Author: Robert Preston

At Monday morning’s regular county commission meeting, EMA director Steve Carver reported that 580 Coffee County residents have filed complaints at the Federal Emergency Management Agency that has been open locally as a result of damage sustained from Hurricane Irma. Of those, 70 have been approved. Carver stated that the total amount of funds FEMA has approved in these cases is in excess of $80,000. Housing assistance claims total $62,888 while other claims, such as personal property and medical needs, accounts for $18,366.80. The local FEMA center will remain open until Friday. In other news, the…

Two big criminal trials are on the Coffee County Superior Court calendar this week: Wallace Lee’s double murder trial and the aggravated assault trial of Dustin Steverson that left three individuals, one of whom was Steverson himself, hospitalized in 2016 after a shooting in Broxton reminiscent of a Wild West showdown. Lee was scheduled to go to trial the week that Hurricane Irma hit. The storm, however, postponed the case until this month. Jury selection took place Monday, Oct. 16. The trial is set to begin Tuesday, Oct. 17. Nearly two years ago, Lee, now 44, was…

Running back Jameon Gaskin and receiver Milton Jackson scored two touchdowns apiece in the Coffee Trojans’ 35-0 win over the Houston County Bears Friday night in Warner Robins. The Trojans are now 1-0 in region play (4-2 overall). The win broke a two-game losing streak for Coffee and goes a long way in securing a postseason berth in the five-team Region 1-6A. The Trojans scored on four of their first six possessions – two runs by Gaskin, a touchdown reception by Jackson, and another run by Antonio Dawson – to take a 27-0 lead at halftime. In…

A number of invasive species call Douglas and Coffee County home, including fire ants, wild hogs, Mediterranean house geckos, and European starlings. You can now add one more to that list: the sika deer. The City of Douglas released a statement today announcing that sika deer, sometimes called Japanese deer, have been seen inside the city. Several different subspecies of sika deer exist; some are rather large (in excess of 230 pounds) while others may not even hit 100 pounds. The city’s release neither stated how many have been seen or exactly what subspecies the invaders are (if…

The Kansas City Chiefs are the only undefeated team left in the NFL after defeating the Houston Texans 42-34 Sunday night in Houston. Former Coffee Trojan Tyreek Hill padded the Chiefs’ lead in the fourth quarter with his 15th career touchdown in 21 professional games on an 82-yard punt return. Hill, who used to return kicks and punts as well as spending time at both wide receiver and running back, has become more of a receiver in his second year in the league. He finished the night with four receptions for 68 yards and two punt returns…

A man was injured at Premium Peanut this afternoon when he was pinned between a tractor-trailer and a metal barrier Saturday afternoon. The individual, whose identity has not been released, reportedly suffered a broken leg and other serious injuries in the accident. The accident halted work at the plant for a short time while first responders tended to the victim. An Air-Evac helicopter transported him from the plant to a trauma center. EMTs placed the victim in an ambulance and began work to stabilize him. The chopper landed just outside Premium Peanut’s gate on Barrington Road. The…

For the second time in as many weeks, the Coffee Trojans spotted their opponent 21 points. And for the second time in as many weeks, the Trojans watched a last-second field goal split the uprights to end the game with a Coffee loss. The primary difference this week? The Trojans decided to spot the other team, this time the Warner Robins Demons, three touchdowns to start the third quarter instead of the first. After battling back from being down 49-27, Coffee tied the score at 49, only to see Demons’ kicker Eli Mashurn drive home a 36-yard field…

I have attended or listened to nearly all of the Coffee Trojans’ football games for many, many years. Friday night’s game between the Trojans and the Tift County Blue Devils is one of the most amazing games I’ve covered. The only game I can think of that tops it came in 2006, when Coffee beat Colquitt 39-37 in triple overtime. Friday night’s game had all the drama one could ask for in a high school game: two bitter rivals in neighboring communities, a high-octane offense (Tift) against a stifling defense (Coffee), a big lead that never quite…

It’s not very often that I don’t know where to begin with a game story. Tonight, though, I simply don’t have the words. As I sit here at my computer lamenting the Trojans’ shocking 33-31 loss to the Tift County Blue Devils in Tifton, the various subplots, twists, and turns make my head hurt. Should we talk about the 21 unanswered first-quarter points Tift County scored? Or the fact that after stumbling in that pivotal first quarter, the Coffee defense only allowed 12 points over the next three periods? Or maybe it’s worth mentioning Dalrone Donaldson’s two touchdown…

On the eve of a big non-region showdown between the Coffee Trojans and the Tift County Blue Devils, Coffee head football coach Robby Pruitt and defensive coordinator Randy Garrett shared a few thoughts about the 2017 Trojans with the Douglas Rotary Club Thursday afternoon. Each year, the two coaches visit the club; however, they usually stop by in August before the season begins. This year, though, scheduling difficulties delayed them until late September. Even though the Trojans are 3-0 on the season, the team still faces a great deal of uncertainty, particularly offensively, as the region schedule approaches.…