Author: Robert Preston

The CCA Lady Patriots have fallen to Monsignor Donovan in the GISA Final Four at Mercer. CCA jumped out to an early lead and held a one-point advantage at the half. Over the last two periods, Monsignor Donovan pulled ahead and came away with a 39-30 win. Monsignor Donovan moves on to the state finals while CCA sees its season come to an end. It was a good run, Lady Pats. Congratulations on a fine season!

According to Kevin Davis of ESG Operations, the company that oversees the city’s wastewater treatment plant, and Mike Hudson, water and wastewater director for the city, the Feb. 8 contaminated water spill has not resulted in any noticeable environmental damage. The spill, which happened on Sunday, Feb. 8 when a four-inch check valve malfunctioned, released an estimated 4.4 million gallons of contaminated water into an unnamed tributary of the Seventeen Mile River. At the time of its discharge, the water had been partially treated, which is one of the primary reasons why the environmental impact of the spill has been…

I “borrowed” this photo from Suzanne Ray’s Facebook page. I’m assuming she won’t mind. It is a photo of CCA Lady Patriots’ fans at the GISA Final Four this afternoon in Macon. The Lady Patriots are taking on Monsignor Donovan right now at Mercer University. The winner, of course, advances to the state title game. The Patriots won the region then rolled through the state playoffs to earn a berth in the semi-finals. Go Lady Patriots! And Suzanne, don’t be mad at me for swiping the photo.

Did you know that the City of Douglas experienced a wastewater spill earlier this month? According to a press release posted on the city’s Web site (but apparently not released to the media), the spill took place on Feb. 8 at the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant and dumped 4.4 million gallons of water into a tributary of the Seventeen Mile River. According to the press release, the receiving stream is an un-named tributary to the Seventeen Mile River which flows from the plant through a city-owned restricted-access impoundment and then crosses under Wendell Sears Road and then Clyde Kirkland…

The Coffee County Commission approved a redevelopment plan for Oak Park, building roof renovations for the county ag building, and covered a couple of items relating to re-zoning and road construction at Monday’s regular county commission meeting. Regarding road construction, the county approved service agreements with Statewide Surveying to begin three road projects: EL Curtis Road ($10,703), Forest Hill Drive and Ridge Point Drive ($12,552.46), and Dewberry Road ($32,119.52). The Dewberry Road project will be in next year’s allocation and includes special requirements due to the presence of wetlands. The county also approved roof renovations at the ag building, awarding…

We had been sitting in a breakroom inside the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson for nearly an hour when our driver, a prison employee whose name I did not get, came around the corner. Three of us were there to witness the execution of Warren Lee Hill, 54, who had been sentenced to death for bludgeoning a cellmate to death in 1991. At the time, he was serving a life sentence for killing his girlfriend in Lee County in 1986. Around 7 p.m., at the request of our driver, the four of us – the two other witnesses,…

Diana Jacobs, who has been charged with concealing the death of a resident at a Nicholls nursing home where she worked, will remain in jail after being denied bond. Her husband, James Jacobs, who has also been charged in the case, was denied bond in late September and also remains in the Coffee County Jail. The Jacobses worked at Rosewood Manor in Nicholls and are charged with concealing the death of 67-year-old Alexander Hunter, who was found buried in a shed behind Rosewood Manor. Diana and James Jacobs have also been charged with financial card transaction fraud in connection with…

Two bodies, believed to be that of Bud and June Runion, who traveled from Marietta to McRae to look at a 1966 Ford Mustang they saw advertised on Craigslist, have been found near Jacksonville, Ga., in a wooded area. According to a report from WALB, the bodies were discovered near a submerged vehicle that matched the description of the one the Runions were driving at the time of their disappearance. The bodies, however, were not in water. Earlier today, Ronnie “Jay” Towns, 28, a suspect wanted in connection with the case, turned himself in to authorities. Towns was wanted on…

Friday night, the students of Citizens Christian Academy in Douglas named Kyndal Day, the daughter of Scott and Carmen Day, the 2014-2015 Homecoming Queen. Kyndal (left) is pictured with last year’s queen, Megan Walker (right). The annual Homecoming dance will take place Saturday night at the CCA gym.

The Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce named Williams Institutional Foods as the Industry of the Year at the Chamber’s annual banquet Thursday night at Central Square Complex. Also winning awards were Dr. Jim Barber and Southeastern Orthopaedics (Small Business of the Year); Raj Andhari, BM, and Nick Patel (Gene Chambers Entrepreneur of the Year); and Scott Smith, Linda Cribbs, and Brad Riner (STAR Awards for the STEM internship program that places interns from Coffee High School in science and math related fields in local industries). Both before and after the awards presentations, the topic of the evening was progress. Over…