Author: On Common Ground News

The first city of Stonecrest’s Comprehensive Plan Community Outreach meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 12, 6 to 8 p.m., at Ousley United Methodist Church, 3261 Panola Road, Lithonia. The meeting will repeat on Saturday, June 16, 10 a.m. to noon., at Big Miller Grove Church, 3800 Miles E. Fowler Way, Lithonia. The community is invited to provide input on the city’s footprint for the future.

Judge Gregory Adams is not a Candidate for DeKalb Commissioner District 7 Ahead of the July 24 run-off elections, DeKalb County Judge Gregory A. Adams has issued a statement to clarify to the public that he is not a candidate for DeKalb County Commission District 7. The person who is running is not related to Judge Gregory A. Adams by blood or marriage, the news release said. Judge Adams was initially elected to the bench in 2004. Prior to Judge Adams’s election to the Superior Court, he served as the Chief Judge of the Juvenile Court for 10 years. On…

By Valerie J. Morgan  A national search will be conducted to find a successor for Bishop Stephen A. Davis who has resigned from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.  Church officials announced Davis’ resignation on June 6, saying that he resigned to concentrate on the two churches he founded in Alabama.  Thomas W. Dortch Jr.,  chairman of the church’s board of directors, told On Common Ground News that Davis was challenged in making the weekly drive to Stonecrest while trying to oversee his church in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.     “It was a lot for him. We appreciate what he did. He…

ATLANTA – The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Georgia Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement officers are reminding Georgia drivers that the new hands-free driving law becomes effective July 1. There will be no grace period for citations, officials said today. State Rep. John Carson (R-Marietta) today clarified that Georgia drivers may utilize music streaming applications under House Bill 673, the Hands-Free Georgia Act, which he sponsored. The new law takes effect on July 1. The new law prohibits drivers from holding or supporting a wireless telecommunication device or a stand-alone electronic device while operating a…

By Valerie J. Morgan  Ruth Johnson Floyd can easily count the number of times over the last month the parties she has heard going on in her Panola Lakes Circle community. The retired DeKalb County educator said a vacation rental home in her community has become a nuisance and she and her neighbors want the Stonecrest City Council to do something about it.   “We have had parties there May 1, May 5, May 13, May 18, May 19, May 20, May 22, and just this weekend (June 2), there was a family there from North Carolina,” Floyd told the…

The DeKalb Cultural Exchange will host its monthly community breakfast on Saturday, June 9, 9 a.m., at The Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church/House of Hope, 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur. The community is invited to come out and meet the Democratic nominees for Georgia’s Labor Commissioner (Richard Keatley) and Insurance Commissioner (Janice Laws).  They will have a Q&A.  Stonecrest City Councilmember Rob Turner and his wife, School Board member Vickie Turner, who host the DeKalb Cultural Exchange, also will provide updates on the city of  Stonecrest and the DeKalb School District.  

The new Lithonia-Stonecrest Kiwanis Club held a charter ceremony on June 2 during a breakfast meeting. The new club has 27 members, said Donald Fleary, who serves on the board of directors. Thomas Legall is president of the new club.     The original Lithonia club, which was chartered in 1992, had been inactive since 2001, Fleary said.  “Many of the members had moved away,” said Fleary. “We are excited about having this new club.”  Mayor Jason Lary, who attended the charter ceremony, welcomed the new club to the city. Lary acknowledged some of the previous community service work the…

  The city of Pine Lake will host an opening ceremony for its first public art exhibit on the city’s new art wall, “Public Works at Public Works,” on June 16.  The inaugural installation will feature photographs themed on nature and the environment in Pine Lake by Pine Lake photographers Jennifer Bridges, Cindy M. Brown, Matthew J. Collins, Dwight Harriman, Kari Loomis, Julie Odom and Danielle S. Ross.   The public is invited to a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. at the city’s Clubhouse, 300 Clubhouse Drive. Attendees may meet the artists, enjoy live music, and stay for the…

The DeKalb branch of the NAACP is partnering with the 4th Annual “I AM A FATHER 5K Run/Walk” to host its 2nd Annual Juneteenth: “A Celebration of Freedom” event. The celebrations will be held on Saturday, June 16, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Families, teams, and individuals will start the 5K at Greenforest Community Baptist Church, 3250 Rainbow Drive, Decatur. After returning the run/walk, the Juneteenth festivities will continue across the street at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur. There will be entertainment, workshops, cultural foods and vendors. Juneteenth is the celebration that marks the freedom…

Four high school graduates from the class of 2018 were each awarded $1,000 scholarships from the Rockdale branch NAACP on June 4. The presentation was held at Antioch Baptist Church. The scholarship recipients were: Alexis Berry, a graduate of Salem High School, who plans to attend the University of West Georgia to pursue a career as a nurse practitioner. David Duncan, a graduate of Rockdale High School, who plans to attend Mercer University to pursue a career as a veterinarian.  Tredarius Lassiter, a graduate of Heritage High School, who plans to attend Tennessee State University to pursue a career as…