Three of Virginia's political heavyweights were in South Boston Monday to unveil federal funding assistance for the region and discuss job creation.
"This is why these people are here, we have a need," said Linda Daniel, manager of the Halifax County employment commission. "We've lost 2,400 jobs recently due to five plant closings and other layoffs."
Rep. Virgil Goode was joined by Sens. George Allen and John Warner and officials from the departments of labor and commerce during the event at the Virginia Employment Commission.
Goode said the group was in town to make two announcements of federal assistance to the region.
The trio announced a $1.2 million National Emergency Grant to provide training and assistance for displaced workers throughout Virginia.
"This money will be used to get persons in our part of the state educated in such a way that they will be able to get jobs in the future," Goode said Monday.
He said that the money was for the workers across the state who receive Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits.
"We'd like to present this check to the Commonwealth of Virginia to help provide additional assistance to the workers of the state who are certified TAA," said Erika Baum, of the Department of Labor.
The grant project will be operated by the VEC, and will avoid a disruption in worker retraining prior to the new TAA funds being made available for fiscal year 2003.
"The other announcement is to the Workforce Investment Board that serves this area," Goode said.
"Virgil and I have been listening to you people here, and now it's time for action," Allen said.
"It's very important that we make sure that we invest in our workforce," he added.
The legislators announced more than $1.5 million dollars in rapid response funds to fully fund Project Recover.
Project Recover is a program to assist areas in Virginia in dealing with the current economic downturn through workforce retraining.
The funds will be used in putting together a program through the community colleges to upgrade the skills of dislocated workers in Southside Virginia.
Goode said the area community colleges worked closely with the Workforce Investment Board in securing the funding.
"I want to say thanks to the Halifax County leaders for their efforts in helping to secure this money," he said.
"When you look at how you need to get jobs into an area, one of the key things is the capability, skills, and education of the people," Allen said.
Allen illustrated how one industry feeds the entire community.
"We got Dollar General in here, and then we discovered that we needed more drivers, so Southside Virginia Community College started a truck driving school," he said.
The South Boston stop was part of a tour through Southside with legislators meeting local leaders, discussing economic development and distributing federal dollars to the economically depressed region.
Halifax County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Martin said the funding was an example of the federal government helping workers in Southside.
"You've shown us time and time again that our leaders in Washington care for us here in Southside," he said.

A Halifax County Circuit Court jury convicted 18-year-old South Boston resident Brandi Michelle Brown of second-degree murder Monday in connection with the drive-by shooting death of Douglas E. Witcher last year.
The eight-woman, four-man jury also convicted Brown of five additional felonies in connection with the drive-by incident last June 25.
Those included use of a firearm to commit murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, shooting at or against an occupied building, the malicious wounding of Luther Powell, and use of a firearm to commit malicious wounding.
The commonwealth nol prossed three additional charges against Brown, alleging she conspired to commit murder, conspired to discharge a firearm from a vehicle, and conspired to shoot at or against an occupied building.
Presiding Judge William L. Wellons withheld the entering of the jury's verdicts, and ordered a juvenile evaluation prior to a sentencing date in the July term of court.
Brown was a juvenile at the time of the shooting.
Although evidence at the trial indicated Brown did not possess or discharge a firearm during the incident, Commonwealth's Attorney John Greenbacker told the jury Brown was charged as a principal in the second degree.
"She was an accomplice in the retaliatory scheme hatched by the Hodge brothers," Greenbacker told the jury.
"According to the law, she is just as guilty as those who fired that night."
Greenbacker told the jury that Brown was the "wheelman" during the drive-by shooting incident last June at a residence on Beulah Road, in which Witcher was killed and Powell wounded.
Brown, as well as 19-year-old James Earl Hodge, his brother, 17-year-old David Logan Hodge Jr., and Ronald Lynn Lacks II, were in the car that night, according to Greenbacker.
"Brandi Brown was the girlfriend of a cocaine dealer named James Hodge," Greenbacker said.
Greenbacker continued by saying that around April, 2001 James Hodge had a problem with other drug dealers hanging out at the residence on Beulah Road, indicating that the shooting may have been part of a turf war.
"James Hodge also thought they might have stolen a pit bull dog from him," the prosecutor added.
"About two months before the incident, James Hodge sat down with his brother and Lacks and expressed the need to retaliate against the people who took his dog and were dealing on his turf.
"On June 24, the Hodge brothers and Brown were at the home of Hodge's relative, when Lacks came over," Greenbacker said.
The commonwealth's attorney said that when the four of them left, it was after dark. Brown was driving, with James Hodge in the front passenger seat.
Lacks sat behind Brown in the back seat with David Hodge next to him.
"There were three firearms in the car," Greenbacker said, adding James Hodge had a .308 rifle, Dave Hodge a .38 caliber handgun and Lacks a pump shotgun.
After driving for between one to two hours, James Hodge told Brown to turn onto Beulah Road at about 2 a.m. the morning of June 25.
Greenbacker continued by saying that they drove by the residence on Beulah Road once, saw a car coming, then turned around and came back by again.
This time, according to Greenbacker, the windows were down and the firing began.
The front door was open, a light in the kitchen was on, and people could be seen inside and outside the house, according to Greenbacker.
Both Witcher and Powell were shot during the incident, with Witcher dying from a gunshot wound to the head. Powell recovered from his wounds.
The major issue in Monday's trial involved Brown's knowledge of James Hodge's alleged drug dealing and the extent of her involvement in the execution of the drive-by itself.
Defense attorney Joseph Teefey told the jury that if his client was to be found guilty as an accomplice to murder, she would have had to have prior knowledge of what was going to happen.
Teefey alleged that Brown knew nothing of her boyfriend's drug dealing, and that she was unfamiliar with the area where she drove that night.
"Brandi didn't want to stay at the house alone," Teefey said.
"She wanted to come along, and she was the only one who had a driver's license.
"She assumed they were going spotlighting that night. She drove around for about an hour, with James Hodge telling her where to drive," added Teefey.
Teefey asked Judge Wellons to strike the commonwealth's evidence on all charges.
"I submit that the commonwealth has not shown premeditation of any of the actors in this incident," said Teefey.
Teefey said there was no evidence of premeditation or malice in Brown's case, and no evidence of felony murder.
The defendant took the stand to testify that she had been dating James Hodge for more than two years and that she was at the home of a relative of James Hodge on June 24, 2001.
"Me, James, Dave and Lynn were there, watching television, talking and listening to music," Brown testified.
Brown said that she went with the three men because she didn't want to stay at the house alone.
"I assumed they were going to go spotlighting. There was a spotlight and a gun in the front seat," Brown testified.
Brown further testified that she wasn't familiar with the area in which she was driving or the community name of Meadville.
"We rode around for awhile. James basically told me where to go," said Brown, who testified that no one spoke in the car until James Hodge told her to turn onto Beulah Road.
"I saw James and Dave shoot guns, but I couldn't see Lynn," said Brown.
"I couldn't tell how many shots," said Brown, who testified she had never seen or heard of that particular house before, or had any indication shooting was going to happen that night.
Greenbacker cited the earlier testimony of Ronald Lynn Lacks II, himself a defendant in the drive-by shooting, to indicate Brown knew about what was going to occur.
Lacks had testified that James Hodge had told Brown to turn onto Beulah Road "and go scare these people."
Lacks testified that James Hodge told Brown to slow down, with Hodge saying - "they were going to scare these people."
Brown drove about one-half mile and turned around, according to Lacks' testimony, while the windows in the car were down and remained open.
Lacks testified that when the car came back the second time, James Hodge told Brown to slow down again, before the shots were fired.
Under cross examination by Teefey, Lacks testified that David Hodge had a pistol in his hand and James Hodge was "readying" his rifle the first time they drove by the house.
In cross-examining the defendant, Greenbacker asked how Brown could have dated James Hodge for over two years and not have known what his activities were, and never heard him speak of a dog being stolen.
Greenbacker expressed surprise that Brown, a life-long Halifax County resident, had never heard of the community of Meadville.
He also asked Brown how she could not have suspected anything unusual was going to happen the night of the shooting.
"Didn't you think is was a little unusual to go out in the middle of the night with guns, lights...? Greenbacker asked Brown.
"You testified that you never heard James Hodge say anything about scaring someone...that everyone was absolutely silent for two hours?" Greenbacker asked the defendant.
Greenbacker also asked Brown why she didn't question James Hodge as to why they were turning around to drive by the house for the second time and later, why she was caught up in the shooting incident.

Building permits have been issued to Sheetz Inc. to construct a convenience store at the southwest corner of U.S. 501 and 58 in Riverdale.
Sheetz, one of the nation's "fastest growing, family-owned chains," announced earlier this year that it had entered into a contract with the R.O.Harrell family to purchase the 1.43 acre tract for an undisclosed amount.
Building permits estimate a $480,000 cost for the 4,365 sq.ft. convenience store and fuel storage tanks installation. Estimated completion date is early 2003.
Sheetz officials say that, excluding land, their investment would be approximately $1.5 million.
No property deed has been recorded between the two parties and no purchase price has been disclosed. The land also includes a small portion of property that is in use as a truck terminal by R.O. Harrell Inc.
The contract for purchase between Sheetz and Harrell does not include the 3.5 acres that Harrell uses as a terminal for approximately 50 road tractors and 165 trailers his company operates.
Sheetz operates approximately 270 convenience/gasoline stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. The company ranks 114 on Forbes 500 List of Top Private Companies and projects a 10 percent annual growth rate over the next six years.
The South Boston store will be similar in design to one that Sheetz recently opened in Danville on Riverside Drive (U.S.58).
The South Boston Sheetz will have nine, under cover gasoline pumps and a "high-tech" convenience store where customers can order their food item with the touch of a finger on an interactive picture menu touch screen.

Halifax Town Council named veteran councilman Sam Thompson to fill the two-year unexpired term of Councilman Harold Ray Younger following an executive session Tuesday afternoon.
Councilmen met a little over 15 minutes in executive session before declaring a regular meeting session and unanimously naming Thompson.
Only one other candidate, Evelyn Allocco, had asked to be considered for the vacancy, according to Robert Greene, town manager.
Councilman Harold Ray Younger, an at-large representative, resigned his post earlier this year.
Thompson, the Ward D councilman, declined to seek re-election in the May election.
Political newcomer W. Allen Stevens was unopposed in seeking Thompson's seat, which he will assume in September.
Both Stevens and the town's new mayor, Leon Plaster, will take office in September.
Yesterday, Thompson resigned his Ward D seat and was appointed to fill Younger's unexpired term, effective immediately.
Councilman Jack Dunavant entered the motion favoring Thompson's appointment.
"I, we, feel he's the most qualified person," said Dunavant, noting Thompson's has served council about a decade.
"He is a member of the street committee and we have water and sewer work coming up," added Dunavant.
In seconding Dunavant's motion, Councilman David F. "Buddy" Guthrie cited Thompson's expertise and the continuity of projects.
Council took no action to fill Thompson's unexpired seat, which transfers to Stevens in 60 days.

The South Boston Dixie Majors all-star team completed a perfect three-game sweep in the District 4 Dixie Majors tournament in Farmville Monday night with an 11-0 shutout of Nottoway.
Monday's win marked South Boston's second win over Nottoway in as many nights as South Boston downed Nottoway 14-1 Sunday night in the semifinal round.
The next step for South Boston is the state Dixie Majors tournament which will open July 12
South Boston staged a truly dominating performance in the District 7 tournament, outscoring its opponents 39-1 while its pitching staff allowed a total of only seven hits through the three games.
The local team pounded opposing pitchers for a total of 35 hits in the three-game stretch.
In Monday night's title game, South Boston hurler Jason Lloyd held Nottoway to two hits and fanned nine batters.
He struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced in the contest.
Meanwhile, South Boston came up with nine hits with Adam Greene getting two hits and David Greene, Kirby Barbour, Adam Conner, Matt Conner, Brandon Enoch, Chase Hetzell and Drew Lewis each getting one hit.
Four walks and a hit by Adam Greene netted South Boston a pair of runs in the first inning.
That tided them over until they broke the game open in the third inning with a nine-run explosion that started with walks to Greene and Lewis and a two-RBI double by Matt Conner.
A two-RBI double by Enoch and a run-scoring double by David Greene were also big in the inning.
Adam Greene's three-run round tripper capped the inning and pushed the South Boston advantage to 11-0.
The game was stopped under a slaughter rule after Nottoway failed to score in the top of the fifth inning.
In Sunday night's tournament semifinal game, it was all South Boston's way.
South Boston had 14 hits in the 14-1 win with David Greene leading the way with three hits.
Barbour, Adam Conner and Jody Nelson each had two hits in the win.
The local club had three home runs in the game with David Greene, Barbour and Adam Conner getting the round trippers.
South Boston hurler Adam Conner had a good night on the mound, holding Nottoway to five scattered hits, one of which was a homer in the sixth inning that accounted for Nottoway's only score.
Conner fanned eight batters and walked one.
Barbour's round tripper in the first inning staked South Boston to a 1-0 lead and a two-RBI hit by David Greene put South Boston up 3-0 after two innings.
Adam Conner's three-run homer in the fifth inning made it a 6-0 count.
South Boston followed with eight runs in the sixth inning, which started with a two-run homer by David Greene, to complete the rout.

Elna Colby 'Patrick' Cecchi

Elna Colby 'Patrick' Cecchi, 93, of Walker, MN, died July 1 at the Woodrest Nursing Home in Walker.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Harold; grandson, Gabriel; two sisters, Nan Hand and Jennie Menzies; three brothers, Fred, Earle and Francis Patrick; two nieces and one nephew.
A visitation will be held Monday, July 8 from 4-7 p.m. at the Thomas-Dennis Funeral Home in Walker. Inurnment and graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 27 at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.

Frances Cooley O'Brien

Frances Cooley O'Brien, 75, of Clarksville, widow of James Howard O'Brien Jr., died July 1 at her home.
Mrs. O'Brien was a graduate of Virginia Tech and a member of Clarksville Presbyterian Church. She was a former long-time member of Chase City Presbyterian Church.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. today, July 3 at Clarksville Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Ken Davis officiating.
Survivors of Mrs. O'Brien include her daughters and sons-in-law, Ann-Ashby and Mark McKissick of Rockbridge Baths, Patricia and Allen Murray of Clarksville and Betty and Alex Williamson of Alton; a son and daughter-in-law, James and Saree O'Brien of Clarksville; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Katie and Hunter O'Brien, Amanda and John Williamson, Matthew and Edmund Murray.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Disadvantaged Children's Camp Fund, c/o Clarksville Presbyterian Church, 502 Virginia Avenue, Clarksville, 23927.