The Douglas Wastewater Collections System reported that a major wastewater spill occurred at 9 pm on April 6, 2017. The spillage continued until 10:30 pm on April 7. A sign posted on Wendell Sears Road announced that a sanitary sewer overflow occurred from a manhole located inside the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant at 622 Iron Road. The sign, a piece of 8 ½ by 11 inch computer-printer paper, read “Approximately 7,000 gallons were reported.” The spill took place in an unnamed tributary of the Seventeen Mile River. The sign also recommended that no one have contact with the water…
Author: Staff Reports
The Georgia House of Representatives honored Garland Thompson of Douglas recently by adopting a resolution recognizing and commending Thompson for his tireless efforts as an advocate for economic development in Douglas and Coffee County. The resolution was read and adopted on February 27, 2017. When Mr. Garland Thompson was born on June 5, 1928 in Soperton, Georgia his father was a one-horse sharecropper and young Garland grew up farming. He’s lived in Savannah, Warner Robbins, and places all up and down Highway 441: Athens, Milledgeville, Irwinton, Dublin, and Douglas. He’s been in Douglas now for nearly 47 years. It was…
On April 26 former Senator and Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Mike Beatty made a stop at the Wiregrass Regional College and Career Academy. Mr. Beatty is a native of Jefferson, Georgia and a former high school football coach. He is now President and CEO of Great Promise Partnership (GPP). GPP is a non-profit organization which addresses poverty and workforce development throughout the state. GPP is essentially work-based learning for at-risk students. Mr. Beatty is touring the state – he just left Sandersville and is going on to Valdosta and Fitzgerald – building support for the GPP…
At the regular April 20 meeting of the Douglas-Coffee County Planning Commission, the City of Douglas petitioned for an amendment to the Unified Development Code. This amendment would permit a halfway house in commercial and industrial as well as residential/professional zoning districts. The petition was approved as the city requested. There will be a second reading of the amendment and a public hearing on May 8, 2017 at the regular city commission meeting. Ms. Julia Shewchuk, a planner with the Southern Georgia Regional Commission, presented the city’s petition. She stated that Douglas intended to mirror Valdosta’s handling of similar circumstances.…
On April 24, 2017 Coffee County school system unveiled the new Billy Walker Agricultural Center to the public at the Coffee Middle School. Agricultural educator Billy Walker, a retired Coffee High School educator, was in attendance along with his wife, Joanne. The center will house nearly 50 animals when fully operational. Coffee Middle School Principal Sherri Berry spoke to those assembled and was introduced by Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education Director Brad Riner. Principal Berry spoke about how the community was “blessed.” She opened her remarks with discussion of a car crash involving ag teacher Jamey Stodghill. Two weekends…
Coach Jeremy Coram and the Citizens Christian Academy Patriots baseball team have clinched the Region 2AA championship. The Patriots are 7-0 in region play. All the other teams in their region have three or more losses. CCA will finish with region play on April 24 when they play the Twiggs Academy Trojans here in Douglas at the CCA campus. The other teams in Region 2AA are Twiggs Academy, First Presbyterian Christian Academy, Robert Toombs Christian Academy, and Memorial Day School in Savannah. This is the Patriots’ first region title since 2010, and they were ranked next to last in the…
At the regular April 17, 2017 meeting of the Coffee County Board of Commissioners, the board approved a proposal to submit an application to the Georgia Department of Transportation for funds to widen Old Pearson Road. The funds are to take the form of a Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG) in the amount of $130,581.35. The funds will be used to widen Old Pearson Road for approximately one and a half miles. The proposed construction site is just off Willacoochee Highway and south of Guthrie’s Food Mart. It is not known when the construction will begin or even whether…
Coffee High School is going to the VEX Worlds Robotics Competition 2017. The event will be held in the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville from April 19 to 22. There they will compete against teams from all over the world with robots and software of their own design and creation. The CHS Robotics Team is Netra Gandhi, Gioia Rosier, Diego Escobar, Paulina Escobar, Leana Atkinson, Alana Atkinson, Samina Patel, Nabil Patel, Xavion Woodberry, Edvin Najarro, Gina Ornelas, Cheyanne Stone, and Ashni Patel. Diego and Alana are the team captains, and Diego is the unofficial spokesperson. He describes the competition as,…
The Coffee High Trojans made a strong showing in the first game of Friday night’s doubleheader against the Lee County Trojans but lost in a squeaker 2-1. In the second game the defense fell apart late and Coffee ended up losing 11-1. In game one, senior Max Hughes took to the mound and did a good job of stopping the Lee County bats. Senior Adam Solomon drove in CHS’s only run of the game with a ground ball to second that was thrown wide of the first baseman. Lee County pitcher Josh Hatcher, who was topping out at 86 miles…
There has been some confusion regarding an increase in pay for the City of Douglas Mayor and Commission, as reported by DouglasNow.com yesterday. The agenda of the commission for the work session of April 10, 2017 was provided to the media and clearly indicated that it was on January 28, 2014 that the commission approved to go forth in seeking local legislation to increase the salaries of the mayor and commission. The increase in pay for the City of Douglas Mayor and Commissioners has been ‘in the works’ for quite some time. It was in the regular meeting of the…