| Published Date: Wednesday 10th, March 2010 |
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Knights To The Final Four
Buckingham County High School senior Taylor
Boyers celebrates with junior center Kevin Bolden following the Knights’
come-from-behind double-overtime victory over Middlesex, in the Virginia High
School League Group A, Division 2 Quarterfinal last Saturday. Buckingham will
Lebanon on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the Final Four at the Siegel Center in
Richmond. (Photo by Nathan King) |
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First Detainees
Arriving May 3
Immigration Detention
Facility ‘One-Of-A-Kind’
By KEN WOODLEY
FARMVILLE — The first immigration detainees are expected in
Farmville on Monday, May 3.
And they will find, according to the facility’s director of
detention, Mark Flowers, an immigration detention facility that is unique in the
United States of America.
And one that will produce approximately 240 jobs.
“It’s one-of-a-kind,” Flowers said of the facility built only to house
non-criminal immigration detainees—adult males, 18 and over, who have committed
no crime other than being in the country illegally.
A facility that will try to restrict the movements of detainees
within its perimeter as little as possible.
The Immigration Centers of America-Farmville, LLC facility will be
able to house some 650 detainees when it opens and it will be the only facility
in the nation that doesn’t mix non-criminal aliens with criminals.
“May 3 is the day that I’m hoping a bus pulls up out here with our
first guests,” said Flowers, whose 23 years in the United States Army were
focused on Army corrections. The ICA-Farmville facility will be the fourth he
has led. “We’re going to be ready for them.”
The detainees brought to Farmville will find a facility with a
philosophy, Flowers told Town Council during its March work session, of as much
freedom of movement within the facility as security and detainee behavior will
allow.
“Our facility is solely non-criminal aliens. Which means we don’t
have to cater to one specific group half of the time and the other group
(criminals) the other time. Our one and only customer is Homeland Security for
this particular category (non-criminal aliens), so a management challenge for
me,” Flowers said, “is being able to offer the different activities that they
would have in their free life, so to speak.
“We’re basically calling this a society within a perimeter fence,”
Flowers said. “We’re trying to limit their movements and restrictions as little
as we possibly have to, based on their behaviors.”
That will include visitation allowed at any time during the day,
seven days a week, with no 20-minute limit and no restriction against contact.
“This is another area that we changed. There used to be no contact
visitation. We would not allow the family members to have contact with the
detainees,” Flowers said, “and we changed that because visitation, hugging and
all that, is good for the families. We’re not trying to break them apart.”
Flowers expects perhaps up to 20 visitors a day to the facility. “At most,” he
said.
“You can visit, but if we have people standing in line you’re going
to have to leave and come back. It’s got to be fair among everybody. You can’t
have one person coming in and say ‘visitation 24 hours a day, all right, move
in.’ That’s just a management thing,” Flowers said, “and we’ll address it as it
develops.” . . . . . .
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Council Members Unopposed
Filing Deadline For
May 4 Election Passes
By
KEN WOODLEY
FARMVILLE — A few members of Farmville’s Town Council may have been
breathing a sigh of relief last week.
The deadline for filing to run in the May 4 municipal election
passed without any candidate filing to run against them.
Four council positions, along with the office of mayor, will be on
the ballot:
Tommy Pairet, At-Large; Dr. Edward I. Gordon, Ward A; Armstead D.
Reid, Ward C; Sally Thompson, Ward B; and Mayor Sydnor C. Newman, Jr.
The staggered term system saw council members David E. Whitus,
At-Large; Donald L. Hunter, in Ward D; and Otto S. Overton in Ward E,
re-elected two years ago.
The last day to register to vote in the town election is April 12,
21 days prior to the May 4 polling. |
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County Eyes
Policy
PE Sups Discuss School Leave
By ROB
CHAPMAN
PRINCE EDWARD — County supervisors sat down with School Board
Chairman Russell Dove and reviewed the school board’s new leave policy at their
February 26 work session.
At the end of the discussion, the board—after many questions—seemed
satisfied, for the most part.
“I think we got a good policy,” Dove assessed in the presentation.
“I think it’s…the best we can do. It’s fair for our employees and it’s what we
needed to do for the best interest of the school division.”
The overhaul, approved at the school board’s February 10 meeting,
effectively ends a long-standing policy that allowed employees to accumulate an
unlimited amount of sick and vacation leave paid upon 25 years or more of
service at retirement at a 100 percent per diem rate.
The new policy (which has a sliding scale beginning with the lesser
of 25 percent per diem or $35 up to a maximum of 110 days) effectively caps it
so the most anyone can receive, regardless of their respective length of service
at the top end (35 years or more), is at $15,000.
The policy also offers those eligible for retirement under the
Virginia Retirement System with 25 years or more of service as of June 30, 2009
a small window where they can receive 100 per-cent of their per diem in annual
installments not to exceed five years. Those employees will have to make
notification on or before April 2.
Those with 25 years or more as of June 30, 2009 and who do not
indicate an intent to retire by April 2, could still receive 50 percent of what
they were owed as of June 30, 2009, plus what is applicable under the new
policy. The maximum number of days would still apply and the payout would be
made in annual installments not to exceed five.
Asked about feedback from teachers and staff, Dove cited that
they’ve (the human re-sources director) brought them all in and let them know
what the policy is about and have had feedback from the staff since last June.
Feedback has been from both perspectives.
“People are not happy about it, but they understand why we’re doing it,
also,” Dove said.
During the discussion, Farmville District (101) Supervisor Howard
Simpson asked about, and the board and Dove discussed, changing the policy for
long-time workers who have signed a contract.
Dove noted that they are giving them a period until April 2 to
decide. (Those who had 25 years or more as of last June 30, 2009 and are
eligible to re-tire can still receive 100 percent per diem if they make
notification by that date.) He also cited that three attorneys looked at it and
are comfortable with them changing it. . . . . . . .
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