Author: Robert Preston

Friday afternoon, a couple of Coffee County residents – all of whom happen to be directly related to the author of this story – saw a dramatic and nearly deadly accident involving a car and a pedestrian at the entrance to the Okefenokee Swamp Park just south of Waycross on U.S. 1. The witnesses – Heather Preston and Sherry Thomas, the wife and mother-in-law of this writer – were traveling south on U.S. 1 when they saw a SmartCar run into a person on foot and seriously injure him. Thomas, Vice President of Patient Services at Coffee Regional Medical Center…

At Thursday night’s regular meeting of the Coffee County Board of Education, Dr. Morris Leis, School Superintendent, announced to the board that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) had issued its accreditation report for the Coffee County School System. “We received what can best be described as a glowing report in many areas,” said Dr. Leis. SACS granted the system full accreditation for the next five years. In particular, Dr. Leis mentioned the area of governance, a particular part of the SACS review that had gotten the school board in trouble several years ago. “The most glowing report…

I like elections. I enjoy voting. I think taking an active part in choosing those who govern us is a great privilege. Apparently I am in the minority. Only 1,423 voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s runoff election, which featured two races on the Republican ballot (U.S. Senate and state school superintendent) and one on the Democratic ballot (state school superintendent). With no local races being contested, registered voters of Douglas-Coffee County showed little interest in the run-off. In the election for U.S. Senator, Coffee County’s former U.S. Representative Jack Kingston defeated David Perdue 855-311. On the Republican state school board…

Nine minutes. 540 seconds. That’s how long today’s regular meeting of the Coffee County Commission lasted. The commissioners had one item on the agenda; however, that item was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. Commissioners opened the meeting with an invocation by Sam DeCasper, pastor of Ambrose Christian Church, then county administrator Wesley Vickers gave a short report on The Last Pedestrian, a movie which is being filmed in Douglas from July 24-26. After approving the minutes, commissioners adjourned approximately nine minutes after calling the meeting to order. During the pre-meeting work session, Vickers reviewed the 2014 tax digest and…

We are one week removed from one of the worst crime sprees I can remember. Sex offenders, arsonists, armed robberies, and the shooting of a police officer – that doesn’t sound like our sleepy little community, does it? Unfortunately, those events have indeed taken place in Coffee County in a relatively short period of time. Late last week, Douglas mayor James Dennis called a press conference to address these crimes. It’s the first time I can remember a sitting mayor – or any other elected official, for that matter – holding a press conference to discuss crime. Mayor Dennis urged…

At Thursday night’s meeting of the Douglas City Commission, commissioners authorized police chief Gary Casteloes to utilize six off-duty Coffee County Sheriff’s Office deputies to help boost the number of police officers patrolling the city. According to Chief Casteloes, the police department is down six officers and in the process of filling those vacancies. However, the chief said that it will take quite a while to find that many officers. Until those vacancies have been filled, he would like to use off-duty deputies. The commission approved Chief Casteloe’s request. Mayor James Dennis emphasized that he wanted the deputies patrolling the…

Wednesday night, the Douglas Fire Department battled a house fire on West Franklin Street. The house, which officials believe was an uninhabited residence and likely filled with clutter, burned to the ground. Around midnight Wednesday night, smoke from the blaze blanketed the northwest portion of the city. The cause of the fire remains unknown and the investigation is ongoing.

The state of Georgia is once again in the national spotlight, this time for a controversial gun bill that goes into effect today. House Bill 60, which expands the locations where permitted gun owners may carry their weapons, has drawn the praise of gun advocates and the ire of anti-gun groups nationwide. The bill contains several key components, the most important of which revolve around bars, churches, and schools. Licensed gun owners can carry guns in churches if the members of a church vote to allow guns inside its buildings. The opposite works for bar owners; now that the law…

The front entrance to Eastside Elementary School is undergoing a major makeover this summer. Crews from East Coast Asphalt are completely renovating the front parking lot, altering the flow of traffic and adding parking. Traffic, which formerly entered and exited the school from McDonald Avenue, will enter and exit from Jefferson Street once the project is completed. Crews are hoping to finish the project by the first day of school. If it isn’t finished, plans will be in place to minimize disruption caused by the work.

It’s been a long road for the Atkinson County Rebels football team. The Rebels haven’t had a winning season since 2001 and have won just five football games since 2009.As difficult as last year’s 1-9 season was, it was an improvement over 2012’s winless season. And this year, second-year head coach Kip Hall has his kids positioned to make a drastic turnaround. Despite the Rebels’ woes, Coach Hall, who has tremendous experience reviving struggling programs, was pleased with the way the season turned out. The Rebels were in 2A last year and Coach Hall says it was his first year…