• In soccer, Stal- lions put damper PECANS on WHS Senior The 2015 N.C. Pecan Harvest Night; Gators take Festival Section is included victory over West in today’s issue. Sports Columbus. See page 1-B. ThePublished News since 1890 every Monday and Thursday Reporterfor the County of Columbus and her people. Monday, November 2, 2015 Municipal Volume 125, Number 36 Whiteville, North Carolina elections 75 Cents Tuesday Inside By JEFFERSON WEAVER Staff Writer 2-A Early voting for municipal elections ended •Shodja Enterprises Saturday, leaving town and city residents one more day to cast a ballot. purchases long-empty Voting in the early polls was held at the Conflandey building. Columbus County Board of Elections, which reported a mixed bag of voters in what is often 3-A a slow election year. While some races can get •New Columbus sharp, municipal races often see low turnout, in part due to impacting fewer registered County Animal voters. Shelter policy ap- A total of 374 voters cast early ballots this proved. year. Polls open tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6:30 a.m., 5-A and close at 7:30 p.m. Municipal polls include: • Bolton Fire Station, 225 Ninth Street. •Festival of Trees • Cerro Gordo Fire and Rescue Building, 75 slated Nov. 16-21. Railroad Street East. • Chadbourn Municipal annex, 208 E. First Avenue. • Fair Bluff Fire and Rescue, 653 Railroad Staff photo by LES HIGH Street. • Lake Waccamaw Fire Department (both Twins ... sort of wards), 203 Flemington Ave. Columbus Regional Healthcare CEO Carla Hollis has fun with a painted pumpkin decorated by her • Whiteville District One, Whiteville Rescue staff, which was part of the hospital’s annual Halloween festivities that included departments working Unit, 106 Flowers Pridgen Rd. in their favorite Halloween attire and participating a pumpkin carving and decorating contest. • Whiteville District Two, Vineland Depot, Madison Street. • Tabor City Courthouse, 110 W. Fourth Street. • Sandyfield, Ransom Township Union Hall, Harrelsons works to stop human NC 87, Riegelwood. Today’s While several races have no contests this American Profile year, Chadbourn and Lake waccamaw both features “At Home trafficking through adoption have challengers facing incumbents in Tues- day’s elections. with Kellie Pickler” BY GRANT MERRITT • Chadbourn—Phillip Charles Britt is un- DIDYOB? Contributing Writer See Elections, page 8-A Did you observe ... Adoption taught the Kevin and Gretal Harrelson family about un- Linza Grace (Smith) Cof- conditional love when they brought home a new son, Ilyan, from Bul- Chadbourn ABC fee delivering the mes- garia last May. sage for the homecoming With five children already, the service at Whiteville Harrelson family embarked on an Board to buy First Baptist Church unforgettable journey of love, sac- rifice and obedience and made room current building Sunday? ... Living Word for one more. Church beginning its Gretal is part of the True Justice revival Sunday during International ministry, which pro- for liquor store motes awareness of human traffick- its homecoming service? ing. The group focuses on adopting By ALLEN TURNER ... Costumed children older children who are forced out of Staff Writer enjoying candy and orphanages when they are 14 years costumes all around the old. Ilyan is 13 years old. The West Columbus ABC Board is poised “When these children age out of to purchase the location of its current liquor county Saturday night? the orphanages, they are put on the store at 505 Joe Brown Hwy. N., Chadbourn, for ... Businesses around streets and very often become vic- a reported $250,000, although no official docu- the county allowing tims of trafficking – especially sex ments containing the price have been released trafficking,” Gretal said. and parties involved in the negotiations would their employees to wear Their journey through adop- not comment for the record. costumes of all kinds tion began in November 2013 when According to the most recent ABC audit to work on Friday? ... Sarah Phillips Tellis, formerly of obtained in response to a public records re- Whiteville, sent Gretal’s True Jus- quest last week to the Town of Chadbourn, the tice International team a text about ABC board had $160,070 on hand as of June 30 adopting an older child from eastern in funds restricted for capital improvements Europe. (purchase of land and construction of a build- County Deaths There were three to four photos ing), an increase of almost $20,000 over the included with the text and only one $140,751 they had at the end of the previous Whiteville would open on Gretal’s phone. That fiscal year. Paul Hewett photo was of Ilyan. The ABC board rents the current liquor Nancy Bell Hinson Ward “As soon as I saw his face, I felt store location for $785 a month, with about God speaking to me,” Gretal said. “I two years remaining on the lease. Scott Pierce literally sat in my living room that Chadbourn councilman David Worley owns Brenda Faye S. Benson night arguing with God and telling the 505 Joe Brown Hwy. property, which he has Tabor City Him why we couldn’t adopt a child.” leased to the ABC System for about 15 years. Jimmy Turbeville Initially, the adoption agency He has been on the council for only two years gave Ilyan a fake name of “Gideon,” and has recused himself (abstained from vot- and Gretal said the name “Gideon” ing) when matters relating to the ABC board was tugging at her heart since she have come before council for consideration. Index had just finished a Gideon Bible Worley said in an open session of the board study at church. last week that he would be willing to finance Editorials ......... 10-A After the Harrelsons prayed the purchase of the liquor store to the ABC Obituaries ......... 7-A and discussed with their children system, should they decide to purchase the Photos by GRANT MERRITT Sports ................ 1-B the idea of adopting a new child, property in which they currently operate. Ilyan Harrelson is happy to be part of a new family in Columbus they made the decision to call the The ABC board already owns 1.7 acres on Crime ................ 4-A County. Lifestyles ........... 5-A adoption agency and to express Joe Brown Hwy. which they purchased for their interest in adopting Gideon $67,000 in 2011 with an eye toward eventually on Monday. the adoption process. They sent the were prepared for a range of first building a store on the property. At last week’s Monday came, but Gretal did not initial application on Dec. 2, 2013. reactions from Ilyan. council meeting, the Chadbourn town board make the call. Tuesday came and she Gretal said that adoption was a Gretal and Kevin met with direc- voted to ask the ABC board to deed that land to still did not make the call. They did long journey and very expensive, but tors and care providers who said the Town of Chadbourn should they go ahead not discuss the adoption for those they held fundraisers to help offset that Ilyan may not even want to hug with the purchase of Worley’s building. two days. the cost. They traveled to Bulgaria them when they first meet, and that The ABC store became a hot topic of con- “I want the boy,” Kevin texted for a first visit in October 2014. was the first thing that Gretal and versation after the town obtained the former the next day to Gretal while she “Adoption is definitely a journey, Kevin wanted to do. Kangaroo convenience store at 424 N. Brown was sitting in line to get coffee at a but such a blessing,” Gretal said. The pair was led upstairs and St. when the former owners gave it to the town McDonalds drive-thru. She immedi- Their journey landed them at Ilyan’s ately called the agency and started orphanage on Oct. 13 where they See Ilyan, page 11-A See ABC, page 11-A 2-A – The News Reporter, Monday, November 2, 2015 Shodja Enterprises purchases long-empty Conflandey building By ALLEN TURNER dustrial Drive, probably will Staff Writer add another 15 workers in the short term at the former The 130,000 sq. ft. former Conflandey site. Conflandey building in the “Shodja Enterprises is Columbus Industrial Park be- doing advanced textile manu- tween Whiteville and South- facturing, where they don’t eastern Community College have a tremendous number has been sold to Shodja En- of people employed,” Lanier terprises for $775,000. said, “but they have a huge The property will be used economic investment here. for expanded textile opera- Just one knitting machine tions. The company also will will cost $300,000, and they continue to operate at their have probably 60 or 80 ma- current location at 68 Indus- chines in operation on Indus- trial Dr. behind the Columbus trial Drive.” County Dept. of Aging and Lanier added, “So even across the street from the though they don’t have a tre- Prenatal care is vital for the delivery of healthy babies. Columbus County Animal mendous number of employ- Shelter. ees, the jobs they do have are When the upgrading of the good, solid jobs and Shonda is industrial park building is constantly expanding. They Later entry of moms to prenatal complete, textile operations have been expanding the en- will begin there sometime tire five years I have been around the first of the year, working on economic develop- Shodja Enterprises owner ment for the county.” care adds to infant death rate Camron Shodja said Thurs- The economic development d a y. director said that just the By SHALON SMITH “If they’re a heavy drinker, the risk of infant mortality.