Entries for October 2008

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day set
Event will take place Saturday, October 25 at new location

The annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 25. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, but it will be held at a different location than in previous years. 

Instead of being at the County Administration Building as in the past, this event will now be held at the new Henry County Public Service Authority Shop on Fairy Stone Park Highway, across from Bassett Office Supply. This facility used to be a part of the Bassett Furniture Industries complex. 

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is free and open to all residents of Henry County and Martinsville. No items from businesses or industries will be accepted. The event is sponsored by Blue Ridge Paints and Solvents, EMI Recycling, Gateway Streetscape, Henry County, and the City of Martinsville.
Local residents can use the event to get rid of caustic household items that they cannot deposit in local Convenience Centers. These items may include solvents, paints, fuels (including gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, heating oil, boat fuel, and chainsaw fuels), batteries, and computers. 

Items that cannot be brought to Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day include smoke detectors, compressed gas cylinders, explosives or shock-sensitive materials, radioactive materials, infectious or biologically active materials, household cleaners, pesticides, drain cleaners, herbicides, fluorescent light bulbs, gas tanks, and oil tanks.
Any items brought after 12 noon will not be accepted.
For more information, contact Henry County's Mike Amos at 634-2503.

·         When NASCAR fans want fast relief and simple solutions for heartburn, they turn to TUMS. When they want fast action on the track, they turn to TUMS Racing. TUMS Racing helps NASCAR fans enjoy their race experience to the fullest.

·         TUMS QuikPak gives race fans the green flag to enjoy the food they like and eat as many Martinsville hot dogs as they can handle. Fans can pick up samples of the new TUMS QuikPak in the Fan Zones throughout the weekend, and during the TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway. 

·         The partnership with Martinsville Speedway provides TUMS increased visibility among the millions of fans of the sport. The partnership also allows TUMS to demonstrate that it offers a simple solution for fast relief from heartburn.

 

·         The attributes of TUMS’ core consumers are very similar to those of NASCAR fans: like speed on the track and speed in relieving their heartburn. This sponsorship is a great way to reach the target audience.

 

·         The TUMS Racing program is designed to help drive home the message to our consumers: whether they’re attending a race or watching on television, with TUMS QuikPak for heartburn relief, fast just got faster.  TUMS launched a nationwide search to find the Grand Marshal of the TUMS QuikPak 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.  In the spirit of TUMS, and the all-new TUMS QuikPak, the focus was to find an individual to serve as Grand Marshal who had provided fast relief to others. Out of hundreds of entries received, we are thrilled to award Staff Sergeant Robert Hankins with opportunity to serve as a Grand Marshal at the TUMS QuikPak 500.Robert is a Martinsville native and is currently home on leave from his third tour of duty in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Not only has Robert provided fast relief to his fellow soldiers while serving overseas, but he has also provided fast relief to his friends and neighbors outside his current home in Colorado.  I was honored to be selected as the TUMS QuikPak 500 grand marshal and can’t wait to deliver the “start your engines” command on Sunday!   I’m grew up in Martinsville and have watched many cars race to take the checkered flag right here at this track. Being selected by TUMS to serve as the Grand Marshal of the TUMS QuikPak 500 is the ultimate dream come true.  I am currently on leave from my third deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and couldn’t think of a better place to be than with my family at the TUMS QuikPak 500. After this week, I will return to Iraq, with a lot of TUMS, to finish the reminder of my fifteen month combat tour. Serving as the grand marshal of Sunday’s race is going to be one of the biggest highlights of my life. I want to thank TUMS for making it possible; they really know how to put fans first.

Police chase leads to arrest and multiple charges

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The Martinsville Police Department arrested a local man on multiple charges stemming from a chase that occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. this morning.  

MPD Officer Eddie Dillard observed a white, 90’s-model Buick being operated with defective equipment on Memorial Boulevard near Lavinder Street.  The suspect vehicle refused to stop and continued traveling on Memorial Boulevard turning right onto Park Street.  The driver, later identified as Fletcher Dernard Millner, continued to elude police, taking the chase to several residential streets and major thoroughfares before traveling on Askin Street and turning left onto DuPont Road in Henry County.

Millner stopped the vehicle and bailed out just below the Martinsville- DuPont Credit Union office and fled on foot.  MPD Officer Dillard was joined by Virginia State Trooper Noah Night who was nearby at the time the incident started; the two officers chased the suspect on foot.

Millner left the transmission of the Buick he was operating in drive causing the vehicle to continue to roll forward.  MPD Officer Richard Pulliam had pulled his police cruiser in front of the Buick when Millner bailed out.  The vehicle rolled forward stopping against the front bumper of MPD Car 14 (Officer Pulliam’s cruiser).  This low speed collision caused only minor cosmetic damage to the front end of the police cruiser and Millner’s Buick.  

Millner continued to flee on foot, running between a utility pole and an attached guide wire.  As Officer Eddie Dillard pursued the suspect on foot he hit the guide wire with his left shoulder in a full sprint.  Millner was chased down by VA State Trooper Noah Night and taken to the ground after he reached for his waistband. After Millner was apprehended a handgun was found underneath him.  

Millner was then handcuffed and searched.  The search incident to arrest turned up several individually packaged white rocks believed to be crack cocaine; the material will be sent to the state lab for further analysis. 

Officer Eddie Dillard received only minor injuries when he collided with the utility pole guide wire; he will return to work as scheduled. There was no property damage other than the minor cosmetic damage to the front end of the white Buick LeSabre driven by Millner and to the police cruiser driven by MPD Officer Richard Pulliam. The chase began in the City of Martinsville and ended just across the border in Henry County. 

Fletcher Dernard Millner, age 20, of 1160 Yorkshire Road in Martinsville was arrested and charged with the following in the City of Martinsville:
- Felony Eluding Police
- Misdemeanor Obstruction of Justice 
- Misdemeanor Driving with Revoked License 

Further charges may be forthcoming in Henry County, depending on results of lab analysis on the substance retrieved from Millner upon arrest.  

The Martinsville Police Department is continuing to gather evidence and information in this case. Further charges may be forthcoming.  Anyone with information on this crime should contact the Martinsville Police Department Investigations Unit at 403-5301, the 911 Center, or Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers pays rewards of up to $1,000 in certain cases. You do not have to reveal your identity. Report tips anonymously to 63-CRIME (276-632-7463).

Industrial incident causes one fatality

MARTINSVILLE, Va. –   The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating an industrial incident that led to a fatality at 101 East Commonwealth Boulevard in the City of Martinsville earlier today. The building is a large warehouse located behind the Commonwealth Center office complex, and is used for storage. Martinsville Fire & EMS crews were dispatched to the scene at approximately 10:30 a.m. this morning.

The victim was working with at least one other individual at the time the incident occurred. The workers were in the process of removing a large commercial-grade air conditioning unit from the roof of the building. During the process the air conditioner shifted toward the victim, pinning his body between the unit and an exterior wall. The victim sustained injuries that included massive trauma to the head and upper chest; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is yet to be determined what caused the incident. The Martinsville Police Department will assist OSHA and the state medical examiner’s office in the investigation of this incident. Stone Ambulance Service also provided assistance. A crane truck was utilized in the removal of the victim’s body and was not involved in the actual incident.

The warehouse where the incident took place is owned by the Lester Group of Martinsville. The men working on the project are private subcontractors from the Danville area of Virginia. The identity of the victim is being withheld until his family can be notified. Further information will be released when it is available.

Update on fatal industrial accident  The identity of the man fatally injured yesterday in an industrial accident at a warehouse located at 101 East Commonwealth Boulevard in Martinsville has been released by the Martinsville Police Department. He has been identified as Carl Wayne Turner, aged 54, of Sugartree Church Road in Danville, VA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is still investigating the incident. No cause has been determined at this time

Traffic Alert: Route 639 – Henry County – Town of Ridgeway

 

On Wednesday, October 8, Route 639 (Phospho Springs Road) will be closed to through traffic from 2/10 of a mile from Route 220 (Main Street) for bridge demolition. The anticipated work completion date is Friday, October 24, 2008, weather permitting.