Author: Robert Preston

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…

Mitch Douglas, a former professional baseball player, is hosting a baseball skills camp on Jan. 17-19 at Coffee Middle School. The camp will focus on al aspects of the game – hitting, fielding, and pitching. With baseball season just around the corner, this would be a good opportunity to get in some important pre-season skills work. For more information on fees and times of the sessions, contact Mitch Douglas at (912) 850-3834 or douglasmitch@hotmail.com or Stan Hughes at (912) 389-6069.

Coffee County’s first baby of 2015 arrived on Thursday, Jan. 1, at 3:32 a.m. Little Miss Ashlyn Payton, who weighed six pounds, 15 ounces, was born to Chasity Tockett and Dustin Payton, both of whom live in Douglas. Both baby and mother are healthy, happy, and are ready for a great 2015.

It was the shot heard ‘round the county. Well, not really. But because of our coverage, it was the shot that everyone learned about as quickly as possible and were able to follow throughout the day until the suspects were apprehended and removed from the streets. In the early morning hours of Thursday, July 10, 2014, a subject suspected of armed robbery shot Douglas police officer Larry Carter in the leg after Carter pulled over the subject’s vehicle. The incident took place near Wal-Mart; the driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene while the shooter was able to…

For the second time this year, Douglas has found itself on a list of the most dangerous places to live in Georgia. This time, Movoto Insurance Company, a large online real estate firm, published its list of most dangerous cities in the state. Douglas landed at #7, just one spot behind Atlanta. Earlier this year, www.homesecurityshield.org published a similar list which also placed Douglas in the top 10 of most dangerous places to live. That particular report touched a nerve and several local officials denounced the list simply as a ploy designed to sell home security systems. While that may…