Author: On Common Ground News

By Valerie J. Morgan Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP) has announced a three-year initiative to provide affordable homeownership and new capitol to improve areas hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis in DeKalb County. ANDP President and CEO John O’Callaghan said the private, nonprofit organization is investing $20 million in the “Home South DeKalb” initiative, which will target ZIP codes such as 30038 and 30035, which have among the highest percentage of negative equities.      O’Callaghan said the initiative includes dozens of partners—from  banking and lending institutions to developers and builders to community and governmental entities—all working together to…

By Valerie J. Morgan   Conyers Police are looking for a group of armed men, believed to be teens, who brazenly burglarized 18 cars in two neighborhoods before leading police on a high-speed chase onto I-20.  Police said the group of suspects, about eight of them, broke into several cars during early morning in the Travers Creek and Windsor Creek communities as residents slept on July 18. The suspects walked from car to car, checking for unlocked doors and then breaking into locked cars, stealing various items.  One victim, Diane Strauss, said she dialed 911 after hearing her car…

Southeast DeKalb Concerned Citizens Coalition hosted a political forum on July 18 at Redan Trotti Library. DeKalb County District 7 Commissioner Gregory Adams and State Superior Court Judge candidate Latisha Dear-Jackson were the only candidates in attendance of the approximately 15 invited candidates who are running in the June 24 runoff election.  About 35 community members attended the event and participated in submitting cards with a variety of questions, ranging from elected officials’ accountability to SPLOST projects. –Photos by Travis Hudgons

A DeKalb County jury has convicted a Decatur man of murder for the drowning death of his newly-adopted son. Jurors returned guilty verdicts against 44-year-old Leon Harvey Williams on charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Cruelty to Children in the First Degree (three counts), Aggravated Assault-Family Violence, and Aggravated Battery-Family Violence in connection with the death of 10-year-old Kentae Williams whom he had recently adopted five months prior to the child’s death. The victim died on April 28, 2017 following a series of incidents involving Williams. According to the investigation, neighbors heard Williams, apparently upset with the child’s behavior at…

DeKalb County Police Detective Darrel Price is battling cancer. The 10-year veteran is out of work on medical leave due to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson is hosting a fundraiser to assist Price. The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, July 21, 9 a.m. to noon, at the Dunkin Donuts, 2555 Wesley Chapel Road, Decatur.  Detective Price began his fight with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in April 2016. He has undergone treatment, but the cancer has returned and spread to other lymph nodes in his body. In April of this year, while at a routine lab appointment with his oncologist,…

Plans are under way for the 2nd Annual Stonecrest Fest, which will be held on the first Saturday in October in the city of Stonecrest.   The inaugural festival was held last year to celebrate history, culture, community, education and family fun in the city of Stonecrest.   Charlotte Cain, founder of Stonecrest Fest, Inc., said she wanted to honor the celebration of the new city with a Fall festival each year. Cain served as the entertainment director for the Sweet Auburn Festival for 13 years.  This year’s pre-festival will start the prior week with an event each night at a…

DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs and the Atlanta Hawks Foundation will hold a backpack giveaway at N.H. Scott Recreation Center on Saturday, July 28, 10 a.m. to noon, 2230 Tilson Road, Decatur. The event aims to prepare students for a successful school year by providing children with book bags and school supplies. School supplies are limited and a guardian must be present with children to receive supplies.

Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) recently celebrated and recognized his staff – both in Washington, D.C. and the District – for being named finalist for the first-ever Democracy Awards, the Congressional Management Foundation’s new award recognizing non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices.  “I want to commend the work of my staff – led by Chief of Staff Arthur Sidney and District Director Kathy Register – that works hard every day in the service of constituents of Georgia’s Fourth District to help navigate federal agencies and explain policy and legislation in Washington,” said Johnson. “I am very proud of the great…

A crowd of nearly 100 people gathered to join in the celebration of the swearing in of the newly-appointed Juvenile Court Administrator, Colet Odenigbo on June 13.  Odenigbo, the former Chief of Staff to DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, thanked supporters and expressed gratitude and appreciation for the many people who came to celebrate the mark of this new chapter for the Juvenile Courts in DeKalb.  “I am so thankful and humbled to have this opportunity to serve our community and our youth with the highest level of service”, Odenigbo said.  Odenigbo, a former employee of the Juvenile Court, was…

Edward Gerard Orlando, 23, of Decatur, was indicted by a Grand Jury in May 2018 but did not appear in DeKalb County Superior Court on June 12, 2018 to face charges of Armed Robbery and Theft by Receiving Stolen Property. When the DeKalb Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit attempted to serve a bench warrant issued for his Failure to Appear, Orlando took refuge in an apartment on Shellbark Road in Decatur. Adjacent units were evacuated as a cautionary procedure and Sheriff’s Office SWAT unit negotiators were brought in to secure his surrender. Orlando was taken into custody without incident and transported…