Elections in the Town of South Boston set for May 5 will be postponed unless annexation plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice are precleared on or before April 10. South Boston took in just over six acres of territory in Halifax County on December 31 but before candidates and voters in the newly annexed area can exercise their constitutional rights, the justice department must be convinced that it meets provisions pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
As of late yesterday, attorneys for South Boston had no indication that the town's provisions to elect at large its six council members and mayor were in compliance.
Two bills introduced by House Delegate W.W. "Ted" Bennett and State Senator Louise Lucas addressing the problem in South Boston advanced this week in the General Assembly. House Bill 902 and Senate Bill 537, if signed into law, would delay the election until such time the justice department makes its ruling.
The Code of Virginia addresses the issue of elections for towns which have annexed territory by calling for the election to be held on the first Tuesday that is more than 60 days after the Attorney General of the United States issues a letter stating that there is no objection to the election changes (Article 2 Section 15.2-3106 et seq)
The normal deadline for candidacy filing is Tuesday but under these provisions, filings would be accepted at least 30 days before the new election date. Terms of council members would then commence on the first day of the second month following the election and terminate on the day on which the term would have expired had the general election been held on its regularly scheduled day.
Terms of those council members that would otherwise expire on June 30, 1998, would be extended until the date that the terms of the members elected under this act commence. The three council members are Josephine Marshall, W.C. "Buddy" Wilborn and H.W."Bill" Stark. Stark has said he will not seek another term while Marshall and Ward are seeking reelection.
Known to be petitioning for qualification are businessmen Tom Raab and Edward Owens.
The House unanimously passed Bennett's bill Wednesday while the identical Senate version offered by Lucas advanced past the second reading.
Hit emergency 911 on a cellular phone in Halifax County and you'll probably beam to Lynchburg or Appomattox.
Not only that, the dispatcher there hasn't a clue where you are unless you tell them.
The cellular service, unlike the enhanced E 911 telephone line service, does not identify your location.
Cellular 911 calls are transmitted either to Lynchburg's Emergency Operations Center or the Virginia State Police Division in Appomattox - or possibly state police in Pittsylvania County if you call from the western part of the county.
These emergency centers want callers to know this, to be ready to give home or business addresses, to give highway locations, and to communicate the nature of the emergency.
They will route your call for help, but you must be able to tell them where you are in order to contact emergency services in your area, explained Pauline Goodman, the assistant shift supervisor at the Lynchburg 911 Emergency Operations Center, yesterday.
"When traveling, be cognizant of where you are, the county and the state," urged Goodman.
On interstate highways note the mile markers along the highways, the last town passed or the one just ahead, she urged, and whether you are traveling north or south.
South Boston Police Chief James Hall said yesterday the South Boston dispatch center received a 911 call from as faraway as Interstate 85, which surprised him.
When a cellular phone dealer with 360 Communications here dialed 911, his call went directly to the Lynchburg center.
A United States Cellular service representative reached the state police dispatcher in Appomattox when he dialed the emergency number.
A One Stop Cellular representative reached state police in Appomattox. All three calls were placed yesterday.
Locally, to bypass Lynchburg and Appomattox, cellular phone dealers suggest you pre-program your telephone to quickly dial either Halifax County's or South Boston's emergency dispatcher.
To pre-program local emergency calls, 360 Communications representative Jason McCormick said they can enter Star HCS (427), which will take you directly to the Halifax County Dispatch Center. The number for South Boston is Star SBP (727), according to Assistant County Administrator Jerry Lovelace.
However, United States Cellular representative Lisa Edmonds said that service can pre-program the local police numbers, but not the combination Star HCS and Star SBP numbers.
Assistant county administrator Lovelace said the Halifax County Transportation Safety Commission recently initiated a project to install signs at the major highway entrances to the county which will reference those numbers. It is, however, a project in progress.
State police Sgt. Dennis Bradner of Appomattox and Goodman of Lynchburg also recommended the Pound 77 number, which goes directly to state police.
The Department of Transportation alerts motorists of the Pound 77 number along Virginia's interstate highways.
"We have numerous calls coming in daily," said Bradner. "The cellular phone is an excellent tool when people run up on accidents, drunk drivers or suspicious vehicles." The officer said it also has been a tool in reporting crimes in progress.
Sgt. Bradner also targeted some cellular communication problems and offered tips.
"Try to remain as calm as they can (in an emergency) so that they will be able to articulate information to the dispatcher, so they in turn can get help as quickly as they can."
And sometimes, noted the officer, there is a communications problem.
"Tell people we run into this all the time," began Sgt. Bradner. "Sometimes on a cellular phone the connection is not very good, so they may have to hang up and retry, or move, relocate, get out of a bottom (area). Also, speak as loudly and clearly as they can," added the officer.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The federal price-support program for tobacco won't be available indefinitely, says U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who suggests that growers ''keep the faith, and keep on diversifying.''
The Kentucky Republican also says he will continue working with Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., to protect the tobacco program as part of a broader discussion about the proposed national tobacco settlement.
But in a political climate where tobacco is ''radioactive,'' and where other farm programs are being phased out, that might not be a realistic solution, McConnell told about 250 Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation members during a breakfast Wednesday in Washington.
''I don't want you to leave here looking through rose-colored glasses about what is possible in this political environment,'' McConnell said. ''I don't think any of us do you any favors by trying to sugarcoat'' the issue.
Ford, who followed McConnell at the podium, argued that the effort to protect tobacco growers first means fighting for the program that controls production and keeps prices high.
''We hear what-ifs - this could happen, or that could happen,'' Ford said. ''You have to make up your mind what's right. You have to know what the truth is, and you have to go with it.''
Asked after the breakfast meeting about McConnell's remarks, Ford said: ''I don't think there's anything to frighten anybody about.''
Ford worked closely last summer with McConnell in drafting the proposed Long-Term Economic Assistance for Farmers Act that would create protections for the program and growers if the $368.5 billion national tobacco settlement is enacted.
U.S. Rep. Scotty Baesler, D-Lexington, introduced a similar plan in the House on Wednesday.
But since last fall, and even as the $28.5 billion LEAF Act was introduced, McConnell has cautioned that it might not be feasible to keep the program in place.
After the Farm Bureau meeting, McConnell said he is still studying the issue. But if it becomes impossible to maintain the status quo, McConnell said, growers should get transition or buy-out payments.
The LEAF Act would activate a buyout of tobacco quota if the program ever ended. Other farm proposals that have been introduced include an up-front quota buyout, but would end the price-support program.
The two senators' mixed messages left farmers such as Mark Mahan unsure what their next move should be.
Mahan, 29, who grew 300,000 pounds of tobacco last season on his Fayette County farm, asked Ford during a session Wednesday afternoon whether he should plan for a tobacco-growing future and invest in farm equipment such as tractors and barns.
''If I knew what to advise you whether to buy a tractor and go into debt ... I'd go out here and set me up an office,'' Ford said. ''I can't tell you.''
But, Ford said, if the settlement is enacted with a strong grower provision that protects the program, ''I'd say your future is solid for several years to come.''
Mahan said later that he probably would play it safe. Instead of investing this year in equipment directly related to tobacco farming, he is considering building greenhouses and experimenting with growing flowers for commercial sale.
A bed and breakfast inn which would have a "friendly, hospitable" atmosphere was opposed by neighbors during a public hearing held Tuesday night by the Halifax County Planning Commission.
Mary Lou Pugh of Richmond is seeking a conditional use permit to operate a bed and breakfast inn at her Halifax County home, "Magnolia Plantation," located off River Road near Elmo.
After a lengthy presentation by both Pugh and a neighbor, Katherine Marable, who opposes the permit, the planning commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the project.
Points raised by Marable were deemed as not relating to the actual requirements for the conditional use permit, planning commission members pointed out.
The recommendation will be passed on to the Halifax County Board of Supervisors who will vote on the permit after a similar public hearing scheduled for Monday night's regular monthly meeting of the board.
Pugh bought the 88-acre estate and pre-Civil War home in 1993 and is currently in the process of having it designated as a historical landmark, she told the commission.
Upon first sight of the home and its grounds, "I fell in love with it," she told the commission.
She and her husband, a Richmond building contractor, have made numerous renovations to the house and plan further improvements. Pugh also has been in the process of establishing and maintaining an elaborate perennial garden on the estate, she said.
Three log cabins on the estate would eventually be converted into guest cabins, she added.
"This would be such a perfect location for a bed and breakfast," she said. "It would be good for the county's economy."
The home was the residence of Captain William Haynes who was in command of Confederate forces in the area during the Civil War, according to Pugh.
However, Marable questioned how someone who planned to base a business on hospitality and friendliness could be so hostile and inhospitable to her neighbors.
She and members of her family live in a 9.95-acre tract located adjacent to the Pugh estate. They have been battling with Pugh for years in the Halifax County Circuit Court over an easement debate concerning part of Pugh's driveway.
Pugh was approached by the previous owner to buy the 9.95-acre tract, but she declined. He then sub-divided the parcel and sold it to the Marable Family, telling them there was an easement on Pugh's estate to landlocked sections, according to Jerry Lovelace, Assistant County Administrator for Planning and Zoning.
There are no easements for Pugh's property in court records, Lovelace added.
At one point, Pugh arrived at her estate and found a bulldozer, septic tank construction equipment, and even half of a double-wide home for the Marables parked in her driveway.
Pugh called the Halifax County Sheriff's Department and later received a temporary injunction from the circuit court prohibiting her neighbors from utilizing her driveway.
As court proceedings continued, that temporary injunction was upgraded to a permanent injunction, Pugh pointed out. She has already spent over $4,000 in legal fees because of the dispute, she said.
Marable contended that family members must park at other locations and "walk through woods" to get to their dwelling, because of the injunction. In one home, her 83-year-old grandmother is a resident, she added.
Pugh pointed out that since no easement existed, there was no obligation on her part to solve the transportation problems of the Marables.
"I know they have hard feelings, but there's nothing I can do," she told the commission. "There's nothing I can sell them; nothing I can give them."
Since she has a bank mortgage on her property, allowing an easement would not be an acceptable option, Pugh explained.
She stated that customers to the bed and breakfast would be seeking privacy and any unnecessary traffic on the driveway would not be warranted.
"There will be doctors and lawyers who need R&R," she told the commission. The facility has four bedrooms.
Marable contended that "traffic would be coming in and out (of Pugh's property) and we would feel it."
She earlier stated that "not many people would come there for a bed and breakfast."
Asked if a current bed and breakfast inn located about a half-mile away has caused any traffic problems, she conceded that it had not.
Marable told the commission that during Hurricane Fran, special permission had to be given to local emergency officials to utilize Pugh's driveway so her grandmother could be checked.
"If it (bed and breakfast) would be so 'nice and friendly,' then in this dire emergency (her grandmother), how friendly could that be?" she asked.
The planning commission stated that since there was no easement in court records, the resulting personal animosity had no bearings on the application for a conditional use permit.
Several conditions were inserted into the motion for approval, including the construction of a new entrance to the inn which is located about 1,400 feet off the roadway.
Occupancy of the structure should not exceed the rated capacity of the building and adequate parking areas for guests and staff would be provided, according to the list of conditions.
The commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval, with two planning commission members, George Whitted and Clark Graves, not present for the hearing.
The planning commission also unanimously recommended approval for a fast food restaurant and arcade to be located on U.S. 360, one-quarter mile southwest of Rt. 344 near Scottsburg.
Catherine Fitts had applied for a conditional use permit to operate the facility. No opposition to the proposed project occurred.
Jefferson Davis 'J.D.' Wilborne Jr. of 1216 Noblin Avenue, South Boston died Thursday, February 26, 1998 at McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond. He was 71 years of age at the time of his death.
Mr. Wilborne was born August 16, 1926 the son of Jefferson D. Wilborne Sr. and Nora Scott Wilborne and was married to Mae Wilborne. He was a Navy World War II veteran, a member of American Legion Post 8, and a retired construction worker.
Graveside services will be held Saturday, February 28 at 11 a.m. at Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Survivors of Mr. Wilborne include his wife; two daughters, Patricia A. Hite of Danville and Linda G. Dalton of South Boston; four sons, Michael R. Wilborne of South Boston, Jerry A. Wilborne of Fort Myers Beach, FL, Timothy G. Wilborne of Orange Park, FL and Larry D. Wilborne of Scottsburg; five sisters, Jacqueline Cuneo of Chester, Mary Frances Rowe of Newbern, NC, Elsie Snead of South Boston, Sylvia Wilborne of Jacksonville, FL and Ruby Ford of Richmond; five brothers, Raleigh Wilborne of Alton, Henry Wilborne of Clarksville, Bobby Wilborne of Colfax, NC, Donald Wilborne and Harvey Wilborne, both of Thomasville, NC; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Franklin and Marvin Wilborne.
The family will receive friends tonight, February 27 from 7 until 8:30 at Brooks Funeral Home, and other times at the home.
Annie Lorene Snead Hatcher of 6009 McDonald Road, Scottsburg died Thursday, February 26, 1998 at her home. She was 65 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Hatcher was born in Halifax County on January 12, 1933 the daughter of Pete Snead and Vivian Conner Snead and was married to Floyd Watson Hatcher Sr. She was a member of Fork Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband; one daughter, Rachel Snead of South Boston; three sons, Floyd Watson Hatcher Jr. and Donald Lee Hatcher, both of Scottsburg, and Gerald Wayne Hatcher of Buffalo Springs; two brothers, Sam Snead and John Snead, both of Scottsburg; six sisters, Ella Powell of Roxboro, NC, Aire Martin of Scottsburg, Ruth Andrews of Clover, Helen Ritt of Richmond, Geneva Andrews and Connie Perkins, both of Halifax; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one sister, Sally Powell.
Graveside services for Mrs. Hatcher will be held Saturday, February 28 at 2 p.m. at Fork Baptist Church Cemetery with Rev. Brian Walls conducting the service.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home tonight, February 27 from 7 until 8:30, and other times at the home.
Thelma Loftis Gerhart of Jackson, MS died Wednesday, February 25, 1998.
Mrs. Gerhart was born January 14, 1906 in Halifax County and was 92 years of age at the time of her death.
Survivors include three sisters, Charlotte Carmichael, Nancy Powell and Peggy Peatross; one brother, Page Loftis.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Willie James Jordan of Fort Wayne, IN died Monday, February 23, 1998. He was the father of Laurietta Jordan-Faulkner of South Boston.
Mr. Jordan was Executive Director of the Mentor/Role Model Program.
No further information was available.
Oscar Martin of 756 Cedar Road, Ringgold died February 24, 1998 at the home of his son. He was 82 years of age at the time of his death.
Mr. Martin was born in VA on April 6, 1915 and was married to Elizabeth Burnett Martin.
Survivors include three sons, Roger Martin of Phenix, David Martin of Ringgold and John Martin of Danville; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Funeral services for Mr. Martin will be held today, February 27 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home chapel with Rev. Raymond Quick conducting the service. Burial will take place in Arbor Baptist Church cemetery.
Hailey Jean Guill of Hubert, NC died Tuesday, February 24, 1998 at her home. She was born in Wilmington, NC on December 3, 1997 and was three months old at the time of her death. She was the daughter of Garland Matthew Guill Jr. and Anita Raina Guill.
She is survived by her parents; paternal grandparents, Garland (Teto) and Iva Guill; maternal grandparents, Ed Pierce and the late Mary Pierce; paternal great-grandparents, Odell and Verna Mullis, Gracie B. Guill and the late Willie Lee Guill; maternal great-grandparents, Bob Ferris and the late Irene Ferris; a twin sister, Kailey Jane Guill of the home; two uncles, Steve Guill and Tristan Pierce; and one aunt, Stacy Pierce.
Funeral services were held Thursday, February 26 at 2 p.m. at Fork Baptist Church with Rev. Brian Walls conducting the service. Burial was in the church cemetery.