Author: Robert Preston

Last Thursday, the children at the Boys and Girls Club of Coffee County were privy to a firsthand look at government at work. U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-12th) visited the club and spent a few minutes with community leaders, the afterschool program’s teachers, and the 131 children who participate in the program. “We can make a difference with these programs. If you can’t read at a third grade level by the time you finish the third grade, there’s a good chance you won’t graduate from high school. And if you don’t graduate from high school, 85 percent of those…

Early Friday morning, officers from the Douglas Police Department arrested city commissioner Kentaiwon Durham during a traffic stop. Durham was charged with driving with a suspended license and booked into the Coffee County Jail. After booking, he was released with a copy of the charges. According to the incident report obtained from the Douglas Police Department, an officer noticed a 2006 Chrysler 300 with no license plate tag light at 12:37 a.m. He stopped the vehicle on Shirley Avenue just south of Cherry Street. Douglas city commissioner Kentaiwon Durham was driving the vehicle. During the stop, the officer discovered…

At 10:40 a.m., DouglasNow.com received a text message from Broxton Police Chief Scott Harper alerting us that Appling County High School in Baxley was on lockdown due to a gunshot incident. A student apparently brought a gun to school and shot himself on campus. The student survived, stated the message, and was flown to Savannah for further treatment. A report published by WTOC in Savannah states the same thing. WTOC’s story says that Appling County High has been placed under a Level 4 lockdown/evacuation that began at 9:49 a.m. The news agency is also reporting that the student…

At last Monday’s county commission meeting, the county approved the submission of the 2018 Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant application for road improvements in the county. According to county administrator Wesley Vickers, most of the work will be resurfacing although there will be some new paving projects. The total cost is estimated to be $2.5 million; LMIG will pay for $1.2 million. The rest will come from SPLOST funds. The county also appointed Vernon Talkington to the Board of Health. He will fill the unexpired term of Anne Carver, who has stepped down. Commissioners also voted to designate Oct. 25…

The Coffee Trojans wrapped the non-region schedule with a 53-0 win over the Chamblee Bulldogs on Homecoming Friday night at Jardine Stadium. Coffee scored all of its points in the first half. The following Trojans found the end zone against the Bulldogs: Antonio Dawson, Josiah Killebrew, K.J. Davis, Maurice Turner, Cade Jones (pick six), Tim Landers (pick six), and Brady Skipper. Ty Burkes also intercepted a pass for Coffee. The Trojans get some much-needed rest this week. Their next game is Friday, Oct. 5, against the Northside (Warner Robins) Eagles in Warner Robins. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Coffee…

Mr. Ronald Elzie Mercer, age 50 of Ocilla, passed away early Thursday morning, September 19, 2018 at his residence in Ocilla following an extended illness. Mr. Mercer was born June 14, 1968 to the late Wilson Mercer and Florine Revis Mercer. Other than his father, he was preceded in death by a sister, Renee Douglas. Mr. Mercer had worked for a number of years with Walmart in the floor maintenance department. Survivors include: Mother Florine Revis Mercer of Ocilla; sisters Susan Evans of Ocilla and Rose Mary Christy of Atlanta; brother Henry Mercer of Ocilla; and several nieces, nephews, Cousins…

This week, there have been multiple reports of suspicious activity at the Douglas Wal-Mart store. These reports have come primarily in the form of posts made on Facebook pages. The Douglas Police Department, with cooperation from Wal-Mart, has investigated these incidents. Thursday, police department personnel made the following post on its own Facebook page. In short, investigators have determined that the individuals who reported these incidents were not in any danger: “Over this past week the Douglas Police Department has been made aware of several social media post, and has received reports from at least two young ladies that…

Earlier this week, Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson asked citizens of Telfair and Coffee counties, as well as anyone with connections in Fort Pierce, Fla., for their help in locating Jordan Cornett, a 22-year-old from West Green. Cornett is wanted for breaking the windshield of an unoccupied Telfair County deputy’s car. It appears as though Sheriff Steverson is getting serious about apprehending Cornett. His department has now issued a reward in the amount of $4 for information leading to his arrest. Late in the week, Sheriff Steverson made the following post on his Facebook page: “The person we…

For the second week in a row, the Coffee Trojans cruised to a relatively easy victory, this time beating the Miller Grove Wolverines 35-0 at Jardine Stadium. Coffee is now 5-0 on the season. The Trojans scored on their five of their first six possessions. All their touchdowns came in the first half. Quarterback AJ Wilkerson scored on runs of three yards and one yard while running back Josiah Killebrew scored on runs of 40 yards and four yards. Wilkerson also threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver K.J. Davis. Pancho Rivas was perfect on each of his extra points.…

I was going to write a story about the city commission meeting from Monday night. It was crazy. It was bizarre. It was unprofessional. Instead of just writing about it, I’m going to give you the opportunity to watch it. The city tapes all its meetings and posts the meeting on YouTube. Below is the meeting in its entirety, which is about 80 minutes long. One thing that isn’t in the video is exactly what the consent agenda is. Commissioners cover the consent agenda in the work session then approve it in the general meeting. But in the meeting,…