Author: Robert Preston

The District 5 county commission vacancy left by the passing of Charles “Scooter Bill” Deen will be filled with a special election, which will be held on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Qualifying will begin on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 9 a.m. and remain open until Friday, May 17, 2019 at noon. The qualifying fee is $127.17. Advance voting will take place from Tuesday, May 28, 2019 to Friday, June 14, 2019 at 5 p.m. at the elections office on 224 West Ashley Street in Douglas. Polls will be open on election…

A men’s slowpitch softball tournament in Waycross turned violent Saturday afternoon when players from two teams fought not once, not twice, but three different times. Saturday afternoon, WYG from Brunswick and Iceman Trucking from Baxley were playing at the Trembling Earth complex in Waycross in a men’s World Sports League (WSL) E class softball tournament. At one point during the game, two players exchanged words near second base. According to witnesses, there was a close play at second and one player who had been thrown out said something to a defensive player as he was walking off the field.…

The U.S. Marshals have been busy in Douglas lately. After apprehending a fugitive at Baymeadows last week, the U.S. Marshal Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force returned to town Tuesday and nabbed Richard Morris Bennett, Jr., who was wanted by the Douglas Police Department on a variety of charges, including rape and aggravated assault. According to a post by the Douglas Police Department on its Facebook page, officers responded to a home invasion on Otto Circle. They determined that Bennett, who was armed at the time, had committed the crime. Police officers obtained warrants for Bennett for the following…

A week ago, U.S. Marshals apprehended a fugitive wanted in Connecticut at a family member’s residence in Baymeadows. On Wednesday, April 24, 2019, marshals from the U.S. Marshal Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force tracked Edward Staffieri, a white male of a New Haven, Connecticut, address to a home on Ashby Drive in Baymeadows. Officers from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the operation. According to Stewart Cottingham, supervisor inspector with the task force, Staffieri had absconded from a halfway house in Connecticut and traveled to Douglas. When marshals entered the home, Staffieri hid in the attic…

In a week where the NFL news hasn’t been good for Coffee County, there is finally a bright spot. Wyatt Miller, a 6’4”, 306-pound offensive lineman from Central Florida and a former Coffee Trojan, has signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets. “J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS! So thankful this opportunity. Let’s get to work,” Miller posted on his Twitter account after the news broke. Miller, a two-year letterman with the Knights, started all 13 of Central Florida’s game last season and made the American Athletic Conference’s Second Team. Going into the draft, Miller was…

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is in trouble after all. Just a day after the Johnson County (Kansas) District Attorney’s Office announced that it would not file charges against Hill following a battery investigation involving Hill’s small child, KCTV5 in Kansas City released a recording of a conversation allegedly between Hill and his fiancée (and the child’s mother) Crystal Espinal. In the conversation, Hill makes threatening comments towards Espinal. Following the DA’s announcement that no charges would be filed against Hill, the Chiefs organization seemed to be behind Hill. The All Pro wide receiver had been…

The City of Douglas announces plans for hosting a variety of events in celebration of Georgia Cities Week, April 21 through April 27, 2019. The theme of this year’s Georgia Cities Week is “Georgia’s Cities: True Colors,” which will showcase how cities share information about the valuable services provided to residents and how cities positively impact their way of life. This is the 20th year Georgia Cities Week has been celebrated in the state. “We are very proud of our city and want to encourage citizens to experience the mixture of activities that we have to offer,” said Mayor…

Angela Spell-Hutto, Coffee County Clerk of Court, has submitted her resignation effective April 30, 2019. She is citing health and stress of office as reasons for her resignation. Wednesday morning, Spell-Hutto released the following statement: “It is with great sadness and relief that I hereby announce my pending resignation as the Clerk of Superior Court of Coffee, Georgia. My resignation has been forwarded to the Governor and shall be effective April 30, 2019. Without going into great detail, my health and the stress of office will not permit me to continue in my current position. Moreover, the health conditions…

Officers from the Coffee County Drug Unit and Pearson Police Department arrested three people on drug charges this week, one of whom who was a nurse who worked at the Coffee County Jail for the jail’s healthcare provider. The nurse, Cindy Womack, was stationed at the jail but was not an employee of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. A press release issued by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department on Friday described the collaborative effort between the Pearson PD and the sheriff’s office. The release, however, did not mention that Womack was working in the jail at the time of…

The Douglas-Coffee County community was abuzz last week after news broke that Marshall’s, Hobby Lobby, Chik fil A, Starbucks, and other nationally-recognized retail businesses could possibly come to town. At least one other business has announced that it too will move to Douglas if the Douglas Square shopping center becomes a reality. Afday’s Crab Shack, a regional seafood restaurant chain based out of Savannah, will open a restaurant in town once its investors receive word that Douglas Square is happening. The Douglas location would be the seventh Afday’s to open and the only one outside of the Coastal Empire…