Author: On Common Ground News

Mayor Jason Lary and Councilman George Turner are moving to halt the development of a proposed convenience store and gas station at 5987 Salem Road.  Mayor Lary vowed to team up with Turner and put a stop to development at the March 11 city council meeting. Lary and Turner met with the city’s land development inspector at the lot, located on the corner of Salem and Evans Mill roads and discovered discrepancies that require closer evaluation by city staff. “The goal is to make it go away because of the desire of the people in the city.   We are listening…

In February, Mayor Jason Lary honored three citizens for outstanding leadership in the City of Stonecrest. Charlotte Cain was honored as the founder of Stonecrest Fest, a celebration she established in 2017 to showcase  history, culture, community, education and family fun in the city of Stonecrest.  Cain, who served as the entertainment director for the Atlanta Sweet Auburn Festival for 13 years, said she wanted to honor the celebration of the new city with a Fall festival each year. Stonecrest resident Julius C. Lee was honored as the first and only African American and senior citizen to earn first place as…

Beginning in April, DeKalb County will launch a three-year program to replace 102,000 aging and potentially defective water meters, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond announced. The upgrade will impact a little more than half of DeKalb County’s 194,000 residential water customers.  “DeKalb County has worked tirelessly to address the long-festering problems in our water and sewer billing and meter reading processes,” said Thurmond. “From this initiative, water customers can expect accurate billing and meter reading, increased customer service and restored trust.” An estimated 54,500 meters are out-of-lifecycle and 47,500 meters have potential defects. In August 2018, the county negotiated a…

Dr. Jamal H. Bryant was installed as pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, March 10, 2019. He became the fourth pastor in the church’s 37-year history, succeeding Bishop Kenneth Samuel (1984-1987); Bishop Eddie L. Long (1987-2017) and Bishop Stephen Davis (2017-2018). The celebration at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the city of Stonecrest began at  the 9:30 a.m. worship service. Family members prayed and laid hands on Dr. Jamal H. Bryant, the church’s new pastor. DeKalb County’s CEO Michael Thurmond and Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary honored Dr. Bryant with proclamations on that historic morning. Congressman…

Stonecrest City Councilwoman Diane Adoma is demanding a correction on her publicized “no” vote to a proposed moratorium on cell phone towers in the city. Despite the city’s video where Adoma is seen and heard voting no on the moratorium at the City Council’s March 11 meeting, Adoma said the video “is not accurate.” The video shows the measure was approved 5-1 with Adoma voting against it. The city released the video to the Atlanta Journal Constitution and On Common Ground News, stating that the acting city clerk accurately recorded Adoma’s no vote.  On Common Ground News, which had recorded its own…

The U.S. Department of Justice is spotlighting the Conyers Police Department’s School Resource Officer (SRO) program as one of its grantee success stories. Officers Charlene Smith and Troy Quick have made a positive impact between the community and law enforcement through their full-time assignment within Rockdale County Public Schools, the Conyers Police Department said. Both of the officers spend their time at Rockdale High School and C.J. Hicks Elementary School and Pine Street Elementary as needed. The Police Department used a $125,000 grant from the Community Oriented Policing Program to fund one additional full-time school resource officer for three years…

Sasha McCalop, 40, will spend life in prison. McCalop was convicted on murder charges in the stabbing death of 47-year-old Michael Martin, her boyfriend. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said jurors returned guilty verdicts on March 11 against McCalop on charges of murder, felony murder and aggravated assault for the stabbing death of Michael Martin, which took place on Jan. 17, 2018. Shortly before the deadly incident, the victim called police to have McCalop removed from his Welland Avenue home in southeast Atlanta following an argument between the couple. While he was on the phone with police, McCalop stabbed…

The DeKalb County State Court Traffic Division is offering an amnesty program for those with delinquent traffic citations. “The goal of our citation amnesty program is to provide individuals with open or delinquent citations an opportunity to efficiently resolve their matters and restore their driving records,” said Presiding Judge Shondeana Morris. Individuals who previously failed to appear in court, resulting in delinquent traffic tickets, will have their failure to appear fees waived if they dispose of their cases through this program. The registration period for this program ends on May 17, 2019, and is available to any individual with delinquent citations…

The Rockdale Board of Elections & Voter Registration Office has moved to its new location at 1261 Commercial Drive, S.W., Suite B, Conyers. The 14,500-square-foot building, located in the Parker Professional Center, opened on March 14. The Board of Elections & Voter Registration Office, which will be located on the top level, is sharing the building with the Rockdale Cooperative Extension/4-H, which is located on the ground level.  Both moved because their former location at Parker Road has been leased to Restoration Storehouse, a nonprofit organization that will provide social services to citizens in need. Elections Supervisor Cynthia Willingham invites…

Rockdale County Board of Commissioners will hold the following meetings this month: Work Session: Tuesday, March 19, 7 p.m. – Hightower Trail Elementary School, 2510 Highway 138 NE, Conyers  Zoning Public Hearing: Tuesday, March 26, 9 a.m. – Assembly Hall, 901 Main Street, Conyers  Voting Session: Tuesday, March 26, 10 a.m. – Assembly Hall located at 901 Main Street, Conyers To watch the meetings live on Rockdale 23, visit  www.rockdalecountyga.gov (scroll down and click  “Watch Live 23,” located on the right side of the screen).