Eleven days after the anniversary of the last murder in Halifax County, an Alton woman was found shot to death in her residence, according to Halifax County Sheriff Jeff Oakes.
Rhonda Bowes Stone, 30, of Rt. 699 (Mt. Carmel Road) was inside her mobile home when she was shot Friday night sometime between 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Sheriff Oakes said.
No one had been arrested as of Sunday afternoon, but an extensive investigation is still under way, police said.
"We are asking that if anyone saw anything suspicious in the area of Bowes and Bowes Store or in the Alton community Friday night to please give us or the Crimestoppers a call," Sheriff Oakes said. (Halifax County Sheriff's Department: 476-3334; Halifax County Crimestoppers: 476-8477.)
Two firefighters from the Ceffo (N.C.) Volunteer Fire Department were the first personnel to arrive on the scene and attempted to revive the woman, according to the investigation.
Investigators were on the scene until 8 a.m. Saturday collecting evidence. They will continue to be in the area for the next few days gathering more statements and evidence, Sheriff Oakes pointed out.
The Virginia State Police Mobile Crime Lab was also brought to the scene to assist with the evidence collection process.
Heading the investigation into the shooting death is HCSD Lt. J.R. Hicks, assisted by Sgt. M.A. Womack. Among other agencies involved in the investigation is the Virginia Department of Corrections and deputies from the sheriff's departments of Caswell and Person counties in North Carolina.
The last alleged murder in Halifax County occurred at 3:49 a.m. on July 26, 1997 at the Country Green Apartment complex in Sinai.
Jesse W. Williams, 26, of South Boston was gunned down by Michael Angelo Easley, 36, of Sinai during a confrontation in a parking lot.
A Halifax County Circuit Court jury later found Easley not guilty of the shooting death, on grounds of self-defense.
In another case, James Henry Foster, 38,of the Loveshop Trailer Park in South Boston was charged Sunday with a felony count of unauthorized use of an automobile, police said. The alleged incident occurred Friday.
Foster was charged with the unauthorized use of a 1994 Geo Prizm owned by LaWanda Foster, according to the investigation.
Foster is scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing in the Halifax County on September 18. He was arrested by Deputy Stanley Britton.
(Reprinted with permission from the Thursday, August 6 edition of the Courier Record in Blackstone)
(By BILLY COLEBURN)
By Maj. Gen. Carroll Thackston may need an addition to his home to accommodate plaques, portraits, paintings, and other numerous gifts he received Saturday afternoon during his retirement send-off at Fort Pickett.
More than 400 National Guard brass, employees, and area dignitaries and residents packed the Pickett Gym to bid farewell Saturday to the popular, outgoing Adjutant General of Virginia. Thackston received some two dozen "going away" treasures during the event.
"One of my sons is a contractor, so we'll work out something," the 65-year-old Lynchburg native chuckled after a moving, two-hour tribute.
Maj. Gen. Thackston is not being reappointed to the Guard's top post by Governor Jim Gilmore. The decision has disappointed and upset many in this community as well as military leaders.
Standing before a giant American flag draped across the rear of the stage that many of the day's speakers compared to a scene from the movie "Patton," Thackston quoted Confederate General Robert E. Lee's final address to his troops at Appomattox and told the large gathering: "I'm proud to tell you I have satisfaction from duty faithfully performed, and no one can ever take that away from me."
Thackston, whose last day will be August 14, has held the post since being appointed in 1994 by former Governor George Allen and has been a very popular leader during difficult times for the Guard.
"He stepped to the plate and took on the challenges with dedication and commitment unparalleled in the Guard's history," Fort Pickett Commander Col. Donald Clary declared.
Clary called Thackston "a man of extreme honor" and recalled that during Thackston's tenure, the Guard has been downsized, armories around the state have been closed, units were called to Bosnia, and the Guard took over Pickett and is now moving its headquarters from Richmond to the local military base.
"If it weren't for this man," Clary added, "we would not have Fort Pickett for our training."
Clary recalled how Gen. Thackston took fire from some for pushing for the relocation of the Dept. of Military Affairs. "It made great sense, and each individual who criticized him stepped forward because of their personal interests and not for what was in the best interest of the Guard. General Thackston stood firm in his resolve and commitment to see it through."
Thackston's wife, the former Frances Ann LaNeave of Crewe, called the farewell "a bitter sweet day for us...The last few weeks have been an emotional time...No one can ever take away what you--the Virginia Guard--has given him."
Both General and Mrs. Thackston had high praise for the Blackstone community. "You all have truly rolled out the welcome mat," the General declared.
Blackstone Mayor James Harris presented Thackston a key to the town.
"Will it get me out of jail?" Thackston chuckled.
Harris called Thackston a "grand gentleman and leader. We've always had such a close relationship with Fort Pickett. General Thackston showed his wisdom when he pointed out in 1995 that this could be used as a training base for the Guard."
Nottoway Board of Supervisors Vice-Chairman Otho Fraher also praised Thackston: "You stepped forward, and now Fort Pickett is open for business, and the Dept. of Military Affairs is on the way. The road was not smooth, but your perseverance prevailed. The citizens of Nottoway County and Southside Virginia will forever be indebted to you for your leadership."
Delegate Frank Ruff (R-61st) proudly recalled recommending Thackston to former Gov. Allen as a candidate for Adjutant General. "I assumed right that when soldiers speak up for an officer, then it must mean he is the kind of person who should lead them. He is a gentleman, a professional, and he has served Virginia proud."
Thackston, whose gifts also included a rocking chair, walking stick, and ocean cruise, said he was "touched and honored" by the ceremony.
"The last two years have been very frustrating. We've had some trying times. But we won here at Fort Pickett in the end."
By ROB SIMMONS
CLARKSVILLE - While there seems to be a general feeling that the fight to keep water from flowing through the Lake Gaston pipeline is over, the reality is that the State of North Carolina has the power to shut it down.
According to a letter sent by Delegate Frank Ruff to some lakeside landowners in Mecklenburg, Halifax and Brunswick counties, the fight to stop Virginia Beach from diverting millions of gallons of water from the Roanoke River is far from over, be cause without North Carolina's permission,, there can be no renewal of Virginia Power/ North Carolina Power's license to operate the Gaston and Roanoke Rapids dams.
We need to let the Governor of North Carolina know how important it is for the state to use its power to block this diversion of water from Lake Gaston," Ruff said. "If North Carolina doesn't act, Virginia Beach will take 60 million gallons a day from Lake Gaston, even during drought periods like we are experiencing at this time.
"The water will then be pumped across two other river basins to be used by Virginia Beach and its neighbors, and not a drop of this water will be returned to this area"
By not replacing water that is taken and not having any regulation on how much or when water can be taken, lower water levels could cause economic hardships to those above and below the pipeline, Ruff said.
People in Southside Virginia and Northeastern Carolina who rely on water for raising crops and livestock, and maintaining tourism and recreation would certainly see future incomes float away with the declining lake levels, he said.
"We came to Clarksville 12 years ago and we moved here because of the water," Carole Woodward said last week while at tempting to move the family dock off dry land. "I've never seen the water get this low before . . . I'm very upset because if the lake continues to drop in an effort to feed Virginia Beach, the inlet where we keep our dock will be completely dry.
"If that happens, the reason for us living along the lake will be gone, because if we can't get our boat onto the lake, we certainly can't enjoy it."
Though Woodward was concerned about how the ever decreasing lake level played havoc on her family's fun on the water, she also said that she was worried about how low lake levels would affect the economy of the Town of Clarksville.
"If the water goes, then people aren't going to bring their boats, vacation, or move here . . . not as long as lake conditions continue to decline," Woodward said.
Besides the lakeside landowners, others like the Diamonds, who own and operate the Clarksville Marina, would be affected greatly if water levels in the lake drastically drop.
"This lake is a constant battle," Beth Diamond said. "If levels continue to fall, our store will have to be closed down be cause it will be on a mud flat."
According to the Diamonds, if Buggs Island Lake falls beyond 293, the marina would be out of business for Labor Day.
"Frank's suggestion is worth trying, be cause the more response the governor receives on this matter, the more of an impact it would create," Beth Diamond said.
"Businesses in the Roanoke River basin, especially manufacturers, power plants and other water dependent operations, can't prosper and won't stay here if there isn't abundant water," Ruff said.
"Because FERC (who controls the relicensing of the dams) now believes that they must abide by the requirements of the affected states, which would be North Carolina in this matter because they are down stream from the dams, that government will have a great deal of say if they want to."
While Ruff has indicated that North Carolina may in fact be able to stop the pipeline, he believed that this would not be a position taken, simply because Virginia and North Carolina are land-locked.
Instead, North Carolina may be able to use its authority and power in this matter in helping place restrictions on how much can be drawn from Lake Gaston in times of drought and floods to those bodies of water upstream.
"What we've asked the governor to do is look out for all of the citizens of the Roanoke River basin, whether it's his citizens that live downstream, along the Mayo or the Dan River, or the tributaries that feed into those rivers," Ruff said.
"We believe that a rational, responsible position can be taken that states, when the lake reaches a certain point, Virginia Beach would have to cut down on the withdrawal, and when it reached another targeted, defined level, they would be required to stop drawing water and return to the wells that they have used for emergency water for the last two decades."
Ruff made three suggestions to those in the public who are concerned about water levels along Buggs Island Lake. They were:
First, contact Governor Jim Hunt in Raleigh, N.C., and urge him lo help stop the Gaston Pipeline. And get your friends and neighbors to do the same. You can reach him by telephone at (919) 733-4240, by fax at (919) 715-3175 or by U.S. mail at: The Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor, State of North Carolina, 116 West Jones Street, Raleigh, N.C., 27603-8001.
Second, send a letter to the editor of your paper calling on every Southside Virginian to contact Governor Hunt.
Third, mail a contribution to the Roanoke River Basin Association, c/o Frank Ruff, P.O. Box 332, Clarksville, Va, 23927, "to support the experts we need to have to pre sent our case during the relicensing proceedings on the application Virginia Power/ North Carolina Power is about to file in the next few months with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. .. A We won't have another opportunity to present our case to FERC for the next 50 years of the term of the new license.
"If you think about how much we gave up during the construction of the lakes . . . as homes, plantations, cemeteries and even churches were sacrificed so we could have the water . . . to give up this water without a fight would be wrong," Kathleen Walker said. "If we let it go, then those sacrifices made some 50 years ago would have been done in vain."
"I wish I could tell everyone that we can sit back and rest after so many years of battles to protect the Roanoke River, but the reality is that we can never rest," Ruff said.
An AP Member Extra
By JOHN REID BLACKWELL
Register & Bee
DANVILLE, Va. - Tobacco sales at Piedmont Big-Sale Warehouse won't look quite the same this year.
The three-decades-old practice of auctioning tobacco in 200-pound piles tied in burlap sheets will be a rarity this year. Instead, the warehouse floor is lined with dozens of 700- to 800-pound blocks of tobacco, tightly compressed into bales.
Each bale was produced by a massive machine - one of the new tobacco balers on the market - sitting in one corner of the warehouse.
Just two years after the first prototype baler was demonstrated at warehouses in Wilson, N.C., some in the tobacco industry are predicting that every farm from Florida to Virginia will have a tobacco baler within a few years.
That prediction may draw skepticism from some, especially growers who don't see the need to invest in new machinery when the tobacco industry's future is uncertain.
There's no doubt, however, that Danville is at the forefront of the shift to baled tobacco, a change tobacco companies are pushing in an effort to improve efficiency in marketing and shipping tobacco.
Warehouseman Harry Lea intends to lead the way.
''One market needs to take a leadership position, to see how it's going to work,'' Lea said during a recent interview at Piedmont-Big Sale Warehouse. ''I'm glad we're doing it. A lot of people will be keeping their attention on Danville this year to see how it works.''
Lea invested in the machine this year and hopes to bale about 80 percent of his designation, or about 10,000 bales, after tobacco is brought from farms to his warehouse.
Several other warehouses are baling tobacco this year, but none as aggressively as Piedmont-Big Sale.
Ed Neal of Neal's Warehouse has built his own baler.
''If the farmers want it baled, I want to provide that service for them,'' Neal said.
John Motley of Motley's Warehouse is using a baler that he has modified to meet his own needs. Both Motley and Lea have balers built by Taylor Manufacturing of Elizabethtown, N.C., the company that built the prototype balers used on farms and at warehouses last year on trial basis.
Baling tobacco is catching on in every flue-cured tobacco growing state, said Mike Boyette, associate professor of biological and engineering sciences at North Carolina State University, who helped develop the prototype baler.
Last year, balers were used at some farms and markets to test how the machines work. About 7,200 bales were made throughout the Southeast. Development of the baler was financed in part by Philip Morris.
''The companies liked what they saw, and it was agreed to open this up to anybody who wants to bale, and that's what's happened,'' Boyette said.
This year, about 40 balers are being used on farms, Boyette said. He expects about 75,000 bales, or 60 million pounds of tobacco, this year. That's still less than 10 percent of the crop, but demand is growing.
Boyette believes that baled tobacco will improve the U.S. share of the world tobacco market, which has fallen from 18 percent in 1980 to about 5 percent today. Companies want more baled tobacco because 250-pound burlap sheets are not the most economical way to handle tobacco.
Each bale has a metal tag identifying the grower, making it easier to trace tobacco back to the farm.
''That is something that can help guarantee the quality of tobacco,'' Boyette said.
And the practice of ''nesting,'' in which a grower places poorer quality leaf beneath high-grade tobacco in a pile, is nearly impossible when baling tobacco, Boyette said.
The ultimate goal is to have farmers bale their tobacco before bringing it to market, but skeptics say balers won't catch on until growers can get more from the investment.
Luther Boyd, sales supervisor for the Reidsville, N.C., market, said he is concerned that the balers have had mechanical problems and that the large bales are too unwieldy for farmers to handle.
''It's yet to be seen how efficient that is,'' Boyd said. ''It needs a little modification in my opinion.''
The Register & Bee is published in Danville
By JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press Writer
WOLF CREEK, Ore. (AP) - In the woods of southern Oregon, where deputies in camouflaged fatigues beat the brush each fall for hidden marijuana plantations, Kevyn Woven strings his loom with the straight cousin of the pot plant: industrial hemp.
Using hemp fiber and yarn imported from Poland, Romania, and China, where cultivation and sale of industrial hemp is legal, Woven creates rich, nubby fabrics in woodland colors that wind up as boutique clothing and upholstery on custom-made furniture in luxury homes.
''It is my passion,'' said Woven, who is as eager to extol the many virtues of hemp as he is to sell his fabrics.
Once sold primarily at hippie fairs and through ads in the back pages of magazines with an environmental bent, goods made from industrial hemp are moving into the mainstream. Adidas uses it in a shoe, the Body Shop features a line of hemp cosmetics and BMW uses it in some car interiors. There are even several beers made with hemp.
''I feel the industrial hemp crop could very easily be the soybean crop of the new millennium,'' said Jeffrey W. Gain, a former farm lobbyist who now is chairman of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Corp.
Like soybeans, hemp produces an oil from its seeds that can be turned into cooking oil, cosmetics and plastics. Hemp fiber can be used to make paper, cloth and even structural panels stronger than plywood. The seed can be ground for flour and livestock seed.
Growing hemp in rotation with cotton and other crops increases their yields and reduces the need for pesticides.
''It's really an amazing crop,'' Gain said.
Industrial hemp is the same species as marijuana, Cannabis sativa, but it is a different variety which, due to genetics and growing practices, has only a very small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the stuff that makes pot smokers high.
But even that small amount, less than 1 percent, is enough to make it an outlaw in the eyes of Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the U.S. drug czar who heads the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He contends efforts to legalize hemp are a smokescreen to legalize marijuana.
''A serious law enforcement concern is that a potential byproduct of legalizing hemp production would be de facto legalization of marijuana cultivation,'' McCaffrey's office said in a statement. ''The seedlings are the same and in many instances the mature plants look the same.''
Hogwash, say hemp advocates. The 29 countries that allow farmers to grow hemp, including Canada, France, Germany and England, are able to work around the differences. And the thought of cross pollination with low-THC hemp makes pot growers cringe.
Indeed, hemp was a strategic crop until the turn of the century, when steam power took over for sail on ships, said John Roulac, author of Hemp Horizons and founder of HEMPTECH, a hemp information network.
''Old Ironsides,'' the U.S.S. Constitution, went into battle with sails, rigging and caulking made from it. Founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it. The Declaration of Independence was drafted on paper made from it. Farmers could pay their taxes with it.
The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 spawned the rise of cotton as the world's dominant fiber, though it was shorter, weaker and rotted more easily than hemp.
The coup de grace came from the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Though it allowed farmers to continue growing hemp, the government wouldn't issue permits for them to ship their crops to processing plants because a few leaves that might contain THC were left on the stalks, Roulac said. By the end of 1938, every hemp factory in the Midwest was shut down, except one with a contract to supply rope to the Navy.
There was a brief resurgence during World War II, when the federal government launched a ''Hemp for Victory'' campaign for rope and parachute cord, but after the war, hemp was an outlaw again.
Med Byrd, director of applied research at North Carolina State University, sees hemp as part of the mix of plants - including wheat and rice straw and kenaf - that will fill the growing global demand for fiber.
''There are signs the world could be facing a significant fiber shortage early in the 21st century,'' Byrd said. ''One way of looking at this is that there are about a billion people in China. Each person in the United States uses about 700 pounds of paper per year. In a developing country like China, the figure is closer to seven pounds.
''Let's say the proper number for a well-educated society is 300 pounds of paper per person per year. Take the difference between the Chinese figure of seven pounds and the proper figure of 300 pounds - 293 pounds - and multiply by a billion. We don't know where that fiber is going to come from.''
As a source of paper, hemp is tough to work with, because its fibers are longer than the wood fibers the nation's pulp plants are set up for. But one big advantage is that hemp grows much faster than trees, which is an important factor when you are playing catch-up, Byrd added.
While the DEA argues that hemp is much more expensive than other fibers, hemp advocates point out that difference would drop immediately if hemp didn't have to be imported from Europe and China. Canada decided to let farmers begin planting 5,000 acres this year.
''As long as McCaffrey is there it's probably not going to happen'' in the United States, said Gain, who is also on the board of the North American Industrial Hemp Association. He said all it would take to begin producing hemp in this country is for the DEA and the president to sign off on it.
But the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative, the Hemp Company of America and six would-be hemp farmers aren't waiting. They sued the DEA and the U.S. Justice Department last May. They contend Congress never intended to make industrial hemp illegal when it outlawed marijuana.
Faced with growing uncertainty for the future of tobacco farmers because of federal efforts to wipe out smoking, the University of Kentucky's Center for Business and Economic Research looked into the prospects of growing hemp, once one of the state's biggest crops.
The study found that hemp could earn farmers $220 an acre when grown from straw and grain, and up to $600 an acre when grown for certified seed. That would make it the second most profitable cash crop in the state after tobacco, which brings in $1,000 to $1,500 per acre.
''It is moving from the fringe, but it is still very boutique,'' Byrd said. ''Anybody who's got enough money can buy hemp products. You can buy hemp oil, hemp lip balm, hemp beer, hemp this, hemp that.
''If enough fringe people buy those products, and enough people work on processes to get the price down and enough farmers are allowed to grow it, all that can change.'
Rhonda Lynn Bowes Stone of 3092 Mt. Carmel Road, Alton died Friday, August 7, 1998. She was 30 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Stone was born January 17, 1968 in Halifax County the daughter of Joe Ed Bowes and Shelby Crews Elliott. She was employed as an elderly home care provider.
Survivors include her mother of Alton and step-father, Richard Randolph Elliott of Alton; three daughters, Erica Lynn, Katie Jo and Stephany Jean Bowes, all of Alton; one sister, Lora Jane Bowes of Alton, two brothers, Randy Darnell Elliott of Turbeville and Richard Anthony Elliott of Alton; her maternal grandmother, Ruth Morris Crews and paternal grandparents, Joe and Nellie Bowes of Roxboro, NC.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete at press time and will be announced later.
Margaret Jones Milton of 700 Magnolia Drive, South Boston died Saturday, August 8, 1998 at Halifax Regional Hospital. She was 78 years of age.
Mrs. Milton was born in Halifax County on February 1, 1920 the daughter of Sydnor Archer Jones and Iola Trammell Jones and was married to William 'Dick' Milton. She was a member of Ash avenue Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter and son-in-law, Dotty Jean Milton Rice and Cecil A. Rice of Buffalo Junction; one daughter-in-law, Teresa L. Milton of Glen Rose, TX and four grandchildren, Randy Rice of Danville, Susan D. Rice of Buffalo Junction, Jimmy Milton Jr. of Fort Worth TX and Dennis Milton of Glen Rose; one step-granddaughter, Teresa Matthews of Townsville, NC; five great-grandchildren and one step-grandchild; six sisters, Mealie McCormick of Altavista, Mildred Barksdale of South Boston, Mary Griffith and Maxine Rice, both of Wake Forest, NC, Maggie Adams of Halifax, Mable Prowell of Youngsville, NC; three brothers, James Jones of Petersburg, Henry Edward Jones of Springfield, OH and Bobby Milton Jones of South Boston. She was preceded in death by one son, Jimmy D. Milton; and two brothers, Hurley and Flenory Jones.
Funeral services for Mrs. Milton will be held today, August 10 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Dr. John Farris conducting the service. Burial will take place in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
Isaiah Owen Sr. of 1062 Cherry Hill Church Road, South Boston died Thursday, August 6, 1998 at his home. He was 76 years of age at the time of his death.
Mr. Owen was born in Halifax County on March 21, 1922 the son of Robert Owen and Susie Owen Darby and was married to Mary Lawson Owen. He was a member of Blue Wing Grove Baptist Church where he served as a deacon.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter, Cathie Vincent of Richmond; one son, Isaiah Owen Jr. of Cluster Springs; four grandchildren, Nadine Mazette, Kim Claughton and Anson Owen, all of Richmond, and Chris Owen of Scottsburg; seven great-grandchildren; one sister, Eva Fountain of Virgilina; one son-in-law and one daughter-in-law.
Funeral services for Mr. Owen will be held Tuesday, August 11 at 2 p.m. at Blue Wing Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Alfred Faulkner officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home tonight, August 10 from 7 until 8:00, and other times at the home.
John W. Hubbard of Washington, DC died Wednesday, August 5, 1998 at the age of 76.
Mr. Hubbard was born in Halifax County on January 28, 1922.
Survivors include his wife, Fannie Easley Hubbard, four daughters, Lottie Ferrell and Stephanie Hubbard, both of Halifax, Kathy Dixon of Camp Springs, MD and Linda Hubbard of Clinton, MD; four sons, Albert Guthrie and Major Hubbard, both of Halifax, Jerome Hubbard of Lawrenceville, GA and Jessie Hubbard of Nashville, TN; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; one sister, Margie Whittler of Java; and one brother, Lloyd Hubbard of Newark, NJ.
Funeral services for Mr. Hubbard were held Saturday, August 8 at 11 a.m. at Trinidad Baptist Church in Washington and on Sunday, August 9 at 1:30 p.m. at Berry Hill Baptist Church in South Boston with Rev. Louis Leigh, Sr. officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.