Area News

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Just more than 13 years after the grisly discovery of Kathy Jean Jones Williamson’s body, found beaten to death in her Chadbourn area home, a New York man is in custody charged with that crime.      Curtis Tyrone Watson, 53, of Brooklyn, New York, was charged with murder, brought back from the…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      It’s been a deadly few two days related to COVID-19 in Columbus and Horry counties, with 17 residents claimed by the virus since Tuesday, the majority north of the state line though Horry has more than five times the population.      More than 400 coronavirus infections have been confirmed in the two…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Some sort of normal is coming, state and national leaders say of the COVID-19 pandemic, though no one is sure how quickly.      Public vaccination clinics are coming to Columbus and Horry counties, while North Carolina leaders say it’s time to get kids back in conventional classrooms.      Meanwhile, coronavirus associated deaths in…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Columbus Career and College Academy, housed on the campus of Southeastern Community College, is going all virtual because of a high number of staff members under quarantine after COVID-19 exposures.      Parents were notified Friday that in-person classes at CCCA will be paused through at least Feb. 10, school district spokesman Kelly…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      COVID-19 deaths have been under reported across South Carolina for several weeks, the result of “system glitches” in a new reporting system, the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control reported Thursday.      Those glitches have been fixed, revealing 254 confirmed and probable deaths not previously reported, including numerous in Horry County.…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      One man is believed responsible for break-ins at two Dollar General stores in Columbus County earlier this month, and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help to identify him.      Break-ins were reported at the Dollar General on Dock Road in the Old Dock Community on Jan. 8, and at…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      COVID-19 vaccines will be available for all, eventually, and finding your place in the vaccine line can now be found online.      Meanwhile, some Horry County Schools students who have been splitting their time on campus should be back in the classroom full time on Feb. 8.      That comes against a backdrop…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com Afternoon update      Steven Best, identified Monday afternoon as the victim of a Friday night shooting that left him seriously injured, was “shot in the head area,” Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michele Tatum said.      Best, 49, was taken by a witness to McLeod Loris hospital following the shooting at his home…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Full-time distance learning for students in the Columbus County Schools, in place since they returned from the Christmas break, ends for many at the end of this week.      A hybrid learning model, with the students in PreK through fifth grade in on-campus classes full time, older grades split between on-campus and…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Nearly 1,000 new COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in Columbus and Horry counties since Sunday, the bulk in Horry with five times the population as Columbus, with ten associated deaths following the same pattern.      This post will cover these topics and may be updated: More than 200 COVID cases in Columbus…