Biologist Gives Talk on Box Turtle Survival Strategies by Diana Matthews He Said
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Arts celebration Baseball Students get creative and show off their WHS defeats rival West skills at East Columbus High School Columbus 12-2 uuSEE CELEBRATE, 2A uuSEE SPORTS, 1B The News Reporter Published since 1890 every Monday and Thursday for the County of Columbus and her people. WWW.NRCOLUMBUS.COM Monday, March 26, 2018 75 CENTS EASTER EGG DROP Testimony gets started in Canady beating trial By Jefferson Weaver [email protected] Jurors in the first degree mur- der trial of Amanda Canady were riveted on Johnny Tyler Thursday as he described the night Antwan Johnson, Derrick Pierce and Ca- nady allegedly beat Keisha Ward to death, and nearly killed Tyler. “They finally got to where they were just hitting on us,” Tyler said, “and you couldn’t tell who was hit- ting who. It was like somebody got tired and started beating on some- one else.” Canady is the last of the three co-defendants in the New Year’s Day 2014 torture death of Ward. Johnson pleaded to second degree murder almost three years to the day after being arrested. Pierce was found guilty of first degree murder and attempted murder last summer and sentenced to life plus 20 years. Canady was subpoenaed to testify in the Pierce trial, but invoked her Staff photo by Grant Merritt Fifth Amendment privilege. Pierce – described by Tyler as Bryson Davis runs to catch raining eggs at the Easter egg drop at Galloway Farms on Saturday afternoon. Youngsters raced to find the his drug dealer – frequently used golden lucky eggs as the helicoptor dropped 10,000 eggs. See more photos under “Galleries” at nrcolumbus.com. Tyler’s truck in exchange for drugs, Tyler said. Tyler explained that he and Ward were frequent users of crack and powdered cocaine, and at Tyler’s request, Pierce had started DHHS approves county’s request to disengage supplying Tyler with opiates as a replacement for the cocaine. Tyler described how Pierce, John- from Eastpointe; provider considering ‘next steps’ son and Canady came to the Tyler- Ward home on Bussey Road shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day. By Allen Turner Health Resources as a service pro- a contract with the county. County the form of a letter to County Man- The family had hosted a bonfire [email protected] vider effective July 1. commissioners have for some time ager Mike Stephens. and cookout earlier, and their three However, Eastpointe CEO Sarah voiced discontent with the level “Based upon our review and in ac- children, along with another boy, Dr. Mandy Cohen, N.C. Secretary Stroud said in response that East- of services provided and last year cordance with the NCGS l 22C- l l 5(a3) were asleep in a bedroom when the of Health and Human Services pointe might not accept the decision requested permission from DHHS and the county disengagement rules, assault began. (DHHS), notified Columbus County without a fight and is “considering to “disengage” from Eastpointe and I am approving Columbus County’s Tyler said the visit started out Manager Mike Stephens in a letter next steps.” begin using Trillium as a provider request to disengage from Eastpointe friendly, with just the two men com- Wednesday that she has approved the Eastpointe has been providing instead. and realign with Trillium, with an ef- ing inside while Tyler continued county’s request to disengage from human services, including mental Secretary Cohen’s notification to fective date of July 1, 2018,” she wrote cooking. using Eastpointe Human Services health services, to Columbus County Columbus County last week that its uu EASTPOINTE uuSEE BEATING 4A and, instead, engage with Trillium residents for several years under request had been approved came in SEE 3A ‘MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM’ Biologist gives talk on box turtle survival strategies By Diana Matthews he said. “I’ve tracked the same where there has been no fire in [email protected] individuals for years, and I 40 years, the turtles preferred to could keep tracking them for a dig their homes in the sandier John Roe, Ph.D, presented long time.” high ground. an informative talk on the sur- Roe passed a turtle’s top shell A fact that amazed the lis- vival strategies of box turtles around the classroom so that teners was that, “Some species to an audience of more than the children and adults could of turtles can breathe through three dozen children and adults see how its parts corresponded their butts,” said Roe. “They March 17 at the N.C. Museum of to a human’s vertebrae and ribs. have blood vessels that absorb Natural Science at Whiteville. The outer surface of the shell is oxygen from water the way a Roe has used radio trans- similar to a human’s skin and fish’s gills do. These vessels mitters to track turtles at both nails, he said, and it helps the are clustered around their Weymouth Woods and Lumber turtle to stay hydrated. cloaca. That’s the correct term River state parks for seven Roe shared some surprising I should have used instead of years. WWSP is managed with information with his listeners. butt.” Roe’s research has not yet controlled burns while LRSP is Although box turtles are ter- proven that box turtles can take not. Roe’s results show how the restrial reptiles, some of the in oxygen that way, but it could turtles in WWSP have adopted individuals in his study have help explain how some could different survival strategies spent months underwater. “I stay underwater for lengthy that usually allow them to es- thought they had died or that periods. cape death by forest fires. Roe their transmitters had fallen Roe showed photos of turtles used pictures and graphs to off in a stream,” he said, “but who had slept through Wey- explain the hazards that cause in the spring I found them mouth Woods’ controlled fires danger to turtles, ranging from again,” alive and still wearing in their burrows or who had their devices. been injured in a fire but sur- disease to car accidents. If able Staff photo by Diana Matthews to escape those hardships, Roe The turtles in the fire-man- vived and recovered by soaking said, box turtles can live for aged park spent almost all of in a stream until their shell Biologist John Roe shows the parts of a box turtle’s upper shell to a group of museum- decades. “That’s one of the nice their time either in water or goers Saturday afternoon. His talk on box turtles was the latest installment in the “Meet things about studying turtles,” very close to it; at the park uuSEE BOX TURTLE 5A Me at the Museum” series. Roe is on the UNC-Pembroke faculty. Volume 127, Number 76 Fourth grader Creek Hyatt winning the “Exemplary” award at the North Carolina Science and En- Whiteville, North Carolina DIDYOB gineering Fair in Raleigh on Saturday?... Members of the Carolyn T. High Garden Club picking up DID YOU OBSERVE? trash on the south ends of Lee and Franklin streets Saturday?... 8 95297 00000 6 2A • The News Reporter • Monday, March 26, 2018 CELEBRATE THE ARTS Staff photos by Grant Merritt East Columbus High School hosted the 26th annual Celebrate the Arts on Saturday night where local students performed in general music, chorus, dance, theatre and band with visual art displays in the gym. See more photos under “Galleries” at nrcolumbus.com. WDDC director endorses council idea ‘MicroCosmos’ is feature at By Jefferson Weaver folks to Vineland, the WDDC tirement community are the love to see open and expand. Museum’s Science Cinema [email protected] and the city’s economic devel- same things that benefit a Whiteville is a great place for opment office.” small business. We have good a business to get its start, or to The North Carolina Mu- programming is funded by a Gene Merritt said Friday Merritt, who has been schools, and a lower cost of expand with an eye on the fu- seum of Natural Sciences at grant from the International that the city council’s idea credited as one of the major living. It’s a nice city, a safe ture – not just downtown, but Whiteville will present Sci- Paper Foundation. of adding economic develop- forces in revitalizing down- city, with a lot to offer.” the entire city. The business ence Cinema, Saturday, March Science Cinema films are ment to the Whiteville Down- town Wilmington, has been The era of the “smoke- owners need to understand 31, featuring “MicroCosmos.” designed to educate and en- town Development Commis- the executive director of stack industries” is largely that when they are looking Kristen Scott Thomas nar- lighten as much as entertain. sion’s job description is a WDDC for three years. He over, Merritt said. for a new home. They need to rates this one-of-a-kind film To extend the learning experi- good idea. moved into the post after the “That isn’t to say nobody know about what Whiteville that allows us to peer deeply ence of “MicroCosmos,” visit “We have to find ways to death of his friend, longtime should welcome a 500-job has to offer, and an economic into the insect world while giv- the education booth after the think outside the box,” the WDDC director Tom Stanley. industry,” he said. “But the development office for the city ing us a reminder that Mother film. director of the WDDC said. Merritt said that if the city reality is you’re much more could do just that.” Nature remains the greatest For more information, con- “We can’t break the city down creates the new department, likely to attract 10 or 15 50-job As the middle class has special effects wizard of all.