Author: On Common Ground News

By Probate Judge Clarence Cuthpert, Jr.  There are several myths that have circulated for years regarding the time it takes to probate an estate and the expenses associated with the probate process. Many people assume these myths are correct simply because of what they have always heard. But, as I am sure we have all learned through the years, when we rely on what “they” said (which is often the source of the information that started the myth), more often than not there are inaccuracies in the information provided.  A few of the common myths pertaining to the probate of…

The Cultural Exchange Breakfast partnered on July 14 with the DeKalb County School District to host a mini job fair at the House of Hope(Greater Travelers Rest Church in Decatur.  Stonecrest City Councilman Rob Turner and DeKalb School Board member Vicki B. Turner, who host the monthly breakfast, said the turnout for the job fair was a tremendous success. A total of 155 attended and 20 candidates received teacher recommendations.  “Thank you for an amazing opportunity to partner and provide breakfast and employment opportunities for the community,” said Bernice W. Gregory, Chief of the Division of Human Capital Management for…

Registration is under way for Saint Philip A.M.E. Church’s 11th Annual S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Fair. The event will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25, 8:30 a.m. to noon, in the church’s Marcia Moss Family Life and Administration Center, 1607 Richard Allen Drive, Decatur.  The fair will expose students to S.T.E.M. careers through hands-on activities with professionals in science, engineering, and math, as well as a variety of technical careers. Growth in S.T.E.M-related jobs is projected to double through 2024 resulting in increased demands for an educated and prepared U.S. workforce.  St. Philip’s Resource Ministry is working to make…

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office reports that an inmate has died of an apparent suicide while in custody at the DeKalb County Jail. Officers performing security checks at the DeKalb County Jail found 26-year-old Damien Christopher Boyd of Stone Mountain, Georgia unresponsive and inside a cell in the early hours of Monday, July 16. Emergency medical services were rendered immediately by the jail’s medical staff and DeKalb Fire Rescue but Mr. Boyd was pronounced dead at the scene. The DeKalb Medical Examiner’s report and official cause of death have not been received.  Boyd was arrested by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office…

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced  the conviction by jury trial in an assault case involving a 25-year-old woman who threw hot grease on a 21-year-old woman.  Jurors returned guilty verdicts on July 11 against Nekia Carter on charges of Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Battery in an attack against Sharell Henderson.  The incident happened on Oct. 2, 2016 in the parking lot of the Oak Forest Apartments on Hatton Drive in Scottdale. Earlier that day, Carter and Henderson were involved in a physical altercation in the parking lot following a spat about one of the victim’s relatives. The two…

  The public is invited to a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) open house on Thursday, July 26, 6:30 to 8 p.m., in the Historic DeKalb Courthouse, 101 East Court Square, Decatur.  Residents will be formally introduced to the SPLOST Oversight Committee and the SPLOST Program Management Team, Moreland Altobelli.  DeKalb County will receive an estimated $388 million in revenue over the next six years as a result of the SPLOST that was approved by voters in November 2017. SPLOST funding will be used to improve roads, public safety, parks, libraries, senior centers and health centers and, combined…

by Valerie J. Morgan Rockdale County has taken another step in becoming greener. County officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 11 to celebrate becoming the first government in Georgia to purchase an electric vehicle under the state’s agreement with Kia Motors.  The Rockdale County Tax Commissioners’ Office unveiled its new Kia Soul on July 11. Tax Commissioner Tisa Smart Washington said her office was able to purchase the vehicle with the support of the Rockdale Board of Commissioners and Gov. Nathan Deal’s Automobiles Manufactured in Georgia initiative, which simplifies the process for governments to buy vehicles from Kia…

DeKalb County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw is working to bring a new senior center to District 4 at 4875 Elam Road, Stone Mountain. The county owns the tract where the center is proposed.    A community meeting will be held to discuss the application and proposed project on July 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Sue Kellogg Library Community Room, 952 Leon St., Stone Mountain. The 21,000-square-foot senior center will include a multipurpose dining room, classrooms, fitness room and a therapeutic pool with lap lanes and other amenities. DeKalb County Community Development Department is seeking a loan guarantee in the…

The community is invited to the political forum hosted by the Southeast DeKalb Concerned Citizens Coalition (House Districts 90 and 94) on Wednesday, July 18, 6 p.m. The forum, featuring candidates in the July 24 runoff, ill be held at the Redan Trotti Library auditorium, 1569 Wellborn Road, Lithonia.