Author: Robert Preston

Coffee County is saturated. And it’s still raining. According to a Facebook post by the Coffee County EMA, parts of Coffee County received over 5.5 inches of rain on Tuesday, June 11. Wednesday, June 12 broke with gray skies but no rain – until about 4:30 p.m. Then the heavens opened once again. Creeks are running and ditches are full – and that was before Wednesday afternoon’s downpour. While Coffee and surrounding areas definitely need the rain, authorities caution citizens to be careful when driving in rainy conditions. If you see water covering the roadways, do not try…

According to a number of published reports, the district attorney’s office is not actively investigating allegations of child abuse against Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The alleged incidents took place in March. After initially investigating the claims, the DA’s office closed the case without filing charges. A day after closing the investigation, an audio recording surfaced between Hill and his fiancée Crystal Espinal that contained damaging statements related to the alleged incident that resulted in the DA reopening the case against Hill. The Chiefs banned Hill from team facilities when the case was reopened. Since then,…

Only 187 residents of District 5 out of over 4,900 registered voters have cast ballots in the district’s special county commission election. There is one more week of early voting before the June 18 election day. The special election is being held to fill the seat of the late Charles “Scooter Bill” Deen, who passed away earlier this year. Four candidates are vying for the seat: Howard Holt, Ted O’Steen, Hal McCallum, and Jenny McIver. Polls are open for advance voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday of this week at the elections office located at 224…

Tonight at 7 p.m., Rockin’ 8 Cinemas will hold a screening of Nailed It!, a behind-the-scenes workplace comedy created, written, and produced by Douglas’s Anna Braswell while she was at the Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2017, Braswell won a student Emmy for Nailed It!. The Coffee Alliance for the Arts is hosting the event. The sitcom is about a home renovation show, led by the knowledgeable, but bland, Jamie Mills. In an effort to boost ratings and to keep from being canceled, her producer brings in minor internet celebrity Stewart Bradshaw, the Hashtag Glass Guy. Stewart…

The body discovered behind Walmart on Thursday, May 23 has been identified. According to police chief Shane Edmisten, the GBI medical examiner’s office identified the body as that of Bryce Daniel Combs, 33. Combs had been reported missing to the Douglas Police Department on May 20. Officers discovered Combs’s body about 3:30 p.m. after a tip from family led them to a wooded area behind the east side of the Walmart store, just a short distance from South Gaskin Avenue. According to Chief Edmisten, the cause of death is suicide.

Dollar General has responded to a DouglasNow.com story published last week after a Department of Agriculture inspector found a “significant rodent presence” that interrupted the store’s operations last week. Angela Petkovic, a spokesperson for Dollar General, sent DouglasNow.com an email Friday afternoon with the following statement: “Dollar General recently addressed store conditions at our Highway 221 store in Douglas, which were not in line with our standards or expectations. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.” According to Julie McPeake, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the rodents were found last week during a…

A “significant rodent presence” at a local Dollar General will keep the store from selling any food items for the foreseeable future. According to Julie McPeake, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the rodents were found earlier in the week during a routine inspection of the store, located at 1201 U.S. 221 (the Oak Park Dollar General) by an agriculture department inspector. Store personnel “voluntarily disposed of all of the affected products” and agreed not to sell any food or drinks until employees address the problem. McPeake also stated that once the rodents are gone, a…

Mayor Tony Paulk has announced his re-election bid for the office of mayor. He released a short statement that included a photo with his platform on his personal Facebook page a week ago. Mayor Paulk is completing his second term as mayor – but his first since 2008. Paulk was elected mayor in 2004 and served one term. After eight years out of the spotlight, Paulk challenged incumbent James Dennis four years ago and won with 53 percent of the vote. Thus far, Mayor Paulk is the only candidate to publicly enter the race. The election takes place…

Thursday afternoon, police officers discovered a body in a wooded area behind the Walmart Supercenter in Douglas, just a short distance off South Gaskin Avenue. According to police chief Shane Edmisten, the body was that of an unidentified white male. He had been deceased for several days but there were no signs of a crime. Tuesday morning, Chief Edmisten reported that the body has yet to be identified. The GBI is still awaiting the results of fingerprint analysis. Chief Edmisten also stated that thus far, the cause of death appears to be suicide.

An accident involving a passenger vehicle and a tractor on U.S. Highway 82 between Pearson and Axson claimed the life of a Coffee County woman and seriously injured two other passengers in the vehicle Tuesday morning. According to authorities, the accident occurred in the westbound lane of U.S. Highway 82 when the passenger vehicle collided with a tractor. The location of the accident was near the Charles Road/U.S. Highway 82 intersection. Tammy Paulk, 51, of Coffee County lost her life in the accident. Paulk’s daughter, Ashley Spivey, and Spivey’s two daughters were also in the vehicle. They were transported…