On March 17, Roanoke Valley DIRT Ministries will hold a barbecue and fried chicken dinner to raise funds for a memorial to honor the three fallen officers of the police department as well at its two fallen canine officers, Hasty said today.
(The dinner will be from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Kirkwood Adams and tickets are $10. Tickets can be purchased by calling Moore at 252-532-7172 or by going to B&J's Cash and Carry, Rusty's Wheel Alignment or the police department)
Moore is hopeful the one fundraiser will meet the $5,000 expense of the memorial which will be located in Veterans Park off Roanoke Avenue.
“It's an honor to the officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to their jobs and community,” Hasty said. “It's something for everybody to see. They gave the ultimate sacrifice. We hope it never happens but we know it does.”
An initial sketch of the memorial.
Officer Jason Williams made a memorial for the hallway of the police department which honors the lives of Patrolman Clifton L. Massey, Lieutenant William Edward Vaughan and Sergeant Calvin Edward Daniel.
The proposed Veterans Park memorial will also honor canines Nero, who was killed while training, and Buddy, who was taken from its pen and is believed to have been killed by a drug dealer who was under investigation.
Moore's father, John Lewis Moore, who served as a Roanoke Rapids officer from 1945 to 1966, knew Massey and Vaughn.
Mr. Moore died in 1996. “One of the last conversations he and I had was about his concern something should be done to honor the officers who have fallen in the line of duty,” Moore said.
Moore is a graduate of the police department's Citizens Police Academy and has served on Citizens on Patrol.
Working as a volunteer with DIRT — Disaster Immediate Response Team — the memorial is something she discussed with DIRT organizers Herman and Ruth Moseley. “We got to talking about it as a way to honor my dad. It was something he wanted done and something I want to do to fulfill what he wanted, that these men be recognized for giving the ultimate sacrifice.”
Moore hopes the one fundraiser will be enough to pay for the memorial and should there be money left over that can be used to improve the landscaping around the stone.
