Author: On Common Ground News

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…

DeKalb County’s Public Safety Director Joseph “Jack” H. Lumpkin will serve as  interim police chief until a replacement is hired, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond announced. Lumpkin will temporarily take over the duties of James Conroy, who retired on April 30. Thurmond said the interview process is underway for the position. Appointed in January 2018 by Thurmond, Lumpkin oversees police, fire rescue, animal control, emergency management, 911 and medical examiner services. Lumpkin has more than 40 years of experience in Georgia law enforcement including police chief positions in Savannah-Chatham County, Athens-Clark County, Albany and Toccoa. He most recently served as the…

DeKalb County Public Library will open its new County Line-Ellenwood Branch on Monday, May 6, at 11 a.m. The new library is located at 4331 River Road, Ellenwood. Patrons, Friends of the Library and county officials will be on hand for the ribbon-cutting event. “We are pleased to open another library branch in DeKalb County that will embrace the county’s diversity through public programming,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond. Designed by R.L. Brown & Associates and built by Hogan Construction Group, the 12,000-square-foot library has meeting space, Wi-Fi, public computers, study rooms, cozy reading areas and a collection of…

Sinkhole repairs on Rowland Road expected to take six to eight weeks A portion of Rowland Road in the city of Conyers collapsed after heavy rains in April. Now, city officials say it will take six to eight weeks to repair. The city of Conyers has awarded the bid for repairs to Peach State Construction in the amount of $484,000. Pittman Construction submitted a bid of $511,000. Officials said heavy rainfall in a short period of time on April 19 resulted in a sinkhole on Rowland Road, between East View Road and Pine Log Road. The road was closed…

Rockdale Water Resources (RWR) is proposing changes to its customer deposit policy. The changes will be presented to the Board of Commissioners at the May 7 Work Session. The board will vote on the measure at its May 14 meeting. The changes will affect both residential and commercial customers. The proposed revised policy for residential customers is as follows: Deposits for residential customers would be determined by a soft inquiry, which doesn’t negatively impact the customer’s credit. Depending on the inquiry, either no deposit would be required or the current standard deposit. If a deposit is applicable, it would be…

The DeKalb County Department of Youth Services will host a bike safety rodeo on Saturday, May 11, 9 a.m. to noon at the Wade Walker Park YMCA, 5605 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. DeKalb students are encouraged to bring their bikes for a bike safety check provided by the DeKalb County Police Department. Helmets also will be provided to participants by the DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department. Registration is not required and open to DeKalb County youths ages 6 to 12 years old. For more information, contact Jashawn Williams, youth services coordinator, at  404-687-7195 or  jrwilliams@dekalbcountyga.gov.

The Stonecrest Library Friends, 3123 Klondike Road, will host its “Super Book Sale” on May 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the branch. A variety of books will be available including fiction/non-fiction, crafts, textbooks, romance, magazines, encyclopedias, books on tape/CD, DVDs and VHS. All funds received benefit the Stonecrest library programs for children and adults. For more information, call 404-482-3828.