Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker Jr. will face opposition in the November election.
Public Defender Robert Meeks is circulating petitions in his bid for the post and expects to file within 30 to 40 days, he said yesterday.
Meeks is the first candidate out of the gate in the November race.
Also on the ballot, all constitutional officers as well as five supervisors and school board members, Delegate W.W. "Ted" Bennett, representing the 60th House District, and state Sen. Louise Lucas in the 18th District.
Commonwealth's attorney challenger Robert Meeks said yesterday that he will run as an Independent.
A practicing attorney since 1976, Meeks has worked with the Public Defenders office here since 1996. He is a South Boston resident.
Meeks has a military background with 12 years in the Air Force and eight years as an attorney with the Coast Guard. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1985 and joined with general counsel in the Department of Transportation when current presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole served as Secretary of Transportation.
Greenbacker has served as commonwealth's attorney since January of 1988.
Also on the ballot this year, Sheriff Jeff Oakes, Halifax County Commissioner of Revenue Danny Jackson, Treasurer Linda Foster and Halifax County Circuit Court Clerk Bobby Conner.
Supervisors in five Election Districts will face the November ballot. They include Richard "Dickie" Abbott, ED-1, a board member since 1968; William A. "Bill" Abbott Jr., ED-4, a board member since 1996; Earl A. Watts Sr., ED-5, a board member since 1996; Garland B. Ricketts, ED-7, a board member since 1996; R.L. "Robbie" Smart Jr., ED-8, a board member since 1996.
School board seats in the November election mirror the supervisors' race with those districts represented by Raleigh Moorefield, Alan Gravitt, Carl Furches, Lottie Nunn and Patricia Nelson on the ballot.
Filing deadline for candidates is June 8.
Halifax County General Registrar Judy Meeler said yesterday that candidates need to pick up candidate packets at her office.

She also advised there is a training session for campaign contribution and expenditure reports by the state Board for incumbents and new candidates scheduled Tuesday, March 30, at 2 p.m. in the Supervisors Conference Room at Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax. Registration forms are available at the Registrar's Office located on Halifax County Courthouse Square.

A Nathalie woman was injured in what appeared to be a drive-by shooting Monday night.
According to reports from the Halifax County Sheriff's Department, Melissa Francis, of 1023 Nathalie, was shot once in her right leg.
Francis reportedly told deputies she was outside her friend Chad Montgomery's home on Cousin Lane near Nathalie shortly before 10:30 p.m. when she noticed an approaching car. The driver cut off the headlights but left the parking lights burning, the report stated.
Francis told investigators when the car passed in front of the house, someone started shooting.
Another friend, Robert MacDonald of Scottsburg, told deputies he was outside with Francis when the shooting occurred and that they both dropped to the ground beside a pick- up truck.
However, before they could get inside the truck, one of the bullets hit Francis in the leg. She said she lay in the floor of the truck until the shooting stopped.
Six bullet holes were found in the truck, reports stated, while at least one more bullet appeared to have hit the house.
Francis was taken to the emergency room at Halifax Regional Hospital for treatment. No other in juries were reported, and no arrests have been made at this time.
Virginia State Police were also called up to the northern end of Halifax County Monday and Tuesday morning where they reportedly found a bomb.
Sgt. J.L. Hopkins with the Virginia State Police said Trooper C.M. Flemming was investigating a call at a residence in that area of the county late Monday night where a "home-made explosive device" was found in the yard.
Hopkins said the following day officers executed a search warrant at the home and several items were seized, but he declined to elaborate on what these items were or where the house was located.
Both of these cases remain under investigation.

A health advisory warning Staunton River fisherman of the possible dangers of eating three more varieties of fish - channel catfish, small mouth bass and flathead - caught in the river may be imminent.
"I have urged the Department of Health to issue an updated advisory warning because the first one included only striped bass and since doing (requested) studies there are other species with PCB elevated counts over the 600 parts per billion (ppb)," said Delegate W.W. "Ted" Bennett yesterday.
The results in the fourth set of test containing 17 tissue samples indicated that the PCB concentrations in one sample from Altavista and seven from the Clover station were below the 600 ppb PCB advisory level for human health consumption established by the Virginia Department of Health.
Three samples from the Clover station had PCB concentrations that were above 300 ppb, according to a DEQ report received by Bennett yesterday.

Nine other samples from J.H. Kerr Reservoir station were analyzed; the PCB concentration in one sample exceeded the VDH level, and was just below the VDH advisory level in another. PCB concentrations in three of the remaining samples were above 300 ppb, and the concentrations in four others were below the advisory level, according to the report.

By Christine Schirmer
On a blustery but clear February morning Harvey Siegel's eyes take on a distant cast as he gazes down the expanse of pavement that used to be considered one of the most challenging road racing courses in the nation. But the vintage race car driver and real estate developer is not reliving his past glories on the Virginia International Raceway as much as he is envisioning its rebirth as the VIR Club.
Not too long ago, cattle grazed throughout the sprawling 1200 acres of rolling hills surrounding the 3.2 mile track located just over the state line above Milton, N.C., where some of the best "club" racers, such as Bob Sharp and Bob Tullius and Bruce Jennings, cut their teeth.
For now, the only roaring engines heard at this track located in the southwest corner of Halifax County are power bulldozers, graders and other earth-moving equipment as Siegel's dream to rebuild the historic track into a country club specifically designed to appeal to the motorsports enthusiasts and their families progresses toward reality.
VIR, which originally opened in 1957, hosted the second ever Trans-Am race in early 1966, and in 1971, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) sanctioned their inaugural event promoting professional sports car and formula car racing.
The last race, sort of a Halloween special, was a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) regional called "Goblin's Go" held in October 1974, after which the track closed down, a victim of the gas crisis as well as other factors.
Hoping not only to restore the track to its former glory but to surpass it by creating a racing country club complete with two road courses, a sizeable paddock restaurant, swimming pool, tennis court, equestrian facilities, club house, Siegel, President of Blue Chip Racing Resorts, L.L.C., arranged to lease the land from the Foote family.
Together with real estate manager and Martinsville native Connie Lee Nyholm, Senior Vice President of Blue Chip Racing Resorts, and Mike Rand, General Manager of the Lime Rock Park, Siegel is molding his dream of recreating this racing mecca into reality.
"Right here, we'll call this Harvey's Tree," Siegel says patting the trunk of a large shade tree that stands at the crest of a hill offering a perfect view of both the paddock area and the track. "This will be the best seat in the house."
According to Siegel, the 3.27 mile road course will be restored to its original configuration, however it will be widened from its current width of 24 to 27 feet to 30-36 feet and brought up to modern day safety standards with expansive runoffs.
The course will also be divided to create two very different smaller tracks that can be operated simultaneously. The entire 1.65 mile south course with Oak Tree Turn will be visible from the south paddock time tower and will be ideal for school events. The north course will be 2.25 miles and will incorporate the main paddock.
Rand, a professional race driver himself, explained that the paddock will be expanded to provide enough space for 600 cars to start and that the paddock roads will be paved but the parking spaces themselves will be on grass to make staking easier and to cut down on heat.
But what makes this track so unique is how it will be used.
Nyholm explained that the VIR Club will cater to the motorsport enthusiast from the novice to the professional. There will be driving schools and club circuit time available for those who want to drive without the pressure of wheel to wheel racing.
"Our Solo II course is a short, interesting track that allows drivers, one by one, to test their car handling skills against the clock," Nyholm said. "And except for when we will host larger sanctioned events (to which members and their families will have VIP passes), you can come to the track and run your car or motorcycle according to a pre-arranged schedule."
Even children can join in the activities.
"Our goals are very family oriented and we plan to have lots of activities for every age group," Nyholm said. "We will have a large playground, soap box derbies and tiny motorized cars for young children. They will progress to go-karts then Solo II/Autocross, etc.
"VIR Club will also hold intramural competitions between club members. Eventually each member family will be assigned to the green team or the yellow team to compete on the race courses as well as in tennis, swimming, various games, skeet and trap, and later, equestrian events."
While much work remains to be done before VIR Club is completed and opened to the public, Siegel hopes to have made enough progress by late spring to hold an open house, and plans to open the track by late fall.
To keep up with developments at the VIR Club, check out their website at www.virclub.com.

State and federal investigators were on the scene yesterday of a fire that destroyed the Saxe Post Office and adjacent Saxe Superette during the early morning hours. Fire officials from Drakes Branch and Phenix spent more than three hours fighting the blaze that was reported at 12:19 a.m. yesterday. Officials said the roof was collapsed when they arrived on the scene. An investigation was underway by Virginia State Police and the U.S. Postal Service yesterday afternoon.

Esther Powell Porterfield, 93, of Roxboro, NC died Monday, March 15, 1999 at Person Memorial Hospital.
Mrs. Porterfield was born in Halifax County the daughter of James Henry and Chris Chaney Martin Powell and was married to Ollie William Porterfield.
Funeral services were held Thursday, March 18 at 2 p.m. at Brooks & White Chapel in Roxboro with Rev. James Fortner officiating. Burial was in Person Memorial Cemetery.

Surviving Mrs. Porterfield are one daughter and her husband, Augusta P. and James Chandler of Richmond; one sister, Bertha P. Gilliland of Nathalie; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.

Janie Sydnor Walton of 505 Westside Drive, South Boston died Friday, March 12, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 70.
Mrs. Walton was born in Campbell County on March 23, 1928 the daughter of Willie Sydnor and Fannie Miller Sydnor and was married to Godfrey Winfred Walton. She was a member of Murphy's Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband; three daughters, Olivia Wilkins of New York, Delores Penick and Cassie Hamlett, both of South Boston; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; six sisters, Clarissia Williams of Arlington, Florence Lovelace and Hattie McLean, both of Halifax, Hazel Saxon of Brooklyn, NY, Learlean Hemphill of Temple Hill, MD and Hester Jones of Washington, DC; and one brother, Floyd Wesley Sydnor of New York.
Funeral services for Mrs. Walton will be held Saturday, March 20 at 1 p.m. at Millstone Baptist Church with Rev. John Price officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends this evening, March 19 from 7 until 8:00 at Jeffress Funeral Home Chapel.