Columbus County News

"He doesn't help anybody and everybody. He helps people who know something about him, something he doesn't want told. He'll give them whatever they ask for to keep them quiet," Kyle Blackburn said. Full story...

The new computerized system, which starts tomorrow, lets officers print criminal processes for warrants, orders for arrests and summons when they're needed. That way, they won't have to carry around a bunch of unnecessary paperwork. Full story...

A Columbus County judge has issued an arrest warrant for B.J. Wright, the man involved in numerous run-ins with state Sen. R.C. Soles. If caught, the judge has ordered Wright's bond set at $5 million. Full story...

Twelve WCHS students abroad in Denmark have made it back to North Carolina after the volcanic ash cloud stretched an 11-day trip to 20 days. Full story...

The ash cloud from the volcano in Iceland has stranded a group of West Columbus High School students in Denmark. We talked with some of the students via Skype. Full story...

Sunday, the 75-year-old senator got into a confrontation with 24-year-old B.J. Wright in the parking lot of the Tabor City Police Department. Full story...

A wacky winter and now a wild spring are giving North Carolina strawberry farmers a strange season. The state Agriculture Department says the season is shaping up to be a big one, but farmers in our area say it's starting late. Full story...

This single grant is more than the volunteer fire department typically receives in tax revenue in an entire year. Full story...

State Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco says the county is getting a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant. Full story...

Columbus County school teachers still paddle their students, and they have one of the highest spanking-rates in the state. On the other hand, the system has one of the state's lowest dropout rates. Full story...

Corporal punishment was used in Columbus County schools 87 times last school year, the report said. Burke County schools in western North Carolina topped the Action for Children list, using corporal punishment 325 times. McDowell County ranked fourth, just above Columbus, with 93 instances of corporal punishment in the school year. Macon County, with 70 instances of corporal punishment, ranked sixth. Full story...

Thomas Paradise apparently failed to learn his lesson the first time he got behind the wheel drunk. Paradise has five prior drunk driving convictions from various states on his record. Full story...

US Marshals have arrested an accused murderer in Columbus County. Lance Fulton was on the run from New Jersey and was staying with relatives at a Whiteville apartment complex. Full story...

One man is dead and another recovering after being hit by an alleged drunk driver over the weekend. It happened in a trailer park off NC 904 near Ramsey Ford Road in Columbus County. Full story...

Sen. R.C. Soles was back in Columbus Court today. Judge D. Jack Hooks called for the hearing after seeing our report last week that Soles has a prior criminal conviction. WWAY is the ONLY Wilmington TV station with a crew in Whiteville. We will have live coverage starting on WWAY NewsChannel 3 at 5 p.m. Full story...