By Jerome Danner Recently I stopped by the Zaxby’s here in town (Douglas, Georgia) for a meal to fill my stomach not prepared by my wife’s hand. As I pulled up, the line in the drive-thru appeared to be quite long, so I made a quick decision to go inside and try my luck at getting in and out. Well, my luck was out this night. But I wasn’t all that mad since I don’t really believe in luck anyhow. Everybody that was inside waiting on their food must have had the same idea as me: it is typically quicker…
Author: Staff Reports
Two remarkable young men are working to heal our environment. Tyler Lott, 20, of Ambrose and Chris Adams, 19, of West Green are passionate about the native wildlife of Georgia and about the environment in which we all work and live. Mr. Lott is the businessman: “We just go around the State of Georgia and teach people about native wildlife that they can see outside their homes, and basically for them to understand what animals live around them and how to identify them. We mainly use reptiles and amphibians such as snakes and turtles in our shows and we’re permitted…
By Bradley Bennett The Coffee High Trojans were handed a 6 to 0 defeat at the hands of the Valdosta Wildcats last night at Charles A. Wilson field. The Trojans were overmatched by powerful Valdosta hitting. Valdosta pitching was also decisive. Although the Trojans hit a lot of hard line drives and deep fly balls they were, for the most part, right at Valdosta defenders. When asked to comment on the game Coach Joshua Cole stated that, “We hit the ball as hard, and had as good of plate approaches as I’ve ever seen a…
By Bradley Bennett At the regular April 3rd, 2017 meeting of the county commission, Ms. Jo Ann Metts officially retired and was honored by the commission for over 40 years of service. Ms. Metts will be replaced as county clerk by Ms. Tracie Vickers. Ms. Vickers had until this time served as deputy county clerk. In the commission’s pre-meeting work session County Code Enforcement Director Ray Parker addressed the substandard housing related to the Oak Park redevelopment plan. It was noted that at Oak Park there are to be found trash in yards and even junk cars. Mr. Parker…
By Bradley Bennett The trial of City Commissioner Olivia Pearson on criminal charges of voter fraud and swearing falsely was declared a mistrial today at 12:40 pm. Both charges were classified as felonies. Her trial began yesterday, but court was adjourned at 8 pm as the jury had failed to reach a verdict after nearly two hours of deliberation. Despite the declaration, assistant district attorney Ian Sansot told DouglasNow.com that Commissioner Pearson’s prosecution was still an active case and he intends to put it back on the calendar as soon as possible. The jury continued to deliberate at 9 am…
By Brad Bennett At the regular City Commission meeting on Monday, March 27, City Attorney Jerome Adams stated that a special election to fill the seat of the late City Commissioner Johnnie Lee Roper (Ward 1) was almost a certainty. The special election was not on the board’s agenda, but Mr. Adams gave a statement to Douglasnow.com describing how the election would in all likelihood take place on June 20, 2017. Mr. Adams stated: “There was a local act sponsored by our local legislative delegation that permits a special election on the city commission when there is more than one…
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Office has released the identity of the indivual who sparked a high speed chase through Douglas and Coffee County Saturday afternoon. John Thomas Highsmith, 31, led deputies on a chase through numerous county roads and state highways, topping speeds of over 100 mph before entering the City of Douglas, where he continued eluding city and county authorities across both residential and commercial areas of the community. Highsmith eventually abandoned his vehicle, fled on foot, and was detained by Douglas police. Highsmith has been charged with two counts of violating probation, possession of a controlled substance, fleeing/attempting…
A subject led deputies and police on a high speed chase in Douglas Saturday afternoon that ended, unsurprisingly, with the arrest of the offender. His name has not been released by authorities. Just before 3 p.m. Saturday, a deputy pulled over a car on the Willacoochee Highway. During the course of the traffic stop, the deputy discovered that the individual had active warrants. The officer called for backup but the offender was having nothing of the sort. He fled the scene and led deputies and, later, Douglas police officers on a chase that reached speeds in excess of 90 miles…
It had been almost a month since a shooting had taken place in Douglas and/or Coffee County when 911 received a call that someone had been shot, this time in the city. Just before noon on Thursday, officers headed to the 600 block of South Daughtry Avenue to investigate the shooting. When they arrive, officers found that Ahmad Rashad Cross, 31, had been shot and taken to Coffee Regional Medical Center by private vehicle. A police officer went to the hospital to check on Cross’s condition. During the investigation, officers discovered that Ronnie Manning Jr., 37, was responsible for the…
You gotta be careful where you advertise items that have been allegedly stolen. Coffee County investigators proved that this week when they arrested two men in an ongoing burglary investigation after a stolen ATV appeared on Facebook. Detectives learned a Polaris Ranger was being sold on the popular social media site and were able to contact the publisher of the post at the individual’s residence. Authorities confirmed the ATV was one that had been stolen during an incident reported in February and had been sold by an individual identified as 24-year-old James Logan of Alma. Officials were able to locate…