Author: On Common Ground News

The city of Stonecrest took a significant step on Jan. 28 toward getting the city’s potholes repaired. The City Council gave city staff the green light to move forward with a digital analysis of the city’s 283-mile roadways. City staffers have received bids for the project and estimate the cost will be $71,000 for the analysis, which will report the condition of the roads, prioritizing them from worst to best.  The road analysis will also give the city an assessment of the number of street lights needed to help alleviate the city’s dark areas. “Citizens should see work begin around…

Left to right: Rockdale County Clerk of Courts and Middle School Oratorical founder Ruth Wilson; Memorial Middle School teacher DaMeka Whitehead; first place winner for seventh grade Joshua Jamison of MMS; RCPS Superintendent  Terry Oatts; first place winner for eighth grade Laila Wood of Edwards Middle School; EMS teacher Hazel Lammie; Gen. Ray Davis Middle School teacher Lisa Tompkins; first place winner for sixth grade Barkley Dowdy; and Conyers Rotary President Mike Lassiter. The Rotary Club of Conyers honored the first place winners of the 2018 Rockdale County Middle School Oratorical Competition at the club’s luncheon on Jan. 31.…

Eight students from DeKalb County School District (DCSD) have earned all-expenses paid trips to some of the most prestigious colleges in the country, thanks to the Posse Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Students from seven DCSD high schools—including one charter school specializing in educating individuals on the autism spectrum—have been named Posse Scholars for the 2018-2019 school year. As recipients, the scholars will receive full tuition at a college or university of their choice for up to four years. “I am so proud of our students and the many new and different ways they demonstrate success and innovation,” said Superintendent R.…

The Georgia International Horse Park (GIHP) in Conyers has completed its new trail signage installment project, making recreational usage easier and safer to navigate for residents and visitors. The trail system extends through 1,139 acres of the park, and provides 24.33 miles of recreational opportunities, including pedestrian hiking, running, walking, biking and equestrian riding, while protecting cultural and natural resources. The self-guided trails connect the equestrian core of the park, steeplechase field, Bald Rock Meadows and Big Haynes Creek Nature Center. The project has added over 186 trail markers, four trailhead signs and two additional maps throughout the trails. The…

Tickets for Monadnock Madness events, part of an annual celebration of metro-Atlanta’s granite outcrops (Arabia, Panola and Stone Mountains), are now available. Events include the ever-popular Triple Hike Challenge, in which hikers summit all three granite mountains in a single day, as well as Mountaintop Yoga and Nature Photography Workshops. The events occur throughout the month of March. All hikers will earn a commemorative souvenir after completing the Triple Hike Challenge. If you are interested in completing the challenge at your own pace, each park offers visitors the option to “hike as you like,” a self-guided tour of the three monadnocks. Pick up a passport…

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit has arrested Brandon Tyrone Smith, 27, of Decatur, in the Jan. 19 shooting death of Charles Smith, who is also of Decatur and believed to be his uncle. A warrant was issued on Jan. 20 charging the suspect with felony murder.  Charles Smith was shot several times and died on the scene on Wyndham Way, Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. No motive was reported. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Fugitive Unit arrested Brandon Smith at a business in Atlanta. He was transported to the DeKalb County Jail without incident.  

William Boddie   dar’shaun kendrick                                              Karen Bennett pam Stephenson                                                               Pam Dickerson Georgia House Minority Whip William Boddie (D-East Point) today announced the appointment of the House Minority Deputy Whips for the 2019-2020 legislative term. “I’m pleased to announce our 12 new House Minority Deputy…

The Conyers Police Department is hosting “Coffee With A Cop” on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 8 to 9 a.m., at Beasley Drug Company, 933 Center St., in downtown Conyers. Meet officers from the Conyers Police Department and enjoy a free cup of coffee.

The Stonecrest Citizens’ Coalition (SCC) will host DeKalb County’s newly-elected Super District 7 Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson for its monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Stonecrest. Cochran-Johnson will share with her 2019 plans for DeKalb County. The meeting is open to the public.  

System is first of its kind in Georgia DeKalb Peachtree Airport has installed a new system to quickly stop planes in their tracks during emergency landings. The Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) is the first in Georgia. EMAS technology uses a series of crushable blocks to decelerate the speed of an aircraft during an emergency overrun. The EMAS technology is placed 200 feet off the end of a runway to prevent an aircraft from running off the runway. EMAS is used in cases where there is limited land, such as PDK’s 6,100-foot primary runway for corporate tenants. The EMAS technology…