Today's News

January is a great time for boat shows and tackle expos, and if you go to one you will see a bewildering selection of lures available for throwing at inshore saltwater fish. The Bass Pro Shop, Dick’s Sporting Goods, our fine local tackle shops and even the better Walmarts carry most of the same artificial choices. All of them work in the right situation, and you shouldn’t be reluctant to try some of the newer models out there gaining fame for their success.

Whether serving coffee, styling hair, directing a church choir or singing gospel music with his family, Michael Clemmons is never happier than when he’s interacting with people in his community.

Asked his favorite place in Brunswick County, the 21-year-old Bolivia native has a unique answer: Jumpin’ Java, the coffee shop in Shallotte where he works one of the two jobs he manages to squeeze in while going to school full time and directing his church choir.

Just after 4 p.m. Sunday, 74-year-old William Charles Lambert, of Longs, S.C., drove his car off U.S. 17 about two miles south of Leland.

N.C. State Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. A.E. Morris said a passenger in Lambert’s 2002 Honda SUV told troopers Lambert complained of a medical condition right before driving off the road. Lambert died and two of his passengers suffered serious injuries and were taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

As Brunswick County’s population has increased, so has its need for a hospice care center, an acute care facility where people at the end of their lives can have round-the-clock care.

Last week, the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation approved Lower Cape Fear Hospice & LifeCareCenter’s certificate of need application to build a center in Brunswick County.

The inpatient facility is planned to offer intensive, round-the-clock medical care for hospice patients whose needs cannot be met at home, according to the agency.