State senators and members of the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously adopted companion bills designed to establish a foundation to oversee the distribution of funds coming into the Commonwealth from the national tobacco settlement Monday.
These bills earmark half of Virginia's share of the multi-state tobacco settlement - approximately $2.1 billion - for programs to help farmers cope with reduced tobacco quotas and demand and also establish programs to reduce underage tobacco usage.
"These bills are a result of about four years work, and they are historic in the sense of the alliance that been formed to keep this money out of the general fund and out of the hands of various special interests," Delegate W.W. "Ted" Bennett said Tuesday. "This money will provide indemnity for losses suffered by tobacco farmers and provide a secure safety net for our farmers in case of future quota reductions."
The bills outline the structure of broadly based groups that will be charged with administering and distributing the settlement proceeds.
The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission would consist of 21 members including three active flue-cured tobacco growers; three active burley tobacco growers; the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs or his designee; a representative from the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation; three private citizens appointed by Gov. Jim Gilmore; four members from the Va. House of Delegates; three state Senate members; and three local government officials from the Southside or Southwest regions.
The Commission would be responsible for overseeing the distribution of the $2.1 billion from the tobacco settlement over a period of 25 years to provide compensation to growers and quota holders affected by decreasing demand for tobacco products and shrinking quotas.
This money will also be used to encourage economic development in communities affected by declining tobacco revenues.
The Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation will consist of 15 board members, two of which will be members of the Va. House of Delegates; two state Senate members; five representatives from public health agencies (such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Medical Society of Virginia, American Lung Association of Virginia, Virginia Thoracic Society, and the Virginia Nurses Association); four health professionals in the fields of oncology, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, and pediatrics; and two youths.
The Foundation would be established for the purpose of administering a portion of the state's share of the settlement over a 25-year period to assist in financing efforts to restrict the use of tobacco products by minors through such means as educational and awareness programs on the health effects of tobacco use on minors and enforcement of laws restricting the distribution of tobacco products to minors.
"These bills were a result of team effort between legislators and the grower leadership of Virginia (from the Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Tobacco Growers Association, Concerned Friends of Tobacco, and the National Black Farmers Association) and public health organizations that recognized the impact that declining quotas and production will have on the Southside and Southwest regions and supported these initiatives," said Don Anderson, president of the Virginia Tobacco Growers Association.
"The bill has a broad base of sponsorship from all the senators and delegates from the Southside and Southwest as well as those regions of the state that appreciate the impact the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement (MSA) will have on grower communities and the need for public health initiatives that relate to youth smoking," Anderson continued. "Particularly, Del. Whitt Clement, Sen. Charles Hawkins, and Del. Ted Bennett should be commended for their recognition of the stress the grower communities are facing due to declining quotas. They sought grower input into this legislation to bring about a mechanism of stability as we move into an unknown future."
Should the bills' support continue as it has, they are expected to sale through the final leg of their journey through the General Assembly without opposition, and a final decision will be reached by the close of the 1999 session Feb. 28 to be presented to Gilmore.
This legislation will be one of the main discussion topics during the upcoming Virginia Tobacco Conference and Trade Show scheduled to take place at the Halifax County High School Saturday, Feb. 13.
The trade show, which will feature updated farming equipment including several tobacco balers and carousel planters, seed varieties, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and a number of farming programs, will begin at 9:30 a.m. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
The Virginia Tobacco Conference will begin at 1 p.m.
Virgil Goode Jr., U.S. House of Representatives, 5th District, will address tobacco issues at the federal level, while Sen. Charles Hawkins and Virginia Delegates Whitt Clement, Ted Bennett and Frank Ruff will speak on grower issues before the Virginia General Assembly.
Anderson, who will preside over the conference, urged everyone interested in the future of tobacco to attend Saturday's events.
"The VTGA, like other organizations, is only as strong as its membership, and I urge all tobacco growers, quota owners, and others interested in the tobacco industry to attend our event Saturday. Some of our strongest tobacco advocates in the General Assembly will be present Saturday affording an opportunity to growers to learn about this legislation and express appreciation."

Growers interested in the future of tobacco should make plans to attend the Virginia Tobacco Conference Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Halifax County High School, as recent tobacco legislation will be a main topic for discussion with state and federal lawmakers.
The Conference, which begins at 1 p.m., will include a presentation by U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode Jr. (5th District) regarding tobacco issues at the federal level, and state Sen. Charles Hawkins and state Delegates Whitt Clement, Ted Bennett and Frank Ruff will discuss grower issues before the Virginia General Assembly.
Virginia Tobacco Growers Association President Don Anderson, who will preside over the conference urged all interested growers and quota owners to attend, and emphasized the important information that will be shared regarding state tobacco legislation and the National Community Trust Fund.
Randolph A. Beales, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia, will be discussing the Phase II Tobacco Trust Fund Agreement during the conference, and a question and answer forum between the speakers and audience will follow.
"While Virginia should receive approximately $4.6 billion from the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement (MSA) and half of this should go into the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Fund to be used to indemnify farmers and quota holders in the Commonwealth affected by the decreasing demand for tobacco products and declining quotas, encourage economic development in tobacco dependent communities, and public health issues regarding underage smoking, there are a number of triggers that may affect the final figures," Anderson explained. "That is why it is important that growers understand Phase II of the tobacco agreement in which the four major cigarette manufacturers agreed to set up a $5.15 billion trust fund for farmers according to the 1998 quota. "
Under this agreement, Virginia would receive approximately $340 million, while North Carolina, the largest flue-cured tobacco state, and Kentucky, the biggest burley tobacco producer, would get the biggest shares under the proposal - 38.34 percent and 29.97 percent respectively - over a 12-year period.
Also receiving a percentage of the $5.15 billion would be Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, while the governors in states that produce less than 5 percent of the nation's tobacco would decide how to distribute funds.
"It should be noted that this process is still ongoing. They have agreed to it in principle, but no final contract has been signed by the states or companies because they are still working out some details," Anderson said. "Gov. Gilmore and his staff and Attorney General Mark Earley and his staff have worked extensively with the companies to establish this trust fund. They have requested and received a lot of input from the grower community as this process has evolved."

A task force charged with the responsibility of encouraging major changes in a large North Main Street sector has been created for South Boston by Mayor Glen N. Abernathy.
To be known as the North Main Street Neighborhood Improvement Task Force, the panel is composed of Council members Ed Owens and Buddy Wilborn and 12 citizens at large.
The Task Force will, to a large extent, do its own thing, to the extent of electing its own officers, identifying the area's needs, and prescribing remedies.
Mayor Abernathy asked the Task Force to "consider every avenue" In effecting the anticipated improvements.
The area to be studied lies along North Main Street from College Street on the south to Hamilton Boulevard on the north, and extends approximately a block on either side.
The east boundary is Spring Avenue and Sugg Avenue, and the west boundary is Jefferson Avenue and Jeffress Boulevard.
The overriding goal will be to "make over the neighborhood," said Mayor Abernathy.
"This group will be a 'renaissance group.'"
The idea of the Task Force apparently grew out of an event at the January Council meeting, when Melba Crews, Stanley Jeffress and several other residents and business people of the North Main area came to Council seeking help in cleaning up and generally improving their community.
They spoke of rundown buildings, overgrown vacant lots and indoor furniture displayed on front porches and in yards, among other things.
Named to serve with Owens and Wilborn on the Task Force were Susie Witcher, Carter Hicks, Melba Crews, Stanley Jeffress, Cynthia Kent, Levi Hamilton, Louise Winstead, Fred Carrington, Gayle Irving, Rev. James Crowder, Evelyn Faulkner and Rev. John Gee.
In other business at Monday night's February meeting:
*Council instructed Finance Director Vandie Saunders to continue to try to collect the $11,250 in delinquent real estate taxes for 1995. This amount reflects a 99.1 percent collection rate.
*Council approved a waiver of $1,088.32 in 1998 real estate taxes for the CEC, and recommended that the Educational Foundation apply for future exemption under the State Code.
*The governing body approved the installation of a traffic signal on Route 501 at the southern entrance to Halifax Square Shopping Center, and authorized filing an application with VDOT for a grant of between $100,000 and $125,000 to pay for it. The town also will ask that Covington Co., owner of the shopping center, put up a required 10 percent of the costs.
*Council heeded a staff recommendation and amended the South Boston Enterprise Zone Loan Program to permit repayment terms from 10 to 15 years on loans of more than $150,000.
*Council amended the Town Code to allow the $150 rezoning fee to be waived in the newly annexed areas through July 1, 1999.
*Appointments and recommendation for appointment made Monday night were these--
Kenneth Cassada, appointed to the Halifax County Economic Development Council.
Billy Clark, recommended to the Judge of the Circuit Court for reappointment to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Melba Crews and Fran Gardiner, appointed to the Halifax County Improvement Council.

It was a race to the Dan destined to change American history, a pivotal sprint into Halifax County by Gen. Nathanael Greene's exhausted colonial troops outsmarting the pursuing British and leaving them stranded on the opposite banks of a winter-filled Dan River near present day South Boston.
For too long, however, the crossing's importance was little known or recognized.
The Berryman Green Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is giving visual impact as well as written history to present and future generations this Saturday with the dedication of The Retreat to the Dan Memorial.
The ceremony opens at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Memorial on Broad Street overlooking the Dan River crossing and the public is invited.
On Saturday, the DAR will also honor retired South Boston newspaperman Carroll Headspeth for his role in documenting the historical crossing here in The Retreat To The Dan, a publication by Headspeth and the late Spurgeon Compton.
The DAR program will also feature The Fife and Drum Corps from Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Lt. Col. Bill Lindley and Dennis Carter, all in patriotic British uniforms.
South Boston Mayor Glen Abernathy, Frances Page Loftis, regent Berryman Green Chapter DAR, and Memorial Committee chairman Betty Willis and Barbara Johnson will speak at the event.
The short program at the Memorial will be followed by a presentation by Nathanael Greene scholar Dr. Dennis Conrad at the South Boston-Halifax County Museum of Fine Arts and History. The public is invited.
Dr. Conrad is the president of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Nathanael Greene's home state, and is a noted authority on General Greene and the Southern Campaign, including the Race to the Dan.
Dr. Conrad wrote his doctoral dissertation on Greene and the Southern Campaign while at Duke University. He is now the editor of the ongoing series of publications entitled the Papers of General Nathanael Greene being published by the UNC Press. Volume 7 of an anticipated 13 volumes deals with the 29 December 1780-29 March 1781.
Dr. Conrad is also slated to speak during a luncheon meeting of the Sons of the American Revolution at the Courthouse Cafe in Halifax on Saturday.
Today many historians consider the Southern battles the turning point in the young nation's fight for independence, and Greene's crossing of the Dan a pivotal event in the Campaign of the South which ultimately lead to British defeat at Yorktown.

While not having committed itself to offer an optional early retirement program, the Halifax County School Board has given school system officials the nod to create a committee to develop a proposal for such a program.
School board members Patricia Nelson and Raleigh Moorefield were appointed Monday night to serve as the school board's representatives on the panel which will develop a proposed early retirement program for the school board to consider.
School system officials have noted that 38 licensed employees will meet the eligibility standard of 55 years of age and 30 years of service that have been proposed for the program at the end of this school year.
Some school board members expressed concern that offering an early retirement program would result in such a mass exodus of employees that the school system would be hard pressed to get enough replacement teachers in place by the time school starts.
And, one school board member, Carl Furches, reminded the school board of what happened several years ago when the state offered an early retirement program - a program that resulted in a large number of teachers retiring and one that ended up being costly to the locality in the long run.
"We had such a brain drain in that instance and we haven't recovered yet," Furches said referring to the loss of a large number of good, experienced teachers who opted to retire under the program.
Nelson countered by saying, "whether they retire at 55 or 62, they're still going to retire. I don't see it as costing us anything. I think it is something some employees would like to have. I can't think of one good reason not to have it."
Halifax County High School principal Larry Clark pointed out that he is one of the 38 people that would meet the eligibility criteria for a possible early retirement program. He noted a belief that having such a program would extend careers, not end them.
"Rather than being an incentive for people to retire early, I truly believe it will extend some careers," Clark said.
"I see it as an incentive to continue my career."
With the exception of Charlotte County, all of the school systems that border Halifax County offer some form of optional early retirement program.
In other matters:
Halifax County school system officials said Monday night that the latest reports on school dropout rates show a significant improvement for Halifax County.
They said data based on a one year period that ended September 30, 1998 showed a dropout rate of 3.2 percent, a mark that was a far cry better than the 12 percent mark from the previous year that put Halifax County as having the state's highest dropout rate.
Witt and school system officials noted things such as a greater emphasis on school attendance, the efforts of the school system's dropout coordinator Joan Bowers to locate and followup on students that were not in school and more precise accounting methods in calculating dropouts are responsible for the improvement.
In another matter:
Shelia Morton, representing the school system's Special Education car drivers, appeared before the school board to seek pay hikes and additional benefits for that group of employees.
Among the benefits that Morton and the car drivers requested were paid health insurance premiums, being given one paid Sick Day for each 120 days of work, and the employees being given the option of having either a 10 month or 12 month pay period for the year.
Witt and the school board agreed to consider the requests and noted that school system officials will contact officials in neighboring school systems in an effort to determine what is being done in surrounding areas.

The chairman of a group favorable to corporate swine operations here has accused the chairman of a group critical of them of violating an agreement to seek a compromise in the turbulent confrontation.
Tucker Watkins said that he had met privately with Jack Dunavant twice and felt that a compromise was in the works.
"....I had assured many that common ground was near," wrote Watkins in a letter to the editor in today's editorial section.
Watkins, who heads the group that named itself SAFE (South Central Agriculturalists for the Environment), said he and Dunavant had scheduled a third meeting when he saw a letter penned by Dunavant that he felt was an attack on SAFE and himself.
"I felt he violated the spirit of the meetings. I am saddened to find my trust betrayed," Watkins wrote.
Dunavant in a letter run in full in Monday's edition, called SAFE a FARCE operated by "hog parlor operators, wannabees or (hog) proponents."
Watkins retorted, SAFE's "panel members included farmers who have no interest in pork operations, a neighbor of a confined feeding operation and an official of the Soil and Water Conservation Service."
Assertions by Dunavant that raw hog waste was "being pumped right up to a neighbor's property line," was not true, Watkins said. "The truth - which Mr. Dunavant knows but will not say because he wants to use fear...."
The Watkins' letter which addresses other Dunavant statements, is printed on page 5B.

PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) - Faced with an oversupply at large slaughterhouses that kept them struggling to stay in business, hog farmers Mike and Terry Strickland decided to take matters into their own hands: They began processing their own meat for sale to area businesses.
The brothers, who farm near this west Georgia town, grow about 6,000 of the state's annual marketable hogs on their 500-acre farm.
While the Stricklands continue to produce hogs to be sold for processing, they are supplementing their business by going door-to-door selling hogs they processed, inspected and readied for sale.
Phil Williams, owner of Pine Mountain's Supervalu grocery, responded to their local sales pitch and sells their pork products in the town of 1,500.
So did McGuire's Family Restaurant, which boasts of serving pork chops, ribs and ham that are truly home-grown.
In 1998, Georgia's hog farmers marketed a million head of hogs for $134 million in gross receipts compared with $222 million in 1987. Ten years ago, the state had 4,000 hog farmers. Now there are 400.
''We just have too many hogs going to market. A lot of producers are going out of business now,'' said Rogers Bernard, executive vice president of the Georgia Pork Producers Association.
The Stricklands are also diversifying by selling mulch, hay and wheat to help pay for their feed bill that averages $7,000 a week.
Still, the brothers are uncertain they will be able to remain in the pork-producing business.
''Over the last six months, we've borrowed over $100,000 just to stay in business,'' said Mike, 35, the younger of the two brothers.
The Stricklands' breeder herd of 300 hogs is the average size of most of the state's hog farms. The largest hog farm operation in the state belongs to Goldkist with its combination of farms totaling 20,000 breeder hogs.
While too few slaughtering plants are a major reason, a decline in exports to foreign markets has helped to push the supply of hogs past demand.
As a result, the selling price hit an all-time low of 8 cents per 100 pounds of pork sold last year, the lowest since the Great Depression. That compares with 47 cents in previous years. The current market rate is 27 cents to 30 cents a pound.
The state Board of Natural Resources added to state hog farmers' woes recently with a ban on new permits for hog farm operations exceeding 2,500 hogs until rules are established for waste management.
''We are trying to ride it out,'' said hog farmer Chuck Walls of Gainesville who has a 700-hog farm near Commerce.
''We've lost somewhere around $150,000 last year, and it will take us about a year and a half to get it back. If our feed suppliers had not been good enough to stay with us, we probably would be out of business,'' Walls said.
Recently, a proposal to build a $100 million packing plant between Macon and Savannah was put on hold by the packer, said Fred Sandrock, head of the Sunbelt Pork Cooperative of producers from Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama.
Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said a Georgia slaughterhouse is what is needed.
''I've asked state legislators to look into the possibility of getting an authority established that could back a bond issue to build a plant here,'' Irvin said.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Three bills backed by Gov. Jim Gilmore to reduce the amount of out-of-state trash dumped in Virginia won overwhelming approval Tuesday in the House of Delegates.
The bills would ban garbage barges from Virginia waterways, cap landfill growth and require the state to regulate trash trucks. The House passed them without debate. The vote was 73-25 on the barge ban, unanimous on the other two.
Virginia imported 3.2 million tons of trash in 1997, second only to Pennsylvania. Gilmore has made curbing out-of-state trash a top priority in the 1999 General Assembly.
Del. M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, has said garbage barges would pose a significant environmental risk on Virginia waterways. A barge can carry as much trash as 300 tractor-trailers.
However, opponents of the barge ban have noted that the federal  Maritime Safety Administration considers barges a safe and environmentally friendly means of transporting waste. They also have argued that many forms of hazardous waste already are being safely transported by barge.
No out-of-state trash is currently coming into Virginia by barge. However, Houston-based Waste Management Inc., wants to start shipping New York City garbage to Virginia by barge in late spring for disposal at a company-owned landfill in Charles City County.
The second bill in Gilmore's package would cap the amount of trash landfills can accept at 2,000 tons a day or the average daily intake in 1998, whichever is greater. The bill would allow small landfills to continue to grow while freezing growth at large dumps.
The bill to regulate trash trucks also would establish a fund for cleanup and closure of old landfills and impose a moratorium on new landfills until July 1, 2000.

Jaylen Ka' Ashante Ford died on Saturday, February 6, 1999.
He was born in Halifax County on February 2, 1999 the son of Tina A. Brown and Shawn Ford.
Survivors include his mother of Halifax; his father of South Boston; two brothers, Shyheim Robertson and Devonta' Ford of the home; grandfather, Charles E. Brown Sr. of the home; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Ford Sr. of South Boston; great-grandparents, Martha C. Brown and Gertrude Byrd, both of Halifax; and other relatives and friends.

Funeral services for the infant were held Tuesday, February 9 at 2 p.m. at the Chapel of Kent, Ballou and Crowder Funeral Service with Rev. Joseph Dixon officiating. Burial was in the William Temple CME Church Cemetery.

Bessie Harris Moore of Philadelphia, PA died Thursday, February 4, 1999.
The funeral service for Mrs. Moore will be Thursday, February 11 at 11 a.m. at the Christian Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia.

Mildred Glass Davis of 1091 Turkey Run Road, Halifax died Monday, February 8, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital. She was 73 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Davis was born in Halifax County on April 6, 1925 the daughter of Noel Flournoy Glass and Emma Ruth Blanks Glass and was married to Jesse Dillard Davis. She was a member of County Line Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Jesse James Davis of Baytown, TX; three daughters, Joan Felvey and Janet Conner, both of Halifax and Joyce Barker of Ringgold; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; two brothers, Garland Glass of Lynchburg and James Glass of South Boston; two sisters, Virginia G. Garber of South Boston and Jane G. McBride of Nathalie. She was preceded in death by one sister, Rebecca G. Stanley.

Funeral services for Mrs. Davis will be held today, February 10 at 4 p.m. at County Line Baptist Church with Rev. Joey Cantrell conducting the service. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.

Mary Frances Harris Marsolais of Fontana, CA died Monday, February 7, 1999 in Lebanon, OR at the age of 91.
Survivors include her son, Kenneth Edgar Hatcher of Scottsburg; her daughter, Anne Wickum of Lebanon; her step-son, Richard Marsolais of AK.
She was preceded in death by one daughter, Helen Jean Hatcher Torian.