Water samples will be collected from streams in the Birch Creek Watershed beginning today as the Halifax Soil and Water Conservation District begins its comprehensive land use and water quality study of the watershed, according to manager Bruce Pearce.
It is the first study of its kind here, according to Pearce, and is funded by grant money from EPA through TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Loading).
Birch Creek is one of five streams within the county identified as "being impaired" in the 303d Report issued annually by the Department of Environmental Quality, according to Pearce.
The report identifies the impairment cause as fecal coliform and the source of impairment as unknown.
Officials do not "know how far upstream pollution goes," on Birch Creek, Pearce said.
Pearce said fecal coliform was found at the Route 659 bridge that crosses Birch Creek, the place the Department of Environmental Quality does its sampling.
A similar fecal coliform impairment on the state's Eastern Shore was determined by "DNA fingerprinting to be raccoons, "according to Pearce.
In the Birch Creek Watershed Study, Pearce said they would also be asking for ages of septic systems and how they have been maintained as far as being pumped off. "You are supposed to do it (pump septic systems off) every five years," explained Pearce. "And that is a big problem, too."
Birch Creek Watershed is located in the southwestern part of the county and extends into eastern Pittsylvania County.
The total watershed area in Halifax is 29,329 acres, the remaining balance of 17,077 acres lies in Pittsylvania.
The Halifax County area is generally bordered on the north side by Route 360, on the eastern side by Route 680, by 659 on the southern side and by Pittsylvania County on the west.
Pearce is coordinating a land use study of this area, including acres of pasture, forestland and cropland. In addition, Pearce intends to examine the type, number and location of livestock; the major crops grown in the area; the number and age of septic systems; and acres of prime farmland lost of residential lots and development from 1990 to 1999.
"It is the intent of the Halifax SWCD to identify the sources of known pollutants and to reduce/prevent pollutant loading and other stressors through the installation of best management practices," said the department in a press release issued Friday.
Landowners within the watershed boundaries will be receiving information packets and a brief survey form in the mail, according to Pearce.
In order for the land use study to be as accurate as possible, Pearce is asking that everyone please fill out and return the survey.
The Birch Creek Watershed was selected for study, according to officials, because "it is manageable." Other impaired waters involved the Banister and the Dan. "We can isolate these better," said Pearce of the Birch Creek area. "There are just so many dollars to do the research for an accurate report.
"It is going to be good," said Pearce of the study. "Anytime you can go into a watershed and find problems, pinpoint them, you are doing things to improve the environment."

South Boston Police investigators have ruled out the possibility of foul play in a fire that claimed the life of a 73-year-old South Boston man Thursday night.
South Boston Fire Chief William Murray said the South Boston Police were called in after firefighters responding to a house fire at 1516 Ridge Road found the body of Willie Lee Stovall just inside the front door.
"The fire was in the bedroom and totally burned the room out and smoked up the rest of the house. (Stovall) made it almost to the door," Murray said.
According to South Boston Police officer D.W. Barker who was at the scene, investigators are still working to determine what caused the 8 p.m. blaze.
"We're still investigating the cause of the fire, but right now we don't believe there was any foul play involved. We believe (Stovall) succumbed to the smoke. For now the fire remains under investigation," Barker said Friday.
This is the first fatal fire in Halifax County this year.
Both support trucks and two pumpers from South Boston Fire Department, one pumper from Cluster Springs, and the Halifax County Rescue Squad responded to the scene.
The single-story dwelling was declared a total loss.
Earlier in the evening crews from the South Boston Fire Department, Turbeville and Cluster Springs fire departments were called out to investigate a report of smoke inside O'Sullivan Industrial located at 1075 Fulp Industrial Road.
Murray said the call came in at 6:47 p.m., and the smoke was traced to a malfunctioning blower mounted outside the building.
"The blower went bad and caused the smoke to blow inside the building," said Murray, who added the only damage was to the blower, which will need to be replaced.

Two teens were robbed at gunpoint in the Wal-Mart parking lot Thursday night.
According to reports from the South Boston Police Department, 18-year-old Elbert Nelson of Virgilina and a 17-year-old female were approached by a man as they were getting in their car in the Wal-Mart Parking lot around 7:30 p.m.
The suspect reportedly asked the pair if they knew of anywhere he could purchase some marijuana. When they told him they did not, the suspect pulled a gun and demanded money, investigating South Boston Police Officer R.O. Nicholson stated in his report.
The victims handed over an undisclosed amount of money, and the suspect, who was described as a clean shaven black male with a dark complexion standing approximately 6 feet tall wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt, ran away.
South Boston Police are requesting anyone with information regarding this crime to call 575-4271.

Dr. Charles M. Williams, director for the North Carolina Sate University Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center, will meet with county supervisors and planning commission members Wednesday night to discuss the hog issue.
Dr. Williams' specialty is nutrient recycling and biodegradation of waste compounds; anaerobic fermentation; waste management; odor control and regulator compliance.
The 7 p.m. Halifax County Board of Supervisors session is open to the public and will meet in the Conference Room at Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.
Dr. Williams was not at the NCSU Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center when supervisors, planning commission members, Concerned Citizens, and representatives from several state environmental organizations visited the facility last year.
The current NCSU Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center program involves over 50 sponsored projects involving numerous departments within the college, other colleges within the university and other universities, including international participation.
Supervisors received ordinance recommendations on hog setbacks and regulations from the Halifax County Planning Commission during their last meeting.
The recommendations also were forwarded to the Agriculture Committee.
Supervisors may accept, reject, or amend planning commission recommendations.
Dr. Williams earned his Ph.D. in Nutrition and his M.S. in Poultry Science as well as his undergraduate degree in zoology from NCSU.

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - Impeachment isn't the only issue on which 5th District U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode is more in sync with his  Republican colleagues than fellow Democrats.
An analysis of Goode's 1998 voting record found the southwest  Virginia congressman voted far more often with neighboring 6th District Republican Bob Goodlatte than neighboring 9th District Democrat Rick Boucher.
Excluding quorum calls, Goode voted with Goodlatte on 83 percent of bills that came before Congress last year, according to data compiled by the Congressional Quarterly and analyzed by The Roanoke Times. That compares with a 63 percent agreement with Boucher.
Among those issues on which Goode concurred with Goodlatte, but not with Boucher, were opposition to federal funding for national education testing, support for a ban on a late-term abortion procedure and the impeachment of President Clinton.
The congressman's conservative voting record has provoked 5th District Democratic Committee leaders to threaten to deny Goode the party nomination for another term next year.
But constituents in Goode's rural district are more accepting.
Stanley Wells, 62, who runs a store in Boones Mill, said, ''Virgil is probably the most honorable man they have up in Congress.''
''I'm not a Democrat,'' Wells said, ''but I would vote for Virgil no matter what party he ran on.''
E.W. Sledd Jr., who lives outside Rocky Mount, voted for Goode in the last election and would vote for him again.
''He votes his conscience and what he thinks is right,'' Sledd said.
But even in Goode's home of Franklin County, he has a few detractors.
''I wouldn't give him the time of day,'' said Henry Holland, 52, of Rocky Mount.
Still, Goode's antagonists are hard to find in a region pierced by a section of U.S. 220 named for Goode's father, Virgil Goode Sr., a longtime voice for Franklin County in Virginia politics.
When asked why he has refused overtures to join the Republican Party, Goode always responds in the same manner: His father was a Democrat. His uncle was a Democrat. His grandfather was a Democrat.
Bob Denton, director of Virginia Tech's Center for Leadership Development, said Goode could be successful as an independent or a Republican.
''If anything, the Democrats have to be thankful that he is staying loyal to that party,'' Denton said.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The 1999 General Assembly begins its final week with a handful of major issues unresolved, including whether public schools should be limited in the way they spend revenue from the state lottery.
The fight over the lottery profits has been highly partisan, with most Republicans favoring Gov. Jim Gilmore's plan to let schools decide how to spend the money and Democrats wanting to restrict its use to construction, technology and paying down existing construction debt.
The GOP-controlled Senate passed Gilmore's plan. In the House, 15 Republicans broke ranks and voted with all 50 Democrats to pass the competing proposal.
The lottery money - $310 million in the House version, $275 million in the Senate plan - is one of the major points of contention in budget negotiations that are due to wrap up at midnight Tuesday. A half-dozen senior lawmakers from each chamber are working for a compromise spending plan, which the assembly must approve before its scheduled Saturday adjournment.
Legislators this year have a surplus of nearly $1 billion to divvy up in the second year of the current two-year, $42 billion budget.
Billions of dollars also are at stake in a battle over electric utility deregulation. A House committee on Friday endorsed a deregulation bill, which likely will go before the full 100-member body by midweek.
''This is probably the most momentous bill to come before this General Assembly in many years,'' said Del. Harvey Morgan, R-Gloucester and co-chairman of the House Corporations, Insurance and Banking Committee.
The bill would open the power-generation portion of the electrical industry to competition, letting people shop for power the way they choose long-distance telephone carriers. Competition would begin in 2002.
Consumer advocates have argued that a provision freezing utility rates during a competition phase-in period could cost ratepayers billions of dollars because utilities' costs are expected to fall during that time.
Morgan's committee amended the bill to allow the State Corporation Commission to lower the rate just before competition begins, but consumer advocates still oppose the bill, arguing that Virginia is needlessly rushing into deregulation even though its electric rates already are relatively low.
Also still pending are bills to increase the medical malpractice cap, give Virginians a long list of new rights in dealing with health maintenance organizations, allow police to stop and ticket drivers who don't buckle their seat belts, and make criminal records publicly available over the Internet.
One major issue that has already been settled is cutting the state sales tax on groceries. The Senate and the House agreed last week to cut the tax from 4 1/2 percent to 2 1/2 percent over four years, and the bill awaits Gilmore's signature.
Bills designed to curb the flow of out-of-state trash into Virginia are still making their way through the legislative process but no longer appear to have major opposition in the assembly. The bills would cap landfill growth, impose new fees on trash-dumpers, ban garbage barges from state waterways and require the state to develop regulations for trash trucks.

Woodrow 'Woodis' Wilson Snead, 81 of Virgilina died Thursday, February 18, 1999 in Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Snead was born in Halifax County. He was a retired former and member of the Woodmen of the World.
A funeral service was held Saturday, February 20 at 2 p.m. at Watkins Cooper Lyon Funeral Home Chapel in Clarksville with Rev. Jim McAlister officiating. Burial was in Virgilina Cemetery.

Survivors include one sister, Lizzie Snead Clack of Virgilina and numerous nieces and nephews.

Walter Dunkley Jr. of Lynchburg died Tuesday, February 16, 1999 at Lynchburg General Hospital. He was 53 years of age at the time of his death.
Mr. Dunkley was born in Halifax County on May 25, 1945. Survivors include his wife, Juanita Dunkley of Naruna; one daughter, Maria Yuille of Naruna; three sisters, Rosetta Scott, Emma Payne and Barbara Jones, all of Nathalie; and two brothers, Joe and John Dunkley of Nathalie.

Memorial services for Mr. Dunkley were held Friday, February 19 at 2 p.m. at Crawford, Garrett & Burton Funeral Chapel in Halifax. Rev. James Traynham officiated.

Lydia Bailey White of Halifax died Tuesday, February 16, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 76.
Mrs. White was born in Halifax County on January 22, 1923. Survivors include three daughters, Hattie Sims, Carolyn Carden and Sharon Harvey, all of Halifax; two sons, James White of Washington, DC and Richard White of Jersey City, NJ; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

Funeral services for Mrs. White were held Saturday, February 20 at 2 p.m. at Banister Hill Baptist Church in Halifax with Rev. William Carr officiating.

Mrs. Mildred 'Milly' Chandler Spencer of Carlbrook Road, Vernon Hill, died Saturday, February 20, 1999 at Duke Hospital. She was born in Halifax County, on August 19, 1954 and was 44 years old.
She was the daughter of Sam Chandler and Mildred Conner Chandler and was married to Jesse R. Spencer, Jr. She was a member of the Bethel Baptist Church.
Mrs. Spencer is survived by: her husband, Jesse R. Spencer, Jr., of Vernon Hill; one daughter, Johanna Maria Spencer, of Vernon Hill; two sons, George-Tyler Spencer and J. R. Spencer III, both of Vernon Hill; two brothers, Sam Chandler, Jr., of Charlotte, NC; Danny Scott Chandler, of Atlanta, GA; one sister, Dianne C. Shortt, of Nathalie; and a number of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by one daughter, Jessica Paige Spencer and one sister, Judy Chandler Owen.
Funeral services for Mrs. Spencer will be held today (Monday) at 2:00 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church with the Rev. Tony Brooks conducting the service. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to please consider the Bethel Baptist Church.

Mr. Sidney Roy Allen of 2209 L. P. Bailey Highway, Halifax, died Saturday, February 20, 1999 at his home. He was born in Halifax County, on December 29, 1932 and was 66 years old.
He was the son of John Berkley Allen and Janie Riddle Allen. He served in the Air Force for four years.
Mr. Allen is survived by: three brothers: Thomas Edward Allen, of Amherst; Eugene Lacy Allen, of Richmond; Dennis Bailey and his wife, Verona, of Halifax; one sister-in-law, Barbara Allen. He was preceded in death by three brothers: John Hubert Allen, James Brice Allen, William Douglas Allen, one special friend, Amy Glascock, of Halifax; Gerald Scearce, Josephine Scearce, and Bill Rowland.
Graveside services for Mr. Allen will be held today (Monday) at 2:00 p.m. in First Baptist Church of Republican Grove with the Rev. Shelton Miles conducting the service.

Mrs. Nellie Lowery Bowen, 70, of Lakeside - Richmond, formerly of Halifax County died Saturday, February 20, 1999.
She is survived by her husband of fifty years, Lawrence Bowen; two daughters and their husbands, Sheila and Donnie Redman and Donna and John King; five grandchildren, Laura and Aaron Redman, Jason, Justin and Jeffrey King; two sisters, Thelma and Virginia; and five brothers, Chester, Weldon, Emmett, Lindy and Aubrey.
The family will receive friends today (Tuesday) at Bliley Funeral Home, Staples Mill Chapel, 9510 Staples Mill Road, Richmond, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services for Mrs. Bowen will be held Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at Bliley's Chapel. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Those wishing to give memorials are ask to consider the Lakeside Vol. Rescue Squad, 2007 Timberlake Ave., Richmond, VA 23228.

Willie Lee Stovall of 1516 College Street, South Boston, died February 18 in South Boston at the age of 71.
Mr. Stovall was born in Halifax County, on December 17, 1927 and was the son of the late Willie Johnson and Cammie Stovall. He was married to the late Arlene Johnson Stovall and was a member of the White Oak Fork Baptist Church. He was also a Army Veteran.
Mr. Stovall is survived by five daughters: Mrs. Diana Boxley, Mrs. Peggy Merritte and Mrs. Brenda Walton, all of South Boston; Ms. Wendy Stovall and Ms. Wanda Stovall, both of Virgilina; one son, Giles Stovall, of South Boston; and 12 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one son, Willie Thomas Stovall.
Funeral services for Mr. Stovall were held Sunday at White Oak Fork Baptist Church the Rev. Glenn Faulkner officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery.

Mr. Leslie Garland Williams, 83, of Chase City, died Thursday, February 18, at Community Memorial Healthcenter, South Hill.
Mr. Williams was born in Boydton (Easters Community) January 17, 1916 to the late Pattie Oliver Williams and Thomas Henry Williams. Mr. Williams attended Mecklenburg County Public Schools, was a farmer and employed by the Town of South Hill before retirement. He was a member of Lone Oak Baptist Church, Chase City.
Cherishing his memories are five children: Leslie Jr. and Gloria Williams, of Sparks, Nevada; Barbara W. Dennis and Harry, of E. Orange, NJ; Calvin and Gladys Williams, of Chase City; Larry and Althea Williams, of South Boston; and Donald Williams, Chase City; five grandchildren, one step-grandson, one great-granddaughter, two step-granddaughters, two sisters, Mildred W. Bowers and Martha W. Harris, Chase City; and one brother, Henry Landon Williams, Chase City.
Funeral services for Mr. WIlliams will be held today (Monday) at Lone Oak Baptist Church, Chase City, with the Rev. Waverly Brown Sr. officiating. Burial will follow in the Wilson family cemetery, Whittle Mill Road, South Hill.

William Carroll Siemons, 1061 Conklin Road, Jonesborough, TN died Saturday, February 20, 1999 at his residence after a lengthy illness. He was 78 years of age.
He was a native of Jonesborough, TN and the son of the late William F. and Lucy Ferguson Siemons.
Mr. Siemons attended Mt. Wesley United Methodist Church. He was a retired mechanic. He and his wife owned and operated Siemons Grocery tore for 50 years.
Mr. Siemons is survived by his wife, Kathleen Lloyd Siemons, of the home; a daughter, Connie Siemons Zamora and son-in-law, Pedro C. Zamora, both of South Boston; one sister, Ruth Broyles, Johnson City; two grandchildren, Sean Pedro Zamora, West Palm Beach, FL; and Candice Angelique Zamora, South Boston.
Funeral services for Mr. Siemons will be conducted at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 23 at the Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Paul Broyles and Rev. Millard Taylor officiating. Interment will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 24, at the Mt. Wesley Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and other times at the home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Mt. Wesley United Methodist Church, 1126 Conklin Road, Jonesborough, TN 37659.