Author: Bradley Bennett

At the regular August 7, 2017 meeting of the Coffee County Board of Commissioners the board voted to seek funding for the resurfacing of more than 12 miles of roads within the county. The locations to be resurfaced are: Old Pearson Highway from 135 to Atkinson County line (1.55 miles) Basswood Road to Sunbeam Road in Bay Meadows (.67 miles) Kamara Road from Carver Road to the joint in the pavement .315 miles southwest of Carver Road (.315 mile) Old Axson Road to Rebecca Waldron Road (1.9 miles) Racoon Bridge Road to Dewberry Road (1.03 miles) Flying Hawk Road from…

W.B. Merritt has been coaching the Coffee County 4-H BB gun team for 25 years now. He just made his sixth trip to the National BB Gun Championship. DouglasNow asked Mr. W.B. what has kept him coaching for so long. “It’s the kids, seeing them enjoy it”, he said. And besides that, they’re pretty good. At the 2017 annual Daisy National BB Gun Championship Match in Rogers, Arkansas, the Coffee County 4-H team placed 16th out of 76 teams. It’s a bit off the mark they set in 2013 when the Coffee County Team came in third, but still well…

On June 27, 2017 members of the Coffee County Board of Education along with representatives of Jones Construction broke ground for the new Coffee High School Performing Arts Center. The architect for the project is Mr. Vic Suttles. Principal Rowland Cummings was on hand to introduce Dr. James D. Banks, Jr. who prayed the invocation. Mr. Alex Hill, the Field Representative for 12th District Congressman Rick Allen, was on hand but did not speak publicly. John and Jeremy Jones of Jones Construction were at the ceremony. DouglasNow spoke with Jeremy Jones, Executive Vice President of Jones Construction. Mr. Jones said…

Seventy-one inmates at Coffee Correctional Facility received their General Education Development certificates at an awards ceremony last Friday. Twenty more students were awarded their certificates for completion of the K-9 Dog Program. CCF’s K-9 Dog Program is part of the Canine Performance Sciences Program at Auburn University. The dogs take up to a year to train and are then placed with private security firms or government agencies to sniff out narcotics or bombs. Dr. Jennifer Irvin gave the graduation address. Dr. Irvin is the Georgia Department of Corrections Southeast Regional Principal. Her address focused on the struggle one must face…

On Thursday June 22, 2017 at a special meeting of the Douglas City Commission, Mr. Edwin Taylor was sworn in at Douglas City Hall as the newest commissioner. Commissioner Taylor fills the unexpired term of the late Ward 1 Commissioner Johnnie Lee Roper. Taylor received 86 percent of the vote in last week’s special election. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by members of the community and Commissioner Taylor’s family. The oath of office was administered by City Clerk Wynetta Bolder. Commissioner Taylor’s wife Bobbie Jean Taylor held the Bible upon which Commissioner Taylor placed his right hand while repeating the…

On Thursday June 22, 2017 at a special meeting of the Douglas City Commission, Mr. Edwin Taylor was sworn in at Douglas City Hall as the newest commissioner. Commissioner Taylor fills the unexpired term of the late Ward 1 Commissioner Johnnie Lee Roper. Taylor received 86 percent of the vote in last week’s special election. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by members of the community and Commissioner Taylor’s family. The oath of office was administered by City Clerk Wynetta Bolder. Commissioner Taylor’s wife Bobbie Jean Taylor held the Bible upon which Commissioner Taylor placed his right hand while repeating the…

At the regular June 19, 2017 Coffee County Board of Commissioners meeting it was announced that there would be a joint City/County CommissionersBoard of Education meeting on June 29, 2017 at the County EOC building at 6:30 p.m. During the regular meeting the board also heard from Mr. Stephen Pitts, the local director for CSRA probation services. CSRA is a private company and provides its services to misdemeanor probationers. CSRA has a contract with the county to provide these services and that contract expires on July 1, 2017. A renewal contract of the same terms and conditions was approved by…

Country music singer Ryan Daniel will be performing on Tuesday, June 27 at 7 p.m. at the South Georgia Youth Park Wiregrass Arena in Nicholls. The concert will be the culmination of Camp Bethany, a camp for young people ages five to 17, June 26 and 27. This camp is for any child that’s been affected by grief. The purpose of the camp is to let children know that there are people out there who can help them. The nature of grief counselling requires that those affected be able to trust their caregivers. This camp is seen as an excellent…

The president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson was in Douglas on Tuesday June 20, 2017. He was here on the second stop on the 2017 Georgia Tour. This is the ninth Georgia Tour undertaken by Dr. Peterson. He began the Georgia Tech tradition when he became president in 2009. This year the Georgia Tour will cover 970 miles across South Georgia. DouglasNow spoke with Dr. Peterson and G. Wayne Clough, PhD, Georgia Tech President Emeritus and Douglas native, at the Douglas Atrium Event Center. Dr. Clough was not only born in Douglas, but his father…

At the regular June 12, 2017 meeting of the City of Douglas Mayor and Commission the board passed a resolution creating a city marshal’s office as a law enforcement agency. The resolution passed unanimously and without a great deal of discussion. During the work session, some background information was given to the mayor and board. It was noted that in October of 2007 the mayor and commission approved a revision to city ordinances which mandated that the marshal/code enforcement officer be P.O.S.T. certified and have powers of arrest. P.O.S.T. certification refers to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council and…