Extremely dry weather conditions have crops withering in the fields, irrigation ponds turning into mere puddles, and large Southside lakes beginning to resemble wetland swamps.
Already, the John H. Kerr Reservoir (Buggs Island Lake) is nearly five feet below its normal level of 295.5 feet, mean sea level (MSL) for this time of year, and if the dry weather continues, things will only get worse.
Although a total of 3.90 inches of rain fell last month, according to the South Boston Waste Water Treatment Plant, the last substantial rainfall of 1.16 inches was 30 days ago, on July 12.
Total rainfall this month doesn't even add up to half an inch.
The Palmer Drought Index, which is used as a measure of climate conditions over small geographic regions, indicates that areas upstream of Kerr and Philpott reservoirs continue to be in a moderate to severe drought, according to information supplied by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The W. Kerr Scott reservoir is in a severe drought.
Without rain, Terry Brown, water control manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District, predicted that the lake, which is already dotted with stumps and land-locked boat docks from a drawdown of the lake, could drop to 292 feet MSL by Labor Day, and 189 feet MSL by November.
"That is the worst-case scenario and basically assumes little or no rainfall throughout the remainder of 1999," Brown said.
He added that inflows into Kerr Reservoir have trended about 30-percent of normal for the past two months.
Local rivers, including the Dan and Banister, are beginning to resemble mud flats as they continue to recede from their banks, and forests of stumps are clearly visible.
According to the Corps officials, the situation at Philpott continues to worsen. August 11, Philpott Lake was at 962.9 feet MSL, or about 10 feet below normal, and inflows have only been about three percent of normal since the beginning of August.
"If there is no improvement in rainfall conditions and inflows, Philpott Lake could fall below 951 feet MSL and continue dropping with reduced hydropower capacity," Brown said.
Currently, there are no designated swimming area available at Philpott Lake and boat areas are unusable. Boaters are advised to use "extreme caution" while underway and remain in or near the main channels.
According to Jerry Lassiter, a ranger on the Kerr Reservoir, low lake levels have resulted in the temporary closure of the boat ramp at Pilot Point, and he recommended that only small boats use the remaining ramps and use extreme caution when launching.
Corps officials say they will continue to monitor conditions closely at the reservoirs, recreation facilities and throughout all of the river basins in the Wilmington District's area of responsibility. Current lake levels and releases plus tabulations of historic water levels for all Corps projects in the Wilmington District area available on the Internet at the following home page address: http://epec.saw.usace.army.mil.

A probe will be conducted into a Wednesday afternoon fire that destroyed a two-story house on Paradise Road in Alton.
Cluster Springs Fire Chief Rob Ford said yesterday the cause of the blaze that resulted in an estimated $85,000 loss to the home of Phillip Bardfield at 2231 Paradise Road, Alton, had not been determined.
Ford said fire department officials will likely return to the site over the weekend or sometime early next week in an effort to determine the cause of the blaze.
The blaze, Ford said, began on the second floor.
"It was fully involved when we got there," he noted.
Most of the fire was coming from the rear of the second floor above the kitchen area.
According to Ford, Bardfield and an unidentified individual who looked after the residence were at the house when the fire broke out.
Bardfield, Ford said, ran across the road to neighbor's house and reported the fire.
The heat from the fire coupled with 97-degree temperatures drained the firemen quickly, leaving Ford and Cluster Springs fire department officials to call on area fire departments for additional manpower.
Approximately two dozen fire fighters from four area fire departments, including Cluster Springs, Turbeville, Virgilina, and South Boston and seven units, four from Cluster Springs , two from Turbeville, and one from Virgilina, were used in battling the blaze that was reported at 3:21 p.m.
"As hot as it was, we had to keep rotating people in and out," Ford explained.
"About 10 minutes was all you could do. That's why I called for mutual aid right away. We got good response from the other fire departments and we all worked well together. We really worked hard to keep people refreshed."
Even with the nearly two dozen firemen on hand, it took almost two and a half hours to bring the fire under control.
The primary loss involved was to the structure. Ford said there were few items in the house other than the appliances in the kitchen.
While firemen fought the fire, sparks ignited a small brush fire a short distance from the house but fire fighters were able to douse it in a matter of moments.
Firemen were at the scene for almost three and half hours.
Later Wednesday night, at about 9:15 p.m., the Cluster Springs firemen were called back to the house as a "hot spot" created a small blaze in one corner of one of the walls of the house.
Ford said four men took one of the fire department trucks to the scene and quickly took care of the problem.
Firemen were at the scene for about 30 minutes on that occasion, Ford noted.

County officials plan to increase the size of the Halifax County Animal Shelter and already have changed shelter general operation procedures.
Two major changes at the shelter involve an impoundment area for South Boston cats and dogs brought to the shelter.
Also, a fenced area with both shade and shelter for animals will be constructed as a drop-off zone for animals after shelter hours, rather than a receiving box which has been used, explained Halifax County Administrator Dan Sleeper this week.
The new procedures directive issued by Sleeper last week set Friday, August 6, as the effective date.
The following five points were addressed in the county administrator's directive:
---The operation and maintenance of the Halifax County Animal Shelter is the responsibility of Halifax County. This includes the care and feeding of the animals housed in that facility.
---The Animal Warden from the Town of South Boston is responsible for the enforcement of the Town's Ordinances that may be in excess of the County's Ordinances concerning animal control, and County Ordinances as directed by the town manager. All animals from the Town of South Boston shall be brought to the Halifax County Animal Shelter and will become the property and responsibility of the County of Halifax.
---The County of Halifax will provide an operator and caretaker for the Halifax County Animal Shelter. No one will have access to the shelter with the exception of the caretaker and the Senior Animal Warden, except during hours of daily operations and the caretaker is present.
---After hours, an impoundment area will be established for the Town of South Boston, and the caretaker will take care of those animals the next morning on Monday through Friday, and on weekends, the animals will be fed and watered by the same caretakers of the county facility and will be taken into shelter custody as soon as the caretaker opens for its general operations.
---There will be a new impoundment area constructed near the entrance to the animal shelter for citizens to deposit animals after hours. Once deposited in this impounded facility, they will become the property of the County of Halifax, and will follow the required care taking and adoption procedures.
The county administrator's action came as complaints and concerns about conditions and care at the shelter had surfaced in the community.
Sleeper said the expansion of the shelter had been planned and budgeted last year and this year with the new building coming from the airport, but that the reason the project was not on schedule was due to the renovation of General District Court project at Halifax Courthouse.
The county administrator also emphasized that the animal warden and one other part-time worker must cover 806 square miles.

By LARRY O'DELL
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Democratic legislators and candidates  Thursday proposed spending a portion of Virginia's share of the national tobacco settlement on transportation.
Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore labeled the Democrats' latest  suggestion an election-year stunt.
''We are not going to be stampeded by political grandstanding,''  Gilmore told reporters after the Democrats announced their plan at a Capitol news conference.
Partisan control of the General Assembly is at stake in the Nov. 2 elections. Democrats, who hold 19 of 40 Senate seats and share power with Republicans in the 100-member House of Delegates, have made transportation their top campaign issue.
Before Thursday, Democrats had proposed three remedies for easing gridlock on the state's highways:
-A $710 million highway construction bond issue financed by the tax on real estate closings.
-Calling a special legislative session to spend this year's budget surplus on roads.
-Earmarking half of future budget surpluses for transportation.
Virginia expects to receive $4 billion over 25 years as its share of the states' settlement with big tobacco companies. The Democrats' newest proposal would earmark 40 percent, or about $1.6 billion over 25 years, for transportation.
The 1999 General Assembly voted to spend half of the money to help tobacco-growing communities and another 10 percent on youth anti-smoking programs with the remaining 40 percent going into the state's general fund.
Gilmore has appointed a commission to study transportation problems and make recommendations by the end of next year, but legislators expect him to announce an interim program within a few weeks.
Democrats have accused him of foot-dragging. A few Republicans, worried about the political consequences of waiting for Gilmore and his commission, are pushing their own idea: a $3.5 billion transportation bond issue.
Gilmore refused to call the special session requested so far by 43 legislators - only three of them Republicans - and he has all but ruled out a tax increase. All other ideas, he said, are on the table.
In fact, Gilmore aides pointed out that the governor said in his Jan. 13 State of the Commonwealth speech that a portion of the tobacco settlement money should go into ''a fund that addresses critical transportation and education infrastructure needs.''
Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said the Democrats' proposal meets Gilmore's criteria for innovative solutions without raising taxes.
''We urge the governor to join us,'' she said. ''The last thing we need is gridlock in our state government.''
She was joined at the news conference by Sen. Richard Saslaw of Fairfax County, Del. Donald Williams of Norfolk, and House candidates Eileen Filler-Corn and Jim Mitchell, both of Fairfax.
Under their proposal, transportation programs would get $19.6 million in tobacco settlement money in fiscal year 2001 and $52.4 million in 2002. Over the next two years, about $311.6 million in tobacco money would pay the debt on $1 billion in transportation bonds.

A man armed with a small handgun robbed the night manager at Hardees Drive-In on Wilborn Avenue, August 9, according to reports from the South Boston Police Department.
Lt. Rick Loftis, with the South Boston Police Department, said the manager was leaving the restaurant around 10:40 p.m., Monday night, when she felt something tugging on her pocket book.
When she turned around, the woman encountered a slender, black male dressed in dark clothing, who displayed a small black handgun. Loftis said the man, who had a hood pulled over his face, grabbed the money bag from the woman's hands and ran east on Edmunds Street.
Although police arrived on the scene within minutes and searched the area for more than two hours, the suspect, described as a slender black male, standing approximately five-feet eight-inches tall, eluded capture and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.
Loftis said shortly after the alleged robbery, the police received a report of an older model, gray Ford Escort or Chevrolet Chevette leaving the area at a high rate of speed.
"A gray Escort or Chevette with red stripes on the side was seen leaving the area, right around Washington Avenue near Edmunds Street, at a high rate of speed," Loftis said. "We don't know if this was related to the robbery or not."
South Boston Investigator B.K. Lovelace is leading the investigation. Anyone with information concerning this crime is asked to call the South Boston Police Department at (804) 575-4271, or Crime Stoppers at (804) 575-8477 (TIPS).

No charges were filed in connection with a collision between a car and a tractor-trailer Monday afternoon.
According to reports from the Virginia State Police, a 1999 Sterling tractor-trailer, owned by Eagle Home Construction out of Connecticut, collided with a 1990 Ford driven by Russell D. Jones, 25, of South Boston, at the intersection of Sinai Road (Route 654) and Route 501 around 3 p.m., August 9.
Reports indicated that the driver of the truck, John Meickowski, 40, of Connecticut, swung left in order to make a wide right turn, and struck Jones, who, assuming the truck was turning left, had pulled up alongside the truck to make a right turn.
Investigating Trooper Sgt. J.L. Hopkins, who did not charge either driver, estimated the Ford sustained approximately $1,200 in damages, while damages to the truck were estimated at $500.

Ronald Carter Coates, 64, of 1061 Avondale Drive, Halifax died Wednesday, August 11, 1999 at his home.
Mr. Coates was born in Halifax County on September 4, 1934, the son of Walter H. Coates and Mae Tuck Coates and was married to Faye Martin Coates. He was a member of Liberty United Church of Christ.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Ronald C. Coates Jr. of South Boston, and Walter R. Coates and his wife, Tina of Cluster Springs; one brother, Rupert C. Coates of Halifax; three grandchildren, Samantha Lee Coates, Kaitlyn Carter Coates, Brandon Walker Coates; and one step-grandchild, Richard William Bates Jr. He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Audrey C. Walden, and one brother, John T. Coates.
Funeral services for Mr. Coates will be held Friday, August 13, at 2:00 p.m. at Liberty United Church of Christ, with Revs. Dwight Moore and John W. Wilder conducting the service. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Hospice Support Care of Southside Va., P.O. Box 1355, Halifax, Va. 24558, or Halifax County Cancer Association, P.O. Box 875, South Boston, Va. 24592.

George Washington Brown, 72, of Martinsville, died Wednesday, August 11, 1999, at North Carolina Baptist Hospital.
Mr. Brown as born in Halifax County on February 22, 1927, the son of Robert Estes Brown and Laura Crews Brown and was married to Betty Davey Brown. He served two years in the US Army in Italy during World War II. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering.
Upon graduation Mr. Brown accepted a position with the city of Martinsville as Assistant City Engineer. He later became City Engineer, Director of Water and Street Division, Director of Public Works, Assistant City Manager, and then Martinsville City Manager, where he retired in 1991 after 40 years of service.
Mr. Brown was a member of First Baptist Church of Martinsville, where he served as teacher of a men's bible class, deacon, usher, and on other various committees. He was also a long time member of Martinsville Kiwanis Club, where he recently served on the Board of Directors. He was chairman of the Service Corps of Retired Executives and served on the West Piedmont District Planning Commission. After retirement from City of Martinsville, he served as consultant to other localities in City Administration.
Surviving Mr. Brown are his wife; one daughter, Mrs. Jim 'Carol' Harding of Madison Heights; one son, George Michael Brown of Alpharetta, Ga.; two grandsons, David and Derek Brown of Alpharetta; two step-grandsons, Eric and Michael Harding of Madison Heights; one sister, Mrs. Irving 'Dorothy' Jennings of Nathalie; and one brother, Maynard Lee Brown of Halifax. He was preceded in death by one sister, Elizabeth Brown, and four brothers, Ester, Merritt, Melvin and Robert Samuel Brown.
Funeral services for Mr. Brown will be conducted Friday, August 13, at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Martinsville with Dr. Thomas McCann and Rev. Nancy Stanton McDaniel officiating. Burial will follow at Roselawn Burial Park.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider First Baptist Church of Martinsville, 23 Starling Avenue, Martinsville, Va. 24112 or the Leukemia Research Fund, ATTN: Bayard L. Powell, M.D., Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, N.C. 27157-1082.

Willie Fife Estes Jr., 68, of 610 Cedar Avenue, South Boston, died August 12, 1999, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Estes was born in South Boston on April 29, 1931, the son of Willie Fife Estes Sr. and Odell McKinney Estes, and was married to Eunice Shelton Estes.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 14, at 11:00 a.m. at Powell Funeral Home chapel with Rev. H.V. Conner conducting the service. Burial will take place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Mr. Estes is survived by is wife; one daughter, Sharon Estes Vaughan of Scottsburg; one son, Willie F. 'Butch' Estes III of Woodstock, Ct.; one sister, Anna E. Harrison of Newport News; four grandchildren, Gabriel and Fawn Estes, both of Woodstock, and Casey and Michael Vaughan, both of Halifax; two great-grandchildren, Dylan and Cameron Vaughan, both of Halifax.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home Friday from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m., and other times at his home, and the home of his daughter, 1125 Wagstaff Lane, Scottsburg.

Bobby Ann Prince Wilson, 62, sister of Josephine P. Marshall, died Wednesday, August 11, 1999, at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Wilson was born in Bellwood, WVa. on September 7, 1936, the daughter or Robert Lee Prince and Mattie Marie Clinton Prince and was married to Sylvester Wilson.
Survivors include two sisters, Josephine Marshall of South Boston, and Lorene Sims of Springfield, Oh.; two brothers, Jackie Prince of San Bernardino, Ca., and Sylvester Prince of Martinez, Ga.
Graveside services for Mrs. Wilson will be held Saturday, August 14, at 11:00 a.m. at Rose Garden Cemetery with Rev. John Ghee officiating.
The family will receive friends at the home of Mrs. Marshall, 1613 Elliott Avenue, South Boston.