By Sarah Nagem sarahnagem@borderbelt.org Taylor Locklear has a message for her fellow members of the Lumbee Native American tribe: Consider getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Locklear, the reigning Miss Lumbee and a paramedic for Robeson County EMS, made her plea as part of the tribe’s video campaign called “This Shot Is Your Shield.” “Our children are […]
Sarah Nagem
Sarah Nagem is editor of the Border Belt Independent. She previously worked for The News & Observer and currently attends graduate school at Duke University.
Posted inNews, Business & Economy, Education
Broadband, entrepreneurs, faith: What would it take for rural NC to regain population?
Much of southeastern North Carolina saw a drop in population over the last decade. What does that mean, and how can the area bounce back?
Posted inHealth
New COVID surge takes a toll on southeastern North Carolina. Here are the numbers
A new wave of COVID-19 patients is straining rural hospitals in southeastern North Carolina.
Posted inNews
Black residents in a small NC town say their community is neglected. What happens now?
Residents of the north side of Laurinburg, a predominantly Black neighborhood, are pushing Scotland County to turn an old school into a community resource center.
Posted inNews
Family calls for change after deputies shoot NC man struggling with mental illness, drugs
By Sarah Nagem sarahnagem@borderbelt.org When Matthew Oxendine used drugs or had too much to drink, he would sometimes call 911 or the local sheriff’s office and say he was going to kill himself. He began making the calls years ago, long before he spent about a week in a psychiatric unit in 2016, said his […]
Posted inHealth
COVID vaccinations are climbing, slowly, in rural North Carolina. But skepticism remains
By Sarah Nagem sarahnagem@borderbelt.org Rita Watson had chosen not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. She was worried about what was in the shots and whether they were safe. But when her 41-year-old daughter contracted the virus and became severely ill, Watson reconsidered. She and her four sons went to the Robeson County Health Department on […]
Posted inNews, Courts & Justice
‘Can’t we all just get along?’ NC family pleads for answers in football player’s death
By Sarah Nagem sarahnagem@borderbelt.org Marqueise Coleman was gunned down in the small southeastern North Carolina town where he was well-known as a good student, a standout on the football field and a young man with a bright future. Now, Coleman’s family is pleading with the community to share information about the shooting that left the […]
Posted inNews
At Lumbee Homecoming, a celebration of culture and a look at a community in need
Laura Dial left Robeson County decades ago in search of new job opportunities. But Dial, 72, travels nearly 250 miles each year to attend Lumbee Homecoming, a celebration of family, food and Native American traditions that draws thousands of people to southeastern North Carolina. “This is always home,” said Dial, who now lives in Anderson, […]
Posted inHealth
One county’s struggle to control COVID-19 highlights challenges in rural North Carolina
Rufus Duckworth, the mayor of Bladenboro in southeastern North Carolina, said he was shocked when he learned about a COVID-19 cluster in his town. But, he said, “A lot of people are weary of the vaccination.” Bladen County, home to about 33,000 people, including 1,600 in Bladenboro, is the only North Carolina county currently designated […]
Posted inBusiness & Economy
Could the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport become a regional business hub in NC? Leaders hope so
By Sarah Nagem sarahnagem@borderbelt.org As the United States ramped up its World War II efforts in the early 1940s, Fort Bragg grew to become the largest Army post in the country, accommodating 60,000 soldiers. But lesser-known military training was taking place about 40 miles southwest of Fort Bragg, at what is now the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport. […]