Author: On Common Ground News

Jason Lary qualified today to run as mayor of the city of Stonecrest, the lone candidate in the race so far. All of the City Council seats, however, now have challengers. Eric Hubbard had been the only contender running for the City Council, Post 3 seat, but Jazzmin Randall Cobble joined the race today, the supervisor of Elections reported this evening. Meanwhile, Post 2 has four contenders, more than any of the races. Qualifying ends on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The 14 candidates who have qualified so far for the March 21 elections are: Mayor Jason Lary 6844 Main…

City of Stonecrest election updates Today, Jason Lary qualified to run as mayor of the city of Stonecrest. So far, Lary is the only candidate who has qualified for mayor. Also, three more people qualified today to run for the District 2 Council seat, joining Plez Joyner in that race: Alexis Bethel Morris; Gretchen Jones Torbert; and Rob Turner: Below are the candidates who have qualified so far: Mayor Jason Lary 6844 Main Street Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 770-484-8740 jasonlarysr@gmail.com City Council District 1 Jimmy Clanton, Jr. P.O. Box 1495 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 404-657-6283        Email:…

DeKalb County Extension is accepting applications for the DeKalb Mobile Farmers Market stops for 2017. Launched in May 2015, the mobile market provides fresh, affordable produce and food demonstrations to county residents. The market visits areas around the county four days a week for 16 weeks.  Applications for the 2017 season will be accepted online at the link below through Monday, Feb. 20. The DeKalb Mobile Farmers Market is a program of DeKalb County Extension with support from the DeKalb County Board of Health.  The program is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For information…

Health TRUST Rockdale, the grant making division of the Hospital Authority of Rockdale County (HARC), will accept applications Jan. 30 through Feb. 3 for the first of two grant cycles planned for 2017. Nonprofit or government agencies working to improve the physical and mental health of Rockdale residents are encouraged to apply. HARC completed its last grant cycle in December, awarding $553,435 to 15 agencies, bringing the total awarded last year to more than $660,000. Grant recipients during the last round were: Atlanta Cancer Care Foundation A.R. “Gus” Barksdale Boys and Girls Club Care & Counseling Center of Georgia…

ATLANTA — David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) has again been re-elected as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. Ralston was first elected as Speaker in January 2010 and serves as the 73rd Speaker of the House. Ralston addressed the House following his re-election. “It is my hope that we will begin this work with a spirit of optimism and with a commitment to the ideals of civility, mutual respect and decorum,” said Speaker Ralston. “Today, we are a growing, dynamic state – reaching with optimism to a future filled with promise and greatness.” “We begin this Session at a moment…

ATLANTA – State Rep. Valencia Stovall (D-Forest Park) will host the Second Annual Educate Georgia Summit on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and Thursday, Jan. 12, at the State Capitol, 206 Washington St., Atlanta. “Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity to hear from citizens from across the state on the top challenges facing our education system,” said Rep. Stovall. “Whether at our House Education Committee Listening Sessions or at community town hall meetings, I heard time and time again that we have major cracks in our education system. We have to help develop the plan, and change is…

The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management will host a community open house to announce new construction for the Honey Creek Pump Station and Force Main in the Stonecrest area. The event takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 6 p.m., at the Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia. The construction is a new phase of capital improvement projects under the federal Consent Decree. The sanitary sewer collection system in the Stonecrest and Lithonia areas is designed to move wastewater through a sewer pipe from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, increasing sewer capacity and reducing sanitary sewer overflows in the…

The qualifying period for the five council seats and mayor’s seat opened today for the city of Stonecrest City Council. The qualifying period will end on Wednesday. So far, the following people have qualified: City Council District 1 Jimmy Clanton, Jr. P.O. Box 1495 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 404-657-6283        Email: jimmyclantonjr@gmail.com Charles Ross P.O. Box 870928 Stone Mountain, GA 30087 Phone: 404-272-4633         Email: charlesross@outlook.com City Council, District 2 Plez A. Joyner P.O. Box 1462 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 404-915-5038   Email: plez4stonecrest2@gmail.com City Council, District 3 Eric Hubbard P.O. Box 1374 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 678-321-8763        …

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Georgia’s net tax collections for December totaled nearly $2.06 billion, for an increase of $15.2 million, or 0.7 percent, compared to December 2015. Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled approximately $10.86 billion, for an increase of $414.4 million, or 4.0 percent, over last year when net tax revenues totaled $10.44 billion. The changes within the following tax categories account for December’s overall net tax revenue increase: 
Individual Income Tax:  Individual Income Tax collections for December increased by $0.8 million, or 0.1 percent, compared to last year, when net income tax collections totaled $1.11 billion.…

DeKalb County Tax Commissioner Irvin J. Johnson is reminding DeKalb taxpayers who owned and resided in their property on Jan. 1, 2017 to qualify for a basic homestead exemption. The homestead exemption, which provides a significant tax savings to homeowners, must be applied for in person, by mail or via the Internet because exemptions are not automatically granted. Neither mortgage nor any other companies can file applications for property owners. By law, exemptions are not available for rental or commercial property and there is never a fee to file. In addition to the basic homestead exemption, there are special exemptions…