Prizery unveils upcoming schedule, tickets available

The Prizery Players will present Disney’s The Little Mermaid Aug. 4-13.

Ariel lives in an enchanted undersea country, and she has a beautiful singing voice. But she is a passionate, headstrong teenager, and wants what she cannot have, to live on land.

When she falls in love with a handsome human prince, Ariel is more determined than ever to gain a pair of legs.

But her only option is to defy her furious father, and bargain with Ursula the Sea Witch, giving her voice as the price of entry onto dry land.

With the help of Flounder the fish, Scuttle the seagull, and officious court composer Seastian the crab, Ariel must wordlessly gain Prince Eric’s love within three days – or lose her voice to the sea witch.

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Foundation honors scholarship founders

FoundationThe Southern Virginia Higher Education Foundation Board of Directors recognized all of those who founded and brought forth scholarship opportunities recently. The dinner was held at Factory Street Brewing Company.

“For those living in our rural area of Southern Virginia, these opportunities for expanding one’s education after high school was made only possible through the generosity of our donors,” said SVHEF Board Chair Monica Pounds-Edmonds.

In the fall of 2003, the Southern Virginia Higher Education Foundation awarded their first scholarships. At that time there were only three scholarships available for post-secondary education offered through the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. As the Foundation grew more support from local business and industries, today there are fourteen varying scholarships.

Some scholarships are earmarked to support students who are seeking careers in business, education, health care, information technology, workforce training and arts education at The Prizery. Plus, there are scholarships supporting all fields of study.

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Warehouse building gets new life as logistics hub

WarehouseKiwi Sports, an ecommerce retailer, is establishing an order fulfillment and logistics hub in the warehouse building at 2202 Parker Avenue in South Boston, the one-time home of Lindstrand Technologies near South Boston Elementary School.

Maryland-based Kiwi Sports is an online seller of automotive parts and accessories — both original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket parts — and it also sells sports apparel and equipment, including for winter sports enthusiasts. Kiwi maintains third-party stores on Amazon and eBay, with 2,500 followers and 114,000 items sold on the latter ecommerce platform.

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FACE-TO-FACE: Community-wide job fair puts potential workers in front of prospective employers

Job FairTwenty-eight employers looking to fill more than 300 open positions met with job seekers Wednesday at a job fair at the Halifax County Fairgrounds.

The job fair was deemed a success by its coordinators.

“We’ve been thrilled with the turnout today,” said Mitzi McCormick, president and CEO of the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce, one of the sponsors of the job fair. “We were looking to put job seekers in front of employers. I think it’s very important to put the job seekers face-to-face with our hiring managers.”

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INTRODUCING IPERION X

IperionXAt the Southern Virginia Technology Park this week, signs of IperionX’s impending arrival in Halifax County were hard to miss.

One enormous sign said it all.

On Tuesday, crews mounted the lettering to herald the new home of the titanium manufacturer at the SVTP’s shell building on Philpott Highway. IperionX is opening a titanium recycling and manufacturing center inside the hulking structure.

First announced in late September, the project is coming together according to schedule, said Dominic Allen, chief commercial officer for Charlotte, N.C.-based IperionX. Allen said the South Boston plant is expected to begin commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2023, and will be operational by the first quarter of 2024.

Over a three-year span, IperionX is forecast to hire up to 108 employees in South Boston, according to the announcement last year by Gov. Glenn Youngkin of the company’s decision to expand into Virginia.

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Southern Virginia Increases Virginia’s Inventory of Shovel-Ready Sites

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 6, 2023

The Southern Virginia Regional Alliance (SVRA) is pleased to join localities of Halifax, Patrick and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville in announcing twenty-one sites that will move from Tier-Two to Tier-Four sites (signifying shovel-ready sites) in the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program (VBRSP) and eight sites that will move from Tier-Two to Tier-Five (shovel ready sites with graded pad sites). SVRA received $1,534,900 from GO Virginia Region 3 and $454,100 from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (TRRC) to further the preparation of sites in areas identified with specific assets for transportation such as rail and highway access, utilities inclusive of significant supply of natural gas, electricity and water supply along with a demonstrated available labor shed and workforce pipeline. Southern Virginia leads the Commonwealth in the number of prepared sites, one of the reasons for the success they are achieving in business attraction. The strategy by local elected officials, government and economic development staff to keep an inventory of ready sites that serve diverse industries, leads to sites that are ready to market for prospects who need to ensure that the risks of building on the sites have been assessed and minimized.

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2022 ends on plus note for job growth

Halifax County’s jobless rate fell in December as employers added 158 jobs, bringing unemployment down to 3.6 percent.

The November unemployment rate in the county was 4.0 percent.

As 2022 came to a close, Halifax County finished the year with positive job growth in eight out of 12 months. Starting out the year in January, there were 14,643 people employed in Halifax County. By December, that figure had risen to 15,553 people holding a job — a gain of 910 workers, according to the Virginia Employment Commission, which released its monthly local employment survey on Wednesday.

The county’s active labor force also grew significantly in 2022 — beginning with 15,310 people in the January labor pool and ending with 16,127 in December, a jump of 817. The active labor force consists of people who either have jobs or are actively seeking work. 

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Skip Barber Racing School to Relocate Headquarters in Virginia and Establish Performance Driving School

Governor and Skip BarberAutomotive education and entertainment company to invest $8.9 million, create 24 jobs in Halifax County

RICHMOND, VA — Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced Skip Barber Racing School, the world's largest automotive education and entertainment company offering driving and racing schools at the finest tracks in America, will invest $8.9 million to relocate its headquarters from Lakeville, Connecticut, and establish a performance driving school at the VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in Halifax County. VIR will construct a 25,000-square-foot facility within the Motorsport Technology Park to lease to Skip Barber Racing School for the operation. Virginia successfully competed with California and Texas for the project, which will create 24 new jobs.

“We are proud to welcome Skip Barber Racing School to the Commonwealth, adding another corporate headquarters operation to our growing roster,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “VIRginia International Raceway is an invaluable employer in Halifax County, a tourism and economic development driver in Southern Virginia, and a top road course in the nation. These assets helped attract Skip Barber, and we look forward to supporting the company as it boosts the Commonwealth’s growing auto racing industry and creates new, high-paying jobs.” 

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