Author: On Common Ground News

By Travis Hudgons Republican lawmakers have fast-tracked a bill to eliminate DeKalb County’s CEO position. The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Meagan Hanson (R – Brookhaven, District 80) and Rep. Tom Taylor (R – Dunwoody, District 79), would abolish the county-wide elected position of chief executive officer. If HB961 is passed, the CEO position would end at the expiration of Michael Thurmond’s four-year term in 2020. The bill has angered some members of the DeKalb Delegation. “HB 961 passed committee to eliminate the DeKalb CEO position without so much as a notification to other members of the delegation. Unacceptable and unprofessional!,”…

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said the county is making significant progress in addressing the problems in the county’s water billing process. Those problems include: Less than 1,300 bills, or 96 percent, remain held and are in the process of verification, from 37,000 held bills in 2017. There are 184,000 residential water customers and 10,000 business Significant investments have been made in call center operations with new staff, training and technology. There are 75 customer service representatives in 2018, compared to 25 representatives in 2014. Average wait time is 31 seconds compared to more than five minutes in 2016. More…

A coalition of residents and other citizens told the Stonecrest City Council at its Feb. 21 meeting that group homes, drive-through fried chicken restaurants and gas stations in the Stonecrest Overlay District are not welcome in the newly-formed city. The City Council denied two zoning proposals and deferred decisions on two others after hearing from the public. “We are a solid residential community… I’m getting sick and tired of people coming into black neighborhoods trying to put rooming houses, personal care homes and childcare homes in residential areas when there is enough commercial property available,” said Faye Coffield. Stonecrest Business…

A DeKalb County Grand Jury has indicted a local couple and three others on charges of racketeering and conspiracy in connection with a commercial sex enterprise operating out of Dunwoody and other metro areas. Samuel Leon Crenshaw and his wife, Darliene L. Crenshaw of Marietta, are each charged with one count of Violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). George Moore, Tara Lee Gilleo, and Giovene Burkhalter face identical RICO charges for their alleged activities within the organization. Fifty-seven other men and women are charged with either prostitution or pandering in the 58-count indictment returned on Feb.…

In celebration of Black History Month, Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary presented each of the five council members with a commemorative plaque honoring them as the first elected officials of the historic city. Lary presented the plaques at the Feb. 21 City Council meeting. “What I want you all to remember is this day, 2018, in Black History Month, these are the folks that stood up the largest African American majority town in DeKalb County since Reconstruction of the United States,” said Lary, adding that Stonecrest also is the second-largest majority African American town in the history of the United States.…

Derwin Brown Masonic Lodge #599 PHA is honoring the late DeKalb Sheriff-elect with a beautification project in the community he loved. The Masons have adopted a bus stop on Glenwood Road in Decatur in honor of Derwin Brown, who was a Mason. This year marks the 18th anniversary of his death. Brown was shot 11 times in the driveway of his home on Dec. 15, 2000. Defeated rival Sydney Dorsey, who ordered the hit, is serving a life sentence in prison. Dorsey, who turns 78 this month, was the first African American to serve as Sheriff of DeKalb County. It…

Congressman Hank Johnson presented an American flag saluting Justin Edwards, the son of DeKalb County activist Joel Edwards. Justin Edwards was laid to rest on Saturday, Feb. 17. The 34-year-old’s death has sparked an outcry from community activists who are asking leaders to make cracking down on crime their No. 1 priority. Justin Edwards was shot to death on Feb. 10 by an unknown assailant as he and his girlfriend were headed home. Police said he had stopped to check out two flat tires in the parking lot of an abandoned building on Memorial Drive and Boulevard…

Rockdale County Chairman Oz Nesbitt, Sr. is introducing a new forum taking place in local barbershops to engage the community called Shop Talk.  The first event will be held Saturday, March 10, at the Lab Barbershop, 2183 Salem Road SE, Conyers. Shop Talk is a grass-roots approach to getting to know the community by interacting and engaging in an “open air” dialogue, according to a press release by the county. The series also will introduce elected officials to those who may not know who they are, what their roles are and their duties and responsibilities. The first Shop Talk will introduce…

DeKalb County Watershed crews began cleaning up a sewer spill in a Clarkston lake on Feb. 18 and are continuing remediation and restoration efforts. The spill, at a lake on Cleavemark Drive, was caused by a blockage of grease, disposable diapers and wipes in an eight-inch sewer line. The blockage caused a 5,300-gallon sewage overflow from a manhole. Watershed crews stopped the spill an hour after notification by pressure-washing the sewer line to remove the blockage and restore flow in the area. Additionally, a pump was installed to aerate the lake and dead fish were removed. The Georgia Environmental Protection…

Crosswalks, traffic signals and tennis courts in the city limits will all receive facelifts as part of spring cleaning efforts by the city’s  through SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) funds, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) grants and federal funding. Crosswalks at 15 intersections in the city limits will be restriped by Peek Pavement Marking beginning the week of Feb. 26. Weather permitting, the restriping of the crosswalks will be completed in March. The cost of the crosswalk improvement project is $91,634 and is funded by SPLOST dollars and a GDOT Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant for Off-System Safety…