Author: Robert Preston

The summer didn’t start off very well for Keegan McGovern, who is playing for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod League. The Georgia Bulldog is spending the summer with the Firebirds, playing in one of the most competitive summer leagues in the country. The quality of the competition – particularly the pitching – took its toll on the Coffee High graduate early in the season. Despite an on-base percentage north of .300, McGovern was hitting below .200 his first couple of weeks in the league. He made a few adjustments and, thanks to a .340 average over his last…

At Monday night’s regular city commission meeting, commissioners discussed the possibility of implementing a weatherization program to assist qualified city homeowners make their homes more energy efficient. Among the improvements that would be included in the program are air conditioning/heating work, insulation, weather stripping, and caulking. If approved, the city would pay up to $5,000 for the weatherization improvements. Residents would be required to pay back half of the costs of improvements. The city would charge residents $44.66 on their bill ($41.66 plus a $3 administration fee) each month for 60 months or until the resident’s portion is paid back.…

“I’ve always wanted to open a clothing store. And I’ve always wanted to live at the beach. I graduated from Valdosta State in December and I started looking at my options. I came to St. Simons Island to look it over and immediately loved it here. Now I have a store and I live at the beach,” laughs Ariel Anderson, a Douglas native who has just ended her second week as an entrepreneur on St. Simons Island. Two weeks ago, she opened ARIEL, a women’s clothing store located at 257 Redfern Village on the island. A write-up in Elegant Island…

Diana Jacobs, who had been held in the Coffee County Jail since August 2014 on various charges (including malice murder) related to the death of Alexander Hunter, 67, whose body was found buried in a shed behind Rosewood Manor assisted living facility in Nicholls, was released on bond Wednesday afternoon. A local bondsman signed her bond. A spokesman from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office stated that the CCSO had little information regarding the bond, only stating that she had been given a bond and was released as a result.Jacobs’s husband, James Jacobs, who was also charged with malice murder (among…

Once more, Douglas, Ga., has found its way onto a “most dangerous cities” list. Not everyone takes our place on the list seriously. The organization that compiles the list is affiliated with the home security industry; as such, many people believe its lists are simply a marketing tool designed to sell home security systems. I understand and respect the concerns people have about the credibility of this particular organization. Likewise, this group kicks out municipalities with fewer than 10,000 citizens. It also doesn’t – and can’t — take into account those communities that don’t report crime statistics to the FBI.…

It’s happened once again. Douglas has been included in another top dangerous cities list – this time as one of the top 30 most dangerous cities in the United States. Douglas comes in at #13, up from its previous rank of #66. Compiled by SafeWise, which is a safety and home security news group, the list is based on the latest available FBI Crime Report statistics and population data. The report includes cities with more than 10,000 people that reported their crime statistics to the FBI. The numbers are from 2014 and demonstrate that, overall, crime is decreasing throughout the…

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…