Author: On Common Ground News

DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson announces “Martin and Music” on Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m., Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center 3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur. The program features Shakespearian-trained actor Gerald C. Rivers and Broadway performer Charles Holt. The performance sets ablaze the words, the authentic tone, and the life of one of the world’s greatest civil rights leaders and orators, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The program will feature a riveting blend of powerful spoken words and speeches with delicate and reflective and inspiring thread of music and narrative. “This event is free and open to the…

 The DeKalb County Magistrate Court will host its annual Magistrate Court 101: Community Education Day on Saturday, March 2, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at the DeKalb County Courthouse, 556 N. McDonough St. Chief Magistrate Judge Berryl A. Anderson created the program in 2013 to provide an opportunity for school-aged children to learn about the court system. The current program is designed for middle/high school-aged students and adults. Activities include interactive sessions on the Georgia court system with a focus on the DeKalb County Magistrate Court, a court tour, and a mock-trial exercise, and is held in the courtroom to provide a…

Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC) will hold the first evening meeting in its “On the Road Meetings” series in 2019 Feb. 19, 7 p.m., at J.H. House Elementary, 2930 Highway 20, Conyers. The guest of honor at the meeting will be Georgia Tech head football Coach and Conyers native Geoff Collins. Collins is a 1988 graduate of Rockdale County High School and graduate of Wester Carolina University. On Dec. 7, 2018, he was announced as the head football coach at Georgia Tech. He was previously the head coach at Temple University and served in the past as defensive coordinator…

Super District DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson is launching a series of events designed to foster economic development within the county. The series will begin with a panel discussion, “The Conversation: Wealth & Empowerment,” on Saturday, Feb. 23, 10 a.m. to noon, at the AEI Startup Factory, 7310 Stonecrest Concourse, Stonecrest. “I’m excited to begin the implementation of my platform. I’d like to encourage DeKalb residents to become business owners as a way to change the landscape of our communities,” said Cochran-Johnson. “It is my intent to bridge people with resources, education, and information that empowers them to change their…

Several DeKalb County elected officials have teamed up with Super District Commissioner Kathie Gannon in an annual food drive to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank. This is the tenth year Commissioner Gannon has sponsored the food drive, which runs from Feb. 12 through March 8. Joining Gannon are District Attorney Sherry Boston, Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling, Clerk of Superior Court Debra DeBerry and Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson. The DeKalb County libraries and senior centers also are partnering with the effort. Citizens can bring donations to any of the following locations: Maloof Administrative Building, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 Tax…

Stonecrest City Councilman Rob Turner and his wife, DeKalb County School Board member Vickie B. Turner, will host their monthly community breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 9,  9 a.m. at The Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church/House of Hope, 4650 Flat Shoals Pkwy., Decatur, GA 30034 The focus of the meeting will be governmental initiatives for federal, state and county.  We have invited several key leaders who will be prepared to share goals and objectives for this year.  There will also be updates from the School District and Stonecrest. For more information, email thedekalbexchange@gmail.com

DeKalb increases park safety with new rangers  By Valerie J. Morgan Four rangers are patrolling DeKalb County’s parks seven days a week since the bodies of two women were discovered in unrelated incidents. This month, police arrested the suspect believed to have shot and killed Maya Mitchell, 24. A jogger discovered Mitchell’s body in Glen Emerald Park on New Year’s Eve.  At press time, no one had been arrested in the death of Shantrelle Monroe, 24, whose body was discovered behind a recreation area near the 900 block of Lake Drive Court near Stone Mountain. Police said they believe Monroe…

“Whatever you do, do something and do it to the best of your ability,” Mayor Jason Lary told students attending Lithonia High School’s Signing Day. The students, mostly athletes, were joined by their parents to hear the mayor’s motivational speech before participating in their National Signing Day in which four 12thgrade football players officially announced the schools they will be attending next year. Ja’Courtney Snipes, Kaveh Brantley, Gerald Sanders, and Zaryon Stubbs collectively earned football scholarships totaling more than a quarter of a million dollars.  They will be attending Charleston Southern University, Independence Community College, Hutchinson Community College, and…

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has proposed committing $9 million in additional contributions to strengthen the county’s employee pension fund. The contributions will be made annually over the next five years to help reduce the county’s unfunded pension liability. “DeKalb County’s goal is to get the employee pension fund on firm financial footing’’ said Thurmond. “The proposal is a long-term strategy to strengthen and stabilize the employee pension fund and ensure financial integrity in the fund going forward.” The proposal includes paying down existing debts and increasing the recommended contribution to 20.91 percent or $61,080,344 for Fiscal Year 2019.…

Jeffries Scott Anderson, 38, was sentenced to life in prison after jurors found him guilty of shooting and killing a man whose home he was burglarizing during the man’s lunch break. After deliberating for less than an hour, jurors returned guilty verdicts on Feb. 5 against Anderson in the shooting death of Jonathan Alexander Newton, 30. Anderson was convicted on charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary in the first degree, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The incident happened on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2016…