On the heels of Clover's water/sewer difficulties, the Town of Scottsburg's septic problems are critical and spilling over into big bills en route to higher water/sewer rates.
With system pumps down, town sewer operator Douglas Jackson told the Halifax County Board of Supervisors' Finance Committee that the town's bill to a septic tank service pumping off the wastewater had already hit $4,000.
The town is asking supervisors for approximately $25,000 to repair the system and Jackson was back Wednesday night with a letter from town clerk/treasurer Susan Franklin to explain to supervisors how Scottsburg plans to pay back the loan.
The committee had asked the town to provide a repayment plan at its session last week and Mayor Ricky Gordon had faxed an estimate for the cost of repairs to the county but the estimate did not include labor or installation cost, according to Franklin's letter.
With 180 water customers, the town proposed increasing water rates by $2 per month from $11 for the first 4000 gallons to $13 effective July 1.
"This would generate an estimated $360 per month," advised the proposed loan repayment letter. "Currently the town collects an average of $4,000 per month in utility fees."
But with the growing town bill, the Finance Committee is looking at a possible $30,000 loan.
Committee members voted Wednesday night to present for consideration of the full board a loan of up to $30,000 over a five year period with the board suggesting to the Town of Scottsburg that they increase their rates sufficiently to repay the loan.
Water/sewer rate increases are also anticipated in Clover and Riverdale for the fiscal year as the Committee considers a proposed $58.5 million budget which at this time carries no tax increase, according to Halifax County Administrator Dan Sleeper.
It was a lengthy Wednesday evening session for the Finance Committee as they move toward a proposed budget for the April board meeting.
And it started with good news.
Public schools superintendent Dennis Witt affirmed there would be "no more demands on local resources" for the trustees' proposed $42.1 million 1999-2000 budget.
Local funds will remain at the same $9,820,356 mark this year as last year.
Committee members also granted a school request by unanimously voting - with Supervisor T.E. West absent - to recommend to the full board of supervisors establishment of a local option retirement fund for school employees for those who opt for the plan.
Dr. Bobby Hall told committee members the "employee gains a tax benefit" through the option and that "there are no hidden costs."
The Finance Committee continues to wrestle with the Sheriff Jeff Oakes's request for replacement of about one-third the departments's fleet of cars as well as the need for radios.
Lease/purchase is among the options being discussed by the Committee surveying the Sheriff's Department car needs.
Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker is seeking upgrading of computer server needs in his office and appeared before the Finance Committee early Wednesday evening.
Social Services Director Betty Wells' proposed budget seeks $488,563 from the county which reflects approximately a 3 percent increase over last year. The total federal, state and local budget of $3,285,652.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gov. Jim Gilmore announced today that he has signed a bill reducing the state's sales tax on food.
''I have this week signed the food tax cut. It is now law, or will be law when it goes into effect in July,'' Gilmore said on his monthly radio call-in show. He said the reduction continues the tax-cutting legacy his administration began last year with the phaseout of the personal property tax on cars and trucks.
Last month, the General Assembly passed a bill to cut the 4 1/2 percent sales tax on groceries by a half percentage point in each of the next four years. Each half-point cut costs about $62 million. When the cut is fully phased in, shoppers would save about $2 on a $100 grocery bill.
Gilmore had called for the reduction last fall when he proposed amendments to the state budget. But in previous years Democrats had suggested similar cuts, and throughout the legislative session Democratic and Republican legislators struggled to take credit for the idea.
The Democrats' strategy was to call for Republicans to accelerate the reduction, finishing the full 2 percent cut in two years instead of four. They renewed that call last week. ''The governor has tremendous power and latitude to find additional funds to accelerate the tax cut,'' Del. Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington, said at a news conference.
But the accelerated cut would be more expensive, and Republicans accused Democrats of playing politics at the cost of the state's fiscal solvency. Gilmore said today that he rejected the Democrats' pleas, signing the plan exactly as it passed the assembly.
''I don't think the Democrats have a lot of credibility on tax cuts,'' Gilmore said, laughing. ''They've been in charge for 100 years ... without cutting taxes.''

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - If something's rotten in North Dakota, the folks in Bismarck want to know how bad it stinks. How do they know? The scentometer and a state-certified nose.
State lawmakers have been grappling with whether to change how odors are measured on North Dakota's smelly feedlots, hog farms and the like. One bill would shift the spot where such tests are taken from the lot's property line to a half-mile away.
All of which has brought to the fore a little gizmo that measures the stink. At $600 per scentometer, some lawmakers were expecting a high-tech gadget, something showy with digital readouts, blinking lights, maybe an electronic beep or two.
Reality was a letdown.
''It looked like kind of an old radio that somebody had thrown off their tractor, or out of their car,'' said Rep. Gene Nicholas of Cando, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
The scentometer is a hand-held plastic box with two plastic prongs jutting out, awaiting the nostrils of its user. The Ohio company that makes it says it's been on the market for 45 years.
The gadget works when the state-certified smeller inhales through the box. Using filters and a comparison of smelly to unsmelly air, a number is arrived at which either meets or fails to meet the state standard.
If the sniffer can smell the stench when seven parts of filtered air mix with one part of unfiltered air, it is a reading of 7 - that's a violation.
''It's not the most accurate, but I guess it gives you something to go from to compare,'' said Bob Bergquist, who is helping to develop a large hog operation in Grand Forks County.
To become a state-certified smeller, by the way, means passing the state's odor detection exam. It's a three-step test that requires candidates to, among other things, distinguish between cinnamon, oranges and lemons - and be able to judge the strength of a banana scent.

Three Halifax County High School students will be facing drug possession charges and another student may possibly have to face a weapons charge in the wake of a surprise drug search at the school Wednesday dubbed "Operation Spring Break II."
Halifax County Sheriff's Department Major R.L. Link said two of the students, 18-year-old Shawn Simon and a 16-year-old student whose name was withheld due to his age, were found to be in possession of marijuana in the school.
A 17-year-old student whose name was also withheld due to his age, was found to possess marijuana in a vehicle in the high school parking lot.
Halifax County High School principal Larry Clark said Wednesday that a tenth grade student at the school was found to be in possession of what he described as "a razor-like knife." The knife, which Clark said was concealed from common observation, was seized by authorities.
Link said that Deputy Steve Moore, who serves as the sheriff department's School Resource Officer (SRO) has arrested 13 students on illegal drug charges since the beginning of the school year. The three arrests resulting from "Operation Spring Break II" brings the total to 16.
According to information supplied by Link, Simon was found to have three $10 bags of marijuana in his possession. In the case of the 16-year-old student that was found to be in possession of marijuana, Link stated that the student was in a classroom when he was found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Link noted that the three students found to be in possession of marijuana will be charged with possession of illegal drugs either on warrants or juvenile petitions.
Clark said that the three students found to be in possession of marijuana were suspended from school and were released into the custody of their parents.
"They will be recommended for long term suspension," Clark said, "and will appear before a discipline panel arranged through the school board office."
The high school principal said that an attempt will be made to hold the hearing in front of the discipline panel prior to the time school is closed for Spring Break.
All three students, Clark said, are seniors.
The student who was found to be in possession of the knife was also suspended from school, Clark said, and will be recommended for long term suspension as well. That individual will also face a hearing in front of a discipline panel.
Deputies and investigators from the Halifax County Sheriff's Department, the Halifax-South Boston Regional Narcotics Taskforce, Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and canines and handlers from the Virginia Department of Corrections and Lynchburg City Sheriff's Department converged on the high school at 9 a.m. and began random searches of classrooms, various areas of the building, and students.
The school was placed in "lockdown" type mode after the officers arrived with students being held in their first block classrooms until the search was concluded at 10:45 a.m. Students that arrived at school after the search started were held in the lobby until the search concluded.
Along with Halifax County High School, officers and dogs searched Halifax County Middle School, the school system's Project HOPE facility on Mountain Road just outside of Halifax and the Halifax County Regional Juvenile Group Home. No illegal drugs were found at any of those venues.
Clark said that while parents, students, and school officials do not like to see massive drug searches with police officers and dogs, such searches are, unfortunately, necessary.
"It is, in my opinion, as principal of the school, that these kinds of random unannounced searches unfortunately are necessary today," Clark said.
"I think these kinds of searches are necessary in any high school today whether it is in Virginia or California."
Clark said the message that has come from the school board, school system administrators, him, and the high school's administrative staff all along is that illegal drugs will not be tolerated in school.
"Students need to understand we're not going to tolerate it in the school system," Clark said.
"They also need to understand we're not going to tolerate it at the high school and they need to understand we can have these random searches anytime. That's the way it has to be."

O'Sullivan Industries Holding, Inc, the tenth largest U.S. furniture manufacturer, announced yesterday that members of its senior management team, in conjunction with a financial buyer, have made a proposal to the acquire the company if financing can be arranged.
O'Sullivan (NYSE-OSU) is headquartered in Lamar, MO., and employs an estimated 2,300 persons including approximately 600 persons at its South Boston facility in the Halifax County Industrial Park.
It's South Boston operation encompasses approximately 600,000 square feet including leased space.
Employment during the past 18 months has almost doubled according to Don Blevins, plant manager.
O'Sullivan intends to begin another major expansion here during late 2000 and once complete, is expected to increase employment to approximately 700 persons.
Upon receiving the acquisition proposal, O'Sullivan's board established a special committee composed on independent directors to review its strategic alternatives in order to maximize stockholder value.
The committee has retained the investment banking firm of Salomon Smith Barney Inc. to assist in the he exploration and evaluation of strategic alternatives including solicitation of proposals from other potential acquirers of the company.
Additionally, the board suspended its search for a new chairman and chief executive officer to replace Daniel F. O'Sullivan, 57, who announced last August his plans to retire.
O'Sullivan designs, manufactures and sells ready-to-assemble furniture and its products include desks, computer tables, cabinets, entertainment centers and other furniture.
Net sales for the six months ended 12/31/98 rose 14% to $185.5 million. Net income rose 20% to $8.4 million.
Revenues reflect increased sales in the sub-$1,000 computer market and higher consumer electronics market share.
O'Sullivan's products are sold primarily through office superstores, mass merchandisers and catalog showrooms, department stores, home improvement centers, electronic superstores and other retailers.

The Virginia Department of Health is adding three species of fish to its advisory for eating certain fish taken from a 50-mile stretch of the Roanoke River because recent fish samples contain concentrations of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, above a level of caution.
Smallmouth bass, channel catfish and flathead catfish now join the list of fish contained in a health advisory issued in July 1998 for a section of the Roanoke River known locally as the Staunton River in Southside Virginia. The 50-mile section extends from Seneca Creek at Route 704 near Long Island downstream to the point where a pipeline intersects Route 803 in Halifax County and where Route 633 in Charlotte County crosses the Roanoke, which is approximately 5.4 miles below the Route 360 bridge. Advisory signs are posted along the river in that area.
The fish have been added to the advisory following results from recent fish samples collected by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) which show that PCBs exceed the level of caution. Smallmouth bass and channel catfish were not part of the 1998 advisory because initial fish samples showed that PCB levels were below 600 parts per billion (ppb). DEQ did not sample flathead catfish prior to the 1998 advisory.
The 1998 health advisory was issued after he initial DEQ sampling revealed PCB levels above 600 ppb in striped bass, white bass and carp.
"The health department advises that people should eat no more than two eight-ounce meals per month of these fish species from this section of the river," said Khizar Wasti, Ph.D..Director of the Division of Health Hazards Control. "The meal estimates are based on the possibility that eating PCB contaminated fish may increase the risk of cancer in humans," he said.
Wasti said the heath department also cautions against consuming too many large channel catfish caught near Altavista since one sample of large channel catfish showed PCBs just above the level of caution. Other species sampled from Altavista had PCBs below the level of caution.
The potential of PCBs to cause cancer in humans is based on studies in experimental animals. A link between occupational exposure to PCBs and cancer in humans has not been prove.
PCBs are a group of man-made industrial chemicals that exist as a mixture and may contain up to 209 individual compounds. Since 1977, PCBs have not been produced in the U.S., but they are still found in the environment. PCBs were once widely used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors and other electrical equipment.
No specific PCB contamination source had been identified that can account for the elevated levels of PCBs in fish in the Roanoke River Basin.
Additional results on fish samples taken from the river are pending, according to Wasti. "The health department will continue to review results and will advise the public when needed," he said.
The health department recommends the following precautions, Wasti said, to reduce any potential harmful effects:
*Eat the smaller, younger fish (within the legal limits). They are less likely to contain harmful levels of PCBs than larger, older fish.
*Remove the skin, fat (from the belly and top of the fish ) and internal organs where PCBs are most likely to accumulate before cooking the fish.
*Bake, broil or grill on a open rack to allow fats to drain away from the meat.
*Discard the fats that cook out of the fish.
*Avoid or reduce the amount of fish drippings or broth that are used to flavor the meal. These drippings may contain higher levels of PCBs.
*Eat less deep fried fish, since frying seals PCBs into the fatty tissue.

Johnnie B. Elliott of 1057 High View Road, Halifax died March 23 at Halifax Regional Hospital at the age of 74. He was the son of Otis Scott Elliott and Mamie Farmer Elliott. He was married to Ellen Ferrell Elliott. He was a member and Deacon of Pleasant Grove United Church of Christ, a member of American Legion Post #8, Halifax Masonic Lodge #96 AM&FM, Halifax Sportsman's Club, Wilson Memorial Ruritan Club and the Halifax County Planning Commission and was retired from Massey Ferguson.
He is survived by his wife; one daughter and son-in-law, Ann E. and Larry Lucas of Culpeper; one son and daughter-in-law, John B. and Daphne Elliott of Sterling; four grandchildren, Andrea Lucas and Megan Lucas both of Culpeper, Jay Elliott and Melissa Elliott, both of Sterling.
Funeral services for Mr. Elliott will be held today at 11 a.m. at Pleasant Grove United Church of Christ. With Rev. Carl Hudson and Rev. John Wilder conducting the service. Burial will take place in the church cemetery with Masonic and Military rites.

The family received friends at Powell Funeral Home yesterday from 7 until 8 p.m. and other times at the home.

Thelma Woody Oakes of 2058 Cherry Hill Church Rd. South Boston died March 23 at Berry Hill Nursing Home in South Boston. She was 92 years old. She was born on April 2, 1906 in Person County, NC to James David Woody and Ellen Pulliam Woody. She was a member of Cherry Hill United Methodist Church and is the widow of Harold Cook Oakes.
She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Vernell B. Oakes of South Boston; grandson, John T. "Johnny" Oakes, Jr. of Scottsburg; step grandsons, Randy B. Jones of Nathalie and Gary T. Jones of Richmond. She was preceded in death by her son, John Tinsley "Jack" Oakes; sister, Annie W. McCraw; brothers, Julian E. Woody, James W. Woody, Walter W. Woody and George F. Woody.
The funeral services were held at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel, yesterday at 2 p.m. Rev. Robert Lewis and Rev. Grover Stevens officiated the services. Burial followed in the Cherry Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery located in South Boston. Visitations were held Wednesday night from 7 until 8:30 p.m.
The family will receive friends at other times at the home of Vernell B. Oakes.

Robert Emerson Fultz, II, a former Navy physician who practiced Internal Medicine in Halifax County for seven years, died at Hospice of Cincinnati in Ohio on Thursday, March 18, from compilations of Parkinson's Disease. He was 76.
Dr. Fultz, a native of Butterworth in Dinwiddie County, and the son of a country doctor, served in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy from 1943 until 1965. He did his undergraduate work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, graduated from the Medical College of Virginia, and trained in Internal Medicine in the US Naval Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
After retiring from the Navy as a Captain in the Medical Corps, he relocated with his family to Halifax County, where he practiced Internal Medicine at the Halifax County Community Hospital from 1965 to 1972. From there he moved to the Cincinnati area to work for the William S. Merrill Company in cardiovascular pharmacological research.
He later worked in Public Health in Kentucky and as a full-time physician at Drake Hospital in Cincinnati until his retirement in 1984.
Dr. Fultz was a member of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Association, the American College of Physicians and the American Medical Association.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy Fultz; two sons, Robert Fultz, III of Madison, GA and George Fultz, III, MD of Columbia, TN; two daughters, Susan Miller of Clemons NC and Carol Frieden of Poquoson; a brother, John Fultz of Virginia Beach; a sister, Alma Binford, of Jacksonville, FL; and five grandchildren.
He is buried in the Dayton National Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.
Memorials are directed to the Kaibeto Native American Education Fund in care of the Friendship Methodist Church or to the church at 1025 Springfield Pike, Cincinnati, Ohio 45215.

Dr. David Vincent Gibson of Ettrick, died Sunday, March 21, 1999 at his residence in Ettrick, at the age of 75. He was born in Fauquier County on September 10, 1923.
Dr. Gibson is survived by his daughter, Virginia Gibson, of Newport News; three sons, David Gibson, Jr., of Atlanta, GA; James Gibson, of Calverton; and Dr. Sandy Gibson, of Midlothian; three grandchildren; two brothers, Thomas and Marshall Gibson, of Calverton; nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Dr. Gibson will be held today at 12:00 noon at First Baptist Church, Harrison Street, Petersburg.