, was accused by Wilkerson of having a conflict of interest because the agency he heads, the Community Action agency, is allocated funds by the county.
Coleman countered that Wilkerson, who operates corporate pig farm, would be sympathetic to the proliferation of hog farms he were elected.
Coleman carried the Mt. Carmel precinct by a 369 to 331 count but it was not enough to overcome Wilkerson's 349 to 248 lead at Black Walnut.
McDowell won both ED-6 precincts to beat Bass, winning big at Mt. Carmel with a 401 to 256 margin and edged the former Richmond school teacher by 291 to 275 at Black Walnut.
Two incumbent supervisors were re-elected without opposition.
Board chairman Joe Satterfield receive 579 votes of confidence while Tom West received 549.
Incumbent Wanda McDowell was elected to a second term on the school board without opposition.
A newcomer, Steve Anderson, won the ED-2 school trustee post without opposition. He will replace Watt Moorefield who chose not the run for re-election.
In an unprecedented vote Halifax County mirrored the rest of the Commonwealth by sweeping the entire GOP ticket to victory in Tuesday's election.
Republican gubernatorial candidate James Gilmore easily disposed of his Democratic oppnent in Halifax County, carrying all but three of the county's 21 precincts.
Lt. Governor Don Beyer was only able to garner 3,328 votes while Gilmore amassed 5,754 for one of the most crushing defeats in a gubernatorial election in recent memory.
His GOP ticket mates also carried Halifax.
Republican John Hager surprised his Democratic opponent, former 5th District Congressman L.F. Payne, and won the vote for lieutenant governor in Halifax by a 4,467 to 4,136 margin.
Like his running mates, former State Senator Mark Earley bested Democrat William Dolan 4,967 to 3,287 to in the attorney general election.
Statewide the Associated Press declared Gilmore the winner at just after an hour of the polls closing at 7 p.m.
A detailed plan - with ideas conceived in a Halifax law office this fall - to pay quota holders for the value of their quota, institute a privatized supply-limiting program, and to funnel economic development funds to tobacco-dependent communities was introduced in the Senate on Monday by Sen. Charles S. Robb.
The senator said legislation would follow.
The plan will be on the table as Congress considers a global settlement reached last June between the tobacco industry and the 40 state attorneys general.
The Robb plan contains the following major provisions:
---Tobacco quota holders would be paid $8/lb. as compensation for the value of their quota.
---The existing federal tobacco program would be dismantled, and a privatized supply-limiting program would be reinstituted.
---$250 million in economic development funds would be targeted annually to tobacco-dependent communities - to attract quality jobs and train individuals for them.
"I think Sen. Robb is in a position to broker a deal," said J. T. Davis, a Concerned Friends For Tobacco board member, yesterday.
The Robb plan "protects quota holders, the value of their quota up front," said Davis. "It protects the producer, it keeps the communities whole as far as continued tobacco production, and it would make us more competitive in the world market."
Davis said the idea "that centers around Robb's proposal was born in (Del. W.W.) Ted Bennett's office" this fall when Southside farmers and key leadership from the various farm organizations met there with a representative from Sen. Robb's office.
"Henry Maxey, a Pittsylvania County farmer, came up with the idea of retiring the quota system up front and coming back with the privitization program licensing system to grow tobacco, which would protect the current producer," recalled Davis.
Del. Bennett described the Robb proposal yesterday as "by far the better of either Sens. Luger or Ford's" plans.
"I think we have come closer to getting the support of the health community than the other two," said Bennett. "This one will actually provide for a new tobacco program outside of the federal government, but that will probably allow farmers to grow even more tobacco."
Bennett said that "up front" the plan satisfies the quota equity problem. "How to let those farmers who wish to get out by being bought out over a five-year period and to avoid the serious tax consequences. The proposal is that at the option of the owner of the quota, they could place the funds in a deferred 401 (k) type plan," explained Bennett.
"Or they could use it to retire debt, in which case it would be non-taxable," added Davis.
The Robb speech "will allow tobacco growers from around the country to flesh out the details," added the delegate.
Bennett said he "would urge our local people, the chamber of commerce, governments and farmers to coalesce behind the best pieces of the proposal."
Sen. Robb also got high marks from both Davis and Bennett for his involvement.
"I applaud Robb's office in responding to us because we need to be in on the ground floor. A lot of negotiation is going on already," said Bennett.
To put the local tobacco impact in perspective, the South Boston tobacco market recorded sales of around $28 million last year with an estimated economic ripple effect three times that figure.
"We figured one time that to replace that we needed probably five new industries employing 350 people each with hourly wages and benefits of $9 to $10 an hour," said Bennett.
The summer tobacco briefing and tour held here Aug. 21-22 is credited by Davis with opening several dialogue opportunities.
"With Halifax County in the limelight with the public health community down here, it really focused on the need to keep these communities whole and these small American tobacco farm families intact," said Davis.
Since the August briefing, Davis said there have been two meetings with the public health.
He also said following a meeting with the National Black Farmers Association that they are "coming on board with us in support of this proposal"
The tobacco growers' advocate described Sen. Robb's involvement as escalating after the briefing and tour in Halifax County with Robb "seizing the opportunity to assist."
"We are beginning to win over part of the public health community in that tobacco is an adult choice and will be grown somewhere in the world," said Davis. "And when it comes to harm reduction it is in their best interest to see it grown domestically rather than in these third world countries where they have no control."
Of the three proposals out so far, Davis described Robb's plan as "having a better chance of passing than any proposal because it addresses so many more issues."
"Once we get everything worked out with this proposal, and it is still subject to change, then we will be pushing it on the House side through our congressional delegations," said Davis.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb has proposed a new plan to give tobacco growers a ''soft landing'' when efforts to curb smoking drive cigarette prices high enough to cut demand for tobacco.
Robb, D-Va., suggested Monday scrapping the federal government's quota system and replacing it with a private, grower-run system to limit tobacco production. The quota system keeps tobacco prices stable.
Growers were left out of the landmark $368 billion settlement of tobacco-related health care costs reached in June by state attorneys general and tobacco industry lawyers. The settlement still must be approved by Congress.
Proposals already before the Senate would either eliminate the quota system and allow tobacco prices to be set by market conditions or keep quotas and compensate farmers when crop demand plunges.
Robb's proposal, which would cost an estimated $18 billion to $21 billion over 25 years, takes the middle ground.
In a Senate floor speech, Robb outlined three main parts:
-Buy out all existing tobacco quotas from owners at $8 a pound. Quotas are limits on the number of pounds of tobacco a farmer can sell. The payout would occur in five annual installments of $1.60 per pound.
-Set up a grower-run system to grant licenses to tobacco producers, limit the amount of tobacco grown and provide financing and administration of price supports. ''A supply-limiting program stabilizes the price of tobacco, so that wild swings don't put small growers out of business,'' Robb said.
-Pump $250 million a year over 25 years into diversifying the economies of tobacco-dependent communities.
J.T. Davis Jr. of Halifax County, a board member of Concerned Friends for Tobacco, said he considered Robb's proposal ''a win-win situation'' for many interests. He said even public health advocates who have pushed to get the government out of tobacco would get what they want with the plan.
Also, he said, removing quota costs for growers ''would make us more competitive in the world market.''
Don Anderson of South Boston, president of the Virginia Tobacco Growers Association, also reacted favorably because the plan offers ''some mechanism for production and supply control beyond the buyout.''
Robb said he hasn't drafted legislation but was seeking reaction first.
South Boston Town Council Monday night approved the sale of four parcels of land in the J. Aubrey Houghton Business and Industrial Park, thus apparently clearing the way for the establishment of several new businesses in the park.
But the members of the Industrial Development Authority and other town officials were tight-lipped about details of the prospective development.
IDA Chairman Virginia (Poo) Roberts said any announcement that might be made would come from the developers, but she could not elaborate further.
No one would say when an announcement could be expected.
The potential sales of property by the town comes shortly after the IDA re-focused its mission--abandoning its early aim of attracting heavy industry to large sites in the park and instead re-drawing some two dozen tracts for sale to smaller but welcome firms.
The new parcels range in size from nearly eight acres down to several of fewer than two acres, with price tags up to nearly $13,000 per acre.
These were the properties okayed by council for sale:
*Lot J--4.435 acres, situated on Houghton Avenue at almost the avenue's northernmost point.
Lot L--2.721 acres, on Aubrey's Loop directly behind Lewis Metal Works, $10,290 per acre.
Lots 7 & 6--2.178 acres combined, on Houghton Avenue adjacent to the south side of Lewis Metal Works.
Lot G--3.852 acres, fronting on Houghton Avenue across the street from Lewis Metal Works, and extending to Parker Avenue on the east.
The vote for approval was by roll call vote, and all of the sales were approved unanimously except for Item 1. That sale was approved 5-1, with Council member Buddy Wilborn dissenting.
In another matter Monday evening pertaining to business, Council approved the rezoning of 1.379 acres fronting on the south side of Webster Street west of Watkins Avenue, from R-2 multi-family residential to M-1 manufacturing.
This will permit Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Elliott to construct a sheet metal fabricating building on their site.
This also was a public hearing, but no one asked to be heard.
Council did hear from citizens on another subject, however, as Larry Smith and Charlie Francis renewed their recurring pleas for relief from storm drain erosions across their Sans Souci sub division homeplaces.
Town Manager Ken McLawhon reminded everyone that the town has applied for federal aid to deal with the problem but so far no money has come down.
Council, which noted that there are funds in the budget to do the repair work, decided it will wait one more month to see if it can hear from the federal authorities.
Council also endorsed the Southside Regional Partnership, by which the counties of Halifax, Mecklenburg and Brunswick and the towns of South Boston and South Hill will seek economic development together.
The program will be administered by the Southside Planning District Commission, and Monday night Mrs. Joyce French, executive director of the planning district, appeared before Council to explain some of the details of the program.
South Boston Council also agreed to hand over about $5,500--its share of a grant to the Regional Partnership--providing the other four Partnership members do likewise.
Council authorized the firm of Jon Weersing & Assoc. to proceed with making revisions to the zoning and subdivision ordinance.
The governing body adopted a resolution memorializing Mrs. Ellen Capiz, who died recently. Mrs. Capiz was a retired educator and well-known civic leader.
Council also adopted a resolution thanking Cornerstone and all the other volunteers for their excellent work in making the 1997 Downtown Harvest Festival the success it was.
An angry exchange over dumpster surveillance erupted Monday night between Halifax County Sheriff Jeff Oakes and Joe Satterfield, the chairman of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.
Sheriff Oakes was protesting the use of deputies to monitor the county's 210 dumpsters sites, while Satterfield stated that the board hadn't asked for such direct surveillance in the first place.
Called "green boxes" in modern day governmental parlance, the dumpsters have been illegally used for the disposal of tires, construction debris, and even old refrigerators.
After numerous citizen complaints three months ago, the board requested the sheriff's department to monitor the sites for such illegal acts of dumping.
Apparent miscommunications and vague demands and expectations between the board of supervisors and the sheriff's department created the unusual public stir, officials said.
"Sitting there watching a green box is like catching somebody breaking into a house," Sheriff Oakes said.
"You took it upon yourself to sit there for an hour," responded Satterfield. The deputies should just pay extra attention to the green boxes whenever they happen to pass by, he pointed out.
"I don't know how you can monitor a green box on a drive-by," the sheriff countered.
Amid the exchange, Sheriff Oakes outlined the expenditure of $5,910 for a total of 500 man-hours which his department spent in monitoring the dumpster sites.
"In spite of our best intentions, no summonses were issued," Sheriff Oakes wrote in a November 3rd letter to the Jerry Lovelace, Assistant County Administrator for Planning and Zoning.
"However, numerous warnings were given, especially for persons attempting to remove or scavenge cans and other items of value as scrap," he wrote.
He also pointed out in the letter why such dumpster surveillance is not practical, including:
· the cost efficiency of using deputies, salaried at an average hourly wage of $11.82, for the purpose of enforcing a county ordinance that historically carries only a $25 fine;
·environmental concerns that result from persons using alternative disposal sites such as private property and highway right-of-ways in fear of being arrested at green box sites;
· the resulting cost to the county of cleaning up illegal dump sites brought on by the enforcement of existing collection sites;
· and the extreme burden, placed on deputies charged with enforcing country ordinances, created by the large number of individual sites throughout the county.
Rather than directly monitor the sites, Sheriff Oakes presented several possible alternatives, including:
· the designation of two or three sites throughout the county to be used as alternatives to the one landfill for the disposal of larger items such as tires, appliances, and construction debris.
· and a study to determine if the overall number of green box sites could be reduced to a more practical number that could be more easily collected, controlled, and policed.
"Admittedly, this will make dumping one's garbage less convenient, but hopefully everyone will then be able to enjoy a more scenic countryside, free of green boxes at every crossroads, while saving tax dollars to boot," Sheriff Oakes said.
In other matters before the board during Monday night's meeting:
· A resolution of approval was given to O'Sullivan Industries, Inc. of the Halifax County Industrial Park which is seeking an environmental permit to expand its production operations.
A recently-announced major expansion by the furniture maker will allow the facility to increase production by as much as 50 percent, according to Tom Townsend, Plant Engineer of O'Sullivan.
The firm, in production at the local facility for over nine years, needed the local resolution as one step in the process to obtain a new air permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The increased output will result in the addition of new machinery and an increase of approximately 100 permanent employees, according to Gary Schnipke, General Manager of the local facility.
· A request by the Blanks Memorial Foundation of Nathalie for an resolution calling for exemption to real estate property taxes on the Halifax Church was approved by a 7-1 vote. The lone dissenter was supervisor Bill Abbott.
The historic building, located in the northern end of the county has been added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and was also accepted by the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The church is not actively used.
For 1997, the facility is appraised at $1,500 for land and $10,400 for the building, with a total value of $11,900. The annual real estate tax due for the property is $45.22, according to county records.
The board must pass a resolution requesting that the property be exempt from local real estate taxes, which then has to be sent to the Virginia General Assembly for final approval.
The motion to pass the resolution was made by supervisor Tom West and seconded by supervisor Earl Watts.
· Resident Engineer Joe Barkley told the board that advertisement for bids for the median removal project on U.S. 501 in Centerville is scheduled for January, 1998.
· Jake Mills, who was called the "unofficial mayor of Sinai," appeared before the board to thank board members for their part in fostering an atmosphere of "working together" to solve problems in the Sinai community.
Mills has served as a spokesman for fellow residents who requested and later received state grants for water and sewer improvements, as well as home renovations in the Sinai area.
By Bruce Wilkins
The proposed construction of a local sheltered workshop for the mentally disabled is on hold because of intergovernmental squabbling between Halifax County and the Town of South Boston, according to Dr. Jules Modlinski of the Southside Community Services Board.
Late last year, the agency purchased a 33.641-acre tract of land on U.S. 58, across the highway from the Halifax County Industrial Park for the proposed project.
However, since the land does not percolate for sewage draining purposes, it needs an extension of the water and sewer lines owned by the Town of South Boston, Dr. Modlinski said.
The water and sewer lines would have to be extended from the Maplewood Drive neighborhood, just west of Lawson's Creek, to the agency's parcel which is located on a wooded area across the street from the BHK of America, Inc., facility.
Extending the water and sewer lines would cost about $300,000, according to Dr. Modlinski.
"We can't afford that and the town, which owns the line, will not help out while this intergovernmental dispute is going on," he added.
Currently, the South Boston Town Council and the Halifax County Board of Supervisors are at loggerheads in frequent closed door sessions of negotiations for a mutually-agreed upon "boundary adjustment."
If such negotiations do not bear fruit, then the boundary adjustment issue is expected to rapidly convert to an annexation of land surrounding South Boston by the town council.
"We just wish the town would help us out (funding the line extension) as they have done for industrial facilities in the same area," Dr. Modlinski said. "We have a waiting list for clients in this program."
South Boston Town Manager Ken McLawhon stated that Dr. Modlinski met with officials of South Boston, including Town Engineer Cabel Carrington, on the water and sewer issue prior to the agency's purchase of the land.
"Dr. Modlinski was told up front that there would be expense on his agency's part for the extension of the lines," McLawhon said. "He also had to have known about the complications of the boundary adjustment issue, since this (water and sewer line request) was well after the fact."
The Southside Community Services Board purchased the property from Mason C. Paving Paving, Inc., Connie B. Day, and Michael E. Day for $175,000 on December 4, 1996, according to court records.
The purchase was necessitated by the inability to get zoning approval for the facility on land the Southside Community Services Board had earlier bought on Berry Hill Road, according to Dr. Modlinski.
In that earlier attempt, the agency met stiff opposition from neighbors of the parcel, Dr. Modlinski explained. A zoning variance was needed before construction could begin since the lot was zoned for residential purposes.
"The town basically told us that they would go with the wishes of the neighbors," Dr. Modlinski said. "So, we halted our efforts there and began to look for other property on which to build."
One of the reasons the site on U.S. 58 was chosen was because of its zoning designation of M-1 (manufacturing), Dr. Modlinski explained.
No zoning change or conditional use permit is needed for the project, since it is essentially a government social agency, according to Jerry Lovelace, Assistant County Administrator for Planning and Zoning.
In a January 22, 1997 letter to the Town of South Boston from Dan Sleeper on behalf of the Halifax County Service Authority, a formal request was made for five taps on water and sewer lines from the town for the project, Lovelace said.
Sleeper wrote, "It is the intent of the Halifax County Service Authority to install and own this line and pay the Town of South Boston for the water and sewer services the same current rates as the Riverdale system."
"Basically the authority told them that we would bear the cost for the installation of the lines, as long as the PSA could retain ownership of the installed lines," Lovelace said. "The town didn't agree to that."
McLawhon wrote in an April 22 letter to Dr. Modlinski, "If the County will provide a letter of authorization for those taps, along with the ownership, operations and maintenance authority required by our standard policy, we will gladly work with you to meet the utility needs associated with your property on Route 58."
The PSA decided not to fund the installation under those conditions, but then gave approval to the Town of South Boston to extend the lines to the proposed project themselves.
So far, the town has not agreed to fund the installation of the lines, Dr. Modlinski pointed out.
In addition to a sheltered workshop for the mentally-disabled, the project would also contain a developmental training center, as well as a Community Support Service Center for the mentally ill, Dr. Modlinski explained.
The proposed building for the three programs would be about 12,000 to 14,000 square feet in size, he estimated.
"Right now, we are serving the mentally disabled in, of all things, a converted chicken coop," he said. "I've been trying to get a more adequate facility ever since I came here (about 16 years ago) and here's where we are now."
The current facility is located on Noblin Avenue near the intersection of Popular Creek Street, two blocks west of Wilborn Avenue.
"I really wish we could get the political help in South Boston that we got in South Hill for the construction of a sheltered workshop there," Dr. Modlinski said. "We just feel like we're a victim here of an intergovernmental dispute."
The Noblin Avenue building, in addition to inherent design problems, has an inadequate lack of space, he pointed out.
Approximately 30 clients are on a waiting list for the sheltered workshop and agency officials could add "between five to 10 additional clients in the developmental training center tomorrow morning if we had the space," Dr. Modlinski said.
Most of the agency's funding for the land purchase has come from state grants and other funds that had been saved over the more than decade period that the agency has been trying to build the facility, Dr. Modlinski said.
If the water and sewer line issue can be solved, construction of the new facility "will hopefully be started, at the latest, in the next year or two," Modlinski said. "But, then again, I've said that before."
"I've never been more proud of a bunch of kids in my life."
So stated John Crittenden, head coach of the Halifax County ninth grade football team, after his Comet youngsters had staged a terrific fight against George Washington here Monday night.
The local team, playing at home, lost to the Eagles from GW, 8-6, but the close setback did not take away from the manner in which the team played and the effort the youngsters put forth.
"Except for that one play, we played very, very well," Crittenden said.
The "one play" reference was to GW's lone scoring play, which came early in the second quarter and completed the scoring for the game.
The GW touchdown play and following two-point conversion, which wiped out a 6-0 Halifax County lead, came on a successful 70-yard reverse.
"We saw it coming," said Crittenden, but the coaches on the sideline couldn't get the attention of the kids on the field soon enough, and the play went all the way.
It was the only threat of the night by GW. Otherwise the Eagles never got inside the Comet 40. But then, the Comets struggled to move the ball as well, although they did have a few nice drives.
"The game basically was played within the 40s," Crittenden pointed out. "It was just a tough football game."
Halifax County scored first when LaQuay Lovelace took the ball into the end zone. But the two-point conversion failed, and that was to make the difference later.
The Comets continued to put the pressure on all the, even to throwing a pass into the GW end zone inside the last minute of play. The pass was intercepted.
Crittenden was high in his praise of his ninth grade youngsters who stuck out a long and sometimes arduous season to compile a 4-4 record. There were about 24 of them who went the distance.
"They deserve a lot of credit. It speaks well for them," Crittenden said.
The countdown to the completion of The Gazette-Virginian's annual subscription campaign has begun.
Only a few weeks remain during which you can renew your newspaper at an $8 discount.
You can find a subscription form and a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope in this edition. Act today.
Thank you!.
Now for the truth, the background and the personalities.....
When Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gilmore disclosed his plan to eliminate or reduce personal property taxes on vehicles, it caught everyone by surprise, even many of his fellow Republicans.
There was a knee-jerk reaction from the Democrats, and within days their standard-bearer, Don Beyer, introduced a plan of his own.
But Beyer's plan never took root, forcing the Democrats to change tactics. They must have felt defeat was imminent, because they felt it necessary to resort to perfidious declarations that the public education system would be maimed without those tax receipts.
The plot was to convince voters that personal property taxes had always been earmarked for education.
Well, it's just not so. Personal property taxes have never been designated by state law or local ordinances for any particular function of government.
It's an old story. Republicans want tax relief. Democrats don't.
There were three erstwhile politicians invited into the fray.
The first to emerge was former Democratic Governor Doug Wilder who did what the Democrats most feared: he didn't endorse either candidate.
Some pundits interpreted his neutrality as a tacit endorsement of Gilmore. But that's not so. It was just the former governor asserting his autonomy.
Statements came late from former governors Mills Godwin and Linwood Holton. They both said that the repeal of the car tax would be damaging to the public education system.
Consider the sources:
Holton never favored anything that wasn't his idea. Godwin, if you remember, shepherded through the legislature the largest tax increase in history as a Democratic governor.
Has anybody seen Big Bird lately?
We're talking about a really BIG bird!
An emu has been spotted all over northwestern Pittsylvania County recently, and it is believed to be a bird that's been missing from the Feathers and More Farm at Republican Grove for the past four months.
The farm has a flock of about 300 emus, according to Jack Montgomery. The missing bird was purchased as a breeder and is worth about $1,500, the farm official said.
If he is spotted, don't try to capture him. Usually docile, an emu can become extremely dangerous if he feels threatened, Montgomery warned. Call the farm at 349-1234, and training handlers will retrieve the bird, he said.
The caption beneath the Staunton River State Park Battleground contained an error.
The more than 200 acres on the Charlotte County side were not donated to the state.
Del. Ted Bennett introduce a budget ammendment so that the state could buy the land for the park system.
Franklin Depew Hendricks of Clover died Friday, October 31, 1997 at home.
Mr. Hendricks was born on April 15, 1914 in Eckman, WV the son of Ada Canada Hendricks and Willard Hendricks and was married to Eva Brown Hendricks. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army where he was decorated with a bronze star medal as a hero for service. He received other heroic medals also.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Gilbert D. Hendricks of North Carolina; one daughter, Edith M. Hendricks of The Bronx, NY; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; one brother, David C. Hendricks of Washington, DC; two sisters; Pearl Hudson of Meadville and Inez Logan of Brooklyn, NY; and other relatives and friends.
Funeral service for Mr. Hendricks will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, November 6 in the chapel at Kent, Ballou and Crowder Funeral Home, 308 Ferry Street, South Boston with Rev. P.H. Wagstaff officiating. Burial will follow in the New Zion Baptist Church Cemetery in Meadville.
Family will receive friends from 7 until 8 p.m. today, November 5 at Kent, Ballou and Crowder Funeral Home.
Dallas J. Williams of 2163 Sandy Beach Road, South Boston died October 31, 1997 at Virginia Baptist Hospital in Lynchburg at the age of 56.
Mr. Williams was born in Halifax County April 15, 1941 and was a member of Jeters Chapel Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Carrie Brame Williams; his mother, Marie Williams Wilkins of South Boston; 10 sons, Dallas Williams Jr., Lonnie Williams and Al Williams, all of North Carolina, Aundre Williams of Maryland, Vincent Williams and Don Williams, both of Danville, Schawn Williams of Craigsville, Dalphonso Williams of Halifax, Darryl Tyler and Derrick Givens, both of New Jersey; two daughters, Dalest Williams and Melissa Ballou, both of Danville; 11 step-children; 12 grandchildren; 10 step-grandchildren, including the devoted, Anika Marable; four sisters, Rozell Carrington of Hampton, Hilda Coley of New Jersey, Annie Barber and Linda Moore, both of Danville; three brothers, Richard O. Wilkins, Stanley Wilkins and Earl Wilkins, all of Danville; his mother-in-law, Emma Williams of South Boston; and other relatives and friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Williams will be held Wednesday, November 5 at 2 p.m. at Jeters Chapel Baptist Church with Rev. Roderick Fitz officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home.
Paul James Osborne, 75, of Lynchburg, died Monday, November 3, 1997 in Westminster Canterbury.
He was born December 29, 1921 in Blackwater the son of John Henderson Osborne Sr. and Maude Ward Osborne and was married to Addie Bledsoe Osborne.
He taught in the Lee County school system four years, served three years in the U.S. Army Quarter Master Corp, and was a professor of Biology at Lynchburg College for 32 years, retiring in 1987. He received his teaching certificate from Lincoln Memorial University, his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia and his P.H.D. in biology from the University of Florida.
Professor Osborne was a member of the Association of American University Professors, the Virginia Academy of Sciences, Sigma XI, (Scientific Research Society), American Institute of Biological Sciences, Chi Beta Phi and Iota Beta Gamma (science clubs at Lynchburg College), the Association of Southern Biologists and the Southeastern Electron Microscopy Society.
He served as deacon and Chairman of the Board at Euclid Christian Church and more recently served as Church School teacher and on the Diaconate at First Christian Church.
In addition to his wife, Professor Osborne is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law, Paul Douglas Osborne and Susan H. Osborne of Milledgeville, GA and Dennis Osborne and Mary Archer Osborne of Halifax; two brothers, John H. Osborne Jr. of Kingsport, TN and Harold S. Osborne of Silver Spring, MD; two granddaughters; two grandsons, four nephews and two nieces.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Elmer Ray Osborne, whom, like his father, was a teacher and merchant.
Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Fort Hill Memorial Park. Following the graveside service a memorial service will be held at noon at First Christian Church.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Lynchburg College and/or First Christian Church.
Maud Hall Brandon of 1123 Medley Road, Alton died November 2, 1997 at her home. She was 88 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Brandon was born April 29, 1909 in Halifax County the daughter of William Bailey Hall and Elizabeth May Olds Hall and was married to Earl Clinton Brandon. She was a member of Calvary United Methodist Church.
The funeral was held at Calvary United Methodist Church Tuesday, November 4 at 2 p.m. with Rev. Darrell Campbell officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Survivors include one daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth B. and Carroll Tate of Alton; one sister, Edna Hall Carter of Halifax, and a number of nieces and nephews.