Author: On Common Ground News

The next meeting of the DeKalb County Board of Health is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 25, in the Bohan Auditorium, Richardson Health Center, 445 Winn Way, Decatur.   The meeting will begin at 3 p.m.  The public is invited to attend. Agenda items for the meeting include the presentation of the contract for approval for the renovation of the North DeKalb Health Center.  Also included are service award presentations, a director’s report, and the financial status report. Anyone who would like to bring an issue before the board can be placed on the agenda by contacting Erica Brooks at 404-294-3787. Written…

The public is invited to a public meet and greet with new DeKalb County deputy chief operating officer of public safety, Joseph “Jack” H. Lumpkin on February 3, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive Decatur, GA 30030.

A domestic violence disturbance rocked a quiet community in Rockdale County on Sunday and now Rockdale Sheriff’s deputies have a 41-year-old man in custody for fatally shooting his wife. Letron Jerome Bell, 41, was charged with the death of his wife, Lisa LaShawn Samuel Bell. The suspect was taken into custody after police responded to a call, arriving at the family’s home on 4680 Habersham Way in Conyers on Sunday, Jan. 21, around 11:54 a.m. There were three children ages 7, 10 and 17 in the home at the time of the shooting, authorities said. When deputies arrived on the scene,…

The Porter Sanford III Performing Arts Center is celebrating a decade of the performing arts in South DeKalb with a calendar filled with events. David Manuel, interim deputy director of DeKalb Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs,  said that 2018 will be jam-packed with programs from now until the annual “Urban Nutcracker” musical, which will be held in December. “We’re having events all year round. This is our way of saying thank you to the community for helping us celebrate 10 years of bringing the best of arts and culture to South DeKalb,” said Manuel, who has been over the Porter…

Rockdale County Board of Commissioners Chairman Oz Nesbitt is hosting a meet-and-greet to welcome the Honorable Alisha Adams Johnson as the new District Attorney in Rockdale. The meet-and-greet will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 6 p.m., at J.P. Carr Community Center, 981 Taylor St., Conyers.  Johnson became Rockdale’s first African American and the county’s first woman to hold the seat after she was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal in December to fill the unexpired term of Richard Read, who announced his resignation. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from Spelman College. During her third year of law school at Georgia…

Vickie B. Turner and Rob Turner held their inaugural monthly community breakfast, “The Cultural Exchange,” on Jan. 14 with several elected and appointed officials, community leaders and constituents in attendance at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur. Among the speakers were Congressman Hank Johnson, DeKalb Schools Superintendent R. Stephen Green, State Rep. Howard Mosby, and Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary. Vickie Turner, who represents District 5 on the DeKalb School Board, and her husband, Rob Turner, who represents Stonecrest City Council’s District 2, said they launched The Cultural Exchange as a way for constituents and local leaders to connect s…

There were so many people who turned out for the Jan. 16 town hall on the abrupt closing of the Stonecrest Sam’s Club that State Rep. Vernon Jones took a short intermission and asked people to leave in order to give others a chance to come inside the Stonecrest Library auditorium. “We want to give as many as possible the chance to ask questions and hear the answers,” said Jones, who held the town hall after an outcry from the community who learned of the store’s demise on Jan. 11 when it abruptly closed. Many in the community found out…

With the announcement that Atlanta has made Amazon’s finalists’ list for its second world headquarters known as HQ2, Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary said he is ever optimistic about securing the bid. Lary said Stonecrest is still in the running because the Georgia Economic Development’s Office bid includes metro Atlanta and thus, Stonecrest. Amazon officials have narrowed the list from 238 to 20 cities, news outlets reported on Jan. 18. Lary said he is collaborating with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to win the Amazon bid for the metro area. “I said we have more land and you have more rail,”…

Gilbert Turman, a former principal of Southwest DeKalb High School and founder of the South DeKalb Neighborhood Coalition, has died, On Common Ground News learned at deadline. Mr. Turman died at home at 11 a.m. on Jan. 18, friends said. He was 77. Dr. Melvin Johnson, who was Mr. Turman’s supervisor for many years, remembered him as a “true community servant.” Mr. Turman served not only at Southwest DeKalb High School but McNair Middle and Columbia High School. “Everybody respected him as a great administrator. He looked out for everyone,” said Johnson. In 2017, DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis returned to…