Caleb Barrett, who was indicted last month for malice murder and felony murder by the Coffee County Grand Jury, was granted a $50,000 bond and released from jail Wednesday. Barrett’s case is an unusual one. He stood accused of shooting and killing his sister, Lea Jovan Merritt, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. Barrett was arrested, charged with voluntary manslaughter, and released on bond back in September. He remained free on bond for about nine months when the Grand Jury handed down its murder indictment nearly a month ago. He was re-arrested on the new charges and taken back to jail.…
Author: Robert Preston, Jr.
Runoff schmunoff. Edwin Taylor, a candidate for the Ward 1 city commission seat, bested two other challengers Tuesday night in a landslide, winning the election to fill the unexpired term of the late Johnnie Lee Roper. In fact, the term “landslide” doesn’t really do the outcome justice. Taylor received 86 percent of the vote, defeating his nearest opponent, Cheryl Cunningham, by 194 votes. Taylor received 214 votes, followed by Cunningham with 20 and former Ward 1 commissioner Richard Hutchinson with 14. It is the largest margin of victory in any election, city or county, in the recent past, and it…
Leon “Mann” Kirkland, patriarch of the popular southern gospel vocal group The Kirklands, passed away on Friday, June 2, following complications from a medical procedure at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. Kirkland, who was at St. Vincent’s for a heart catheterization, began experiencing kidney problems, which ultimately took his life. His unexpected death has left a void in the Douglas-Coffee County community and shocked the Kirkland family’s legions of friends and fans. To say the least, he will be greatly missed. Kirkland was born on May 11, 1947, in Douglas to the late Curtis Colan Kirkland and the late…
Last Thursday, May 25, the Coffee County Grand Jury indicted Caleb Barrett, 21, for malice murder and felony murder in the death of Lea Jovan Merritt of Douglas, according to a statement from the Douglas Police Department that was posted on the Coffee County Ga. Police Scanner Facebook page. Merritt was Barrett’s sister. Merritt was shot and killed at 505 North College Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. Barrett was arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Barrett did not spend much time in jail and has been out ever since. Merritt was shot in the backyard of the residence at…
Douglas police, firefighters, and EMTs responded to a house fire on South Letitia Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The fire started in the kitchen area after the homeowner cooked lunch. After eating, he dozed off and was awakened a short time later by smoke coming from the kitchen. He immediately fled the home and escaped without injury. Police and firefighters responded a short time later and quickly extinguished the blaze. The home suffered significant damage inside due to smoke and water. No injuries were reported to firefighters or the homeowner.
Newly-appointed school board member Leola Johnson’s first meeting was an important one. Barely two weeks after being named to the board of education, Johnson and the rest of the board voted to approve the FY18 budget at a special called meeting Tuesday morning. The board is expecting $63,701,339 in revenue and $63,338,045 in expenditures, leaving a $363,284 surplus. After adding that to the existing fund balance, the school system should have around $8,173,453 in fund balance. When Superintendent Dr. Morris Leis called for a vote, Adam Lott made the motion followed by a second from Bryan Preston. The vote was…
Nearly two months after the death of District 1 school board member Ronnie Johnson from complications associated with diabetes, members of the board of education have named his successor. At a special called meeting held primarily to discuss the budget, the board approved Leola Johnson as the new District 1 representative. Johnson was one of eight individuals whom the board interviewed for the spot. She appeared before the BOE last week and answered a few questions regarding her experience and her vision for the school system. Johnson is a lifelong Coffee County resident. She retired from Coffee Middle School in…
Florine Sapp Joyce, of Nashville, Georgia, died peacefully in Douglas on May 10, 2017 at the age of 81. Mrs. Joyce was born on November 19, 1935, in Douglas to the late James Allen Sapp and Effie Lee Brigmond Sapp. She is survived by her children, Sandra (the late Melvin) Buchanan of Enigma, Georgia; Larry Wayne (Terri) Joyce of Enigma, Georgia; Lynda Joyce of Irwinville, Georgia; Cynthia (John) Keanon of Douglas, Georgia; and Lamar (Traci) Joyce of Nashville, Georgia. She is also survived by her sisters, Lois (Gene) Wilkes of Rockledge, Florida and Geraldine (Wayne) Solomon of Douglas, Georgia. She…
Country star and Douglas native Jennifer Nettles tripped and tumbled off a New York City stage Thursday as she was preparing to sing a song for Time Inc. to a group of advertisers at the Hammerstein Ballroom, according to media reports. Nettles, who later claimed via Twitter that the spill was her first in her career as a performer, broke a rib during the fall. An ambulance took her to a hospital, where she was treated for her injuries. Despite the potentially serious nature of the accident, it appears as though Nettles escaped with relatively minor injuries and will make…
Tuesday afternoon, Douglas firefighters and police officers responded to the Maytag Laundromat, located in the Harvey’s shopping center on South Peterson Avenue, where a fire had been reported. When units arrived, they saw that there was indeed a fire inside the building. They went to work and quickly extinguished the blaze. Two dryers were on fire; the lint traps on both machines were full and they ignited, causing the fire. The two fire completely destroyed the two dryers and the rest of the building suffered some smoke and water damage. There were no injuries reported though there were plenty of…