Area News

On Monday, April 17, 2023, County Commission Chair Debra Robinson announced that the County Commissioners have chosen Randy Lane as sole finalist for County Manager. Lane currently serves as Community Development Director for the City of Adel. The County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on a County Manager contract with Lane at the next regular…

During the Monday, April 10, 2023, work session, Richard Herrin, School Safety Director, asked the Cook County Board of Education’s permission to apply for a federal grant of up to $500,000 for school security and safety improvements. The U.S. Department of Justice’s COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) program administers the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)…

In case brought by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Sparks Police Department, Superior Court Judge Richard Perryman sentenced Jordan Chandler Jeffords, 35, of Tifton to 10 years’ probation March 8, 2023, after the defendant pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of an officer (two counts) and possession of a knife during the commission of a…

The Cook County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on Monday evening, April 3, 2023, about a request to rezone 2.66 acres on a corner lot at the intersection of Highway 37 and County Farm Road from AU (Agriculture) to GB (General Business). Andrew Malone Harrell, the landowner, intended to erect 400 mini-storage units…

During a ceremony on Monday morning, United States Navy veteran Jerry Davenport was joined by City of Adel representatives and Adel News Tribune staff in memorializing the 129 crew and shipyard personnel who passed away when the USS Thresher nuclear-powered submarine (SSN-593) was lost on April 10, 1963. During the ceremony held in the small…

Transportation Investment Act (TIA) officials announced last week that contractors have completed major construction on the Val-Del Road resurfacing project. “Enjoy your new smooth, safe roadway,” the TIA officials stated. TIA projects in Cook County include: • Alabama Road Truck Route Improvements (Grade Drain Base and Pave). Original budget, $3,312,000; original project dates, 2018 to…

The Georgia Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Compensation voted recently to table until next year a resolution to compensate Devonia Inman $1,610,000 for his wrongful conviction in the 1998 murder of Taco Bell manager Donna Brown in Adel.  The decision impacts three other cases from across the state as well. A hearing on compensation from the…

On Wednesday afternoon, March 22, 2023, the Cook High School Hornet Tennis Program recognized seven senior players and dedicated a tree in memory of Coach Sylvia Cowan at the Hornet Tennis Complex. “Despite two excruciatingly close losses to Thomas County Central (boys 2-3 and girls 2-3), it was an absolutely wonderful day at the Cook…

Amelia Maine Spires, 46, 736 Register Road, Adel, was arrested March 14, 2023, and charged with sexual exploitation of a child (60 felony counts), incest, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, computer or electronic pornography (three counts), cruelty to children, first degree (two counts), enticing a child for indecent purposes (two counts), possession of a…

South Georgia Motorsports Park owners Ozzy and Maria Moya have announced the pending sale of the racetrack near Cecil to Raul and Jennifer Torres of South Florida. Torres said last week that the sale is under contract and will undergo the due diligence phase over the next 30 to 45 days before becoming official. In…