Area News

By DEUCE NIVEN     Fires apparently set by one or more burglars on opposite ends of Enzor Street in Fair Bluff gutted one home, with less extensive damage to a second, Police Chief Darrell Trivett II said Tuesday morning.     At least two other homes in the neighborhood were also entered in what appears to…

By DEUCE NIVEN     Lake Tabor was open for business before 3:30 p.m. Friday, after lab results showed the water clear from unsafe levels of bluegreen algae.     Columbus County Health Director ordered the lake reopened after receiving results of the tests on a sample taken from Lake Tabor on Wednesday. Lake Tabor had been…

By DEUCE NIVEN     Kidnapping, assault and weapon charges were filed against an auxiliary police officer Wednesday, just hours after he resigned from the Tabor City Police Department.     Tommy Garland Lovett, 41, was denied bond during a hearing before a magistrate Thursday morning, Marion County Sheriff Mark Richardson said.     Lovett, of Nichols, is…

    Kenny Cox, a member of the Tabor City Fire Department and auto shop owner, died early Thursday at his home east of town.     Family and friends had gathered at his home Wednesday night, celebrating his 59th birthday. Cox died in his sleep during the night, Columbus County Assistant Coroner William Hannah said.    …

By DEUCE NIVEN     Lake Tabor was closed to swimming, pets and fishing on Wednesday as the state Division of Water Quality (DWQ) tested for the presence of Bluegreen algae, Columbus County Health Director Kim Smith said.     That decision followed testing last month for fecal coliform, potentially left by geese that have crowded the…

By JOYCE GRAHAM     More than a decade after stepping away from the operating table, Dr. James Craigie has retired.     This time, he said during an evening in his honor at the McLeod Loris Center for Health & Fitness, it’s for good.     A portrait was unveiled as family, friends and colleagues celebrated a…

By DEUCE NIVEN     Under fire from a murder suspect who was fleeing the scene of a second killing and arson fire, two Columbus County sheriff’s deputies responded within the law as they returned fire and killed Dion Julius Brown in the early morning of April 29, District Attorney Jon David said Friday.     David,…

By DEUCE NIVEN & JOYCE GRAHAM UPDATE: July 31     “It’s not a goose poop problem,” Columbus County Health Director Kim Smith says of the unexplained rash some recent swimmers at Lake Tabor experienced.     Test results from water taken at Lake Tabor on Monday did not show unsafe levels of fecal bacteria, Smith said.…

By DEUCE NIVEN & JOYCE GRAHAM UPDATE: July 31     “It’s not a goose poop problem,” Columbus County Health Director Kim Smith says of the unexplained rash some recent swimmers at Lake Tabor experienced.     Test results from water taken at Lake Tabor on Monday did not show unsafe levels of fecal bacteria, Smith said.…