RUMORS NO MORE

A shoe finally dropped in Robeson County last week - and another could
follow that would leave a much bigger footprint.

We speak of the search at the Sheriff's Office by agents with the State
Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. They spent about
seven hours on Thursday seizing items, including computers and disks, from
the department's Drug Enforcement Division. Sheriff Ken Sealey said the
search is part of an investigation of that division that began in 2002 at
the request of former Sheriff Glenn Maynor.

That's right, the investigation is 3 years old, but The Robesonian was only
able to acknowledge it for the first time in Friday's edition that included
a story that detailed the search. We had heard the whispers about an
investigation of the Sheriff's Office for years, but had been frustrated in
repeated efforts to get well-sourced information that was credible enough
to put in public view. As any responsible newspaper would, we successfully
fought the urge to use information from faceless sources in order to score
a scoop that might include false information that could destroy careers and
lives.

We are glad that we no longer have to whisper about the investigation, and
that it has been Page 1A news and now can be discussed on Page 4A. That's
not because we are happy to see it; anyone who cares about this county and
its people should be distressed because this investigation has the
potential to do unprecedented damage to Robeson's reputation.

We are happy because we have been freed to make some observations - but
what we will not do is speculate on anyone's guilt or innocence.

The fact that the investigation is 3 years old suggests it has been Rumors
comprehensive, with a wide net being cast, and that investigators are
proceeding with caution. The obvious questions are how high up in the
department will the probe lead, and how far back in the department's
history are investigators looking.

We believe that Thursday's search, because it was in the public, means that
the investigation is coming to a conclusion, and that soon enough this
county will have some answers that it has been waiting on for three years.

We urge all Robesonians to be mindful that the investigation, while
initiated locally, is being conducted by outside agencies that presumably
do not have an agenda. This is not a witch hunt that is politically
motivated - a fact that cannot change depending on its outcome.

If the Sheriff's Office suffers from corruption, be it widespread or
limited to a few, then that cancer has to be removed. If the investigation
determines there isn't evidence to prove wrongdoing, then the Sheriff's
Office can step out from underneath a black cloud and move ahead with its
mission of keeping the peace.

Either way, the public needs to know. We have certainly waited long enough
for the answers.