Transportation

Sheriff’s office receives six new patrol vehicles

Submitted by Sarah Crandall, Web Producer

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012, 9:33pm

Sheriff’s office receives six new patrol vehicles

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) - The Columbus County Sheriff's Office now has six new vehicles.

Maj. Lewis Hatcher says most of the agency's old patrol vehicles have more than 250,000 miles.

As a result, new Dodge Chargers will be given to deputies in the patrol division.

Hatcher says, besides building morale, the new vehicles will help with safety. He adds that some of the old patrol vehicles will go to school resource officers and bailiffs.

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School buses in better condition than last year, but still not where they should be

Submitted by Justin West, Assignment Manager

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012, 4:50pm

School buses in better condition than last year, but still not where they should be

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Last November, officials with the State of North Carolina had safety concerns with the school buses in Columbus County. A new report says the buses are in better condition than they were last year, but still not in the condition they should be.

Fifteen school buses went through a rigorous safety inspection and received a score of 43—the lower the score, the safer the bus. Last year’s report gave the Columbus County School system’s buses a score of 62, so there has been improvement. The average score in the Central Region of the state was 36.98.

The report also showed there were some serious problems, though. In total, 20% of the buses that were inspected had to be taken immediately out of service for repairs. The problems ranged from worn brakes to exhaust leaks.

The report indicated that maintenance orders on buses are not being completed in a timely fashion. In fact, one bus was over 3,000 miles past due.

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Acme-Delco Elementary to host public meeting for Hwy. 87 improvements

Submitted by Ashley Barker, Community Web Producer

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012, 4:55pm

Acme-Delco Elementary to host public meeting for Hwy. 87 improvements

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Two public meetings have been planned to discuss proposed improvements to 30 miles of N.C. Hwy. 87 from U.S. 74/76 in Columbus County to the Elizabethtown Bypass in Bladen County.

The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold meetings at 7 p.m. at the following locations:

Tuesday, Jan. 31 at East Bladen High School, located at 5600 N.C. Hwy. 87 in Elizabethtown
Thursday, Feb. 9 at Acme-Delco Elementary School, located at 16337 Old Lake Road in Riegelwood

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DEVELOPING: Local attorney struck by car in front of courthouse

Submitted by Ashley Barker, Community Web Producer

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012, 11:44am

DEVELOPING: Local attorney struck by car in front of courthouse

WHITEVILLE, NC (WECT) – A local attorney was struck by a vehicle early Tuesday morning.

JB Lee, an attorney in Whiteville, was hit by a car in front of the county courthouse, according to authorities. He was reportedly hit in a cross walk and charges are pending.

Lee is listed as is in stable condition.

Stick with WECT.com for more information on this developing news story.

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Whiteville drivers license office temporarily halting vehicle registration services

Submitted by Scott Saxton, News Director

Thursday, December 15th, 2011, 10:22am

WHITEVILLE, NC (WECT) - Vehicle registration services are not going to be available at the Whiteville drivers license office during the upcoming state holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

The plan is resume those services on January 3rd. You will be able to get vehicle registration services at the following locations:

Elizabethtown, 1106 W. Broad St., (910) 862-3527
Lumberton, 220 N. Chestnut St., (910) 738-2732
Shallotte, 5300 S. Main St., (910) 754-4591

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Reward offered for stolen tractor in Columbus Co.

Submitted by Ashley Barker, Community Web Producer

Monday, November 28th, 2011, 12:24pm

Reward offered for stolen tractor in Columbus Co.

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Sheriff’s deputies in Columbus County are offering a $1,500 reward for a tractor that was stolen over the weekend.

Robert Worley, the owner of John Deere 51-30, said the tractor was stolen between Friday and Saturday.

Worley said it was parked at a farm in the Cherry Grove community.

Sheriff Chris Batten said that the tractor is small enough that whoever stole it could have put it in a trailer and drove away.

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Almost half of Columbus Co. school buses were not fit to be on the roads

Submitted by Ashley Barker, Community Web Producer

Monday, November 7th, 2011, 5:28pm

Almost half of Columbus Co. school buses were not fit to be on the roads

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Each year the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction sends a transportation consultant to test the school buses in each county.

The consultant gives little or no warning and tests 10% of the fleet. Each bus goes through a 400-point inspection and receives points based on how many problems or defects are found.

The inspection score for the Columbus County fleet was 61.73. A total of 46% of buses that were tested were taken out of service immediately following the 2010-2011 inspection because they were not fit to be on the roads, according to the N.C. Department of Instruction’s Transportation Services.

That means that seven buses needed to be fixed. If that percentage was applied to the entire fleet, 69 school buses could have issues.

During 2009-2010, the school system received a 51.93 inspection score. Both numbers are well over the 37.70 average for the school districts in the Central region.

Here is a list of how other area counties scored:

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