Area Upfront News

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      An attempt to destroy surveillance cameras by setting a Ray Street home ablaze Monday night instead resulted in the arrest of a neighbor Tuesday, Capt. Greg Sibbett of the Tabor City Police Department said.      Frank McLeod Phillips, 58, was arrested at his home Tuesday morning, charged in a warrant with second…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      More than 400 cases on the docket for District Court in Tabor City Friday likely set a record for the facility, Clerk of Court Jesse Hill said.      Water damage from recent floods and a faulty water pipe forced extensive renovations inside the courthouse, cancelling sessions in January and February, those cases…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A Christmas day killing more than two years ago will leave a Loris man in prison for 35 years, a judge and jury in Conway ruled Thursday.      Roger Grate, 53, was convicted by a jury in the shooting death of his nephew, Darrell Doctor, who was 40, during a family gathering…

Pink was the theme as the Columbus County Board of Elections was sworn Thursday, the first all-female panel in the organization’s history, Elections Director Carla Strickland said. Clerk of Court Jess Hill administered the oaths. From left are Brenda Blanks Ebron, Katherine Horne, Bonita Blackney, JoAnn Garrell, Bonnie Inman, Strickland, and Hill. Board chair Blackney,…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A new Columbus County Board of Elections will take office Thursday.      Members nominated by the political parties and approved by the State Board of Elections, and a chair appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper will be sworn at 11 a.m. at the Board of Elections office in Whiteville, Director Carla Strickland said…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A teacher at Loris High School was arrested for possession of an open container of alcohol on campus Thursday, Loris Police Chief Gary Buley said.      Jessica Ann Zajac McCoy, 33, of North Myrtle Beach, was arrested after police investigating a minor wreck involving her car found an open beer in McCoy’s…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Conner’s Law, a bill named in tribute of Master Trooper Kevin Conner of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, slain in the line of duty last fall, was introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives by state Rep. Brenden Jones Thursday.      Conner’s widow, Miranda, joined Jones and NCHP representatives at a…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A hearing into protests in last November’s Columbus County Sheriff’s race has been scheduled for Monday, March 25.      Board of Elections will meet beginning at 1 p.m., the agenda to include appointing county boards of elections and other routine matters, with the consideration of protests brought by Nancy Hill and Gloria…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Snow covered some rooftops and grassy areas, but pavement was wet, not slushy as dawn broke over the Tabor-Loris Community (TLC) Tuesday.      Forecasts Monday of winter precipitation moving through quickly, gone by daybreak, proved inaccurate, with some calling for the “wintery mix” to continue until about 10:30 today.      School buses were…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A “set fire” destroyed a mobile home on Stacy Lane east of Tabor City Monday morning, Columbus County Fire Marshal Shannon Blackman said.      “There was no power to the house,” Blackman said. “There’s never been power on the house.”      D.B. White, who lived in the home, was apparently not there when…