Coming into Friday night’s Homecoming match-up with the Northside Warner Robins Eagles, two of the Coffee Trojans’ games had been decided by three points or less. The Trojans had lost both. The Trojans finally reversed their fortunes against the Eagles, winning 14-12 in a close contest that wasn’t decided until the final 68 seconds of the game. Northside came into the game on the heels of a three-point overtime loss to another set of Trojans — those from Lee County — last week. The Eagles’ offense looked tired and worn down and had trouble building any momentum at all. The…
Author: Robert Preston, Jr.
At Thursday’s Rotary Club meeting, the club heard from Rotary member John Day and GracePointe Baptist Church’s Archie Rish, both of whom were instrumental in bringing the Night to Shine event to Douglas last February. A Night to Shine is sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation and provides special needs children and adults with a special prom experience. It’s held each year on the Friday before Valentine’s Day around the world. Both Day and Rish learned of the event independently of each other and submitted applications for an event in Douglas. They ended up working together, with their respective churches…
Andrea Taylor, Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce President and Executive Director of the Douglas-Coffee County Development Authority, has accepted a similar position with the Jeff Davis County Development Authority and will step into her new role on Oct. 30. Taylor has served as president of the local Chamber since Nov. 1, 2015. Previously, Taylor served under former Chamber President JoAnne Lewis for five years, first as entrepreneur and small business development director then as vice-president. Thursday, Luke Morgan, Chairman of the Douglas-Coffee County Economic Development Authority, released the following statement: “Andrea Taylor has accepted a position as Executive Director of…
Thursday afternoon, after a very short deliberation, a Coffee County jury found Wallace Lee guilty on all counts in the November 2015 murders of Meghan Bowen, 33, and Carlos Harden, 39. Testimony began Tuesday morning attorneys spent Monday selecting a jury in the case. Closing arguments took place Thursday morning and wrapped shortly before noon. The jury deliberated just over an hour before returning a guilty verdict. Just after 1 p.m., the jury returned to the courtroom with the verdict. Nearly two years ago, Lee, now 44, was charged with murder in the deaths of Meghan Bowen, 33, and Carlos…
At Monday morning’s regular county commission meeting, EMA director Steve Carver reported that 580 Coffee County residents have filed complaints at the Federal Emergency Management Agency that has been open locally as a result of damage sustained from Hurricane Irma. Of those, 70 have been approved. Carver stated that the total amount of funds FEMA has approved in these cases is in excess of $80,000. Housing assistance claims total $62,888 while other claims, such as personal property and medical needs, accounts for $18,366.80. The local FEMA center will remain open until Friday. In other news, the…
Two big criminal trials are on the Coffee County Superior Court calendar this week: Wallace Lee’s double murder trial and the aggravated assault trial of Dustin Steverson that left three individuals, one of whom was Steverson himself, hospitalized in 2016 after a shooting in Broxton reminiscent of a Wild West showdown. Lee was scheduled to go to trial the week that Hurricane Irma hit. The storm, however, postponed the case until this month. Jury selection took place Monday, Oct. 16. The trial is set to begin Tuesday, Oct. 17. Nearly two years ago, Lee, now 44, was…
Running back Jameon Gaskin and receiver Milton Jackson scored two touchdowns apiece in the Coffee Trojans’ 35-0 win over the Houston County Bears Friday night in Warner Robins. The Trojans are now 1-0 in region play (4-2 overall). The win broke a two-game losing streak for Coffee and goes a long way in securing a postseason berth in the five-team Region 1-6A. The Trojans scored on four of their first six possessions – two runs by Gaskin, a touchdown reception by Jackson, and another run by Antonio Dawson – to take a 27-0 lead at halftime. In…
A number of invasive species call Douglas and Coffee County home, including fire ants, wild hogs, Mediterranean house geckos, and European starlings. You can now add one more to that list: the sika deer. The City of Douglas released a statement today announcing that sika deer, sometimes called Japanese deer, have been seen inside the city. Several different subspecies of sika deer exist; some are rather large (in excess of 230 pounds) while others may not even hit 100 pounds. The city’s release neither stated how many have been seen or exactly what subspecies the invaders are (if…
The Kansas City Chiefs are the only undefeated team left in the NFL after defeating the Houston Texans 42-34 Sunday night in Houston. Former Coffee Trojan Tyreek Hill padded the Chiefs’ lead in the fourth quarter with his 15th career touchdown in 21 professional games on an 82-yard punt return. Hill, who used to return kicks and punts as well as spending time at both wide receiver and running back, has become more of a receiver in his second year in the league. He finished the night with four receptions for 68 yards and two punt returns…
A man was injured at Premium Peanut this afternoon when he was pinned between a tractor-trailer and a metal barrier Saturday afternoon. The individual, whose identity has not been released, reportedly suffered a broken leg and other serious injuries in the accident. The accident halted work at the plant for a short time while first responders tended to the victim. An Air-Evac helicopter transported him from the plant to a trauma center. EMTs placed the victim in an ambulance and began work to stabilize him. The chopper landed just outside Premium Peanut’s gate on Barrington Road. The…