Author: Robert Preston

Ward 3 city commissioner Olivia Pearson has had yet another scrape with the law. On Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, an officer from the Douglas Police Department issued Commissioner Pearson a warning for criminal trespass after she allegedly argued with Mickeayla Brockington at Brockington’s place of business, located at 611A South Gaskin Avenue. Commissioner Pearson, along with Ward 2 commissioner Kentaiwon Durham, had both gone to Brockington’s business to speak with her. Brockington is running against Commissioner Durham for the Ward 2 commission seat. The election takes place in November. DouglasNow.com obtained a copy of the incident report through…

A 70-year-old female is recovering from a gunshot wound after a domestic dispute took a sinister turn Tuesday night. According to a statement from the Douglas Police Department, a 66-year-old male entered a residence on Hollywood Drive to see a 66-year-old female with whom he had a relationship. Shortly after arriving, the male allegedly shot the female in the shoulder with a shotgun then fled the residence. When officers arrived, the female was alert and told officers who shot her and in which direction he ran. The male left the residence and headed west toward Highway 441 South,…

Last week, the Coffee County Grand Jury indicted three individuals, including the Douglas city cemetery manager, on bribery charges. The Grand Jury met on Thursday, July 25, 2019, and made its decision. The indictments remained sealed until Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019, when Judge Andy Spivey opened the indictments in Superior Court. According to the indictments, the Grand Jury returned true bills against Henry Milhollin, the cemetery manager, on three counts: two of bribery and one of improper influence of co-officer or employee. The indictment states that between Aug. 7, 2015 and April 4, 2016, Milhollin “did unlawfully accept…

Last week, the Coffee County Grand Jury indicted Roscoe Allen Jr. on one count of felony aggravated assault for an incident that took place on March 24 of this year. While at the Time Out Sports Bar on the above date, Allen allegedly got into an argument with Timothy Tyson. During the argument, Allen went to his vehicle and returned with a handgun, according to witnesses. The indictment states that Allen pointed the gun at Tyson and stated that “he would kill Timothy Tyson.” The indictment doesn’t say what happened next. According to witnesses, Tyson disarmed…

For the fourth time in six years, the Douglas Stingrays are state champions. The Stingrays finished first in both the men’s and women’s divisions at the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association state championship meet in Tifton last week. The women finished with 897 points while the men tallied 363. In the women’s competition, Oconee finished second while Habersham came in third. On the men’s side, Jefferson came in second and Calhoun finished third. The following individual swimmers won state titles: Anna Lee O’Steen – 50 free, 25 free, 25 fly Hope Tanner – 25 free Ben Gowen –…

Ted O’Steen is the new District 5 county commissioner. Tuesday night, O’Steen defeated Howard Holt 429 votes to 342 in the special election to fill Charles “Scooter Bill” Deen’s unexpired term. Deen passed away on April 25 of this year after a lengthy battle with cancer. O’Steen and Holt bested two other candidates in last month’s election then squared off once again in tonight’s run-off. The vote totals were fairly close across the board except in Broxton, where O’Steen won 143 to 67. That proved to be the precinct that put O’Steen over the top.

The Department of Agriculture has sanctioned another local Dollar General for unsanitary conditions. The Dollar General store located at 4074 Willacoochee Highway just outside of Douglas has been prohibited from selling food or drink items due to a “severe roach infestation,” according to a notice placed at the store by the Department of Agriculture. According to Julie McPeake with the Department of Agriculture, the department received a consumer complaint about the store. The department sent an inspector to investigate and, according to McPeake, “found evidence to support that concern. We put all food and beverage products on embargo.”…

Keegan McGovern homered in the Modesto Nuts’ 7-0 win over the Visalia Rawhide Saturday night in Modesto, California. McGovern has been promoted to the Nuts of the Advanced A California League for the 2019 season. As a result of his homer, the Nuts awarded McGovern with the Extra Mile Extra Effort Play of the Game. McGovern has battled a few injuries this year. He started the season with the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League (Class A) before getting sent west to Modesto. He played 10 games with the Power where he hit .263 with two home…

The Coffee High School Olympic weightlifting team returns from the youth national championships in Anaheim, California, with one national champion, one national runner-up, three medalists in individual lifts, and a team national title. Eight lifters – Range Robinson, Brady Shook, Zean Preston, Will Lott, Sultan Cooper, Jake Lindsey, Dane Rish, and Arlis Sutton – made the cross country trip to compete against the nation’s best youth Olympic lifters. Range Robinson won a national title in the 13&U 44 kilogram division while Brady Shook took silver in the 13&U 73 kilogram group. Robinson medaled in both the snatch, clean and…

Friday night, a black Ford F-150 struck a Douglas man riding a bicycle in the lefthand lane of Georgia Highway 135 just south of the Seventeen Mile River. The man on the bicycle, identified as Elester Johnson, 25, passed away Saturday afternoon due to injuries sustained in the accident. According to an accident report obtained from the Georgia State Patrol, the F-150, driven by Willis Ryan Aycock, 20, of West Green, was traveling north on 135 (also Highway 221/West Green Highway) in the lefthand lane. Johnson was riding a bicycle in the same direction in the same lane. The…