Author: On Common Ground News

  At the Feb. 11 City Council meeting, Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary honored Attorney Thompson “Tom” Kurrie, Jr., who served as Stonecrest’s first city attorney. Kurrie, who stepped down in December, was credited with helping to form the city. He was hired as city attorney following voter approval of the referendum to create the city in 2016. Lary thanked Kurrie for working with him and the Stonecrest Cityhood Alliance and his time as city attorney. “He (Kurrie) started with us from Day 1. He guided us through the process—legislatively and legally,” said Lary, adding that Kurrie put in hundreds of…

Residence: Loft Apartment Location: Downtown Philadelphia Space: Open Living Area AJA Design Color: Boho Design type: Virtual Design Presentation   When working with me in a virtual design setting, you will be presented with a mood board to introduce some colors, textures and overall ideas. Then a virtual design will be presented to give you an idea of what the items would look like in your space. Virtual design is a great way to share visual concepts to my clients. It serves as a way to give a representation of their spaces as well as colors, scale and flow;…

By Valerie J. Morgan After more than a year of infighting and negotiations, the Stonecrest City Council voted 4 to 2 to award a $3.3 million contract to Grice Consulting Group, LLC to manage the city’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) project. The vote marked yet another round in the contentious tug-of-war over  Stonecrest’s SPLOST management program, which has been in limbo for over a year and a half. Road paving and other infrastructure improvement projects have stalled because of the continuing battle with Grice. Councilmembers George Turner, Jazzmin Cobble, Diane Adoma and Rob Turner supported the most…

Judge J.P. Boulee    Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson   District Attorney Sherry Boston DeKalb Superior Court Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson has been named to oversee the high profile Anthony Hill case, after three other judges recused themselves less than two weeks before the trial was scheduled to begin. The case has drawn national attention. Former DeKalb Police Office Robert Olsen has been charged with the fatal shooting of Hill, an Afghanistan war veteran who had stopped taking his meds and was roaming naked when Olsen, who was dispatched to the scene, found outside the apartment complex where he lived. Olsen…

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a suspect in the murder of two men in unincorporated DeKalb County last December. Arrest warrants for Russell Rijon McNeal, 26, of Atlanta, received on Feb. 7, allege that McNeal shot Michael Varnell Wigfall, Jr., and Robert Sean Collier, causing their deaths. According to the warrants charging Mr. McNeal with felony murder, the incidents took place at a residence on Old Lake Drive in DeKalb between Dec. 9 and Dec. 10.  No motive was given for the shootings. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, working with the U.S. Marshal’s Office, located McNeal…

Rhondell Metoyer, 23, of New Orleans and Trailveontay Pickens, 23, of Riverdale, Georgia, were taken into custody by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office on charges of dumping biomedical or hazardous waste. The two suspects were arrested after the Rockdale Sheriff’s Office, Conyers Police Department and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office worked together to locate the two men. According to Rockdale Sheriff’s Office Corporal Clifford Garrett a black male was standing on the side of the roadway on Feb. 10 around 4:48 a.m. as Garrett was traveling on GA 20 North near the Walton County Line.  Garrett turned his vehicle around…

The city of Stonecrest has received a $536,511 check from the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) to begin repairing some of the city’s worst roads. The funds are part of a Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG). The LMIG is given to cities and counties based on population. Stonecrest, which has about 54,000 residents, must contribute matching funds of at least 30 percent. The LMIG funds are awarded annually through the DOT. Mayor Jason Lary said he plans to continue to make repairing the city’s streets a top priority. “As I promised in my last Straight Talk meeting, we are…

Rockdale Water Resources (RWR) plans to make repairs to the wastewater treatment facility in north Rockdale County to address the odors that are plaguing Keswick Village, Queenie Woods, Mountain Valley, Windridge and surrounding neighborhoods. The unit has weathered years of aging, causing cracks in the facility. Officials say the cracks are releasing smelly gases from the pretreatment facility. RWR has identified where the cracks are and will begin repairing them, as well as immediately moving into plans to construct a new pretreatment facility to replace the current facility. Weather permitting, the short-term solution repairs will begin in two to four…

Construction has started on a 6-mile extension of a multi-use trail at South Rockdale Park. The new trail will connect to the Rockdale River Trail system. South Rockdale Park offers horseback riding trails and walking trails including one mile of paved multi-use trail, which is used for mountain biking. “This multi-use mountain bike trail has been 5 years in the making and we are extremely pleased to begin construction and soon to be able to offer this additional amenity to the public,” said Sue Sanders, director of Rockdale County Recreation and Maintenance. “Cyclists will be able to enjoy a new…

  The DeKalb History Center will host a reception for the opening exhibit, “Deep Roots in DeKalb: The Flat Rock Story of Resilience,” on Thursday, Feb. 28, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Historic DeKalb Courthouse, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur.  Believed to be one of the oldest African American communities in Georgia, Flat Rock, located in the city of Stonecrest, was founded by African Americans following the aftermath of the Civil War. Historians say the Flat Rock community thrived for more than 100 years in part because of the immense communal bond of its citizens as well as the…