Author: On Common Ground News

Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 3, portions of East Ponce de Leon Avenue, between Interstate 285 and Market Street, will be closed intermittently from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to accommodate construction of the Clarkston Streetscape Water Main Relocation Project. The project began in September and will replace nearly 8,000 feet of water main pipes in the Clarkston area. Single-lane closures will be in effect for the duration of construction, which is expected to conclude in April. Motorists and MARTA passengers that use East Ponce de Leon between Interstate 285 and Market Street are urged to plan for extra commuting time.…

While many people are starting New Year’s Resolutions to exercise more, students in Barksdale Elementary School’s Marathon in a Month Club are already living a healthier lifestyle. About 40 students met at 7:10 a.m. each morning at the school in Conyers for about a month in October and November 2017 to run at least a mile each day. By the end of the month, participants completed a marathon, or 26.2 miles. Club advisor Sherry Webb said, “We are trying to encourage a love of exercise and physical fitness at an early age. At the end of our month, students receive…

The DeKalb County Sanitation Division announces free Christmas tree curbside collection service for county residents from Dec. 26 through Jan. 12, 2018. 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…

Oil prices reached new heights yesterday, causing a bump in the road for falling gas prices. Georgia gas prices rose nearly 1-cent overnight, after holding mostly steady during the past week. Today’s state average is $2.28. Gas prices in Georgia declined for most of the past 44 days, with the state average falling 14 cents during that span. The average price on Christmas Day ($2.27) was 10 cents more than the year before, and the highest for the holiday in three years. The most expensive gas price averages in Georgia are in Savannah ($2.35), Brunswick ($2.34), Hinesville-Fort Stewart ($2.32) The least expensive gas price averages…

Rockdale Sheriff Eric Levett: “We will find you.”   By Valerie J. Morgan Rockdale County Sheriff Eric J. Levett has three words for the thieves who vandalized the Walk of Heroes Veterans War Memorial and stole two heavy, bronze statues and military emblems: “We will find you.” The memorial was vandalized over the weekend of Dec. 15 after the Rockdale park, located at 3001 Black Shoals Road N.E., closed. Thieves stole two statues that were part of a group of five soldiers, an 800-pound bronze globe and several military emblems. An attendant at the park discovered the break-in on…

Jimmy and Sharon Nelson, along with their sons, Jaylon (left) and Jimmaron (right) snap a pose with Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary (center). The family stopped by City Hall to pick up toys left under the Christmas tree for them and other families. Staff and volunteers passed out the toys on Dec. 21. The mayor and his wife, Debbie, organized the “Stonecrest Claus” giveaway to assist families. Edwina Clanton and her husband, Councilman Jimmy Clanton, donated toys on behalf of their subdivision. Mrs. Clanton is pictured with City of Stonecrest staff member Sabrina Wright at City Hall.The newly-formed city’s efforts…

By Valerie J. Morgan It wasn’t Santa Claus who warmed the hearts of 30 children and their families who attended the Dec. 16 holiday party held at Rhodes Jordan Park in Lawrenceville. It was the angelic acts of Words of Comfort Ministries (WOC), which provided new toys and other gifts to the children ages 1 to 17 during a holiday dinner served with all the trimmings. This year marked the sixth anniversary that WOC has hosted its Adopt-A-Family holiday event, said Dr. Gayle S. Daniels, founder. Daniels and a team of volunteers showered the children not only with gifts,…

Congressman Hank Johnson is re-introducing the “Inclusive Campuses Act of 2017” (H.R.4699) after gaining support to authorize the use of Title III funds to establish to establish on-campus resource centers for LGBTQ students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority institutions. “We should be doing all we can to help everyone feel welcomed and included,” said Johnson, a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston. “As a proud graduate of two HBCUs, I feel this legislation is crucial in continuing the legacy of community and inclusion I felt as a…

The Stonecrest City Council passed an ordinance on Dec. 18 granting Georgia Power permission to use the city’s property for constructing, maintaining and operating all necessary equipment for the distribution of electricity. In exchange, the city will receive 4 percent of the revenue generated from electricity sales to Stonecrest commercial, residential and industrial customers. Currently, Georgia Power customers are charged a 2.1 percent fee that is labeled “municipal franchise fee.” Georgia Power will raise this rate to 2.6 percent, instead of the entire 4 percent. The average residential customer will see a rate increase of less than 10…

The barbershop is an important cultural place for African-American boys, who not only get haircuts there, but also learn life lessons from the men in this male-centered space. Now, DeKalb County Public Library is using the influence of the barbershop to encourage young, black boys to read more. In partnership with a nonprofit program called Barbershop Books, the Library kicked off a new outreach program at the ITNOJ (In the Name of Jesus) Barbershop in Scottdale, Georgia on Dec. 16. The shop now hosts a rack of books aimed at boys ages 4 to eight years old. Teresa Totten, the…