Author: On Common Ground News

The Friends of Stonecrest Library recently debuted its 2019 Friends of Stonecrest calendar in its final push to raise funds for next year’s library programming. The calendar features a cover photo of the library’s mountain lodge design and contains vibrant images of 12 different butterflies for each calendar month along with suggested books such as “Salvage the Bones” by Jesmyn Ward to encourage reading in the community. “The Friends of Stonecrest Library wanted to put together a fundraiser that would provide something useful and attractive,” said Jennifer Moore, who designed the calendar and serves as the Friends of Stonecrest Library…

Saturday’s Powerball jackpot has reached an estimated $246 million. Powerball began growing Oct. 31 and has rolled 13 times. Powerball offers two jackpot payment options: the $246 million jackpot prize paid over 29 years in 30 graduated payments; or the cash option, which is approximately $145 million. Georgia Lottery players are already on a roll winning Powerball prizes, however. One winning ticket worth $1 million was sold in Decatur for the Dec. 12 Powerball drawing. The lucky ticket was purchased at Publix Super Market #269, located at 3649 Flakes Mill Road, and matched the game’s first…

Four teens are facing armed robbery and felony theft charges for carjacking an Amazon Flex driver in Conyers on Tuesday, Dec. 4, according to the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office. Tony Hester, 17, of Stone Mountain, Keyshawn Tricksey, 18, of Atlanta and Nadeem Farmer, 18, of Lithonia allegedly robbed the Amazon delivery driver while she was dropping off a package on Smokerise East. A fourth suspect, Travail Bennett, 16, was supposedly with the teens but has not been arrested. All four will be charged as adults. Holding the victim at gunpoint, the teens took the driver’s phone and stole her car…

Thirty-two schools in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) scored higher on the 2018 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) than similar schools across Georgia. An additional 52 schools are performing “Within the Expected Range,” according to the Governor’s Office, which means they have made significant progress toward Beating the Odds. ‘Beating the Odds’ is a statistical analysis that compares a school’s actual performance on the CCRPI with the performance of schools with similar performance across the state. Schools that perform higher than similar schools are considered “Beating the Odds.” “For the second time in a single…

   The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two more suspects in the murder of a man during an alleged armed robbery that occurred in Brookhaven on Nov. 30. The Sheriff’s Fugitive Unit, assisted by the U.S. Marshal’s Office, arrested Stephen D. McAllister, 24, of College Park and Quintez M. Griffin, 21, of Atlanta on Dec. 11. Both were charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of firearm by convicted felon. The warrants allege that McAllister and Griffin shot Carthel Lamont Johnson, Jr. and Roderick Levelle Francois during an armed robbery at an apartment complex.  Johnson died…

DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson announced today that G. Leah Davis, Ph.D., will serve as her chief of staff. Davis has more than 20 years of work and management experience in the public and nonprofit sectors. A former senior management analyst for the City of Atlanta, Department of Watershed Management’s Office of Performance and Accountability, she led performance review projects to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations. Her hard work earned her the Department of Watershed Management Commissioner’s Award in 2018. Johnathan “J.P.” Phillips will serve as Johnson’s constituent liaison. Phillips has resided in the Super 7 District…

Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC) has named Angie Luna, formerly Director of Operations for the Fort Valley,GA Utility Commission, as Rockdale’s new Director of Rockdale Water Resources (RWR). Luna was appointed during the BOC meeting on Dec. 11. She will begin her duties on Jan. 7, 2019. Luna has more than 12 years of experience working in government and management.  In her previous role as Director of Operations, she managed five utilities departments including Electric, Water, Wastewater, Natural Gas and Telecom as well as Economic Development spanning a service area of three counties. Luna graduated with a Business…

Soon-to-be college graduates interested in a career at DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will have an opportunity to obtain a full-time teaching position on Friday, Dec. 7. DCSD will host the Pre-Service Job Fair from 3:30 until 6 p.m. at DeKalb Early College Academy (DECA),1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain. District officials will be on site to recruit top-level talent coming from colleges and universities in metro Atlanta. “DeKalb County School District is committed to recruiting the best of the best educators that the metro Atlanta area has to offer. In many cases, individuals with great potential and promise…

More than 60 students at Toney Elementary School received new glasses and got to try them out in a unique way – shooting hoops with Atlanta Hawks players, Kent Bazemore, Vince Carter and Tyler Dorsey. The event celebrated a partnership between the Atlanta Hawks Foundation and nonprofit provider Vision To Learn, now in its second year providing free eye exams and glasses to students in Metro Atlanta. An estimated 55,000 children in metro Atlanta go to school every day without the glasses they need to see the board, read a book or participate in the classroom. The primary hurdle is…

  Kingdom Builders Church, 1151 Flat Shoals Road in Conyers, is hosting its 13th Annual Big Toy Giveaway on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 3 pm. Thousands of children statewide are registered to attend and receive toys for Christmas. This year’s Big Toy Giveaway will feature a dynamic Christmas celebration with Santa, Rudolph and many more special guests. For over 13 years, Kingdom Builders Church has hosted giveaways that have assisted the community and provided a very fun and safe environment for families during the holiday season. “Through our giveaway, we’ll see an unprecedented amount of excitement and celebration among families from all…