Local tobacco company launches electronic cigarette

Dozens came out to Berry Hill Mansion and Resort Thursday as Cherokee Tobacco LLC launched its newest product, the Arrowhead electronic cigarette.

Influential guests included members of Halifax and South Boston Town Councils, Halifax County Industrial Development Authority, Halifax County Board of Supervisors, Halifax County Chamber of Commerce, dozens of Cherokee employees and many others.

Kathy Farley, president of Cherokee Tobacco and Firebird Manufacturing, greeted and thanked everyone for coming out to the event.

"Thank you all for coming; it really truly means so much to us. We love this community, and we're glad to be a part of it," Farley said.

"This event celebrates our growth, our employees, our partnerships and our hometown. Tonight is an example of bringing it home and making it work. I believe we have executed this flawlessly," she added.

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Grant sparks welding class reality at SVHEC

Construction is set to begin in June on a new welding classroom at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, making it the only one of its kind in Halifax County.

Workforce training in welding here got the green light Thursday when the Virginia Tobacco Commission approved the higher education center's $154,114 grant request during a meeting in South Hill.

Currently welding training does not exist in Halifax County with welding students having to travel to nearby community colleges to take the classes.

The recently approved grant funds will be used to modify existing unfinished space in the outdoor classroom at the Innovation Center of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center to house the newly-developed workforce training welding program.

According to Dr. Betty Adams, executive director of the higher education center, construction on the welding classroom is expected to start in June and be complete by May of next year with the first welding students being admitted to class in August of 2014.

The welding program for Halifax County competed with 10 other applications this year to receive a portion of the remaining $641,098 in Southside Economic Development grant funds.

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Italian Delight Wins 2013 US Chamber's Blue Ribbon Award

South Boston's Italian Delight Family Restaurant has won the US Chamber of Commerce's 2013 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award^®! Winners of the award represent the 100 best in American business. 

“The Blue Ribbon Award winners show that, even facing uncertainty and economic challenges, small businesses can grow and succeed,” said Thomas J. Donohue, U.S. Chamber president and CEO. “They are America’s economic engine, driving growth and job creation all across this country.”

All Blue Ribbon recipients will be recognized during America's Small Business Summit, where an overall winner will be announced and will receive one complimentary registration to attend the summit, courtesy of Sam's Club^®.

Last year at America’s Small Business Summit 2012, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce honored Italian Delight with the Community Excellence Award, recognizing the success it has achieved in the eyes of its employees, customers and community.

RFP - Green View Advanced Manufacturing Center renovations

The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County is pleased to announce that, with the assistance of the Virginia Tobacco Commission, we are about to begin Phase 2 of the renovations to Green View Advanced Manufacturing & Training Center.

You can find the RFP for this phase of work on our website under the RFP's link.

The IDA continues its efforts to renovate the site, building exterior and potions of the building interior at Green View. It is anticipated that this will take up to five years and cost $4.5M. The IDA has received a grant from the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission and Halifax County, Virginia for the continued improvements of Green View. The property is located on Green's Folly Road in Halifax County. It contains 33.87 acres, and an existing abandoned 400,000SF manufacturing plant with outbuildings, formerly known as Daystrom.

The deadline to respond to the RFP is February 21, 2013.

Revamping our communications & technology

They say to make an omelet; you have to break a few eggs. Well, here at the Halifax Industrial Development Authority, for the past several months we've been doing just that – along with everything else in the kitchen - including the sink.

Since last fall we have been working with Glerin Business Resources to improve our technology and make finding the information you are looking for more accessible. To that end, we have completely overhauled our website, updated our Twitter and Facebook homepages (please follow and like us!) and added more information to YouTube (with our partners at the Riverstone Energy Center). We invite you to check out all the updates and give our website a hard workout. Check the links, open the tabs, download the pdf's, evaluate the navigation and if you find something that isn't working, or if you can't find something you are looking for, please let us know. After all we are building this resource for you, so by all means, take it for a spin and provide us feedback.

There are more exciting things on the horizon, so we hope you will continue to read our newsletter and stay tuned. From all of us at the Halifax IDA, we hope your 2013 is off to as an exciting and productive start as ours.

Cowan named to Halifax County IDA board

Mattie Cowan, lead project analyst for Century Link, has been appointed to the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority.

Cowan fills the IDA seat being vacated by Marcus Hargrave at the end of the month. Hargrave, local director of the YMCA, has served two full terms on the IDA and was not eligible for reappointment.

Cowan was recommended for the post by the IDA board and the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved her appointment on Thursday during the annual Strategic Planning retreat at Riverstone Technology Park.

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Halifax County jobless rate remains same at 8.7 percent

The jobs outlook in Halifax County remained the same in November as it was in October, holding its own at 8.7 percent, according to the latest Virginia Employment Commission data released Tuesday.

Some 14,923 county residents were employed out of a total labor force of 16,338. The VEC said 1,415 county residents were looking for jobs during that month.

Halifax County's jobless rate in November a year ago stood at 9.6 percent, according to VEC archive data.

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Energy center director a finalist in quest to solve phenomenon

A lifelike animated video that seeks to answer an age-old mystery that's baffled scientists for more than 2,000 years has landed a Southside energy center director in an elite group of finalists.

The question, which by itself may seem simple, asks how does hot water freeze faster than cold water? However, proving the phenomenon is something that's awed chemistry lovers for centuries.

Doug Corrigan, executive director of the Riverstone Energy Center in Halifax County, has been selected as a top 11 finalist in The Royal Society of Chemistry/Hermes 2012 Mpemba effect competition, according to a news release from the energy center.
Corrigan earned ranks on the short list "because of his engaging cartoon and compelling explanation," according to the society's website.

About 22,000 entries were submitted from more than 120 countries.

"I entered the competition because I have always been excited about answering scientific questions for which there seems to be no solution," Corrigan said on the website.

The Mpemba effect is named after Erasto Mpemba, a Tanzanian student who made the claim that warmer water freezes faster than colder water, but to this day scientists are still baffled as to how this happens, according to the release.

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