By Carli Brosseau and Sarah Nagem This story is co-published by The Assembly and the Border Belt Independent. Not three months after Bill Rogers accepted an appointment as Columbus County sheriff, he received a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury in Raleigh.  At the center of the investigation was his predecessor as the county’s top law enforcement officer, Jody Greene. Rogers had known …Read more Continue reading Clouds over Columbus County

By Les High Since founding the Border Belt Independent in the spring of 2021, we’ve produced in-depth coverage of the issues that impact the livesof people in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties. And we know that journalism like ours is more important than ever. As a nonprofit newsroom, we can’t do this critical work without your help. All of our content is free and …Read more Continue reading Donate to the Border Belt Independent; contributions matched until Dec. 31

By Ben Rappaport benrappaport@borderbelt.org A school board member in rural North Carolina who was convicted of assaulting a Black town employee during an encounter in which she was also accused of using a racial slur said Monday she will remain on the board but step down as chairperson.   Kandle Rogers, who has served on the Whiteville City Schools Board of Education for years, was found …Read more Continue reading NC county still reeling from sheriff’s racist comments is dealt another blow 

Ten farmers across North Carolina planted sesame this year as part of a statewide agricultural initiative. Read more Continue reading North Carolina farmers look to sesame as a profitable crop. ‘So much promise here’

Hal Lowder, Whiteville’s emergency management director whose house was damaged by storms, is tangled in Rebuild NC’s bureaucracy.Read more Continue reading Hurricane survivor to ReBuild NC: ‘Are we just a number? Is anybody out there a human being?’

ReBuild NC “believes it has enough funding to cover its obligations to homeowners that have applied for assistance.”Read more Continue reading While 3,100 hurricane survivors lack permanent homes, ReBuild NC employees earn big salaries

Elizabethtown used to be home to six United Methodist churches. Today, there is one. Many UMC congregations have voted to disaffiliate. Read more Continue reading In rural Bladen County, schism in United Methodist Church hits close to home 

An email from a prisoner to NC Newsline describes disturbing, inhumane conditions at Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg.Read more Continue reading NC prison staffer sounds alarm on overcrowding, neglect at Scotland Correctional