Author: Robert Preston

In collaboration with Vyve Broadband, Visit Douglas-Coffee County GA is sponsoring its inaugural Gopher Tortoise Festival (GTF) Poster Contest. First place poster design will be printed and sold at the festival and the creator will win a $300 American Express gift card courtesy of Vyve Broadband. All ages and levels of expertise are encouraged to enter, but must be from Coffee County. The Gopher Tortoise Festival is Douglas-Coffee County’s yearly arts and crafts festival featuring handmade, homemade, and homegrown products. The event will have live music and entertainment throughout both Friday, Sept. 30 from 4-9pm and Saturday, Oct.…

Pernell Harris, who was involved in an altercation with law enforcement officers on August 25, 2021, has passed away. He was being cared for in a long-term care facility in Twiggs County at the time of his death. Harris had been unresponsive since the altercation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into the incident but has yet to release the findings to the public. Two disturbing videos of the altercation circulated on social media in the days after the incident. On August 25, 2021, deputies responded to a call involving Harris and his girlfriend.…

Clyde Williams Jr., age 57, of Douglas, Georgia passed away on Monday, August 1, 2022. Mr. Williams was born on December 21, 1964, in Coffee County, GA to the late Clyde Williams Sr. and the late Alline Stone Williams. Survivors include; Wife: Jamie Moore Williams of Douglas, GA, Son: Christopher (Misty) Willis of Cobb, GA, Daughter: Ashleigh (Eric) Carter of Alma, Ga, Seven Grandchildren: Erica Carter, Alysa Carter, Alivia Screws, Asher Carter, Ana Lynn Willis, Amelia Willis, Aston Willis and several Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. The family will receive friends Wednesday, August 3, 2022 from 6:00PM to…

A violent video live streamed on social media led to the arrest of a Douglas man on aggravated assault charges. On Sunday, July 17, 2022, a video appeared on Facebook showing an individual identified as Jarmall “Chris Rock” Jackson choking a man in the front seat of a car. The victim was in the driver’s seat while Jackson was in the passenger’s seat. Whoever was streaming the incident was doing so from the back seat. Besides Jackson, the victim, and the person videoing, it isn’t clear how many others, if any at all, were also inside the car…

Baxley’s Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins’ centerfielder playing in his first All Star Game Tuesday night, hit a towering go-ahead solo home run in the fourth inning that ended up being the game-winning hit for the American League. The National League was up 2-0 in the fourth, thanks to a two-run home run by Paul Goldschmidt, when New York Yankees’ slugger Giancarlo Stanton blasted a 457-foot two-run home run of his own to tie the game. Buxton, starting in centerfield for the injured Mike Trout, was on deck and had a bird’s eye view of Stanton’s mammoth shot. After…

Savion McRae, a 2021 graduate of Coffee High School, lost his life in a shooting that occurred in Lanier County Saturday night. According to law enforcement officials, three individuals from Coffee County — McRae, Tremayne Newton, and Takevion Stozier — were at a party in Lanier County. While at the party, something happened between the Coffee group and several other attendees. After the Coffee group left the party, they came up behind a vehicle occupied by the individuals with which they had a run-in earlier. According to officials, the occupants of the other vehicle fired into…

At the Coffee High track awards banquet, junior Katie Merritt and senior Chris Stafford earned the high point awards for the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. Katie tallied 117.25 points this season while Stafford notched 108.75 points for the men. Katie was the region champion in the 800 meters, 1600 meters, and 3200 meters. She earned a berth in the state meet in Columbus in the 1600 and 3200 meters, where she placed 10th in the 1600 and eighth in the 3200. She holds the school record for these events as well. Chris has scored 217.75…

A Douglas woman is behind bars after allegedly shooting another female on May 29. According to an incident report obtained from the Douglas Police Department, Latisha Brockington, 32, allegedly shot Courtney Sanders, 32, after they got into an argument in front of Sanders’s home on South College Avenue. The report states that a party was going on across College Avenue from Sanders’s home; however, people were parking in front of Sanders’s house to attend the party. In the report, Sanders stated that she was telling people not to park in front of her home when a…

Monday morning, the county commission approved the purchase of a 1993 International fire truck from SMJ Equipment in Texas. Tuesday, the truck was lying on its side in a ditch beside US 90 near Beaumont, the victim of a blown steer tire. County fire chief Steve Carver and firefighter Dustin Railey flew to Texas to get the truck and bring it back to Douglas. According to county administrator Wesley Vickers, they inspected the truck and everything looked good. However, about 70 miles into their journey home, the right front tire blew out, sending the truck off the road…

Last week, a Deep South Fuel employee was arrested and charged after he allegedly stole, shot, and burned a company truck and trailer in western Coffee County. According to a report obtained from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, last Tuesday, a deputy responded to a report of a truck and trailer on fire in the middle of Jack Vickers Road. No one was around the burning truck. Though the truck was badly burned, Deep South Fuel could still be seen on the door. While officers and firefighters were on the scene, other deputies were at Deep South Farm…