1: Martinsville. Bulletin, Monday, April 8, 1996-Page 3 A Many outer-county farmers face tough choices their children aren't interested often have not been extended far. Also. farms in Virginia get a lowher tax rate: but some of that saved tax must be repaid if the land is to be used for something other than agriculture. "Tax-wise.
they say it's not advisable to move." said Prince William farmer Hazel Smith. 80. Mrs. Smith's. husband recently suf-.
fered another bout of heart prob lems about the time they sold the last 45 acres around their house for a disappointing, price. They kept five acres for themselves and their remaining goats; chickens Ted Shepherd, 78, (photo at left) is getting too old to care for his 300-acre farm (right, )but herd said. They would like nothing more than to pass the farm ou to ayoung farmer, but none of their three children or. anyone else, it seems is Their situation is not uncommon. says Bill Becker: a former.
county supervisor in the Shepherds' farmers are getting old. and their kids don't want to farm. and the county doesn't want to levelop." he said. "They just are The trend also is: evident inLoudoun County and Prince George's County, according to officials and real estate agents. They said the trend occurs in places where urban growth comes in spurts; as it has outside Wash- ington.
"People call be caught in that: not urban, not-rural point," said Steve Murdock, a sociologist at Texas University. "It's not unusual in development to see. kind of a haltin that development at some point in time. and then a resurgence fit once the economy picks up again." Census figures reflect a steady decline in the portion of land used for farming outside Washington. In Prince William.
27 percent of. land was farmed in 1978. dropping to 15 percent by 1992. PrinceGeorge's County farmland dropped from 25 percent to 17 percent over the same "period. Loudoun is the agricultural leader in metropolitan Washington.
In. 1992, it still devoted 59 percent of its acreage to farming, down from 69 percent in 1978. There are several hurdles to selling farmland for development, on the outskirts of metropolitan Washington. including the fact that water and sewer -systems GOP candidate pledges to recruit blacks Republican U.S. Senate candidate James C.
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2-HOLLIE BOWLES INDUSTRIAL PARK MARTINSVILLE, VA 24112 CALL (540) 638-3700 4-269 MANASSAS S(AP) Some farmers in the Washington area's outer suburbs who want to retire have found themselves in a no sell situation. In many cases their property is still too rural to be attractive to developers, but too urban to appeal to a farmer looking for land. Grace and Ted Shepherd have a 300 acre farm in Prince William County. Mrs. Shepherd says the farm needs a lot of work but it's too to ask ofher husband.
Ted. who has myriad health problems. And it has been years since the farm made enough money for. the couple to hire help. The Shepherds rent part of.
their land to the last major dairy. farmer in the county. Another porlion of it would make good pasture, but the fence around it is dilapidated, and the soil isn't good for crops. "We can't keep it that much longer. We just can't." Mrs.
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Decatur, Georgia (414 679-4501 Get The Bulletin Delivered At Home. Call 638-8801 Miller Ill is pledging to bring more. ginia. The group has about. 175 blacks into the members statewide.
Miller. who is challenging threeterm Sen. Johir Warner for the Republican nomination, said the national Republican party has been "really stupid" for not cultivating minority membership. "After my first term, if we as a party do not have a more vibrant and expanded participation of: the minority community. I will count that I have failed in a very.
significant way," he said. Miller appeared Saturday before about 35 members of the Republican Black Caucus of Vir- in farming. (AP Photo). and sheep. "We're just going to stay here little bit," she said.
While the dilemma creates appealing farm scenery for neighbors, it leaves some farmers stuck, deciding whether to wait out the development process or to sell for less than market value. Alike Lubeley;" a. land lawyer. said there was a time when speculators would have snatched the Shepherds' land had they put it on the market. But the hangover from the Jate 1980s real.
estate crash changed that. under President Reagan, will Warner in a June: 11 primary. Warner is scheduled to speak the group in May. The organization will not make. an endorsem*nt.
officers said." The winner of the primary ly will face either Democrat Warner, a northern Virginia telecommunications tycoon, former Democratic U.S. Leslie Byrne in the Novembergeneral election: The Democratic nominee will be selected at a 78 convention. The Warners are not related. Report: Magistrates' work fabricated PORTSMOUTH P) Magistrates in Portsmouth have willfully misrepresented their workload to the state -Suprome Court with statistics that are so inaccurate they are useless. a state Supreme Court investigation has The investigation, completed last week, reveals an office in disarray where a feud between the chief magistrate and another fulltime magistrate is destroying morale.
said Supreme Court Technical Assistant Ron Neely: Neely's investigation also indi-: cates management problems and inefficiency in the office. which issues arrest warrants and sets: bail for criminal defendants, Neely began his review March 24 alter The Virginian Pilot raised: questions about Portsmouth statistics published in the Supreme Len Hays, a member of the group's executive committee and the president of a sales-consulting service in Highland Springs. said many members joined because they were "fed up with being taken for granted by the Democratic Party." Miller said he would use a senator's "moral authority. visibility and influence" to correct what he called a shortsighted neglect of minorities by Republicans around the country: "You look at the polls." he said. Court's annual State of the Judi.
ciary Report. Those statistics indicate that" Portsmouth has the busiest magistrate in the state and that mag-: istrates in the city are overworked. Neely said those conclusions are inaccurate. The statistics help the Supreme: Court figure out staffing and bud-" geting in magistrates' offices. They also help determine whether standards for granting warrants or releasing inmates on bond match community standards.
Neely reported his preliminary findings Thursday to the newspaper and to Chief Judge Norman Olitsky. who asked for the review after he was made aware of problems: Chief Magistrate Gwendolyn C. Barrick said Friday her office has. The people in the minority community believe exactly the same as Republicans, as. best I can tell.
You're concerned about jobs. You're concerned about high es. You're concerned about crime. You're concerned about defending yourself. As for affirmative action programs, Miller said he favors mative recruitment: but not.
quotas." think it's wrong to accept or reject someone based on the color of their skin. or their national origin." he said. Miller. a federal budget director done nothing wrong. She said: magistrates have overreported their workload because the logs provided by the Supreme Court do.
not accurately reflect the amount. of work. No one has deliberately cheated on anything." Ms. Barrick said, "We work hard and try to listen when people come in for information and there's no place on the Jog to show the work we're done." There is no feud in the office, Ms. Barrick said.
and if morale is bad, it's because of awful working ditions. Magistrates work long hours without adequate breaks or even clean restrooms. she said. One. positive aspect of the report.
Neely said, was that the magistrates seem well-versed on law and criminal justice issues and seemto be treating police and defendants. fairly, despite the office turmoil. Neely said Ms. Barrick has not provided adequate oversight for record-keeping and is responsible for morale and personnel problems. Ols.
Barrick said. however. that magistrates certify and sign their logs as accurate and that heronly. responsibility is to audit reports. Neely said only one of seven magistrates was accurately report: ing activities, saying the others, including the chief magistrate.
were inaccurate to varying degrees. Olitsky said he: would take action after receiving a written report from. Neely, Magistrates operate. independently, but they are political appointees and Call be fired by the chief judge. 'Most Wanted' show leads to abducted Va.
girl MIAMI CAP) For two weeks Michael E. Moore managed to avoid suspicion as he started a. new life in South Florida with his. 5-year-old daughter. The man who had taken him in and helped him get a construction job didn't know Moore was wanted by.
police. in Virginia for allegedly stabbing his estranged. wife 33 times and taking off with the girl. That quickly changed when his picture was broadcast on Saturday's episode of America's Most Wanted." Within minutes 160 calls poured in. four of wirich led to the home of a home north of Miami where Moore.
23. had been staying for about a week. Moore got away before police. arrived. leaving behind unharmed his 5-year-old daughter.
Alexis. and the homeowner who unknowingly had befriended him and offered him a place to stay: offi- ATTENTION HOMEOWNERS! 1st 2nd Mortgages Available Flexible Terms Up To 30 Years Fast Credit Problems Understood NEED MONEY? at $319.50 $45,000 at $410.79 $55,000 at $502.07 Based on 7.25% APR. for 15 Years O.A.C subject to change. '1st. Mtg.
Rates NO Equity, NO Appraisal 2nd Mtgs. Available UP TO $25,000.00 INNOVATIVE MORTGAGE CORP. Call For Details 1-800-378-4168 1 OUR VA cials said. His car was found at a nearby supermarket parking lot early Sunday, but there was no sign of the man, said Paul Miller an FBI spokesman in Fe owe our soul to America's Most Wanted," said Sgt. Bob Lowing of the Henrico.
Va. Division of Police. "She daughter) was found because of direct results of the case airing on 'America's Most Wanted' Saturday night. They started receiving tips within the first minute of the story being aired." Lisa D. Moore.
26, survived the. March 22 attack in Ilenrico County. The allack apparently was. prompoted by the pending divorce from her husband: She was due to be released from the hospital this week. The two, separated for 10 months, had visited Mrs.
Moore's lawyer earlier in the day to work out custody arrangements for their daughter. Alexis. officials said. They began arguing when Mrs. Moore went to Moore's home later in the day to drop Alexis off for the weekend.
"She was in her bedroom, but she came out while he was beating me and I heard her crying, 'Daddy, stop hurting Mommy." Mrs. Moore said from her hospital just felt so sorry she had to see that." 7.. Moore then allegedly took off with Alexis and headed south in his 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier. When he got to Miami. he met the homeowner.
who offered him a place to" stay and a job in construction; Miller said: On Saturday, a relative contacted the homeowner. who was not identified. to alert him that Moore had just been on "America's Most Wanted." The homeowner con fronted Moore at the home. and Moore took off. Miller said: Alexis was put in the custody of state child welfare officials pending the arrival of Henrico County officials.
who were to reunite her with her mother. The FBI and Metro Dade police were. combing northwest Dade County: late Sunday looking for: Moore. "We have to consider him dan-. gerous because of the seriousness of the crimes he's accused of: Miller said.
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