•Pack takes charge early in rout of West Bladen. •Lions roll past Stallions in annual border rivalry game. •Vikings wait ’til the midnight hour to pull out road win over Trask. •Wolfpack gets first soccer victory of 2015 season. •South Columbus trips East Sports Columbus in conference volley match. See page 1-B. ThePublished News since 1890 every Monday and Thursday Reporterfor the County of Columbus and her people. Monday, September 7, 2015 Volume 125, Number 20 Whiteville, North Carolina 75 Cents Inside 2-A •Land use ordinance to be considered by county Tuesday. Schools with 4-A •Prison, probation most poverty given in Superior Court cases. have lowest grades in county By NICOLE CARTRETTE News Editor Letter grades assigned by the state and based primarily on test scores don’t put local schools in the top of the class. No traditional public school in Columbus County scored higher than a C for the second year in a row. Columbus Charter School was once again the only school to be given a B in the county. Today’s It is among 23.9 percent of schools in the state to receive a B. American Profile Of the schools assigned grades in both the features “Our Amazing Columbus County and Whiteville City School Dogs. Athletic, Brave & system, 10 were given a C by the state. Brilliant Canines.” Whiteville City School’s Whiteville High, Central Middle and Edgewood Elementary all Staff photos by FULLER ROYAL earned C’s, as they did last year. DIDYOB? Columbus County School’s South Colum- Did you observe ... Took the Lake bus, West Columbus, Columbus Career and Seth Bullock puts in the extra effort, top photos, to finish the last quarter of the 18-mile bike ride at College Academy, Cerro Gordo Elementary, Harry Montgomery, Sunday’s Take the Lake event. Below, John Deans finishes the first quarter of his 14-mile kayak Nakina Middle, Old Dock Elementary and a member of Atlantic journey around the lake in choppy waters. Williams Township schools earned C’s. They are among 41.8 percent of schools Printing’s Wellness across the state with C’s. Club, taking 33,077 Nine D’s, Two F’s steps during the 16- Acme-Delco Elementary, Chadbourn Relocation of Chadbourn ABC store Middle, Chadbourn Elementary, Evergreen mile Take the Lake Elementary, Hallsboro-Artesia Elementary, walk/run event Sat- in doubt, says liquor board chairman Hallsboro Middle, Tabor City Elementary, Tabor City Middle all received D’s. urday? ... The sign in By ALLEN TURNER board can afford the lease. “I can’t that if Worley won’t waive the re- Acme-Delco Middle and Guideway El- front of a home on Staff Writer predict what the full board will do,” maining lease requirements, the ementary dropped from D grades to F’s while Waccamaw Shores Freeman said. “I’m just one vote but, ABC system will continue to use Chadbourn Elementary moved from an F to D Whether the West Columbus as things stand right now, I won’t the property for storage until the school this year. Saturday during Take ABC board will accept an offer and vote to do it.” expiration of the lease. Flemington Academy, a charter school on the Lake, designed relocate their store to a former gas The three-member ABC board is The ABC board is looking at an the campus of the Girls and Boys Home that to encourage walkers station now owned by the town of appointed by the Chadbourn town additional $1,215 a month in rental predominantly serves students with special Chadbourn remains in doubt. council. fees without taking existing rent psychological needs, received F’s for the sec- and runners, reading: Chadbourn town council last The ABC board currently pays into account. That, plus the $10,000 ond consecutive year. Six percent of all schools “You’re running better week instructed attorney Harold $785 a month in rent for their cur- annually to the Chadbourn police across the state received an F. G. “Butch” Pope to draft a $2,000 rent store location on Joe Brown department, will mean an additional Schools were ranked A-F with 80 percent than the government?” per month lease agreement for the Highway North, and their lease on $24,580 in annual expenditures for See Poverty, page 3-A ... A rest station along former Kangaroo convenience store that building runs for another two the ABC system which, according to the Take the Lake building on North Brown Street. years. The building’s owner, Chad- its last audit, made only $18,335 after Under terms of the contract, the bourn councilman David Worley all expenses were paid for the year. route handing out ABC board would also pay $10,000 (who did not serve on the council Paying both leases would amount stems of rosemary a year to the Chadbourn Police De- when the ABC board leased his to $43,420 annually ($9,420 rent to Local bridge partment. building), said he will not release the Worley, $24,000 rent to the town and to help runners and Tony Freeman, ABC board chair- ABC board from that lease. walkers breathe bet- man, said Friday he isn’t sure if his Town Manager Bob Jones said See ABC, page 9-A projects shut ter? ... down for Labor County Deaths WHS student attends Governor’s School Day holiday Whiteville By SHALON SMITH tending school during the summer, Special to The News Reporter she said “it really wasn’t like school nTraffic switch expected on N.C. 11 Oakie Sellers at all” and encourages all students this week. Billy Wayne Todd Senior Ivey Long, the daughter to apply. Chadbourn of Matthew and Francine Long Long plans to attend N.C. State By JEFFERSON WEAVER Mable Nobles Batten of Whiteville, attended the N.C. University next year and major in Staff Writer Samuel Ernest Britt Governor’s School East during the either biology or chemistry. summer. The Governor’s School of North Three small bridges and one major route The five-and-a-half week program Carolina integrates academic disci- used by thousands of area travellers are still for intellectually gifted students was plines, the arts and unique courses undergoing construction and rehabilitation. Index located on the campus of Meredith on each of two campuses. The curric- Work was stopped on all Department of Editorials .......... 8-A College in Raleigh. ulum focuses on the exploration of Transportation projects during the Labor Long attended for natural sci- the most recent ideas and concepts in Day weekend to lessen traffic delays. Tuesday Obituaries ......... 7-A ences, including physics, chemistry each discipline, and does not involve morning, however, crews will be back at work Sports ................ 1-B and biology. While there, she enjoyed credit, tests or grades. on the Blackrock Bridge (N.C 11), Red Hill Road Crime ................ 4-A experiments in physics where they The Governor’s School is the old- and N.C. 211 in Bladen County. Lifestyles ........... 5-A “measured the thickness of hair us- est statewide summer residential The Blackrock project should hit a major ing laser pointers” and chemistry program for academically or intel- milestone this week, as crews complete the where they “handled radioactive lectually gifted high school students new bridge and open it to traffic. Motorists are stuff.” in the state. The program, which advised to expect delays starting Sept. 8, when In a project called “Sci-lemma” Ivey Long is open to rising seniors only, with all vehicles are shifted to the new section of (science dilemma) she worked with exceptions made for rising juniors roadway. Crews will then get to work taking teammates from Fayetteville and four other runners. Her team took in selected performing/visual arts down the iron truss bridge, and rebuilding Charlotte. third place in the race. areas, is located on two campuses the current north-south lanes to become two Long said the highlight of the “The Meredith Mile Relay is a new of up to 325 students each: Gover- northbound lanes. program was the chance to run in activity they started because there nor’s School West at Salem College The truss bridge was built in 1954, and the Meredith Mile Relay. A member are so many runners participating in Winston-Salem (begun in 1963), is the last remaining such structure in the of the Whiteville High cross country in Governor’s School,” Long said. and track teams, she joined a team of Though Long wasn’t keen on at- See Long, page 9-A See Bridges, page 9-A 2-A – The News Reporter, Monday, September 7, 2015 Long march ahead for vet’s park By JEFFERSON WEAVER The land purchase was a ma- of the county. Staff Writer jor step for the effort, which has “The population in Colum- been underway for two years. bus County is around 58,574,” Angela Norris and the sup- Organizers hope the park will Norris said. “If we get $5 for porters of the Veterans Memo- become a destination for local each person, that is $292,870.” rial Park stopped fundraising families and veterans as well as A number of donors have only long enough to sign loan those passing through the area. committed to making $5 dona- papers for the park. “This will be a big thing tions in honor of their fam- After just a few minutes of when it is built,” Norris said. ily members, while others are celebration Wednesday, Norris It will also be an expensive making $5, $10 or $15 monthly and her volunteers were back at project.