Author: Staff Reports

Tonight, 32 teams across the state square off for the GHSA football semifinals. Among those 32 teams are 13 from South Georgia whose state championship hopes remain alive. But one area team has already brought home a state title. Thursday night, the Valwood Valiants defeated John Milledge Academy 42-21 at Five Star Stadium in Macon in the GIAA state finals. The game was historic on several fronts. First of all, it was Valwood’s seventh state championship, their first since 2017, and most notably, it ended the longest active consecutive winning streak in the nation. …

A little after 4 p.m. on Thursday, firefighters from the Coffee County Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Straight and Narrow Way Road, which is just off Highway 221 North adjacent to Hidden Lakes. The home, a rental property, was vacant but people were moving in Friday. Units responded quickly — the fire was just a few hundred yards from county fire department headquarters — and had the blaze quickly under control. While they were able to keep it from spreading, they weren’t able to save the house; the home was a total loss. …

The staff at Ear, Nose & Throat Clinic would like to wish you and yours a merry Christmas and a happy new year! The holidays can be a hectic and stressful time of the year. Don’t let illness keep you from enjoying the time with family and friends. Stop by and see us if you’re having any issues with your upper respiratory system or sleeping comfortably. We can get you back on your feet in no time!

Brant Garrett, the former George Washington Carver Freshman Campus teacher who was arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation and two counts of sexual battery in incidents involving students at the freshman campus in early 2022, pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to one count of sexual battery on a minor. As a result of the guilty plea, Garrett was fined $2,000 and sentenced to five years of probation. He will have to abide by sex offender conditions while he is on probation, which means he will register as a sex offender during his probation period. …

Officers from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a non-fatal shooting that took place around 5 p.m. Tuesday. The shooting happened on Hickory Lane where Hickory intersects with Burl Mill Road in the eastern portion of Coffee County. After being shot, the victim attempted to drive himself to Coffee Regional Medical Center in a Toyota 4Runner. However, the victim began having trouble breathing and stopped at Budget Car Sales, where an ambulance picked him up and transported him to CRMC. Just after 6 p.m, an Air-Evac helicopter landed at the hospital to transport him to…

On November, 19, 2023, a Douglas police officer stopped a man on a bicycle after he allegedly ran the stop light at West Walker Street and North Peterson Avenue. The stop led to an arrest on illegal drug charges. According to a report from the Douglas Police Department, the incident happened about 8:30 p.m. that day. The officer was patrolling in the area when she noticed the man on the bike, identified as Nathaniel Stange, 24, allegedly run the red light. The officer turned around and attempted to stop Stange. The report says that Stange looked back at…

A Douglas police officer working a detail at Pilgrim’s Pride arrested a woman on drug possession charges after he allegedly saw her with suspected illegal drugs in the back of a car in the parking lot. According to a report from the Douglas Police Department, around 9 p.m. on November 13, the officer was walking through the parking lot at Pilgrim’s Pride while employees were going on break. He saw a male and female in the back seat of a car and detected the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. As he walked by the car, he…

Authorities are investigating a fatal one-vehicle accident that took place over the weekend on MC Jowers Road near Ambrose. The vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee believed to be driven by Ryan Dupree, 19, of Lowndes County, left the roadway and went into a body of water beside the road. Dupree had been reported missing by his family on Sunday, who had not seen or heard from him since early Saturday night. Someone saw the vehicle upside down in the water and reported the accident around 3 p.m. Sunday. A wrecker from American Truck Parts removed the Jeep…

The Coffee County School System has announced that there will be no school on Friday, December 1, due to the semifinal playoff game between the Coffee Trojans and Cartersville Purple Hurricanes in Cartersville. Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. However, because of the challenges associated with getting so many students and staff to Cartersville (and back home Friday night), which is nearly 250 miles from Douglas, the school system will not hold school on Friday. The 13-0 Trojans face the 13-0 Purple Hurricanes for the third time in four years this Friday. In…

Two more big cat hoaxes are making their way around social media again. And while some of the people who are sharing these photos are doing so as a joke, others are quite serious. The photos show two different big cats, one a tiger and the other either a black jaguar or black leopard. The tiger has been attributed to the Highway 64 area of Atkinson County while the black cat has been “seen” in Perry, Glennville, and other South Georgia locations. In short, these cats are nowhere near South Georgia. These are examples of big cat hoaxes…