Author: Robert Preston

When junior defensive lineman Troy Taft sacked Ware County’s quarterback for a 16-yard loss deep in Coffee territory at the end of the second quarter, it should have a game-defining play. Instead, it was a footnote in a painful 23-14 loss to the Gators in Jardine Stadium Friday night. The Trojans were holding on to a slim 7-3 lead when a bad snap on a punt gave Ware the ball on Coffee’s 10 yard line. With time running out in the second quarter, the turnover should have resulted in a Gator touchdown and a halftime lead. Instead, the Coffee defense…

Just prior to the kickoff of the Coffee Trojans’ home opener against the Savannah High School Blue Jackets Friday night, fans watched a tribute to the late Riccardo Ingram and Malik Sparkman, two Trojans who lost battles with cancer this year. Coffee linebackers coach Neil Graham, who himself was waging his own war against cancer, was listening to the game in a bed at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. Hours later, after hearing his Trojans win 38-0, Coach Graham joined Ingram and Sparkman in death, the third Trojan to succumb to cancer in recent months. Neil Graham came to Coffee County…

Friday night’s game between the Coffee Trojans and the Savannah High Blue Jackets was over almost before it started. It really was. Coffee running back Demetrius Davis scored on an 84-yard touchdown run just 17 seconds into the game. The Trojans would roll from there, eventually defeating the Blue Jackets 38-0 at Jardine Stadium. The game began with a touching tribute on the Jumbotron to Riccardo Ingram and Malik Sparkman, two Trojans who tragically lost brave battles with cancer earlier this year. Once the game, which was Coffee’s home opener, was underway, the Trojans hit their stride early and never…

Five Trojans scored a total of six touchdowns in Coffee’s 39-0 win over the North Oconee Titans at the Erk Russell Classic in Statesboro’s Paulson Stadium Saturday afternoon. Junior running back Demetrius Davis scored twice, once on a seven-yard run in the first quarter and again on 58-yard run near the end of the fourth quarter. The game started an hour late due to lightning and rain, which caused both teams to play sloppily in the first half. The Trojans had opportunities but kept making costly mistakes. At half-time, Coffee held on to a slim 6-0 lead. The second half,…

The Community Foundation of Coffee County is accepting applications from charitable organizations in Coffee County to further the ability of these organizations to meet the needs of local citizens. The application deadline is Sept. 30 of this year. The foundation typically announces recipients within two months of the deadline. To apply for a grant, complete the online application at www.cfcga.org. First, representatives of these organizations must register for a user ID and password at www.cfcga.org/spectrumwebportal; logging in here will allow access to the application. Last year, the foundation awarded a total of $10,000 to four different organizations – the Fellowship…

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released more information regarding last night’s shooting on Cutter Road in Douglas. According to the GBI, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the GBI in connection with the shooting. GBI agents responded to the sheriff’s office’s request just before 8 p.m. on Sunday night. Monday afternoon, the GBI released a verbal statement saying that the agency believes that the shooting involved a child and the child’s mother. The mother is the victim of the shooting. She is hospitalized in critical condition. At the moment, the GBI believes that the shooting was accidental.…

Coffee County deputies and EMS officials responded to a residence off Cutter Rd. around 7:30 p.m. Sunday after receiving a report of a gunshot victim. Details of the shooting have not been released as of Monday morning. However, we do know the female victim was found with a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was transported from the scene to Coffee Regional Medical Center. Douglas Now will continue to update this story as more information is provided by officials.

A deadly crash involving an 18-wheeler hauling gas and a pick-up truck occurred early this morning on the outskirts of Willacoochee on Highway 82. The accident killed the driver of the big truck while the pick-up driver was reportedly unhurt. WALB has reported that the truck driver has been identified as Timothy Teemer, 47, of Albany. The driver of the pick-up was James Gaskins, 73, of Willacoochee. The wreck shut down the eastbound lanes of Highway 82. Department of Transportation crews and law enforcement re-directed eastbound traffic to the westbound side, with one lane of the westbound side of 82…

Clay Pirkle of Turner County defeated former Ocilla mayor Horace Hudgins tonight in the race for the state House of Representatives District 155 seat. The election was held to fill the seat left vacant by former Rep. Jay Roberts, whom Gov. Nathan Deal appointed to as planning director of the Georgia Department of Transportation. Both Pirkle and Hudgins ran on the Republican ticket. Roberts was also a Republican. Only a portion of western Coffee County is located in District 155; the only local voters who could cast ballots were in the Broxton and Ambrose precincts. Pirkle received 102 votes in…

Last night, I stood in a crowd of 1,000 or more people. There was a prayer being said from the podium on the steps of the Coffee County Courthouse. I was supposed to have my eyes closed and my head bowed. Instead, I was looking around in amazement, completely taken aback – in a good way – at what I saw. For the first time I can remember, members of churches throughout Coffee County gathered on the courthouse square for a candlelight prayer vigil. The event, which lasted over 90 minutes, was a cry to God from Christians concerned about…