Author: Robert Preston

From now on, organizations that use city facilities will pay a fee of some kind, regardless of for-profit or not-for-profit status. In the past, non-profit organizations wishing to use city facilities had often asked the city commission to waive any fees associated with using facilities for their events. In most cases, the commission agreed to waive the fees. At the last meeting, however, commissioners decided to re-visit the issue. At Monday night’s city commission meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to administer a refundable deposit fee of $100 or $200, depending on the facility in question, and a non-refundable set up/rehearsal fee…

Months of training. Weeks of hype. And only 140 seconds to finish. Just 2:20 into the first round, Willy “Right Hook” Wright of Baxley defeated Sammy “Lights Out” Elisis of Douglas by technical knockout to win the South Georgia Fighting Championship light heavyweight championship at Border Wars in Nicholls. A capacity crowd filled the Wiregrass Arena and waited patiently for 13 fights to see the showdown between two of the best mixed martial artists in the region. Wright, Baxley’s #1 fighter, and Elisis, Douglas’s top mixed martial artist, are good friends who are both known for their striking. By the…

Tomorrow night, four area mixed martial artists will battle for two South Georgia Fighting Championship belts at the SGFC’s Border Wars at the Wiregrass Arena in Nicholls. Mitchell Chamale and Jimmy Alexander, both of Florida, will take to the cage for the SGFC bantamweight belt while Sammy “Lights Out” Elisis of Douglas and Willy “Right Hook” Wright of Baxley slug it out for the light heavyweight championship. Elisis is the #1 MMA fighter in Douglas while Wright is Baxley’s top fighter. This bout between these two striking specialists makes Border Wars the most anticipated event in SGFC history. Aside from…

Here, Eastside Elementary fifth grade students are completing a lab activity. Students were asked to measure the mass of several objects using a balance scale and standard weights. The students worked in small groups to determine the mass of common classroom objects and then completed a data analysis assignment.

Satilla Elementary would like to say a big thank you to its wonderful community partners from Ameris Bank who visited on Aug. 26 to teach third graders a lesson about bartering.

The Coffee Trojans scored touchdowns on seven of their first eight possessions and added another score on a fumble recovery late in the first half to trounce the Savannah Blue Jackets 54-21 in their home opener Friday night at Jardine Stadium. Seven Trojans – Tyree Paulk, Demetrius Davis (two), Jeremiah Ashley, Kenterrius Walker, Lecarvius Sears, Chris Swinson, and Jalen Wilkerson – scored for Coffee. “You like to have a game where everybody gets to play. Tonight was one of those games,” aid Coffee High head coach Robbie Pruitt. “Our starters played hard tonight and never let up on their intensity.…

At Monday night’s regular meeting of the Douglas City Commission, commissioners voted to raise the per diem rate for city employees by $6, bringing the rate up to $41. During the pre-meeting work session, city finance director Charlie Davis stated that the city’s per diem is $35, broken down as follows: $7 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, and $18 for dinner. According to Davis, the state has two per diem rates, depending on where employees are staying: $28 and $36. The federal government has three rates: $41, $46, and $51. “Do we need to adjust the rate for employees?” asked…

Football teams from the South Georgia area did pretty well on the opening weekend of Georgia’s high school football season. The perennial powers all won their games and there was a surprising outcome in a state championship rematch from last year. All of the area Region 1-6A schools won: Valdosta trounced Brookwood 31-0, Camden rolled over Lincoln (Tallahassee, Fla.) 49-27, Lowndes took care of Roswell 37-14, Colquitt beat Mill Creek 31-14, and Tift handled Henry County 45-8. Ware County beat Brooks County 31-6 and Brunswick defeated McIntosh County 41-6. Statesboro, which took on Burke County immediately following Coffee’s win over…

Sophomore running back Demetrius Davis scored three touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the Coffee Trojans’ 27-14 win over the North Oconee Titans in the Erk Russell Classic at Georgia Southern University’s Paulson Stadium in Statesboro Saturday night. While never really tested, the Trojans had to deal with a game-time temperature of over 100 degrees, far too many penalties, and special teams struggles to hold off the 4A Titans. North Oconee showed early on they were ready for the challenge of facing the Trojans. The Titans launched a 70-yard drive on their opening possession that ended with a short touchdown…

Saturday morning, five multisport enthusiasts with ties to Coffee County competed in the Heels n’ Wheels for Megan’s House Triathlon/Duathlon in Waycross. Four individuals – Ashley Graves, Janet Bell, Angela Booth, and the writer of this story – raced the triathlon (.25 mile swim/13 mile bike/3 mile run) while Allison Bell participated in the duathlon (2 mile run/13 mile bike/3 mile run). Four of the five participants won age group awards while Janet Bell, competing in her first triathlon, missed placing in the top three by just 24 seconds. Booth and Graves, competing in the same age group, finished second…