80 Years Hoops the Columbus Chamber South Tops West on Celebrates a Milestone
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80 years Hoops The Columbus Chamber South tops West on celebrates a milestone. last-second shot; uuSEE PAGE 3A CCA wins uuSEE PAGE 1B The News Reporter Published since 1890 every Monday and Thursday for the County of Columbus and her people. WWW.NRCOLUMBUS.COM Thursday, January 26, 2017 75 CENTS Medical TENDER MOMENT Interference by examiners ‘to assist’ council causes coroners Chadbourn PD By Jefferson Weaver [email protected] chief to resign Two state-appointed medi- cal examiners are now sharing the load with the county’s coro- By Allen Turner ner, Linwood Cartrette, and his [email protected] assistant, William Hannah. “We’re still going to be re- After less than a year and a half on the job, Chadbourn sponding to calls,” Cartrette Police Chief Darrell Trivette resigned Monday, citing interfer- said. He noted that in addition ence and attempts to micro-manage police operations by one or to being the elected coroner, more town council members who he did not name in his letter Cartrette and Hannah are also of resignation. appointed medical examiners Trivette’s last day on the job will be Feb. 5. The depart- by the state. ing chief will remain Most counties in the state in law enforcement have transitioned from the and has secured a job elected coroner system to state- somewhere outside appointed medical examiners. Columbus County, but In almost every county, the he didn’t want to say elected coroner is also ap- Monday where he will pointed by the state as a medi- be going. cal examiner. Although his for- Jason Fuller and Joanie mal resignation letter Mitchum were appointed as did not use the terms medical examiners earlier “interference” or “mi- this year. Fuller said the role cro-management,” he is slightly different than that acknowledged in an of the elected official. interview Monday “We report directly to the that those would be state ME’s office,” Fuller said. accurate descriptions In North Carolina, 14 spe- of what he felt had cific deaths require that a occurred during his medical examiner be con- tenure. Darrell Trivette Efforts to get both uuSEE MEDICAL 5A Trivette and elected officials to discuss specific examples of interference and micromanagement were unsuccessful. His resignation letter closed with, “If any counter offers are given, I will reconsider this resignation.” In his letter, he said, “I have found myself with limited control Main streets but full accountability.” “I tried to do my job as a law enforcement officer,” Trivette said. “I just wish they (town council members) would unify and to close in Photo by Grant Merritt support their employees versus dragging them through the coals Sally Mann hugs husband Terry Mann after she won the Sol B. Mann Community in public meetings. I wish they would let the police department Chadbourn, Spirit Award at the Columbus County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism’s annual do their job. Whoever the next chief is, I hope they let him do meeting Monday night. Though Sally Mann had been nominated numerous times uuSEE TRIVETTE 5A Tabor City because of her good works in the community, her husband had resisted naming her the recipient so those outside the family could win. Chamber members broke for repairs him down this year after Sally received three nominations and he relented. Enrollment up By Clara Cartrette [email protected] Main streets in two Co- at SCC, but more lumbus County towns will be ‘My home town is struggling’ closed for several days, one to upgrade railroad tracks and By Allen Turner business district was hit par- well-being of the town is also another to replace aging water [email protected] ticularly hard. Only the U.S. a major concern. are part time and sewer lines. Post Office, Yokos Japanese Town Hall has moved to the Restaurant and – on a much former BB&T building while The N.C. Department of In the three and a half By Nicole Cartrette Transportation said that N.C. months since floods from Hur- smaller scale than pre-flood it’s ascertained whether the [email protected] 904 (East Fifth Street) between ricane Matthew decimated – B.H. Small Hardware have old Town Hall, named after reopened. long-time mayor the late J.B. Main Street and U.S. 701 Busi- much of my home town of Southeastern Community College is seeing an increase in The town’s two convenience Evans, can be restored, but ness (Hickman Road) will be Fair Bluff, some progress has the number of students it serves, but many of those students stores, Sunoco and Circle- it’s doubtful that Fair Bluff closed in Tabor City beginning been made toward recovery, continue to pursue their education on a part time basis. Up, were closed only briefly Fire and Rescue ever will Feb. 1 in order for RJ Corman but much remains to be done. “In general, as of right return to its Railroad Street Railroad to upgrade the rail- It’s unknown how many of now, what we are seeing is headquarters. road crossing. the town’s pre-flood 900 resi- our headcount is increasing,” See Allen Turner’s pho- The first responders are op- A news release stated that dents still remain displaced. SCC President Anthony Clarke tos of Fair Bluff 3-1/2 erating out of temporary quar- the road is expected to reopen On Steele Street this past said. “Part of that is driven by ters at the National Guard by Feb. 17. The 2.4-mile detour weekend, I counted only three months after Hurricane the Career and College Prom- Armory while they wait to for this project sends drivers homes of 18 that have been Matthew on today’s Liv- ise Program.” learn what federal aid will be on North Main Street/Wil- reoccupied. It is a program that encour- ing page. available to help them recover. loughby Road, New Warehouse On another hard-hit street, ages and allows high school Federal aid might also hold Road, Old Stake Road and U.S. Sunset Drive, recovery has students to take courses for after the flooding, but Dollar the answer to how many dis- 701 business. been quicker. Three of that college credit while they are General and Fair Bluff Ford placed citizens return to their Beginning Feb. 1, contrac- street’s five houses seem to be enrolled in high school. remain closed. Dollar General homes, and when. tors for the Town of Chad- occupied. Because many students take is expected to reopen as soon Monday was the deadline bourn will close N.C. 410 At Cypress Village Apart- classes part time, the college’s as work has been finished to for victims to apply for as- (Brown Street) between East ments, visited twice by then- full-time equivalent (FTE) renovate and clean the build- sistance through FEMA and Railroad Avenue and East Gov. Pat McCrory soon after student numbers remain rela- ing and the parking lot has the SBA. Third Avenue. The closing is the flood, residents of six of 40 tively flat and have seen little been repainted. The future The town government has necessary so that aging water units have returned home, and change in recent years. of Fair Bluff Ford is more hired engineers with expertise and sewer lines can be replaced town officials say another 28 The FTE is used by the state Clarke uncertain. in disaster mitigation to guide with new utility lines. The re- are expected to come back. At to calculate funding. Because of the loss of resi- them through the process of placements are part of a major River Bend Apartments, three The total FTE student number was 2,091 in 2015-16, according dents and businesses that are either selling out, elevating, upgrade to the town’s water of 16 tenants have returned to N.C. Community College System data. In 2014-15, the FTE was water and sewer customers or renovating their damaged and sewer infrastructure. home. 2,101 and in 2013-14 it was 2,184. The central downtown and pay taxes, the financial homes. uuSEE MAIN STREETS 6A uuSEE ENROLLMENT 2A Joann Freeman, assistant manager of Pawn South, noting that tax season began picking up Monday?...Families Values Volume 126, Number 60 Thrift Store getting its long-awaited new flooring? It reopens on 1/30...Mia Jenkins dancing to the Roly-Poly Song Whiteville, North Carolina DIDYOB with the other storytime children at the Museum of Natural Sciences? The preschoolers then released worms and DID YOU OBSERVE? roly-polies into the museum’s compost pile?...Ashley DiMuzio leading the Wake Forest first-year Law Trial Team to a first-place finish at the Kilpatrick Trial Competition at UNC-CH, beating 32 other teams. 2A • Th e News Reporter • Th ursday, January 26, 2017 DANCING WITH THE STARS City to pursue fl ood hazard mit igation By Jefferson Weaver tion, after the residents were [email protected] relocated. Several lots in one of the Hurricane Matthew dam- hardest hit areas between aged dozens of homes and Walter and Main streets were businesses in Whiteville back ceded to the city in previous in October. Hazard Mitigation buyouts. Much of the damage oc- When local governments curred within the fl ood zone of take possession of fl ood prop- the city, which extends several erties, Currie said, the area blocks from Soules Swamp, can no longer be used for on both sides of the U.S. 701 commercial or residential Bypass. A number of homes development. on the west side and near the “It can only be turned into bypass were flooded three public use properties,” he said.