The Prizery project has tentatively been awarded $400,000 through Federal TEA-21 funding, Community Arts Center Foundation officials were notified yesterday.
Previously the Prizery has received two grants, one for $75,000 and the second for $400,000, bringing the new total to $875,000.
"This funding will enable us to begin restoration in earnest, to continue the preservation, enhancement, and economic revitalization of the downtown tobacco warehouse district," said Community Arts Center Foundation President Chris Jones.
"This funding, combined with community efforts, will make our dream become a reality," added the CACF president.
The Virginia Department of Transportation received 214 applications this year and recommended 97 for approval with the appropriated amount of $18.6 of federal funds. The projects will go through two final public hearings later this summer.
The Foundation has been working the past year on the preliminary work for the grants with all of the required environmental documentation, as well as working with the Department of Historic Resources.
Interviews with architects are set in July.
Restoration of the Prizery is a phased project to renovate a historic tobacco factory located on Seymour drive in Downtown South Boston along the banks of the Dan River. The Prizery was used to press or "prize" tobacco into large hogshead barrels which were then transported along the Dan River. The Prizery is also located next to the site of the Continuing Education Center Expansion Project. Chris Jones states that the Community Arts Center Foundation is looking forward to working in cooperation with the Halifax Educational Foundation in a concentrated effort to improve the area's competitiveness for economic development and create better job opportunities for area residents.
The Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) established funding and planning provisions aimed at improving community life. It was crafted for projects designed to strengthen the cultural, aesthetic, and environmental aspects of the nation's intermodal transportation system. Transportation enhancement activities are improvements which increase the value or worth of a project or make it more aesthetically pleasing. They provide a "quality-of-life" benefit.
The Community Arts Center Foundation has been fortunate to receive funding for the past three years. This was expressed to the Transportation Board during a Public Hearing for the Allocations of TEA-21 Funds in Salem by Jennifer Mackintosh and Patricia Ward on June 10. Mackintosh thanked the board for their continued support and original investment of $75,000. It was their faith in the project which has led to further development of the historic tobacco warehouse district. Thus far a total in excess of 3.5 million has been generated for the development of The Prizery and the Continuing Education Center Expansion Project. Without the ongoing support of the community, hardworking and dedicated volunteers, The Prizery would still be a dream.

While the Chamber of Commerce has taken no position on the controversial intensive livestock operations, many of its members are concerned and want some answers, Chamber President Carlyle Ramsey said last week.
Their concerns fall into three categories, Ramsey said in a letter to Chamber members.
He said that press reports from neighboring North Carolina indicated that the state had "significant pollution" caused by intensive livestock operations, and the state's governor has estimated that it would take $400 million in state funds to rid the state of livestock pollution.
"What safeguards will be put into place to ensure Halifax County does not encounter similar problems? he said.
Reports are surfacing that new technology will eliminate pollution problems, he said.
"What enforceable regulatory mechanisms now exist or will be put in place to require use of such technology for new operations in Halifax County?" he asked.
Ramsey said that some economic development officials fear that intensive livestock operations would bring few jobs at low wages and are a substantial deterrent to attracting new industries, he said.
"Is this assessment correct?" he asked.
Ramsey's letter follows:
Dear Chamber Member:
The Board of Directors of the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce wishes for me to convey to you several concerns relative to the ongoing discussions centered on intensive livestock operations in Halifax County.
The Chamber Board does not hold itself out as expert in agricultural operations. We have taken no positions as to the accuracy of the facts underlying the differing points of view that have been enumerated. However, in spite of the press coverage and testimony given in a variety of public areas by both local officials and outside experts, many of our members remain unclear on three key questions. They are:
1. Recent press reports suggest North Carolina has had significant pollution and other problems as the result of intensive livestock operations. Governor Hunt is on record that $400 million to be borne by taxpayers-will be required to provide adequate cleanup of polluted areas. What safeguards will be put into place to ensure Halifax County does not encounter similar problems?
2. The press is replete with stories of significant pollution, odor and groundwater depletion associated with these operations. It has also been reported that technology exists to eliminate these in future operations. What enforceable regulatory mechanisms now exist or will be put in place to require use of such technology for new operations in Halifax County?
3. Some economic development officials have indicated that large scale operations of this nature bring few jobs, at low wages and are a substantial deterrent to attracting new industries to the area. Is this assessment correct?
While no response is needed, you may wish to speak with your supervisor to express your feelings or discuss this further. As with any issue, those who participate in the process shape the outcome. Silence will ensure only that your views are neither heard nor considered. Whatever your position, we strongly encourage you to write or contact your elected officials and discuss the issues with them, both to educate yourself, and to advise them of your views.
Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact any Board of Supervisor member or myself.
Very truly yours,
Carlyle Ramsey,
Chairman

WASHINGTON (AP)-The Agriculture Department is directing aid for financially squeezed hog producers to small and medium size operations.
Some $125 million will be released over the next month. Individual payments will be limited to the first 2,500 hogs a farm sold in the last half of 1998, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said Tuesday.
The payments should reach 96 percent of the nation's hog farms, handling 41 percent of the nation's hogs, he said. Hog production has become increasingly concentrated in giant farms that handle thousands of animals at a time.
Pork producers "have suffered extreme difficulty. This will help them certainly," Glickman said.
The Agriculture Department handed out $50 million in similar payments earlier this year, and was authorized by Congress last month to provide up to $245 million for additional payments, government pork purchases or other assistance. It was left up to USDA to decide how much to spend.
Pork prices fell to 8 cents a pound in December, well below the cost of production of about 40 cents.
On Tuesday, hogs were selling in Minnesota and Iowa for 33.5 cents a pound.
Meanwhile, farm-state Democrats tried unsuccessfully Tuesday to add $6.4 billion in general farm aid to a Senate subcommittee's version of USDA's 2000 budget. The proposal fell on a party-line 6-5 vote.
The drop in pork prices has mirrored a general downturn in the farm economy because of a worldwide glut in grain and other commodities.
"Tens of thousands of farmers and their families are losing their livelihood and their life savings," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. "I'm telling you it is a bad situation."
But Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Agricultural appropriations subcommittee, said the Clinton administration should take the lead and propose an aid package of its own.
"We are willing and ready to discuss with the administration," Cochran said. "We've heard nothing."
Glickman later declined to comment on whether the administration would make such a request.
"We do believe there will in all likelihood be the need for additional assistance. I can't tell you what it will be or in what amounts," he said.
"The House on Tuesday moved to give Congress more oversight over trade sanctions that inhibit exports of farm commodities.
The Selective Agricultural Embargoes Act, which passed by voice vote, requires the president to submit a report to Congress within five days of imposing a selective embargo on agricultural goods."

Not only victims but law enforcement will benefit from RN Elizabeth Edmonds' recent forensic training.
"Due to the high patient flow in the emergency room an ER nurse has to operate with both speed and accuracy," said Edmonds.
"But domestic violence and sexual assault patients need extra patience and compassion as well as accuracy to deal with their special needs," said the RN.
Elizabeth "Peaches" Edmonds is that special nurse at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker also welcomes Edmonds' expertise.
Prior to Edmonds' training, there were some local victims who had to be sent to Richmond for part of the physical exam in sexual assault cases.
"The real help comes from the fact we don't have to tie up our people by sending them 110 miles north of here to get these services," explained Greenbacker yesterday. "Recovery of vital information is a lot more rapid."
There are other benefits for law enforcement, according to the commonwealth's attorney, which include: quicker access to medical evaluation; having a medical witness more readily available; easier to schedule law/medical sessions; conservation of police services.
"My purpose is to give better treatment to the victims and help bring the guilty to justice," said Edmonds.
Halifax County Citizens Against Domestic Violence funded Edmonds' training through Henrico County Police Department in Richmond, and Halifax Regional endorsed her leave of absence to take the training.
On duty at Halifax Regional, she is called for any type of alleged sexual assault, domestic violence or child and elderly abuse.
Edmonds is witness to "broken bones, bites, hair pulled out, lacerations to the head" sustained by victims of all ages, male and female.
"The violence is such a cycle," she observed.
Supporters of the program would ultimately like to see a another nurse trained to join Edmonds in ministering to victims here.
Domestic violence crosses all socio-economic groups in all communities, noted Halifax County Citizens Against Domestic Violence past president Connie Marvin.
Dealing with the age-old domestic violence problem with well-trained personnel within the county is a goal Marvin and the Citizens Against Domestic Violence organization continue to support.

South Boston Police were called to several wrecks this week that occurred along Wilborn Avenue near Hupps Mill.
While the accidents occurred near the area where the road is under construction, reports indicate that driver inattention, not roadwork, was to blame in all three cases.
The first accident occurred Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. near Greenway Drive.
Reports indicated that Dave M. Traynham, 33, of South Boston, was traveling south on Wilborn Avenue when Larry J. Hodnett, 50, of South Boston, who was operating a 1992 Buick in front of Traynham, stopped to make a left turn on to Greenway Drive.
The 1989 Chevrolet pick-up driven by Traynham collided with the rear of Hodnett's vehicle, causing an estimated $1,000 damage. Traynham's truck sustained an estimated $1,700 in damages.
Investigating South Boston Officer W.E. Fallen charged Traynham with following too closely.
Both drivers complained of injury and were taken to the emergency room at Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston for treatment.
The following day, officers returned to the area to investigate two more similar wrecks.
Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday a four-vehicle pile-up occurred on Wilborne Avenue near the entrance to Greenway Drive.
Reports indicated that James S. Epps, 23, who was operating a 1985 Chevrolet van, had stopped for traffic when he was struck in the rear by a 1996 GMC pick-up truck driven by a 16-year-old Halifax teen.
A 1990 Mack truck operated by Nathan S. Jones, 19, of Danville, swerved left to avoid the pick-up and struck a 1982 Cadillac operated by Charles L. Coleman, 71, of South Boston, almost head-on.
The GMC sustained an estimated $9,000 damage to the front right side and rear, while the rear of the Epps vehicle sustained approximately $2,000. Damage to the Mack truck was estimated at $1,000, and the left side of the Cadillac sustained an estimated $3,500 in damages.
Investigating South Boston Officer R.D. Edmonds charged the Halifax teen who collided with the Epps vehicle with following too closely.
Edmonds' report also indicated that she complained of injury and was taken to Halifax Regional for treatment in the emergency room.
Approximately two hours later another accident occurred in almost the same spot.
Freda D. Payne, 26, of Nathalie, was driving south on Wilborn Avenue in a 1986 Ford, followed by a 1985 Pontiac driven by James R. Garrett, 20, also of Nathalie.
Police reports indicated that Garrett collided with the rear of the Payne vehicle, causing an estimated $2,000 to his vehicle and $1,000 to the Ford.
Both drivers complained of injury and were treated in the emergency room at Halifax Regional.
Investigating South Boston Police Officer F.M. Edmunds charged Garrett with following too closely.
In other reports, a truck driver ran off Route 360 near Ernie's Restaurant Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. resulting in thousands of dollars in property damage to the truck and a guard rail.
According to a report filed by investigating South Boston Police F.M. Edmunds, Sidney Harvey of Salisbury, N.C., ran a 1987 Peterbilt cab owned by Morgan Drive Away Inc., off the road and into the median along Route 360, taking down a large section of guardrail.
The truck sustained an estimated $25,000 in damages, while it will take approximately $4,000 to replace/repair the guardrail, reports stated.
Harvey, who complained of injuries and was treated at the Halifax Regional Emergency Room, was charged with reckless driving.

A South Boston man was injured in a two-vehicle collision near the intersection of U.S. 58 and Route 501 Wednesday morning.
According to Virginia State Police reports, Kenneth R. Garrett, 37, of Halifax, was injured when he ran into a turning truck and loaded boat trailer.
It was just minutes before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when Garrett, who was operating a 1987 Mercedes, collided with a 1996 Chevrolet pick-up towing a boat and driven by Michael D. Jones, 37, of South Boston.
Reports indicated that Garrett struck Jones as he swung out to make a right turn into a private driveway off of Route 501 about one-tenth of a mile south of U.S. 58
Investigating Trooper D.T. Conner wrote Jones a citation for defective equipment, as the trailer lights allegedly were not functioning.
The Mercedes sustained heavy damage estimated at $8,000, while damage to the Jones vehicle was estimated at $2,000.
Excessive speed and wet roads were blamed in two wrecks later that afternoon, State Police reports indicated.
Kevin Edward Morton, 18, of South Boston, reportedly attempted to avoid a deer shortly before 3 p.m. and ran off of the left shoulder of Wilson Road (Route 740) striking a ditch and overturning one and one-third mile south of Hyco Road.
The vehicle, a 1991 Toyota, came to rest on its top sustaining an estimated $6,000 in damages.
Investigating State Trooper S.M. Krantz charged Morton with reckless driving - driving too fast for road condition.
Three hours later, 18-year-old Jennifer Lynne Bowes, of Nathalie, lost control while driving a 1993 Mitsubishi along Chestnut Road (Route 628) eight-tenths of a mile west of Route 501.
Bowes ran off the left side of the road and struck an embankment, causing an estimated $6,000 to the car.
Investigating State Trooper D.O. Cooper II charged her with reckless driving - driving too fast for road conditions.
A Scottsburg teen avoided injury but not charges when he crashed into a telephone pedestal box early Tuesday morning.
Joel Jeron Jeffress, 19, was operating a 1995 Ford pick-up when he ran off the left side of MacDonald Road (Route 344) and collided with a telephone box and several trees a half mile east of Ellen's Mill Road (Route 719) at 4:45 a.m.
Jeffress was charged with reckless driving and defective equipment by investigating State Trooper G.M. Gilliam.
Gilliam estimated the truck sustained $6,000 in damages.

The Halifax/South Boston Regional Narcotics Enforcement Task Force arrested a third suspect in an alleged crack cocaine ring that was reportedly supplying two states.
Last Friday 32-year-old Michael Alfred Simpson of Raleigh turned himself into local authorities and was arrested on charges of distribution of crack cocaine and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
According to Task Force Sgt. Richard Pulliam, Simpson was originally arrested in North Carolina on the drug charges November 12, 1996. Simpson reportedly has been a fugitive of justice for the past two years.
He is being held in the Blue Ridge Regional Adult Detention Center in Halifax under $25,000 secured bond, Pulliam said.
Simpson is the third suspect to be arrested in an alleged Virginia/North Carolina crack cocaine ring busted by the Task Force in 1997.
According to a Task Force press release, this alleged drug ring was being operated in the Alton area of Halifax County and the Semora, N.C., area.
Previously, Kenneth "Baldy" Harris and Johnny "Mule" Jones were charged and convicted of distributing crack cocaine in this same conspiracy.
Harris was sentenced to three years and Jones was sentenced to 20 years.
In other reports, Task Force agents arrested two men on separate drug charges Tuesday.
Larry "Jolly" Chandler, 47, of South Boston, was arrested and charged with distribution of crack cocaine and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, while 19-year-old South Boston resident Lester Dontrell Lawson was charged with possession of marijuana.
These arrests are part of the Task Force participation in the Police Partnership between the Virginia State Police and South Boston Police Department.
The press release stated that these investigations are continuing and additional arrests are expected.

It wasn't the "Wizard of Oz," but it was every bit as whimsical this week as the new community center flew through the air landing in place at the YMCA.
Instead of a yellow brick road, a yellow crane led the way swinging the modular center's pieces in place as rain began pelting workmen Wednesday afternoon.
The approximately 2,000 sq. ft. modular home, donated to the YMCA by Bret and Dorothy Berneche, owners of Cardinal Homes, is to be used as an education and activity center.
The site will be open during the YMCA's 25th anniversary celebration the weekend of June 25-27.
Within the center, plans call for a large activity center, classroom space, a meeting and training room, which may be used by the Mentor Role Model program, and space for baby-sitting.
Its future use could include after school and child day care services as well as summer programs.
"It is a great gift to the YMCA and we are going to utilize it whenever we have a community need," said YMCA director Bill Harris yesterday.

Halifax County author Pocahontas Wight Edmunds died Tuesday in Richmond. She was 95.
A private burial took place at the cemetery at St. John's Episcopal Church in Halifax. A memorial service for Mrs. Edmunds will be held July 17 at St. John's Episcopal Church.
Active in community affairs, Mrs. Edmunds founded the South Boston Woman's Club and the Halifax County Garden Club.
She was elected president of the Halifax Woman's Club on two occasions.
In 1933, she initiated the Halifax County Homes Tour which features tours of historical homes and directed 15 of those tours.
She was chosen Woman of the Year for Halifax County and has been listed in Who's Who Among American Women.
Mrs. Edmunds was an active member of the Halifax Presbyterian Church as a Sunday School teacher and chairman of World Missions. And, for 17 years she served as a Brownie Scout leader.
A noted author, Mrs. Edmunds wrote 10 books including biographies and sea coast stories of Virginia and North Carolina.
She wrote the definitive history of Halifax County (1,800 pages). A book she wrote on U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes was chosen for the White House library during the Kennedy Administration.
Mrs. Edmunds also spoke often at schools and club meetings about the characters in her books, especially her ancestor, Pocahontas.
In 1956, the Encyclopedia Britannica cited Mrs. Edmunds as an authority on Pocahontas.
While most of her books are out of print, they are in continuous use in school libraries, city libraries, and seven state libraries.
In 1995, Mrs, Edmunds was interviewed for documentaries on Pocahontas which were shown on television in Japan, England, and the United States.
Her manuscripts are at the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia, the Norfolk Public Library, the East Carolina University Library, and at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, Cal.
Mrs. Edmunds was a member of The Writers Club and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of Virginia.
She graduated at St. Catherine's School as the 1921 June Queen. In 1991, she received the Ellott-St. Catherine's Distinguished Alumna Award.
Mrs. Edmunds graduated from Agnes Scott College where intercollegiate debating trained her in research and public speaking.
She continued her studies in French and violin in Paris.
Mrs. Edmunds was born in 1904 to Pocahontas Wilson and Richard Cunningham Wight.
She was married to the late Richard Coles Edmunds who served in the Virginia Legislature, was Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hampden-Sydney College, and was President of the Second National Tobacco Festival.
When the Edmundses retired, they were honored for their 61 years of service to the Halifax Community.
Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Douglas A. Brown of Fairfax and Mrs. St. George Tucker Grinnan, II of Boca Raton, Fla.; one son, Richard Coles Edmunds, Jr. of Richmond; two sisters, Mrs. William Francis Brown and Mrs. Anderson Wade Lamb of Richmond; and one brother, Richard Cunningham Wight, Jr. of Richmond.
Eight grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren also survive.

Elma Graves Trivers, 88, of Gretna died Tuesday, June 15, 1999 at her home.
Mrs. Trivers was born February 10, 1911 in Pittsylvania County the daughter of William Graves and Lillian Robertson Graves and was married to Rev. William Trivers. She was a member of Elba Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Hollis Tyler of the home; one son, Joseph Trivers Sr. of Gretna; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three daughters-in-law, Margaritte Trivers of Danville, Deloris Trivers of Washington, DC, and Helen Trivers of Orlando, FL; a sister-in-law, Maxine Trivers of Columbia, MD.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 19 for Mrs. Trivers at 2 p.m. at Elba Baptist Church by Rev. B.I. Baize with burial to follow in Highland Burial Park, Danville.
The family will receive friends this evening, June 18 from 7 until 8:00 at Miller Funeral Home, and other times at the home.

Joseph Curtis Hodnett, 70, of 3181 Leda Grove Road, Nathalie died Wednesday, June 16, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was the husband of Shirley Vassar Hodnett.
Mr. Hodnett was born in Halifax County on September 16, 1928 the son of Leslie S. Hodnett and Mattie Tucker Hodnett. He was a deacon and active member of Mulberry Baptist Church and a retired building contractor.
Survivors include his wife; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Keith Hodnett and his wife Gwen of Lynchburg and, Wayne Hodnett of Nathalie; one granddaughter, Ashley Ann Hodnett of Lynchburg; one step-grandson, Greg Wilson of South Boston; two sisters, Lillie Wade of Stovall and Rebecca Wood of Lynchburg. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Ethel Wade and Pearl Wade, and two brothers, Elson Hodnett and Elwood Hodnett.

A funeral service for Mr. Hodnett will be conducted at 4 p.m. today, June 18 at Mulberry Baptist Church by Dr. Jerry Jordan and Rev. Malcolm Cadd with burial to follow in the church cemetery.

Annie Daniel 'Miss Annie' Meadows of 1105 Owens Avenue, South Boston died Wednesday, June 16, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital. She was 79 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Meadows was born in Halifax County on December 16, 1919 the daughter of Wesley Lewis Daniel and Lottie Terry Daniel and was married to Isaiah Benjamin Meadows. She was a member of Ingram Memorial Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Survivors include one daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Robbie Harris of South Boston; two sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Jackie Meadows and Terry and Gale Meadows, all of South Boston; two grandchildren, Terry Meadows Jr. of Lynchburg and Todd Meadows of South Boston; two sisters, Thelma Davis of Vernon Hill and Janie Berkley of South Boston.
Funeral services for Mrs. Meadows will be held Saturday, June 19 at 11 a.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Robert Heim conducting the service. Burial will take place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home tonight, June 18 from 7 until 8:30, and other times at the home of her son, Steve Meadows, 201 Merritt Street, South Boston.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Diabetes Foundation.

Lester Vera Bell of 1215 Peach Avenue, South Boston died Wednesday, June 16, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was 81 years of age.
Mr. Bell was born in Monroe County, MS on January 24, 1918 the son of Harold Grover Bell and Nellie Lera Bell Whitlow. He was a member of McCanless Memorial United Methodist Church and was a Veteran of the U.S. Navy, World War II.
Survivors include one sister, Johnnie B. Nichols of South Boston; two brothers, William Bryant Wyatt of Yorktown and Billy G. Wyatt of Hampton.

Funeral services for Mr. Bell will be held today, June 18 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Delia M. Earnhardt conducting the service. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.