The Daily News Leader from Staunton, Virginia • 1

tv I 0 Today: High: 39 Vl Low: 19 Full report page A10 mm mm Proud to serve our community for more than 100 years 1 www.newsleader.com I Thursday, March 3, 2005 Next stop: State playoffs Coming Friday Get ready for Robert E. Lee's Group AA state quarterfinal game Saturday with a keepsake that featured All-American Kevin Madden. After hoisting the Valley District regular season, district tournament and Region II championship trophies, the last one and the biggest awaits the Leemen when they begin state Group AA quarterfinal play Saturday against Brunswick. The game is expected to be played at Spotswood High School, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Hubert F.

Grim III HARRISONBURG Three goals down, and the ultimate one to go for the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Robert E. Lee boys' basketball team. The Leemen tied a school record Wednesday night, winning their 52nd straight game by routing the Millbrook Pioneers 72-48 in the Region II championship at JMU's Convocation Center. The victory matched the win streak of the 1983-84 and 1984-85 Lee teams section in Friday's News Leader.

Meet the Leemen: Find out what music they listen to, who their favorite athletes are and what's best about playing for Lee. Commemorative state poster Support the Leemen, then keep this tribute to the 2004-05 Leemen. Plus, which Leemen have been standing tall, and how does this Lee team stack up against a prior Lee team with a 52-game winning streak? Mike TrippThe News Leader Eli Crawford and J.R. Ware of Robert E. Lee High School celebrate after defeating Mill-brook High School Wednesday.

Coverage, B1 Dancing the Maasai way dleepcBirQS I ASK spoDD l1o SH 1 Detention practices largely secret The Washington Post WASHINGTON In November 2002, a newly minted CIA case officer in charge of a secret prison just north of Kabul allegedly ordered guards to strip naked an uncooperative young Afghan detainee, chain him to the concrete floor and leave him there overnight without blankets, according to four U.S. government officials aware of the case. The Afghan guards paid by the CIA and working under CIA supervision in an abandoned warehouse code-named the Salt Pit dragged their captive around on the concrete floor, bruising and scraping his skin, before putting him in his cell, two of the officials said. As night fell, so, predictably, did the temperature. By morning, the Afghan man had frozen to death.

After a quick autopsy by a CIA medic "hypothermia" was listed as the cause of death the guards buried the Afghan, who was in his 20s, in an unmarked, unacknowledged cemetery used by Afghan forces, officials said. "He just disappeared from the face of the earth," said one U.S. government official quoted by The Washington Post. The CIA's inspector general is investigating at least half a dozen allegations of serious abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, including two previously reported deaths in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and the death at the Salt Pit, U.S. officials said.

Inside in The Associated Press Virginia coach Pete Gillen directs his team against North Carolina State. Virginia falls to .500 with loss to N.C. State Details on Page B1 Wineries offer visits to quench the thirst Details on Page A2 Happening Today Retired educators MOUNT CRAWFORD The Augusta Retired Educators Association will meet at 1 1 :30 a.m. at Evers Restaurant, Mount Crawford. Attendees should bring an item to sell for the scholarship fund.

Lunch Music STAUNTON The Rusticators will perform at noon at Staunton Public Library. Bring lunch, or share free pizza. Free. Call 332-3902. Drama WAYNESBORO Waynesboro Players will present "Goodbye Charlie" by George Axlerod at 8 p.m.

today and March 4 and 5 in Louis Spilman auditorium at Waynesboro High School, 1 200 W. Main St. Admission: $8 for adults and $5 for students. Call 949-7464, or visit www.waynesboroplayers. org.

Index Abby Classifieds B7-9 Comics B6 Crossword B6 Death Notices A2 Editorial A9 Financial A8 Go! Inside Horoscope B6 Local A3 Sports B1-5, B10 Television grid Our commitment: We correct all errors of fact as soon as we learn of them. Corrections and our policy run daily on Page A2. (D Copyright 2005 The Daily News Leader. Republication without permission prohibited. JL We print using irb at least 25 paper iiDer and narth.

PK friendly soy color inks. 2501' 3 Dill The Dally News Leader Vol. 115, No. 53 Snide Costs mount, feds take over By Christina Murphystaff cmurphynewsleader.com FORT DEFIANCE A handful of residents who live alongside a contaminated stream at Dam Town Road can expect officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to come knocking next week.

The EPA, which has taken over cleanup at the site of a Feb. 5 tractor trailer fire on Interstate 81, has scheduled to resume the project Monday. Cleanup has stalled because of recent snow, said Bob Kelly, the EPA's site manager. Rising costs prompted the Virginia Department of Environment Quality, which was formerly in charge of the project, to request federal assistance. The EPA has since ordered new tests and budgeted $200,000 for cleanup $150,000 more than the state DEQ had available.

They are testing for three chemicals: chromium III, chromium VI and silver, Kelly said. He said initial testing from the state DEQ indicated that these chemicals were present in the contami- Please see SPILL, backpage, this section 1 head start he knows exactly what his cows eat and where it comes from. Health concerns associated with farm chemicals have boosted local demand for organic milk and produce. At the Staunton Kroger, assistant manager Jay Hite of Weyers Cave noticed the recent Members of "Friends of Sironka," a Maasai dance troop, involve the students at Bessie Weller Elementary School during a performance Wednesday. At right, Sayainka smiles while performing.

From Kiserian, Kenya, the group is touring the United States. A performance snowed out earlier this week has been rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at McSwain Elementary. Mike TrippThe News Leader Spill What chemicals are involved? The Environmental Protection Agency is testing for chromium III chromium VI silver Residents should not touch or go near contaminated water, and livestock and pets should be kept away. When w7 it be cleaned up? There will be no timeline on how long the cleanup will take until test results come back, said Bob Kelly, the EPA's site manager.

Should I have my well tested? The EPA wants to test a handful of residential wells in the affected area along Dam Town Road, said Bob Kelly, the EPA's site manager. Property owners in those areas will be notified next week. Contamination is considered unlikely. What are warning signs? Colored water could indicate contamination If your water is green or orange, Mary Baldwin College biology professor Lundy Pentz said you should stay away from it. organic Dairy Lingo A "hundredweight" of milk equals 100 pounds.

A hundredweight contains about 1 1 .63 gallons. Learn More Organic milk seminar 10 a.m. Friday at Montezuma Hall, Dayton. For more information, call the Rockingham County Extension Office, (540) 564-3080. "We had a significant increase (in organic milk sales) when we enlarged our health foods department," he said.

"A certain percentage of the population is buying more and Please see ORGANIC, back page, this section Dairy economics prompt look to Middle-aged stresses cause women to gain By Joel Bairdstaff jbairdnewsleader.com SPRING HILL The weather hasn't driven James Wenger indoors. On the contrary, he's busier than usual, working around the clock to bring newborn calves out of the punishing, snow-swept chill. With elbow grease and the help of his two sons, Nathan and David. Wenger has been working overtime to bring his dairy farm into compliance with organic standards that will eventually command higher milk prices. "We're not getting a whole lot of sleep these days," Wenger said as he returned to his barn.

"In this kind of weather, we keep very, very busy." He has 1 8 months and one more winter to go. than 2,000 women about unhappy life events they had experienced in the past year. They also gathered information on diets, exercise habits, smoking and menstrual periods. But even after taking into account many factors that could influence weight, four years later the women who faced lots of stress weighed significantly more than the less stressed. The more bad things they reported in the year before the study, the more weight they had gained over the four years.

That doesn't mean diet or exercise don't matter, Lewis says. But the link between personal trouble and weight gain held for all middlo-aged women, regardless of race, income and education. USA Today Bruising experiences in middle age the cruel boss, ill parents, divorce cause women to gain weight, and it's not just because they eat more or exercise less, a large study reports today. "Under stress, people conserve more fat, and we think that may be what's going on here," says psychologist Tene Lewis of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She and co-author Lynda Powell are to report their findings in Vancouver, B.C.

The study tracks the health and mental health of pre-menopausal women from their 40s through menopause. Researchers asked more Vincent LerzThe News Leader James Wenger looks forward to running a certified organic dairy on his family farm near Spring Hill. The three-year transition period towards full organic dairy certification aims to eliminate herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones from the final product. Wenger has been grazing his cattle exclusively on pasture and hay since 1996, which gives him a.