Author: On Common Ground News

Public safety professionals from across DeKalb County were honored at the DeKalb County Police Department awards ceremony, which was held on Oct. 20. The ceremony, held at Rehoboth Baptist Church, honored men and women who have performed heroic and extraordinary acts to protect and serve the citizens of DeKalb County. Assistant Police Chief Mike Yarbrough was one of the honorees. He received the certificate of merit. “It’s not about me. It’s about the men and women of valor who represent our department so well,” said Yarbrough. Yarbrough has been with the DeKalb Police Department for nearly 28 years. He…

The American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) has tapped Georgia Piedmont Technical College(GPTC) instructor Kye Haymore to serve as the 2017 president-elect of the national organization.. “Kye Haymore’s dedication to paralegal education is evidenced by her commitment to her students at Georgia Piedmont, as well as to this important national organization,” said GPTC President Jabari Simama. “During her 10 years as an instructor at Georgia Piedmont, she has demonstrated her dedication to paralegal education and is widely respected by her colleagues. These same skills will contribute greatly to the success of the association,” Dr. Simama said. Haymore was nominated for…

Sundiata Washington has been named Youth of the Year at the A.R. “Gus” Barksdale Boys & Girls Club in Rockdale County. Washington, a junior at Rockdale County High School, joined the Boys & Girls Club in sixth grade. He has a passion for the Civil Rights Movement, and cares deeply about the youths of today, wanting them to be free of stereotypes that would hinder their opportunities for tomorrow, according to the Boys & Girls Club’s web site. Washington speaks with a profound level of confidence and commitment that is rare among his generation. At Rockdale High, Washington is on…

Mercer Butts, 16, of Stone Mountain, has earned the highest award the Boy Scouts of America offers to Scouts, the Eagle Scout Award. Butts received the award after earning 60 merit badges and completing a campus beautification project to benefit Tabitha’s House for his Eagle Scout Service Project. A member of Troop 2600 chartered to The House of Hope Atlanta (The Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church), Butts is one of approximately seven percent of all Boy Scouts who ever achieve this rank. Mercer is the son of Markus and Sonya Butts. A leader in both Scouting and the community, Butts,…

Local author, consultant and retired Air Force Reservist, Calvin Stevens, will be the featured speaker at the Annual Celebration of Veterans Day, on Sunday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m., St Paul A.M.E. Worship, 1704 S. St. Mountain-Lithonia Road, Lithonia. Stevens, former First Sergeant for the 94 Civil Engineer Squadron, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, entered the Air Force in June 1966. He retired from military service on March 29, 2007 with 31 ½ years of service and several awards including: Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (3 devices) and the Global War…

Make plans to attend Gwinnett County’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony, which will be held Friday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m., at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial at in Lawrenceville. This event is held each year to celebrate the county’s military veterans and public service personnel. Gwinnett’s Board of Commissioners will provide remarks. In addition, honor guard units from the Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services and Police departments, Sheriff’s Office, and Corrections, and the city of Lawrenceville Police Department will take part in this event. The Fallen Heroes Memorial is located on the grounds of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley…

Odds are that a new City of Stonecrest will force citizens to pay higher taxes to support an additional layer of duplicative government. A new city is unnecessary and will not, in and of itself, achieve greater commercial sector growth. Citizens living in the proposed City of Stonecrest would not only pay county taxes; they would also have to pay city taxes to support a new bureaucracy. DeKalb has been and continues to be a great county. As its demographics changed, the county has been fragmented by municipalization. The City of Dunwoody incorporated around MARTA rail service and took within…

“Today, I am announcing my opposition to Amendment 1 on the November 8th ballot, which calls for a constitutional amendment to create a state-controlled school district in Georgia. I oppose this proposal because I believe it will inevitably result in the diversion of public funds for public schools to private entities, with inadequate oversight, and without accountability to parents. I believe such a change in our state, through the permanent measure of a constitutional amendment, will weaken our public schools and create conditions where they become the last resort for desperate families, rather than a symbol of excellence and source…

ATLANTA– Andre Jones was sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty on Oct. 21 to Human Trafficking, Pimping a Minor, and Pandering a Minor, in a case prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office. Jones will have to serve 9 years for the 2014 incident where he trafficked a 17-year-old girl in Fulton County. On Nov. 14, 2014, Jones drove the girl to a luxury hotel in Buckhead for the purpose of prostitution where she was recovered by the FBI’s child trafficking task force.  Jones had enticed her to work for him to make money to go to college.…

Editor’s Note: Ed Williams, an opponent of cityhood, has written numerous editorials on why he stands against the movement. He outlined several reasons why he opposes the incorporation of Stonecrest In the Oct. 21 edition of On Common Ground News. Proponents responded to Williams’ editorial with the following of their own: Here’s what voters should know. Ed Williams is a proponent for expanding county government, only.  He’s campaigned against other cityhood movements, but most vigorously against proposed South DeKalb cities with majority black populations – targeting Greenhaven and Stonecrest. Williams makes the false claim that the economic development plan would move…