According to unofficial election results, challenger George Parrish Houston led the three-candidate field with 534 votes, or 42%, followed by incumbent Donna Ford with 478 votes, or 37.6%. Candidate Lavendra Shootes received 261 votes, or 20.5%.
The Lee County Utilities Authority on Wednesday approved a proposed FY2026-27 budget that officials described as a carefully structured investment in staffing, infrastructure reliability and regulatory compliance, while also offering an unusually transparent look into how the utility responded internally to the county’s recent fluoride compliance issue.
Earlier in the meeting, officials discussed the city remaining out of compliance with state financial requirements because multiple annual audits still had not been completed. Under Georgia law, municipalities are required to complete annual independent financial audits and submit them to the state. Those audits are intended to verify a city’s financial condition, spending practices, debts, internal controls and compliance with grant and loan obligations.
During Tuesday’s hearing, city planning staff noted the property “has functioned as a general daycare since the building was constructed in 1966 and has been in harmony with the surrounding residences.” However, archival references suggest childcare services at the location existed years before the current building was erected. In 1954, the nursery school was directed by Carol Johnson King, a major figure in the Albany Movement and wife of prominent civil rights attorney C. B. King.
The Captain Ted Randall Thomas Foundation, Inc. announced it will award nine $500 scholarships to graduating seniors across the Dougherty County School System this year, tripling the amount awarded during its inaugural scholarship cycle in 2025.
Speaking to supporters and local officials during a question-and-answer session that stretched nearly an hour, the former Atlanta mayor repeatedly emphasized that communities outside metro Atlanta have felt overlooked by state leadership and said southwest Georgia would remain central to her campaign strategy.
Emotional testimony from two Dougherty County grandmothers during a recent Dougherty County School System Board of Education meeting has reignited broader questions about equity, transparency and ethics within the district’s magnet school system — including whether public schools should require admissions testing, whether selective academic programs unintentionally deepen disparities and why key admissions and disciplinary policies were difficult for families to access.
The presentation, delivered by educators affiliated with SOWEGA Rising, focused on teacher advocacy, literacy support, student mental health, educator retention and equitable school funding while also highlighting growing efforts among southwest Georgia educators to engage more directly in state-level education policy discussions.
Held at the Albany Welcome Center, the meeting brought together caregivers, service providers, community leaders and older residents from southwest Georgia to identify the challenges most affecting aging adults in rural areas and discuss how those concerns should influence future state priorities and funding decisions.
Locally, the Albany/Dougherty Historic Preservation Commission is marking Preservation Month with a communitywide scavenger hunt designed to introduce residents to Albany’s historic landmarks, neighborhoods and cultural sites while encouraging people to rediscover the city’s architectural and historical identity.
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