Author: Submitted

Coffee Drug Agents arrested a 19-year-old Douglas woman on marijuana distribution charges following an incident on June 19. Douglas police met with Dacia Desiree Diaz on June 19 initially in reference to a domestic issue. Officers detected the smell of marijuana while speaking with Diaz and discovered she was in possession of a small amount of the drug. A subsequent investigation by the Douglas – Coffee Drug Unit led to the discovery over three ounces. Diaz was booked into the Coffee County Jail and charged with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. In an unrelated incident,…

Dudley Clarence Ray of Braselton, Georgia passed away on June 15, 2017, just three days shy of his 87th birthday. He was born in McRae, Georgia, the 2nd of three sons to Mamie and Joe Ray. Survivors include: his wife JoAnn Dorminey Ray of Braselton, GA; daughter, Lisa Jardine Cyrus and her husband Stratton Cyrus of Austin, TX; son, Dudley C. Ray, Jr. (a.k.a Chip) of Gainesville, GA; granddaughters, Whitney Fulton Jardine of San Francisco, CA., Suzannah Harrington Ray of NYC and Stephanie Victoria Ray of Gainesville, GA. Dudley was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Joe Ray…

Johnnie Sue Gonzolez, age 64, of Ambrose, GA passed away on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at Coffee Regional Medical Center following an extended illness. Mrs. Gonzolez was born on November 19, 1952, in Douglas, GA to the late John Henry Guess and Magdalene Holton Guess. Survivors include: her husband, Rigoberto Gonzelez of Ambrose, GA.; daughter, Brandi (Lupe) Garcia White of Douglas, GA.; son, William Christopher (Mandy) White of Anniston, AL.; three sisters, Lucille (Jimmy) Brown of Hazelhurst, GA., Patsy (Carey) Sherrod of Douglas, GA., and Nancy (Freddie) Fowler of Tampa, FL; brother, Donald (Dee) Guess of Blackshear, GA.; grandchildren, Ashley…

Mrs. Elizabeth Burnam Parker, age 59, of Douglas passed away Wednesday afternoon, June 14, 2017 at Coffee Regional Medical Center following an extended illness. She was born January 28, 1958 to the late William L. Burnam and the late Shirley Tanner Lott. Other than her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Anita Faye Burch and brother-in-law, Tony Parker. Elizabeth had worked as a L.P.N. at Coffee Regional Medical Center and also at Dr. Leon M. Armoreda’s office. She also had been employed with the City of Douglas Water Department as a Water Analysis Specialist. She was a…

The Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 15 for new restaurant owners, Frank and Lakita Bussey of Happy Crabby Steak & Seafood. The new restaurant is located at 400 NW 206 Connector Road in Douglas. The restaurant has been opened for only a few weeks and hours of operation are already being extended to include Thursdays from 4-9 p.m. in addition to their previous hours on Fridays and Saturdays from 4-10 p.m. “The food is excellent!” said attending guest. “Some of the best seafood I’ve ever eaten!” The Bussey’s invites all to visit Happy…

The Coffee County School System would like to invite everyone to the Coffee High Performing Arts Center Groundbreaking Ceremony. The ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 27 at 8:30 a.m. on the Coffee High School campus. We hope to see you June 27th.

On June 16, the Alma Police Department’s Crime Suppression Unit arrested Diana Rene Entrekin, 46 of Alma, for possession of methamphetamine. Entrekin’s arrest resulted from a traffic stop for a minor traffic offense.

Monday didn’t get off to a very good start for a train moving through Douglas. On Monday morning, a CSX train car derailed near Griffin’s Warehouse in Douglas along the crossing at Pearl Avenue. Crossings will be blocked from Pearl Avenue to Gaskin Avenue. Motorists are asked to see alternative routes until the derailed car has been removed from the tracks. The estimated time the crossings will be closed is from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. At the time of this press release, CSX has not released an official statement as to the cause of the derailment.

Many community members, friends and family gathered for a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, June 13 to celebrate the new ownership of McRae’s Pharmacy to pharmacist, Andrew Thomas, ‘A.T’. McRae began McRae’s Pharmacy in 1938. Mr. McRae’s daughter, Jane Wade, and her husband, Gene, continued the family business by faithfully serving the community until June of this year when they sold the business to Andrew & Charity Holt, both new pharmacists in Douglas. Andrew is the grandson of entrepreneurs, Cecil & Lucille Holt and son of Howard & Kathy Holt, who currently own & operate Holt’s Bakery as well as Pastor…

Valeria Plymale, age 93, of Douglas, Ga. passed away on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at her residence following an extended illness. Mrs. Plymale was born on August 3, 1923, in Hoboken, Ga. to the late Wiley Lazarus Dowling and Mary Cordia Thomas Dowling. Survivors include: her daughters, Nina (AL) Davis of Cordele, Ga., Jane (Tony) McPherson of Tifton, Ga., and Sarah (Darren) Shrouder of Douglas, Ga.; sons, Earl (Paulette) Plymale of Nashville, Ga., Marcus Plymale of Douglas, Ga., and Steve (Diane) Plymale of Laurinburg, NC; eleven grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren; sister, Beatrice Dowling (Bill) Jones of Macon, Ga.; sisters-in-law, Mary Louise…