The Halifax County School Board and the Board of sdr Supervisors are $389,000 apart in terms of local funding for schools.
A proposed county budget contains $12,910,601 in local funds for schools.
But, school system officials say $13,299,601 in local revenues is needed from the Board of Supervisors to fund its proposed $43,382,172 record budget for the 2000-2001 school year.
"We have put together what we think is a pretty bare bones budget," said Halifax County School Superintendent Dennis Witt.
"Anything less than this will be devastating to the school system in many ways."
Former School Board chairman Alan Gravitt pointed out to supervisors that last year the School Board did not ask supervisors to increase its level of local funding.
And, he reminded supervisors, "If the composite index hadn't changed, you wouldn't be looking at any increase in local funding. The increases are only those that are natural increases from the state."
Tom West, chairman of the Board of Supervisors Finance Committee, replied, "We want the best local education we can get.
"We are in quite a dilemma right now. I think we are going to see hard times for the next couple of years until we get over the shock of the composite index."
The question now is how the $389,000 differential between the two bodies will be closed.
Following a joint meeting with the School Board, the Halifax County Board of Supervisors, facing an anticipated $4 million deficit in the upcoming county budget, discussed potential revenue resources.
Earlier this month, former county administrator Dan Sleeper recommended to supervisors a real estate tax hike of 10 cents per $100 assessed value this year and next.
Each 10 cent increase would generate $2 million.
Sleeper also suggested supervisors tap $2 million in unappropriated funds to cover the remainder of the estimated $4 million deficit for the new budget year.
Among the other potential revenue resources, supervisors discussed raising the utility tax by a dollar, a move that would generate an additional $451,000.
Another possibility eyed was hiking the machinery and tools tax to $1.26 which would produce about $110,000.
Increasing the E-911 surcharge, raising fees for dog licenses and raising fees for rezoning and conditional use permits were also discussed by supervisors.
The Halifax County School Board has scheduled a meeting tonight to discuss the budget and other issues.
Public Hearings
The School Board will hold its public hearing on the proposed budget at its regularly scheduled April 10 meeting and will likely take action following the public hearing.
The Board of Supervisors has tentatively set its public hearing on the school budget for April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
The Board of Supervisors must adopt the school budget by May 1.
At the heart of the financial situation is a change in the composite index, a factor used by the state to determine the level of state funding that goes to each of Virginia's public school systems.
The composite index jumped from the locality having to account for 23 percent of the educational budget to 38 percent, leaving a deficit in state funds of $3.8 million.
State officials had given Halifax County a five-year moratorium in terms of composite index changes in the wake of the consolidation of South Boston and county schools. .
When South Boston's reversion took place, the county's composite index stood at 23 percent.
The state's most recent calculations put Halifax County at 38 percent, leaving a huge hole in state funds.
However, Halifax County's plight improved a little.
By the time the General Assembly session ended and the final figures were calculated, the School Board was in a little better shape, facing a shortfall now of $3,479,304.
Other major factors impacting the proposed school budget are an average 2.4 percent pay hike for teachers, the funding of four additional teaching positions and two Special Education aides.
In addition, the School Board is including in its budget a $10 increase in the school system's monthly contribution to the employees' individual group health insurance premium, taking it from $160 per month to $170 per month.
That item amounts to a $60,000 increase in the budget.
Also, the School Board has proposed the purchase of 10 new school buses, a move that will allow the school system to continue on its 12-year replacement cycle for school buses.

A county property owner will ask to be taken into the Town of South Boston's boundaries during a joint meeting of supervisors, South Boston Town Council and Town of Halifax representatives tonight.
Owners of "Double Bubbles," located in the county area of Love Shop, are seeking the change, citing the higher water rate to use South Boston water.
The joint meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.
Other items on the agenda include: the South Boston Speedway schedule, a report on partial abandonment of Route 812, a report regarding primary road funds, a request for a crossover on U.S. 360 from Supervisor C.W. Rorrer, and a report on the status of the Halifax County Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Plan.
Following the joint meeting, supervisors will hear committee reports from building and grounds and the car committee.

Since 1994 the Board of Supervisors, local governing bodies and civic groups have been warned about the major financial blow hitting the county this year, former county administrator Dan Sleeper said in a letter released Thursday.
The deficit is blamed on the changing composite index, the consolidation of the South Boston and county school systems, Clover power plant's impact, boundary adjustments and other factors.
But, by reducing expenditures and conserving revenues, Sleeper said that a fund balance of $2.5 million to $3.0 million is available to help supervisors "transition this problem."
Facing an estimated $4 million overall county budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, Sleeper recently proposed two 10-cent real estate tax hikes covering the next two years as part of a package to balance the budget.
Finance committee members balked at the proposed real estate tax hike during the first reading of the budget earlier this month.
With a current real estate rate of 31 cents per $100 assessed value, the proposed rate would escalate to 41 cents the first year and 51 cents the second year.
In a letter released last week, Sleeper said the Clover power plant, with an estimated value of $975,000,000 in 1993 was more than the entire county's value at $823,000,000.
"This is why the composite index changed," he explained. "The state says the county now has a greater ability to pay."
Boundary adjustments and other county obligations also play a role in the county's financial bind, explained the administrator.
Sleeper, who began his duties as Pittsylvania County's administrator on March 1, is meeting with Halifax County supervisors throughout the budget process.
Sleeper's Letter
"In response to the news concerning a proposed tax increase, I would like to explain briefly how the County of Halifax got into this situation. The news of the loss of state aid is not new. In 1994 I discussed with the Board of Supervisors a problem that I believed would be devastating to the county concerning the composite index of the county school system.
" From 1994 through 1996, members of my staff and I made presentations, or had discussions with, committees of the chamber of commerce, civic groups, and members of the governing bodies of the towns in the county concerning the impact of the composite index change. During the reversion and boundary adjustment discussions, this was a key issue. The former town manager and town legal counsel for the Town of South Boston did not believe the impact would be as great as the county presented it. Well, it is.
"Following the reversion of South Boston, the county school's composite index was frozen at the lowest rate of the two systems for a five-year period. The five-year protection came from a state Department of Education requirement for the consolidation of two school systems, not the reversion. The current problem was escalated by the construction of the Clover power plant 1992-1995. The estimated value ($975,000,000) of the power plant in 1993 was more than the entire county ($823,000,000), making it a significant tax source. This is why the composite index changed.
"The state says the county now has a greater ability to pay. The composite index actually changed in 1996 to 30.4 percent, however because of the five-year protection the county did not have to pay, this only compounded the problem when the next change came the year 2000. The county would have been faced with a $1.7 million dollar loss in 1996 if it had not been protected by the freeze.
"The Board of Supervisors has discussed this many times, however no tax or other revenue program was put into place because the actual change had not occurred, therefore, there was no concrete evidence of need. To assist whatever Board of Supervisors was in place when the change did come, I worked with county staff to reduce expenditures and conserve revenues in order to build up an available fund balance of $2.5 to $3.0 million to help them transition this problem.
"Those funds are in place. The current budget proposal is only one idea of a solution. I know my name will be in the papers on this issue because I made the proposal, however that is one of the responsibilities of the county administrator. By law I must present a budget to the board with a recommendation on how to fund it. That has been done. I am sure the Board of Supervisors is open to any suggestions on how to solve this funding problem.
"The people must also be aware that all of the governmental changes in Halifax County over the last five years were not free.
" The towns of South Boston and Halifax both received additional revenue sources, which reduced their tax burden, but the county lost funding.
"In the case of Clover, the county only inherited more work and financial responsibility.
"In the four boundary adjustments, the county lost a total of $798,000 annually, and there has been no action to replace those funds.
"The citizens passed a $1.75 million bond issue for the CEC (Continuing Education Center), which is included in this budget, and no new revenue has been raised to fund it. These two items alone are over $1.0 million in annual cost.
"Plus, the board is faced with the increased cost of solid waste operations, and the need to invest in economic development to replace lost jobs."

Evacuation will be the school system's new bomb-threat policy.
The decision came Friday following a meeting with school administrators, law enforcement personnel and building code officials.
It was the consensus of the group that "evacuation would be the policy if a bomb threat is directed toward a particular school building," Superintendent of Schools Dennis Witt said in a prepared statement.
"After evacuation, a team of law enforcement personnel and school administration would secure the building before returning students," he explained.
The superintendent noted that "sufficient opposition to a 'stay-put' policy existed and that, without community support, you cannot implement a policy dealing with such an emotional issue."
The school system's "stay-put" policy required students to stay in their classrooms while law enforcement officers searched for a bomb.
It also was agreed during the Friday session that more study and education on bomb threats and other security issues should be pursued through PTAs and other public school forums so that facts could be evaluated and all alternatives considered.
The School Board voted last week to reconvene the Security Taskforce to address the school system's bomb-threat policy following criticism of the "stay-put" policy by a crowd of high school students and their parents.
The change in policy followed the call by a large crowd of high school students and their parents for evacuation as the school policy by students and parents during a packed School Board meeting last week.
The superintendent said Friday that in Virginia about half theschools use a "stay-put" policy and half evacuate. "Our closest neighbors use evacuation," he added.
"It was felt by the group there are no foolproof measures; however, we will follow what we believe to be the prevailing community consensus and take those precautions deemed by the community to be the safest and most appropriate," Witt concluded.

Faced with the prospect of looking for another line of work, over 1,300 area tobacco farmers packed Victory Warehouse Friday to study the various barn conversion methods available.
Farmers are looking at an August 1 deadline to be eligible for up to $3,000 per barn in grant money to help finance the conversion to a low-nitrosamine barn.
Tobacco companies have stressed that the low nitrosamine leaf will be all they are willing to purchase in future years and proposals are under consideration to not offer price supports for leaf not cured in the low nitrosamine-converted barns.
On hand Friday were vendors who offer barn conversions and extension, and other officials, who could explain the particulars of the grant program.
Farmers are eligible for up to $3,000 per barn, for conversions that are completed and certified by August 1.
The grant is based on a formula of the basic quota either rented or owned that a farmer is going to grow in the 2000 season, multiplied by 15 cents.
It was announced last week that growers who have contracted with tobacco manufacturers who are not participating in the grant program, must subtract that number of pounds from their total quota.
That number is eligible for grant money.
Presently Star Scientific and R.J. Reynolds have contracted with some growers in the county.
Extension agent Larry McPeters Friday said the large crowd was indicative of growers' concerns over their future in the business.
McPeters had said earlier that farmers unwilling to convert their barns should consider getting out of the business.
"With the expo, we have all the information available in one place," he said.
Growers can research each method, get information on the grant program and then go home and figure out which conversion will work best for their barns, he said.
Some of the bigger questions growers had yesterday included actual payment.
The conversion must be made and certified by the August 1 deadline to be eligible for the $3,000 maximum per barn.
Barns converted between August 1 and July 1, 2001 are eligible for a maximum of $2,600 per barn, under the same formula.
Oil-fired barns that use heat exchange technology will comply with the standards as long as there is no leak in the heat exchanger and no combustion gas is leaked into the barn.
Those barns with cracked or leaking heat exchangers are eligible for reimbursement for repairs.
The industry plans to continue buying tobacco as usual and through attrition have the leaf convert from the high nitrosamine tobacco to the low nitrosamine leaf.
For more information contact McPeters at 476-2147.

Sheriff Jeff Oakes couldn't help thinking about the little Nelson County girl that rescuers didn't find in time as he pushed on through mud and rain Thursday in search of two-year-old Jordan Martin.
No doubt the other 100 emergency personnel, friends and relatives were thinking the same thing.
It was about 3 p.m. and daylight was fading in the Vernon Hill community.
It had been about three hours since the two-year-old had been "a little quicker on his feet than anyone could have anticipated."
He and his mother, Cathy Jones, were at the swing set in the family's backyard when Jordan asked to ride the four-wheeler.
His mother walked to the house, started the vehicle and returned to the swing set.
"It wasn't three minutes," recalled Jones. "And he was gone."
Frantic, she called for Jordan, conducting her own mini-search. But both Jordan and the family's eight-month-old beagle, Jack, were gone.
"One of my deputies, Investigator Al Bates, was familiar with the area, having hunted in that section all of his life," recalled Sheriff Jeff Oakes.
Bates suggested high places to observe the community's rolling land.
While the sheriff and over 100 volunteers combed the countryside, they got some bad news.
The state police helicopter that they had hoped to have fly over the area could not take off because of the bad weather.
In cold, wet conditions, and losing light, the sheriff was worried.
"We were getting desperate, ready to call out anybody and anything to help us," recalled Oakes.
Then Oakes got good news.
Town of Halifax Police Chief Shawn Sweeney notified the sheriff that the National Guard could get aircraft airborne.
But by then, Oakes and Deputy Angie Tribble were nearer to Jordan than they dreamed.
"We walked into this planted pine field. It was really thick," recalled the sheriff. "We followed some old roads and trails and just happened to make the right turn when we came to a fork in the road.
"We got down into the woods a little way, and I heard him crying," recalled Oakes.
"And then, when he saw me, and I called his name, he ran away," added the sheriff.
Oakes pursued the tyke, sweeping him up into his arms.
"He was muddy, wet and really upset, but really no worse for the wear , having been out in that weather over three hours," observed the sheriff.
"The puppy was with him, side by side. I think he probably left following the dog, but I'm not sure who was following whom when we found him," said the sheriff.
Oakes estimated Jordan was about a half mile from his home "as the crow flies."
But it was not like the crow flies, he added. The little boy could have walked several miles to get to the point rescuers found him.
"I am just thrilled that it did not end badly," added Oakes, who managed to win young Jordan's friendship by letting him play with the siren in his vehicle on the way home.
"The mother was almost in shock when we got back," recalled the sheriff. "The fear of not finding him had really set in. The grandparents were just ecstatic.
"It could have happened to anybody. Kids can get away so quickly. This was just one of those things. He was just a little bit quicker on his feet than anyone anticipated."

The mother of two, Jordan and his older sister, Christian, Mrs. Giles Jones Jr. was ecstatic Friday and anxious to thank all who searched for her son.
"I was in such shock yesterday, I just want to thank all the firemen, deputies, state police, friends and family who helped search for Jordan," said a very happy Cathy Jones.
"Whenever I went to thank anybody Thursday, it was like my heart was in my throat. You never know how wonderful it is to hold a child until you think something bad has happened."
Jordan Martin is the son of Mark Martin and the stepson of Giles Jones Jr.

Local volunteer firemen participated in an unanticipated training exercise Saturday night, at a house fire off Newbill Road, near Clover.
According to Triangle Volunteer Fire Chief, Danny Bomar, the unoccupied house belonged to Eddie Collins of Clover.
A passing motorist saw the blaze and called 911, "possibly with a cell phone," Bomar said.
Collins had set the fire himself in order to clear the lot for another use. He had previously removed the tin roof, and any items of value from the interior of the structure.
"He was lucky someone called the fire in," continued Bomar. "Collin's trailer and another out building were about 25 feet away from the fire."
Bomar added that the trailer had begun to heat significantly when trucks from the Triangle, Halifax, Liberty and Clover volunteer fire departments arrived on the scene.
"What we did was make sure the trailer and other building were cooled down," added Bomar. "That takes a lot of water, and that's why we had the participation from so many fire departments."
The house was allowed to burn on its own, and there was no damage to other property.
Situations like this can be used as training exercises, according to Bomar. Fireman get a great deal of experience from handling structural fires similar to this in a controlled environment.
"We simply ask that people wait until more moisture and less wind is present, preferably after a soaking rain," Bomar said.

A Buffalo Junction man was arrested Saturday by sheriff's deputies on a charge of forging public records.
Wade W. Puryear, 36, of Bill Tuck Highway, was charged with forging public documents after an indictment by the Circuit Court of the County of Pittsylvania.
Puryear allegedly committed the forgery on September 14, 1999.
· Henry Eric McKinney, 28, of River Road in South Boston, was arrested Saturday by sheriff's deputies on forging and uttering and assault and battery charges.
McKinney was charged with two counts each of uttering a check on the account of Rebecca S. Conner and forging a check on the account of Conner to the prejudice of another's rights; and the assault and battery of Conner.
A hearing for McKinney is scheduled in Halifax County General District Court on March 27.
· An Alton man was charged Saturday by sheriff's deputies with recklessly handling a firearm so as to endanger life.
Terrell Levar Carter, 19, of Henderson Road, was issued a summons on January 11, after he allegedly committed the offense on November 11, 1999.
Carter is scheduled to appear in Halifax County General District Court on April 21.
· Lester Watkins Waller, 57, of Dan River Church Road in South Boston, was arrested Friday by sheriff's deputies on an assault-and-battery charge.
Waller allegedly committed the assault and battery of Minnie D. Waller on the day of the arrest.
A hearing for Waller is scheduled in Halifax County General District Court on March 28.

Richard Noel Puckett, 34, of Scottsburg, pleaded guilty on Friday in Halifax District Court to one count of felony embezzlement.
According to prosecution evidence, Puckett, then a salesman with Virginia Carolina Homes, embezzled in excess of $1,000 from the business in late August of last year.
Puckett was allowed to remain free on bond until presentencing in May.
· Kenneth Brooks, 29, of South Boston, was found guilty of one count of assault and battery and one count of breaking and entering.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Brooks was sentenced to 12 months with nine suspended on each of the counts. The three months on each count will run concurrently.
· John Conrad Miller, 38, of Halifax, had his five-year prison sentence for cocaine possession and distribution reduced to four years on a defense motion.
Circuit Court Judge William Wellons, while acknowledging Miller had family responsibilities, said evidence showed a "smooth operation reflecting a well-organized system of drug sales. Those higher up in the hierarchy of drug sales ...should bear heavy responsibility for their actions."
· Anthony Worsham, 22, of Long Island, was found guilty on Friday of an amended charge of driving after being declared an habitual offender.
Worsham had his bond revoked and was remanded to custody pending sentencing during the next term of court.
· Kelvin Dewayne Cameron, 26, of South Boston, pleaded guilty on Friday to amended charges of cocaine possession and assault and battery of a police officer.
Cameron was remanded to custody pending a presentence report during the next term of court.
· Donnie Wayne Bowman, 43, of Spencer, W.V., had execution of his sentencing order suspended, pending a hearing on a defense motion to withdraw his original guilty plea.
Bowman was convicted in February of attempted malicious wounding of an officer, using a firearm to attempt malicious wounding of an officer, and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony.
There were allegations by Bowman that he was improperly defended at trial, and that he was not medically competant when his original plea was entered.
William Watson Jr. represented Bowman during the motions hearing, and was retained as counsel.

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) - Take that, Jeff. There's another Burton who can drive at Darlington.
Ward Burton, second to his younger brother Jeff three times in 1999, grabbed the spotlight himself Sunday, cruising to a win at the Mall.com 500.
Ward also kept the Burton's winning streak alive at Darlington Raceway. Jeff swept both events here a year ago.
Ward, who started second behind Jeff Gordon, took the lead from Matt Kenseth with 36 laps to go and was barely pressured the rest of the way. It was his second career Winston Cup victory, the other coming in Rockingham, N.C., in October of 1995.
In between, Burton lived every older brother's nightmare - watching Jeff's Roush Racing team rise to the top of the sport.
''You got a younger brother?,'' the 38-year-old Ward asked rhetorically this past September after again falling short to his 32-year-old brother. ''Then you know how it feels.''
How does it feel now?
''It feels damn good,'' said Ward, who won $132,725.
Jeff came to congratulate his older brother, and Ward got on the phone with his parents, who no longer have to tiptoe around Jeff's victories during family gatherings in South Boston, Va.
''I think everyone was relieved a little bit,'' Ward said.
Ward there wasn't a Burton secret to the 50-year-old superspeedway.
''I think it's more that we both have brought some pretty good cars and teams to this place,'' he said.
''Plus, it didn't rain,'' said Ward's car owner, Bill Davis.
Both Jeff's victories here were rain-shorted runs.
And while it meant a lot to outrun Jeff, ''it was that we beat 40 other teams out there. We came out and beat Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin,'' Ward said. ''We beat those racers because we had a car that was better today.''
It was the first time a Pontiac won at Darlington since Joe Weatherly took the Rebel 300 in 1963 and only the third time in 94 races that the manufacturer can claim a Darlington victory.
Everything went right for Ward in this one. He moved to the front for the first time on lap 15, passing Gordon. He returned to the front three other times and gradually stretched out to a 2-second lead over Dale Jarrett with 30 laps remaining.
When Ward dived into the pits with 40 laps to go and Jarrett right on his tail, his crew zipped him out a good half-second before the Winston Cup champion.
''These guys work so hard, they're just the best on pit road,'' Davis said.
The win ended a 132-race drought for Davis' team.
''It was privilege to ride in that car. It was awesome,'' Burton said.
He led 188 of the 293 laps and finished with an average speed of 128.076 mph. Burton became the fifth different winner in five races this season.
Burton crossed the line 1.4 seconds ahead of Jarrett. Dale Earnhardt, a winner last week in Hampton, Ga., was third in a Chevrolet. Tony Stewart finished fourth in a Pontiac, just ahead of Jeff Burton, who talked like a proud brother.
''Man, when two members from the same family can win races in Winston Cup, that means an awful lot,'' Jeff said. ''I just feel so good for Ward and those guys.''
Jarrett said Ward Burton had the best car most of the race.
''It looked like when the sun was out, we were just as good,'' said Jarrett, who started 17th. ''But he was definitely stronger.''
It looked like a group of nervous drivers early on worrying if the cloudy skies would rain-delay a third straight Darlington event.
Ken Schrader, Terry Labonte and Joe Nemechek tangled on the first lap and, after a five-lap caution, Kenny Irwin spun out and collected Jeremy Mayfield and Jerry Nadeau.
In all, 15 of the first 22 laps were slowed by caution.
''People just aren't using their heads today,'' Nemechek said.
When the racers calmed down, the event was fairly clean. The hardest hit was taken by rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr., who lost traction coming out of turn 3 and tagged the inside retaining wall.
Dale Jr. climbed out unharmed.
Three-time series champion Gordon had hoped that his pole run Friday would signal a return to the top. He finished eighth, his best result of the year, but stretched his winless streak to 10 races heading to Bristol, Tenn., for the Food City 500 next Sunday.
Earnhardt had his fourth top-10 finish in five races this season and had generated a lot of excitement after last week's victory by 2 feet over Bobby Labonte. So, he said his performance should have come as no surprise to anyone.
''I don't know where anybody said I was going,'' Earnhardt said. ''We're just doing what we have to do.''
The results left few to complain about the competition among manufacturers. There were five Fords, three Chevys and two Pontiacs in the top 10.

By Michael A. Paige
Good pitching and third-inning bats gave Halifax County High School varsity baseball team a 4-1 victory Saturday in their home opener against Baldwin High School.
"Michael pitched a great game," said coach Kelvin Davis of Michael Priest, who garnered the win after pitching a two-hitter on a wind-chilled afternoon.
"He (Priest) kept the ball down and his curve ball worked well," Davis added as Priest struck out nine and walked two.

All four Comet runs were scored in the third inning after Josh Milam got on base by an error from the third baseman and then Milam moved on to second base by another error by the catcher before Chris Parker hit to the shortstop to be thrown out at first.
Lead-off batter, Geoff Moore, went up to the plate and was hit by a pitch that put two men on first and second.
Nick Thompson stepped up and got a base hit that allowed Milam to score.
A base-on-balls was given to Priest and Brian Medley smacked a double that scored two more runs.
Todd Meadows followed with a sacrifice that scored Medley and the Comets were up 4-1 in what would be the outcome of the game.

"Our offense was strong with the bats and we made key hits," said Davis.
While Priest continued to keep Baldwin off the bases, the Comets were starting to show some tiredness. It prompted Davis to gather his team with the coaches and call for more aggressiveness in their hitting.
However, despite the relapse of hits, the Comets held Baldwin to only one run.
"It's still early in the season and we'll need to work on more things - the little things - that still need work," said Davis.
"If the weather will cooperate, we can get some games under our belts. That would help," added Davis.
Friday's game against William Fleming was rained out.
The Comets are now 2-0.
Second baseman, Josh Medley, was 2 for 3 at bat, hitting the clutch double in the third and smacking an earlier double in the second.
On the field, the Comets committed three errors to Baldwin's two.
However, a key double-play by the Comets shut off Baldwin's offense in the third, to close out the top of the inning.

Mrs. Alice Watkins of Scottsburg passed away Wednesday, March 15 at Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston at the age of 78.
She was born in Halifax County on February 24, 1922.
She is survived by two daughters, Shirley Hill of Stafford and Edna Jennings of Scottsburg; one son, Ray Watkins of Roanoke; six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Catherine Claiborne of Scottsburg and Frances Lucas of Spotsylvania.

Funeral services were held yesterday at St. James Baptist Church in Scottsburg with interment in the church cemetery. The Revs. Byrd Blackwell and Ronald Claiborne officiated.
The family will receive friends at the home of the deceased, 1103 Green Level Road, Scottsburg.