Author: Submitted

In preparation for the 2020-2021 school year, Coffee County Schools has been busy attending teacher job fairs on various college and university campuses that offer teacher preparation programs. This Saturday, March 14, the school district will be holding its annual job fair from 9:00 – noon on the campus of Coffee High School. All of the elementary, middle and high school system administrators will be present to conduct informal interviews. The school system is interested in interviewing applicants from all teaching fields, with special emphasis in the area of General Curriculum and Adaptive Special Education, Early Childhood, Middle Grades and…

With much sadness, we announce the passing of Lillian Mae Cohran Woods, our loving mother and wife of 64 years to Ira Woods, Jr. on March 6, 2020. Born in Jacksonville, FL, to Leon and Alma Cohran, Lillian would soon live with her family in various places from the tips of South Florida, the Gulf coast, North Florida, and South Georgia. Lillian lived a full life as a wonderful mother, homemaker, and worker in retail, manufacturing, and with CDL in hand, a co-driver of semi-trucks with her beloved husband of 64 years, Ira Woods, Jr. She loved to cook, believed…

Glenda Sue Sheppard, age 60, of Cochran, Georgia, passed away on Friday March 6, 2020. Mrs. Sheppard was born on August 22, 1959 in Fitzgerald, Georgia, the daughter of Betty Jean Wells and the late Troy Smith. Glenda worked as a Nurse’s Technician with St. Thomas Home Health and was of the Pentecostal faith. In addition to her father, she was preceded in death by a brother, William Bohannon. Survivors include two daughters, Holly Varnadoe (Daniel) of Jeffersonville, GA and Crissy Stone (Keith) of Fitzgerald, GA; sister Vickie Barnhart of Douglas, GA; mother and step-father, Betty Jean and Earl Braswell…

Mr. Riley Oscar Mitchell (R.O.), age 87, passed this world and relocated to his Heavenly home to be with his Lord and Savior on March 4, 2020 at 7:30pm. He passed away at Baptist Medical Center’s Community Hospice Center in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Mr. Mitchell was born on August 4, 1932 in Coffee County, Georgia and was the son of William (Bill) Mitchell and Bessie Carver Mitchell of Douglas, Georgia. Mr. Mitchell graduated from Upton School in Coffee County and entered the U.S. Army in 1950. Following his honorable discharge from the Service, he began his employment career with the…

Brittany Nicole Floyd Evans, 29, passed away Thursday, March 5, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. She was born February 1, 1991 in Douglas, Georgia to Brian and Michelle Floyd. Brittany lived in Ambrose, Georgia until the age of eight then lived in New York for seven years and then Jacksonville, Florida for the last six years. She was of the Baptist faith and most recently attended Eleven-Twenty-two church in Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated from Coffee High School in Douglas and went to Valdosta State University and Florida State College at Jacksonville where she received her Bachelor’s degree in graphic arts.…

During the February 27 school board meeting, Allyson Speight, principal at Broxton Mary-Hayes Elementary, was named the new Director of Accountability and Assessment for the upcoming school year. Mrs. Speight will officially begin her role July 1, 2020, as the current director, Dr. Joy Perren, will retire June 30, 2020. Mrs. Speight is completing her seventh year as principal of Broxton Mary-Hayes Elementary, having served for five years previously as the Assistant Principal for Instruction. Prior to her tenure at Broxton, Mrs. Speight served as an Assistant Principal on the campus of West Coffee Middle School and Coffee…

The Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council (DMYC) held its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2020, at 6pm at City Hall and recognized outstanding youth in the community. The council also heard presentations from the City of Douglas Human Resource Department, South Georgia State College Recruitment and Financial Aid offices, and information about the upcoming 2020 Census. For the month of February 2020, Jessica Suarez was chosen as the Outstanding Youth Council Member to spotlight. Jessica is serving her first-year as a member of the Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council. Suarez is a Senior attending Coffee High School. She is a leader…

Unison Behavioral Health is happy to announce the appointment of Melissa Hood as Chief Operating Officer. Melissa has been with Unison since 2016 as Practice Manager and most recently as Director of Operations, where she oversaw the behavioral health clinics’ day-to-day operations, process improvement, and reporting throughout the agency’s eight-county service area. Melissa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Georgia Southwestern State University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration – Healthcare Administration from South University, and is a Society of Human Resources-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). She has over 20 years of healthcare experience including process improvement, practice management, revenue…

On Saturday February 29, 2020, the city of Douglas Fire Department (DFD) hosted the Georgia Spartan Firefighter Course 20-1 at the DFD Training Facility. This class is one day/24 hours and consists of teaching firefighter skills (including fire attack, firefighter survival and search techniques) at a fast pace while the students are physically and mentally stressed. At the end of the course, the candidates had several scenarios to navigate using skills taught earlier in the day. The candidates and the Spartan Cadre of instructors were from several fire departments located throughout Georgia. Douglas Fire, Forest Park Fire, Americus Fire, Tifton…

Joseph Harper, age 48, of Folkston, Georgia, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at his residence. Mr. Harper was born on March 31, 1971 in Coffee County, Georgia, the son of the late Johnnie Harper Jr. and Betty Jean Melton Harper. Mr. Harper worked in construction and was of the Holiness faith. Survivors include four sons, Dillion Harper of Folkston, GA, Dusty Harper of Folkston, GA, Johnny Ray Harper of Jacksonville, FL and Joey Harper of Jacksonville, FL; daughter, Cheyanne Godwin of Jacksonville, FL; two brothers, Johnny Harper of Moultrie, GA and Bobby Harper of Americus, GA; girlfriend, Kelly…