By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org Samere Yates sees plenty of problems in his hometown of Fairmont, a town of 2,500 residents in the southern end of Robeson County. “Everyone here winds up shot, dead or in jail,” said Yates, 18. “There’s just nothing here. It’s terrible.” But Yates, who will graduate this month from Fairmont High […]
Ben Rappaport
Ben Rappaport is a reporter at the Border Belt Independent. He is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill, and he previously worked for the Chatham News + Record.
Posted inEnvironment
Elizabethtown needs to prevent flooding. But with little cash, options are limited
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org Stephen Duffy feels like he is constantly playing a game of Whac-A-Mole. The Elizabethtown public services director is stuck in a stormwater doom loop: filling potholes and sealing broken pipes as needed but never attacking the root cause of the damage caused by stormwater. That’s because the Bladen County town, like […]
Posted inEducation
SparkNC brings a new way of learning to Scotland High School
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org While his peers spend their mornings in math or English class, Trevon Wall connects wires to circuit boards for the robotic car he’s building and coding from scratch. Wall, a senior at Scotland High School, is one of the first in the state to experience SparkNC, a new curriculum aimed at […]
Posted inNews
Columbus County magistrate suspended, accused of ethical violations
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org Robert A. Worley was suspended from his duties as a Columbus County magistrate on Wednesday after being accused of using private court records for personal use and criticizing the Whiteville Police Department in Facebook posts. Six members of the Whiteville Police Department, including Chief Douglas Ipock, said in affidavits that Worley […]
Posted inEducation
Low pay, lack of resources lead to burnout in southeastern NC schools, teachers say
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org It’s an epic vocal trio of Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Tensions are rising within George Washington’s presidential cabinet. Jefferson can’t take it anymore. “If there’s a fire you’re trying to douse,” Jefferson raps in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” “you can’t put it out from inside the house.” […]
Posted inNews, Politics & Government
Judge denies petition in Robeson County election bribery case
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier denied an appeal in a case alleging voter bribery in Robeson County’s primary election, an attorney involved in the case said Wednesday. The ruling by Rozier, who had not filed an order explaining his decision as of Thursday morning, means Robeson County Commissioner Judy […]
Posted inPolitics & Government
In rural Scotland County, voters say candidates must show up to gain their support
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org When Scotland High opened in the late 1960s as an integrated school, Marie Willis’s cousins, who are Black, got into fights with white students. Her cousins were expelled, while the white kids faced few consequences. Then, North Carolina civil rights attorneys Julius Chambers and Adam Stein stepped in and got the […]
Posted inPolitics & Government
Two Robeson County commissioners are accused of bribing voters in primary election
By Ben Rappaport and Paul Woolverton This story was co-published by The Assembly, CityView and the Border Belt Independent. Update: Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener issued a temporary pause April 23 on the election results between Lacy Cummings and Judy Sampson. A hearing is scheduled for April 29 in Raleigh. Two Robeson County commissioners are […]
Posted inPolitics & Government
Protested election in Bladen County is a reminder of past troubles
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org An election dispute following the March primary highlights ongoing criticism of the electoral process in Bladen County, which made national headlines six years ago amid ballot-harvesting accusations. The Rev. Keith Graham lost the Democratic primary for the Bladen County Board of Commissioners’ District 1 seat by 31 votes on March 5. […]
Posted inCourts & Justice
Robeson County residents want to create a safer community. But how?
By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org It’s been 1,214 days since Stephanie Minnigan-Judd got a good night’s sleep. Her son, Tahleel, was just 25 when he was shot and killed in Robeson County in December 2020. Nearly three and a half years later, the man charged in the case has not gone on trial. “The things that […]