The Old Belt Tobacco market will open a week later this year than it did in 1998, South Boston Board of Trade Sales Supervisor Teresa Pool announced Tuesday.
Early in the morning of August 10, local growers and buyers will gather at the Star Tobacco Warehouse to open the local market with carryover sales.
Last year the market opened August 4 with an average opening day price of $177.90 per hundred weight for carryover leaf. The average price for the year was $176.65 per hundred weight.
According to Kevin Bohon, Executive Director of the Halifax County Farm Services Office, 1,585,595 pounds of carryover tobacco has been reported for this year.
Due to two warehouse merger deals over the past year, there will be sales at three South Boston warehouses this year, the Star, the Victory and the New Brick/Planters Warehouse.
Most recently in June, The Banner, owned and operated by Andy Anderson, and The Star tobacco warehouses merged and consolidated sales in to newer Star facility, owned and operated by D.T. Neal at 2202 Parker Avenue.

In March, George Tribble and Charles Payne announced their plans to consolidate all their sales from the Independent and New Brick/Planters warehouses into the Planters Tobacco Warehouse located on Wilborn Avenue and First Street.
Payne, former partner of the late T.P. Nelson, operated the New Brick-Planters Warehouses since 1963, while Tribble has operated the Independent Warehouse for approximately the same time.

The mergers resulted from new packaging techniques (baled tobacco) that require less floor space and shrinking quotas, owners said.
Pools said there will be some changes in the sale season this year , as well.
"There will be more poundage sold per day," Pool said. "The average amount sold per day will increase from 450 pounds to 650 because of packaging size takes about a third of the space, and there's also a decrease in the number of buyers. The consolidation of markets and companies cutting back and doing the same job with less people also contributed to this."

Pool said the market season will also be shortened to avoid overlap with the burly selling season.
Sales will begin at the Star, which is the newest local facility, at 8:30 a.m. August 10
The markets in Georgia and Florida will be the first to open this year, with sales beginning Tuesday, July 27. This will be followed August 3 by the South Carolina and Border Belt opening August 3, and East Market opening August 4.

The Voting Rights Act has required permission from the U.S. Justice Department before any changes could be made affecting voting and elections in the South since 1965, but Virginia localities, including Halifax County, are taking a look at pre-clearance bailout.
"It is just an opportunity to eliminate a bureaucratic step," explained Halifax County Administrator Dan Sleeper yesterday.
"It doesn't eliminate anyone's right to challenge or to object to any action concerning voting taken by a local governing body," emphasized the administrator.

The current pre-clearance process "costs us time and money because it locks up our office two or three days to fill out data," explained Sleeper. In addition, he said legal advice may be needed to complete required reports.
One current example is the county's attempt to move the voting station from the Clover fire station to the town's former administration building.
"It costs a lot of money for pre-clearance," said the administrator. Copies of all court orders and all records affecting the change must be submitted to the Justice Department.
"They want everything related to the action," added the administrator.

In the past, Sleeper said packets weighing two to three pounds have been mailed to the Justice Department.
Due to South Boston's reversion, annexation and to Clover revoking its charter, Sleeper said the county has had more changes than usual requiring Justice Department approval.
Recently, Sleeper and Joe Satterfied, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, met in Danville with officials there.
Danville's city council is expected to vote July 6 on whether to proceed with the pre-clearance bailout process.
Sleeper estimated yesterday it could cost $10,000 to $12,000 to obtain pre-clearance bailout.
The county administrator said the matter might come before supervisors for review next month.

By DAVID REED
Associated Press Writer
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - Fred White's footsteps crackle across a parched pasture, and his mid-cornfield view is much too good. Normally, the stalks would be head high this close to the Fourth of July, blocking the sight of anything beyond.
But White's corn plants are barely at knee level, the leaves are curling from lack of moisture and the Rockingham County farmer said he's worried about losing his entire crop.
''They just haven't grown up,'' White said Monday.
According to the Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service, scattered rainfall across the state has brought some relief. But pastures are in terrible shape, causing some farmers to sell cattle herds, and cornfields need rain desperately.
The corn is in a critical growing stage - the stalks are beginning to grow tassels and silk - and 65 percent of corn crops are in poor or very poor shape, said a report released Monday by the crop service.
Because of the evaporation rate, Virginia's rainfall deficit actually increased last week, said researcher Jerry Stenger of the State Climatology Office.
The state is averaging 4 inches below normal precipitation for this time of year, the 16th-driest first six months of the year this century. Stenger said taking last year's drought into consideration, it's been drier only once before - during the Great Drought of 1930-31.
The 12-month period, from July 1, 1998 through June of this year, is the second driest this century, Stenger said.
Coincidentally, Virginia farmers this month began receiving federal crop disaster assistance - from the crops lost last year.
Congress authorized the aid for farmers who lost more than 35 percent of their historic yields due to natural disasters such as drought. In Virginia, about 3,500 farmers will receive $21 million in assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.
For some farmers, this is shaping up to be the third year in a row they've had significant crop losses because of dry weather.
Robert Hall, a grain farmer in the Northern Neck, said the federal aid helps, but it's not enough to bail a farmer out of trouble.
Counties receiving the most assistance include King William, Caroline, Halifax, Accomack, Northampton, Scott and Rockingham.
Rockingham County Cooperative Extension agent Pete Martens said farmers are having to sell cattle because the pastures are too dry to feed them. Normally, about 300 cattle are sold in the county during the month of June. After a ''drought sale'' of cattle last week, more than 1,000 had been sold.
White, president of the county Feeder Cattle Association, said he was lucky last year because his farm seemed to be a magnet for scattered summer thundershowers, while some neighbors remained parched.
''This year, everybody's having a tough time,'' he said.

The Halifax County School Board will spend more than $1 million for renovating the former Craddock-Terry Shoe Corporation factory to become the site of the Halifax Career Center.
Bids for the construction and renovation work unanimously approved by the school board Monday night totaled $967,188.
Another $89,987 was added for additional floor work not included in the original bid package, bringing the total to $1,057,175.
A previous cost estimate school system officials gave to the school board in January was approximately $742,000.
"This is obviously more than we anticipated," said county school superintendent Dennis Witt.
"But, we feel we are getting a lot for the money."
Witt pointed out the school system has funds available in its capital improvement fund coffers to cover the costs.
He also said that there will additional costs for furniture and computers for the building.
Funding for the computers will come from the technology portion of the school system's budget and the expenses for the furniture will come out of the school board's general operating budget.
The expenditure approved by the school board is approximately $300,000 over the price tag school system officials had estimated when they presented preliminary cost estimates to the school board in January.
In January, Witt gave the school board preliminary cost estimates for the renovations totaling $1,192,500.
He pointed out that if the school system acted as its own general contractor and school system maintenance employees performed certain portions of the work, the net estimated cost would be about $742,000.
"It still seems a bargain in the big picture," Witt said.
The project includes renovating 20,000 square feet of the building to provide a fast food kitchen, a nursing assistants program, a computer lab, 10 classrooms, a cafeteria area that can also be used for public meetings, new offices, restrooms with new plumbing and fixtures, and night time adult education training access.
Site work including connecting the building to the Town of Halifax water supply across the street from the building, a new line to existing fire protection system, new exterior sanitary system, widening of the entrance and access road, and installing new fire protection equipment including new piping and sprinkler heads throughout the area.
H&H Enterprises got the bid for exterior work with a bid of $73,775. Halifax Paving Co. got the bid for civil, site work with a bid of $63,226, and GMW General Contractors, with a bid of $589,500 got the bid for the general construction work.
Southern Air got the bid for the mechanical work with a bid of $141,000, Fire Sprinkler, Ltd. got the bid on the fire protection equipment with $29,700, and Kline & Sons Cement Repair, Inc. got the bid for the floor repairs with a bid of $69,987.
School system maintenance director Larry Roller said he felt good about the bids.
"I was disappointed I didn't have any local general contractors show an interest in it," Roller stated.
"We've only got two that could handle it and both are up to their ears in work."
Roller acknowledged, like Witt, that the expenditures have amounted to more than originally anticipated.
The first original estimate for the project, an estimate unveiled in June of last year was $367,760, not including an estimated additional $78,000 worth of future site work that would be needed.
"What we had then," Roller said, "was 10 classrooms inside as factory. There was no fast food kitchen, there were no offices, and there was no cafeteria."
Roller pointed out the renovations and construction work that will be done to the building were heavily weighed with durability and ease of supervision in mind.
"This is going to be a modern educational facility that will be low maintenance, energy efficient, and functional for a long time."
While the approval of the bids for the work on the facility was high on the list, school system officials also passed word on to the school board that the facility will not be ready for use until January.
Witt said work is expected to be completed December 1 and classes there will not begin until the start of the second semester of school in January.
Witt and school system officials had expressed hope earlier this year that the project could be completed in time for the facility to open at the start of the new school year in September.
But, in recent months, it became more and more likely that a more realistic opening date would be in January.
"We didn't buy the building until November a year ago," Witt told the school board.
"To be completed in 13 months is not bad."
The initial enrollment at the facility is expected to 100 students, however, the building will have a capacity to serve 200 students.
Also, the building will have plenty of room for future expansion with an additional 25,000 square feet of floor space still available for use.

It will be two to three months before Adelphia Cable begins work on a larger building they need as they upgrade approximately 200 miles of cable, Adelphia General Manager Luke Matthews told South Boston Current Issues Committee members Monday night.
The cable company has agreed to continue renting the property along Cavalier Boulevard that fronts Hamilton Boulevard for the next five years for the annual charge of $2,000, a $350 increase over their current rent, and came before the committee to explain their building plans.
"We will be making improvements to the cable service and need to replace our current building, which is far too small," Matthews said, adding that the company is now in the process of field testing the new cable design, and hopes to complete everything about this time next year.
According to Matthews, the new fiber-optic cable will increase the company's capacity to broadcast and as a result, around 12 channels will be added and picture quality will improve, as well.
The new building (30x40 feet) will be about three times as large as the current facility.
As Adelphia has invested so much into the property, Matthews questioned whether the lot could be purchased from the town.
Mayor Glen Abernathy said any town property must be sold at auction, but Matthews might want to contact the Industrial Development Authority to find out other possibilities.
Town Manager Ted Daniel announced that work will begin any day at the future site of the Penick Avenue Community Park, which will replace the old pool there.
Daniel said the concrete in and around the pool will be broken up and used to fill in the hold, and the ground must be allowed to settle before the playground can be constructed on the site.
In the meantime, Abernathy suggested work should also be done on the covered picnic shelter so it can be used as soon as possible.
In a related issue, Daniel reported that negotiations are still underway to establish a swimming and transportation schedule for local youth.
He explained that Recreation Director Matt McCargo and YMCA Director Bill Harris are working together to set up a time for public swimming, and another man has offered to drive children to the Staunton River State Park to swim.
Also Monday night, Daniel announced that the Town is getting ready to fill two important positions.
Daniel said the town will advertise for the position of Public Works Director and Zoning Administrator in the near future.
Public hearings on proposed revisions to the town zoning map have been scheduled to be held in the Town Council Chambers on Yancey Street, July 7 and July 12.
Both public hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
The public is asked to note that the July 12 Town Meeting will start early in order to allow for a special presentation by Halifax County Educational Foundation Chairman Chris Lumsden concerning the Continuing Education Center (CEC) Expansion Project.
Abernathy announced that the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Daniel encourages the public to review the proposed changes to the Zoning Map, and the map can be viewed at the Office of the Town Manager, 455 Ferry Street, South Boston.
Requests for road work along McPhail Drive will have to wait, committee members decided.
Although McPhail Drive residents submitted a petition requesting curb, gutter and asphalt work, they will have to wait until the road can be considered with all the others during street work prioritization.

By DOMINIC PERELLA
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Starting Thursday, Virginians will have a host of new laws on their side if they run into trouble with their health maintenance organizations.
The ''Patients' Bill of Rights'' - a handful of regulations designed to rein in HMOs - was among the 1,042 new laws passed by the 1999 General Assembly and signed by Gov. Jim Gilmore. Most of the laws take effect July 1.
The HMO legislation lets Virginians designate a specialist as their primary care physician. It also gives people easier access to specialists and puts more pressure on HMOs to cover clinical drug trials for terminally ill patients.
About one quarter of Virginia's six million residents will be directly affected by the new laws, according to medical industry estimates.
''The provision that lets you stay with your specialist ... should affect people right away,'' said Bill Cimino, spokesman for the Medical Society of Virginia. ''It's important that people have a good patient-doctor relationship, and this will ensure that you'll be able to keep the doctor that you trust throughout your illness.''

Also among the new HMO laws is a provision letting people appeal coverage denials to an independent board. That piece of the package takes effect sometime between Thursday and July 1, 2000, depending on when state regulators finish ironing out the details.
New laws aimed at curbing the flow of out-of-state trash into Virginia also were to take effect Thursday. But Waste Management Inc., which filed a lawsuit challenging the laws, asked a judge to keep them off the books while the suit is pending. Richmond Circuit Court Judge James Spencer conducted a hearing on the premilinary injunction request Tuesday.
The legislature passed the laws at Gov. Jim Gilmore's urging after data showed Virginia was the nation's No. 2 importer of out-of-state waste. The laws try to slow garbage imports by capping landfill growth. They also ban garbage barges from three state rivers, prohibit barge facilities from receiving municipal waste and more tightly regulate trash trucks on Virginia highways.
Another change in Virginia law fixes a loophole that prosecutors say may enable thousands of juvenile prisoners to challenge their convictions and win new trials.

Under the old state law, prosecutors were supposed to inform both parents when a minor is arrested. But many juvenile criminals come from single-parent homes, and for years some prosecutors have only been informing one parent about arrests.
Earlier this month, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors have been violating the law all along. The court ordered a new trial for a juvenile convicted of unlawful wounding and attempted robbery because only his mother was notified of his arrest. The next week, the court stayed the execution of a juvenile murderer for the same reason.
One local prosecutor, Toby Vick of Henrico County, said the ruling likely will choke court dockets with requests to throw out convictions.
A small consolation for prosecutors: The dilemma won't be popping up again in cases after July 1. The new law states that only one parent must be told if a juvenile is arrested

NEW YORK - Philip Morris U.S.A. today announced that it is withdrawing future financial support to the National Smokers Alliance (NSA) in reaction to an ethics complaint filed against Senator John McCain (R-AZ).
"Philip Morris does not in any way support or condone the NSA ethics filing," said Eller Merlo, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Philip Morris U.S.A. "In fact, we hereby condemn it."
The company's views were set forth in a letter delivered today from Michael Szymanczyk, President and CEO of Philip Morris U.S.A. to Senator McCain.
Ms. Merlo said the filing of the ethics complaint was "undertaken without authorization, communication or coordination with Philip Morris in any way whatsoever." She added that while the company has had serious public policy disagreements with Senator McCain, those debates have not weakened the belief that Senator McCain is "anything other than a public servant of the highest integrity and ethical standards."
Ms. Merlo said the NSA's action went well beyond its role as a voice of adult consumers who choose to smoke.
"Because the National Smokers Alliance is no longer in alignment with the values and beliefs that guide the conduct of business at Philip Morris, henceforth we will be withdrawing all of our financial support from the organization," Ms. Merlo said.
The company said it would meet all existing legal and contractual obligations to the organization and its employees, but would not provide any future funding.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 1 at 2 p.m. at St. Paul CME Church for Rev. Dothes Thomas Edmonds of 125 Glendale Drive, South Boston. Revs. George Brown and Samuel C. Terry will officiate with burial following in the church cemetery.
Rev. Edmonds died Saturday, June 26, 1999 at Berry Hill Nursing Home at the age of 89.
He was born in Halifax County on March 20, 1910 the son of Booker T. Edmonds and Mary Venable Edmonds and was married to Millie Stephens Edmonds. Rev. Edmonds was a member of St. Paul CME Church and was former pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Saxe.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, John Edmonds, Deacon James Edmonds and Rev. Thomas Edmonds, all of Albany, NY; one daughter, Sarah Kirby of Halifax County; 13 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; 33 great-great-grandchildren and two daughters-in-law.

The family will receive friends this evening, June 30 from 7 until 8:00 at the Chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home.

James Edward Crawley of 1041 Back Street, Halifax died Saturday, June 26, 1999 at Halifax Regional Hospital. He was 57 years of age.
Funeral services will be held Friday, July 2 at 2 p.m. at the Chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home with Rev. Sylvester Crawley officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Garden Cemetery.
Mr. Crawley was born in Halifax County on September 16, 1941 the son of Jannie Crawley Edmond and James Thomas and was married to Yvonne Brame Crawley. He was a member of Owens Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter Charmaine Crawley of Hamden, CT; two sons, Charles Brame of Scottsburg and James Crawley of Hopewell; three grandchildren; and a devoted friend, Velma Baldwin of Halifax.
The family will receive friends at the home.

Deacon William Booker Dennis of South Boston died Friday, June 25, 1999 at his home.
Deacon Dennis was born in Halifax County. He is survived by one daughter, Louise Payne of Brookneal; two sons, William Dennis of Waldorf, MD and John Dennis of Washington; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one sister, Marie Canada of Brookneal; and one brother, James Clark of Brookneal.
Funeral services will be held Friday, July 2 at 3 p.m. at Murphy Grove Baptist Church in Halifax with Rev. Herman Robertson officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Crawford, Garrett & Burton Funeral Chapel Thursday evening from 7 until 8:00, and other times at the home, 116 Rosehill Drive, Apt. 4, South Boston.