Author: On Common Ground News

Jan. 4-31 Expanding Civil Rights: From Congressman Robert Elliott through Nelson Mandela. View a broad collection of civil rights artifacts from the collection of Mike Glenn, community activist, Georgia NBA Hall-of-Famer and author of My Next Shot Goes In! Ten Sacred Characteristics of NBA Players that Lead to Success.  Funding provided by the Friends of the Stonecrest Library. During library hours. Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia. 770-482-3828. Jan. 6—Feb. 3 Tau Pi Omega: 25 Years of Service: The Tau Pi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. celebrates 25 years of service in the Stone Mountain and Lithonia communities. A special exhibit…

In observance of New Year’s Day on Monday, Jan. 1, garbage, recyclable materials and yard trimmings collection for residential customers will be collected on a revised schedule as follows: Monday, Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day observed; no collection service. Tuesday, Jan. 2 – Residential customers whose regularly scheduled collection day is Monday, Jan. 1, will be serviced on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Wednesday, Jan. 3 – Residential customers whose regularly scheduled collection day is Tuesday, Jan. 2, will be serviced on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Thursday, Jan. 4 – Residential customers whose regularly scheduled collection day is Wednesday, Jan. 3, will be…

The Stonecrest City Council will hold its work sessions on the first Wednesdays of each month and its regular council meetings on the third Monday beginning in 2018. If a holiday falls on Monday, the city council meeting would move to Tuesday. The Wednesday work sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. The City Council meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. to encourage public participation. The council voted unanimously on the new meeting times at its Dec. 27 Special Called meeting. Here is the 2018 meeting calendar: Work Sessions set First Wednesdays 10 a.m. Council Meetings set Third Mondays, 6 p.m.…

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Decatur/DeKalb Chapter, Inc. will present a financial boot camp on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2:45 to 4:45 p.m., Lithonia-Davidson Library, 6821 Church St., Lithonia. Jason Culp, private wealth manager, will discuss money management, budgeting, credit repair and retirement planning. The event is free and open to the public.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners recently approved a request from the Human Services Department to award $767,800 in funds to 46 local nonprofit organizations for 2018. Resources for these grants originate from two areas: $617,808 from the county’s general fund and $150,000 from a Victims Assistance Fund, which is supported by the collection of court fees. The Human Services Grant Program is designed to provide supplemental funding to nonprofit organizations serving their communities. Service areas that will be addressed through these grants include: youth development/education, family welfare, crisis intervention and prevention for women and children, senior services and supports…

Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 3, portions of East Ponce de Leon Avenue, between Interstate 285 and Market Street, will be closed intermittently from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to accommodate construction of the Clarkston Streetscape Water Main Relocation Project. The project began in September and will replace nearly 8,000 feet of water main pipes in the Clarkston area. Single-lane closures will be in effect for the duration of construction, which is expected to conclude in April. Motorists and MARTA passengers that use East Ponce de Leon between Interstate 285 and Market Street are urged to plan for extra commuting time.…

While many people are starting New Year’s Resolutions to exercise more, students in Barksdale Elementary School’s Marathon in a Month Club are already living a healthier lifestyle. About 40 students met at 7:10 a.m. each morning at the school in Conyers for about a month in October and November 2017 to run at least a mile each day. By the end of the month, participants completed a marathon, or 26.2 miles. Club advisor Sherry Webb said, “We are trying to encourage a love of exercise and physical fitness at an early age. At the end of our month, students receive…

The DeKalb County Sanitation Division announces free Christmas tree curbside collection service for county residents from Dec. 26 through Jan. 12, 2018. Trees will be collected during regularly scheduled sanitation collection service days. To participate, residents must remove all decorations from trees and place them curbside. Only trees 7 feet in height or less will be accepted. Trees that cannot be trimmed to the required size may be taken to the county-owned Seminole Road Landfill or collected by the Sanitation Division’s special collection unit (fees may apply). Collected trees will be recycled and converted to mulch. This service provides an…

Oil prices reached new heights yesterday, causing a bump in the road for falling gas prices. Georgia gas prices rose nearly 1-cent overnight, after holding mostly steady during the past week. Today’s state average is $2.28. Gas prices in Georgia declined for most of the past 44 days, with the state average falling 14 cents during that span. The average price on Christmas Day ($2.27) was 10 cents more than the year before, and the highest for the holiday in three years. The most expensive gas price averages in Georgia are in Savannah ($2.35), Brunswick ($2.34), Hinesville-Fort Stewart ($2.32) The least expensive gas price averages…

Rockdale Sheriff Eric Levett: “We will find you.”   By Valerie J. Morgan Rockdale County Sheriff Eric J. Levett has three words for the thieves who vandalized the Walk of Heroes Veterans War Memorial and stole two heavy, bronze statues and military emblems: “We will find you.” The memorial was vandalized over the weekend of Dec. 15 after the Rockdale park, located at 3001 Black Shoals Road N.E., closed. Thieves stole two statues that were part of a group of five soldiers, an 800-pound bronze globe and several military emblems. An attendant at the park discovered the break-in on…