By LARRY O'DELL
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Three Republicans broke with Gov. Jim Gilmore as the House of Delegates voted 49-48 Tuesday to revive a bill to increase benefits for jobless textile workers and other Virginians in high-unemployment localities.
Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Martinsville, then picked up support from three more Republicans in a 53-45 vote to pass the bill, which now goes to the Senate. One Democrat who didn't vote on the amendment also voted for the bill.
Armstrong originally proposed legislation to increase unemployment benefits by up to $100 a week for people in localities with unemployment rates exceeding 10 percent. The aim was to help workers in Henry County and Martinsville, where unemployment has hit double digits because of textile plant closings and layoffs.
''You can't imagine what it's like to walk down the street in an area with 20 percent unemployment,'' Armstrong told his House colleagues Tuesday. ''It's all people talk about. The grocery stores, the shoe stores, the banks are starting to fail. We're losing the battle down there.''
Republicans killed Armstrong's bill in committee last week after Gilmore declared his opposition. Gilmore said it would be unfair to raise benefits for some unemployed Virginians and not others.
Armstrong revived the measure on the House floor as an amendment to a related bill sponsored by Del. Robert Hull, D-Fairfax. However, the new version would increase benefits for about 30 localities where unemployment is double the statewide rate, which now is 2.6 percent.
He had to drop a provision in his original bill to provide the unemployed workers up to two years of Medicaid coverage. That proposal would not have been germane to the Hull bill, which dealt only with unemployment pay, Armstrong conceded.
Armstrong said he still hopes to find a way to make healthcare coverage available.
''I'm ready to talk to the governor and see if we can craft a comprehensive solution,'' Armstrong said in an interview after the vote.
Armstrong's proposed Textile Workers Relief Act has been one of the most emotionally charged issues of the 2000 General Assembly. Busloads of unemployed people from Armstrong's area have made three trips to the Capitol to plead their case with legislators.
The bill also became one of the session's most intensely partisan issues as most Republicans, taking their cue from Gilmore, worked to kill the measure. Among the eventual opponents of the bill were a handful of Republicans who initially signed on as co-sponsors.
On the House floor Tuesday, Del. Jack Rust, R-Fairfax, argued that the state's traditional strategy for helping high-unemployment areas has been to create jobs, not increase benefits. He said the bill would cut the state's $1 billion unemployment trust fund in half in three years.
House Minority Leader C. Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County denied that the bill would break the trust fund. A couple of years ago, he recalled, the legislature was able to cut employers' unemployment taxes by $120 million a year because the fund was in such good shape.
Republicans who voted for the Armstrong amendment were Dels. Jo Ann S. Davis of York County, Allen Dudley of Franklin County and Phillip A. Hamilton of Newport News. They were joined by fellow Republican Dels. Preston Bryant of Lynchburg, Terry Kilgore of Scott County and Anne G. ''Panny'' Rhodes of Richmond on the vote to pass the bill.

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Three different transportation plans were approved by three different legislative committees Tuesday, leaving the General Assembly to pick and choose among the competing proposals over the session's final 25 days.
All three plans set aside anywhere from $2.1 billion to $2.5 billion in new transportation funds over the next six years. Each proposal draws from different pots of money. Two of the plans allocate specific amounts to dozens of projects across the state.
It's unclear which plan if any is more likely to pass, but Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, warned that none of the plans would make a significant dent into the state's traffic woes. He cited studies that show northern Virginia alone needs $20 billion to break the gridlock there.
''This is a situation that's been building for a number of years,'' Saslaw said. ''This is the major problem in our area.''
A plan favored by the Gilmore administration passed the House Finance Committee on a 15-9 vote Tuesday. The administration's plan gives more flexibility than the other two to the state's Commonwealth Transportation Board to pick which projects will receive funding.
Transportation Secretary Shirley Ybarra said the flexibility allows the transportation board to pick worthy projects on objective criteria rather than political expediency.
''We don't want to tie the hands of the Commonwealth Transportation Board,'' Ybarra said.
The governor's plan uses money from the state's share of the tobacco settlement, and it takes the money up front to jump start the plan. Some lawmakers have said that's financially unsound because the state could lose tens of millions of dollars in the long term on technical aspects of the plan.
A competing plan passed the House Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly. The bill sponsored by Del. John A. ''Jack'' Rollison III, R-Prince William, pegs all $2.45 billion over the next six years to 111 projects across the state.
Rollison's plan uses tobacco money, but over a long period time rather than up front. The plan also dedicates 25 percent of the state's corporate income-tax collections as well as tax revenue from auto-insurance policies.
Some of the big-ticket items in Rollison's plan include $300 million for improvements to Interstate 81, $190 million for improvements to I-64 in Hampton and Newport News, and $100 million for the I-66/I-495 interchange in Fairfax County.
Exact comparisons are impossible, but it appears that northern Virginia fares slightly better in Rollison's plan than under the third plan approved by the Senate Finance Committee.
That plan allocates a total of $2.1 billion over the next six years. Some projects are guaranteed funds under the Senate plan, while others are recommended.
The Senate plan allocates about 15 percent less money than Gilmore's. Still, Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said the Senate plan is preferable because it refers to specific projects.
''It forces some accountability,'' she said. ''We want to make sure the money is spent wisely and appropriately.''
If all the Senate recommendations were enacted, the Hampton Roads area would receive slightly more money than northern Virginia, which some lawmakers have feared would gobble up the bulk of the transportation funding. It would allocate $398 million to Hampton Roads, compared with $395 million for the northern Virginia planning district.
Rollison's plan dedicates about $35 million more to northern Virginia than to Hampton Roads.

Virgilina pride could not be hidden as students, faculty, alumni, state and school officials gathered in the old auditorium of Virgilina Elementary School Monday to celebrate 100 years of education at the community school.
Students, faculty and alumni of Virgilina were honored with the presence of dignitaries that included U.S. Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (D-5) and Senator Charles Robb's representative, intern Kate Cosner.
"The entire community did an excellent job supporting the events," said chairperson of the Centennial Planning Committee, Lisa Morris Long, who welcomed the crowd as primary students, faculty and alumni witnessed a grand array of commendations for their school and their heritage.
The presentation of colors was conducted by the Girl Scouts, Troop 908, and Boy Scouts, Pack 40, which opened the centennial ceremony.
Rep. Goode presented the school with a flag from the U.S. Congress. The flag had flown at the capitol on Friday to honor the anniversary of Virgilina Elementary.
Nick Long, president of the Virgilina Elementary School PTO, read a letter from Governor James Gilmore, which commended Virgilina for maintaining "academic excellence" and offering "an understanding and encouraging environment in which students can achieve their hopes and dreams."
Del. William W. "Ted" Bennett Jr. D-60, attending the General Assembly session, sent a letter commending the school, saying that the "legacy to us is a monumental and enduring one that must be perpetuated."
As a small community school, Virgilina is one being considered for closing by the Halifax County Board of Education. However, opposition from the community and from county officials was apparent from the comments made vigorously in support of the school.
"By this anniversary celebration you remind us of this great heritage, and that if our legacy to succeeding generations is to have the same impact of the first 100 years, it is our duty to see that the Virgilina school shall endure so that excellence will continue to prevail in this county over the next 100 years," stated Bennett.
"Students need a school where they can have a sense of being and belonging," said Lisa Long, referring to a community environment that provides a student the atmosphere where "knowing one another" is a major advantage in education.
Lottie Nunn, of the Board of Supervisors, was among the speakers. Nunn said that a school was the hub of a community and a center for cultivating strength.
Also appearing among speakers were Dennis Witt, superintendent of Halifax County Public Schools, Mac McDowell, chairman of the Halifax County School Board, Glenn Ratliff Jr., a member of the Halifax County School Board, and Beverly Murray, of the Virgilina Town Council.
Aleta Fears, principal of Virgilina Elementary gave recognition to the faculty, past and present, and to the centennial committee.
Also honored were the alumni, which included the oldest, Vera Puryear Slagle, Class of 1920, who though unable to attend, received a bouquet of red roses and a plaque accepted by her son Jack Slagle.
Lois Long, Class of 1926, also received a bouquet of roses for the Oldest Graduate on the Centennial Committee.
Stevan Neil O'Brien, 5, received a plaque for being the youngest student to represent Virgilina during its 100th anniversary.
Kimberly Dale Tuck of the fifth-grade and Ralph Dale Tuck II of the second grade were each the recipient of a certificate in the honor of their great-grandmother, Ida Apt Tuck, the first teacher at Virgilina. Their parents are alumni Ralph and Kaye Tuck.
A moment of silence was offered for the deceased of Virgilina, followed by a centennial medley performed by the first-grade students under music teacher Denise Ferrell.
Afterwards, the unveiling of the contributions to the Virgilina School Scholarship Fund revealed a total of $10,482, an amount provided by the alumni with over 49 classes exceeding the goal of $100 for each class. The amount was surpassed during the celebration as alumni gathered at the school.
Lisa Long closed the ceremony inside the auditorium with a poem by Douglas Mallock, titled "Don't Grow Away."
A part of the first stanza is as follows:
"Don't grow away from things of old,
From things of old too fast;
So many change love's honest gold
For coin that will not last."
The crowd gathered outside the auditorium for a tree-planting ceremony as a magnolia was planted along with a time capsule to be opened in the year 2024.
During the planting of the magnolia, David Glasscock, a fifth-grader and the son of alumni Michael and Brenda Glasscock, read a poem from Joyce Kilmer titled "Trees."
After the burial of the Time Capsule and a chorus of "May the Road Rise To Meet You" by the sixth-grade girls, Norman Talley, PTO president 1997-1999, closed the ceremony with a prayer.

The fourth grade at South of Dan Elementary School will move to Cluster Springs Elementary School next year.
School system officials cited space at the two schools, as well as a desire to more closely align the fourth and fifth grades in terms of instruction and SOL test preparation, as key reasons behind the move.
Cluster Springs Elementary School Principal Beverly Crowder and South of Dan Elementary School Principal Ricky Hunt endorsed the proposed change.
"It will benefit my instructional program," Mrs. Crowder said.
"All of the SOL testing objectives are introduced in the fourth-grade and fifth grade is test time."
Hunt said that "the South of Dan family will miss the fourth grade."
He added that everyone was cramped for space and pointed out that "we've had music and art on a cart for quite awhile."
A parent, Frank Shealy, when asked by Hunt to comment on the proposal, told the School Board that "as far as a parent, I don't see any problem with moving."
The move will entail the transfer of three classroom groups of fourth- grade students from South of Dan to Cluster Springs.
Next year there will be a total of four sections of fourth-grade students.
This year's present two groups of fourth grade students, which, next year will be fifth-grade students, will also be moving to Cluster Springs.
In an accompanying move, the Early Childhood Special Education class at Cluster Springs will move to South of Dan next year.
As a result of the move, Cluster Springs Elementary School, which now has 146 students in grades five and six, will see its student population swell to over 200 students next year.
South of Dan, which has 380 students in grades K-4, will still have an excess of 300 students next year.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bobby R. Hall said that South of Dan will gain two classroom spaces next year.
Cluster Springs, he said, can accommodate the new incoming students next year if a mobile unit were added.
Cluster Springs, by giving up its Special Education class to South of Dan, will see the current LD resource and guidance rooms opened up for use next year.
In another matter:
The Halifax County School Board got its first look at initial 2000-2001 school-year budget figures which showed a total proposed budget of $42,939,807.
That figure represents an increase of $787,567 or 1.9 percent over the current year's $42.1 million budget package.
Due to the much talked about change in the county's composite index, the school system will need an appropriation of $13,397,809 from the Board of Supervisors to fund the proposed budget.
That represents an increase of $3.5 million dollars over the current year's appropriation.
The proposed budget figures uses the Governor's budget for state revenue which provides a 2.25 percent salary increase.

Halifax County's students and teachers will have an abbreviated spring break this year.
And, the School Board gave school system officials the nod to apply to the state for a waiver that will allow the coming school year to begin in August.
According to the schedule of makeup days adopted by the Halifax County School Board Monday night, spring break will consist of two days, Good Friday (April 21) and Easter Monday (April 24), making what will, in essence, be a four-day weekend.
What that does is cut four days out of the spring break which was originally set for April 17-21.
In addition, a teacher workday that was scheduled for March 31 will now become a regular school day, as will Memorial Day (May 29).
The bottom line in the formula is that the school system will make up six of the 10 days that have been lost as a result of the recent winter storms.
Along with adopting that schedule of makeup days, the School Board also mandated that if any additional days of school are missed as a result of inclement weather, students and teachers will attend school on Saturday of that week, weather and other conditions permitting.
The school year will end for students on Wednesday, June 14, as originally scheduled.
Halifax County School Superintendent Dennis Witt pointed out that the makeup day schedule will result in Halifax County students having a 176-day school year instead of the 180-day school year.
"I believe we are in an unusual circumstance because we didn't start school until after Labor Day," Witt pointed out.
One of the primary focal points of the makeup days issue was the time window for the administration of the state-mandated Standards of Learning (SOL) Tests this spring.
"This does not change the SOL testing date and gives us the maximum instructional time before SOL tests," Witt noted in a statement submitted to the School Board with the proposed makeup calendar.
Adding additional days into the school calendar after the SOL tests have been completed in May, Witt said, is pretty much useless.
"Once the SOL tests are given in May a lot of momentum will wane," Witt pointed out.
Patricia Nelson, South Boston's representative on the School Board, voiced concern over whether the proposed makeup-days calendar offered by Witt would be enough.
"I'm more concerned with the elementary schools and the middle school which do not have a semester changeover," she said.
"I know nobody wants to go to school on Saturday. But, how much time do we need to get the kids caught up to take the SOL tests?"
School Board member Jason Parker said he had spoken to some elementary school teachers in his district and to some teachers at the high school.
"They wanted the time to be made up before the May 5 SOL tests," Parker said.
School Board member Wanda McDowell said she felt that it was the quality of the time spent in the classroom, not the quantity, that was important and wanted to see some of spring break protected.
"I think by April the kids and teachers are probably going to need a break mentally," she stated.
School Board member Carl Furches, a former assistant principal at Halifax County High School, pointed out that during his career when it came to spring break "Friday and Monday were sacred cows but for other days, everybody knew that when snow came, those days were lost."
As it pertains to the four days of school that will not be made up, the inclement-weather rule established by the state General Assembly forgives days six through 10 due to inclement weather, if the School Board requests.
Also, the length of the school day in Halifax County exceeds the state-required day by 30 minutes, providing the school system with 15 days of "banked time" that may be used in lieu of state-required school days in cases of unusual circumstances.
In a related move, school system officials received the okay from the School Board to apply to the state for a waiver that will allow school to start here in August.
Witt noted that because of the large number of days lost this year to bad weather, Halifax County will have a high enough average to qualify for early school opening for the next four years.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bobby R. Hall noted that in order to qualify for a waiver a school system must average having missed eight days out of five of the previous 10 years.
Halifax County's average will be such that it could qualify for early school opening through the 2003-2004 school year if the School Board gives school system officials the nod to apply for the waiver.
The application for a waiver must be submitted on an annual basis

A search of Halifax County High School triggered by a pair of bomb threats Monday yielded authorities a pair of "nickel bags" of marijuana.
Halifax County High School Principal Larry Clark said the two small bags of marijuana were found in the ceiling of two mens' restrooms in the school during the bomb search.
Clark noted that authorities and school officials were not able to identify to whom the marijuana belonged.
No bombs or explosive devices were found.
The high school principal said that two bomb threats were called in, one at approximately 8:50 a.m. and another at approximately 1:15 p.m.
Clark explained that the second call was a 911 call made from a cellular telephone and that the call went to Lyncom in Lynchburg.
Lyncom officials, he continued, contacted the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Clark said Monday night that authorities were able to determine that the call from the cellular phone was made through an Alltel phone and that an investigation is continuing.
In both instances, school officials contacted School Superintendent Dennis Witt and enacted a Code 1 Emergency.
Under a Code 1 situation, the school is basically "locked down." Teachers were required to secure their classrooms and not permit students to leave the classrooms for any reason.
The school was not evacuated.
Officers from the South Boston Police Department, deputies from the Halifax County Sheriff's Department, troopers from the Virginia State Police, and South Boston Fire Department officials responded to the call.
Trooper S.M. Krantz brought a specially trained dog that can smell explosives to the school to aid in the search.
"We conducted a walk-through search on both occasions," Clark said.
"And, we utilized Trooper Krantz's dog that can smell explosives. Nothing was found in both instances."
Clark said that it is unfortunate that someone would communicate a bomb threat.

"Maintaining the students' safety and security is utmost on our minds," Clark pointed out.
"And, such things are extremely disruptive. In this case, a minimal amount of instructional time was lost.
"Obviously, we hope this never happens again," added Clark, "and that the person or persons who did this will be caught."

Defenders of the Staunton River are urging fishermen, scenic river supporters and advocates of sound environmental policy to attend a State Water Control Board public hearing next month in Brookneal.
The March 7 hearing is to receive comments on the proposed issuance of a Virginia Water Protection Permit to LG&E Westmoreland in Altavista for the operation of a water-supply intake on the river in Altavista.
LG&E Westmoreland proposes operating a water-supply intake withdrawing a maximum of 2.86 million gallons per day, according to the proposed permit.
W. Shelton Miles III, co-founder of the Citizens for the Preservation of the Staunton River, is seeking a large public hearing turnout in support of the Department of Environmental Quality's proposals.
"It is absolutely essential that we pack the public hearing," emphasized Miles.
"We need to show that public support is just as strong now as it was in 1989," he said, referring to a local public hearing which drew approximately 400 people when the SWCB was gathering information to use in determining the state's first minimum instream flow standards on the Staunton River.
During the March 7 hearing, citizens may comment on the proposed permit, the reissuance or denial of the permit and the effect of the project on water quality, and the beneficial use of state waters.
The SWCB staff proposed reissuing the Virginia Water Protection Permit with certain conditions determining water withdrawal limits, minimum instream flowby limits, monitoring requirements and reporting requirements.
The public hearing will open at 7 p.m. in William Campbell High School on Tuesday, March 7, in Naruna, just north of Brookneal.
Those wishing to submit written comments for the record may mail them to Joseph Hassell, Department of Environmental Quality, Water Division, P.O. Box 10009, Richmond, VA 23240-0009 by 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 9.
Staunton River advocates are also seeking experienced canoeists who recently have canoed down the scenic portion of the Staunton River from Long Island to Brookneal and can recall dates and river conditions on those specific dates.
Canoeists with such information are asked to contact Shelton Miles at 283-1972.
The State Water Control Board is scheduled to vote on the proposal on March 14.

Despite recent development along Hamilton Boulevard from its intersection with U.S.360 to North Main Street, South Boston Town Council decided Monday night that its zoning, much of which is residential, will remain unchanged.
Council had asked the South Boston Planning Commission to study the feasibility of rezoning both sides of the Hamilton Boulevard corridor between North Main and U.S. 360 to a business classification.
Because of its current use and neighborhood character, the planners agreed that the town could best control and monitor potentially conflicting uses that may adversely impact adjoining residents.
Council agreed with only the one dissenting vote of Ed Owens.
Two items relating to traffic and streets found council accepting resolutions calling for the installation of a traffic control light on U.S. 501 at the entrance to Halifax Square Shopping Center, a project which carries 90 percent funding through the VDOT Hazard Elimination Safety Program Grant and the shopping center owner, James Covington.
The entrance has been the scene of a number of traffic accidents including one fatality in recent years.
In other action, council agreed to close two alleys south of Factory and Bruce Streets and convey the surplus property to the adjacent property owners. That property, destined for redevelopment, is located in the old warehouse district and is owned by the Continuing Education Center.
Play Ball
The Dixie Pre-Majors and Majors baseball league teams will be allowed to use the lights at C.H.Friend athletic field this spring, summer and fall, and the town will pay the cost.
That agreement came at the request of league official David Meyers who told council of crowded conditions at The Day Complex and the need for more playing space, especially at night.
Town officials estimate the cost of providing lighting during the season to be approximately $2,000. (See separate story in today's sports section for more details.)
Points of Interest
In other matters before council, action was taken on the following:
· waiver of 1999 real estate taxes in the amount of $928.27 for the Halifax Education Foundation. Tax exempt status is currently being sought for the HEF.
· ordinance passed authorizing the issuance of $5.5 million in bonds for water and sewer projects.
· appointment of Coleman Speece to Board of Zoning Appeals for a two-year term to succeed Ronnie Crabtree.

The Halifax County High School Blue Comets varsity boys and girls cagers will conclude their regular season schedules this week.
And, they will face a pair of tough opponents.
First up for the Comets boys is a game tonight against William Fleming in Roanoke.
The Comets and William Fleming played on pretty much equal footing when they faced each other here in December before Fleming pulled out a 53-48 win.
Halifax County High School's girls teams will play Dinwiddie here tonight in what will be the final home game of the regular season.
The Comets girls jayvees will open tonight's action here at 6 p.m. and the varsity contest will follow at 7:30 p.m.
Friday night the Comets boys will go on the road to Danville to face GW in what could turn out to be a pivotal game in terms of the Western District standings and subsequent tournament pairings.
But, the first matter of business is tonight's game against William Fleming.
And, there is a question as to how Comets coach Garrett Dillard will approach the contest.
Needless to say, the Comets want to win and will try their best to do just that.
However, Friday night's game against GW in Danville is a much more important t game in the overall scheme of things and it is of paramount importance that the Comets be at full strength.
So, just how far Dillard will go with his regular lineup and primary players tonight is not certain.
And, the answer may not be known until after half of tonight's game has been played.
The Comets moved into third place in the Western District standings with a victory over E.C. Glass here last Friday night.
And, if the Comets can knock off GW for a second time, they can finish 3-3 in the district with a possible chance of getting second place.
The win over E.C. Glass was the first step in the Comets' bid to solidify third place and attempt to position themselves for a better seeding in the district tournament.
Friday night's game against GW will be the second step.
"The GW is more like the second and a half step," Dillard remarked.
"We have a chance either at second place or a chance at making GW and Albemarle have a play-off game if we win.
"If we win (over GW)," continued Dillard, "it will give GW and Albemarle two losses which means they would have to play each other Monday night and then turn around and have to play again Wednesday night."
In the case of the Comets varsity girls team, it has an opportunity to improve on its 1-15 slate tonight.
The Comets lost 50-28 when they faced Dinwiddie earlier this season. But, it was a game that Halifax County could have won.
Friday night, the Comets girls will face a daunting task when they host GW, the state's third ranked team.
GW beat the Comets 69-21 in their first meeting earlier this season.

The C.H. Friend Elementary School baseball field, which has laid dormant for a year or more, will be upgraded and put back into use this spring.
Monday night the Halifax County School Board and South Boston Town Council agreed to allow the South Boston Dixie Majors and Pre-Majors baseball leagues to upgrade the facility and play their games at that site.

The School Board okayed the request from league officials to use the field but noted that the school system, the South Boston Recreation Department, and the local youth football league would have priority over the baseball leagues in the use of the field.
League spokesman David Myers said that the request was made in that manner and that such arrangements posed no problem.
"We understand the high school jayvee team has first priority on the use of the field for practice and games," Myers said.
"We'll sit down with the Pop Warner football people and Matthew (McCargo) from the Recreation Department and make arrangements where we don't interfere or conflict with any of their programs and activities.
"And," Myers added, "we'll upgrade the facility so that it will be beneficial to everyone that uses it."

With the field having laid idle for some time, the combination press box/restroom building, lights and the field itself are in need of work repairs and sprucing up.
Myers does not have an estimate for what it will cost to bring the C.H. Friend baseball field back up to playing condition.
Yet, Myers says he's willing to shoulder that burden. And, he says he will have help.
"I'm not depending upon the Dixie, Inc. Board to do much of anything other than maybe help cut the grass," Myers stated.
"What needs to be done to the field I'm going to make sure it gets done myself."
Myers stated that he already knows that the roof on the press box/concession/restroom facility must be replaced.
He added that he has received commitments from E.C. Lewis and Don Sheppard at Gupton's to help take care of the roof problem and that James Lewis is donating the use of a crane for a day for work on the lights.
"There are a lot of parents who have kids in the program that want to help," Myers pointed out.
The Dixie Majors and Pre-Majors leagues for boys ages 15-18 played at the Day Complex last season.
However, the field that the teams played on did not have lights and the teams were forced to play all of their games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the hottest part of the summer days with play starting at 12 noon on Saturdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays.
The move to C.H. Friend will once again open up the possibility for the league to play its games at night under the lights during the week.

That, Myers said, should help bring out more parents and players.
Between the heat, which Myers said kept a good number of parents and grandparents away, and the fact that many of the players had part-time weekend jobs that interfered with their ability to play ball on weekends, the league lost a number of players.
"The heat was almost unbearable at times," Myers said.
"There is no shade at the complex and a lot of people, especially the older people, grandparents that came to see the kids play, couldn't stand it. And, a lot of kids that play in the league have weekend jobs. They might be able to work around a couple of hours on a Sunday but they couldn't do it both Saturday and Sunday."
Myers said that those circumstances created a lot of problems and that by the time the season was half over, a number of kids had stopped playing.
By the time the season was done, 25 kids that had started playing in the league had either quit altogether or came to play on a very sporadic basis.
"About a third of the way into the season we had to start borrowing players from other teams in the league so that teams had enough players to play," Myers stated.
"Three teams had to borrow players from other teams in order to have enough players to play."
Coupled with the loss of players during the season was a drop in the number of participants prior to the start of the season.
Myers said that last season the league lost approximately 50 players from the previous season that would have been eligible age-wise to play last year.
"That's about four teams worth of kids," Myers noted.
Myers also said that safety concerns at the Day Complex were also part of the decision to move the league back to C.H. Friend.
He pointed out that there were several occasions when all four South Boston baseball leagues would be playing simultaneously and that safety nets to protect the fans were not erected on all of the fields.
"When you get four leagues running, some days you'd have balls flying everywhere because safety nets weren't connected," Myers said.
Myers stated that the Day Complex facility still has not been completed and that it was felt the best move for the program was to go back to C.H. Friend.
"Until the place is finished and they get lights up and safety nets put up they (the Dixie Majors and Pre-Majors) shouldn't be over there," Myers remarked.
"Once the place is ready and the lights are up and it's safe to go back, we'll go back (to the Day Complex)."
Myers emphasized that the move back to C.H. Friend is motivated only by an effort to benefit the league and renew interest in the program.
"We want to get the kids and parents interested in the program again," Myers said.
"Last year we had parents griping and once you get parents griping it doesn't take long to filter down to the kids. We want to get that interest back."

Halifax County Middle School's girls and boys basketball teams will embark on a journey tonight that will hopefully lead to conference championships.
The Lions girls team will host Amelia tonight at 6 p.m. at Halifax County Middle School in the first round of the Southside Middle School Conference Basketball Tournament.
Halifax County, which won the East Division with a perfect 8-0 conference is the top seed.
Amelia is the fourth seed in the West Division.
Halifax County Middle School's Lions boys basketball team will host Lunenburg at 7:30 p.m. tonight in their opening round game.
The Lions boys team, which finished as co-champions for the regular season with E.W. Wyatt with a 7-1 conference slate, lost the coin toss and is the second seed in the East Division.
Lunenburg is the number three seed in the West Division.
If the two Lions teams win tonight they will be guaranteed to play at home for as long as they remain alive in the tournament.
That's because Halifax County Middle School will host both the semi-finals and championship round of the Southside Middle School Conference Tournament this weekend.
The semifinal games will be played here Friday at Halifax County Middle School with four games on tap, two for the girls and two for the boys.
Halifax County Middle School Athletic Director Dewey Compton said yesterday that if the Lions girls and boys win their respective games tonight, the girls will play Friday at 6 p.m. and the boys will play Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The girls conference championship game will be played Saturday at 6 p.m. and the boys championship game will be played Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight's other opening round games in the girls tournament will have Lunenburg hosting Park View, Russell playing host to Nottoway and Powhatan hosting E.W. Wyatt.
In the other opening round games of the boys tournament, Powhatan will host Russell, E.W. Wyatt will entertain Amelia, and Central of Lunenburg will host Bluestone.

Joseph Royal, age 90, of St. Albans, New York died Thursday, February 10, 2000, in St. Albans.
Mr. Royal was born in Halifax County on August 8, 1909.
Survivors include one daughter, Glenda Royal of St. Albans; one son, James Mills of St. Albans; and one sister, Emma Fleetwood of South Boston.
Funeral services for Mr. Royal will be held February 16 at 11 a.m. at Crawford, Garrett & Burton Funeral Chapel in Halifax with burial in the Royal Family Cemetery. The Elder Sebron Isom will officiate.

The family will receive friends at the home of Emma Fleetwood, 2199 Old Grubby Road, South Boston.

Lt. Col. Bob Palmer Hodges Sr., USAF Retired of Indialantic and Heathrow, Fla., died February 6, 2000.
Born in Fairfax County to Elisha E. Hodges and Helen Palmer Hodges, he grew up in South Boston.
Survivors include his wife, Joan Rainey Hodges; one son, Bob P. Hodges Jr.; two grandchildren, Ashleigh Rose Hodges and Jack Ryan Palmer Hodges; one daughter, Elizabeth Kaye Hodges-Smith; and two brothers, Marvis Grey Hodges and Elisha E. Hodges Jr., both of Farmville.
Memorial services for Lt. Col. Hodges Sr. were held February 11 at 11:30 a.m. at the Church of the Annunciation in Longwood, Fla.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Cancer Society.

Willie Clinton Boyd, age 80, of Nathalie, died February 12, 2000, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
He was a member of Second Buffalo Baptist Church and was a WWII Army veteran.
Mr. Boyd is survived by his wife, Lillie Bea Boyd of the home; five daughters, Barbara Crews of Long Island, Evelyn Tune of Gladys, Sandra Scott, Cathy Copeland and Connie Boyd, all of Nathalie; four sons, Wallacy Boyd and Emmanuel Boyd of Long Island, Elvis Boyd and Michael Boyd, both of the home; one sister, Helen Boyd of Nathalie; one brother, Othell Boyd of Nathalie; 23 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held February 17 at 1 p.m. at Second Buffalo Baptist Church in Nathalie with burial in the church cemetery.