County officials are hoping that the Virginia Department of Aviation (VDOA) Board will look favorably on a request for funding needed to restore temporary general aviation services at William M. Tuck Airport, where a devastating March 5 fire destroyed the terminal, hangers and aircraft.
Even the airport's runway lights and rotating beacon were taken out in the fire that caused an estimated $1,000,000 in damages. Officials say that the destroyed property was insured.
The airport was the leading topic of discussion Monday night when elected officials from the towns of South Boston and Halifax met in joint session with the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.
VDOA meets in April and will consider interim funding requests under the airport's Six Year Plan. County officials want the Virginia Avaition Board to assist the airport in the ultimate construction of a new terminal facility that meets state and federal standards but more immediately, in providing a temporary terminal.
County Administrator Joe Morgan has submitted an application seeking emergency funding for a 12 foot by 12 foot by 60 foot mobile terminal with electricity, water and sewer , reconnection of runway lights and rotating beacon at an estimated cost not to exceed $10,000.
Rather than having to wait until the VAB meets in April, these emergency funds would permit the airport to begin immediately to restore basic services and to have terminal feasibility study performed.
The second phase of the airport restoration would involve replacing the single mobile or "short-term" temporary facility with two mobile "long-term" temporary facilities that would remain in use until a permanent terminal is completed, hopefully, in early 2003.
Could there be a positive side to the March 5 airport disaster? Tuck Airport Commission chairman Ronnie Vaughan believes it is and he attempted to put a positive spin on the economic impact the airport has on the community.
Vaughan provided an overview of the airport's operations and development objectives that include a proposed 1,000 foot main runway extension. A 5,000 foot runway would allow larger, faster aircraft including light cargo planes and corporate jets such as the Cessna Citation II and Beech King Air B200 to land safely.
Much of that level of traffic is now going to nearby Roxboro and Person County (N.C.) airports.
But Vaughan insisted that lengthening Tuck's runway may not be as important as upgrading other phases at the facility. "We're no where close to needing another 1,000 feet now," said Vaughan.
Plans now call for the completion later this year of Medium Intensity Runway Lights (MIRL) to replace existing lights that are substandard and old. Poor conditions cause numerous electrical problems often resulting in the loss of lighting.
Fire investigators have said that the cause of the March 5, fire was probably electrical in nature.
Other improvements underway include:
· installation of Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPI) at each end of the runway.
· overlay of pavement due to current age and condition.
· obstruction removal that involves acquiring easements on the remaining tracts approved for purchase on the east side of the main runway.
· relocation of beacon to allow for more terminal development space.
· apron expansion to separate transient aircraft from based aircraft storage in order to encourage use by industry and Winston Cup racing teams that frequently use the airport during racing events at South Boston Speedway.
· additional 6,000 sq. ft. aircraft apron.
· medium intensity aircraft lighting.
· security fencing to control inadvertent access onto the runway by individuals and wildlife.
· Level III Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS) to provide pilots with current weather information.
· purchase of six acres of land considered to be an obstruction in the Runway Protection Zone.
· construction of T-hangers, an 80 foot by 80 foot corporate hanger and an 80 foot by 80 foot maintenance hanger.
· installation of Instrument Landing System Category I.
· paving of runway 6 & 24.
The airports master plan calls for $4.6 million in funding, including $3,227,990 federal, $663,627 state and $200,038 from Halifax County.
Vaughan said that the airport expects to receive $150,000 each year for the next three years in new federal funds.
Tuck Airport property includes approximately 135 acres of timber which Vaughan suggested could be harvested for an estimated $135,000. Cutting the timber, he said, would also eliminate obstructions to runways and if replanted in trees, the airport could expect to harvest the same again in 20 years.
Items of Interest
Other matters to come before the joint session called for the joint enforcement auto decals with Virginia State Police and town and county law enforcement agencies. State Police can now issue citations for decal violations but fines generated do not return to the respective localities.
Under the proposed arrangement, State Police would be able to assist in enforcement and localities would receive half of the imposed fines.
Supervisors James Edmunds and Lottie Nunn reminded the board that Scottsburg and Virgilina had not been included in the discussions and until that can be done, the matter will remain in study.
· a motion to authorize joint exercise of power under state statutes that would facilitate decisions made by the E-911 Communications Board.
· a resolution establishing county observance of Tornado Preparedness Day on March 21.
· a review of applications for Community Development Block Planning Grants for water and sewer services from the Town of South Boston to an estimated 35 residents in the Shepherd's Gate community; and a planning grant for the Paul C. Edmunds Jr. Park.

A 21-year-old Nathalie man was convicted on Monday in Halifax County Circuit Court of charges resulting from the attempted break-in of an ATM machine at a local bank last October.
Derek Edward Brown pleaded guilty to the possession of tools with the intent to commit burglary, attempted larceny of U.S. currency and destruction of an ATM machine at One Valley (now BB&T) bank located at 904 Wilborn Ave.
Brown additionally pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana during the trial.
According to prosecution evidence, South Boston police Sgt. John Barbour responded to an alarm at the Wilborn Avenue location of One Valley Bank during the early morning of October 5, and observed a man in front of the bank, who then fled the scene.
Authorities noticed a vehicle next to the bank with keys still in the ignition, and its trunk open.
The vehicle was traced by police to a residence at the Cavalier Apartments, where Brown was taken into custody.
Clothing taken from Brown's residence matched the clothing worn by the suspect in videotape and photos from the bank's surveillance camera, according to further prosecution evidence.
A statement Brown made to authorities following his arrest was also entered into evidence by the prosecution.
Authorities estimated that it cost approximately $37,000 to replace the ATM machine, which was destroyed during the burglary attempt.
Judge Leslie M. Osborn ordered Brown's previous bond to be revoked and remanded him to custody, pending a presentence report in the May term of court.
Judge Osborn additionally ordered Brown to be evaluated for the alternative sentencing programs.
A 28-year-old Halifax man was convicted on Tuesday of two charges as the result of an abbreviated police chase on January 24.
Verlie Marion Word Jr. pleaded guilty to felony charges of driving after having been declared an habitual offender and eluding a law enforcement officer during a bench trial before Judge Leslie M. Osborn.
South Boston Police officer Rick Hess testifed at a preliminary hearing that he attempted to pull over Word for speeding in front of the Halifax County Middle School on January 24.
Hess further testified that as he approached the vehicle, he noted suspicious movements on the part of the two occupants, and withdrew to his patrol car to call for backup as the car sped away.
Word, ignoring police lights and sirens, attempted to elude authorities by driving on the private road to Halifax Christian School, where Word lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree at the end of the school parking lot.
Word and the other occupant of the car fled into the surrounding woods, and both were later captured by police.
The other occupant of the vehicle was not charged.
As the result of a separate trial, Word was earlier convicted on Tuesday of misdemeanor driving after having been declared an habitual offender, and of the possession of cocaine.
According to prosecution testimony, the charges stemmed from Word's being observed by South Boston Police Officer W.M. Garner driving in a reckless manner on College Street, near Hamilton Boulevard.
After leading Garner into the Honeytree Apartment complex, Word at first fled, but later surrendered himself to authorities.
The cocaine was discovered incidental to a search of Word's person after his arrest.
Judge Osborn remanded Word to custody pending a presentence report in the May term of court.
Other Court Trials
· Wade Linwood Clark, 43, of Halifax, entered an Alford plea on Monday to the possession of cocaine.
Under terms of the Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, but realizes the prosecution evidence is such that a guilty verdict is almost certain.
Judge Osborn ordered a presentence report due for the May term of court. Clark is free on bond until that time.
· Joe Cecil Coles, 36, of South Boston, was convicted on Monday of a merged count of forging and uttering a check belonging to Lynette S. Mills, and one count of petty larceny.
Judge Osborn remanded Coles to custody pending a presentence report due for the May term of court.
· A 17-year-old Halifax youth was convicted on Monday of the possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute on school property (Halifax Career Center), misdemeanor obstruction of justice and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Judge Osborn sentenced the youth to three years in prison, with two suspended for the possession charge, and six months each for the two misdemeanors, to run concurrently with the one-year sentence, for an effective prison sentence of one year.
· Kyle Lee Crews, 24, of Nathalie, was convicted on Tuesday of two counts of the distribution of crack cocaine.
Judge Osborn remanded Crews to custody pending a presentence report due for the May term of court.
The court additionally ordered Crews to be evaluated for the Boot Camp, and Detention and Diversioin Center alternative sentencing programs.
· Jeffrey Keith Daniel, 33, of Vernon Hill, was convicted on Tuesday of three cocaine distribution charges.
Judge Osborn ordered a presentence report due for the May term of court. Daniel is free on bond until that time.
· William Tyrone Davis, 22, of Nathalie, was convicted on Tuesday of two crack cocaine distribution charges.
Judge Osborn remanded Davis to custody pending a presentence report due for the May term of court.
· Samuel Junior Kirby, 37, of South Boston, was convicted on Tuesday of one crack cocaine distribution charge.
Judge Osborn ordered a presentence report due for the May term of court, and ordered Kirby to remain free on bond under supervision of Halifax-Pittsylvania Court Services until that time.
· Kenneth Dean Wilborn, 28, of Nathalie, was convicted on Tuesday of breaking and entering the property of Earl Orme III with the intent to commit larceny, and grand larceny of property belonging to Earl Orme III and Kathy Orme.
As the result of a separate bench trial, Wilborn was also convicted of the grand larceny of property belonging to Robert and Sandra Wilborn.
Judge Osborn remanded Wilborn to custody pending a presentence report due for the May term of court.
Eakes Named SoBo Postmaster

At one time or another, Wingate "Winkie" Eakes figures he's visited every home in South Boston.
No wonder, he started as a city carrier for United States Postal Service in 1978 and over the years, delivered mail on every South Boston route.
Today, Eakes is South Boston's new postmaster.
Eakes succeeds J.E. Tuck who was named postmaster for Lynchburg last fall.
As was his predecessor, Eakes is homegrown. His parents, Olan and Ellen Eakes have been living at the same address for over 40 years.
The 54-year old father of two is a 1965 graduate of Halifax County High School, attended Louisburg College and spent four years in the Navy.
When he returned to South Boston, Eakes worked briefly for Virginia Power, then as a sales clerk for a building supplier and finally as a cost accountant for a local furniture manufacturer before accepting a job with the Postal Service.
Eakes delivered mail until 1993 before being assigned supervisory duties inside the South Boston Post Office. The South Boston Post Office has a total of approximately 25 employees including city and rural carriers, substitutes, clerks and custodians. South Boston has approximately 6,900 town and rural residential and business deliveries.
Eakes' daughter Sarah is a third year student at the University of Virginia. His son Todd will graduate from Halifax County High School this year and hopes to attend UVA as well.

Just three of Halifax County's eight election districts are within the allowed 5 percent plus or minus minority voting strength tolerances based on 2000 census information.
Figures made available for the first time this week show that Election District 8, which takes in most of the Town of South Boston, has the highest percentage of deviation and places blacks at a distinct disadvantage in voting representation.
Figures show that ED-8 has a white population of 2,393 compared to 1,754 blacks who, under existing voting boundaries, can claim just over 41 percent of the total vote.
Under the Voting Rights Act, all five of the district boundaries would have to be redrawn to prevent voting disadvantage for minorities.
Elections this fall find three races for the Board of Supervisors and School Board in ED-2, ED-3 and ED-6. Only ED-3, served by Supervisor Joe Satterfield and School Board Member Wanda McDowell, currently meets the minority or racial requirements.
In ED-4, which takes in most of Halifax, Sinai and Crystal Hill communities, blacks hold a 59.6 percent voting advantage over whites.
The county hopes to have a redistricting plan ready for adoption by May 1, and be able to conduct hearings in time to allow for review and possible changes that may be ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Voting Rights Act.
For identification purposes, the following matches supervisors with the election district each represents:
· ED 1 ­ Richard E. Abbott
· ED 2 ­ Tom E. West
· ED 3 ­ Joe C. Satterfield
· ED 4 ­ David E. Martin
· ED 5 ­ James E. Edmunds III
· ED 6 ­ W. Page Wilkerson
· Ed 7 ­ Lottie T. Nunn
· ED 8 ­ C.W. Rorrer

In spite of what many industry observers see as a possible threat to continued Stabilization operations and the price support system, USDA officials appear to have maintained a hardline approach to any change that might otherwise enhance their position in face of the increasing volume of farmers who are contracting directly for the sale of their 2001.
By some estimates, as little as 10 percent of all flue-cured tobacco will be sold through the traditional auction system where grading and price supports are introduced.
Growers who will sell tobacco at auction must designate by April 15 which warehouse they will use. In the past, producers have designated quota to a specific warehouse for price support, however, farmers could actually sell tobacco without price support at a different auction warehouse or could sell it non-auction directly to a dealer of company.
Beginning this year, tobacco can be only marketed at the warehouse designated and farmers must use the marketing card that bears that warehouse code.
Warehouse-coded marketing cards cannot be used at the contract buying points and uncoded contract or non-auction cards cannot be used an auction warehouse.
Producers must designate to an auction warehouse only the pounds that will be marketing at that specific auction warehouse.
Conversely, any quota that will be sold under contract must not be designated to an auction warehouse. Kevin Bohon, director for the Farm Service Agency in Halifax, noted that "auction" cards and "contract" cards will look different this year so that there will be no mistake when presented at either the warehouse or the contract buying point.
Auction cards will be embossed with the producer's name, farm number and warehouse code as in the past. The contract, or non-auction cards, will be thermal-printed and contain a barcode.
"Tobacco producers need to understand that once the April 15 designation deadline passes, changes to any warehouse designation may only be handled through the normal redesignation periods during the marketing season. This year, the redesignation periods will be July 2-6, July 30-August 3, August 31-September 7, October 1-5, and October 29-November 2," Bohon said.
The 10-day waiting period after the end of each redesignation period will still apply. Tobacco farmers will have to redesignate if they change from a non-auction contract to an auction warehouse during the marketing season, or if they choose to change from one auction warehouse to another.
"The big change over last year," Bohon said, "is that the use of the tobacco marketing cards will be more restricted."
A non-auction card may be used at any contract buying point, but warehouse cards are restricted to only the specific warehouse identified on the card.
Auction and non-auction cards cannot be interchanged.
Producers having any questions may contact the FSA office in Halifax.

There had been some early question about how good the defense of the Halifax County High School varsity girls soccer team would be.
With two experienced starters, Joni Abbott and Aimee Robbins sidelined with injury and health problems respectively, coach Sid Young had some holes to fill.
Any question as to whether or not the defense would hold up was set aside Monday night.
The Comets won their season opener, scoring a 2-1 win over neighboring Person High.
"Overall I was very pleased with the way the girls played," said Young.
"My defenders did a great job. Stephanie Bomar and Jessie Ramsey played an outstanding game. Wendy Foy and Stacie Griffin did a good job and so did Mary Caldwell who played back there part of the time."
The Comets' goalkeeper, Mary Catherine Thompson, also turned in a good game.
"She had close to 10 saves and did a good job with her punting."
All of the scoring came in the second half which was dominated by the Comets.
Attie Poirier and newcomer Nacole Newton scored the two goals for the Comets, both with an assist from freshman Morgan Young.
One of the goals resulted from a corner kick.
The Comets held a 2-0 lead when Person High scored its goal on an indirect kick.
"I take credit for that one," Young said.
"It was a situation that we really hadn't covered yet in practice. You don't see it very often."
The Comets showed the kind of offensive prowess Young had hoped to see.
Halifax County outshot the Rockets 14-10 and had a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.
While the Comets' two goals were enough to stave off the Rockets, they had opportunities to increase their lead.
"We should have had at least two other goals," Young said.
"We had two or three breakaways in the first half that we should have scored on but didn't.
"Attie had one shot right in front of the goal and their keeper made a good play," added Young.
"Nacole had a couple of breakaways and Ashley Slaff had one but they just couldn't put it in. That's okay. At least we had the opportunities to score."
Young said he was pleased with the team's effort for the first game of the season.
"We had several girls that played positions that they hadn't played before and I thought they responded well," Young pointed out.
"We also had three freshmen (Young, Griffin and Poirier) starting and I thought they responded especially well."
The game was a turnaround from last year's foul-plagued contest in which bodies were sent flying on several occasions.
"It was a much cleaner game than last year's game," Young said.
"Both teams played aggressively but we didn't see the fouls from Person that we saw last year."
The Comets have a busy week this week with a game scheduled this afternoon against Franklin County in Rocky Mount and a couple of contests slated Saturday in the annual Dinwiddie Invitational Tournament.

Eloise Smith Conner, 83, of Grifton, N.C., died March 20 at her home.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. March 23 at Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Nathalie.
Mrs. Conner was a member of Grifton First Baptist Church and Mary Gardner Sunday School Class.
Survivors include one son, Robert Gordon Conner III of Marietta, Ga.; three daughters, Jean C. McDearman of Halls, Tenn., Ellen C. Moore of Greenville, N.C. and Susan C. Leggette of Grifton; one sister, Elizabeth Whitfield of Kitty Hawk, N.C.; nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 7:00 until 9:00 at Farmer Funeral Service in Ayden, N.C.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Grifton Baptist Church or the American Cancer Society.

Mary Cunningham DeShazo, 76, of Washington, D.C., formerly of Alton, died in Washington recently.
Mrs. DeShazo was born in Halifax County on July 22, 1924, the daughter of Ernest Berkley Cunningham and Mary Wade Cunningham and was married to Melvin DeShazo. She was a member of Mason Chapel Baptist Church.
Survivors include three sisters, Exie C. Lipscomb of Milton, N.C., Bertha C. Royster and Sue C. Harley, both of Md.
Funeral services for Mrs. DeShazo will be held March 23 at noon at Mason Chapel Baptist Church with the Rev. Ronald Claiborne officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of Annie B. Cunningham, 1214 Mason Chapel Road, Alton.