In a year riddled with accidents, shootings, high profile convictions and acquittals, deaths, and other assorted items of bad news, the top story of 2017 was resoundingly positive. Tennis is apparently a lot bigger in Coffee County than most people – this writer included – ever would have imagined. The top story of 2017 was the Coffee Middle School tennis team’s undefeated championship season.
Back in March, the CMS boys’ team rolled through the season without losing a match and won its second consecutive region title. At the region tournament, which took place in Valdosta at McKey Park, the girls also had a good showing and advanced to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they ran out of gas and lost a hard-fought battle one round before getting the chance for a championship of their own.
After the CMS tennis story, DouglasNow’s second most-read item of the year was published in February in the aftermath of a tragic car v. train accident on the Wendell Sears Road train tracks. Following the initial report of the accident, DouglasNow.com, along with other media outlets, published a follow-up that identified the driver of the car who lost her life in the crash. The victim was 17-year-old Alana Lyons, a junior at Atkinson County High School and a joint enrolment student at South Georgia State College.
Sitting at number three of the year’s most popular stories was the news that Circle K had bought Flash Foods. Along with the acquisition, Circle K announced it would locate its new South Atlantic Division in Waycross in the Phoenix Hotel downtown. Flash Foods has been one of the most recognizable convenience store chains in the area for a number of years. There are two Flash Foods stores in Douglas.