Commentary on Current Events of Interest to Columbus, and the Surrounding Counties of NC
Front Page
It’s Good To Be Different
The experts call it “Florence Syndrome” The actors came to the center of the stage and as the lights dimmed, a song began to play. The young men and women were signing the words to [Read More]
Opinions & Commentary
Front Page
The Friday Feature
Friday Feature January 7, 2022 I have not been in town long, but I have learned that Whiteville and Columbus County love their sports. I am excited to cover the next generation of leaders from [Read More]
Front Page
Jefferson Weaver • April, Maggie, and Persephone
I made a new friend the other day. Her name is Maggie. When I say made, I mean made. As in, created. It was very strange. I was looking for a column subject that wouldn’t [Read More]
Front Page
Crystal Faircloth • Duncan Hines and Southern Hospitality
“We survived another year!” said the Bossman as he walked through the office door. “Just barely,” I replied as my fingers pounded over the keyboard of my computer. Our Christmas was a blessed one, but [Read More]
Lead Story
Jefferson Weaver • Reasons to Skip Down the Street
I was in a particularly good mood for a Monday, especially the Monday after Christmas when I knew gathering news would be a Herculean challenge and parts of me that I didn’t know existed were [Read More]
Front Page
Letter to the Editor: What’s Real Reason for Complaint?
An advocacy group called Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) under the advisement of a ‘concerned citizen’ here in Columbus County has attacked our Sheriff’s Department about a Bible verse on the walls of the [Read More]
Front Page
The Angel in the Trashcan
I had no idea, when Hurricane Matthew pushed water into our home in 2016, that my wife was making plans for Christmas. As we dashed and sloshed around with flashlights, lifting boxes, trying to raise [Read More]
Lead Story
Two brothers on a rooftop
Once upon a time, a little boy saw Santa Claus from his brother’s bedroom. It was an old, old house, built by a wealthy family many years before even the boy’s parents were born. Where [Read More]
Front Page
– A Christmas Tale For the Little Ones
Pull up a chair and sit for a bit while I tell you story about a little mouse called Gus. Gus didn’t have much growing up. He came from a family of 30 brothers and [Read More]
Front Page
Crystal Faircloth • End of an era
I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face as we approached the dilapidated broken-down structure that loomed before us. The old packhouse had been a beacon of contentment to our family back in its [Read More]
Front Page
‘Did you have fun’
My father called my name, softly at first, then a little louder. The shadows outside my window were long, truncated by the sun rising on the opposite side, chasing away the night across a bed [Read More]
Front Page
Handing down the pie recipe
Crystal Faircloth, Staff Writer My 14-year-old was graciously accepted into the early college program at Southeastern Community College this year, and when I say graciously, I do mean it on their part, because the teenage [Read More]
Front Page
Crystal Faircloth • Crabapples, fig trees, and me
I was born in the South, and raised as country as fried chicken. Like any typical southern child, I had the overwhelming need to pluck fruit from trees and bushes, and put said fruit [Read More]
Front Page
Starry nights, baby goats and virtual reality
Jefferson Weaver Everywhere you turn right now, someone is offering a new virtual reality system. If you’re like I was, and don’t quite know what these things are, then you better get ready to be [Read More]
Front Page
The Front Porch
Crystal Faircloth Emma sat on the front porch watching her glass of sweet tea sweat in the mid-afternoon sun. She slipped one foot out of her cheap plastic flip-flops and pressed it into the darkening [Read More]
Front Page
The pumpkin and the princess
I shall never know who the Evil Princess was, nor does it really matter. The spooky old house where she went to the door is gone now, replaced by something more terrifying, a parking lot [Read More]