Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA—Georgia Power is offering a special payment plan to help customers with past-due account balances accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers who enroll by July 15 will be able to pay past-due balances over a six-month timeframe between October 2020 and March 2021, with no late fees. The suspension of disconnections also remains in place until July 15, and customers with an outstanding balance are encouraged to establish a payment plan, or consider the additional options Georgia Power is offering customers: For customers enrolled in PrePay: Georgia Power customers who are currently enrolled in this plan and have past-due…

DeKalb County Public Library Board of Trustees will hold a regular meeting on Monday, July 13, at 4:30 p.m. A Finance Committee meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. These meetings will be conducted via teleconference (Zoom). To listen in on the meeting, please request the call-in number and PIN from weissingera@dekalblibrary.org no later than noon on the date of the meeting. For more details on the agenda and about listening in, go to www.dekalblibrary.org.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), along with other Congressional leaders, today re-introduced the Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act, which would ensure that death row inmates have the opportunity to present newly discovered evidence of innocence. Under current law, an inmate on death row can be stranded with no procedural options to stop their execution, even when there is compelling new evidence that he or she is innocent. The Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act would: (1) empower the federal courts to grant habeas corpus relief for a prisoner on death row who presents newly discovered evidence that demonstrates probable…

Decatur outdoor pools will open for daily swim Saturday, July 11, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Oakhurst indoor pool will remain closed at this time. McKoy and Ebster will close for weekday swimming on Aug. 1 and will remain open on weekends through Labor Day. Glenlake Pool will remain open daily through Labor Day as well as the weekend following Labor Day. Admission is $5 for each person older than 2. Resident Season Pool Passes are available for purchase at Webtrac.decaturga.com for $125. Individual passes are $45. Total occupancy at each pool has been reduced to the following bather loads: 53…

No major spills in June 2020   DeKalb County saw a 99 percent drop in sewer spill volume in the second quarter of 2020. The total spill volume dropped from 20 million gallons in the first quarter of 2020 to 178,097 gallons in the second quarter, which reflects a 99 percent decrease. Additionally, this volume is 94 percent lower than the second quarter of 2019, when the county had a spill volume of 2.8 million gallons. For the first time since September 2018, DeKalb County Watershed Management recorded no major spills for the entire month of June 2020. DeKalb…

Winding Way, between Lavista Road and Winding Woods Way, will be closed to through-traffic from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, July 10, to facilitate the crane removal of a tree at 2245 Wender Dr., Tucker. Road closure and detour signs will be placed in the area during the road closure period advising motorists of construction work in the area and of local traffic restrictions. In Decatur, Silvastone Drive NE, between Briarlake Road and Silvapine Trail NE, will be closed to through traffic Friday, July 10, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., to facilitate the crane removal of a tree…

The Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney is hosting a virtual town hall on Thursday, July 9, 3:30 p.m. District Attorney Sherry Boston invites the community to attend a virtual town hall on a timely conversation about criminal justice, law enforcement, and community engagement. Boston will be joined by DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos; Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan; Civil rights attorney Mawuli Davis; and Marissa McCall Dodson, Public Policy Director, Southern Center for Human Rights. The conversation will be moderated by Veronica Waters, WSB Radio. Registration is free and open to the public. Register at: https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NV0YdwEOS0O6o_JdkFe5bQ

DECATUR – Due to facility issues, the DeKalb County Board of Health’s T.O. Vinson Health Center will be closed on Thursday, July 9. The facility also was closed on July 8. The health center is scheduled to reopen on Friday, July 10. For WIC Program services, clients may call the DeKalb County WIC Call Center at 404-508-7777. HIV and TB Clinic clients may call 404-294-3818 for additional assistance.

A 41-year of Decatur woman was taken into custody today (July 8) after an early morning standoff with the DeKalb County Police Department’s SWAT unit. Tamyra Mackey is believed to have shot a male victim during a dispute inside a home located at 2900 block of Knollberry Lane, Decatur. Mackey was inside the home with four children ages 4-17, refusing to surrender for about four hours, authorities said. DeKalb police responded to a shots fired call at 5 a.m.  When police arrived on scene, the male victim was outside of the home suffering from two gunshot wounds to the upper…

In an effort to increase accessibility and convenience of COVID-19 testing in areas with high case counts, the DeKalb County Board of Health will open its testing site at Greenforest Community Baptist Church on Saturdays, 9 a.m. until noon, beginning Saturday, July 11. On Thursday, July 9, the following testing locations will be open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.: Former K-Mart Store Parking Lot (at I-285 and Buford Hwy.)
5597 Buford Hwy. NE, Doraville Rehoboth Baptist Church
2997 Lawrenceville Hwy, Tucker COVID-19 testing is free and open to all individuals who wish to be tested. A driver’s license or identification card…