Area News

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Chief Anthony Spivey of the Chadbourn Police Department is “on leave with pay” as city government looks into “concerns about the leadership of the department,” Mayor Phillip Britt said Saturday.      Lt. Ken Elliott is currently Interim Chief, Britt said, assuming leadership as Spivey’s status changed on Friday.      “We are conducting an…

     Varsity football kicks off for the very delayed 2020 season tonight at South Columbus High School, a week after the scheduled opening game with West Bladen was scuttled due to a potential COVID-19 exposure by some Stallion team members who also play basketball for the school.      East Bladen is scheduled for the 7 p.m. game…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Less than a week after scrapping curfew from North Carolina’s COVID-19 executive orders, Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday announced an accelerated timetable for vaccinations, with individuals in Group 3 eligible effective Wednesday, and some in Group 4 able to begin signing up in three weeks.      Meanwhile, the rate of coronavirus associated…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Lunch at McDonald’s in Tabor City got a bit exciting for a Whiteville man who ended up with a front seat to a vehicle theft Monday, the Tabor City Police Department reports.      Nelson Sanders, 18, told police he was eating lunch in his car in the McDonald’s parking lot when two…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Jack Miller, who cemented his place as among the leading voices of Tabor City radio years before he bought WTAB in 1995, passed away Friday afternoon at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Angel House Hospice Care in Whiteville. He was 84.      “With great sadness in our hearts, we announce the passing of…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      No matter what happens, and he’s contractually prohibited from offering even a hint, Dustin Chapman says earning a spot in this year’s American Idol competition on the ABC television network is a dream come true.      Also, a dream delayed.      “I was originally supposed to be cast about four years ago,” Dustin…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics announced Tuesday by McLeod Health can’t come soon enough for many, as the coronavirus continues to claim lives and infect people throughout the region.      This post will cover these topics and may be updated: McLeod Health sets mass vaccination clinics Seven COVID deaths, 134 new cases for…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Fire quickly consumed most of a Tabor City area mobile home Tuesday morning, leaving little but smoldering debris for investigators from the Columbus County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office to investigate.      A neighbor called in the blaze on Woodview Drive east of Tabor City just before 7…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      An armed robbery at a grocery store in Tabor City is rare, Capt. Chris Hilburn of the Tabor City Police Department says.      Perhaps more rare is an armed robbery with a female suspect.      That’s what happened at Tabor City’s Food Lion at about 9 p.m. Saturday.      Store personnel identified the robber…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Perhaps too soon to be considered a trend, but COVID-19 deaths are noticeably higher in Columbus County, cases spiking in Horry counties as this week ends.      This post will cover these topics and may be updated: COVID takes a deadly turn in Columbus Virus claims 8, infects nearly 300 in Horry…