Author: Robert Preston

State Rep. Dominic Lariccia, who represents all of Coffee, Bacon, and Jeff Davis counties, has endorsed Brian Kemp for governor of Georgia. Kemp and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle face off today in a run-off election to decide who will be the Republican candidate for governor. The winner of the race will face Stacy Abrams, the Democratic nominee, in November. Rep. Lariccia and Kemp, who has served Georgia as a senator and secretary of state, are good friends. Lariccia and Kemp go back 15 years and he calls Kemp “one of the hardest working, honest, and faithful men that I’ve…

For the third time in the last five years, the Douglas Stingrays are GRPA Class B and C state champions. The Stingrays won the state title Saturday afternoon in Tifton after two days of swimming. The ‘Rays won the championship by 182 points; they defeated second place Oconee County 656-474. Calhoun finished third with 406.5 poings. The Stingrays made it to the state meet after winning their 15th consecutive district championship in Douglas nearly two weeks ago. The Douglas team had multiple individual state champions and even more podium finishes to carry them to the top of the state swimming…

A sex offender wanted by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office ended up in a stand-off with deputies Saturday morning. The stand-off concluded when the suspect, William Franklin Goodwin, turned the gun on himself. The sheriff’s office had been looking for Goodwin for failing to maintain the requirements of his sex offender status after moving from his registered address. He moved from the address with notifying the sheriff’s office. Goodwin had bene convicted of multiple criminal sexual acts against a minor. He was also on probation and hadn’t maintained the requirements of his probation. The sheriff’s office had an arrest…

A sex offender wanted by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office shot himself after being confronted by deputies Saturday morning. William Franklin Goodwin turned a gun on himself after pointing it at deputies inside a residence at Oak Park on Saturday. The sheriff’s office had been looking for Goodwin for failing to maintain the requirements of his sex offender status after moving from his registered address. He moved from the address with notifying the sheriff’s office. Goodwin had bene convicted of multiple criminal sexual acts against a minor. He was also on probation and hadn’t maintained the requirements of his probation.…

The GracePointe Baptist Church mission team is safely on U.S. soil after a harrowing ordeal in Haiti as a result of violent protests that erupted in the embattled island nation Friday. The team landed in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., around noon Tuesday. The Haitian government raised gas prices significantly, according to media reports, which caused citizens to take to the streets in Port-au-Prince and other cities on Friday. The GracePointe group, one of several American mission teams in Haiti, was scheduled to return home Saturday. However, protestors had closed the airport and airlines had cancelled flights into and out of…

It looks like the GracePointe Baptist Church mission team will be coming home from Haiti a little earlier than expected. Violent protests that have paralyzed the impoverished Caribbean nation have also stranded the GracePointe group, which is one of several mission teams in Haiti. Sunday, several of the team members’ families announced via social media that the group, which was supposed to leave Saturday, would be heading home on Wednesday. Until that time, they were advised to stay inside the homes in which they were staying. The team was safe but protestors weren’t far away. Monday, GracePointe announced via its…

Violent protests in Haiti have several church groups on mission trips to the impoverished Caribbean nation stranded, including a team from GracePointe Baptist Church in Douglas. Friday, parts of Haiti erupted in violence due to a sharp spike in gasoline prices. The Haitian government increased gas prices significantly, causing citizens to take to the streets in protest. The demonstrations have turned violent, with several people losing their lives during the protests. Haiti is a popular location for American churches to send mission teams. Several churches in Coffee County send teams throughout the year. At the moment, a team from GracePointe…

Embattled Bacon County attorney Kenneth E. Futch Jr. is facing charges in Coffee County after an investigation determined that he provided a cell phone for a female inmate in the Coffee County Jail. In May, Futch allegedly allowed Dana Larson Bowen, who is being held on a variety of serious charges from Pierce County and is a client of Futch’s, to use his personal cell phone during at least one visit. Coffee County detectives believe Bowen used the cell phone to place at least one outgoing call, which is a violation of Georgia law. Futch turned himself in at about…

When Randy Sprinkle headed out to the main lake at Baymeadows on Tuesday afternoon, it was supposed to be a nice little spin around the lake, testing out a boat to see if he wanted to buy it. It was an aluminum boat with a 60 horsepower Suzuki motor – a nice little set up – and he was interested. Very, very interested. Since he wouldn’t be out on the lake very long, Sprinkle didn’t wear a life vest nor did he attach the motor’s kill switch to his person. “The clip on the kill switch was broken. I could…

Keegan McGovern, the former Trojan who is now an outfielder with the Class A Clinton (Iowa) Lumberkings, reached an important milestone over the weekend: He hit his first home run as a pro. The 6’3”, 200-pound outfielder showed tremendous power in his senior season with the Georgia Bulldogs, belting 18 home runs to lead the ‘Dawgs in that particular offensive category. It took just eight minor league games before he put that power on display for the Seattle Mariners organization, which took him in the 9th round of this year’s Major League Baseball Draft. McGovern’s home run came on Sunday,…