Author: On Common Ground News

DeKalb County is conducting a nationwide search for a new chief of police. DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond announced today that Police Chief James Conroy is retiring, effective April 30. Chief Conroy grew up in DeKalb County and dedicated his entire career to improving public safety in DeKalb. “Chief Conroy is an example of the best DeKalb County has to offer,” said Thurmond. “His selfless dedication to public service and commitment to honesty, integrity and professionalism has set an example for all DeKalb employees.” During his 30-year tenure with the DeKalb County Police Department, Chief Conroy worked a wide variety of…

Stonecrest’s Comprehensive Plan was recently approved by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Atlanta Regional Commission.  The city had an August 2019 deadline to develop an approved 20-year Comprehensive Plan.  Labeled Comprehensive Plan 2038, the document guides the city’s look and feel for current and future developments. It is scheduled for a council vote on February 25, 2019. The city will be awarded a Qualified Local Government designation once the council approves the plan.  This designation will allow the city to impose development impact-fees, participate in certain DCA Programs like the community development block grants, loan guarantees (Section…

Stonecrest City Councilman George Turner, District 4, will host his first town hall meeting of 2019 on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Big Miller Grove Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 3800 Big Miller rove Way. The following will be discussed: FOCUS ON SALEM PLAZA AT PANOLA ROAD PROPOSED CONVENIENCE STORE AT SALEM AND EVANS MILL PARKS AND RECREATION IN STONECREST SPLOST PROGRESS/ROAD PAVING

As usual, the Clerk of Courts Office was a beehive of activity in 2018. Just a few stats: Jury Summonses: 7,000 Property Tax Appeals: 363 Passport Applications: 2,809 Traffic Citations: 7,711 Real Estate Instruments: 22,890 Criminal and Civil Proceedings for the Superior and State Courts of Rockdale: Tens of Thousands Beyond the usual recurring activity we process, we were able to achieve some significant milestones as well.  Notable among these are: Jury Assembly Room Our first Criminal Record Restriction Forum allowing those arrested but not convicted in Rockdale to have their criminal history restricted from public view. This enabled lots…

I awoke on Tuesday morning to a bombardment of calls from veterans who were outraged that Judge J.P. Boulee had announced his recusal from the case concerning Anthony Hill. You may remember that Hill was the unarmed, mentally ill military veteran who was killed by former DeKalb Police Officer Robert Olsen, who was charged with murder. March 9 will mark four years since Olsen shot and killed Hill, who had not taken his meds when Olsen saw Hill roaming naked outside the apartment complex where Hill lived. Judge Boulee said in his order recusing himself from the case that judges…

  At the Feb. 11 City Council meeting, Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary honored Attorney Thompson “Tom” Kurrie, Jr., who served as Stonecrest’s first city attorney. Kurrie, who stepped down in December, was credited with helping to form the city. He was hired as city attorney following voter approval of the referendum to create the city in 2016. Lary thanked Kurrie for working with him and the Stonecrest Cityhood Alliance and his time as city attorney. “He (Kurrie) started with us from Day 1. He guided us through the process—legislatively and legally,” said Lary, adding that Kurrie put in hundreds of…

Residence: Loft Apartment Location: Downtown Philadelphia Space: Open Living Area AJA Design Color: Boho Design type: Virtual Design Presentation   When working with me in a virtual design setting, you will be presented with a mood board to introduce some colors, textures and overall ideas. Then a virtual design will be presented to give you an idea of what the items would look like in your space. Virtual design is a great way to share visual concepts to my clients. It serves as a way to give a representation of their spaces as well as colors, scale and flow;…

By Valerie J. Morgan After more than a year of infighting and negotiations, the Stonecrest City Council voted 4 to 2 to award a $3.3 million contract to Grice Consulting Group, LLC to manage the city’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) project. The vote marked yet another round in the contentious tug-of-war over  Stonecrest’s SPLOST management program, which has been in limbo for over a year and a half. Road paving and other infrastructure improvement projects have stalled because of the continuing battle with Grice. Councilmembers George Turner, Jazzmin Cobble, Diane Adoma and Rob Turner supported the most…

Judge J.P. Boulee    Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson   District Attorney Sherry Boston DeKalb Superior Court Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson has been named to oversee the high profile Anthony Hill case, after three other judges recused themselves less than two weeks before the trial was scheduled to begin. The case has drawn national attention. Former DeKalb Police Office Robert Olsen has been charged with the fatal shooting of Hill, an Afghanistan war veteran who had stopped taking his meds and was roaming naked when Olsen, who was dispatched to the scene, found outside the apartment complex where he lived. Olsen…