Author: Robert Preston

At last Thursday’s regular board of education meeting, the school board voted 3-2 to reduce the 2016-2017 school year by one day to give system employees and students Nov. 11 – Veterans Day – off. The school year will be 179 days instead of 180. As a result, the day off will cost taxpayers an estimated $200,000. After spending several minutes discussing the importance of keeping students in the classroom as many days as possible, board members engaged in a lengthy, and at times tense, discussion regarding Veterans Day. Board members Judi Worrell and Ronnie Johnson asked that the system…

Just before 3 p.m. this afternoon, the north side of Douglas erupted in sirens. Two separate and unrelated incidents had officers from the Douglas Police Department, Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, and Douglas Fire Department flying in different directions. Earlier in the afternoon, a deputy initiated a traffic stop on a Toyota sedan driven by Timothy Sanchez Blank, 26. According to officers, Blank refused to stop and led units on a chase through Douglas. Blank crashed into a car near the intersection of South Grady and West Ward Street. He continued east on Ward and attempted to turn…

On Friday, March 18, the Coffee High School baseball program honored the late Riccardo Ingram. Here are the remarks stadium announcer Jimmy Roberts read at the ceremony: Ladies and gentlemen, could I direct your attention to home plate? Tonight, we have a special ceremony remembering one of the finest student-athletes to ever pass through the halls of Coffee High School. If there ever was a glory period of Coffee High athletics, it would have to be the first half of the 1980s. We have had hundreds of talented young men and women pass through the athletic program of our school.…

The greatest Trojan. It’s a debate in which Coffee High sports fan have engaged for decades. It’s a fun, if not altogether fair, discussion to have. Over the years, the Trojans have had their fair share of tremendous athletes. Each team, each season, each year, each decade has had candidates worthy of consideration. Usually, however, the debate always focuses on those football and baseball teams of the early 1980s. Never before in Coffee High history has there been a greater collection of raw talent than what those teams enjoyed. Dozens played in college when a college scholarship was indeed a…

At Monday’s city commission meeting, commissioners approved the purchase of two new cruisers for the Douglas Police Department. Chief Gary Casteloes introduced the request – a pair of 2015 Dodge Chargers for a total of $47,000. The commission unanimously approved the measure. Cemetery director Henry Milhollin asked the commission, at the behest of the Cemetery Advisory Committee, to amend the cemetery’s headstone only rule in Section T of the municipal cemetery. The committee wanted to allow ledgers, benches, and above-ground crypts. The request passed 5-1 with Commissioner Kentaiwon Durham casting the dissenting vote. Commissioners also approved the use of two…

What will happen if Hillary Clinton is indicted on charges related to her ongoing email investigation? It’s a question I’ve asked myself for a long, long time. I’ve researched it. I’ve asked attorneys. I’ve pondered the various scenarios. There are tens of thousands of stories, theories, and speculations on this particular case. Yet few can agree on what may or may not happen. This is clearly one of the most significant and perplexing election-year dilemmas that I can remember. It is worth noting that most pundits agree that Hillary Clinton is guilt of something. Exactly what those final charges could…

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…