Author: Robert Preston

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

There are three candidates for the office of chief magistrate: Incumbent Annemarie Fussell, Julie Phillips, and Tamma Mobley. Here are their responses from Thursday night. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com

Candidates for probate judge, incumbent Beverly Johns and challenger Melissa Gilliard, addressed the public and answered questions Thursday at the political forum. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com

At the political forum Thursday night, the only candidate for tax commissioner who took the podium was Tabitha Paulk, who is challenging incumbent Shanda Henderson for the office. Henderson was at a training seminar in Athens and was not able to attend the forum. Here are Paulk’s statements. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com

Thursday night, most — not all — of the candidates seeking public office went before the public at a political forum hosted by Coffee County Farm Bureau and the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce. We will be posting the candidates of the five partisan races that have opposition: board of education district 3, clerk of superior court, magistrate judge, probate judge, and sheriff. First up are the BOE candidates, incumbent Judi Worrell and challenger Reagan Miller. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com

Monday night, the city announced that it has a tentative plan to provide skaters with a new facility, located on what used to be tennis courts, at Eastside Park. For several years now, skaters have been at odds with downtown businesses and local law enforcement. They want to skate downtown, the business owners don’t want them there. And the law is not on the side of the skaters. The city’s new plan is a step in the right direction but it’s going to leave both parties – the local government and the skaters – dissatisfied. First, let’s take a look…

The biggest news from Monday’s city commission may have come from an item that wasn’t on the agenda and didn’t require any action from the mayor or commission. If the city moves forward with a plan discussed Monday night – and it looks like the city will – at least part of the conflict between local skateboarders and the business community and police departments should come to an end. At the meeting, city manager Terrell Jacobs and recreation director Steve Young unveiled plans to convert two tennis courts at Eastside Park into a small skatepark for local skaters. At one…