Halifax Correctional Unit #23 Graduates 13 GED Students

My press release noting our graduation at Halifax C.U. #23 last weekend, which coincided with my last day at the facility. I was very proud of our students that worked hard and finished their GED. It's all about continuing to make progress, no matter what mistakes you have made or what your situation in life is at any given time. As I said to the graduates last Friday, it is a step, and hopefully one of many. But it is a step and it's going in the right direction. The question is, what is your next step going to be?

There are critics out there who speak of offenders and say.."we should just lock them up and throw away the key." When it comes to people who commit the most unthinkable and heinous crimes, I understand what they mean. But one thing I have learned during my time teaching with the Department of Corrections is that some of the people behind bars realize what they did to get there, are

willing to serve their time, and just want to move on with their life while making the best of the time they have to serve with the state. Now I'm not overly empathetic by anybody's definition of the term, but even I can figure this one out. If the system suppresses, abuses, and doesn't attempt to rehabilitate the offenders within the correctional system, how do you think the offender is going to act when he/she is released and moving back on to YOUR street? People tend to forget that almost all offenders get released back into society. Just something to think about while I get off the soapbox.


Thirteen men who earned their GED (General Education Development) diplomas were recognized on Friday, March 21st, as Halifax Correctional Unit #23 hosted its annual graduation ceremony at the DOC’s Division of Education School building on its grounds.

The GED certificate is nationally recognized as the equivalent of a high school diploma. For the Virginia Department of Corrections, education is the key to reducing recidivism among offenders. Virginia currently ranks second in the nation for lowest recidivism rate, in comparison with data compiled by other states.

To earn the GED diploma, a student must complete six levels of adult basic education, which is measured by the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) exam. Upon earning a passing score on the highest level of the TABE exam, the student then qualifies for the GED examination by passing an Official Practice Test (OPT). 

On January 1, 2014, the GED Testing Service initiated a new system which changed the content and format of the test. While the Department of Corrections received a temporary “waiver” because of the number of changes required to implement the new GED examination in a prison setting, they are in the process of transitioning from the old 2002 test to a computerized 2014 version. 

Of the thirteen graduates, eight were present for the ceremony. The guest speaker was Mr. Andrew Beamon, new principal for the Nottoway region, which includes the Halifax #23 unit. Other distinguished guests from the Department of Corrections central office in Richmond were also in attendance.

50's Warwick High Track Legend Snead Passes

One of the greatest scholastic track athletes in Newport News history quietly passed away last month. Donald Snead, a multiple state record holder in the hurdles for Warwick High in the late 1950’s, died on January 8th at the age of 74.

Snead’s legacy as a track athlete was revolutionary for his time. In 1958, the Raider athlete won all four state hurdle championships, which included the 70-yard low and high hurdles indoors, as well as the 120 and 180 highs outdoors, a feat he also accomplished as a junior. His 70 (8.0) and 180 (19.8) high hurdle times were both state records at the time.

Older brother Dean remembers his brother as an original multi-event talent, one who shined on the track and field before the likes of athletes such as Newport News’ Doug Dickinson won multiple state titles in various events. “Don would enter five events in every meet. He ran the hurdles, he did the high jump, and usually was the fourth guy (anchor leg) on the relays.”

In spite of his family’s success at other sports (cousin Norm threw for 199 TD’s as an NFL quarterback with several teams), Dean recalls that Don “was kind of good in football. he also played basketball and baseball, but track was really the one thing he was good at.”

In fact, his speed translated into his greatest play on the gridiron.

“I remember that Warwick was playing Newport News High, back when Julie Conn was their coach. On one play, they (the Typhoon) were on about their 25-yard line and their quarterback went back to pass. Donald was rushing the quarterback, who threw a pass which was caught by the wide receiver.”

“Now Donald started out about fifteen yards behind the ball carrier, but he started running by all those guys like they were standing still! He ended up catching their guy at about the 20.”

The feat did not go unnoticed by the legendary Typhoon coach.

Recalls Dean, “Oh yeah, there was one night when Julie Conn came by our house to get Don out for Newport News.”

But Snead went in a different direction, eventually graduating from Fork Union Military Academy, which he attended on a track scholarship. Eventually, his family settled down in Carrollton.

In 1958, Snead was recognized by the Peninsula Sports Club as a member of the All-Peninsula Track team for his exploits in the hurdles and high jump.

Pinning2Win in Hampton

Capitalizing on the wave which has sparked the growth of youth wrestling on the Peninsula and surrounding parts was easy for the Pin2Win club in Hampton. After all, they were around in the beginning of the movement.

Just ask Janet Williams.

Williams, a fixture at the annual Virginia Duals (she is the secretary of the Peninsula Wrestling Association and the meet), has been with the club since its formation almost 20 years ago.

“In the past, there were a lot of kids and parents who saw wrestling as WWE (professional wrestling), and it was unfortunate.”

For the 35 or so young athletes, aged four to 15, who spend two or three nights a week developing their skills in the wrestling room at Bethel High, the mission to be followed is probably not as flashy as a Ric Flair soundbite, but certainly more meaningful.

Reading from their own statement, the goal of Pin2Win is to “nurture the balanced student-athlete through the personal growth of each wrestler.”

Says Williams,“our philosophy is - the more mat time you’re getting, the better.”
To that end, the club, whose season runs from December to April, is in preparation for one of its two yearly fundraisers. On Saturday, March 1st, the team will host its sixth annual Rookie Open at Bethel High.

“It’s for first and second year wrestlers only and we’re excited about the event,” says Williams. “Last year, we had close to 300 wrestlers compete.”

It’s the personal touch that works best for the Pin2Win group. On a recent holiday Monday, 16 young grapplers filed into practice and began training under the watchful eye of several coaches, led by former Hampton High coach Ron McRae.

For McRae, the decision to take a break from the high school ranks was not too difficult.

“I wanted to spend more time with my family. My son has been wrestling for a few years. I wanted to have time to work specifically with him on the sport. I’m certainly not done with (coaching) high school, but I’d like to be with him until about 7th or 8th grade.”

There is precedent behind McRae’s plan. Head assistant coach Chris Vargo has a son on the team. Also, McRae succeeded John Swartz, who coached the Pin2Win squad until last year before making a full transition to Smithfield High as head coach, a team that also included his son.

Although in Swartz’s case, the move was incidental.

“In all honesty, my son was an incoming freshman and between (us), he was looking forward to wrestling for someone other than his dad as he’d done since he was three years old.  Unfortunately for him, I was his JV coach in eighth grade and now his varsity coach in ninth. So much for those plans!”

But it’s the family aspect that keeps Pin2Win successful. In spite of their historical lineage, which includes having future Division I college All-Americans, such as ODU’s Chris Brown, on their roster, a perfect practice would include a group of wrestlers of all ages and genders practicing with near one-to-one instruction.

Adds Williams, “there was one day recently where we had 16 out here with nine parents participating – basically one for each pair. We encourage our parents to get involved.”

The Pin2Win team practices from 6-8 PM at Bethel High. The novice team practices on Tuesday and Thursday, while the advanced wrestlers meet on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. For more information, the Pin2Win website can be found at http://www.leaguelineup.com/pin2winva.

Yarisley Silva Rodriguez wins IAAF World Championship Pole Vault: The Sky is the Limit

Kudos to newly crowned IAAF world champion Yarisley Silva Rodriguez, who won the women's pole vault at the IAAF World Championships, held this weekend in Sopot, Poland. Her vault of 4.70 m. tied with Russia 's Anzhelika Sidorova and Jirina Svobodova of  the Czech Republic, but Silva took the crown by virtue of fewest misses.

In light of her championship, I am updating an article from last spring, in the hopes of further enlightening some folks about this immense talent from Cuba. I am scheduled to talk with Miss Silva next month for the summer issue (#6) of Trackside magazine, due sometime around June. Issue #5 should be hitting the public by the end of March. More to come.


Last spring, I had the pleasure of conducting a series of interviews with world class sprinter Justin Gatlin. Fortunately, Justin is an active participant in the TrackNation movement; in fact, he’s probably the most recognizable face of the organization. 

While talking with Gatlin, on a whim and while we were discussing the topic of being a track fans, I mentioned that I had seen a Cuban pole vaulter on TV the previous Saturday. Her name was Yarisley Silva, and I felt she may become the “next big thing” in track.

Since Justin watches many other events besides the ones he runs (the 100, 200 or 400 relay), he had a lot to offer with regard to Silva and the women’s pole vault. “It’s unbelievable what’s happening there. When I was coming up, Stacy Dragila (2000 Olympic gold medalist and world record holder on numerous occasions) was the big name. Now, the women are just pushing the bar up.”

At last year’s Drake Relays, which coincided with our interviews, Silva, a silver medalist at the 2012 London Games, took it to American vaulting ace Jenn Suhr. In the process, she cleared 15’10.75” (4.85 m.) a remarkable height which just edged Dragila’s best (keep in mind that Dragila was like Wayne Gretzky, just WAY ahead of her competition), and also set the Cuban, Caribbean and Central American records. She has since bumped her best mark up to 4.90 m.

After clearing the winning height in Iowa, Silva called it a day, and opted to not make attempts at a higher standard.

In my continuing quest to become an “ace” reporter, I figured that she could be a potential interview, and got to work on this endeavor at 10 PM on a Saturday night. With nowhere else to turn, I did a cursory search on Facebook. And there she was, with a fan page.

I sent a message to the page. Ten minutes later, I received a friend request from her friend Lilian Cid. Just noticing that the request was from Cuba was enough to tell me that I had made a connection. As it turned out, we ended up chatting for 30-45 minutes.

About ten minutes into our chat, a message notice popped up. It was Yarisley. She had typed a short note mentioning that I should talk with her friend, who helped her out with “media stuff” and that when she knows what I’m looking for, we could be in contact. Actually, it was more of a “how can we help you?” type of note. Lilian, in particular, was gracious and ready to answer all of my questions. Problem was, I didn’t have any yet!

Here’s the tale of the tape. Yarisley Silva is just 26. She has been vaulting for eight years, but couldn’t find many quality track meets until she could meet the qualifying standards for high level meets outside of Cuba, where her main competition is the bar itself. Case in point, she has improved from 4.40 to 4.90 in the past five years, and is just entering her peak ages. 

The sky remains the limit for Miss Silva. Keep an eye out for her as this outdoor season progresses and the 2016 Olympics in Rio take place. She's got it going on.