Top 10 Stories of 2023

Jan. 3—Editor's note: Looking back on all of the stories and issues that have filled the pages of The Laurinburg Exchange over the past 12 months of 2023 is a daunting but important task, especially as a new editor. It reminds us of those things — both positive and not so much — which have continued to shape our communities. Once again, The Laurinburg Exchange took time to establish its annual list of the year's top stories. That list and the order are subjective, but we hope it will capture some of the bigger goings-on in Scotland County during 2023.

1. Commercial Construction

South Main Street in Laurinburg saw several new construction projects commence in 2023.

2023 construction began on a Popeyes location at 1200 S. Main Street, across from Dunkin Donuts. A Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers will be going in at 1402 S. Main Street, where the former Dawg Haus was located, and Hwy 55 at 1694 S. Main Street, which was the location of the recently demolished BB&T Bank.

Freddy's is a chain restaurant known for its made-to-order pressed patties and steak fries dressed in a signature seasoning and menu of frozen custards, while Popeyes is known for its New Orleans — style fried chicken.

There was also the Bojangles rebuild, Harbor Freight opened and Scotland Crossing for Five Below. A Tesla Charging Station was also installed and is operational. Those projects alone were around $7.3 million in investment, and many other possible developments are also in the works, including the $2.8-million expansion project at Scotia Village.

"These businesses' investment encourages others to look at Laurinburg. It can and will lead to further development and investment in Laurinburg," said Walker McCoy, the Laurinburg Community Development Director. "There is a lot of interest in Laurinburg, and we are talking to and working with investors and brokers to bring more."

One of the biggest grand openings was the Goodwill, where lines stretched the length of the building.

2. Playground rebuild

Rebuilding the Dragon Park/Scotland Yard playground at the James P. Morgan Recreation Complex proved that a community can come together for something positive.

The ribbon was cut in October for the reopening of the playground. The $500,000 playground features a series of apparatuses and is now ADA-compliant, making it accessible to children with disabilities. Scotland County Parks and Recreation Director Bryan Graham said more than 1,000 volunteers offered more than 140 volunteer hours to construct the playground.

The playground was designed by Play by Design. Project Manager Lisa DeShano flew in from Iowa to unveil the design. Some new features will include two merry-go-rounds, nine slides, a ramp leading to one of the slides, a tree house and an obstacle course.

The original Dragon Park was also a community-building project.

3. County Manager

In August, members of the public witnessed the official swearing-in of Scotland County's first female manager, April Snead.

The Honorable Philip McRae, the Clerk of Superior Court for Scotland County, swore in Snead. Her mother held the Bible before an audience of family and friends, county employees and elected officials.

According to the Scotland County spokesperson, Snead became the sixth county manager to serve Scotland and the first woman to do so.

Snead was named the county manager following a unanimous vote by the commissioners in July. No stranger to a leadership role within the county, Snead previously held the role of director of the Scotland County Department of Social Services for nine years.

Snead took on the role left vacant by Kevin Patterson, who announced his resignation, effective immediately, in May during a recessed meeting.

During the meeting, Patterson presented a $52 million budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year and what changes were made compared to the current year's budget. Following a closed session, in a surprise move, Patterson notified the board of his departure. Patterson had been employed with the county for nearly 20 years, first being hired as the Finance officer in April 2004. He was assigned as the interim county manager after the resignation of John Crumpton in 2007. He was named to the role permanently on Jan. 1, 2008, and has served in that capacity since his resignation.

4. Topping Out

Scotland County Health Care System officials, staff, construction workers and representatives with the Christman Company celebrated a major construction milestone in July, placing the top-most steel beam on Scotland Memorial Hospital's latest expansion.

The act was part of a topping-out ceremony held at the construction site where Scotland Health is investing more than $45 million in expansion and renovations at the hospital. Last year, the system's board of trustees voted unanimously to approve expanding the Imaging Department, building new Operating Rooms and renovating the Surgical Services Department.

The Christman Company is the construction manager of the project.

"I'm really excited, and I think the entire community is to see this underway," said Sybil Bullard, SCHS's board of trustees chair. "I think it says a lot about our commitment to the community ... While I live in the adjoining community, I'm extremely happy to see this because I know that my family and my friends are getting the services they need right here."

5. Brenda Covington

About 400 people through 59 agencies across four states joined the search for 71-year-old Brenda Covington, who was reported missing in February. Those agencies included law enforcement, search and rescue and air patrol.

Covington was initially last seen on Feb. 23 in the Harry Malloy and Highland roads area in Laurinburg wearing a blue sweater and blue jeans. Later investigations showed her in Produce Market Road and McGirts Bridge Road around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 24.

Covington is described as a five-foot, 6-inch African American woman weighing about 140 pounds. She has diabetes and dementia, according to reports from law enforcement.

Anyone wishing to share information while remaining anonymous can call Scotland Crimestoppers at 910-266-8146 or visit www.scotlandcountycs.com.

6. SCS superintendent

Adell Baldwin was sworn in on July 19 as the Scotland County Schools district's new superintendent. The Board of Education for Scotland County Schools unanimously named Baldwin the district's new superintendent following a unanimous vote counted during a special-called meeting held on Monday.

Baldwin took the place of Takeda LeGrand, whose contract was unilaterally terminated on Feb. 27 by the Scotland County Schools Board of Education. The decision was made during the Committee of the Whole meeting and was effective immediately.

Baldwin's career in public education has spanned more than 25 years in North and South Carolina. Most recently, he has served as a principal for Marion County School District in South Carolina. Before joining MCSD, Baldwin served as the chief operations officer for the Center for Responsive Schools in Massachusetts, the chief operations officer for the Scotland County Schools, a CTE director, principal, assistant principal, and dropout prevention counselor for the Hoke County Schools, and a principal for the Bladen County Schools. He began his career as a teacher in Raeford.

Baldwin earned a bachelor's degree in K-12 Physical Education and a master's degree in School Administration from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He also obtained a doctorate in educational leadership from Wingate University.

Baldwin's first day on the job was July 20.

7. Cyber incident

As the year came to a close, Scotland County officials released the news of a cyber incident that resulted in a server shutdown.

Last week, the Scotland County Board of Commissioners approved the authorization of up to $100,000. It gave the chairman the authority to authorize an additional $100,000, if necessary, to address the cyber incident.

The action was taken during a special-called meeting held to discuss the cyber incident that the county has been experiencing since Dec. 18, shortly after information technology and cybersecurity service provider VC3 took over the county's systems, Chairman Tim Ivey unveiled.

"VC3 took over our systems that day (Dec. 8) and they put some software on all these servers and then by two o'clock that day it started kicking in that somebody was in there messing around doing something they weren't supposed to," Ivey said.

Ivey said VC3 was able to "kick them out" with their ability, but the next stage was to unplug everything.

"We unplugged all the servers and (now) nothing in the county is attached to the internet except for some of the 911 system which is on a different system," Ivey said.

County Manager April Snead asked for patience from the public before the county opened back up on Thursday.

"When the public calls or comes in we just ask them to please understand that we are rebuilding and getting resources in place as fast as we can," Snead said. "Every day it will improve as we move forward."

8. Hospital Leadership

In September, it was announced that David Pope had been tapped as the new president and chief executive officer of Scotland Health Care System.

Atrium Health's national team coordinated the search, receiving nearly 100 applicants and recommending 14 initially. The Scotland Search team interviewed the initial list and had two finalists spend the day with several groups of local stakeholders. The finalists also met with Atrium Health leadership. The Search Committee, the Scotland Board of Trustees and the Atrium Health leadership unanimously selected Pope.

Pope started in his new position on Dec. 4, succeeding Greg Wood, who will retire after serving Scotland in this role for 33 years at the end of the year.

A North Carolina native, Pope has served as chief operating officer and senior vice president of operations for Scotland Health since 2019. In that role, he has been instrumental in leading the healthcare system through the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating a significant renovation/addition to the Surgical Services and Imaging Departments, and cultivating clinical partnerships to increase services offered in the community.

Before that, Pope served as the interim CEO at St. Luke's Hospital in Columbus and as vice president of Clinical Services and associate counsel at Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge in Morganton. He served as a judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines.

9. I.E. Johnson

The year 2023 saw a former school with a lot of history throughout its halls find a new purpose.

In October, alums, local elected officials, and other Scotland County leaders came out to cut the ribbon on the newly renovated I.E. Johnson Community Center.

In September 2021, the county took ownership of the former school after Scotland County Schools closed it during the consolidation project. The renovation of the school is being done in two phases. The first phase, the renovation of the gym and front area and the renovation of the media center is now complete.

The project is one that many community members fought for when the school system announced they would close the school after the 2019-20 school year was over. The school, originally named Lincoln Heights High School, was the first public high school for African-Americans in Scotland County.

I. Ellis Johnson was the first principal of the school and the first Black principal in Scotland County. The school was renamed after him in 1959.

10. Unemployment rate

For some time, Scotland County has been known for having the state's highest unemployment rate, but this year, leaders came together in a roundtable discussion organized by Rep. Garland Pierce to address some of the causes. The conversation got heated and passionate at some time, but all agreed that rate would take all hands on deck.

Back in July, Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 6.7%, according to figures released by the NC Department of Commerce. The unemployment rate in Scotland had been on the rise since April when it peaked this year at 6.8%, and it took the number-one spot. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.2% in May, then rose to 6.5% in June.

"We're going to figure out what can we do because it doesn't matter anymore about whose fault it is or whose blame it is," said Mark Ward, director of Economic Development for Scotland County. "It doesn't matter cause the state says we have the highest unemployment."

"Somebody is going to say well it's the way the state configures the numbers, well it's not. I've done some research ... Trust me. I want to say that the data was wrong. The data is not," Ward added.

During the discussion, leaders representing Scotland County, St. Andrews University, Richmond Community College, the City of Laurinburg, the town of Wagram, Scotland County Schools, NC Works, the Lumber River Council of Governments and more heard from employers, who shared their struggles to hire and retain workers within the county and sought for help to find a solution.