Author: Robert Preston

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…

There is an evil, heartless, gutless, spineless, and soulless individual freely moving about our county. Earlier today, a person or persons shot several horses near Coffee High School with a shotgun. Dr. Jessica Giddens, a local veterinarian, treated the horses after they were shot. Their injuries do not appear life-threatening though their wounds are no doubt very painful. There is no reason at all for someone to do something like this. Anyone who can inflict pain and suffering on captive, domesticated animals like these gentle horses indeed has a black heart. If you have any information about this, please contact…

For the second year in a row, the Douglas Stingrays swim team won the GRPA Class B state championship. The two-day meet took place Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18, in Tifton. The Stingrays, which qualified the most swimmers of any team in the meet with 61, finished day one in fifth place. There were 28 teams at the meet. “We’re right where want to be,” said head coach C.M. Jenkins at the conclusion of Friday’s session. “Our younger kids have put us in a great position and we feel good about what our older swimmers can do tomorrow.”…

Saturday night, Faithfully, a Journey tribute band, played a show at the Martin Centre courtesy of the Douglas Kiwanis Club. The Nashville, Tennessee, quintet played a set of about 20 songs, a veritable collection of Journey’s greatest hits (plus Steve Perry’s “Oh Sherrie”), to an audience that filled about 75 percent of the theater. It was a fantastic show, a lot of fun, and the small but enthusiastic crowd responded well during the concert. Plus the proceeds from the show will benefit local youth projects. My family and I went and had a blast. I’d like to see them again.…

Thursday afternoon, Randy Wooten, owner of Delorice’s Florist in Douglas, signed copies of his new book, Jubilation, at Delorice’s Florist. The book, Wooten’s first, came about as a possible solution for a declining sympathy market. Jubilation proposes the thought of sympathy in a whole new light, focusing on the life of the loved one rather than the loss of the person by creating a celebration of life event to honor their passions in life. The book is full of ideas and beautiful photos to capture the reader. Wooten debutedJubilationJuly 1 at the The National Symposium of the American Institute Of Floral…

For at least the third day this week, more protests related to the Confederate flag are taking place in front of the Coffee County Courthouse. While a small group waved Confederate flags near the Confederate memorial on the courthouse square, a larger group of citizens stood at the corner of Peterson Avenue and Ashley Street as a statement against the Confederate flag. The group, comprised of individuals from young children to older adults, held signs and waved at passersby. “We’re standing here for what we believe. I lot of people have told us that we shouldn’t be offended by the…

According to Savannah’s WTOC, Montgomery County sheriff Ladson O’Connor, 42, was killed in an auto accident early this morning after two suspects fled during an attempted traffic stop. Toombs County deputies attempted to stop a vehicle around 1 a.m. The vehicle did not stop and a chase ensued. Sheriff O’Connor joined the chase when the suspects headed his way, reported WTOC. The suspects, identified as Jim Edward Lowery, 35, and Dixie Best, 36, allegedly fired shots at the deputies. The accident occurred on Highway 56 between Uvalda and Reidsville in Toombs County. At the moment, it is unclear what exactly…

An auto accident between a minivan and a dump truck sent one Douglas resident to Shands in Jacksonville via helicopter, according to walb.com. The crash occurred on Highway 206 about mid-afternoon on Saturday. According to the walb.com report, the driver of the van, Lois Miller, 64, struck a dump truck as the truck turned left into a private driveway. Gerald Griffin was driving the dump truck, reported walb.com. Miller was airlifted from the scene and taken to Jacksonville.