Author: Submitted

Members of the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce/EDA Leadership Coffee Class of 2017 were treated to a tour of the Ashley Slater House on Wednesday, August 9, 2017. Pattie Merritt, Main Street Manager, led the group through a tragic and history filled story about the home that was once the residence of Mr. John Ashley, Mrs. Ada Ashley-Slater, and Mr. John Slater in the early 1900s. The former residence is now home to the Douglas Visitor Information Center. For more information about the Douglas Visitor Information Center, call 912-384-4555.

SGBOF Committee members have been meeting monthly preparing for the South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival. The Douglas and Coffee County area should get ready for another exciting festival complete with general & food vendors, Rockdog Entertainment’s Friday Night concert featuring the Midnight Riders, Jack Pearson, and the Brady Clampitt Band, GBA BBQ Competition, NAPA/Brooks Auto Car Show, Helping Hands Bikers Motorcycle Show and Dice Run. Special shows this year feature the World Record Tucker Buck, Southeastern Snake Encounter, Coca Cola Hug Me vendor, clogging, free fishing workshops, kids fun area, and much more! For more information, call 912-383-0277 or…

Cindy Youngblood pled guilty today to criminal attempt to commit murder. Her co-defendant, Reggie Lockhart, pled on Friday, August 11. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ian Sansot and Judge Andy Spivey presided over the plea. Roughly one year ago on August 11, 2016, deputies with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office responded to Harvey Smith Road after Mr. Anthony Youngblood reported an individual, later identified as Reggie Lockhart, fired on him outside his residence. Upon being interviewed by law enforcement, Lockhart admitted that he did attempt to take Mr. Youngblood’s life at the request of Cindy Youngblood, whom…

Scott Harper, Fortis USA, was the speaker at the Douglas Kiwanis Club meeting of Tuesday, August 15, at the Flyin’ Cowboy restaurant. He spoke about his background in law enforcement and his company, Fortis USA, which provides firearms training and self-defense training to individuals and groups as well as providing security assessments and security guards for businesses. The Kiwanis club members enjoyed and appreciated his presentation

FNBCC is proud to announce the appointment of the following students to the 2017-2018 First National Bank of Coffee County Junior Board of Directors. Being strong advocates of this community, these students represent the future of Coffee County through their display of integrity, quality, and commitment. From Coffee High School, members include: Allison Dorsey, Anna Grace Grantham, Korinda Johnson, William Brice Minix, Deep Patel, Mona Patel, Nidhi Patel, Caris Ruis, Courtney Toth, Kiara Trejo, Kensley Vickers. From Citizens Christian Academy, members include: LeAnne Brown, Lance Fountain, Lari Lott, & Laura Ashley Pridgen. These 15 students represent the top of their…

The Airbase Preservation and Development Committee will host its first National Aviation Day Fly-In on Saturday, August 19, 2017 from 10am – 2pm at the Douglas Municipal Gene Chambers Airport located at 3 Airport Circle. “Everyone is encouraged to attend and to come out and learn about preservation efforts of this historic WWII Airbase,” says Dr. Carl McDonald, APDC Chairman. On National Aviation Day, organizers are planning activities for the public that will promote interest in the WWII Airbase as well as an interest in aviation. Visitors to the airport will have the chance to see a private aircraft display, flight fly overs, military vehicle display,…

The South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival will be held in Douglas on Friday, September 8 and on Saturday, September 9, 2017. The Douglas BBQ Cook-Off is held in conjunction with the South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival. “We are thrilled, again, to partner with Georgia BBQ Association for the Douglas BBQ Cook-Off and are increasing our payout to $20,000 in cash and prizes,” says Georgia\ Henderson, Public Information Department Director. “Having a grand payout of $5,000 makes our cook-off the largest payout with GBA to date. Last year, we had over 30 professional teams competing and this year we are hoping to host even more!”…

By: Jerome Danner How despairing it is to hear of news that one lost their life, possibly, due to the lack of understanding of the importance of civil discourse. When protests take place over matters that typically cause some persons to emote in anger and display outrageous behavior, it may be important, for the sake of keeping the peace, to confront the ideology of the protest at another time and space. It is essential to civility that things are not done violently, but in a calm and thoughtful manner, which should be quite dissimilar to how the protestor may be…

Mr. Jerry “Pool” Powell, age 68, of Ambrose, GA passed away Sunday morning, August 13, 2017, at his residence following a short illness. Mr. Powell was born January 3, 1949 to the late Comer W. Powell and the late Beulah Wooten Powell. Other than his parents, he was preceded in death by 2 Brothers; Jerome Powell and Royce Powell. Mr. Powell was a native of Jeff Davis County, GA. He was employed with Winn Dixie for 18 years as a meat cutter and then with the City of Douglas in the Water Department. Later he and his wife owned and…

Two men were jailed last week on methamphetamine and other drug-related charges following separate investigations by the Douglas – Coffee Drug Unit. Around 6 p.m., August 10, detectives attempted to conduct a vehicle stop on a white Chevrolet pickup on Burton Rd. for traffic violations. As the pickup came to a slow roll, the passenger, later identified as Ryon Graham Bland, exited the vehicle and fled on foot into a nearby field. Detectives gave chase, and, several minutes later, Bland was found in a wooded area near Elzie Anderson Rd. A subsequent search of the passenger area of the vehicle…