School system officials are expected to unveil a long range school facilities development proposal Monday night when the Halifax County School Board holds its March meeting.
Monday night's meeting is open to the public and will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the second floor public meeting room at the Mary M. Bethune Office Complex in Halifax.
The plan that county school superintendent Dennis Witt is expected to bring to the school board Monday night is a plan that he called a "hybrid" of previous recommendations made by the Halifax County Public Schools Facilities Study Taskforce.
One expected aspect of the plan that will be offered by Witt is the consolidation of some of the county's elementary schools. School consolidation was one of the components of the earlier plan offered by the taskforce.
Another component of the proposal that school system officials are likely to pitch to school trustees Monday night involves renovations and the construction of additions at several of the existing schools.
A third aspect of the proposal involves the construction of new school buildings. However, Witt indicated earlier that this new proposal will not lean anywhere near as heavily toward the construction of new schools as the prior offerings of the facilities study taskforce had recommended.
If there is one area in which the school superintendent's proposal should see favorable light it will be in the area of costs. Witt said earlier that the estimated costs of the proposal that will be placed on the table of school trustees this time around will be much less and much more reasonable than the $60 million to $70 million package that the taskforce recommended last year.
Witt had hoped to bring a recommendation to the school board at its February meeting. However, he delayed that presentation, citing the need to compile additional data and information.
Also Monday night, school trustees will be asked to schedule a work session for later this month on the 1998-99 school year budget. Earlier this year the school board held a public forum to receive comment from citizens on the budget. And, since that time, school system officials have been steadily working to compile data with which to put a budget
proposal together.
Other matters that the school board will consider Monday night include a presentation on the Veterans Memorial Project for Halifax County by Halifax County High School principal Larry Clark, a report on the school system's computer training lab, a report on the Social Studies program at Meadville Elementary School, a report on the Volens Jump Rope Team, the school system's attendance report, and reports on various conferences attended by school board members.
Monday night's consent agenda includes the school system's application for Title I School Improvement Funds, athletic and educational field trips, and a personnel report.
The town of South Boston, which incorporated dozens of existing businesses when town boundaries were expanded January 1, has cleared the way for the construction of seven--perhaps eight more in the next few months.
Included are two--possibly three--restaurants, a second Dollar General Store, and other businesses.
Most of the new construction will be in Riverdale, and this includes the long-talked about Shoney's Restaurant.
Shoney's people were present Wednesday when the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider issuing special use permits to allow this and the other projects.
Andre Smith, who owns the Shoney's in Farmville and who will be part owner of the South Boston Shoney's, said construction will begin soon.
And it should be completed in short order time as well, according to Smith.
"If all goes well, we ought to be eating some strawberry pie in June," he said.
Also, stated Smith, "We will be bringing 50 to 60 jobs to this area," as well as substantial tax monies.
The new Shoney's will be located at 1016 Bill Tuck Highway (Route 58) almost in front of the Riverdale Shopping Plaza.
The Riverdale Plaza also was at the Planning Commission seeking special use permits and, like Shoney's, experienced no trouble getting the planners' endorsement.
The work includes a large amount of space on the east wing of the shopping center, next to the recently expanded Food Lion store.
Already signed up is the Dollar General store, completing the "bookend" configuration with the Dollar General store in Halifax Plaza.
The Riverdale space is sufficient to provide for up to three other retail units, the planners were told.
Also approved was a special use permit for a Sonic Restaurant to locate on the south side of Old Halifax Road (Route 129), just east from its intersection with Route 501.
The site is being sold to Sonic by Ryan's Steak House, which will retain sufficient space for a Ryan's restaurant there in the future.
The special use permit was approved with the condition that Sonic now and Ryan's later will establish a buffer line of trees or shrubs to shield the business activity from the Halifax Memorial Gardens cemetery.
And in the Centerville Shopping Center, petitioners were able to win approval for a special use permit to establish a veterinary clinic that will be located at the end of the south wing, near Powell Road.
There were no requests from citizens to be heard on this matter, but Mrs. Frieda Kipps and six other residents of the area combined to send in a letter questioning whether there would be any penning of animals outside the building that could lead to noise or other problems.
Dr. Kathy Edmunds, who used to work at Halifax County Veterinary Clinic, assured the questioners and others there would be no such problems.
This is "a very workable" enterprise for South Boston, she said. "We think there is great potential in the South Boston area," she said. Dr. Edmunds will practice here full time.
Dr. Laura Smith of Danville, said there is a need here for "small animal quality care," and sought to assure everyone there will be no odors or excessive noise involved.
"Hygiene will be at a premium," she said.
Having okayed all the requests, the planners now will send their recommendations to Town Council for a March 12 public hearing.
The reason special permits are needed for these properties is that all annexed territory went into R-1 (residential) pending the rezoning off all the annexed property, the planners explained.
Doubtless, these new businesses will be zoned for business purposes when that matter comes up for action.
Two education bills sponsored by Del. W.W. "Ted" Bennett of Halifax, one to raise vocational education curriculum standards and the second to require additional training for teachers and administrators, cleared a major hurdle in the Senate this week.
Yesterday, Bennett said he thought chances for the bills were "excellent" as the proposed legislation moves on to the full Senate and to the House and then to Gov. James Gilmore.
The bills passed the Senate Finance Committee 17-0 on Wednesday despite Department of Education opposition.
The delegate tagged the cost of end of course assessments for vocational education as one Dept. of Education concern.
However, that piece was cut, said Bennett, and will be looked at again next year.
The bills are based on a Commission on the Future of Education study, a commission chaired by Bennett.
The vocational legislation's goal is to prepare students not going directly to a community or four year college with the work knowledge and skills necessary for jobs, said Bennett.
"That includes adding the application piece, by integrating math, science, English and social studies into all vocational studies.
"The effort there is to elevate the vocational education course to the same rigor as the advanced diploma track." he added.
"We have many islands of excellence in a general sea of mediocrity in vocational education in the state," said Bennett.
But, he added, the skills students need in the technology age to compete in the workplace "are so much higher than ever before, they need to be armed with this combination of academic and vocational skills so they will be prepared for work and lifelong learning."
Bennett estimated the cost for the vocational education piece at about $250,000 to create a curriculum, "to weave academics into the curriculum." The delegate noted the Department of Education has a very strong ongoing vocational education unit.
The second bill calls for two years professional training for teachers statewide.
"That will give specific course training in new standards of learning content and helping the teachers teach children how to apply the content, how to use it in real world conditions, which is what is done worldwide, which we have not been doing," said the delegate.
The cost estimate on the two-year training program by Bennett was about $34 million to train 60,000 teachers.
The delegate said a part of the bill, starting with the year 2,000, will have teachers take a course of study for initial license or reissue of license in how to work with families to help children learn and to teach children to apply the content courses.
Bennett said a second piece, recommended by the Commission, is a best practices unit within the Department of Education.
The delegate described the unit as a research unit, one that would investigate state, country and internationally successful programs and teaching methods and then disseminate that information and provide to localities technical help in implementing the best practices to make children successful and competitive.
In a 1966 international math test for eighth grade students, Bennett said American students were 29 out of 41. "And it got worse at the twelfth grade level," he added.
"Virginia has to move forward if we are gong to do justice by these kids and the commonwealth," said Bennett.
It could very well go down in the lore of Halifax County legal history, but at any rate, Tuesday's voluntary manslaughter conviction of Michael Angelo Easley, 37, of South Boston is certainly the talk of courthouse square.
An eight-woman, four-man Halifax County Circuit Court jury took several hours to return a voluntary manslaughter conviction against Easley, who shot and killed an unarmed man eight times during the early morning hours of July 26, 1997 in Sinai.
The victim, Jesse Edward Williams Jr., 26, was the live-in boyfriend of his assailant's sister. He was shot in the parking lot in front of their residence at the Country Green Apartments, located just west of the Westside Village Apartments in Sinai.
Not only was Williams unarmed at the time of the shooting, he had walked out of the apartment with a beer in one hand, a pork chop sandwich in the other, and an second beer held under his arm when the incident transpired, according to testimony.
The defendant faced a possible first or second degree murder conviction which would have carried, at least, a mandatory prison term for a use of a firearm while in the commission of murder. Instead, the jury opted for the voluntary manslaughter conviction.
The particular firearm charge was automatically dismissed, since voluntary manslaughter is not the legal definition of murder, officials explained.
"We knew our witnesses were not all that strong," conceded Halifax County Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker Jr. "However, the resulting voluntary manslaughter conviction was not as surprising to us as the the jury's sentencing recommendation."
That recommendation was for no jail time at all. They did recommend Easley pay a fine of $2,500.
Formal sentencing will be handed down next term by Halifax County Circuit Court Judge Charles L. McCormick III. However, circuit court judges rarely deviate from jury recommendations, courthouse observers say.
"From what I understand, there was one jury member who was insisting on an acquittal," Greenbacker related. "I'm not going to directly criticize this jury, but I do think this situation points out an apparent weakness of the judicial system."
Greenbacker stated that the current practice of requiring a unanimous decision by a 12-person jury often creates cases of hung juries or having jury members "cave in (for acquittal or a lesser conviction) to a lone dissenter who refuses to budge."
In its place, Greenbacker would like to see a system where a majority of either three-fourths or five-sixths (nine or ten members) would determine guilt or innocence.
In conjunction with that change, Greenbacker believes the system of allowing the prosecution and defense a certain number of jury strikes during the jury selection process should be eliminated.
"I think in today's society, compared to when our founding fathers drew up this system, many members of juries bring in too much baggage," Greenbacker reflected.
"It is virtually impossible to have a jury nowadays in which at least one member doesn't have some (negative) predisposition towards law enforcement," he said.
Defense attorney Bill Watson of Halifax, who represented Easley, stated that among the problems in this case was the lack of credibility of the prosecution's two lead witnesses, Gail Chandler and Derrick Waller.
"One witness (Chandler) was an admitted crack addict who was taken from a drug treatment center and the other repeatedly testified that he (Waller) didn't pay any attention to important details," reflected Watson.
During his closing arguments to the jury, Watson hammered at the lack of witness credibility, at one point referring to Waller as "Derrick 'I won't-paying-no-attention' Waller."
Waller conceded under cross examination that he had multiple felony convictions for cocaine distribution in the states of New York and Virginia, as well as another felony conviction for check forgery.
Perhaps softening up a portion of the jury for any potential compromise verdict, Watson continuously described the victim as being heavily-intoxicated, an ex-penitentiary inmate, and even related his 6'1" inch, 200-pound size during the opening argument.
"We may feel real safe here in this courtroom in the middle of the day, with all these bright lights, and all the deputies around for security," Watson told the jury. "Maybe we should hold this trial out there (in the parking lot of Country Green Apartments) at two o'clock in the morning, with a huge, drunk maniac from the pentitentary lunging at you."
Instead of offering proposed changes for the system, he chose to characterize the latest case on an individual basis, citing the courtroom reality of a prosecutor not able to choose his witnesses.
"It's certainly not the commonwealth's fault...John Greenbacker is always thorough, works hard, and is never intimidated," Watson said. "I have nothing but the highest regard for his skills as a prosecutor."
Asked if he thought the latest case would cement his local reputation as the top attorney for cases of self-defense, Watson demurred, stating that he was merely "doing his job."
At any rate, whether it would or not is currently beside the point, longtime court observers said. Perhaps, for the first time in decades, officials pointed out, there are no pending murder cases in Halifax County.
By Bruce Wilkins
A year ago, Jennifer Macintosh of South Boston spent several sleepless nights pondering over a major educational decision for her two children: public or private.
After weeks of intensive soul-searching, she and her husband, Doug, decided to send their children to privately-operated Fuqua School, located an hour away in Farmville.
"We absolutely made the right decision," Jennifer Macintosh now says.
Beth Saunders, also of South Boston, agreed. "Naturally, we had a lot of concern about the long bus ride at first," Saunders said. "But, as things settled down, the kids have adjusted well to the ride. It's really not a bad drive at all.
"When you balance out the benefits of such a powerful academic background in such a safe, caring atmosphere, we know we did the right thing," Saunders added.
Fifteen children from Halifax County currently attend the 600-student school and a dozen new local prospects could be added in the fall, according to Carolyn Culicerto, the school's Director of Communications.
"We are really pleased with the response that Fuqua School has from the Halifax County area," Culicerto said. "We know it's a long drive, but we will continue to work extremely hard to see that the effort is worthwhile for both students and parents."
Beth and Harmon Saunders' daughter, Anne Latane, perhaps had the most sterling recommendation for the school of all.
"We told her that it was entirely up to her if she wanted to return to this fall or go back to public school," Beth Saunders related. "She, in no uncertain terms, told us she wants to stay at Fuqua School."
Making the Adjustment
For any eighth grader, fitting into a new school in a new town with a new circle of friends can be a tedious process of adjustment.
Leigh Macintosh, despite initial concerns, has now evolved into a happy student who is thriving in an academically-challenging environment.
"I think, at first, she was a little wary and quite frankly, we had a little concern ourselves," commented her mother, Jennifer. "But I met with the school president (Ruth Murphy) and she addressed our concerns almost immediately."
That flexibility and close working relationship between school officials and parents are major selling points for Fuqua School.
The school prides itself as being on the cutting edge of modern academic reform, but at the same time, adhering to high standards of discipline and conduct.
"It was a major step for me, since I have a background as a public school teacher," Macintosh reflected. "But there's no question that our children are receiving a great education and that's really what it's all about."
Safety and cleanliness of Fuqua School's buildings and grounds is a "virtual given," according to Saunders.
"While we truly appreciate such an environment, what we really have come to respect is the school's willingness to listen," she said. "The communication between school administration, teachers, parents, and children is just unheard of nowadays."
Despite being about an hour away, it is easier to communicate with one's child or his or her teacher than it is from a school right next door, explained Saunders.
"The way Fuqua School is set up, all teachers have their own computer in their classrooms," Saunders explained. "I can e-mail any concern, thought, or suggestion that I have at any time, since my daughter's teacher checks and answers her e-mail three or four times a day."
Medical concerns have been addressed as well, both Macintosh and Saunders point out. Staff at the center can handle "little matters"; the direct communication between parent and teacher can take care of other concerns; and there's a nearby hospital for anything serious, they pointed out.
"We even feel good about the long bus trips because the school has provided such a great bus driver in Mr. (John) Palmer," Saunders said. "He's very responsible and safe and we all trust him with our kids."
Saunders concedes that the trip may indeed be long, but there's not all of the potentially dangerous "stop-and-go" activity that local school buses go through.
Instead, parents bring their children to a central pickup location in South Boston and the Halifax County students later switch to a larger bus at Wyliesburg where they are joined by Fuqua School students from Mecklenburg County, she explained.
"Once they got used to who sits where, the bus trip became a vital period of the day in which kids can safely socialize and even have time to study," Saunders said. "We feel, in an overview, that any negative factor is greatly overshadowed by all the good."
"Gifted" is Universal
When all is said and done about the actual mechanics of attending a school, the bottom line is academics. Surprisingly, however, Fuqua School does not have a "gifted and talented" program.
While the school's president, Ruth Murphy, once headed the gifted and talented program for the 48,000-student Raleigh, N.C. public school system, the academic set-up at Fuqua School is radically different.
"Our school doesn't have a 'gifted program' because we are structured so that the classroom teacher meets the student's needs whether gifted, advanced, or otherwise," Murphy explained.
"Our program allows kids to accelerate where they are gifted," Murphy continued. "All children have the right to be taught where they are performing. Children should not be grouped by I.Q. or ability, but where they are performing."
The individual student and his or her parent can work closely with the faculty and administration in evaluating and fine-tuning any academic direction.
"We had such concerns that our daughter wasn't being challenged enough at one point," Macintosh said. "But we met with school officials and things were worked out quickly and to everybody's satisfaction.
Macintosh remembered a statement made at that point by the school's president, Murphy, which many local parents believe is the central philosophy of Fuqua School: "She told us, 'If we don't know something is broken, then we can't fix it.'"
Alva D. Braddy of South Hill died March 4, 1998.
Her survivors include two daughters: Betty Arthur of South Boston and Barbara Braddy of Virginia Beach; four sons: Harvey of South Boston, Odell of Lacrosse, Kenneth of South Hill and James R. Braddy of Alberta; a sister: Eva Hill of South Hill; a brother: Edward Dawson of Denver, CO; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Services will be held today, March 6 at 2 p.m. at the Crowder-Hite-Crews
Funeral Home. Interment will be held in the Oakwood Cemetery.
James William Harlow of 808 Greenway Drive, South Boston died Tuesday, March 3, 1998 at his home at the age of 46.
Mr. Harlow was born in Charlottesville on May 1, 1951, the son of Mr. William Harlow and Mrs. Juanita Brown and was married to Deborah Thompson Harlow.
His survivors include his wife; two daughters: Latonya Bagbey of Afton and Kimberly Lester of South Boston; a son: Shannon Harlow of South Boston; mother and step-father, Juanita and William Brown of Standardsville; four sisters: Kathy Harlow of Fluvanna, Donna Highlinder of Ruckersville, Darlene Scott of Charlottesville, Robin Norford of Keswick; three brothers: Eddie Harlow of Hickory, NC, Charles Brown of South Boston, Danny Brown of Richmond and three grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Friday, March 6 at 11 a.m. at Powell Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Horace Murray officiating.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to please consider the Halifax County Cancer Association, P.O. Box 875, South Boston, VA 24592.
Rebecca Owen Patterson of Twin Lakes Center, 3905 Calvin Court, Burlington, NC , formerly of South Boston, died March 4, 1998 at Twin Lakes Center at the age of 84.
Mrs. Patterson was born in Nathalie on July 2, 1913, the daughter of Walter E. Owen and Lottie DeJarnette Owen. She was married to the late John G. Patterson Jr. and was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church and the E.C.W. of the church.
Her survivors include her daughter: Patricia P. Spahr of Travelers Rest, SC; two sons: Daniel B. Patterson of Burlington and Dr. Henry O. Patterson of Reading, PA; a sister: Elizabeth O. Younger of Nathalie, nine grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a son, Rev. Dr. John G. Patterson III.
Funeral services will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Norm Baty officiating. Entombment will take place in the Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 7 from 11 a.m. til 12:30 p.m. at Brooks Funeral Home.
The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Halifax County Rescue Squad or a charity of one's choice.
Clarence "Pete" Humphrey of Hwy. 58W, South Boston died March 2, 1998 at Danville Regional Hospital at the age of 75.
Mr. Humphrey was born in Person County, NC on May 16, 1922 to Charlie and Lovey Clay Humphrey. He was educated in the Person County School System and was the owner/operator of Humphrey and Sons Auto Service and Sales. He was married to Lottie King Humphrey for 43 years.
His survivors include his wife; four children: Agne Ingc of Danville, Marva Johnson (Rufus) of Roxboro, NC, Craig Humphrey of South Boston and Tony Humphrey (Donna) of Greensboro, NC; siblings: Cornell Humphrey, Robert Humphrey (Jacqueline), Bernice Sugg (Douglas), all of South Boston, and Clara Foster of Yanceyville, NC and a host of grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 7 at Allen Chapel AME Church, Roxboro, NC at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Vernon P. Burns, pastor, Rev. James L. Thomas presiding. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Viewing will be held Friday, March 6 in the chapel at Kent, Ballou and Crowder Funeral Service, Inc., 308 Ferry Street, South Boston.