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Vol. 97, No. 216 © 2012 Th e Daily Herald

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Local........................2Need To Know .........4Obituaries...............5Opinion...................6

Faith & Values..........7Sports......................9Comics...................11Classifi eds.............12

INSIDE TODAY

Complete story on page 9

No big deal, just a costly mistake.

A day after being fi ned $20,000 by the NFL for missing a man-datory media session at the Super Bowl, Gi-ants defensive end Osi Umenyiora apologized for his mistake and said he understands why he was docked so much money.

Media snub

ROGER BELL

THE DAILY HERALD STAFF WRITER

Bruce Norton, now a lieutenant with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department, was just fi nishing a foot patrol and getting something to drink at a store on

West 5th Street when he heard the shots.

“The shots echoed through the city,” Nor-ton said.

It was March 24, 1998, around 9:18 p.m. About a minute after hearing the shots, Norton re-

ceived the call over the radio to respond to the 200 block of Monroe Street.

“Upon arrival, Norton observed a male, identi-fi ed as James Lee Wood-ley, 19, lying on the front yard at 202 Monroe St.

with a gunshot wound to the head,” said Capt. Andy Jackson, head of investigations for the city police.

Investigation revealed Woodley, known by the nickname “Peanut,” and two of his friends

were walking along Monroe Street when they were stopped by three black males in a 1960s model dark-colored, possibly dark blue, four-door Dodge, Plymouth or Ford auto-mobile — one witness

said it was a Fairmont. The three men were

near the intersection of Monroe and West 2nd streets when the vehi-cle stopped in front of them, Jackson said. One black male exited the

Murder investigation 14 years laterMother of Roanoke Rapids shooting victim has not stopped seeking truth

SEE YEARS PAGE 7

ROGER BELL

THE DAILY HERALD STAFF WRITER

The Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District would like to know who put all that grease into the sew-er last week.

District CEO Dan Brown said the grease started coming into the organization’s waste water treatment facility in Weldon Jan. 23.

“As best we can tell, someone has discharged a large load of what appears to be grease into our system,” Brown said. “It started coming in, and we saw it starting to accumulate.”

Brown said he believes the large load, which continued to come into the facility through Jan. 24, most likely came from a grease truck, possibly pumped directly into a manhole some-where along the system.

“It appears to be an intention-al thing,” Brown said. “I guess someone could have done this by accident, but with a volume like this, it appears to be inten-tional.”

The grease presents numer-ous problems for a facility not equipped to handle it, Brown said. Grease could wind up pass-ing through the entire system untreated, then be discharged into the Roanoke River as if someone put it directly there. It could clog the system and cause other pollutants to pass through untreated.

These complications, Brown

said, are the reason dumping grease into the sewer system is a violation, typically punished by a fi ne of up to $25,000.

While Brown isn’t sure they will fi nd out who may have dumped this grease load, he would like residents to be on the lookout for signs something like this could be happening.

“We want people to know what to look for — a truck at an iso-

lated manhole on a dead-end street, or in an industrial area,” Brown said.

Anyone with information on this case or any similar cases may call the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District at 252-537-9137 and ask to speak to Brown or give the information to the re-ceptionist.

After hours calls can be made to 252-537-3319.

DELLA ROSE

THE DAILY HERALD STAFF WRITER

Opponents of lifting the ban on uranium mining in Virginia are encouraging Roanoke Valley residents to con-tact their legislators.

Halifax County Com-missioner Vice Chair Rives Manning said to a degree, North Caro-lina residents are at the mercy of Virginia legis-lators on this issue.

He said it’s time for residents to stand up and contact their legis-lators.

“That’s where we need to put the efforts,” Man-ning said. “We have to make sure they get on board and stop this thing.”

Virginia legislators are examining lifting the ban on uranium mining at the Cole’s Hill site in Pittsylvania County, Va. Proponents of lifting the ban say uranium mining will bring more money and generate jobs for the state.

Opponents have grave concerns about the pos-sible ramifi cations of al-lowing uranium mining in a wet environment — especially downstream of the mines, on the Roanoke River.

Roanoke River Basin Association Vice Presi-dent Gene Addesso said residents have to get in-volved to make the issue a priority for offi cials.

“We have to energize these guys to do some-thing,” he said, adding gubernatorial candi-dates should be briefed, and residents should let them know their feel-

ings on the issue.Addesso said while he

is a member of the Bi-State Commission — a committee put together with representatives from both states tasked with studying and mak-ing recommendations on water issues between the states — do not look to the commission for salvation.

“(The Bi-State Com-mission) doesn’t seem to have any infl uence,” he said. “It lacks fund-ing and is caught up in politics.”

Recently, the city of Virginia Beach, Va., released Phase II of its study on the potential impact of uranium min-ing at the Cole’s Hill site on Virginia drinking water sources.

Virginia Beach trans-fers up to 60 million gallons per day of wa-ter out of Lake Gaston at Peahill Creek. The city is one of the issue’s strongest opponents.

The study used a two-dimensional model to

GREASE DUMP

Contributed to The Daily HeraldRoanoke Rapids Sanitary District CEO Dan Brown said grease started coming into the organization’s waste water treatment facility in Weldon Jan. 23.

Appears intentional, official says

Contributed to The Daily HeraldSanitary district staff said the grease presents numerous problems for a facility not equipped to handle it.

Va uranium ban in playfor NC leaders

“(TheBi-State Commission) doesn’t seem to have any infl uence.It lacksfunding and is caught up in politics.”

— Gene Addesso,Roanoke River Basin

Association vice president

SEE PLAY PAGE 14

Associated PressNew York Giants lineman Osi Umenyiora stretches during practice in Indianapolis.