Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Supes Ponder Budget, Land Use Tax
Finance Committee Presented $27.1 Million Budget To Board Monday

Supervisors are considering a $27.1 million budget next year that includes a four-cent real estate tax increase per assessed $100 and a 24-cent personal property tax increase.

The board is also considering scheduling a public hearing on a tax break for farmers on either June 21 or 28.

In presenting next year's proposed budget to supervisors Monday night, Finance Committee Chair Doug Bowman told the supervisors that the increase in the real estate tax will generate a little over $1 million that will be used to invest in Phase II capital improvements to the county's schools.

"That's (the real estate tax increase) to generate a $1 million start on the Phase II school program," Bowman said. "That's solely why that's there."
The increases would mean a real estate tax rate of 39-cents per assessed $100 (after the rate was lowered due to reassessment) and a personal property tax rate of $2 per $100, up from the current $1.76 rate, according to County Administrator Joe Morgan.

Following reassessment, the current real estate tax rate is 35 cents per assessed $100, down from 42 cents per assessed $100 prior to reassessment.

The proposed budget is expected to be advertised by June 14 for a June 21 public hearing.

County Administrator Joe Morgan told the supervisors that the total general fund expenditures projected is $27,119,658, with revenues expected to be $25,514,332.

In the operating budget, Morgan said county administration recommends funding the following requests:

• $50,000 in pay hikes for the county's general employees.

"There are no compensation increases in the operating budget," the county administrator said. "Just the required increases for constitutional officers as mandated by the state."

• $50,000 to hire a grants coordinator.

• $25,000 in tax relief for the elderly/disabled.

• $125,000 to switch to a more frequent property reassessment.

"To get that going will take some staff," Morgan said. "Eventually it will return that revenue but there will be some costs to get the biennial reassessment up and running."

• $300,000 investment in water/sewer infrastructure.

• $5,000 in funding for the YMCA.

The recommendations on funding the new requests total $555,000.

The board is also considering recommendations totalling more than $1,590,000 million in capital improvements, Morgan said.

These include:

• $1 million in school building improvement funds that will be funded by the increase in the real estate tax.

• $50,000 in funding for a county history permanent exhibit at the museum.

• $15,000 to fund a tourism brochure.

• $100,000 for solid waste convenience centers.

• $200,000 to replace sheriff's office vehicles.

• $25,000 for field staff vehicle replacement.

• $150,000 for public works vehicle replacements.

• $10,000 to fund maintenance at the Halifax County War Memorial.

Land Use Taxation

Morgan told supervisors that one option to preserve the county's agricultural heritage is to offer farmers a tax break on their property taxes.

"The concept is farmers are taxed on the value of what they can make on the land farming as opposed to the fair market value it could make if developed," Morgan said yesterday.

The goal of offering farmers the tax breaks is to preserve the rural character of the county and to "help people continue to farm."

The county administrator presented a draft ordinance that would implement the special assessment to supervisors, who are working to determine whether to implement the program in the 2005 or 2006 tax year.

Supervisors are currently considering offering the breaks to farmers only, excluding timber, horticulture or open land, according to Morgan.

He said that if supervisors wish to consider the option, county officials recommend holding a public hearing on the issue on June 21 when the hearing on the budget is scheduled.

A $400,000 investment in land use taxation was considered for this year in new requests, but was taken out of the budget in the Finance Committee.

"When you consider it, it has to be put on the books a full year before it becomes effective," Morgan said. "The board has to adopt that ordinance by the June 30 before it comes into play.

"There's a zero amount in there because if you choose to adopt it this year, there will be no cost until next year," he added.

Bowman said that if the ordinance is adopted, it would cost the county around $400,000 a year and could mean a projected increase of 1.5 to 2 cents per assessed $100 on real estate taxes.

That increase could be offset by a more frequent reassessment, Bowman said.

"There's an advantage to doing it more frequently in the money we receive from public utilities," he said.

If the county reassesses property every two years it is projected to translate into around $300,000 a year in additional revenue.

"It would be very convenient for the reassessment to kick in the same year the land use tax rate kicks in," he said. "In my mind, the two compliment each other and the revenue would be accomplishing two objectives at once."

Bowman suggested waiting until 2006 in order to allow the land use tax and the biennial reassessment to begin in the same year.

"I think 2006 is the appropriate year and to do that we have to get started on it," he said.

The matter will be considered during the June 7 board meeting.

Other Business

The board gave notice Monday night that they would be convening in closed session at an undisclosed location within the next 15 days to interview candidates for the position of county administrator.

Board Chairman William Fitzgerald said yesterday that the board had narrowed the field of applicants down to six candidates they plan to interview.

"We had more than 70 applications from all over the country submitted for the position," he said. "We're pretty much in agreement on the six."

Morgan's last day is expected to be in July.

A scheduled update on the financing for Riverstone Technology Park's Building I and II was postponed until the June 7 board meeting.

In a final piece of business, Supervisors Bowman and James Edmunds were appointed to serve on the county-wide water and sewer task force.

The task force will be reviewing options available for the county's water and sewer systems.

Ceremonies Planned For Memorial Day

Halifax County will honor the nation's fallen soldiers in two separate ceremonies this year at the Halifax County War Memorial.

The first ceremony will be planned for Sunday at 3 p.m.

The event is organized by American Legion Posts 8 & 99, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8243, the Halifax County High School JROTC, the Virginia National Guard and the Vietnam Veterans Association.

A second ceremony is scheduled at 2 p.m. Monday, on Memorial Day.

That event is organized by the John M. Jordan Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Halifax Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Col. Thomas Williamson Chapter of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars and the Dan River Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.

The Monday ceremony will honor ancestors who gave their lives for their country during the earlier wars.

Area heritage organizations will conduct a joint wreath laying ceremony.
The public is invited to attend both services to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Supes Receive School CIP Plan
HCMS Could Get Extensive Renovations

Halifax County supervisors got their first look at a proposed $36.5 million Phase II capital improvement plan for the county's schools shortly before approving next year's operating budget on a split vote.

The action came as supervisors met for their reconvened meeting Monday at the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.

In announcing the request for the capital improvement funds, School Superintendent Dennis Witt told supervisors that the money being requested by the school board was less than previously considered.

Original plans for Phase II included $800,000 for roof repairs, for a total request of $37.3 million.

"We feel we've been both diligent and responsible in our request," he said. "And tonight we want to be even more responsible.

"We feel that we can reduce the request by the $800,000 for roof repairs," Witt added.

Contacted yesterday, School Finance Director Bill Covington said the repairs to the county's roofs could be accomplished without borrowing any money.

"We think we can work out of the (existing) capital improvement fund and get the roofs taken care of without borrowing," he said.

Witt suggested the school board had been as conservative as possible in offering the request, saying the board paid for Phase I improvements out of their budget.

"I want to put this into historical perspective," the superintendent said. "The School Board has always been a partner in capital improvements. We financed Phase I of the improvements then we built a track and tennis suitable for a AAA school system.

"And we were criticized for them. Major roof leaks didn't happen until after those commitments (for the track and tennis courts)," he said.

The proposed recommendations for Phase II contain many of those submitted by the Halifax County Advisory Committee on Educational Improvements.

A major portion of the plan submitted by the school system focuses on improvements to the middle school.

School officials plan to invest between $12 and $14 million on improving the middle school including additional classrooms and the upgrade of the school's science labs.

The middle school would also have a "state-of-the-art technology center to provide career exploration and career pathways for all eighth-grade students," according to the proposal.

In the center, students could study career areas including robotics, digital control production, aerospace, arts and graphic design, media production, health and human services, engineering and architectural design and other related arts "as identified by our community."

Approximately $14 million is planned to replace the current Washington-Coleman Elementary School in South Boston.

The new school would house around 650 students in grades preK-6.
It would be designed with a preK-3 pod and a four to sixth-grade pod. The two pods would share the use of the gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium.

If approved,  students who currently attend C.H. Friend Elementary School would move to the new school, and the C.H. Friend building could be used for a magnet school to offer specialized areas of study in the arts and sciences to secondary students.

In the plan, school officials propose investing around $8.5 million in improvements to South of Dan/Cluster Springs elementary schools.

The improvements would provide adequate classroom space, a music room, art room, media center, gymnasium and a covered connecting corridor between each school and facilities shared by the two schools.

Each school is planned to house 325 students.

During Monday's meeting, one speaker questioned the improvements to the two elementary schools.

Joyce Howerton told supervisors that she was "really speaking for the parents, staff and faculty in District 7 (where Virgilina Elementary School students were moved to Cluster Springs and South of Dan elementary schools.)"

"We have questions we'd like answered before anything is considered on Phase II," she said. "We want to see what they plan to do with Cluster Springs and South of Dan.

"We want to know if the school system has done their homework and seen the growth in District 7," Howerton added.

In questioning the submitted plan, Howerton said there had been "tremendous growth" in the district.

"We don't want to see facilities used by both schools," she said. "I think as a parent I deserve to see the blueprints on how the money will be used (in the capital improvements to the two schools). I don't want to see a sketch, I want to see the real thing."

Witt told the board that school officials believe the supervisors should act as quickly as possible on the proposed improvements.

"Every month we delay, the costs continue to grow," he said. "We need your approval to proceed with the architectural and engineering studies."

The capital improvement budget has been taken under advisement by the supervisors, according to County Administrator Joe Morgan.

Comets, Glass Battle Third Time
A Berth In The Northwest Region Tournament Is On The Line As The HCHS Varsity Baseball Team Faces E.C. Glass Here Tonight In The Semifinals Of The Western Valley District Tournament

By JOE CHANDLER | G-V Staff Writer

Tonight is do-or-die night for the Halifax County High School varsity baseball team.

The Comets (15-4 overall, 5-3 district) will face E.C. Glass (9-10 overall, 4-4 district) here tonight at 7 p.m. at Comets Field in one of the two semifinal contests of the Western Valley District Baseball Tournament.

A win by the Comets, the second seed in the tournament, will advance them into Friday night's district tournament championship game and all but guarantee Halifax County a berth in next week's Northwest Region Tournament.

If regular-season champion GW and the Comets win their respective tournament semifinal games tonight, the Comets will be assured of a regional tournament berth.

On the other hand, a loss will end the Comets' season.

"This is what we've been preparing for since the start of the season," said Comets coach Kelvin Davis.

"I think the guys are ready. They know the situation - it's a single-game elimination."

Davis says his players are ready and focused.

"We've been practicing for a week," said the Comets coach.

"We've been going out and having some fun with the guys and still concentrating on what we need to do to get a win. They know what they need to do as far as going out and producing."

The Comets will enter tonight's game fresh off of an impressive 10-0 five-inning road win over Franklin County last Tuesday.

That contest was something of a "must win" situation for the Comets in that they needed the win to lock up second place and the home field for tonight's game against the third seeded Hilltoppers.

"Sometimes we've been to Franklin County and not played well," Davis pointed out.

"Going up to Franklin County and playing as well as we did showed a lot of class. Hopefully we can take that into tournament play."

The best thing about the win was that some of the Comets players who had been in a recent hitting slump broke the ice.

"That will boost those guys' confidence up a lot," Davis pointed out.
"We're still getting a tremendous job from our pitchers (Tyler Clarke, Jeremy Jeffress, Robert Carter and Jason Lloyd) on the mound.

"Everybody is really focused about it and are real excited about the tournament," he continued.

"We hope we can go out and play well."

One advantage the Comets will have tonight is playing at home in front of what Davis hopes will be a large and enthusiastic crowd of Comets fans.

"Playing at home is big," said Davis.

"Anytime you can play at home and get the crowd involved in the game it's good. Plus, we know how the field plays."

Davis cautions, however, that while the home-field edge is good, his team still has to play good baseball in order to be successful tonight.

"When we hit the field, it's another ballgame," he pointed out.

"We've got to go between the lines. We've got to play baseball. We've still got to play fundamentally sound baseball."

The Comets are facing a tough opponent tonight in E.C. Glass.

Both of the regular-season games between the two teams were decided by one run.

In the first meeting in Lynchburg, E.C. Glass won 4-3 in a 10-inning thriller.
When the Hilltoppers came here, the Comets made an early unearned run stick in a 1-0 win.

Davis says he is expecting another similarly close contest tonight.

"We've always had a little trouble with E.C. Glass and struggled a little with our bats against them," Davis noted.

"We know we've got to come out and execute and try to get them down early.

"Glass is a scrappy team that just keeps knawing at you," continued Davis.

"If we let them stay in the ballgame, they will do things like they did up there in Lynchburg. We had them through six innings and then the floodgates opened.
"If you get a team down early it does some things to you mentally," continued Davis.
"Hopefully, we can be on the positive side of that, get some runs early. If we do get down, hopefully we won't give up and we'll keep fighting."

Davis said a key to tonight's game will be his players' ability to put the ball in play against E.C. Glass' ace hurler Jared Bolden, the hurler he anticipates his team will see on the mound.

"We know we've got to put the ball in play and make them (Glass) make plays," Davis pointed out.

"I think if we can hit the ball around on them we'll be alright. If we can put the ball in play, I think we can make them (Glass) boot the ball around a little bit."

Perhaps the toughest decision Davis will have to make tonight is designating his starting pitcher.

Jeffress has had two very solid outings against the Hilltoppers this season.

He pitched nine complete innings and fanned 12 batters in the Comets' 4-3 loss to the Hilltoppers in Lynchburg and held the Hilltoppers to just four hits in the Comets' 1-0 win.

On the other hand, Clarke, the team's winningest hurler with a 7-1 mark, is also available to go.

"The coaching staff is going to get together and talk it over and talk about the situation we're in," Davis explained.

"We threw Jeremy the first time and he threw a heck of a game. We threw him again here. We're wondering whether or not we've thrown him (Jeffress) too much at them or should we bring in Tyler who is throwing the ball with a lot of command right now.

"It's kind of a toss-up," added Davis.

"It's a big decision and we're going to take a lot of time with it. Either way we go, we have two quality pitchers we can throw at them and I'm going to be comfortable with the decision."

Obituaries

Alice Maria Wilborn Davis

Alice Maria Wilborn Davis, 80, of 1096 Garrett's Trail, Clover died May 22 at St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond.

Mrs. Davis was born in Halifax County on June 30, 1923, the daughter of the late Charles Wilborn and Lucy Farrar Wilborn. She was a member of Bethel Grove Baptist Church and was married to the late Algie Davis Sr.

Survivors include two daughters, Esther Richardson of Clover and Myrtle Traynham of Halifax; four sons, Roy Davis of Saxe, Algie Davis, Herbert Davis and Clinton Davis, all of Richmond; one sister, Charity Garrett of Clover; one brother, Matthew Davis of Richmond; 15 grandchildren; and 16 great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services for Mrs. Davis will be held today, May 26 at 1 p.m. at Bethel Grove Baptist Church with the Elder Kemdrick Jones officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the home.

Willie Lee Parrott Wiles Emory

Willie Lee Parrott Wiles Emory, 88, of Nelson died May 24 in South Boston.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow, May 27 at Nelson Baptist Church, of which she was a member.

Mrs. Emory was employed with Craddock-Terry Shoe Corporation and retired from Harriett & Henderson Yarns.

The family will receive friends this evening from 7-9, at Watkins Cooper Lyon Funeral Home.

Survivors of Mrs. Emory include her sons and daughters-in-law, Charlie and Jane Wiles and Earl and Judy Wiles, all of Virgilina, Floyd Wiles, Payton and Ann Wiles, all of Nelson; a daughter, Helen 'Irene' Ford of Henderson, N.C.; 14 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands, John Henry Wiles and Henry Alford Emory.

Edna Seamster Smith

Edna Seamster Smith, 71, of Clover died May 24 in Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Smith was born in Halifax County on January 15, 1933, the daughter of the late Drewy Seamster and Annie Mae Wilmouth Seamster and was married to James H. Smith Sr. She attended Living Waters Church of God and was a retired employee of Tultex.

A funeral service will be held tomorrow, May 27 at 2 p.m. at Brooks Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Ricky Bibee and Mike Allen officiating. Burial will follow in Clover Cemetery.

Survivors of Mrs. Smith include her husband; three daughters, Carol Martin and husband, Bobby, Elsie S. Bishop and husband, Tim, all of Clover, Barbara S. Wade and husband, Tommie, of Scottsburg; six sons, James H. Smith Jr., David Wayne Smith, Michael Smith and wife, Crystal, Andy Smith and wife, Kathy, and David L. Smith, all of Clover, and Keith Smith and wife, Vicky, of Brookneal; 20 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; special friend, Lucille Wilmouth of Clover; special cousin, Violet Hazelwood of South Boston; two brothers-in-law, Dick Smith and Pete Smith, both of Providence, N.C.; two sisters-in-law, Babe Wyatt of Gatewood, N.C. and Boo Wells of Ringgold.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Living Waters Church of God.

Lillie Mae Wilborne

Lillie Mae Wilborne, 73, of South Boston died May 24 at her home.

Mrs. Wilborne was born in Danville on February 18, 1931, the daughter of the late Willis Henry Wilborne and Ila Virginia East Wilborne and was married to the late Jefferson Davis Wilborne Jr. She was a member of Second Baptist Church.
Graveside services will be held tomorrow, May 27 at 11 a.m. at Oak Ridge Cemetery with the Rev. Jim Smith officiating.

Survivors of Mrs. Wilborne include four sons, Michael R. Wilborne of South Boston, Jerry Allen Wilborne of Ft. Myers Beach, Fla., Timothy Glenn Wilborne of Orange Park, Fla., and Larry Davis Wilborne of Clays Mill; one daughter, Linda Wilborne Conner of South Boston; 8 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by one daughter, Patricia Ann Siddle.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Halifax County Cancer Association.