By Henry Hawthorne IV While overdoses underscore the opioid crisis in Columbus County, county leaders still have a long way to go to understand the core causes and provide effective prevention programs, says Lauren Cole. “The first two weeks of April we had 14 overdoses at Columbus Regional,” Cole said. “One mother overdosed and left three preschool children sitting in the emergency room. No one …Read more Continue reading Coalition hopes to coordinate efforts to combat opioid crisis in Columbus County 

Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a multi-part series where the Border Belt Independent looks at what has changed since The News Reporter’s six-part series in 2017 that reported on the opioid crisis and associated mental health issues. Today, Reporter Ivey Schofield looks at how children are impacted by parents’ drug use and how schools, social services, Boys and Girls Homes and other agencies …Read more Continue reading Abuse, neglect of children often goes hand-in-hand with parents’ drug use

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a multi-part series where the Border Belt Independent looks at what has changed since The News Reporter’s six-part series in 2017 that reported on the opioid crisis and associated mental health issues. Today, Reporter Ivey Schofield looks at what treatment options for addiction are available and where people can find them in the county.  By Ivey SchofieldBBI Writer …Read more Continue reading Drug treatment options exist, but many don’t know where to find them

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a multi-part series where the Border Belt Independent looks at what has changed since The News Reporter’s six-part series in 2017 that reported on the opioid crisis and associated mental health issues. Today, Reporter Ivey Schofield looks at how women at the Rose House in Whiteville work to overcome addiction. By Ivey SchofieldBBI Writer Eleven women gather in …Read more Continue reading Drug treatment program leads to sobriety, sisterhood

Publisher’s note: This is the third in a multi-part series where the Border Belt Independent looks at what has changed since The News Reporter’s six-part series in 2017 that reported on the opioid crisis and associated mental health issues. Today, Publisher Les High looks at the increase in overdose deaths, particularly during the pandemic, and how overdoses and mental crises strain the resources of the …Read more Continue reading Hospital, EMS seeing ‘a lot more’ overdose deaths

The number of new COVID-19 cases is on the rise across North Carolina’s Border Belt counties as concerns about the omicron variant grow.Read more Continue reading COVID cases rise across NC’s Border Belt as concerns about omicron variant grow

  Editor’s note: This is the second in a multi-part series where the Border Belt Independent looks at what has changed since The News Reporter’s six-part 2017 series on the opioid crisis and associated mental health issues. Today, Reporter Ivey Schofield looks at how law enforcement officials, an attorney and local support agencies view drugs through the lens of crime. Ivey SchofieldBBI Writer Drugs in …Read more Continue reading Sheriff: Columbus drug crime is a ‘bad situation’

Editor’s note: This is the first in a seven-part series that looks at what has changed since The (Whiteville) News Reporter’s series in 2017 that reported on the opioid crisis and associated mental health issues. Today, Reporter Ivey Schofield looks at how opioid misuse became prevalent, how prescription policies have changed, and how heroin has begun to replace harder-to-get opiates like oxycodone.  By Ivey Schofield …Read more Continue reading ‘We need to have a reformation:’ Opioid use continues to wreck lives across Columbus