By The Associated Press
Another day of searing heat set records in several Virginia localities and had people retreating indoors, turning a holiday weekend traditionally marked by outdoor activities into an unexpected windfall for Virginia Power.
Even with many electricity-sucking offices and government offices closed in observance of Independence Day on Monday, Virginia Power set an unofficial record for peak demand as air conditioners worked overtime against the heat.
Virginia Power spokesman Jim Norvelle said today the utility recorded a peak demand of 15,506 megawatts between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., topping the record of 15,399 megawatts set on July 22, 1998. He said Monday's record is likely to be broken today.
Total consumption Monday was 306,115 megawatt hours, third highest in history, Norvelle said. The record of 322,133 megawatt hours was set on Jan. 19, 1994.
The utility was purchasing extra power from neighboring electric suppliers, Virginia Power spokesman Max Bartholomew said, in part because one of its four nuclear power units went down Monday. Surry Unit 2 will be down for 10 days while a valve is repaired, Norvelle said.
At least four Virginia locations saw thermometers rise into triple digits, including Reagan National Airport, where the mercury rose to 102 and broke a record for the day set 80 years ago. The 1919 reading was 101 degrees.
''It's hotter than at home. I expected it to be cooler here,'' said Douglas Napo, an exchange student from the African nation of Togo, at the airport.
In Roanoke, it was 100 degrees, the National Weather Service said, breaking the record of 94 degrees set in 1986. Newport News hit 101, Danville 100.
Grafton Pool in Stafford County was less-crowded than expected for a hot July holiday, and 13-year-old Matt Brady said he understood why. ''It's so sticky. You can only be out about 10 minutes before you have to get a drink,'' he said.
Lifeguard Sara Edwards said more than just people were baking.
''We put water in the pool this morning and it was really cold. But now even the pool is hot,'' she said. Lifeguards shifted their rotation schedule from every 50 minutes to every 30 minutes, she said, to try to cope with the conditions.
On the York River, Freddie Fennell of Denbigh kept cool by jumping in the water, returning to his seat on the beach and repeating the process.
''It's great,'' he said. ''Laid back, not too crowded.''
In Norfolk, not even the shade created by huge umbrellas was enough to entice people to eat on the patio of Kincaid's restaurant at MacArthur Center mall.
''The patio's a fine place to eat once the sun goes down,'' manager Chris Dash said, ''but it gets a little uncomfortable during the day.''
In Albemarle County, rescue workers said they had received an increase in calls from people with health problems aggravated by the heat, but police said things appeared quieter than usual, and they credited the temperatures.
''Nothing is going on but the heat,'' Charlottesville police Sgt. F. G. Upman said. ''I guess everybody is inside.''

Despite tempertaures near the century mark and heat indexes rising to between 105 and 110 degrees, apparently few area residents are experiencing serious heat related problems.
Dr. Robert Ah of the Emergency Room staff of the Halifax Regional Hospital reported that only two heat related cases were seen in the hospital ER over the past few days.
According to a hospital spokesperson, the symptoms were mild with patients complaining of feeling weak, dizzy, and thirsty.
They were given fluids and were advised to stay indoors, avoid the heat, and drink plenty of fluids.
While the temperatures are expected to abate somewhat in a few days, Dr. Ah advises everyone to drink plenty of fluids and take precautions not to get overheated.
"I would advise wearing cotton clothing," Dr. Ah said, "stay in the shade, and drink plenty of fluids."
"Even in normal conditions," continued Dr. Ah, "people should drink six glasses of water a day. When the heat index goes this high, people should drink even more water."
Dr. Terrance Truitt of Pulmonary Associates of Southside Virginia advises people who know they have respiratory problems to exercise caution in the extreme heat.
"If you know you have a problem and you've had problems before when you've gone out in heat like this, stay inside," Dr. Truitt said.
"If you don't have access to a fan or air conditioning, ask a friend or neighbor if you can come over."
"It's important to stay hydrated and don't do any activities or non-essential chores that will cause you to sweat, overheat, and increase your work of breathing."

SCC spokesmen are saying "I told you so" after Supervisor Robbie Smart told one of its members hog farm advocates are selling the idea to the farm community here by dangling the possibility of a local feed mill.
"Robbie stated that it was his understanding that if enough hog factories came to Halifax, it would support a feed mill which in turn would buy locally grown crops from area farmers," said CCI member Clayton Garmon in a Letter to the Editor today.
Garmon said he met with Smart almost two hours last week.
Smart said yesterday it is his understanding the county needs four to five more hog farms to become a unit and seek a feed mill.
"If they have enough for a feed mill here, it lowers their trucking costs," said Smart of the hog production cycle.
Smart said yesterday he had "been aware of how hog farming was being sold to the farm community" since last fall.
"But only recently have I gotten the number (of farms needed to become a unit)," added Smart.
Smart said he got his information from extension agent Larry McPeters.
However, Smart contradicted one part of Garmon's letter.
In discussing why 500 ft. setback on waste disposal was not adequate protection from odors for neighbors, Garmon stated in his letter:
"The need for hog factory owners to do something about odor control for existing hog operations was discussed as well with agreement that existing technology (water curtain filtration system behind exhaust fans and baffled walls in front) should be implemented to reduce the odors that nearby residents are forced to contend with and that it would not be a major financial burden for the factory owners."
Not so, said the supervisor. "I agreed to look into the cost," explained Smart yesterday.
In discussing "a viable end to the growth" of the hog industry in Halifax County, Smart said, "Because obviously we do not want it to go unchecked."
Clayton yesterday described the water curtain filtration system "as not proven in the field as an effective odor control technology" but added it was Dr. Michael Williams recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for best available technology to control odor.

North Carolinian Don Webb of the Alliance For Responsible Swine Industry (ARSI) will kick off Southside Concerned Citizens' march here July 12.
SCC is staging a 6 p.m. rally at Halifax Courthouse Square prior to its march to the planning commission's public hearing on hog setbacks.
The planning commission hearing begins at 7 p.m. Monday, July 12, in the Conference Room at Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.
Following the July 12 public hearing, the planning commission may approve the setback plan recommended by the Halifax County Board of Supervisors, recommend changes, develop a new proposal or take no action, according to assistant county administrator Jerry Lovelace, and meet at a later date.
However, Lovelace emphasized that the planning commission can only recommend to the Board of Supervisors. "Only the Board has the authority to amend ordinances," he added.
Supervisors agreed to increased setbacks and added new provisions for hog setbacks last month, setbacks which SCC members said did not address the odor problem.
SCC continues its call for a two mile setback limit from streams, property lines, churches, schools, roads, "everything," said SCC chairman Jack Dunavant.
There will be at least one additional public hearing regarding this ordinance, one held by the Board of Supervisors.

A tornado's aftermath in the Centerville area is the scenario set for a full-scale exercise of emergency facilities here Saturday, July 24.
Emergency service units and emergency dispatch from Halifax County, South Boston and Halifax will participate in the training session.
"The intent of this exercise is to meet the required training of local governments and the the Regional Hospital for its full-scale exercise mandates of the state Department of Emergency Service," said Halifax County Administrator Dan Sleeper yesterday.
"In addition, individual training for departments, agencies and individuals will be beneficial and will assist in providing improved service to the localities," he added.
The scenario for July 24 is to mirror a tornado's path at the Love Shop Trailer Park, creating damage and mass casualty incidents, moving across to the Lowe's building and into the back of Tri-Rivers Plaza Shopping Center, and across Jiffy Lube before lifting off the ground.
There will be a meeting of the Halifax County Fire Commission on Tuesday, July 20, at 7 p.m. at the Mary Bethune Office Complex to go over the exercise.
"It would be helpful for representatives of all the participating departments, agencies and individual to be at that training session to be prepared for the Saturday exercise," said Sleeper.

BLACKSBURG (AP)- Rising cigarette prices will hurt tobacco farmers more than they will the tobacco manufacturers who have been the intended target of cigarette lawsuits, according to a new study by researchers at Virginia Tech.
The study, called "Changing Prices, Changing Cigarette Consumption," says cigarette companies have raised prices an average of 45 cents per pack to compensate for the more than $200 billion they agreed to pay to settle lawsuits with 46 states last year. The rising prices mean less people will smoke, but cigarette companies might actually make more money because the percentage increase in price will be larger than the percentage decline in the number of cigarettes consumed, the study says.
"Selling a smaller quantity of cigarettes domestically could actually raise total revenue to tobacco companies," the study says.
But the expected decline in smoking will mean less tobacco is needed, and that will cut directly into tobacco farmers' income, the study concludes. It predicts that some small tobacco farmers will be forced out of the market.
"If the (quota) program is still in place, quota cuts beyond 2000 will likely bring further consolidation of farms and accentuate the exit of farms, especially small farms, from tobacco production," said the study's author, Virginia Tech agricultural economist Wayne D. Purcell.
But if the tobacco production quota system were abolished, that also would hurt small tobacco farmers, Purcell said. He said the price of tobacco would sink to global levels, forcing American farms to consolidate into big operations to make their production processes cheaper.
The study also predicts that higher cigarette prices will cut youth smoking by 26 percent in the next six years. Young people, it says, have less firmly established smoking habits and less money, so higher prices will drive them away more easily than they will older smokers.
"Twenty-six percent is a large effect and suggests that the U.S. tobacco market will, in fact, be impacted in a very significant way by the price increases," the study says.
The Virginia Tech study tracks cigarette consumption since 1975, analyzing the relation of prices to consumption over time, the university said.
Researchers have disagreed about how much price increases will do to stop young people from smoking. Some studies, including a 1998 analysis by the U.S. Treasury Department, have predicted that each 10 percent increase in price would cut youth smoking by about 7 percent. But other studies, including one done last year at Cornell University, have concluded that higher prices have a much smaller impact on teen smoking habits.

A Halifax man involved in a motorcycle accident Sunday remains in critical condition at Duke Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
Albert Junior Hubbard, 36, was seriously injured when he crashed a 1983 Honda motorcycle into a tree near the Charlotte County line shortly after midnight Sunday morning.
A hospital spokesperson at Duke Medical Center said Hubbard was listed in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.
According to reports from the Virginia State Police, Hubbard ran off the right side of Dryburg Road (Route 716) and collided with an oak tree one and one tenth mile west of Allen Trail (Route 803).
Investigating State Trooper G.M. Gilliam indicated in his report that charges were pending and estimated the motorcycle sustained $800 in damages.
In other reports from the July 4 holiday weekend, a Nathalie man apparently blacked out and crashed into a tree Saturday afternoon.
Investigating State Trooper R.C. Compton reported that Michael Danatzko, 73, suffered from a blood pressure condition that caused him to black out while driving a 1992 Ford pick-up along Hunting Creek Road (Route 603) Thursday at 10:15 a.m.
Danatzko was injured when the truck overturned after running off the right side of the road and striking a tree approximately 100 feet east of Slick Rock Road (Route 748).
A spokesperson at Halifax Regional Hospital said Danatzko was listed in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.
The truck sustained an estimated $3,000 in damages.
Numerous other accidents with minor injuries kept state troopers busy throughout the weekend.
A seven-year-old boy was injured in a two-vehicle collision near the intersection of routes 58 and 360 Friday evening.
A report by Trooper D.T. Conner indicated that Brad G. Waltman, 7, was a passenger in a 1996 Chevrolet pick-up driven by Charles Dean Waltman, 39, of Vernon Hill, when the vehicle was struck in the passenger side by a 1998 GMC pick-up that had pulled out a private drive onto Route 58.
The impact caused an estimated $14,000 damage to the Waltman vehicle, and the GMC, driven by Tommy Edward Haggar, 50, of Raleigh, sustained approximately $8,000 in damages.
Conner charged Haggar with failure to yield the right-of-way.
A South Boston man was transported to Halifax Regional Hospital after he lost control and crashed into a tree Saturday at 3:50 p.m.
A report filed by investigating State Trooper M.S. Roark Jr. indicated that Eugene M. Barksdale, 21, of South Boston, approached a curve in Union Grove Road (Route 679) too fast and lost control when he tried to apply the brakes.
The 1984 Honda Accord driven by Barksdale slid off the road into a tree and sustained an estimated $4,000 in damages.
Roark charged Barksdale, who was treated for his injuries at the emergency room and later released, with reckless driving.
Two people were injured in a single-vehicle accident near Turbeville less than an hour later.
Reports indicated that Willie H. Deshazor, 42, of Danville, fell asleep behind the wheel of a 1979 Toyota pick-up while driving along Route 58 at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The truck ran off the left side of the road one mile east of Piney Grove Road (Route 751), overturned, and slid back across Route 58.
Rescue personnel were forced to jack the overturned vehicle up to free Deshazor and passenger Rita Jones, 42.
Sunday at 7:35 p.m., a 17-year-old Virgilina girl was charged with following too close after she ran a 1966 Ford Mustang into the rear of a 1987 Nissan driven by Ivonoa Williams Davis, 31, of South Boston.
A report filed by Trooper M.S. Roark Jr. indicated that Davis had slowed to make a right turn off of Route 58 one half mile east of Route 360, and the younger driver was unable to stop in time and struck the Nissan in the rear, totalling it.
Damage to the Mustang was estimated at $3,000.
Both women were treated for injuries at the Halifax Regional Emergency Room and later released.
Trooper R.C. Compton charged a Keeling woman with driving under the influence after she ran over several mailboxes and crashed along Sinai Road (Route 654) Monday afternoon.
Hazel E. Coleman, 51, was driving a 1986 Chrysler when she reportedly ran off the right side of Sinai Road at 1:40 p.m., struck three mailboxes, crossed the road, struck a ditch and came to rest in a yard one tenth of a mile east of Grubby Road (Route 678).
Damage to the mailboxes was set at $150, while the car sustained an estimated $1,000 in damages.
Coleman complained of injuries and taken to Halifax Regional Hospital where she was treated in the emergency room and released, a hospital spokesperson said.
Later that evening at 6 p.m. a Fort Valley woman and two teens were injured in a single-vehicle accident on Route 58.
Jennifer Ann Lucero, 41, Allen Dustin, 15, and Joe Hammerbacher, 14, were injured when Lucero reportedly drifted across the center line of Route 58, overcorrected, ran off the right side of the road 200 feet west of Buckshoal Road (Route 601), struck a bank and overturned.
Damage to the 2000 Nissan driven by Lucero was estimated at $36,000.
Investigating State Trooper C.M. Flemming charged Lucero with reckless driving.
A half an hour later at 6:30 p.m., 19-year-old Hannah R. Moore of Virgilina ran a 1996 Plymouth off of Red Bank Road (Route 734), into a ditch, struck a culvert and overturned one half mile north of Route 737.
Moore, who was injured, was transported to Halifax Regional Hospital where she was treated and released, a hospital spokesperson said.
Investigating State Trooper M.S. Roark Jr. charged Moore with reckless driving.
Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $6,000.
In other reports, a woman who struck a toddler with a pick-up truck Thursday was not charged.
According to a report filed by investigating State Trooper M.S. Roark, Mary Crews Covington, 75, of Crystal Hill struck struck two-year-old Ernest Hudson Davis IV at 4:45 p.m.
The report indicated that Covington, who was driving a1994 Dodge pick-up, noticed the child in the middle of her lane as she drove along Clarkton Road (Route 626), one tenth of a mile east of Hunting Creek Road (Route 603), tried to miss him, but was unable.
Davis was airlifted to Duke Medical Center from Halifax Regional Hospital with head injuries. A hospital spokesperson said the child remains in fair condition.

Grace Elizabeth Kline Edmunds of 410 Lakeside Drive, Halifax died July 5 at Twin Oaks Nursing Home at the age of 86. She was born in Jamestown, PA on September 1, 1912 and was the daughter of Milton Kline and Ellen Gerhart Kline. She was married to William Holt Edmunds.
Survivors include one daughter, Grace E. Daniell of Alexandria; one son, William H. Edmunds III of Lenoir, NC, two grandchildren, Amanda Piersza and Nathaniel Edmunds.
Graveside services for Mrs. Edmunds will be held July 8 at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery. With Rev. Dewitt Loomis conducting the service.
Memorials may be made to the St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 905, Halifax, VA 24558.

Izetta C. Edmunds of Halifax died July 4 at Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston at the age of 93.
Mrs. Edmunds was born in Danville on February 5, 1906 to Lottie Coleman and was married to the Archie Edmunds. She was a member of New Vernon Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Henrietta Beaver of the home; three sisters-in-law, Beatrice Woodall and Fannie Bailey of Halifax and Bessie Leigh of Georgia; one brother-in-law, Willis Edmunds of Chase City.
Funeral services for Mrs. Edmunds will be held today at 2 p.m. at New Vernon Baptist Church with Rev. Mr. Roger Ford officiating. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends today at New Vernon Baptist Church at 1 p.m. Viewing will be held one hour prior to the funeral today.