Author: On Common Ground News

The public is invited to enjoy the Oktoberfest festivities at Costley Mill Park, Oct. 12,  4 to 8 pm.  Enjoy food trucks, a car and bike show and live entertainment, hosted by Rockdale County Parks and Recreation. Enter the park at 2599 Salem Church Road, Conyers.

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary, Deputy City Manager Plez Joyner and city staff members celebrated the opening of Stonecrest’s newest early learning academy.  Education Elevation Children’s Academy opened its doors at 5341 Snapfinger Park Drive with a family-oriented ribbon cutting celebration on Sept. 21.  The academy will begin accepting students ages 6 weeks to 12 years old on Oct. 8. The owners, Janeen Solar and Hyuana Davis, acquired the center after it was vacated by Bridgepoint Christian Daycare. The academy is a part of the state’s lottery and CAPS funding programs and will feature a new multidisciplinary approach to providing child-centered,…

The DeKalb County School District (DCSD)  police is conducting random searches to deter students from brining weapons, illegal substances and other contraband to school campuses. “The safety and security of students and staff continue to be our number one priority at DeKalb County School District. As a continuing proactive effort, random searches will be conducted on our high school campuses throughout the school year.  The searches are intended to serve as a deterrent to weapons, illegal substances, and other contraband as identified in the student code of conduct,” the district said in a news release. The announcement of the school district’s determent…

Stone Mountain resident Lance Hammonds has been appointed to DeKalb County’s Charter Review Commission. The DeKalb County Senate Delegation nominated Hammonds for the appointment, which will run April 1 through Dec. 31, 2020. Hammonds recently retried from a 30-year career in chemical sales management. He is now a realtor with Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro Brokers. Hammonds serves as 1st Vice President of the DeKalb NAACP and has lead the branch’s education advocacy initiatives, highlighted by its Community School Volunteer Program to increase volunteerism in the community and policy changes at the district level. The DeKalb Board of Education allocated funds in…

The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s assistance in obtaining information on two individuals who were allegedly involved in the fatal shooting at White Oak Court on Sept. 16. A homeowner fatally shot three teens involved in an alleged armed robbery on his front lawn. Neither the homeowner nor two females were injured during the exchange of gunfire with the teens, the Sheriff’s Office has said. Sheriff’s spokesman, Deputy Lee Thomas, said in a news release: “The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office wishes to identify these persons so that they can be questioned.  We encourage anyone with information…

Shali Tilson, a 22-year-old mentally ill man who died of dehydration on March 12, 2018 while in custody of the Rockdale Jail, was placed in a cell with no personal access to water, a special Grand Jury has found. According to the Grand Jury’s four-month investigation into Tilson’s death, which was released today, every bed at the Rockdale County Jail provided detainees with the ability to obtain water, except the padded cell where Tilson, a “paranoid schizophrenic,” was locked up. Tilson was arrested on March 3, 2018 for disorderly conduct that he was experiencing due to mental illness. “Having cut…

Shali Tilson, a 22-year-old mentally ill man who died of dehydration on March 12, 2018 while in custody of the Rockdale Jail, was placed in a cell with no personal access to water, a special Grand Jury has found. According to the Grand Jury’s four-month investigation into Tilson’s death, which was released today, every bed at the Rockdale County Jail provided detainees with the ability to obtain water, except the padded cell where Tilson, a “paranoid schizophrenic,” was locked up. Tilson was arrested on March 3, 2018 for disorderly conduct that he was experiencing due to mental illness. “Having cut…

Robert F. Smith, founder, chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners, and his family have donated $34 million, as promised, to pay off loans that the Class of 2019 accumulated to fund their Morehouse education. Smith shocked Morehouse and the nation when he announced the history-making gift in May during graduation exercises, where he was the keynote speaker. College officials said in a news release on Sept. 20 that the billionaire philanthropist had indeed made good on his promise to help this year’s graduates of the all-male institution. “This liberation gift from Robert Smith—the first of its kind to be…

Dec. 17, 1934- Sept. 19, 2019 Former Lithonia Mayor Darold Honore’ and his family are mourning the loss of his father,     Darold Peter Honore’ Sr., who passed away peacefully at home in Lithonia on Sept.19.  He was 84. Mr. Honore, who was from New Orleans, graduated from Joseph S. Clarke High School in 1953.  Following graduation, he served in the United States Army and after being honorably discharged, he began a successful career as a master carpenter for the family business, L. Honore’ Inc.  One of the highlights of his career was when their work was recognized in an…

Today, Rockdale County District Attorney Alisha A. Johnson officially announced the conclusion of the four-month Special Grand Jury investigation into the death of 22-year-old Shali Tilson, saying there is no evidence that Rockdale County Jail administrators criminally caused his death. Tilson died of dehydration on March 12, 2018 after being arrested on March 3, 2018 for disorderly conduct that he was experiencing due to mental illness.   Attorney Mawuli Davis, who is representing Tilson’s family, said Tilson died an agonizing death in his cell after pressing a call button for help that didn’t work.  Davis and the family released a…