Author: Robert Preston

Barney Fife has a facelift. Early last month, Coffee County’s iconic mural of Barney Fife, along with a scene or two from The Andy Griffith Show, that adorns an old house on Highway 441 north of Broxton, was vandalized. Kayson Smalley, 18, was eventually arrested and charged in connection with the incident. The mural, painted by local artist Dylan Ross in 2016, is being restored. Ross visited the mural this weekend and began the laborious task of returning Barney to his original condition. Ross documented the work on his Facebook page. “I am not…

“If you’re struggling with dyslexia, know you’re not alone. Don’t feel defeated. It’s challenging but it does get easier when you begin to cope with the symptoms,” says Rhianna Lewis, a junior at Coffee High School. Rhianna is a 4.0 student who has been diagnosed with dyslexia. Rhianna spoke to the Douglas City Commission at the September 11 commission meeting asking the city to recognize National Dyslexia Day in the city. Her goal is to raise awareness regarding dyslexia, which affects one out of every five students. October 8 is National Dyslexia Day; however, the city of Douglas…

The Coffee County Courthouse is closed for the rest of today — Tuesday, September 26, 2023. The courthouse has been hit with an electrical issue and has no power. Crews are at the courthouse working to restore power. However, it’s a lengthy process and while the work is being completed, operations stalled. Most county employees with offices in the courthouse have been sent home for the afternoon. The issue should be completed today and the courthouse will reopen on Wednesday, September 27.

For the first time in a very long time, the Coffee Trojans are ranked #1 in the state in their classification (5A). The Trojans have been atop the rankings at least once before — way back in 1976. That season, Coffee finished the year with a perfect 10-0 record and met up with the Ware County Gators in the region playoffs. Earlier in the season, Coffee had defeated Ware 40-6 at Jardine Stadium. The two teams met once again in Douglas and this time, the Gators shocked the heavily favored Trojans by winning 21-20 and winning…

“You get out on the road, two and a half hours, win 21-0. I promise you I ain’t mad,” said Coffee Trojans head coach Mike Coe following the Trojans’ win over the 7A Richmond Hill Wildcats in Richmond Hill Friday night. You might be wondering why Coach Coe would make a comment such as that following a three-touchdown shutout win over a team two classifications higher. You’d have had to have seen the game. The Trojans marched up and down the field on the Wildcats in the first half, sustaining long drives, controlling the clock, and…

Twenty years. 7,300 days. It’s a little weird. In some ways, it seems like yesterday. In others, it was a lifetime ago. On September 20, 2003, five children ages 10-14 were killed when a car struck the ATV they were riding. You know the story. There’s no need to rehash it in detail here. The children who lost their lives were Lindsay Joyner, 13; Meagan Nelson, 14; Courtney Arsenault, 10; and siblings Dustin (11) and Kayla (13) Varnedore. All were from Douglas except Courtney, who was from Alma. A sixth child, Heather Bass, at the time 13, survived…

Entering Friday night’s game against the Salem Seminoles from Conyers, the Coffee Trojans were on a five-game winning streak over the Seminoles going back to 2018. During that span, the Trojans had outscored the Seminoles 251-14. The last three years, Salem had not scored a point. You can extend that streak to four years and make that point differential 309-14. Coffee defeated Salem 58-0 at Jardine Stadium to improve their record to 4-0 with one more non-region game remaining — a contest against the 7A Richmond Hill Wildcats on the road next Friday. Running back Fred…

Thursday afternoon at Jardine Stadium, the Coffee Trojans JV squad overcame a three-touchdown deficit and scored 31 unanswered points to defeat the Lowndes Vikings for the second year in a row. KJ DeBruce scored three touchdowns while Zean Preston and Timothy Burch scored one touchdown apiece. Kicker Aidan Gonzalez added a 31-yard field goal as well. The Vikings jumped out to a 21-0 lead early. Coffee got on the board with 9:30 remaining in the second quarter when DeBruce picked up a fumbled snap, reversed the field, and raced 75 yards for a score on the busted play.…

In the news business, getting close to tragedy is part of the job. Over time, sadly, there is a de-sensitizing that develops. It’s disturbing sometimes how flippant you can react to hearing about accidents, deaths, crime, and other dreadful events. But not this time. As I write this, the news is scarcely 10 minutes old. I’m not left grasping for words very often. But this is one of those times. Walter Huckaby, a man who is on the short list of Coffee County’s most influential citizens, has passed. Huck, as everyone called him, touched…

At Monday’s regular city commission meeting, commissioners voted to demolish the old Douglas Women’s Club building, which sits on the edge of Emma Ward Park, for the second time this year. At the June 12 commission meeting, commissioners allowed the city to take over ownership of the building with the understanding that it would be torn down. On August 24, 2023, the Historic Preservation Commission denied the city’s request to demolish the building. City staff then appealed the decision to the city commission. According to city staff, the building, which is 106 years old, has been…