Author: Robert Preston

The street lights are back up in downtown Douglas but not all of them are working following a brief but violent weather system that ravaged the downtown area Saturday afternoon. Call it whatever you want to – a microburst, straight-line winds, whatever – it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the destruction the system left in its wake. High winds ripped street lights from their perches, snapped trees in half, flung debris across roadways, and in what is one of the most spectacular (and destructive) displays of Mother Nature locally in a long time, ripped the roof off the…

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Claudin Pubien Jr., 26 of Douglas, who was arrested last week on burglary charges after detectives discovered a “mountain” of stolen items at his home, had previously been charged with murder in the 2013 killing of Daquavious Reed. Two other individuals, both of whom are Pubien’s brothers, Claron Carter and D’Andre Carter, received life sentences for their roles in Reed’s death. Pubien, however, ultimately pled guilty to robbery by force and was sentenced to 20 years on probation. Authorities determined that Pubien had a lesser role in Reed’s death than the other two. He neither planned the shooting nor was…

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Kansas City Chiefs’ rookie sensation and former Coffee Trojan Tyreek Hill has been named one of the 100 best players in the NFL. It’s an annual list compiled through interviews with current players in the league and it’s not without controversy. However, to be included on the list, no matter where a player ends up, is an honor in itself. Hill, a returner/running back/receiver, landed at #36, sandwiched between the Texans’ J.J. Watt (#35) and the Broncos’ Aqib Talib (#37). In the video clip that accompanied Hill’s selection, he opens by challenging the top-ranked player on the list, Patriots quarterback…

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Caleb Barrett, who was indicted last month for malice murder and felony murder by the Coffee County Grand Jury, was granted a $50,000 bond and released from jail Wednesday. Barrett’s case is an unusual one. He stood accused of shooting and killing his sister, Lea Jovan Merritt, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. Barrett was arrested, charged with voluntary manslaughter, and released on bond back in September. He remained free on bond for about nine months when the Grand Jury handed down its murder indictment nearly a month ago. He was re-arrested on the new charges and taken back to jail.…

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Runoff schmunoff. Edwin Taylor, a candidate for the Ward 1 city commission seat, bested two other challengers Tuesday night in a landslide, winning the election to fill the unexpired term of the late Johnnie Lee Roper. In fact, the term “landslide” doesn’t really do the outcome justice. Taylor received 86 percent of the vote, defeating his nearest opponent, Cheryl Cunningham, by 194 votes. Taylor received 214 votes, followed by Cunningham with 20 and former Ward 1 commissioner Richard Hutchinson with 14. It is the largest margin of victory in any election, city or county, in the recent past, and it…

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Leon “Mann” Kirkland, patriarch of the popular southern gospel vocal group The Kirklands, passed away on Friday, June 2, following complications from a medical procedure at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. Kirkland, who was at St. Vincent’s for a heart catheterization, began experiencing kidney problems, which ultimately took his life. His unexpected death has left a void in the Douglas-Coffee County community and shocked the Kirkland family’s legions of friends and fans. To say the least, he will be greatly missed. Kirkland was born on May 11, 1947, in Douglas to the late Curtis Colan Kirkland and the late…

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Last Thursday, May 25, the Coffee County Grand Jury indicted Caleb Barrett, 21, for malice murder and felony murder in the death of Lea Jovan Merritt of Douglas, according to a statement from the Douglas Police Department that was posted on the Coffee County Ga. Police Scanner Facebook page. Merritt was Barrett’s sister. Merritt was shot and killed at 505 North College Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. Barrett was arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Barrett did not spend much time in jail and has been out ever since. Merritt was shot in the backyard of the residence at…

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Douglas police, firefighters, and EMTs responded to a house fire on South Letitia Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The fire started in the kitchen area after the homeowner cooked lunch. After eating, he dozed off and was awakened a short time later by smoke coming from the kitchen. He immediately fled the home and escaped without injury. Police and firefighters responded a short time later and quickly extinguished the blaze. The home suffered significant damage inside due to smoke and water. No injuries were reported to firefighters or the homeowner.

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Newly-appointed school board member Leola Johnson’s first meeting was an important one. Barely two weeks after being named to the board of education, Johnson and the rest of the board voted to approve the FY18 budget at a special called meeting Tuesday morning. The board is expecting $63,701,339 in revenue and $63,338,045 in expenditures, leaving a $363,284 surplus. After adding that to the existing fund balance, the school system should have around $8,173,453 in fund balance. When Superintendent Dr. Morris Leis called for a vote, Adam Lott made the motion followed by a second from Bryan Preston. The vote was…

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Nearly two months after the death of District 1 school board member Ronnie Johnson from complications associated with diabetes, members of the board of education have named his successor. At a special called meeting held primarily to discuss the budget, the board approved Leola Johnson as the new District 1 representative. Johnson was one of eight individuals whom the board interviewed for the spot. She appeared before the BOE last week and answered a few questions regarding her experience and her vision for the school system. Johnson is a lifelong Coffee County resident. She retired from Coffee Middle School in…

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