Author: On Common Ground News

The first 10 miles of the worst roads in DeKalb have been resurfaced through the special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) program. An additional 22 miles of resurfacing is currently under construction throughout the county, and 100 miles will be completed by the end of September. “Potholes don’t discriminate, and we have roads that need to be addressed throughout the county,” said DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond. “We are proud to put our citizens’ pennies to work to improve the quality of life throughout the county.” Harold Hardee stands next to a SPLOST sign posted at Golfbrook and Fieldgreen…

Funeral arrangements have been announced for Dr. Lonnie C. King Jr. who died Tuesday, March 5. The Civil Rights leader’s graveside service and internment will be held at noon Monday, March 18 at Georgia National Cemetery (1088 Scott Hudgens Dr., Canton), and a memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 19 at Ebenezer Baptist Church (450 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta). Atlanta City Council President Felicia A. Moore called King “a visionary who embodied bravery and tactfulness in the face of danger.” “Like many of our great civil rights leaders, Dr. Lonnie King captivated the hearts and…

Mayor Jason Lary and Councilman George Turner are moving to halt the development of a proposed convenience store and gas station at 5987 Salem Road.  Mayor Lary vowed to team up with Turner and put a stop to development at the March 11 city council meeting. Lary and Turner met with the city’s land development inspector at the lot, located on the corner of Salem and Evans Mill roads and discovered discrepancies that require closer evaluation by city staff. “The goal is to make it go away because of the desire of the people in the city.   We are listening…

In February, Mayor Jason Lary honored three citizens for outstanding leadership in the City of Stonecrest. Charlotte Cain was honored as the founder of Stonecrest Fest, a celebration she established in 2017 to showcase  history, culture, community, education and family fun in the city of Stonecrest.  Cain, who served as the entertainment director for the Atlanta Sweet Auburn Festival for 13 years, said she wanted to honor the celebration of the new city with a Fall festival each year. Stonecrest resident Julius C. Lee was honored as the first and only African American and senior citizen to earn first place as…

Beginning in April, DeKalb County will launch a three-year program to replace 102,000 aging and potentially defective water meters, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond announced. The upgrade will impact a little more than half of DeKalb County’s 194,000 residential water customers.  “DeKalb County has worked tirelessly to address the long-festering problems in our water and sewer billing and meter reading processes,” said Thurmond. “From this initiative, water customers can expect accurate billing and meter reading, increased customer service and restored trust.” An estimated 54,500 meters are out-of-lifecycle and 47,500 meters have potential defects. In August 2018, the county negotiated a…

Dr. Jamal H. Bryant was installed as pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, March 10, 2019. He became the fourth pastor in the church’s 37-year history, succeeding Bishop Kenneth Samuel (1984-1987); Bishop Eddie L. Long (1987-2017) and Bishop Stephen Davis (2017-2018). The celebration at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the city of Stonecrest began at  the 9:30 a.m. worship service. Family members prayed and laid hands on Dr. Jamal H. Bryant, the church’s new pastor. DeKalb County’s CEO Michael Thurmond and Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary honored Dr. Bryant with proclamations on that historic morning. Congressman…

Stonecrest City Councilwoman Diane Adoma is demanding a correction on her publicized “no” vote to a proposed moratorium on cell phone towers in the city. Despite the city’s video where Adoma is seen and heard voting no on the moratorium at the City Council’s March 11 meeting, Adoma said the video “is not accurate.” The video shows the measure was approved 5-1 with Adoma voting against it. The city released the video to the Atlanta Journal Constitution and On Common Ground News, stating that the acting city clerk accurately recorded Adoma’s no vote.  On Common Ground News, which had recorded its own…

The U.S. Department of Justice is spotlighting the Conyers Police Department’s School Resource Officer (SRO) program as one of its grantee success stories. Officers Charlene Smith and Troy Quick have made a positive impact between the community and law enforcement through their full-time assignment within Rockdale County Public Schools, the Conyers Police Department said. Both of the officers spend their time at Rockdale High School and C.J. Hicks Elementary School and Pine Street Elementary as needed. The Police Department used a $125,000 grant from the Community Oriented Policing Program to fund one additional full-time school resource officer for three years…

Sasha McCalop, 40, will spend life in prison. McCalop was convicted on murder charges in the stabbing death of 47-year-old Michael Martin, her boyfriend. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said jurors returned guilty verdicts on March 11 against McCalop on charges of murder, felony murder and aggravated assault for the stabbing death of Michael Martin, which took place on Jan. 17, 2018. Shortly before the deadly incident, the victim called police to have McCalop removed from his Welland Avenue home in southeast Atlanta following an argument between the couple. While he was on the phone with police, McCalop stabbed…

The DeKalb County State Court Traffic Division is offering an amnesty program for those with delinquent traffic citations. “The goal of our citation amnesty program is to provide individuals with open or delinquent citations an opportunity to efficiently resolve their matters and restore their driving records,” said Presiding Judge Shondeana Morris. Individuals who previously failed to appear in court, resulting in delinquent traffic tickets, will have their failure to appear fees waived if they dispose of their cases through this program. The registration period for this program ends on May 17, 2019, and is available to any individual with delinquent citations…