Author: Submitted

Richard Lee Ansel, age 83, of Douglas, passed away on Tuesday March 5, 2019 at Pruitt Health in Ocilla. Mr. Ansel was born on July 14, 1935 in Lexington, Ohio the son of the late Wayne Ansel and Ruth A. Stubbs Ansel. He worked as a salesman with Walmart, was a veteran of the United States Army serving during the Korean War. Mr. Ansel was of the Catholic faith. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Jacob Ansel. Survivors include his wife, Debra Ansel of Douglas; three sons, Ricky Ansel Jr. of Lewiston, Maine, Michael Ansel of Douglas, and…

The basketball coaches of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) have selected three members of South Georgia State College’s (SGSC) men’s basketball team for postseason awards. Skyler Baggs, Charles Botchway, and Keyshaun Street were each named to the GCAA’s second team All-Region. Baggs was also named to the All-Defensive Team. Baggs, a 6’5” redshirt sophomore from Brunswick, averaged 14.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game for the Hawks (15-14-1, 7-8-1). His rebounding average was tops in the GCAA, and he led the other rebounding categories as well – offensive rebounds (143), defensive rebounds (194), and total rebounds (337). Baggs…

The Walton Family Foundation has listed Douglas in the top 100 Most Dynamic Micropolitan areas of the nation. In its February 2019 report, Most Dynamic Micropolitans, the foundation analyzed all 531 micropolitan areas in the United States. Douglas ranked 75th overall. That places the city in the top 15 percent nationally. It should also be noted that Douglas was ranked third of all micropolitan areas in Georgia, behind Calhoun ranked 20th and Jefferson ranked 27th. A micropolitan area is defined as a labor market area in the United States centered on an urban cluster (urban area) with a population of at…

William “Ned” Edward Smith, 82, died peacefully surrounded by his family on Friday, March 1, 2019. He was born in Nicholls, and served in the US Air Force for four years before beginning a career as an electrician in various paper mills. His passion in life was always cars and he became a full time car dealer in 1975 when he purchased the Pontiac-GMC dealership in Jesup. He remained a car dealer in some format for the remainder of his life, up to age 81. Ned’s favorite past-times were spending time with family, fishing and going to the Ocala…

Janice Elaine Hamilton Day, age 58, of Broxton, passed away on Tuesday February 26, 2019 at her residence. Mrs. Day was born on March 17, 1960 in Jacksonville, Florida, the daughter of the late Donnie and Reatha Adams Hamilton. She worked as a registered nurse since 1993 working for the United States military and later with Coffee Regional Medical Center in the Labor and Delivery Department. Mrs. Day was a member of Providence Baptist Church. Survivors include her husband, Jerome Day of Broxton; two daughters, Jennifer Floyce Day Childers (Zane) of Ocilla and Michelle Martinez Jones (Doug) of…

Madison Reece Hampton, age 18, passed away on Saturday March 2, 2019 at Augusta University Medical Center. Reece was born on May 21, 2000 in Ocilla, the daughter of Michael and Suzan Tanner Hampton. Reece was a 2018 honor graduate of Coffee County High School where she played on the tennis team and an active member of FCCLA. She attended South Georgia State College and was a member of Stokesville Baptist Church. Survivors include her parents, Michael and Suzan Hampton of Douglas; brother, Tanner Hampton of Douglas; grandparents, Donnie and Marilyn Tanner of Douglas and Emmett and Brenda…

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College will accept new student applications for Summer Semester on Free Application Day, March 21. Any new student who applies in person on this day will have the application fee waived. Free Application Day will be held on the Ben Hill-Irwin Campus, Coffee Campus, Cook County WDC Campus, Moody AFB Extended Campus, and the Valdosta Campus from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The college is offering two options for Summer Semester. For full term Summer Semester, classes begin May 15 or one can enroll in the Summer Express term, which is eight weeks, with classes beginning May…

Seven very talented students of South Georgia State College from the Douglas and Waycross Campuses attended the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The students participated in professional development workshops, competed in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition, and attended several live theatre productions. In addition, more than a few of the students were cast in the very popular 10 Minute Play Festival. This unique and special experience allowed the students to broaden their horizons by viewing the magical world of theatre through the eyes of industry professionals, theatre professors and student peers from…

Amy Hancock, communications and outreach manager at South Georgia State College in Douglas, has been selected to serve as the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Georgia Regional Coordinator. The role of a regional coordinator is to provide leadership and guidance for their respective region and act as liaison between advisors in their region and Society Headquarters. Hancock has served as a PTK chapter advisor for the Kappa Sigma Chapter since 2011, in addition to the Alpha Rho Omega Chapter since 2013, at both campuses of South Georgia State College. Under her guidance, the chapters have achieved Five Star status, the highest…

According to the Registered Nursing.org website the Associate of Science in Nursing (RN) program at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College has been named the number one program in the state of Georgia. This ranking is among all colleges, universities and technical colleges. The ranking was based on the students’ National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) pass rates. According to the Registered Nursing.org site “We have ranked the top 20 nursing schools in Georgia by analyzing current and historical NCLEX-RN pass rates, meaning the percentage of graduates who passed the exam out of the total 53 RN programs currently offered in the state. Programs reviewed…