Author: On Common Ground News

By Valerie J. Morgan After waiting for answers for two months, the family of 22-year-old Shali Tilson is hoping to learn how their loved one died while in custody at the Rockdale County Jail on two misdemeanor charges.  Attorney Mawuli Davis said the family hopes to get an update at a meeting with the GBI on May 14.  “We look forward to hearing from the director to find out where they are in the investigation so they can provide any evidence that we can collect (for this case),” said Davis.   Davis said Tilson was arrested on March 9. Nine…

Two people were arrested recently after the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit and SWAT team seized drugs, guns and nearly $2,000 in counterfeit money from a duplex in Conyers. Lewis Jabari Jones, 29, and Charity McCullar, 26, were arrested on several charges during the May 4 drug bust at 2600-B Golfview Terrace located. Jones had been under surveillance for a while before investigators moved in.   Investigators conducted a search warrant where they confiscated 16.1 grams of heroin, schedule 4 narcotics, $1,900 in counterfeit money, 2,237.1 grams of edibles (which contain THC oil), 3.6 grams of cocaine, 307.2…

Rockdale County Sheriff’s investigators have issued a “Be On the Lookout” for a man who robbed the Taco Bell restaurant at 2415 Salem Road, Conyers on May 8. The suspect, described as a light skinned black male, entered the business around 9:51 p.m. brandishing a large handgun with a red rag draped around the barrel.  The suspect held the employees at gunpoint and forced the managers to empty the cash registers, placing the money into a black laptop bag. Authorities said the suspect calmly walked out of the store and then ran towards the Ellington road area.  The suspect was…

Olde Town Conyers plans to welcome residents and visitors to a series of summer street events that will showcase performers, music, outdoor dining and old-fashioned games.  The new project, Re-Imagine Commercial Street, kicks off on May 18-19   City officials say they are bringing the Open Streets concept to Conyers to help stimulate business and offer families summer time fun in a safe, walkable environment. Commercial Street will be closed off during each event to create a pedestrian street experience, Mayor Vince Evans said. The Open Streets movement originated in Bogota, Columbia, and has since spread to North America, becoming…

Stone Mountain Improving Lives Everyday (SMILE) will hold its next community meeting on Monday, May 14, 7 p.m.  The meeting will take place at the DeKalb Watershed Conference Center, 4572 Memorial Drive, Decatur (located next to D & K Suits). Agenda items include:  SMILE’s vision for a Clean and Safe Stone Mountain; organizing monthly litter cleanup events; update on recruiting community volunteers to work with DeKalb County troubled youth; new visions for Stone Mountain; community resource centers; and community gatherings/celebrations. For more information, call Debra Greenwood, co-moderator, at 404-234-2478 or email Smilega30083@gmail.com.

Join the Monastery of the Holy Spirit’s naturalist, land manager and former Abbott Fr. Francis Michael on a walk through the woods where you will discover the natural treasures of the Monastery’s landscapes. Walks are scheduled for May 12, June 16 and June 30, 9 a.m. to noon.  With more than 2,000 acres, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit includes the Abbey Church, the Monastic Heritage Center, and the Honey Creek Woodlands Natural Cemetery. But what many do not know is that the Monastery is also the largest protected privately-owned green space in the Atlanta area, and home to the…

    Teresa Hardy, president of the DeKalb NAACP, received the Liberty Bell Award from the DeKalb Bar Association on May 10. The award honors a non-attorney citizen who has made a difference in the DeKalb County community. Hardy was honored for her leadership and dedication to fighting for civil and human rights. Hardy succeeded John Evans after he retired as president of the DeKalb NAACP in 2016. She has served with the civil rights group for more than 13 years.   DeKalb State Court Judge Dax E. Lopez presented the award to Hardy during a luncheon that was held…

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the nation’s oldest and largest business association of engineering companies, honored DeKalb County-based Corporate Environmental Risk Management, LLC (CERM) for its technical leadership, community engagement and education outreach work on the redevelopment of the former Mobile Gas Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) into a 7-acre public park.  In June 2017, CERM and its partners completed the environmental assessment and remediation of the 175-year old MGP site located in downtown Mobile, Alabama. CERM received the 2018 National Recognition Award during the annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala last month in Washington, D.C.  The minority-owned firm collaborated…

A community meeting will be held to discuss a proposed Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) that would allow for daycare facilities in the Moreland Overlay District’s Tier 5 (single-family residential homes area).   The meeting will be held on May 15, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Welcome Friend Baptist Church, 3198 Bouldercrest Road, Atlanta.   DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon and staff members of the DeKalb County Planning and Sustainability Department will host the meeting. The community will have a chance to voice concerns about the proposed ordinance amendment. To visit http://www.kathiegannon.com/tl_files/documents/BOULDERCREST1%20ORDINANCE%20PROPOSED%20FINAL%207-10-12.pdf.    

The 2018 DeKalb Works Summer Youth Employment Program still has 150 openings for out-of-school youth. WorkSource DeKalb is having difficulty finding eligible candidates for these needs-based positions. Interested candidates must be DeKalb County residents between the ages of 16-24, not attending any school and who meet certain other conditions.  The eight-week program runs June 4 through July 27. Interns will be paid $9 per hour.  The positions are part of the second annual DeKalb Works program sponsored by DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and the Board of Commissioners in conjunction with WorkSource DeKalb.  The program will provide 400 jobs for…