Author: Robert Preston

Tuesday afternoon, the Coffee County Board of Education approved the FY17 budget, which includes a one-time three percent raise for all system employees. Now that it has been approved, the budget will available for review by the public. The board also approved painting Satilla Elementary and Coffee Middle School. Gilliard Painting of Douglas will paint Satilla while ICS, Inc., will paint the middle school. Also approved were the purchase of five school buses (all with air conditioning) for $414,007.25 and Rosetta Stone curriculum, which will be taught to all second graders in the county next year at a price tag…

I am a process person. I believe the process that a person or organization utilizes to reach a particular outcome matters. And there is no process in our country more sacred than the one by which we choose our leaders. That is why I take the allegations against city commissioner Olivia Pearson, Evelyn Griffin, Charlie Mack Wooten, and James Hicks so seriously. What I will discuss will focus mainly on Commissioner Pearson. She is a public servant and should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen. While the allegations against Wooten, Griffin, and Hicks are also quite…

One incumbent lost in Tuesday night’s local primary and another is fighting for her life in a run-off that won’t take place until July. Otherwise, local incumbents made a clean sweep in the race. Several statewide elections were also on the ballot, and there are still many questions to be answered in those races. Board of Education District 3 representative Judi Worrell, who is finishing her first term on the board, won’t have the opportunity for a second term. Challenger Reagan Miller bested Worrell 769 votes to 480. Worrell will remain on the board through December; Miller won’t take her…

For many years, horses were a fixture in the annual Festival of Lights Christmas Parade. After a scary incident or two involving the horses a few years ago, city fathers banned the animals from riding in the parade. This year, however, they will be making a return. At Monday night’s regular commission meeting, commissioners voted to allow horses back in the parade – as long as they register with the city just like all other parade entries must do. According to Georgia Henderson, the city’s public information director, her department conducted an online survey in which they asked the community…

At Monday’s monthly Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the Chamber recognized Elixir Metals and Doors for being nominated as a Georgia Manufacturer of the Year. Wiregrass Technical College nominated Elixir, and Archie Brown, plant manager, expressed his thanks at the meeting. His remarks can be seen below. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com

Tameka Johnson, 36, lost her life in the Friday, May 20, auto accident that happened on Bethel Road, according to a report published by WALB. The crash happened around 9 p.m. that night. According to WALB’s report, which cited the Georgia State Patrol as its source, an SUV driven by a 27-year-old male left the road. The driver over-corrected and lost control. The vehicle went into a ditch, became airborne, and came to rest on an embankment. EMTs transported the driver to Coffee Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. Another passenger, also a female, was wearing a seatbelt and was…

It appears that the roads around the Bethel community have claimed another victim. According to reports published by WALB, one person has died and another person has been seriously injured in an auto accident on Bethel Road. Few details have been released regarding the crash. The identities of the deceased and the injured, the number of vehicles, circumstances surrounding the accident, and other pertinent information have yet to be released. We will release more information as we learn more about the accident.

Friday the 13th proved lucky for one local suspected drug offender – at least temporarily. According to Jamie Jones, head agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Southeastern Regional Drug Enforcement Unit, agents were in Coffee County conducting a drug investigation when they encountered a subject suspected of breaking the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. That subject, Drucilla Thomas, was subsequently arrested and placed in handcuffs. As officers attempted to put on gloves to continue searching for evidence, Thomas flipped her cuffs, jumped into a nearby car, and fled the scene. In addition to the drug charges from the initial investigation,…

The sheriff’s election is always the big local election each four years. Two of the three candidates seeking the office showed up Thursday night — incumbent Doyle Wooten (D) and challenger Rex Harper (R). Republican Sam Reed did not attend the forum. What follows are the responses from Sheriff Wooten and Harper. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com

A pair of candidates are in the clerk of superior court race: Incumbent Angela Spell-Hutto and Erica Carver. Here are the answers to their questions. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com