Area News

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Abandoned and without electricity, an arsonist is believed responsible for fire that gutted one West 3rd Street home Sunday night, and heavily damaged another, Tabor City Fire Chief Jeff Fowler said Monday.      “We got them both out,” Fowler said. “The first one was gutted, the other burned the outside, we got…

Story & Photos By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Career Day at South Columbus High School was an outdoor affair for 2021, a brisk breeze keeping students, staff and vendors comfortable Friday.      Static displays from the Tabor City Police Department, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, NC State Highway Patrol, NC Wildlife Resources Commission; an ambulance with advanced life…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A scam with a familiar theme has become more brazen, targeting some “well known public figures” in Columbus County, Columbus County Sheriff’s spokesperson Michele Tatum said.      “One individual did pay the scammer money,” Tatum said in an April 29 news release. Health care providers and at least one person “employed in…

Story & Photos By JENN CAUSEY tribjenn@tabor-loris.com      Fueled by higher than typical winds that are expected to continue today, a brush and woods fire in the Goretown area east of Loris spread quickly Wednesday, claiming at least two structures and forcing the evacuation of about a half-dozen homes along Flag Patch road.      Residents forced to…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Former Chadbourn Police Department chief William Anthony Spivey was arrested Monday on 73 counts of drug trafficking, embezzlement and fraud related to his police work.      SBI special agents made the arrest about 3:45 p.m. Monday in Fair Bluff, taking the former officer into custody without incident, a news release from the…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      An active prison sentence has been ordered for a Loris area woman whose daughter died in a 2020 drunk driving crash, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson announced Thursday.      Heather Boyd, 24, entered the guilty pleas to felony driving under the influence resulting in death and felony DUI with great bodily injury…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Assistance from the public is being sought three days after the possible murder of a Chadbourn man near Tabor City.      Elbert Vereen, 20, was found in a field off of the 1000 block of Clyde Norris Road, east of Tabor City, shortly after 8:30 p.m. Monday, a news release Thursday from…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Issues involving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are impacting vaccination efforts locally, as the toll of the virus appears to have stabilized.      This post will cover these topics: J&J issues delay CC mass vaccination clinic Another week with no COVID deaths in Columbus Horry case count, fatalities stable J&J issues…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      COVID-19 vaccinations are readily available across Columbus County, Health Director Kim Smith says, with a state-contracted clinic bringing first-dose Pfizer vaccines to Chadbourn this Sunday.      StarMed, which hosted similar clinics in Tabor City, Whiteville and Riegelwood, will hold its latest clinic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Westside…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by McLeod Health is scheduled for Thursday, April 8, at The Center for Health & Fitness in Loris.      First dose Pfizer vaccines will be given on a first come, first served basis, no appointments needed while supplies last. There is no residency requirement, McLeod spokesperson Kelly…