Researchers in North Florida are trying to figure out why a dead juvenile humpback whale washed up on Fernandina Beach Sunday. The whale, which is an estimated 35 feet long and 6,000 pounds, washed up on the south end of Amelia Island, Fla., about halfway between Peters Point and Amelia South condominiums – an area very familiar to Coffee County residents and one in which several locals own property. Monday, researchers, volunteers, officers, and interested citizens gathered around the carcass to take tissue samples and just see what was going on. Scientists swarmed the dead whale and will perform a…
Author: Robert Preston, Jr.
City commissioner Olivia Pearson’s second felony voter fraud trial will take place in Wayne County. Superior Court Judge Andy Spivey, who presided over the first trial and will also hear the second trial, signed the change of venue order last week. The date of the trial has yet to be determined. In March of last year, Pearson was tried on the same charges; however, Judge Spivey declared a mistrial after jurors could not reach a verdict. The jury deadlocked at 11-1. Pearson has a new legal team and her second trial was supposed to begin in Douglas in October. However, her…
At Thursday night’s annual Chamber of Commerce banquet, Chairman Stanley Lott, who had served two years as chairman, passed the gavel to Donnie Bradshaw, the Chief Financial Officer at Elixir Extrusions. During Lott’s two years, the Chamber celebrated 35 ribbon cuttings, brought in more revenue than any other consecutive two-year period, and grew 238 new members to 702. An emotional Lott recounted the two years he served. Those two years were eventful for the Lott family; in addition to the expected challenges that come with holding such a position, Lott also suffered and made a full recovery from a stroke…
For the first time, the Chamber of Commerce presented the Community Partner of the Year Award at the annual Chamber event. The award went to South Georgia State College. Dr. Ingrid Sellers, SGSC president, accepted the award on behalf of the college. SGSC makes a $75.1 million impact on the local economy. “We are very grateful to the Chamber for recognizing South Georgia State College,” stated Dr. Sellers. “All of us are very proud of our students and the fact that we contribute to the workforce of this region.”
Many years ago, when John Higgs began his media career in the newspaper business, he had no idea that he would end up owning of one of Coffee County’s top small businesses – as a radio station owner. Yet that is exactly the position he found himself in Thursday night as he accepted the Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year Award at the annual Chamber event. A native of Axson, Higgs started out as the editor of the Coffee County Progress. From there, his career took him to WDMG, where he learned the radio business under the tutelage…
Sunbelt Greenhouses is the Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Industry of the Year. Sunbelt received the award at Thursday night’s annual Chamber event at Central Square Complex. Lawrence Wenke of Tampa started Sunbelt Greenhouses in 1984 with 19 employees. Over the years, the operation has grown from a tiny facility tucked away in Douglas into one of the top commercial greenhouses in the United States. Today, the 25-acre facility employs 85 full-time and 145 during the peak growing season. Sunbelt produces a number of different varieties of plants, including bedding plants, hanging baskets, annuals for container gardening, mums, and poinsettias. After…
At first, it didn’t seem as though Dr. Dana Fender, who received the Gene Chambers Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 2018 Chamber Annual Event, was going to make any remarks. Never one who enjoys the spotlight, he seemed content to accept the award and let the Chamber of Commerce’s Lisa Hodge make a few comments on his behalf. But then he stepped to the podium. Dr. Fender, a two-time valedictorian (of his graduating class in both high school and dental school), opened his first orthodontic practice in Douglas in 1996. In 2007, he and Dr. Greg Goggans merged…
Monday morning, the county commission voted to close a portion of a road in southern Coffee County and approved air conditioning renovations to the courthouse. Calvin Sears had petitioned the county to close a section of Oakbend Trail, located off Waldron Road. The county had sent notices to those who lived on the road and had advertised the petition properly. Before the county commission voted, they opened a public hearing for the matter. No one spoke in opposition. Oakbend Trail leads to a dead end; Sears is the only landowner on the 1,376-foot section he petitioned be closed. With no…
A driver from Atkinson and Griffin Warehouse in Broxton took a wild ride Tuesday morning as he attempted a turn from Highway 32 West on to Alvin Vickers Road. The truck was traveling east on 32 toward Douglas, presumably after coming through Ambrose and turning left on 32. As the driver, who was hauling fertilizer, turned left on Alvin Vickers Road, the load in the already top heavy truck shifted, causing the driver to lose control. The truck went into the ditch and spun around, facing west, as it flipped up on its nose. EMS transported the driver, who has…
Former Trojan Jalen Wilkerson, a 6’5”, 283-pound redshirt sophomore defensive end for the Florida State Seminoles, has announced he will enter the 2018 NFL Draft, according to multiple media reports. Tallahassee.com stated that Wilkerson made a social media post Monday night announcing his intentions then confirmed the initial statement on Twitter Tuesday. “Some people will never know why you have to make the decisions you make, but I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to play for nole nation,” Wilkerson wrote on social media. “You guys are amazing and God bless.” Wilkerson went to FSU as a tight end but…