As 2024 comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on the stories, people, and events that made the year memorable. I believe it’s safe to say that this year has been one of the most significant – both good and bad – we’ve had in a long time. Here is our reflection on the year’s most significant stories.
Story of the Year A: Hurricane Helene. Sitting around and waiting on a hurricane to arrive is nothing new. For the last 25 years or so, hurricanes and tropical storms have been more of the norm in South Georgia than we’d like to believe. For the most part, Coffee County has escaped the full fury of a hurricane. On September 27, our luck ran out. Hurricane Helene, a monster of a storm, spared no one in her path. And Coffee County was directly in her way. Helene’s effects started being felt late on the evening of the September 26. By 1 a.m. on the 27th, she had made her presence known. Helene downed trees, destroyed homes, knocked out power to nearly every resident in Coffee County, blocked roadways both major and minor, and brought the county to a screeching halt. In the process, Helene changed the landscape of Coffee County for the next 20 or so years. The most significant weather event in the history of our community, Hurricane Helene divided time for a generation of Coffee Countians. There is now BH and AH – before Helene and after Helene. Now, three months after the storm, the community is still a mess and people are still trying to figure out what to do. Douglas and Coffee County have never seen anything like Hurricane Helene. I hope we never see anything like it again.
Story of the Year B: The Johnson Funeral & Cremation Services saga. In some ways, this story provided a distraction for a community reeling after Helene. About a month after the storm hit, word began to spread about a macabre and grisly scene unfolding on a late October Saturday at the small funeral home located on Highway 441 South. For all of 2024, authorities had been investigating the funeral home’s owner, Chris Johnson, regarding a potential death certificate forgery incident. When officers showed up at the funeral home on Saturday, October 26, I thought it was a raid related to the investigation. Instead, they were serving an eviction notice. In the process, however, they discovered 18 decomposing bodies (along with a dog and a cat) inside the facility. That led to a separate investigation, Johnson’s arrest the following day, and a story that has captivated the community and made headlines throughout Georgia. Two months after Johnson’s arrest, a second individual was arrested in connection with the death certificate forgery investigation. The case is still very much ongoing and we have far more questions than answers. It’s safe to say that we will be talking about this one well into 2025
Sports Story of the Year: The CCA Lady Patriots softball team wins a state championship. When the softball season began, someone told me to watch this team. “They’ve got a real chance to win it all,” I was told. We started paying attention and the girls did not disappoint. They won. And they won. And they kept on winning. They won games by large margins. They fought through tough games and extra innings. When they lost a game, they never lost focus and always battled back. During the state tournament, they took each game one at a time, never looked ahead, and took care of the business they had in front of them. In the process, they created some of the most memorable moments in CCA athletics history. And one moment, eighth grader Maddie Lewis’s go-ahead fourth-inning home run against rival David Emanuel Academy after the Eagles intentionally walked Gracie Giddens (who already had two home runs in the game) to get to Lewis, should go down as one of the greatest sports moments in Coffee County history. Lewis’s homer brought the Lady Patriots back from the brink of defeat and helped propel them through the remainder of the tournament and, ultimately, to a state title. And the best part? None of the girls were seniors and, hopefully, all will be back next season.
The Fulton 19 story makes the list again: Last year, the non-sports story of the year was the Fulton 19 case – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s RICO case against former president (and now president-elect) Donald Trump and his supporters for alleged election interference in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Although four of the defendants pleaded guilty, the case ground to a halt this year amid allegations of misconduct by Willis and her team. This month, a Georgia appellate court disqualified Willis from the case, a decision that puts the case in serious jeopardy. Willis is being represented by former Georgia governor Roy Barnes and has vowed to appeal the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. However, for all practical purposes, it looks like the case will be over, particularly considering Trump’s victory in the November election. On a positive note for Willis, she won re-election as Fulton County DA; now she has four years to do her best to make voters forget this debacle as she plots her next political steps.
Speaking of elections . . .: DouglasNow ran a number of stories about Willis’s election interference case, most of which drew little to no response from readers. Another story that didn’t get a lot of attention was much more insidious and highlighted a more significant threat to local election security. The incident in question actually happened in November of 2023. DouglasNow broke the story in February of this year, complete with a video of the incident. The video shows a voter, with the assistance of former city commissioner Olivia Pearson, allegedly put a cast ballot in her purse, request an absentee ballot, then leave the polling place with the cast ballot still in her purse. Information regarding this incident was discussed in an election board meeting after the election took place then DouglasNow obtained video footage of the incident via open records request. Taking a cast ballot from a polling place in Georgia is a felony. Many of the same people who expressed outrage over the 2021 election breaches, which led to Coffee County being front and center in Fani Willis’s election interference case, were silent – and have remained so – regarding this incident. But it happened, there’s video of it, and it should enrage anyone who desires legal and secure elections.
And more elections: 2024 was an election year and we have some changes in several city and county offices. Most notably, we have a new sheriff (Fred Cole), tax commissioner (Angela Harper), state court judge (Clint Lott), District 169 state representative (Angie O’Steen), District 5 board of education representative (Jacqueline Jowers), and the tSPLOST passed.
The city commission gained a new commissioner: In June, Ward 2 city commissioner Kentaiwon Durham pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in relation to a fake PPP loan application. The guilty plea ended his time as a city commissioner and, as a result, the city had to hold a special election to fill his seat. Four candidates qualified and when the dust settled, Brenda Henderson Moore won the seat in a December runoff.
Progress, progress, and more progress: The year opened with another big announcement: Longhorn Steakhouse was coming to Douglas. Located on the site of the old board of education central office building, Longhorn opened late in 2024 and is the final piece of a nearly total overhaul of the south end of Douglas. What was once a dilapidated old school is now a bustling center of retail commerce, complete with five restaurants, a Publix, Petsmart, Hobby Lobby, Marshall’s, and other businesses. In just a few short years, Douglas has transformed into a bit of a retail wasteland into a regional shopping destination.
A pound cake made headlines: Pam Gillis, the architect of DouglasNow’s At Home With Pam column, saw her cream cheese pound cake recipe become the #3 most read story on DouglasNow. You just never know what’s going to take off. Incidentally, I’ve had the cream cheese pound cake it’s certainly deserving of the place it currently holds.
Entertainment abounds: ONE Compelling Picture filmed two movies in Coffee County this year, Will Moseley of Hazlehurst made it to the finals of American Idol, local singer Jasmine McDonald won Music Video of the Year for her song “Train Station” at the 10th Annual Josie Music Awards in Nashville, Atkinson County artist RVSHVD continued to climb the musical ladder with the release of a new album and singles, and the Martin Centre provided a year of world-class music and events for Douglas and Coffee County.
It wasn’t always an easy year. Despite the challenges, Coffee County landed on its collective feet and is poised for a great 2025. Happy new year, everyone!