A resident of Richmond who has taken up the fight to get speed limits changed across the state has a new target- Route 129, or South Boston's North Main Street between Hamilton and Dan River Church Road.
South Boston Town Manager Ted Daniel received a fax alleging that the stretch of roadway is illegally posted as a 25 mph zone from J.J. "Joe" Bahen Jr. on Friday.
Bahen, who is an engineer by profession, has gained celebrity after his success at having several illegally posted speed limits changed throughout the state.
"My goal down there is the same as everywhere in the state, to see the speed limit is legally posted," Bahen said.
He said he was alerted to the problem by a local citizen.
"On June 1, 2002, a citizen of Halifax County alerted me to the improperly posted speed limit in South Boston," Bahen said Friday.
"My investigation revealed that the 25 mph. speed limit north of Hamilton Boulevard had been posted without authority in law, and without the slightest engineering justification whatsoever," he added.
Bahen said that in order to change the speed limit, a governing body must make an ordinance change based on an engineering and traffic investigation.
"The speed limit on Route 129 was decreased on May 6, 1996, by a city council 'motion,' not an ordinance.
"The motion was based on a petition signed by 21 citizens, not the required engineering and traffic investigation," Bahen said.
"Since there is neither an ordinance nor an engineering and traffic investigation on file, the 25 mph speed limit on State Route 129 is unlawfully posted," the engineer concluded.
He added that Virginia Code 46.2-875 applies:
"The maximum speed limit shall be thirty-five miles per hour on highways in any city or town, except on interstate or other limited access highways with divided roadways and in business or residence districts."
"If they decide to argue that that stretch of road is a residential district, I would file a petition for declaratory judgement and make a judge decide based on the law," Bahen said.
Bahen quoted a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that states a residential district has to have 75 percent of road frontage covered by occupied dwellings.
The South Boston town manager said Bahen is entitled to his opinion.
"There is a state code and provision that states the maximum speed on a highway through a business and residential district is 25 mph," Daniel said, citing Virginia State Code 46.2-874.
"We'll investigate, but we're not going to change anything without doing it properly," the town manager added.
Daniel said town council would look into it at their July work session.
"He's made some statements of opinion that he feels are factual, and he is entitled to his opinion," Daniel said. "But that doesn't make it so."
"We don't rush into anything, we will give it due process and due thought and then take action," Daniel said.
South Boston Police Chief Jim Hall said he wasn't aware the town was doing anything illegal.
"My response to that is we are in compliance with the Virginia State Code and the town code," Hall said.
"I will tell you that the accidents on that stretch of road have decreased since the speed limits were lowered," he added.
The chief said that although he isn't an attorney, he isn't aware of any problems with the speed limit.
"It's inconceivable to me that we have an illegal 25 mph speed limit in the town when so many other towns in the state have them," Hall said.
"Anything that was done was done by the authority of the town council," he added. "They make the policy, and we follow that policy."
Hall said he didn't know whether an engineering study was conducted.
Bahen also alleges the proceeds from the speeding tickets are being used in the South Boston town treasury instead of where the Virginia Constitution mandates they should go.
"The proceeds from fines are being deposited to the South Boston treasury rather than the state Literary Fund.
"The Virginia Constitution is perfectly clear: 'The proceeds from all fines collected for offenses committed against the Commonwealth' must be credited to the Literary Fund," Bahen said, citing Article 8 section 8 of the Virginia Constitution.
"In order to circumvent the Constitution of Virginia and defraud the Literary Fund of the fines, South Boston passed 102-3," Bahen said.
Section 102-3 is the section in the South Boston Town Code that adopts state law into the town.
"Whenever victims get a speeding ticket, they are charged with a violation against the town rather than against the commonwealth," he said.
He said that in order to lawfully deposit the fines to the local treasury, the locality would need to demonstrate that speeding on North Main Street is not an offense against the Commonwealth.
Daniels said that all fines generated through speeding tickets are processed through the court system.
"The courts then disburse the funds according to state law," Daniels said.

The Danville National Guard battalion, which includes the South Boston battery, was notified Friday that it may be activated.
Approximately 350 soldiers of the 246th Field Artillery will be affected.
"I expect a mobilization order within the next 10 days," Colonel Dexter Gilliam said yesterday.
The battalion's destination is unknown at this time, according the colonel.
He said that the Danville battalion was given a warning order Friday that it may be activated.
"The unit was notified Friday afternoon. We got the word, met with the commander of the battalion Friday and he met with the soldiers," Gilliam said.
The 246th Field Artillery, with augmentation from Echo Battery in Sandston, includes three firing batteries, one in South Boston, Chatham and in Martinsville. Battalion headquarters is in Danville

The Scottsburg community is gearing up for the 21st Annual Fourth of July celebration Thursday.
Pack up the kids and plan to join your friends and neighbors who are celebrating America's birthday in Scottsburg.
The traditional parade begins at 10 a.m., with the official opening ceremony taking place at 11:30 a.m.
Carolyn Strom will perform the "Star Spangled Banner," with "God Bless America" performed by Gracie Meadows.
There will be live music all day, with the Monroe Boys kicking things off at 1 p.m.
The crowd will have plenty of entertainment, including gospel, country and bluegrass acts taking the stage throughout the day.
The schedule for the remainder of the day follows:
2:00 p.m. - Heather Blount Elliott
2:30 p.m. - Crystal Day
3:00 p.m. - Country Grass
3:45 p.m. - Soggy Bottom Boys
4:00 p.m. - Kyle Martin and the Get Together Band
5:00 p.m. - Tabitha and Eric Martin
5:30 p.m. - Jamie Wade
6:30 p.m. - Heather Blount-Elliott
7:30 p.m. - Easy Street
9:00 p.m. - Raffle Drawing
9:45 p.m. - Fireworks.
In addition to the musical entertainment, there will be arts and crafts booths along with games and kiddie rides.
The Halifax County Model Airplane Club will be on hand, flying their airplanes over the area throughout the day.
The menu for the event includes BBQ and fried chicken, Brunswick stew, lemonade, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and dessert.
All proceeds from the event benefit the Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department.

Most of Halifax County's industrial work force will be idle this week as the nation celebrates Independence Day.
For most of the county's industrial employers, 2002 has hardly been a year to celebrate successes as the economic slowdown continues to claim jobs.
In Halifax at Burlington Industries, 258 looms will be shut down for the entire week only to be restarted briefly and then taken out forever by August 5.
In better times, twice that many looms and an equal number of employees wove worsted woolen fabric as part of a network of facilities that composed the nation's largest producer of textiles.
Hard times and foreign competition forced Burlington in 2001 to seek protection under the nation's bankruptcy laws, but it would not save plants located in Halifax or neighboring Clarksville.
In Halifax, the last 300 workers will walk away from their jobs on August 5 and never return. Clarksville goes down a month later.
One-by-one, looms that once produced millions of yards of fabric are being taken out of production.
Many have already been removed from the Halifax plant and sometime in late August, the remainder will be disassembled and trucked away.
What's left will likely be sold at auction and either put back into production somewhere else or simply scrapped. As of now, there has been little interest in the 425,000 square foot facility that remains for sale.
As strange as it might seem, production and quality could hardly be better at the Halifax plant.
"It's amazing how good it is," said Lott Rogers who has managed the Halifax plant for the past 14 years.
"We're down to the cream of the crop," said Rogers who credited the results to the experienced and dedicated workers who have chosen to "stay here to the end."
They will be leaving with just one to three weeks of severance pay.
Some will be retiring.
Others are planning to continue their education through the various programs of assistance that are available.
Still others will hope to find employment in a job market that has little to offer.
Rogers will be leaving Burlington after 33 years. He has accepted a job outside of the textile industry in Lynchburg.
What Others Are Doing
· ABB will be closed this week. Orders for power transformers could be better, according to an industry spokesperson.
· Annin Flag will be closed July 4 and 5. Flag sales remain strong and Annin's current workforce stands at approximately 150.
· BHK production employees are off the entire week and will return to schedule on July 8. The workforce is approximately 75 and officials say that demand for their products could be better.
· Clover Yarns production workers will be off July 4 and 5.
· Dollar General Distribution Center is off July 4 and sales continue to be strong. Approximately 600 persons are employed at DGDC.
· d-SCAN production employees are off this week and will return on July 9. Plant officials say an extra two days above the normal week-long shutdown were ordered in an effort to balance business volume with work schedules.
· J.M. Huber will continue production but not be accepting wood July 3-5.
· Lasco Bathware production workers are off July 4 and 5.
· O'Sullivan Furniture production workers are off this week. Business conditions are "better than we expected," say O'Sullivan officials.
· Presto Products production workers are off July 2 through 6 and officials say that demand for Presto's products remains strong.
· Sunshine Mills in Halifax will be closed July 4. Officials say sales of their products remains strong.
· Wabash Magnetics is taking July 4 and 5 off.

The South Boston Dixie Pre-Majors all-star team won both of its starts over the weekend to advance to tonight's district tournament title game.
South Boston's opponent for tonight's 6 p.m. game in Farmville will be the winner of last night's elimination game between Charlotte County and host Prince Edward County/Farmville.
If South Boston were to lose tonight, they will have another shot at the crown Tuesday night.
South Boston was impressive in both of its games over the weekend as it toppled Prince Edward/Farmville 18-1 on Friday night and defeated Charlotte County 9-2 Saturday night.
In Friday night's opener, South Boston had 16 hits in the game including five doubles and two homers.
One of the round-trippers came from Chris Lowery in the first inning. Pitcher Marcus Humphrey added another in the second inning.
Jake Owen led the team with three hits in the game. Lowery, Chade Lewis, Chris Perkins, and Humphrey each had two hits.
Robert Carter, Brent Long, Jed Shotwell, Nathan Thomas and Ryan Roller each had one hit.
South Boston opened with 10 runs in the top of the first inning to stake itself to a 10-0 lead.
The big inning was highlighted by Lowery's three-run homer.
Prince Edward County/Farmville came up with two hits and plated a run in the bottom of the first inning to make it a 10-1 score.
But Humphrey added a two-run blast in the top of the second inning to put South Boston up 12-1.
South Boston plated two runs in the third inning with the help of a run-scoring double by Perkins and added another score in the fourth inning to make it a 15-1 game.
Three South Boston runs in the top of the fifth inning closed out the contest.
Humphrey was the pitcher of record for South Boston. He gave up five hits, allowed one run, fanned three batters and hit two batters.
Long came to the hill in relief and struck out one of the four batters he faced in the fifth inning.
South Boston, taking its clue from the success story of Friday night, staked itself to an early lead and handily shaded Charlotte County 9-2 Saturday night.
It was another big performance for South Boston who out hit its opponent 13-5 and got a nifty mound performance from Thomas who allowed only five hits and fanned four batters.
The South Boston team got two hits each from Lowery, Thomas, Robert Carter and Roller and picked up a hit each from Dion Ferrell, Long, Perkins, Owen and Justin Armistead.
South Boston took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Thomas helped his own cause with a three-run homer.
Charlotte County used a double, single and fielder's choice to score once in the top of the second inning to make it a 3-1 score.
The score didn't stay that way long, however, as Roller led off with a double and Owen followed with a hit.
A two-RBI double by Ferrell put South Boston up 5-1.
Long's solo homer in the fourth inning made it a 6-1 score and a run in the fifth inning put South Boston up 7-1.
Charlotte County added a run in the top of the sixth inning with a solo homer to make it a 7-2 score.
But run-scoring hits by Carter and Perkins in the bottom of the sixth inning put South Boston up by the final 9-2 score.

Harold Bradcher Brogden

Funeral services for Harold Bradcher Brogden, 72, of South Boston were held Friday at Florence Avenue Baptist Church.
The Rev. John Eure and the Rev. Leslie Puryear officiated.
Burial was at Virgilina Cemetery with military graveside rites.
Mr. Brogden died Tuesday at the V.A. Hospital in Salem.
An Army veteran, Mr. Brogden was a member of American Legion Post 8, Disabled Veterans, a former member of Virgilina Volunteer Fire Department, a South Boston-Halifax County Museum member and a member of Florence Avenue Baptist Church.
He is survived by his wife, Ophelia Wilson Brogden, of South Boston, one daughter, Joy Brogden Butler, and husband Raymond of South Boston, and one son, Ricky A Brogden, and wife Sharon, also of South Boston.
Other survivors include one sister, Margaret Humphries, of Oxford, N.C., three granddaughters and three grandsons.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Early P. Brogden and Mary Bell Cash Brogden of South Boston.

Jerry Wayne Dean

Jerry Wayne Dean, 46, of Richmond, died June 25 at his home.
A native of Elwood, Indiana, Dean was born on August 8, 1955, the son of the late Alva Wayne Dean and Patricia "Patty" Baugher Dean, of South Boston.
Dean was a retired computer technician for the Richmond Times Dispatch, a member of Community Baptist Church in Richmond and a volunteer with Good Samaritan of Richmond.
Dean is survived by his mother, Patricia "Patty" Baugher Dean, and two daughters, Tera Gretchen Dean and Melissa Opal Dean, both of Richmond; three sisters, Cindy Throckmorton and her husband, David, of Scottsburg; Diana Cole and her husband, Danny, of Virgilina; and Jenny Knutti and her husband, Bob, of South Boston; one brother, Tommy Dean and his wife, Elaine, of Scottsburg; six nieces and one nephew.
Funeral services for Jerry Wayne Dean were held Sunday, June 30, at 2 p.m., at Grace Baptist Church, with the Rev. Jack Stewart officiating.
He was interred in Oak Ridge Cemetery on North Main Street in South Boston.

Louis Garner

Funeral services for Mr. Louis Garner, 94, were held Sunday, June 30, at the New Shiloh Baptist Church in Nathalie.
Burial followed at the church cemetery.
Mr. Garner, of Nathalie, died Monday at the Woodview Nursing Home.
Born in Halifax County on January 3, 1908, Mr. Garner was a son of the late Lucy Garner and the late Willie Garner.
Survivors include three sisters, Mary Wanzer and Alease Williams of Baltimore, Md, and Ozelia Laprade of Philadelphia, Pa.; one aunt, nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

Irene Muse Poteat

Irene Muse Poteat, 84, of Manhattan, NY, died June 22 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.
Mrs. Poteat was born in Halifax County on July 10, 1917, the daughter of the late George Washington Muse and the late Janie Anderson Muse and was married to Julius Poteat. She was a member of New Zion Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband of Manhattan; four sisters, Emma Bowman of Manhattan, Lillie Mae Tucker and Willie Pearl Dixon, both of Halifax, and Elaine Coleman of Washington, DC.
Funeral services for Mrs. Poteat were held June 29 at 2 p.m. at New Zion Baptist Church with Pastor Willie N. Yancey officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery.