Author: On Common Ground News

In the spirit of the holidays, the Tucker Walmart at 4375 Lawrenceville Highway has donated $2,500 to the DeKalb Police Tucker Precinct. “Walmart strongly believes in giving back to the communities where our customers and associates live and work,” said Tucker Walmart Store Manager Craig Soroko. The Tucker Walmart has been a generous donor for several years, donating child safety seats for police vehicles, as well as being an active partner in the Shop with a Cop program. The store has given over $5,000 to Tucker precinct in previous years. “The generosity of Walmart is greatly appreciated,” said Chief of…

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond has announced the selection of Joseph “Jack” H. Lumpkin to be the new deputy chief operating officer of public safety for DeKalb County, effective Jan. 28. Lumpkin will be responsible for police, fire rescue, animal control, emergency management, 911 and medical examiner services. Currently, Lumpkin is chief of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department. “Chief Lumpkin has built a stellar leadership record in law enforcement in Georgia and across the country,” said Thurmond. “He will enhance DeKalb’s public safety departments which will help make the county safer and improve quality of life.” Lumpkin will be responsible for…

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond says the county has met an important consent decree deadline. Beginning immediately, all new sewer connections will be certified by a Georgia Professional Engineer and the fully developed hydraulic model will be used in the certification process as required by the consent decree. The consent decree was entered by the county in 2011 and is designed to ensure compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act to improve the viability of the county’s sewers for generations to come. “DeKalb County has met an important deadline that demonstrates that we…

Children with disabilities will be offered lots of fun activities and field trips in 2018, thanks to a program Rockdale County is launching in January called AIRR Kids (Adaptive Inclusive Recreation of Rockdale). Officials say Rockdale is expanding the programs that it has offered to disabled adults to now include a therapeutic program specifically designed for disabled children. The AIRR program, which is open to Rockdale residents and those in surrounding counties, will be centered on play, music, social skills, art and a host of outings for children ages 4 to 12. “We invite kids with and without disabilities to…

DEKALB COUNTY DeKalb County Sanitation Division is offering DeKalb residents free curbside pickup for Christmas tree collections through Jan. 12. Trees will be collected during regularly scheduled sanitation collection service days. To participate, residents must remove all decorations from trees and place them curbside. Only trees 7 feet in height or less will be accepted. Trees that cannot be trimmed to the required size may be taken to the county-owned Seminole Road Landfill or collected by the Sanitation Division’s special collection unit (fees may apply). Collected trees will be recycled and converted to mulch. This service provides an opportunity for…

Jan. 4-31 Expanding Civil Rights: From Congressman Robert Elliott through Nelson Mandela. View a broad collection of civil rights artifacts from the collection of Mike Glenn, community activist, Georgia NBA Hall-of-Famer and author of My Next Shot Goes In! Ten Sacred Characteristics of NBA Players that Lead to Success.  Funding provided by the Friends of the Stonecrest Library. During library hours. Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia. 770-482-3828. Jan. 6—Feb. 3 Tau Pi Omega: 25 Years of Service: The Tau Pi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. celebrates 25 years of service in the Stone Mountain and Lithonia communities. A special exhibit…

In observance of New Year’s Day on Monday, Jan. 1, garbage, recyclable materials and yard trimmings collection for residential customers will be collected on a revised schedule as follows: Monday, Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day observed; no collection service. Tuesday, Jan. 2 – Residential customers whose regularly scheduled collection day is Monday, Jan. 1, will be serviced on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Wednesday, Jan. 3 – Residential customers whose regularly scheduled collection day is Tuesday, Jan. 2, will be serviced on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Thursday, Jan. 4 – Residential customers whose regularly scheduled collection day is Wednesday, Jan. 3, will be…

The Stonecrest City Council will hold its work sessions on the first Wednesdays of each month and its regular council meetings on the third Monday beginning in 2018. If a holiday falls on Monday, the city council meeting would move to Tuesday. The Wednesday work sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. The City Council meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. to encourage public participation. The council voted unanimously on the new meeting times at its Dec. 27 Special Called meeting. Here is the 2018 meeting calendar: Work Sessions set First Wednesdays 10 a.m. Council Meetings set Third Mondays, 6 p.m.…

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Decatur/DeKalb Chapter, Inc. will present a financial boot camp on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2:45 to 4:45 p.m., Lithonia-Davidson Library, 6821 Church St., Lithonia. Jason Culp, private wealth manager, will discuss money management, budgeting, credit repair and retirement planning. The event is free and open to the public.

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners recently approved a request from the Human Services Department to award $767,800 in funds to 46 local nonprofit organizations for 2018. Resources for these grants originate from two areas: $617,808 from the county’s general fund and $150,000 from a Victims Assistance Fund, which is supported by the collection of court fees. The Human Services Grant Program is designed to provide supplemental funding to nonprofit organizations serving their communities. Service areas that will be addressed through these grants include: youth development/education, family welfare, crisis intervention and prevention for women and children, senior services and supports…