Area News
Thief takes Christmas gifts at DSS
By DEUCE NIVEN A Grinch has found his, or her way into Columbus County’s Department of Social Services, a recent Sheriff’s Office report indicates. Christmas gifts worth $973, intended for foster children, were taken from under the desk of a social worker at the DSS offices in Whiteville, Sheriff’s Capt. David Nobles said.…
Read MoreScam targets electric customers
By DEUCE NIVEN Just in time for the holidays, scammers are targeting electric customers in the Carolinas, with some documented instances in Loris. Santee Cooper is reporting one scam, Sgt. Richard Kostanek of the Loris Police Department said. It involves a man who calls himself Jason Roberts calling local businesses, saying that if…
Read MoreAttorney Jorgensen dies in crash
By DEUCE NIVEN Ralph G. Jorgensen, an attorney in Tabor City for more than four decades, died in a one-vehicle crash in eastern Columbus County Thursday night, Sgt. John Lewis of the North Carolina Highway Patrol said Friday. He was 76. “We don’t think the crash killed him,” Lewis said. “We suspect a…
Read More57 years in the classroom, Davis is region Teacher of the Year
Story & Photo By DEUCE NIVEN She’s been a public school teacher for 57 years, and several times her school’s Teacher of the Year. A well-kept secret for two weeks was broken Thursday morning, as students, faculty, and guests at South Columbus High School were told that Family and Consumer Sciences Education teacher…
Read MorePedistrian killed near her Carolina Road home
By DEUCE NIVEN A Carolina Road woman walking on the road shoulder near her home was struck and killed by a work van Tuesday morning, Columbus County Coroner Linwood Cartrette said. Rosanna Dixon, 52, died not long after being struck by the work van of Ronald James “Ronnie” Bell, 65, whose home was…
Read MoreSoggy parade
Rain began falling just as the Loris Christmas parade was ending Saturday morning, and as Tabor City’s began that evening. While the cool, inclement weather forced some region parades to cancel, others went on with umbrella’s, like those sheltering these two in Tabor City, towels and tarps protecting the few, the proud, the…
Read MoreUPDATE: TC Christmas Parade is on
Saturday afternoon update: By DEUCE NIVEN Despite gloomy skies and the threat of cold rain, Tabor City’s Christmas Parade under the lights will take place at 6 p.m. today, Town Manager Al Leonard said. We waited until 3:30 to see if it was raining, and it’s not raining,” Leonard said. “The parade is…
Read MoreFair Bluff woman charged with SC tax fraud
By DEUCE NIVEN Tax fraud warrants were served on a Fair Bluff woman Wednesday, the South Carolina Department of Revenue announced Thursday. Wytisha Ebony Evans, 35, was charged with two counts each of forgery and assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent tax return. Held for about two hours at the J.…
Read MoreBellamy gets 20 years in Ridgeland Acres murders
By DEUCE NIVEN An area man could spend 20 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to two murders in Superior Court here on Tuesday, District Attorney Jon David announced Wednesday. Ronald Eugene Bellamy, 46, of Bellamy-Gore Lane, Whiteville, had been charged with capital murder in the Dec. 12, 2010 killings of…
Read MoreJones aims for NC House seat
By JOYCE GRAHAM Just a month after resigning from the Columbus County Board of Elections to focus on “personal opportunities,” Tabor City businessman Brenden Jones has formally announced as a candidate for the N.C. House of Representatives. Jones, a Republican, laid campaign groundwork weeks ago, preparing his race for the seat now held…
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