Author: Robert Preston

“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

George Darryl Harper, 59 of Ambrose, who had been in custody of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office since Feb. 12 after being charged with trafficking and manufacturing marijuana, was released Thursday, Feb. 18, after being granted a $100,000 bond. Harper had spent most of his time in custody at Coffee Regional Medical Center after suffering from chest pains following his arrest. Doctors recommended transferring Harper to Jacksonville for further treatment. He was given bond and released in order to receive the treatment his condition warrants. Harper will wear an ankle monitor and have to report his movements to authorities. That…

Bernie Sanders intrigues me. I’m not going to vote for him. I wouldn’t consider it in a million years. Still, I find him and his candidacy interesting. I also find it incredibly disturbing, particularly in light of his stunning defeat of Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Sanders describes himself as a democratic socialist. That is not the same thing as a true socialist; however, it sheds light on an ominous side of Sanders’s political philosophy, a philosophy that poses a tremendous threat to the overall health and well-being of our nation. A socialist in the classic sense of…

At last night’s city commission meeting, commissioners voted to purchase 325 water meters from Ferguson Waterworks of Macon for $59,800. Commissioners also voted to allow Mayor Tony Paulk to execute a memorandum of understanding between the city and Georgia MainStreet. The city also has vacancies on two of its boards – the Downtown Development Authority and the Economic Development Authority. The city will advertise these vacancies and anyone wishing to sit on these boards should apply at City Hall. There is one vacancy on the DDA and two on the EDA.

The Chamber of Commerce named Premium Peanut its Industry of the Year at the annual Chamber banquet last week. Here isa video of the award presentation. David Rodriguez/DouglasNow.com