Author: Staff Reports

A recent study published by The New York Times says that children in Coffee County, especially those raised under already poor financial conditions, would be better off in the future if they were raised elsewhere. The report states, “If you’re poor and live in the Waycross area, it’s better to be in Pierce County than in Ware County or Coffee County. Not only that, the younger you are when you move to Pierce, the better you will do on average. Children who move at earlier ages are less likely to become single parents, more likely to go to college and…

CRMC Walk-In Clinic, located at 205 Shirley Avenue, will observe new hours. The clinic will be open daily (including holidays) from 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., closing for lunch from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. The Walk-In Clinic is an urgent care clinic that provides quick service for minor medical problems without an appointment. Staffed with physician assistants, nurse practitioners and licensed nurses that are physician directed, the Clinic treats patients on a first-come first-serve basis with minimal wait times. If you have an injury or illness that is not life-threatening, but needs immediate attention, visit the Walk-In Clinic. If you…

According to a report published by WALB.com, the body of Marlene Murray, 64, was found in her home Saturday night off Highway 64 in Atkinson County. The Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office is treating the incident as a homicide. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the case. At the moment, no further details have been released regarding the investigation. Murray’s body was discovered around 7 p.m. on Saturday.

An Atlanta attorney representing Irwin County Hospital says an article published recently on DouglasNow.com regarding a $520,000 settlement the hospital will pay out to the government to resolve allegations of false claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid contained misleading information. Douglas Now received the following e-mail from Attorney Scott R. Grubman Wednesday afternoon: To Whom It May Concern, I represent Irwin County Hospital. The article you published on May 1, 2015, was based upon a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that was misleading and, therefore, contains misleading information. For a clarification, please see the attached press release from…

An afternoon fishing trip got a little hairy for an elderly Coffee County man Wednesday after his boat began filling with water and tipped over. County officials responded to a pond off Conway Vickers Rd. around 4:30 p.m. yesterday and were able to rescue the man, who is in his 80s, safely. EMS officials checked him at the scene, and he is expected to be okay.

Wiregreass Georgia Technical College broke ground Tuesday at what will be the new location for the school’s allied health and public safety programs on the Coffee County campus. Scheduled to open for the Fall 2016 term, the building will also house the campus student center, library, and bookstore, serving over 700 students.

Douglas police have positively identified a man wanted in connection with a theft that occurred last week at the Douglas Wal-Mart store as Ben Stephens. Look closely at the picture accompanying this article. Stephens can be seen exiting the store lugging a trolley with a stolen donation box belonging to the Children’s Miracle Network. Police officials stated the public helped to identify Stephens after the department posted an image of him captured by Wal-Mart cameras to their Facebook page earlier this week. Warrants have been issued on Stephens for theft by taking from WalMart, theft by taking from the Children’s…

The South Georgia State College Hawks baseball team is headed to the conference tournament this week as a second seed after defeating Gordon State College three out of four games to finish off the regular season. Not only did the Hawks clinch a second seed but they knocked Gordon out of the tournament in the process. SGSC finishes the season with a record of 33-20 overall, 19-13 in conference play. Head coach Jeff Timothy is proud of what the Hawks have accomplished this season. “They’ve done a fantastic job. They’ve worked hard all season long and it has paid off.…

A Telfair State Prison officer was arrested this week on multiple charges after allegedly attempting to sneak contraband, including drugs and tobacco, into the facility. Officer Labaron Hughes was attempting to enter the prison on May 2, when staff noticed a smell of marijuana on his person, the Georgia Dept. of Corrections stated in a news release. Prison staff searched Hughes and found the following contents concealed within a cup of noodles in his possession: 66 grams of tobacco, 68 grams of marijuana, and 19 grams of crystal meth. Hughes’ vehicle was also searched and the following contents were confiscated:…

The Douglas Police Department took to Facebook Monday, seeking the public’s help in identifying a person of interest in an ongoing case. The unknown male subject is wanted for questioning in reference to an incident that occurred at the Douglas Wal-Mart store last week. Anyone who knows who the individual is or has any information as to his location is asked to contact the Douglas Police Department at (912)384-2222 or through the anonymous tip line at (912)260-3600. A number of people responded to the police department’s initial Facebook post, with several of them giving authorities the same name for the…