Author: Submitted

In the tourism world, anything that attracts people to your venue or event is recognized as a tourism tool. Pokémon Go is a global phenomenon, and the City of Douglas is using the game as a tool to attract visitors. This year, the South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival will use the Pokémon Go game as a way to help bring the young and old to Douglas on September 10, 2016 from noon to 5 p.m. “We are using the Pokémon Go app as a way to reach millennials and attract visitors,” says Georgia Henderson, City of Douglas Public Information…

The Coffee County Emergency Management Agency and the Southwire Company are pleased to offer the citizens of Coffee County hyper-reach community alerts and emergency notifications. Citizens of Coffee County and the cities of Ambrose, Broxton, Douglas and Nicholls can sign-up for free by entering www.hyper-reach.com/gacoffeesignup.html in your internet browser search bar or by calling (912) 493-9300 (a local call) to sign up. Hyper-reach will allow public safety officials to send out local emergency notifications and community service notifications. By signing up, you will be able to receive these messages and weather alerts if you choose through your landline phones, wireless…

With the potential for a tropical system to impact Florida and Georgia in the next couple days, OneBlood, the local blood center, is urging people to donate blood as soon as possible, before the storm arrives. While all blood types are needed, there is an urgent need for platelets as well as O Negative and O Positive blood types. Hurricanes and tropical storms can disrupt blood collections, sometimes for several days. The most critical time for blood donations is prior to any storm or hurricane in order to sustain the blood supply during and immediately after the event. OneBlood encourages…

What a great turn out for our first PTO meeting for the 2016-2017 school year! Thank you parents for coming out and supporting Satilla Elementary School! Our fourth grade students did a great job singing the “Fifty Nifty United States Song”! Thank you, Mr. Bush, for encouraging the students to learn the song and share it with us. – Submitted

The South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival will be held in Douglas on Friday, September 9, and Saturday, September 10, 2016. 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 honored to be a Team of the Year double points contest,” says Georgia Henderson, Public Information Department Director. “Last year, we had over 20 professional teams competing and this year we are hoping to host even more!” Teams wishing to participate in the Douglas BBQ Cook-Off competition…

The Ware County Gators will be GOING GOLD on Friday, Sept. 2, against Coffee County in Waycross and are asking the entire community to join them in paying tribute to those currently fighting childhood cancer and those who have won their battles. The football team will be wearing all gold uniforms, as well as the band and cheerleaders. Coffee fans attending the game are asked to join the effort that night by also wearing gold ribbons or a gold ribbon shirt. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the local community has been hit hard with this dreaded disease. The…

Satilla Elementary faculty and staff extend a special thanks to all the parents who came out to our first parent/family engagement event on Monday, August 29. A special thanks goes to Ms. Rebekah Beck for translating for our guest speaker, Mr. Archie Rish, Satilla School Governance Council Member, who shared with parents the importance of being involved and working with their child and their child’s teacher. Remember, make your days count… “Show Up, Communicate, and Support One Another.” We look forward to working with you this school year! Remember to make each day count. – Submitted

The City of Douglas Public Information Department will begin to accept registrations for the 53rd Annual Festival of Lights Christmas Parade on Sept. 1. This year’s theme will be “Peace On Earth,” and the parade will take place Saturday, December 3, at 6:30 p.m. “We chose a theme this year with hopes to see everyone join together to promote peace and unity in our community,” says Georgia Henderson, Public Information Director. “Entries are encouraged to build floats based upon peace, hope, compassion and charity, all of which are God-given gifts to mankind. We would like to see more involvement from…

September is Attendance Awareness Month in Coffee County Schools. We are emphasizing good attendance this month because it helps students with their achievement as well as their career readiness. Students who go to school regularly are more likely to feel connected to the school community, which means that they are more likely to get good grades, have a positive attitude about school, graduate from high school, and avoid risky behaviors, such as drug or alcohol use. Frequent absences can cause a student to fall behind in school. He or she may get poor grades, have low self-esteem, and feel isolated…

If you see a helicopter hovering over Indian Creek Elementary School and landing on the playground this Thursday, it will be State School Superintendent, Mr. Richard Woods, flying in from Atlanta to recognize the faculty, staff, students, and ICE parents for their recent award in the Parent Engagement Video Contest sponsored by the Ga Department of Education. To show his appreciation and officially recognize Indian Creek, Superintendent Woods will arrive on Thursday at 1 p.m. for a special assembly in the gym. After the assembly, he will hold an informal roundtable discussion with parents, staff, and community members in the…