Author: Robert Preston

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…

Sgt. Earnest Smith of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office has passed away. The beloved officer’s death has shaken friends and co-workers alike. Social media has been buzzing all day with friends and fellow officers writing tributes to Sgt. Smith. Broxton police chief Scott Harper had this to say about Smith: “He dedicated almost his entire adult life to serving the people of Coffee County. I worked with him for 20 years and never once heard anyone say a bad thing about him. He always had a smile on face. For years I have called him ‘Easy E.’ Every time…

Ted O’Steen and Howard Holt are headed for a run-off in the county commission District 5 special election. The run-off will take place on July 16. O’Steen and Holt, along with Jenny McIver and Hal McCallum, were running for the District 5 seat that has been vacant since the death of Charles “Scooter Bill” Deen earlier this year. O’Steen received 347 votes to Holt’s 243. McIver finished with 146 votes while McCallum ended up with 126. Only 863 out of 5,030 voters in District 5 cast ballots.

Ace Harris, 7, has a state championship on his resume. He won the 2019 Georgia State Invitational at Callaway Gardens over the weekend with an even par 72. He fired a one-under 35 on day one and followed that with a one-over 37 on day two. His score of 72 bested the field by six strokes. Ace was also the only golfer in his division to break par. He was also the only golfer from South Georgia in his age group. Ace’s home course is the Douglas Golf and Country Club. His father, Jason Harris, serves as his…

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.