Author: On Common Ground News

Several DeKalb County elected officials have teamed up with Super District Commissioner Kathie Gannon in an annual food drive to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank. This is the tenth year Commissioner Gannon has sponsored the food drive, which runs from Feb. 12 through March 8. Joining Gannon are District Attorney Sherry Boston, Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling, Clerk of Superior Court Debra DeBerry and Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson. The DeKalb County libraries and senior centers also are partnering with the effort. Citizens can bring donations to any of the following locations: Maloof Administrative Building, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 Tax…

Stonecrest City Councilman Rob Turner and his wife, DeKalb County School Board member Vickie B. Turner, will host their monthly community breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 9,  9 a.m. at The Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church/House of Hope, 4650 Flat Shoals Pkwy., Decatur, GA 30034 The focus of the meeting will be governmental initiatives for federal, state and county.  We have invited several key leaders who will be prepared to share goals and objectives for this year.  There will also be updates from the School District and Stonecrest. For more information, email thedekalbexchange@gmail.com

DeKalb increases park safety with new rangers  By Valerie J. Morgan Four rangers are patrolling DeKalb County’s parks seven days a week since the bodies of two women were discovered in unrelated incidents. This month, police arrested the suspect believed to have shot and killed Maya Mitchell, 24. A jogger discovered Mitchell’s body in Glen Emerald Park on New Year’s Eve.  At press time, no one had been arrested in the death of Shantrelle Monroe, 24, whose body was discovered behind a recreation area near the 900 block of Lake Drive Court near Stone Mountain. Police said they believe Monroe…

“Whatever you do, do something and do it to the best of your ability,” Mayor Jason Lary told students attending Lithonia High School’s Signing Day. The students, mostly athletes, were joined by their parents to hear the mayor’s motivational speech before participating in their National Signing Day in which four 12thgrade football players officially announced the schools they will be attending next year. Ja’Courtney Snipes, Kaveh Brantley, Gerald Sanders, and Zaryon Stubbs collectively earned football scholarships totaling more than a quarter of a million dollars.  They will be attending Charleston Southern University, Independence Community College, Hutchinson Community College, and…

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has proposed committing $9 million in additional contributions to strengthen the county’s employee pension fund. The contributions will be made annually over the next five years to help reduce the county’s unfunded pension liability. “DeKalb County’s goal is to get the employee pension fund on firm financial footing’’ said Thurmond. “The proposal is a long-term strategy to strengthen and stabilize the employee pension fund and ensure financial integrity in the fund going forward.” The proposal includes paying down existing debts and increasing the recommended contribution to 20.91 percent or $61,080,344 for Fiscal Year 2019.…

Jeffries Scott Anderson, 38, was sentenced to life in prison after jurors found him guilty of shooting and killing a man whose home he was burglarizing during the man’s lunch break. After deliberating for less than an hour, jurors returned guilty verdicts on Feb. 5 against Anderson in the shooting death of Jonathan Alexander Newton, 30. Anderson was convicted on charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary in the first degree, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The incident happened on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2016…

The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office is alerting citizens to beware of a telephone scam after receiving calls from the public who were contacted by a fake “deputy.” According to incident reports, several county residents have received telephone calls from someone stating he is a deputywith the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office. The caller mentions an outstanding warrant for an unpaid debt, missed jury duty or some minor infraction causing a fine. The caller then attempts to force the person to wire money for the infraction through Western Union MoneyGram or by getting a prepaid credit card to pay off the…

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners will decide on Feb. 12 if the county should spend funds from the Homestead Option Sales Tax(HOST) to purchase new radios for the Rockdale Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office has asked the board to spend $1.3 million to for 107 new dash mount radios and 231 portable radios. The funding was generated from the one-cent HOST approved by voters in 2002. The HOST provides a combination of property tax relief for homeowners (using at least 80 percent of receipts) and funding for capital projects (up to 20 percent). “This investment of the HOST funding…

Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers served as a Safe Zone Atlanta call center in an initiative to combat sex trafficking during Super Bowl 53 weekend. More than 100 volunteers participated in the initiative. Pastor Eric W. Lee, Sr.,  pastor of Springfield, said the initiative was coordinated to deliver a message as the masses poured into Atlanta for the Big Game:   “Not in our backyard. The church must be a center for redemption, reconciliation and Restoration,” said Pastor Lee. According to advocacy groups such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, major sporting events often see an increase in sex trafficking.…

By Clarence Cuthpert, Jr. Rockdale Probate Judge   Many citizens contact the Probate Court and ask to speak with the judge. The initial response from the clerk is usually, “What is it in reference to?” The citizen’s response to this question is often “Why do you need to know?” I assure you it is not just because the clerk is being nosy. It is because as judges, we must avoid conversations that give one party an advantage over another. Judges are prohibited from communicating with a party to an active case, or someone who is looking to file a case…