By DOUG LOFTIS
Sought since Friday on a first degree murder charge in connection
with the death of 21-year-old Kimberly Ann Martin, Lawrence Maurice
"Kool Aid" Watson, 22, turned himself in to South Boston
police Saturday afternoon.
Watson, accompanied by his father, turned himself in about 5:20
p.m. Saturday, South Boston Police Lt. R.D. Loftis said yesterday.
Unusually "mum" on the case, Loftis said that Watson
was being held in the Halifax Regional Jail without bond, but
the police officer would not give an apparent cause of death for
Martin or any details regarding a statement that he said Watson
made when he turned himself in Saturday.
Loftis said that it could be two to three weeks before the State
Medical Examiner's autopsy report on Martin would be released.
After receiving a telephone call at about 3 a.m. on Friday that
"a crime may have occurred at 1317 Briggs Street in South
Boston," police went to the house and through a basement
window saw a body lying on the sofa.
The police also found a 14-month-old child, later identified as
the victim's child, which was taken to Halifax Regional Hospital
and found to be physically well.
The Briggs St. address is the same house that friends of the victim
say Martin and Watson had lived together in "off and on"
for over a year.
Friends of Kimberly Ann Martin also say that she and "Kool
Aid" Watson "argued all the time."
Police refused to provide details surrounding Martin's death but
at the Briggs Street scene were overheard by reporters to say
that the victim may have been killed on the upper level of the
single story brick and "dragged down there (basement)."
Saying only that a weapon was involved, investigators told reporters
that further details surrounding the crime would be released following
the autopsy.
Although the area in the North Main Street community is densely
populated, the nearest resident is a half block away in all directions.
Friends say that they last saw Martin alive late Wednesday night.
The friends said that they, along with Martin, Watson and a fifth
person, were playing cards until after midnight.
The friends of the couple say that they left the house when Watson
and Martin began arguing.
Upon their return Thursday afternoon, the same friends say they
were met in front of the house on Briggs Street by Watson, who
was holding Kim Martin's son.
Watson, they said, asked them if they had seen Kim Martin.
Watson allegedly told them that Martin "had took off running"
the night before and that he had not seen her since.
The friends say that they went to a nearby house where they thought
Martin might have gone but were told by the residents that they
had not seen her.
Those who knew Watson say that he was an outstanding athlete,
especially in track, while at Halifax County High School. He finished
high school and entered college in Petersburg but dropped out
before graduating.
Kim Martin also attended Halifax County High School and was said
to have been an accomplished student. However, she dropped out
of school in her senior year not long before graduation.
She was the daughter of William Keith Martin of South Boston and
Bonnie Forlines of Martinsville.
In addition to her son, Demajhae, and her parents, the deceased
is survived by a sister, Kayla Martin of South Boston; her grandparents,
William H. and Faye Martin of Nathalie and Howard and Dorothy
Conner of Mt. Laurel; and one step-sister, Victoria Forlines of
Martinsville.
Graveside services for the victim will be held today at Halifax
Memorial Gardens at 2 p.m.
Southside Community Services Board (SCSB) has filed suit in
federal court against the Town of South Boston after its failed
attempt to have the 24-hour supervision condition removed from
the Gateway-Halifax Apartments in South Boston, which SCSB operates.
The suit is based on what SCSB sees as the "Town's repeated
intentionally discriminatory failure to remove a zoning condition
for the conditional use permit for the operation of the 10 one-bedroom
apartment units for tenants with mental disabilities in the Town
of South Boston."
"The Town has taken no action on this lawsuit to date, and
we are currently discussing the situation with our town attorney
and our insurance company, Virginia Municipal League," said
Ted Daniel, South Boston town manager.
"The Town Council will comment publicly on the matter after
they have had time to review the complaint and consult with the
town's legal team."
SCSB's lawsuit also names as plaintiffs three residents of Gateway-Halifax
Apartments, Dolan J. Pittman, Edward Jackson and Naomi M. Carden.
According to the SCSB suit, the continued 24-hour supervision
requirement fails to provide a "reasonable accommodation"
to the mentally disabled and violates both the Federal and Commonwealth
Fair Housing Acts, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation, Comprehensive
Sevices and Developmental Disabilities Act of 1977, and the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
South Boston Town Council issued a conditional use permit in October
1991 with conditions, which the SCSB accepted in order to build
and operate the Gateway-Halifax Apartments.
The apartments operated without complaint as to any of the conditions
until approximately April 1998, when they first voiced concern
about the 24-hour supervisory condition in a letter written by
SCSB Executive Director Jules Modlinski to then South Boston Town
Manager Kenneth McLawhon.
The letter asked to allow SCSB to be "allowed to provide
routine site visits and inspections without requiring 24-hour
on-site staff."
After SCSB formally applied for an amendment to the Conditional
Use Permit in December 2000, the planning commission conducted
a public hearing on February 14, 2001.
After hearing substantial neighboring property owners' comments,
the planning commission recommended that the Town Council not
amend the permit as requested.
After conducting another public hearing on March 12, 2001, to
hear the application and receive public comment, Town Council
denied the application to amend the permit.
The SCSB lawsuit contends that the town's "intentional and
continued failure to change this discriminatory zoning requirement
is continuing significant burden and expense to the Southside
CSB, costing it approximately $70,000 per year in completely unnecessary
extra staff expenses."
According to the SCSB action, the individual tenant plaintiffs
have "suffered emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment
from the stigma attached to living in this project, the only apartment
project in the Town of South Boston with this restriction.
"The plaintiffs seek an injunction against the continued
application of this zoning requirement, compensatory damages,
costs and attorneys fees."
In taking the actions it did in response to SCSB's request to
rescind the 24-hour supervisory requirement at Gateway-Halifax
Apartments, Daniel stated that "both the town council and
planning commission exercised their responsibilities under the
Town Zoning Ordinance."
"The Conditional Use Permit procedure is intended as a means
for the Town Council, after review and recommendation by the Planning
Commission, and public hearings by both bodies, to authorize certain
uses which although generally appropriate in the district in which
they are permitted, have potentially greater impacts on neighboring
properties than uses which are permitted by right.
"Under 1991 zoning and 2001 rezoning, the apartment complex
can only be authorized by Special (or Conditional) Use Permit.
The Town Council considered all public testimony in 1991 and again
in 2001 to arrive at their decision that the conditions were appropriate
for operations of the Gateway-Halifax Apartments in that neighborhood."
Daniel continued that "following the March 12, 2001, decision
of Town Council, the applicant was notified as required by the
Town Zoning Ordinance that they could appeal the Council's decision
to the Halifax County Circuit Court in accordance with Town Code
and State law.
"For whatever reason, the applicant let the 30-day appeal
period go by without challenging Town Council's decision by appealing
to our local Circuit Court," said Daniel.
"Town Council and the Planning Commission based their decisions
on the best interests of the community at large and everybody
concerned."
The Carlbrook School, a private, coeducational
boarding school locating in the Vernon Hill community, will begin
accepting enrollments in January.
"The Carlbrook School, named for the property on which it
will be located, will service the needs of bright and gifted students
experiencing academic difficulty ...," school officials announced
Friday.
The school will integrate academic excellence and character development.
School founders Justin J. Merritt and R. Grant Price Jr. plan
to provide an "unparalleled interpersonal and academic preparation"
for the classic underachiever.
The school is a dream longtime friends Merritt and Price have
shared for over a decade.
The two spent the past two years raising funds, developing the
school curriculum and searching for suitable property, which included
an exhaustive property search throughout the eastern United States.
"I knew right away this was the place because it's the kind
of area in which I want to live with my own family," said
Merritt, the school's Dean of Faculty and Administration.
"The gentle rolling terrain and rural setting provide a welcome
respite from the harried pace so many students endure today,"
said Price, Carlbrook's Dean of Admissions. "It is the kind
of setting that is inspirational for both faculty and students."
The educators described Halifax County officials as instrumental
in bringing The Carlbrook School to the region. "They have
assisted the school in every conceivable way and have provided
an environment conducive to the establishment of a top-notch educational
institution."
The school is already interviewing candidates for its administrative
positions and plans to bring on additional personnel late this
fall.
The abundance of clean water throughout the Roanoke River Basin
for industry, recreation and agriculture is not something to be
taken for granted any longer.
That sense of urgency is not lost on Halifax Delegate W.W. "Ted"
Bennett and State Senator Charles Hawkins of Chatham, both of
whom are involved in the series of public hearings to receive
comment on the makeup of a proposed Roanoke River Basin Commission.
Bennett is a member of the Roanoke River Basin Study Subcommittee
charged with ascertaining public views on such a commission, while
Hawkins chairs the group.
Bennett originally proposed the concept of a Roanoke River Basin
Commission as a single entity to monitor and advocate conservation
of the waters in the Roanoke River Basin.
According to Bennett, his reaction to Thursday's meeting was similar
to that after the Roanoke River Basin Summit last July in South
Boston, where people's concerns over creation of an additional
governmental agency were addressed.
"Citizens are here to help government," said Bennett,
who added that his vision for the commission is a citizen-based
group that seeks a balance between economics and conservation.
Bennett pointed to comments made at Thursday's hearing by James
"Tommy" Motley, a dairy farmer from Gretna, who expressed
concerns that the commission would "overlap" existing
governmental regulatory agencies and sometimes compete with them
in resource management and permitting.
"What I have found in this 12-year plus period...is that
you've got to equip citizens to make them effective. You cannot
rely on state and federal agencies to protect you," said
Bennett, referring both to his advocacy of basin issues while
a Delegate and as an attorney fighting the Virginia Beach Pipeline.
"You need something to institutionalize these people's knowledge
in one place for posterity. We can't control water quality and
quantity needs simply by the water permit process."
The permitted withdrawal of water at Kerr Dam by Virginia Power
during the drought of 1999 and the state government's earlier
five-year delay in notifying basin residents of PCB contamination
were cited as issues an established citizen-based group could
have addressed.
Hawkins, who is chairman of the Virginia State Water Commission's
Roanoke River Basin Study Subcommittee, said that the basin is
a complicated subject because of its diversity.
"The demographics of the whole basin are changing almost
daily," said Hawkins, who, like Bennett, fought against the
Virginia Beach Pipeline.
"We need to start having discussions because we can no longer
take for granted future availability of a clean, abundant water
supply," said Hawkins.
"We need to have something in mind when it comes to how we
use our water and what we can do to protect the environment."
Hawkins referred to the current power crisis in California as
something basin advocates can and should avoid.
"You cannot force populations to grow beyond the ability
of natural resources to support them..you're courting a natural
disaster as some point.
"We have reached a point in our society where we can bypass
that natural part and create an artificial environment much like
they've done in Los Angeles, where they've literally pumped rivers
dry.
"On the west coast you can buy and own water rights - we
cannot have that here."
Hawkins believes that even people in the cities are beginning
to understand you cannot constantly cram people into areas that
are ecologically fragile - because you can bring in natural resources
to support that growth - without having negative long-term effects.
"We need to protect this natural resource for the next generation,
encourage the industrial growth we need for jobs, and also protect
farming and sportsman interests as well as wildlife," said
the Senator from Chatham.
Bennett mentioned lessons learned while attending a conference
of state legislators in Chicago last year as a possible model
for the current deliberations.
"The National Conference of State Legislators does a good
job of bringing things together about water management,"
said Bennett, mentioning water resource issues surrounding the
Illinois River.
"That basin is more complex [than the Roanoke River Basin]
due to river commerce. They've begun to deal effectively with
that situation and other issues in a balance with conservation."
Bennett believes that during the current hearings process that
stakeholders from one end of the basin to the other will get a
consensus of issues, which knowledge would help a commission's
credibilty when it goes before state regulatory agencies such
as DEQ and the Virginia State Water Commission.
"You have to have officers, staff and a data base, equipped
with computers that track climate conditions and water flow as
well as a drought index, tied together by e-mail and Internet,"
said Bennett.
"Communication is the key."
South Boston's Dixie Boys 13-14-Year-Old all-star team has
made it look easy in the first two rounds of the Virginia Dixie
Boys 13-14 Baseball Tournament at the Day Complex.
Combining a potent offense with strong pitching, South Boston
downed Blacksburg 15-3 in its Friday opener and turned back Bedford
Metro 8-2 Saturday night.
The two wins kept South Boston in the winner's bracket where it
was scheduled to face undefeated Nottoway in the third game of
yesterday's tripleheader.
Things looked tough for South Boston early in Saturday's game
as Bedford Metro plated a run in the top of the first inning and
added another in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead.
South Boston got one of the runs back by scoring in the bottom
of the fourth inning.
Chris Perkins was hit by a pitch, stole second base and third
base and scored on a two-out single by Chris Conner to make it
a 2-1 game.
South Boston broke the game open with a huge seven-run rally in
the bottom of the fifth inning that produced the final 8-2 score.
Andrew Bradley singled with one out and moved to second base on
a passed ball.
Justin Armistead walked and both advanced on a passed ball. Bradley
scored and tied the game when Chris Lowery reached base on an
error.
A hit by Clyde Brooks scored Armistead to put South Boston up
3-2. Perkins reached base on a fielder's choice that erased Lowery
from the base paths for the second out.
Marcus Humphrey delivered a two -RBI double to put South Boston
up 5-2.
A hit by Conner scored Humphrey to make the score 6-2. Steven
Smith singled and a hit by Chase Weddle scored Conner to make
it a 7-2 score.
Smith scored on a passed ball to give South Boston a six-run cushion.
Bedford made one final bid, using walks to the first two batters
in the inning as a springboard to load the bases.
South Boston tightened the reigns on its defense, however, and
turned back the Bedford threat.
South Boston had 12 hits in the game with Armistead, Brooks, Humphrey,
Conner and Weddle each getting two hits and Smith and Bradley
chipping in a hit each.
The local team also benefited from two walks from the Bedford
mound corp.
South Boston went four pitchers deep into its pitching rotation
with Bradley and Armistead seeing the most work with three innings
each on the hill.
Bradley struck out four batters and allowed three hits and two
runs. Armistead allowed four hits in his stint on the mound.
Chris Lowery came in during the final inning and faced two batters,
walking both.
Conner came in behind him, faced the last three Bedford batters
in the game and allowed one walk.
Bedford finished with eight hits in the contest and left seven
runners on base.
South Boston scored early and often Friday night in its 15-3 win
over Blacksburg in the opening round of the tournament.
The host team had 10 hits and received nine walks from the Blacksburg
pitchers to help further the scoring effort.
Lowery had two hits including a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Humphrey also had two hits with triples in the fourth and fifth
innings.
Brooks, Perkins, Mitchell Holbrook, Smith and Weddle each had
a hit in the game.
South Boston opened with a four-run first inning highlighted by
a two-RBI hit by Perkins.
Brooks and Perkins also scored in the inning with Brooks, who
reached base on walk, scoring on a wild pitch and Perkins scoring
on a passed ball.
Two South Boston errors allowed Blacksburg to score a run in the
bottom of the first inning to make it a 4-1 game.
South Boston upped its lead to 6-1 with two runs in the top of
the third inning but Blacksburg scored an unearned run to make
it a 6-2 score at the end of the inning.
Three South Boston runs in the top of the fourth inning made it
a 9-2 score. Two of the runs scored on a error. Humphrey lashed
a triple and scored on a passed ball.
Blacksburg scored another unearned run in the bottom of the inning
to make it a 9-3 score.
South Boston put the game out of reach with a six-run rally in
the top of the sixth inning keyed by Lowery's three-run homer,
a two-RBI triple by Humphrey and a run scoring hit from Holbrook.
Macie Snead Blackstock, 87, of 2053 Old Cedar Trail, Nathalie,
died July 19 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Blackstock was born in Halifax County on October 12, 1913,
the daughter of Jack Snead and Pearl Crenshaw Snead and was married
to Albert Fuller Blackstock. She was a member of Hunting Creek
Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Carolyn B. Fisher
of South Boston and Hazel B. Conner of Nathalie; three sisters,
Pauline Crews of Nathalie, Mattie Throckmorton of Clover and Jacqueline
Browder of Lawrenceville; one brother, Charlie Snead of Clover;
two grandchildren, Steve Conner of Halifax and Kimberly Fisher
Cunningham of Malibu, Calif; two great-grandchildren, Kevin Forest
Conner and Maci O'Brien Cunningham. She was preceded in death
by one sister, Rosa Vassar and one brother, Hampton Snead.
Funeral services for Mrs. Blackstock were held July 22 at 2 p.m.
at Hunting Creek Baptist Church with the Revs. H.V. Conner and
Lee Roy Davis conducting the service. Burial was in the church
cemetery.
Lillie Epps Brown, 88, of 6150 Howard P. Anderson Road, Crystal
Hill died July 20 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Brown was born in Halifax County on January 27, 1913, the
daughter of Albert Epps and Lillie Smallman Epps and was married
to Cabel Howard Brown. She was a member of Crystal Hill Southern
Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Patricia B. Loftis of Virgilina;
one son, William H. Brown of Danville; one brother, Bobby Epps
of Crewe; five grandchildren, Will Brown of Danville, Beth Nutter
of Clarksville, Connie Terry of Quinton, Chad Loftis of Virgilina
and Ken Loftis of Richmond; three great-grandchildren, Jennifer
Nunn of Clarksville, Jacob Terry and Wyatt Terry, both of Quinton.
She was preceded in death by a son, Sherman 'Chip' Brown; three
sisters and five brothers.
Funeral services for Mrs. Brown were held July 22 at 2 p.m. at
Crystal Hill Southern Baptist Church with the Revs. Rebecca Powell
and Ed Griffin officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Crystal
Hill Southern Baptist Church or the Halifax County Rescue Squad.
Kimberly Ann Martin, 21, of Halifax County, died July 20 at Halifax
Regional Hospital.
Miss Martin was born in Halifax County on September 19, 1979,
the daughter of William Keith Martin and Bonnie Forlines.
Survivors include her son, Demajhae; her parents, Bonnie Forlines
and husband, Jeffrey of Martinsville and William Keith Martin
of South Boston; one sister, Kayla Martin of South Boston; her
grandparents, William H. and Faye Martin of Nathalie, Howard and
Dorothy Conner of Mt. Laurel; and one stepsister, Victoria Forlines
of Martinsville.
Graveside services for Miss Martin will be held today, July 23
at 2 p.m. at Halifax Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard
officiating.
Mittie Norwood Spencer, 92, of 2804 Halifax Road, South Boston,
died July 20 at her home.
Mrs. Spencer was born in Vance County, N.C. on November 16, 1908,
the daughter of John Alps Norwood and Blanche Norwood and was
married to Rev. Lewis Page Spencer Sr.
Survivors include one daughter, Isabel Bradley of South Boston;
three grandchildren, Dr. Richard B. Bradley of Halifax, Janet
B. Darby of Midlothian and Lynn Ellen Spencer of Henderson, N.C.;
two sisters, Lizzie N. Keeton and Helen B. Norwood, both of Townsville,
N.C. She was preceded in death by her husband, and one son, Lewis
Spencer Jr.
Funeral services for Mrs. Spencer were held July 22 at 2 p.m.
at Grace Episcopal Church in Lawrence, N.C. with the Rev. Charles
Dupree conducting the service. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Hospice
Support Care of Southside Virginia, PO Box 1355, Halifax, 24558.
James Louis McCargo, 71, of 2085 MacDonald Road, Scottsburg, died
July 20 at his home.
Mr. McCargo was born in Halifax County on November 23, 1929, the
son of Willie McCargo and Lillie Mitchell McCargo and was married
to Nannie Womack McCargo. He was a member of Spanish Grove Baptist
Church.
Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Dorothy McCargo Freeman
of Blacksburg, Annette Coleman of Chesapeake and Willie McCargo
Freeman of Norfolk; three sons, James L. McCargo Jr. of Germany,
Calvin L. McCargo of Lawton, Okla. and Roosevelt Davis of Charleston,
S.C.; seven grandchildren; one sister, Ella M. Crews of Scottsburg;
one brother, Moses McCargo Sr. of South Boston; two daughters-in-law,
Maxine McCargo and Sumi McCargo; two sons-in-law, Alonzo Coleman
and Reginald Freeman; one brother-in-law, Wilfred Womack of Vienna;
one sister-in-law, Thalia McCargo of South Boston; and a devoted
friend, Tanya Brenza of Charleston.
Funeral services for Mr. McCargo will be held July 25 at 1 p.m.
at Spanish Grove Baptist Church at 1 p.m. The Revs. Cathy McCargo
and Ronnie Womack will officiate. Burial will follow in the church
cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the Chapel of Jeffress Funeral
Home Tuesday evening from 7:00 until 8:00, and other times at
the home.
Winnie Mildred Allen Terrell 'Aunt Kit', 86, of 4169 MacDonald
Road, Scottsburg, died July 18 at her home.
Mrs. Terrell was born in Charlotte County on November 18, 1914,
the daughter of Mount Ferdinand Allen and Maggie Hill Allen and
was married to the late Gaddis Roosevelt Terrell. She was a member
of Spanish Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Jacqueline R. Bailey and Mildred
E. Carden, both of Scottsburg; two sons, James Allen of Scottsburg
and Theodore R. Terrell of Washington, D.C.; 11 grandchildren;
11 great-grandchildren, including the devoted Tyron D. Morton
of Scottsburg; and four great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Mrs. Terrell will be held today, July 23
at 2 p.m. at Spanish Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. Byrd B.
Blackwell officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home of the deceased, and
at the home of Elaine Carden, 1213 Allen's Mill Road, Scottsburg.