ѮF"TL6TUFBNBOTXFSTUXPRVFTUJPOT UIJTXFFL8IPJOWFTUJHBUFTQSPQFSUZ r&BTU$PMVNCVTEF- US DSJNFTBUUIFQPTUPēDF BOEXBTBNJT- GFBUT8IJUFWJMMFJO UBLFNBEFJOCJEEJOHUIFJOUFSDIBOHFT CBTFCBMM4IBOOPO VOEFSDPOTUSVDUJPOOFBS#PMUPOBOE .D$BMMVNFBSOT" Sports Ask &WFSHSFFOPO64 4FDPOE5FBNIPOPST 4FFBOTXFSTPOQBHF" ThePublished News since 1896 every Monday and Tursday forReporter the County of Columbus and her people. Monday, March 7, 2011 #BUITBMUT $FOTVTVQ Volume 114, Number 72 PUIFSGBLF Whiteville, North Carolina ESVHTBSF QFSDFOU 50 Cents AEBOHFSPVT n Latino, Indian populations rise while white, blacks drop. New feature n Increased use of sub- stitutes for cocaine, mari- By JEFFERSON WEAVER Four outstanding stu- juana noticed by drug Staff Writer dents are recognized on detectives. page 9-A today, and on Preliminary census figures show that with- Tursday, four out- By BOB HIGH out a jump in American Indian and Latino Staff Writer residents, Columbus County would have lost standing athletes will residents in the past decade. be featured in a series Some young people are ap- Early Census figures for counties and some that will run each week. parently sniffing common bath major cities were released last week. Numbers Te students are recom- salts or holding them in their for small cities and towns—like those in Co- mouths to get “high” as a sub- lumbus County—were not yet available. mended by high school stitute for cocaine. Columbus County grew by 6.1 percent guidance counselors. Others are also experiment- overall, to 54,221 residents. Bladen grew by 9.0 Sports Editor Dan Biser ing with Salvia leaves ground percent, and Robeson by 8.8 percent overall. to appear as marijuana, pot- In Columbus County, the white population will choose the athletes. pourri and other types of veg- dropped from 62.7 in 2000 to 60.3 percent, and etable matter as a substitute the black population went from 30.8 to 30.3 for the illegal drug. percent. “Those bath salts are appar- Local Census numbers reflected the state- ently wicked,” Sheriff ’s Drug wide trend, as the Hispanic population jumped Detective Lt. Steve Worthing- dramatically. ton said. In the 2000 Census, persons of Hispanic or “It says on the package Latino background made up 2.3 percent of the they’re not for human con- local population. In 2010, persons of Hispanic sumption, but that apparently ancestry made up 4.6 percent of Columbus doesn’t make any difference.” See Census, page 2-A Warning Worthington warned resi- dents about using these prod- ucts because many of them 4$$GBDJOH have been laced with chemicals Today’s not shown on labels. “These American Profle chemicals are what give the features “Blue Plate user the high they’re looking CVEHFUDVUT Breakfast.” Award- for.” By FULLER ROYAL Worthington said one teen- Staff Writer winning recipes from a ager seen by drug detectives restaurant that serves recently had been ingesting Like every other state supported institution morning meals all day. bath salts, and he had sores in North Carolina, the leadership of South- on his tongue and the inside eastern Community College is worried over of his mouth, plus his nostrils the potential cuts coming their way from the were raw. General Assembly and the governor’s office. DIDYOB? Many smoke shops in neigh- Staff photo by Mark Gilchrist SCC administrators said the three main Did you observe ... boring counties, and at least areas of concern for the 47-year-old school in- one location in Columbus Flower girl clude the possibility of a significant decrease A county library patron County, are selling the items, Carolina Kirby of Whiteville gathers fowers at the N.C. Boys and in support services for students; a decrease in which for now is legal trade. remarking positively Girls Homes this weekend. the ability to offer courses to working people; about there being no and the possibility of tuition increases. ‘Not for human …’ SCC President Kathy Matlock said Gov. parking spaces open at “What the buyer does with Beverly Perdue’s budget calls for a $5.50 in- the Whiteville library for the fake drugs is not in the con- crease per course hour across the state. The 30 minutes, and noting trol of the seller, and as long as North Carolina Community College Board has ‘Not for human consumption’ 3BEJPêYWPUFJTUPOJHIU recommended a $10 increase per course hour. that every computer was is on the product the seller isn’t By NICOLE CARTRETTE the $410,000 county appropriation All tuition is set by the state. breaking any present law,” in operation and lots of Staff Writer would cover the project. Last year, the college received $14.5 million people were checking out Worthington added. “This system will address the issue from the state and $8.8 million from the federal Several states, including Columbus County commissioners that we are currently having with our government, the majority of which consisted books?... Whiteville Fire Louisiana, Florida and Ala- will be asked to contribute $410,000 to radio system and will greatly enhance of financial aid awarded to students. Columbus bama, are outlawing the sale Department retrieving a $1.5 million emergency radio com- responder safety,” Jernigan wrote in County contributed $1.2 million to the school of synthetic drugs with certain Shannon Enzor’s keys munication project that will utilize a his request. for custodial and maintenance services and ingredients, and the federal digital trunked radio system. Jernigan estimates that the infra- capital outlay, as is required by state law. to her new car from an government banned on March The existing analog system is structure component of the project Other sources of funding, including schol- eight-foot storm drain at 1 five synthetic cannabinoids plagued with failing communications amounts to about $900,000 of the proj- arships awarded by the SCC Foundation and used in the production of fake Walmart?... 94-year-old and poor coverage in certain areas. ect. User equipment such as radios on-campus sales and fees, accounted for $3.4 marijuana. Bert Godwin of Beaver- Jeremy Jernigan, the county’s for individual volunteer county and million. A total of $2.7 million was spent to Worthington said he has emergency services director, is recom- municipal fire, emergency medical complete the Health and Human Services dam taking her frst ride heard of one Columbus County mending he deplete the department’s services, and law enforcement agen- Building. The total budget last year for SCC business selling a package on a four-wheeler?...Rev. unrestricted fund balance of $185,000. cies in the county accounts for another was $31 million. of salvia that is marked “Not Ryan Carter surprised Those funds combined with available $600,000. The last big-budget reduction for SCC was for human consumption,” but with the gif of a truck restricted funds of $905,000 collected The project will utilize all funds in 2009. The school underwent a 15 percent by his church?... See Bath salts, page 4-A from telephone fees in the county and See Radio fix page 2-A See SCC facing, page 2-A County Deaths Tabor City 8IJUFWJMMFNBODIBSHFEXJUILJMMJOHQSPUFDUFECJSET r&SOFTU)FOSZ$PY +S By JEFFERSON WEAVER Swamp. He received a criminal others were along the shore- it over.” r%PSPUIZ-PVJTF Staff Writer citation and his Remington line. Ibis are wading birds and Edwards said he leases the )BSSFMTPO'PXMFS shotgun was confiscated pend- cannot swim. Hinson used a pond and the area around it to ing trial. r1BVM8JMMJT4JNNPOT4S A Whiteville man may face video camera to document the graze his goats, and has done federal charges after allegedly Officers dispatched several scene for later use in court. so for years. He said the ibis be- r(FPSHFѮPNBT killing 13 white ibis birds near of the birds, which were shot Edwards was defiant when came a problem five years ago. )JDLNBO Whiteville Wednesday. but not killed. The delicate the officers asked him about “Anytime I can, I kill them,” Cerro Gordo Jack Edwards, 80, was cited birds were too badly injured the shooting. he said. “You can’t kill all of r3PCFSU4USJDLMBOE after Wildlife Enforcement for medical treatment. One at- “They need to be killed or them—there’s thousands of tempted to hide behind cypress Chadbourn Officers Charles Hinson and run off,” he said, gesturing to them out there.” Matt Criscoe responded to an knees along the shore. the thousands of ibis roosting Edwards said he never tries r+BNFT"SDIJF#FMMBNZ anonymous tip that Edwards The bird could stand only in the trees. “They’re killing to recover the birds, which are was killing the birds. on one leg for brief periods of the fish in the pond—it used to inedible. The shooting occurred at a time, and tried several times be full of fish, but their (drop- “The turtles will clean them pond off J.K. Powell Boulevard to fly away. Its side was bloody pings) is poisoning the water.” up in a night,” he said. “I just on the western city limits. where the bird had apparently He also told the officers and leave them for the turtles to Edwards allegedly killed 13 been shot and suffered further a reporter that the bird drop- eat.” of the protected birds—often injuries when it fell into the pings are causing duckweed The officers loaded the re- called cattle merchants, a term pond. “to take over the pond. covered birds into buckets Criscoe used a small boat often used interchangeably “It’s going to be filled in in loaned to them by Edwards for This ibis was one that was to recover the carcasses of the a couple years,” Edwards de- with white egrets—as they later examination and proper shot and later died.