Toddler beaten Basketball on Christmas Viking boys, Whiteville girls win Mother charged with at TRC matchup Friday night felony child abuse uuSEE SPORTS, 1B uuSEE ABUSE, 4A The News Reporter Founded 1890. Published every Tuesday and Friday for the County of Columbus and her people. WWW.NRCOLUMBUS.COM Tuesday, January 8, 2019 75 CENTS Low jobless rate HATCHER FILES COMPLAINT strains some local employers By Allen Turner but in reality the national unem- [email protected] ployment rate is down. It’s the case everywhere.” It’s a good problem to have. He concedes that some local Because Columbus County’s employers are struggling to get unemployment rate has dropped and keep good, qualifi ed people so signifi cantly in the past year to fi ll available positions. “This is or so, some employers are fi nding an opportunity for some people to it diffi cult to recruit and retain upgrade their standard of living employees in certain positions. by going from a part-time job with- As of September, the last month out benefi ts to obtaining full-time for which numbers are available work with benefi ts. We’re not re- from the N.C. Department of ally any different from surround- Commerce, the ing counties in unemployment that regard.” rate in the coun- Th e county’s unemploy- “Five or six ty was 4 per- ment rate has fallen from years ago, the cent, compared unemployment to the 2017 an- more than 12 percent to 4 rate here was nual rate of 5.6 percent in recent years. 12 and a half percent. That percent,” Lani- doesn’t sound er says, “so it’s like a very big dropped by 200 Staff photo by Justin Smith drop until the actual numbers percent since then.” are considered: The annual unem- Lanier says that many people Lewis Hatcher, center, leaves the Columbus County Courthouse Friday fl anked by attorneys ployment rate for 2017 averaged who had pretty much given up on Heath Nance, left, and Oscar Blanks III after fi ling a complaint seeking to be reinstated as sher- 1,245 people in the county, while seeking employment and weren’t iff. in September only 892 people were previously refl ected in the unem- out of work, a signifi cant drop. ployment numbers now have gone “North Carolina as a whole back in the workforce because is having this kind of problem,” opportunities exist that weren’t Columbus County Economic available five years ago. “Cur- Developer Gary Lanier says. rent conditions are providing Hatcher seeks court to name “From an economic development opportunities for people who are standpoint, it doesn’t really help underemployed to move into more the county to say we don’t have uuSEE JOBS 10A him sheriff of Columbus enough people to fi ll all the jobs, By Allen Turner however, the N.C. Board of who he said had prepared a [email protected] Elections (SBOE) has said that, statement for release regarding because appeals of protests the Hatcher suit. However, Wor- Democrat Lewis Hatcher, of the election results are still ley was unable to provide that whom Republican Jody Greene pending, the county board of statement in two conversations defeated by 34 votes in Novem- elections cannot issue Greene’s Sunday. ber, fi led a complaint in superior certifi cate of election and — for “It’s all on them (Hatcher and court Friday seeking to return to that reason — Greene should his attorney),” Greene said Sun- the offi ce of Columbus County never have been sworn in and day. “We haven’t done anything sheriff. that Hatcher is still the sheriff. wrong. We’re working hard and Defendants in the suit are Hatcher has said repeatedly they aren’t going to hinder that. Greene, the county commis- that he would step in and serve We’re going to do our job.” sioners as a body, individually “if asked” by the county com- Oscar Blanks III, Hatcher’s and in their offi cial capacities, missioners, but the county gov- attorney, said Sunday that the and County Manager Mike Ste- ernment, citing state law, has next step in the suit is getting phens. Hatcher’s complaint said that because Greene was the matter before a judge. He seeks a temporary restraining sworn into offi ce, he is the sher- acknowledged that, although order, preliminary injunction iff and that no provision exists the suit’s complaint was filed Staff photo by Justin Smith and permanent injunction that for “un-swearing” him. Friday, the summonses for the would force the defendants to State law gives commission- defendants had not yet been Jerry Tyler of Jerry’s Sandwich Shop in downtown Whiteville recognize him as the “true and ers authority over who holds served and returned, something is looking to hire two employees. Despite having a help-want- indeed Constitutional Sheriff.” the offi ce only when a vacancy that must happen before the fi l- ed sign in the window for more than a month, Tyler said appli- Greene was sworn into the occurs, in which case commis- ing of the suit is considered to be cants “haven’t really checked out.” He doesn’t blame the low sheriff ’s post on Dec. 3 by Dis- sioners get to appoint a sheriff. complete. “We’ll try to get that unemployment rate, but says “people don’t want to work” due trict Court Judge Ashley Gore, Greene referred a reporter Sun- uuSEE 6A to availability of government benefi ts. as is provided for in state law; day to his attorney, Boyd Worley, SHERIFF Multiple fatality wrecks dominated 2018 By Jefferson Weaver killed as Hurricane Florence bore shortly after 10 p.m. [email protected] down on the state and traffi c be- The truck driver, Rick Dale came packed on roadways across Crocker, 49, of Mount Holly, was A total of 15 people died on Co- the county. a church leader, father-to-be and lumbus County roadways in 2018, The fi rst fatality of the year recovering addict. down from 17 the year before. was also one of the most tragic Crocker struck Hardie’s Six of the fatal car crashes on stories of 2018, and resulted in stopped car, and went out of con- area roads occurred in just three murder charges for one of the trol, crashing in a wooded area crashes last year, including two drivers. near the Old 74 Fox Preserve. The within the same week. In each of truck exploded in fl ames. those wrecks, two people died of Impaired driver charged Hardie was later charged with their injuries. A transfer truck driver and second degree murder and saw Whiteville and Chadbourn founder of a drug rehab ministry her bond raised to $1 million saw one fatality each, with a pe- died Feb. 18 when he tried to avoid cash. She has a history of drug destrian being struck on Powell a car parked in the travel lane of arrests and convictions, including Boulevard and a beloved school- U.S. 74-76. The driver of that car, several that occurred in Florida teacher dying after her car left a Jill Taylor Hardie, was out on bail on New Year’s Eve, weeks before Staff photo by Grant Merritt rainslick road on the outskirts of on drug charges, and reportedly the fatal crash, and other charges Chadbourn. inhaling aerosol fumes when she A teddy bear is placed at the site of Rick Dale Crocker’s fatal uuSEE WRECKS 5A A moped driver was struck and stopped in the eastbound lanes truck wreck on U.S. 74-76 in February. Volume 128, Number 055 Spectators at Friday’s West Columbus - Whiteville basketball game fi nishing the Whiteville, North Carolina DIDYOB National Anthem a cappella when the sound system quit?... Members of the Func- DID YOU OBSERVE? tional Fitness Training Center enduring a “dirty thirty” workout to celebrate Coach Donnie Hamilton’s 30th birthday?... 8 95297 00000 6 2A • Th e News Reporter • Tuesday, January 8, 2019 IN BRIEF Whiteville board to mull storefront churches in central business district The Whiteville City Council will conduct a public hearing tonight (Tuesday) on a staff request to elimi- nate new storefront churches in the central business zoning district. Should the staff proposal eventu- ally gain passage, existing storefront churches will be “grandfathered in.” The meeting gets underway at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at 24 Hill Plaza. In other business, council will consider issuing a conditional use permit for Duke Energy Progress for a public utility in the 600 block of Flitter Hill Rd. Council recently sold the property to Duke for construction of a new electrical substation. Chadbourn to look at Staff photo by Diana Matthews reducing time for Members of Pam Sutton’s fi rst grade class at Whiteville Primary School engage in a variety of group, pair terminating water service and individual math activities. The Chadbourn Town Council will hold a public hearing tonight (Tuesday) on a proposal to reduce from 60 days to 10 days the timeframe in which service for Local schools have 51 national nonpayment is suspended and terminated without further notice. Council had decided in December to hold the hearing this month. The meeting gets underway at 7 p.m. at the Town board certifi ed teachers Hall. In other business, council will conduct a hearing to consider approving or denying a conditional use permit ‘Great mentors to new teachers and student teachers’ for a storage building at Chadbourn Feed Service at 209 W. 1st Ave. and consider amending the sign ordinance to prohibit outside “blinking, fl ashing, oscillating or By Diana Matthews tors who seek ways to grow ist.