The Halifax County Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce that the largest disc-dog competition series in the world is coming to Roanoke Rapids! The Eastern Open Qualifier for the 2010 Hyperflite Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship Series will be held on May 15, 9 a.m., at the TJ Davis Recreation Center, 400 East 6th Street, Roanoke Rapids, NC  27870, and athletic canines will be, literally, jumping for joy.

Admission is free for all spectators. Novice and veteran canine disc enthusiasts alike are encouraged to compete. All competitors will receive a free official Hyperflite K-10 Competition Standard flying disc, and the top three teams in each of the five championship divisions will receive awards.

Contestants and their canine teammates will earn points for tricks ranging from simple throws to unbelievable acrobatics. The event welcomes mixed-breed, as well as purebred dogs. In fact, many of the canine athletes expected to compete were rescued from animal shelters.

Hyperflite Flying Discs sponsors the Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship Series, which features more than 100 local-level competitions, nine US Qualifiers, five International Qualifiers, a European Championship and the World Championship.

Hyperflite sparked a canine disc revolution when it released the Jawz disc - the world's toughest canine competition disc - designed especially for dentally-obsessive canines. Hyperflite's training products, Disc Dogs! The Complete Guide (350 pages, 500 color photos) and Disc Dog Training DVD (an hour-long instructional DVD) have introduced thousands to the health and exercise benefits of canine disc play.

Download a free 40-page digital book, entitled Disc Dogs Rock! at http://www.skyhoundz.com/discdogsrock.html.

For more information about Hyperflite products or the Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship Series, please visit www.skyhoundz.com. Email contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce that Halifax County will be included in a brand-new Civil War “Living History in Motion” event, presented by in the Washington County Historical Society and Washington County Travel and Tourism Development. Entitled “ODYSSEY OF AN IRONCLAD- THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE CSS ALBEMARLE,” a working replica of the ironclad crewed by a local group of Confederate Naval Reenactors, will retrace the ironclad’s perilous April 1864 race down the treacherous Roanoke River to Plymouth and a place in the annals of Naval History.

The waterborne portion of the trip will begin Saturday, April 17^th at Edwards Ferry, (the boat ramp at the foot of Hwy 258 bridge in Scotland Neck), and continue down the river to her home port in Plymouth. The two-day journey will begin with a ground-based program in Halifax, the site of the CSA Naval Shipyard where the newly-constructed ship was outfitted with steam engines and armament.  The ship was towed upriver to Halifax after the hull was constructed in secret at a plantation near Edwards Ferry, in of all places, a cornfield! The plantation’s owner, Peter Evans Smith, is regarded as the go-to person in facilitating construction of the ironclad under the most adverse and urgent conditions imaginable, and used his well-known mechanical genius to invent what we know today as the modern twist drill bit during the Albemarle’s construction. This invention was born out of the urgency of completing the armor plates, and cut down the time of drilling each hole from 20 minutes to 4 minutes! Modern calculations have estimated that the time saved on drilling would equal one year.

Another fascinating, but little-known story is of the quest by Capt. James W. Cooke to secure enough iron to complete the armor plates. It is documented that he scoured the Roanoke River Valley in search of “donations” of iron objects for the cause. When he ran out of willing donors, the metal was “procured”, (at gunpoint when necessary); earning him the nickname “Iron Monger Captain”. 

Other key figures include: Gilbert Elliott, the 19-year old shipbuilder/engineer who was awarded the construction contract- (in fact, the 2010 “maiden voyage” is dedicated to the memory of his descendent, Robert Elliott, author of the “Ironclad of the Roanoke”; who passed away on Christmas Eve 2009). A faithful participant in Living History Weekend, Mr. Elliott’s presence will be greatly missed. In addition, Catherine Devereux Edmonston, who was a neighbor of the Smiths and kept a detailed diary chronicling the construction project and noting the events that were going on around the area; and Benjamin Gray, the 12-year old slave youth from Bertie County who enlisted in the Confederate Navy to be part of the CSS Albemarle’s crew are examples of the “grassroots” participants in the making of this most unique history.

Most people are familiar with the Battle of Plymouth and Battle of Batchelor’s Bay (Sandy Point), and the eventual destruction of the Albemarle by Lt. William Barker Cushing. The History Channel produced a feature documentary film titled: “The Most Daring Mission of the Civil War”; which focused on these high-profile happenings. The goal of this project includes a broader scope which is to chronicle the amazing series of events and intriguing cast of characters involved in the nearly miraculous feat of building the CSS Albemarle in the most adverse of conditions and getting her underway; culminating in her amazing resilience in battle which has led to her recognition as the most successful ironclad of the Civil War. It is a true “underdog” tale, so much so that once the “rest of the story” is understood, no matter what side of the conflict one’s ancestors supported, the sheer magnitude of the accomplishment is to be appreciated.

This effort illustrates the interconnection and interdependence of the inhabitants of the Roanoke River corridor, and how even today the links are being re-discovered and re-connected  through the research and documentation of the most unique and fascinating history of this sometimes obscure rural landscape. The past, present and future are intertwined and held together in perpetual continuity by the dark and mysterious Roanoke River and her many tributaries, branching off like many twigs on a giant family tree. The “Odyssey” can be regarded as a “family reunion” of sorts, connecting the “branches” of the CSS Albemarle family from both the northern and southern regions of the river for the first time in 146 years.

The itinerary and schedule details are still in development, but tentative plans include a stop at the wharf at Moratoc Park in Williamston early Sunday afternoon, before completing the voyage to home port in Plymouth that afternoon. Vantage points along the river include the Edwards Ferry bridge, the boat ramp in Hamilton, Fort Branch, Moratoc Park in Williamston, the boat ramp in Jamesville, and the waterfront in Plymouth. As details are finalized, they will become available on the internet at “GOWILDNC.COM” and “LIVINGHISTORYWEEKEND.COM”. The “Odyssey” is a prelude to the 20^th Anniversary of the Battle of Plymouth Living History Weekend in Plymouth, which will be held the following weekend, April 24 & 25.  Plans are ongoing to repeat the “Odyssey of an Ironclad” in an expanded format to coincide with the 150^th anniversary in April of 2014, as part of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration.

Sylvan Heights is proud to introduce one of our newest additions to the Park: a young whooping crane. Only a handful of places in North America work with these birds, and the Park is the only private facility given the privelege to display this endangered species. Hatched last spring at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin, the young male whooping crane incurred a leg injury and was deemed non-releasable back into the wild. Sylvan Heights is thrilled to be given the opportunity to use this bird as an animal ambassador to educate the public about the plight and resulting programs successfully created for this species.

The rarest of the 15 crane species, whooping cranes are native to North America. In 1941, a bird count revealed that only 16 living birds were left in the wild. Since then, extraordinary conservation efforts have been made, the result of which is that we now have just over 500 birds in the world.

The tallest bird in North America, an adult whooping crane is imposing. They stand between 4 and 5 feet high, with snowy white plumage, except for a brilliant red cap on the top of their heads, and black facial markings and black primary feathers clearly visible in flight. Their long, spear-like beaks and fierce golden eyes make an adult whooping crane quite formidable when protecting its young. 

They get their name from their distinctive "whoop-like" call, which pairs often make in unison. Whoopers are gregarious by nature meaning that they prefer to live in a group, or in their case, family groups. They frequent marshes, shallow lakes and lagoons where there is an abundance of aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates for their young to feed on. Sometimes adults may kill larger prey such as rodents, snakes and small birds.

In the wild, whooping cranes naturally migrate 4000 km from their breeding grounds in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park to their wintering grounds at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

However, scientists became concerned of the potential risk associated with having only one wild population of whoopers. They recognized that the group could easily be wiped out by disease, bad weather or other factors. So a successful captive rearing and reintroduction program using ultralight airplanes was implemented. It focuses on raising the chicks of captive pairs and "guiding" them on their first migration southward. Operation Migration has been remarkably successful in its goal to establish an eastern population of migrating whoopers. Each fall, a team of dedicated conservationists, guide a group of young birds from Wisconsin south to Florida.

But OM also works with other species including sandhill cranes and Canada geese. To learn more about their programs, please visit their comprehensive web site. It includes a great deal of information on everything from the natural history of the birds themselves, to video clips about training the young birds to follow the ultralights, to audio bites of vocalizations, and much, much more. 

Then grab your coat and head to the Park for your first encounter with our magnificent whooping crane and see it for yourself!

The Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has re-launched the county’s tourism website, Visithalifax.com, adding many new bells and whistles to make the site both visually appealing and more user-friendly. Visithalifax.com makes use of many new social networking tools, such as Google maps, Facebook, Twitter, blogging and more!

“Eighty percent of travel is now booked through the internet, which makes our website crucial to our success,” said Lori Medlin, Executive Director of the Halifax County CVB.

“We have designed this site to make it easy for a visitor to book there hotel room, plan their activities and even find a local restaurant.  This site gives you everything from the latest weather to current traffic conditions on I-95. We hope residents will take advantage of all the site has to offer as well.”

Each national chain hotel and locally-owned hotel is sorted by town, and each hotel, bed and breakfast and camping facility has an individual page. Where available, visitors can go directly to the website of the hotel and book online. There is also a convenient chart whereby visitors can compare and contrast amenities of the area hotels.

Naturally, visitors like to sample an area’s local flavor or find familiar favorites among the national chain eateries available. Visithalifax.com simplifies the process by sorting our local eateries and national chain restaurants by town.

When searching for fun things to do, a host of options is just a click away. Visitors simply click on Play to see Halifax County’s must see & do attractions, golf options in the surrounding area, entertainment, annual festivals, historic attractions, outdoor recreation – fishing, hunting, outdoor attractions and equestrian activities, as well as unique shopping sorted by town.

Planning a trip around events or finding something to do on the weekends is easy. Visitors click on events and can choose to explore activities in calendar or list view and also can check out Halifax County’s growing number of active recreation events.

Under Media, visitors will find Halifax County videos, photos, blogs, downloadable brochures, our latest news and e-cards to send to friends.

The Area section offers weblinks for the many tourism and economic development partners in our area, region and state, as well as the latest I-95 traffic reports.

Planning trips for groups is simple as well with motorcoach-friendly dining options, sample itineraries, profile sheets on each area attraction, meeting & event planning kits, and assistance for family and class reunions.

If a visitor finds something on the website, say an attraction or event, that he would like to share with a friend or give himself a reminder of, the information can be emailed, posted to an Outlook calendar, or shared via many social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Digg, Technorati, Blogger, Google, Reddit and Yahoo. To stay on top of the latest news and events happening in Halifax County, visitors can also subscribe to the Halifax County CVB e-newsletter and weekly event blasts, as well as view the CVB’s latest News, Tweets and Facebook posts.

The CVB launched a Facebook page, Facebook.com/visithalifax over the summer, which currently has nearly 550 fans. You can also follow the Halifax County CVB on Twitter by searching HalifaxCVB.

The staff of the Halifax County CVB looks forward to continue serving both visitors and local residents with the latest travel and tourism information via Visithalifax.com.

Riverside Mill in Weldon was honored at the Annual North Carolina Main Street Awards Program and Dinner Thursday night at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern.  The renovation of Riverside Mill was the winning entry in the category of Economic Restructuring for Best Private Project. 

The Weldon project was nominated for the award by the Weldon Small Town Main Street committee.  Weldon has participated in the Small Town Main Street program for a number of years, and the recognition of the private Riverside Mill project is just the latest sign of Weldon’s successful linkage with the program.

The Weldon Small Town Main Street Committee was represented at the Awards Program by former Town Councilman and Weldon businessman Andy Whitby.  Riverside Mill was represented at the Awards Program by Bill Blackwell, who is a local partner in the venture.  The crowd of over 400 viewed “before” and “after” pictures of the project.  The “after” pictures showing the riverfront, and the massive beams and heavy plank floors of the Mill drew admiring comments from the crowd. 

Before conferring its Award of Merit on Riverside Mill, the N. C. Department of Commerce reviewed a number of excellent entries, according to the Director of the N.C. Office of Urban Development, Elizabeth Parham.  It was a difficult decision, she said, but the Department singled out Riverside Mill as the top entry in its category.

The project developer, Keith Cuthrell, thanked the Town of Weldon for nominating the Mill project, and for the support the town has provided in improving the Mill’s surroundings.  The town has been active in removing unsightly structures and clearing underbrush, and has obtained a grant to repave Mill Street, which will benefit the Mill.

Cuthrell also said, “Our staff is reporting that we are seeing more and more local citizens at the Mill, in addition to I-95 travelers.  Word is spreading that it is fun to visit Riverside Mill.  People are constantly amazed when they see what we have done to this old cotton mill.  They never expected something this nice.”

Riverside Mill currently houses an Antiques Mall with over 50 dealers, the largest gallery of Craft Art on the I-95 corridor, a number of specialty Shoppes, and Roanoke Valley Auction Company’s auction house.

Every element of the Mill has the potential to draw customers from outside the region, according to Cuthrell.   “For example, next Saturday the Auction House will be having a huge auction of antique oil lamps that will bring collectors and dealers from outside this region and outside the state.  Riverside Mill is doing a lot to help put Weldon back on the map.”

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The following is from the narrative that was included in the Nomination Application.

Riverside Mill Renovation Project

Riverside Mill was a complex of historic buildings left vacant and decaying within sight of historic downtown Weldon. The mill was purchased and restored as an antique mall, auction gallery,  art gallery and a space for specialty shops. Over a million dollars was spent to create a shopping destination and economic opportunity along the waterfront in Weldon.

Riverside Mill is located just outside Weldon’s downtown Historic District.,  Fronted by the former Roanoke Canal, and with a channel of the Roanoke River to its rear, the complex had its genesis as the1899 water-powered Weldon Cotton Mill. Most recently, the Riverside Mill complex had been the warehouse and headquarters of Dollar Wholesale.  Vacated around 2004, it had fallen into substantial disrepair, with leaking roof, a basement ankle deep with water, termite damage and overgrown grounds.

 The buildings comprise 85,000 square feet with 13,000 being the three levels of the original water-powered mill building, about 30,000 consisting of the most recent single level concrete block addition to the mill, and the balance being a two story warehouse structure measuring approximately 366’ x 48” and containing about 20,000 square feet on each level.  

 It was a huge, vacant commercial eyesore when it was acquired by Keith Cuthrell in 2007. Cuthrell, his local partner, preservationist Bill Blackwell, and consulting architect Harry Merrit had in mind a renovation that would highlight the waterfront, display the building’s history, light, structure, and materials, and fuel the local economy by bringing jobs, commerce and the travelling public to Weldon.

What emerged was a plan for a mixed use development centered on specialty retail. The project is anchored by an antique mall designed to accommodate over 100 vendors. Ten thousand square feet became the largest gallery of art and craft on I-95. Pottery, jewelry, metal work, glass and fine art from local and regional artists gleam in the light from windows overlooking the river. Fine craft art is displayed on fixtures assembled from damaged floor timbers salvaged during the renovation.  The Mill’s entry hall features huge restored windows overlooking the Roanoke River.  From an Observation Deck created from a former loading dock, visitors can view both the river and trains passing on the trestle over the river, which connects to the historic elevated trestle that forms a boundary of the Historic District.

The lower level of the former warehouse accommodates dozens of individual specialty shops. Many locals are using this space as a small business incubator, operating real estate, design, accounting, and event planning businesses in these spaces, along with retail shops.

With its location less than 1.5 miles from I-95’s busy Exit 173, Riverside Mill is targeting the traveling public. Billboards on I-95 and on U.S. 158, rack cards in visitor centers, hotels and restaurants, plus internet advertising help guide people to the Mill and to historic Weldon.  The Mill is on the web at http://riversidemill.net.

The cost of site improvements and renovations to the building approached $900,000. Over $1.25 million has been invested to date in the entire project, including the acquisition of adjacent property for parking.

Riverside Mill is unique in that it creates jobs both directly and indirectly. Directly, the Mill currently employs four full time and three part employees. However the antique mall has 50 vendors, the artisan’s gallery has 80 vendors and downstairs in the Riverside Shoppes there are another 20 businesses. Roanoke Valley Auction Company, which occupies 8,000 square feet adjacent to the Antique Mall, employs its own personnel and draws well over 100 buyers to each of its auctions.  Over 150 people are deriving direct economic benefit from Riverside Mill.

Riverside Mill has been recognized as an important  tourist attraction by Halifax County’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, and its presence in the community contributed to the decision to place tourism at the front of Weldon’s STEP program objectives.  According to Halifax County Director of Tourism, Lori Medlin, when tourists visit an area, the thing they most want to do is shop. Riverside Mill created the most desirable type of specialty shopping within walking distance of the downtown Historic District. What was once a detraction for the town has become a vibrant, attractive tourist attraction that hosts events, music, and opportunity for all segments of the economy. Riverside Mill is creating jobs and driving economic opportunity in historic Weldon.

Riverside Mill has benefited from Small Town Main Street through several projects. Blighted structures in the area of Riverside Mill were condemned, demolished and removed. Trees and brush were removed between the downtown area and the mill creating a line of sight and a walk way between the mill and historic downtown. The Public Works Department and Water Plant made street improvements and rerouted their vehicular traffic. A town fish fry was held at the Mill, bringing hundreds of local citizens to preview the mill just before it opened to the public.