Area Upfront News

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Fire that apparently began between the ceiling and roof of Tabor City’s Burger King heavily damaged the restaurant.      Restaurant workers entering the store on US 701 Bypass noticed the smell of smoke when they went to work before 6 a.m., Tabor City Fire Chief Jeff Fowler said.      “They were trying to…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      An investigation into nearly $70,000 missing from a Giving Hope Gardens bank account has resulted in the arrest of the non-profit group’s treasurer, who previously held the same post for the City of Loris and ran once for the City Council.      Todd Keith Massey, II, of Saint James Extension, Loris, surrendered…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      NOTE: This story has been edited to correct a description of the sex crime alleged against Jody Watts.      An allegation of “inappropriate communications” with a student at Thomas Academy in Lake Waccamaw has resulted in the arrest of a teacher from Green Sea on child sex charges.      Jody Watts, 49, of…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      State Rep. Brenden Jones of Tabor City has been elected Majority Leader of the North Carolina House or Representatives.      Jones election Tuesday was “by an overwhelming majority of his colleagues, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in leadership,” a news release from his office said. “With deep gratitude and…

     Sign up dates for the Toys for Tots program in Columbus County are set for two Saturdays, Nov. 2 and Dec. 7, organizers say.      Applications will be accepted at Believers Home Fellowship in Tabor City and Abundant Life Assembly of God in Whiteville from 10 a.m. to noon both days.      Residents of Tabor City, Fair…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Multiple structures and vehicles were consumed or destroyed by a mid-afternoon fire just south of Tabor City in northern Horry on Wednesday.      “A house, a trailer, a building, two trucks and a camper,” Tabor City Fire Chief Jeff Fowler said of the losses. “And a motorcycle.”      Multiple trucks and personnel southern…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A number of teams from Columbus County have responded to western North Carolina, a region in “a desperate situation” in the aftermath of flooding and landslides brought on by the remnants of Hurricane Helena on Friday, Sept. 27.      Others are gathering relief supplies that will begin rolling to the hard hit…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Rain and wind associated with Tropical Storm Helena, which made landfall in Florida late Thursday and traversed through Georgia by mid-morning Friday, had relatively minor impacts in the Tabor-Loris Community.      Tabor City Fire Department and Town of Tabor Public Works’ crews responded to multiple calls of trees and limbs down, some…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Tabor City Police want to talk to this man about the theft of $160 worth of tequila from the Tabor City ABC Store on Sept. 24, Maj. Christopher Hilburn says.      Two men left the store with three bottles of the liquor “by shoving them down their pants,” Hilburn said.      Contact Maj.…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Public schools in the Columbus and Horry county districts will move to remote learning plans on Friday, Sept. 27, as Hurricane Helene’s impacts are expected to extend well beyond landfall in Florida Thursday evening, into the Carolinas.      Both districts announced remote learning plans by mid-day Thursday. Both referenced the “potential for…