Area News

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com Friday 7:30 p.m. update      Jody Greene has won the race for Columbus County Sheriff, mixed beverage alcohol sales in restaurants and other businesses in Tabor City have passed, the Columbus County Board of Elections ruled during the formal canvas of the votes Friday evening.      Greene the Republican challenger for Sheriff, claimed…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Provisional ballots that could determine the outcome of the race for Columbus County sheriff and a decision on the legal sale of mixed drinks in Tabor City will be counted during a meeting of the Columbus County Board of Elections that begins at 11 a.m. Thursday.      That meeting had been scheduled…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      An inmate has been stabbed and killed at Columbus Correctional Institution (CCI) near the town of Brunswick, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety has confirmed.      Gregory Adams, Jr., 35, serving time for attempted murder in New Hanover County, was stabbed “in the neck area” just before 8 a.m. Friday, a…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Prosecutors will seek the death penalty in at least one of two men charged in the Oct. 17 murder of Master Trooper Kevin Conner of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, District Attorney Jon David announced Wednesday.      Chauncey Demez Lamar Askew, 18, of East Third Avenue in Chadbourn was indicted by a…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com UPDATE: Wednesday      It’s too soon to for a victory toast in the highly competitive race for Columbus County Sheriff, or a very close vote on allowing the sale of mixed alcoholic beverages in Tabor City.      Provisional ballots that won’t be considered or counted for more than a week could sway the…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com UPDATE – 5:30 p.m. Tuesday      Voting hours will be extended in Tabor City because some voters were turned away from the polls early Tuesday, the NC Board of Elections has decided.      Voting at South Williams Precinct will end at 9:20 tonight, a response to the lack of ballots for voters who…

     One of this season’s most anticipated varsity high school football games has been pushed back a day, South Columbus at Whiteville now set for Saturday.      Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.      Threatening weather prompted the move, Whiteville officials said. Forecasts call for plenty of rain with the possibility of thunderstorms this evenings.      Games this week…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      “Human error” that resulted in the improper release of Whiteville area resident held on a parole violation charge has the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office on the hunt of a felon, Sheriff Lewis Hatcher said Thursday.      Andre Delmas Shipman was arrested Monday and charged by Whiteville Police Department for possession of a…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Shots were fired during the armed robbery of a Dollar General in Old Dock Monday night, a sheriff’s deputy slightly injured in a vehicle pursuit that followed, Columbus County Sheriff Hatcher said in a Tuesday morning news release.      Two men, both with guns, entered the store on Dock Road just off…

UPDATE 9 a.m.      Swampfox Hwy East (NC 904) reopened to traffic just before 9 a.m. Friday, two and a half hours after a two-vehicle wreck at New Life Church Road shut it down, the Tabor City Fire Department reported.      There were injuries in the crash, none believed to be life threatening. 6:30 a.m.…