Author: Robert Preston

Local and state officials are investigating a suspicious fire Tuesday morning at Lil Mike’s Restaurant, according to a press release posted on the Douglas Police Department’s Facebook page. The call came through at 4:44 a.m. Tuesday. Douglas firefighters and police officers responded to the restaurant, located at 611B S. Gaskin Avenue, and extinguished the fire. Officials from the fire department thought the fire looked suspicious. The police department’s arson investigator responded and, along with other officers, determined that the fire had been deliberately set. The city contacted the state Fire Marshal’s Office, which sent its own investigator down to investigate…

Early Wednesday morning, a fire broke out inside Holt’s Bakery in Douglas. Little information has been released regarding the fire. However, the Holt family made a post on its Facebook page announcing the fire: “We have had a fire at the bakery with a good bit of damage! We will be closed for a period of time and we will keep everyone updated! No one was injured which was the most important thing! Please bear with us while we try to get everything fixed and back going! Prayers are greatly appreciated!” Holt’s is the second local restaurant to catch fire…

“The state of Georgia has declared war on gangs. I know we’re late to the party, but Coffee County has also,” said Walter James, who heads up the Coffee County Gang Unit, a joint operation between the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas Police Department, at the May 10 Douglas Rotary Club meeting. Gangs have become deeply entrenched in Coffee County and most of the gangs found in metropolitan areas have a presence locally. Here are the gangs that can be found in Douglas and Coffee County: Aryan groups (17 members across multiple Aryan gangs/groups); Ghost-Faced Gangsters, a hybrid…

The South Georgia State College Hawks baseball team continued what has been a banner year for the SGSC athletic program by ending the season with the most wins in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, putting six players on the All-Conference team, and having both the Player of the Year and the Coach of the Year coming from its ranks. The Hawks finished second in the GCAA conference tournament earlier this week. They played four games at the tournament, winning 6-4 over Gordon State College , losing 10-1 to eventual champion ABAC, defeating East Georgia State College 8-4, then losing again…

The railroad crossing at Barrington Road claimed another tractor-trailer Thursday night. Around 7 p.m., an 18-wheeler hauling peanut shells from Premium Peanut crossed the tracks and into the path of an oncoming train. The tractor had made it across the tracks when the train slammed into the trailer, ripping it from the truck and carrying it a good distance down the tracks. The driver complained of pain in his leg but had neither visible nor serious injuries. There are no crossing arms on that particular set of railroad tracks. However, there are lighted signs warning drivers to stop and look…

“We built the shelling plant to get some value out of a peanut . Now we’ve built the oil plant to get more value out of that peanut. Down the road, the goal of the board and management is to continue to find more value in the peanut to get for our owners and not to be a cookie-cutter sheller but to be a little out of the box and get some new products. We’re working every day toward that,” said Kent Fountain, Chairman of Premium Peanut’s Board of Directors, at Monday afternoon’s ribbon cutting and grand opening of Premium…

Former Trojan Jalen Wilkerson, a 6’5”, 283-pound redshirt sophomore defensive end for the Florida State Seminoles, has signed a free agent contract with the Houston Texans following the conclusion of the 2018 NFL Draft. In January, Wilkerson announced on his Facebook page that he was declaring for the NFL Draft. “Some people will never know why you have to make the decisions you make, but I will forever be thankful for the opportunity to play for nole nation,” Wilkerson wrote on social media. “You guys are amazing and God bless.” Wilkerson went to FSU as a tight end but converted to…

Thursday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Georgia State Patrol’s dive team, searched a pond in Coffee County for a weapon, presumably a gun, in connection to an ongoing murder investigation. The search was related to the murders of Willie J. Oliver Sr., 72, and Jerome A. Nixon, 62, in Pearson. On Feb. 10, 2018, a neighbor reported that Oliver and Nixon were dead in a residence at 371 West Allen Avenue in Pearson. An investigation showed that they both died of gunshot wounds. Officials determined that the victims were murdered. No arrests have been made…

Anson Drury, a junior golfer at Citizens Christian Academy, will play for a state championship Tuesday at the Georgia Veterans Golf Course in Cordele. Anson earned a berth in the state tournament by winning the region title on April 17. In addition to winning low medalist honors, Drury was also named to the All Region team. The son of Stuart and Kristy Drury of Douglas, Anson has spent thousands of hours working on his game. He has seen his hard work yield some impressive results this season. In five tournaments, he was low medalist in two and finished in the…

The Coffee County School System has announced its teachers of the year for the upcoming school year. Each school names a teacher of the year; the system-wide teacher of the year will be named at the school system’s convocation meeting prior to the first day of the 2018-2019 school year. The teacher of the year will be introduced to the community during halftime of the first home football game of the year. Here are the teachers of the year for each school: Christy Vickers (Ambrose), Amy Paulk (Satilla), Jerry Hill (Coffee High School), Lydia Davis (Broxton), Heather Tanner (West Green),…