Author: On Common Ground News

Over 100 students gathered at Stone Mountain Middle School to attend the DeKalb County School District’s (DCSD) seventh annual chess fair on Saturday, May 4. The day-long fair included tournaments for kids K-12 for students just learning to play to more intense games for advanced players. Parent Marquice Mason of Stone Mountain, who attended the event with her sons, said that she is was grateful for the exposure the event provided for her boys who have been learning to play chess and are all members of their schools’ chess clubs. “They enjoyed playing kids from different schools as well…

Stonecrest City Councilman Rob Turner and DeKalb County School Board member Vicki Turner will honor teachers and mothers who nurture, train and educate children at the Culture Exchange Breakfast on Saturday, May 11. The free breakfast, open to the community, will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the House of Hope Church, 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur. Pastor Collette Gunby, along with other leaders, will share their perspectives as teachers/mothers. “ On the heels of Teacher Appreciation Week and entering the Mother’s Day weekend, we felt it befitting to acknowledge those who continue to pour into our…

Conyers, GA—The Rockdale County Tax Commissioner’s Office will be closed on Wednesday, May 8, for state-wide training. Late penalties on May 8 – May 10 renewals will be waived until Monday, May 13 (renewals must be completed in the office). Renewals may also be completed online at www.rockdaletaxoffice.org by the deadline to avoid penalties and expired registrations. For more information, call the Rockdale County Tax Commissioner’s Office at 678-278-9833 or visit www.rockdaletaxoffice.org.

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA. – The 14-year-old juvenile suspect wanted in the April 25 pellet gun shooting at Wynbrooke Elementary has been taken into custody in Durham, North Carolina, school officials said today. Authorities did not release his name because he is a juvenile. He has been charged with nine counts of aggravated assault. “I am happy that no students were seriously injured in this incident and that the suspect has been found,” said DeKalb Schools Superintendent R. Stephen Green. “I would like to thank DCSD Public Safety (DeKalb County School District Public Safety) as well as law enforcement…

Mother Nature blessed the “Kites Over DeKalb” festival with a gorgeous, spring day on Sunday, April 27. DeKalb County Parks and Recreation hosted the free inaugural event at Wade Walker Park in Stone Mountain. The festival, which was rescheduled due to rainy weather on April 13, attracted a cross-cultural crowd of children and adults, who tried their hands at kite flying. A rainbow of kites—from small ones that cost a buck to the large, very ornate dotted the blue sky. Some of the smallest kite enthusiasts ran with all their might to get their kites off the ground,…

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond(left) thanked Fox 5 News Anchor Alyse Eady (above)  and Major Danny L. Jordan of the DeKalb County Police Department’s South Precinct (bottom) for sharing  how they were once in foster care as children.  Photos by Glenn L. Morgan “We are investing in our children. We’re going to put children first.” –DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond announced at his April 27 community State of the County address that organizers raised $10,000 to help support the 904 DeKalb children who are in Georgia’s foster care program. The fundraiser was the focus of Thurmond’s community breakfast…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary(right) said he is looking forward to Robert Haygood, manager of Browns Mill Recreation Center, overseeing camp this summer. The city of Stonecrest has reached an agreement with DeKalb County to run this year’s summer camp at Browns Mill Recreation Center. Mayor Jason Lary said after working with the county’s senior parks officials, he and city staff members were able to work out delaying the city’s takeover of Browns Mill until after summer camp ends. The city will not bring in the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta as a new vendor to oversee the…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary and city attorneys have finalized the purchase of an 8.8-acre land tract on the corner of Evans Mill and Salem Roads, officials announced on May 2.  The purchase was initiated after residents expressed their disapproval of a proposed gas station and convenience store at the 5987 Salem Road site. The property owner, Shawn Ali, applied for a permit and was moving forward with his commercial development when the mayor approached him about selling the property. The mayor worked with Councilman George Turner and presented the idea to the public during the mayor’s “Straight Talk” meeting on March…

A 14-year-old male has been identified as the suspect in the April 25 pellet gun shooting where 10 children were attacked after lunch while they were on the playground at Wynbrooke Elementary Theme School in DeKalb County. Authorities said in an April 30 news release that the DeKalb County Schools’ Police had obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect. As of May 2, however, the suspect had not been taken into custody, a spokesperson for the DeKalb School District said. Investigators identified the suspect the day after the shooting and executed a search warrant and retrieved the pellet gun…

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Adonis Lewis, 18, of Decatur on a bench warrant issued by DeKalb County Superior Court for Failure to Appear at an arraignment on March 5, 2019. Lewis is charged with malice murder, three counts of felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, Conspiracy to Violate the Georgia Controlled Substance Act and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. On April 29, the Sheriff’s Office Uniform Section and the DeKalb County Police Department South NET Team located and arrested Lewis without incident at a Decatur residence and transported him to the…