Southside Master Gardeners Aug 8th Perennial Display

Master Gardener Second Saturday in August

By Laverne Fuller

The Master Gardener Second Saturdays series at the Halifax Farmer's Market continues on August 8 from 8 to 11 a.m. with a 9:30 demonstration on how to divide perennials.  Perennials are a mainstay of the landscape in that they come back year after year.  You can Google native Virginia perennials to find varieties that are suited to our soils and weather conditions.  Once a perennial bed is established, little maintenance is required to keep the area beautiful.

After a few years, you may notice that the blooms on your perennials are getting smaller or the plant gets thinner in the center.  This is a sure sign that the plants roots are crowded and need some attention.  Perennials can be divided in several ways.  The entire plant can be dug up and the roots separated into multiple plants to be replanted.  Another method is to use a shovel and to dig into the root ball of the plant and remove some of it.  Either way provides more space for the roots to spread out and gives you happier, healthier plants.  You can establish new beds or share the extras with friends and neighbors.

Join the Master Gardeners at the Halifax Farmer's Market on August 8 to learn more about maintaining a beautiful landscape.  As always, vendors will be at the Market with local goods.  In celebration of National Farmers Market Week the Market will have kids activities, corn hole toss, refreshments, grilling demo, free soy tea-light candles, free homemade laundry soap samples (1 per customer), other vendor samples and free recipes.  At 10 am Naturally Artistic Dog Grooming will offer free dog grooming and dog obedience training.  The great vendor basket raffle, which will be set up next to market entrance, will be filled with vendor goodies and will be raffled off.  The raffle tickets will be $1 each with all proceeds going to the Halifax County Humane Society.  For more information about the Master Gardener program, call the Halifax Extension Office at 434-476-2147, visit the website at www.ssmga.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Join the Southside Master Gardeners at the Halifax Farmers Market for

a special demo at 9:30 dividing this beautiful Japanese Iris, a great

plant for the perennial border.

July 4th Holiday Schedule

                      TOWN OF HALIFAX, VIRGINIA

Sanitation & Recycling Department

IMPORTANT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

EFFECTIVE WEEK OF JULY 4^TH HOLIDAY

To All Town of Halifax Customers:

Halifax Town Hall will be closed on Friday July 3^rd in observance of Independence Day. Please be aware that the Town of Halifax Solid Waste Department will conduct its solid waste pick-up and curbside recycling on the regular schedule.

1. Monday June 29 – Residents normally served on this day will have solid waste picked up. This area includes  Mountain Road, Canterbury Drive, Woodview Road, Mimosa Drive, Oak Lane, Pine Road, Ash Street, Cedar Lane, Poplar Lane, Crawford Road, Academy Street, Ballpark Loop (within corporate limits), Craddock Street, Houston Street and Main Street (from Mountain Road south to the RR Tracks).
2. Tuesday June 30 – Residents normally served on this day will have solid waste picked up. This area includes properties along US Hwy 501 south from the RR Tracks to the corporate limits, Spencer Lane, Golf Course Road, Brook Run, Cowford Road, Meadow Drive, Banister Road, Gatha’s Trail and Ballou Trail.
3. Wednesday July 1 – The Town of Halifax Solid Waste Department will conduct its regular weekly curbside recycling on this day.
4. Thursday July 2 - Residents normally served on this day will have solid waste picked up. This area includes Maple Avenue, Buena Vista Drive, Park Lane, Lakeside Drive, Harding Street, Snead Lane, Cary Street, Elam Street, Hedderly Street, Jackson Street, Back Street, Main Street (from Mountain Road north on US Hwy 501 and east on VA Hwy 360 to the corporate limits).
5. Friday July 3 – The Town of Halifax will be closed for the July 4^th holiday.

Eat Smart. Move More Campaign

Mountain Road Historic District Public Hearing

The Town of Halifax would like to remind all those interested that a Public Hearing will be held at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, May 13th at Halifax Town Hall, 70 South Main Street to review the Mountain Road Historic District Boundary Expansion and National Register Nomination Project.  The project, includes the addition of approximately 39 properties to the existing Mountain Road Historic District, which was listed on the Virgiia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places in 1983.  Information on the properties within the existing district boundary have been updated.  Properties within the proposed historic district boundary expansion have been surveyed, photographed and catalogued.  The project is made possible by a Cost-Share Grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR).

Marc Wagner, Architectural Historian with the Capital Region Office of DHR has served as project manager with Hill Studio of Roanoke serving as the consultant.  The Halifax County Historical Society has supported the project by initially providing valuable research and documentation of the historic properties in the expanded district.

Please attend the public hearing on May 13th to learn more about the project findings on the existing Mountain Road Historic District and the proposed boundary expansion.  Marc Wagner and the Hill Studio staff will provide an overview of the survey process and answer any questions.  The proposal has been recommended eligible for the Virginia Landmarks and National Registers and will be presented to the State Review Board and the Historic Resources Board on June 18, 2015 in Martinsville.  When the survey is complete, all information will be available to the public at Halifax Town Hall or the DHR Archives in Richmond.

A survey of the historic resources within the existing historic district and the proposed expansion area assists with town planning and development and is the first step to creating an accurate and comprehensive document for updating and expanding the Mountain Road Historic District which is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.  All property owners within and adjacent to the existing and expanded historic district will be notified of a public hearing to be held in May prior to the consideration of the updated historic district nomination by the Historic Resources Board at it June 2015 quarterly meeting.  Designation on the state or national registers places no restrictions on owners of property within the existing and proposed district expansion area.  However, listing properties as "contributing" to a district's historic character does enable its owners to seek federal and state tax credits for historic rehabilitations which must conform to specified standards for restoring historic properties.

The Department of Historic Resources also provides administrative support for the cost-share projects in addition to the grants.  In 1991 the Department of Historic Resources created the cost share program, which requires matching local funds, to assist localities in meeting a state mandate that they update their comprehensive planning every five years.  The funding for the program is determined by the General Assembly each year.  Cost-share awards are highly competitive.  Last year the Department of Historic Resources received 18 applications and funded 15 grants.  Past projects funded by the DHR Cost-Share Grant program include the Town of Halifax Corthouse Historic District and the Halifax County Historic Architectural Survey, which along with other resources, provided important data for the Halifax County Historical Society's upcoming publication, An Architectural History of Halifax County, Virginia.

Details about the Cost Share Program are provided on the website of the Department of Historic Resources at http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/survey/Survey1.htm.

For further information, contact Carl Espy, Halifax Town Manager (434-476-2343) or Alison Blanton, Hill Studio (540-342-5263) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.