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VOLUME 25, NUMBER 31
NOVEMBER 1, 2019
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Goodbye Daylight Savings Time. Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour on Nov. 2.
Stonecrest approves purchase of former Sam’s Club Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary announced at the Oct. 28 City Council meeting that the city is buying the former Sam’s Club near the Mall at Stonecrest. Lary, flanked by City Council members George Turner, Rob Turner, Jimmy Clanton and Jazzmin Cobble, unveiled a rendering of the building that will become the new Stonecrest City Center, home of the future City Hall. The Stonecrest Sam’s Club has been vacant since it abruptly closed on Jan. 11, 2018. Store officials eorgia voters who haven’t said the shutdown was part versus renting is the best participated in elections of a restructuring in which casr scenario,” Lary said. in years could soon lose 63 Sam’s Clubs across the One of the key reasons their right to vote. About 330,000 nation were closed. for Walmart Corporation inactive Georgia voters will be The council accepting the lowest bid removed from the rolls ahead of the approved the $2.995 (rather than the highest), 2020 elections, Secretary of State million purchase of the officials said, was Mayor Brad Raffensperger has announced. 141,000-square-foot Lary’s negotiating Raffensperger said the updates facility during a special are required by federal and state law called meeting on Oct. 23. terms with executive management. in order to ensure the state has the The city was the lowest “I was able to most up-to-date voter information bidder amongst four other negotiate terms that and to cut down on fraud. Election suiters with amounts as would be favorable to officials plan to begin mailing high as $4.5 million. both entities without notices to the last known addresses “One of the key factors creating competition for of the individuals next week. in making this purchase the nearby Walmart. For “Election security is my top was the fact that the cost example, we’re prohibited priority,” said Secretary Brad of renting the facility from renting the facility Raffensperger. “Accurate and versus the monthly cost of to a BJ’s or Cosco type up-to-date voter rolls are vital to the Sam’s Club building entities,” Lar said. secure elections, but at the same were virtually the same. Communications time I want to ensure that anyone Anytime you can own Director Adrion Bell said potentially affected by this routine process has notice and opportunity to update their information. That is why my office is releasing the full list to ensure that people who are still eligible voters can update their information.” The Georgia NAACP said it plans to challenge the purge. In 2017, the secretary of state purged 534,000 Georgians from the voter registration rolls—the largest removal in U.S. history. The civil rights organization said a he DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office disproportionate amount of those has identified the two people who died in the removed from voter rolls were single-engine plane crash into some townhomes people of color. near Chamblee on Oct. 30. “People being removed for Leslie Csanyi, Jr., 59, and Scott Robert Lowrie, simply not voting is unethical 60, both residents of North Carolina, were aboard the and undemocratic. We should be plane when it took off around 10:30 a.m. from the investing in ways to make voting DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, authorities said. The small easier, not harder. We pledge to plane, identified as a Piper PA-28, crashed shortly after utilize our resources to not only leaving Runway 21, the FAA said. ensure that no voter is unlawfully DeKalb County government officials and the purged but also commit to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport issued a statement challenging the legal framework extending its sincere condolences to the families and of the practice altogether,” said the friends of Csanyi and Lowrie. Rev. James Woodall, State President At On Common Ground News’ deadline on Oct. of the Georgia NAACP. 31, authorities had not determined the cause of the The upcoming purge will plane crash into the Clairmont Hills Townhomes on reduce the voter rolls by about 4 Oakawana Drive, where six units were hit. percent, said Deputy Secretary of Although no one was injured at the townhomes, State Jordan Fuchs office. DeKalb County Fire Marshall Joe Cox and county “States like Nevada, Minnesota, building inspectors condemned the six units, declaring Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, them unsafe after they were left with gaping holes and Maryland and Vermont have similar filled with fuel vapor.
Georgia to purge 330,000 inactive voters from rolls State NAACP vows to challenge removals
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money from the city’s special purpose local option sales tax(SPLOST) will be used for the purchase. The council approved putting up $235,000 in earnest money needed for the purchase. Lary handled the negotiation and Fincher Denmark handle the land and building requirements, he said. Lary said it may not be necessary for the city to carry a mortgage on the facility since the city has $7 million in SPLOST money in the bank. However, we may decide the finance the property through our SPLOST
Bond or GMA financing. The city expects to close on or before Dec. 2, at the end of the due diligence Lary said Sam’s Club is leaving $1 million worth of refrigeration at the facility, which sits on 18 acres. Lary said the refrigerators might be used to lure a grocery store or farmer’s market to a secondary location as leverage. He said some of the trees on the land could be sold for timber as well. Lary said the building has the potential to serve the city in many capacities. “We’re going to make this a multi-use facility. It will serve as city hall, our newly formed Stonecrest Visitors and Convention Bureau, and a possible postal location,” said Lary. “Additionally, we will be designing and installing a studio audience style seating and lighting arrangement so that we can rent the facility to television producers that would like to host talk shows during the day while we operate the facility at night with work sessions and city council meetings. Finally, we’re looking to lure a national golf gaming partner for the
SEE STONECREST page 7
Two identified in fatal single-engine plane crash near Chamblee
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SEE VOTER page 7
The plane went down on Peachwood Circle, officials said. DeKalb County Fire Rescue, DeKalb County Police and DeKalb Emergency Management Agency responded to the scene of the crash. Authorities closed off portions of I-85 near Frontage Road and Peachtree Circle Northeast and DeKalb police were on the scene to re-route traffic in the area.
SEE CRASH page 7