Author: Robert Preston

Saturday, May 12, friends and family of the late Malik Sparkman gathered at Malik’s gravesite to celebrate his 19th birthday. Attendees released balloons prepared for the occasion by Windi Raper’s Carried Away Creations. Malik passed away on May 17, 2015, after a nearly year-long battle with kidney cancer. Malik’s death received national attention after his Coffee Trojan teammates carried his casket through the tunnel of Jardine Stadium one last time. Malik’s life has also been the subject of a short film produced by the NFL Network. Ten months after his passing, Malik remains an inspiration to the entire community. He…

A concerned neighbor and a Douglas city police officer put their lives on the line on Saturday, March 5, when they rushed into a burning house in an attempt to save Sue Hutchinson, an elderly resident of the home who was trapped inside. Shortly after midnight Saturday morning, the home at 1005 North Pearl Avenue caught fire. Neighbors Bobby and Cheryl Reynolds saw the fire and called 911. After placing the call, they went outside to help their neighbors, all of whom were elderly and one was confined to a wheelchair. Two of the residents, Neal and Marsha Pate, were…

Deputies investigated a grisly discovery Sunday morning on Sikes Road near Douglas. Someone traveling on the dirt road, which connects Highway 221 in Huffer to the New Forest Highway, saw a dead donkey on the side of the road. The donkey’s feet were tied together and a rope had been tied to its neck with the other end tied to a pole. Deputies arrived on the scene and determined that the donkey had been shot and dumped on the side of the road. That doesn’t really explain the rope tied to around the donkey’s neck, however. A road crew removed…

For Windi Raper, owner of Windi’s Bridal Boutique and Carried Away Creations in Douglas, NASCAR was initially another way to spend time her father. He was a NASCAR fan and he instilled a love of the sport in Windi. Now, Windi’s is one of the most recognized faces around the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where she volunteers tirelessly with Speedway Children’s Charities. This year, at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at the speedway in February, Windi received the Buster Dickerson Service Award for the volunteer work she performed during 2015. She received the award onstage during pre-race ceremonies…

“I’m not very interested in sight-seeing. Everything is beautiful in its own way. I’m interested in people. All over, everywhere, people have been so nice to me,” says Hanna Elshoff, a 73-year-old native of Germany, naturalized American citizen, resident of Minnesota, Lions Club member, and cross-country cyclist who arrived in Douglas shortly after lunch on Thursday. Elshoff is making her trek, which began nearly a year ago, on an ELF, a solar/battery/human-powered hybrid tricycle. Elshoff covers an average of 40 miles per day, though she doesn’t travel every day of the week. It is not uncommon for her to stay…

A near-record turnout in Coffee County helped propel Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump to a resounding victory locally. Trump defeated Ted Cruz, who finished second in Coffee County on the Republican ballot, by 1,593 votes. Trump garnered 2,469 votes to Cruz’s 876. Marco Rubio came in third with 580 and Dr. Ben Carson was next with 410 votes. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton won easily, defeating Bernie Sanders 1,094 to 309. Martin O’Malley finished third with 10 votes while Michael Steinberg was fourth with eight ballots cast in his favor. The biggest story of the night, however, was voter…

Last Thursday night, Dr. Wayne Clough, Douglas native and former president of Georgia Tech and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, returned to town to serve as the keynote speaker for the “Love Where You Live” event at the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce. The event highlighted the various community foundations and resources available in Coffee County. Dr. Clough discussed love of community and fund-raising strategies. In the process, he covered some of his fund-raising success stories, including the $50 million Bill Gates donated to the Smithsonian under Clough’s watch. A video of Dr. Clough’s remarks can be seen below. David…

After last night’s win over the Georgia Christian Lady Generals, the CCA Lady Patriots are headed to the Final Four next weekend in Macon. Georgia Christian, the defending state champions, saw their season slip away after a dominant performance by CCA. The Lady Patriots controlled the game from the opening tip and never were in danger. CCA won easily, 54-35, and now have a week to focus on bringing hom another state championship. CCA will look to even the score against Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School when they head up to Mercer next Friday for a 4 p.m. start in…

Nearly four years ago, when President Barack Obama won his bid for re-election, I wrote on my Facebook page that I feared we had headed down a path from which there would be no way to turn. Now, as we speed towards another presidential election, it appears as though I was more right than even I had imagined. The traditional conservative message of smaller government, less governmental interference into our private lives, personal accountability, and lower taxes has gone the way of the dodo. The current Republican frontrunner, whose nomination it is his to lose at this stage, is far…

The Georgia Bulldogs lost 5-3 to the Georgia Southern Eagles Saturday afternoon but it wasn’t because former Coffee Trojan Keegan McGovern didn’t do his best to help the ‘Dawgs. One of last year’s top freshmen in the SEC, McGovern went 1-4 with a two-run home run, his first of the year, in the Bulldogs’ loss. Georgia defeated the Eagles Friday afternoon and is 1-1 on the season. Video courtesy of Tony Bailey