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VOLUME 23 NUMBER 37
ocgnews.com
DECEMBER 9, 2017
Published Since April 1995 Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties
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Stonecrest City Council defers vote on proposed charter changes Mayor pro tem’s two-year term in question
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By Valerie J. Morgan
he Stonecrest City Council voted on Dec. 4 to defer a decision on a resolution to change portions of the city charter, after a recommendation from Mayor Jason Lary. The City Council now will consider the resolution on Jan. 16, 2018. The proposed amendments include the mayor giving up voting power in exchange for the right to veto ordinances; establishing the position of mayor as a full-time position with full time pay; requiring that elected officials (the mayor and council members) must be 21 years old to serve; and establishing a Chief Operating Officer position. Lary made the recommendation to defer action on charter changes after 10 people spoke during public comments at the meeting, which was the first council meeting to be held at the new City Hall. Five people spoke in support of the charter changes, while five opposed the changes
Stonecrest City Council held its first council meeting at the new city hall on Dec. 4. Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/ OCGNews
with two opponents stating the seven-month-old city is moving too quickly on the proposal. Meanwhile, the validity of Stonecrest City Councilmember Diane Adoma’s two-year term as mayor pro tem has come into question. The mayor pro tem assumes the duties of the mayor during the mayor’s temporary disability,
suspension or absence. At the meeting, Adoma made a motion for the city to hire an outside law firm to give an opinion on whether she may remain mayor pro tem for two years. The council deadlocked 3-3 and the motion failed.
Celebrating Academic Gains
SEE VOTE, page 5
Eight more DeKalb schools removed from “Focus” list Rockdale’s Hightower Trail Elementary exits list
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ight more schools in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) have been removed from the Federal Focus and Priority lists for underperforming Title I schools. The school shave been taken off the lists, following significant increases in student achievement, district officials announced. DeKalb Superintendent Rockdale Interim Superintendent Since 2016, a total of 13 R. Stephen Green Shirley Chesser DeKalb schools have made academic progress beyond the Focus and Priority lists, according to officials. The Georgia Department of Education announced on Dec. 5 the following are no longer Focus or Priority schools: • Barack H. Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology – Focus • Canby Lane Elementary School – Focus • Clarkston High School – Priority • Columbia High School – Priority • Cross Keys High School – Priority • Freedom Middle School – Focus • Mary McLeod Bethune – Focus • Smoke Rise Elementary School – Focus “Year after year, more of our schools are raising their achievement and meeting their potential. The progress is clear, and the evidence is emphatic with this latest round of results,” said Superintendent R. Stephen Green. “Increasing numbers of our underperforming campuses are shedding that label, and can now focus on raising the bar higher. This is a good day for our students and campuses.” School Board member Vicki B. Turner praised the district for its efforts and called on state legislators and the community at large to join in helping DeKalb’s schools to succeed. “We’re working diligently to bring the list down to zero. ...It’s going to take a community effort. The School Board can’t do it alone. It’s going to take a collective energy to come together and come help out and help in our schools,” Turner said as she spoke during public comments at the DeKalb House Delegation’s Pre-Legislative Town Hall on Dec. 5 at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center in Decatur. Focus Schools are campuses that rank in the lowest 10 percent of schools statewide based on a three-year average of Achievement Gap scores. To adSEE SCHOOLS, page 5
Photo by OCGNews
DeKalb cleans up illegal tire dump site Tip leads to more than 20,000 illegally dumped tires
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ased on a tip from a resident, DeKalb County discovered more than 20,000 illegally dumped tires at Fork Creek Mountain Park. This is the largest illegal tire dump site discovered this year and it will take approximately two weeks to completely remove the tires from the park. “Thanks to an alert citizen, the county was able to immediately respond,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond. “Illegally dumped tires create serious health and fire hazards and the county is committed to preventing illegal dumping in DeKalb.” In addition to being an eyesore and creating blight, illegally dumped tires can increase vector-borne illnesses like Zika, West Nile, and dengue fever. Tires can also become an ignition source for environmentally harmful fires and cause air pollution.
The cleanup is a coordinated effort between six county departments including Code Enforcement, Keep DeKalb Beautiful, Roads and Drainage, Sanitation, Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs and the DeKalb County Police Department. Eight dump trucks, two backhoes and one tractor-trailer were dispatched to immediately remove the tires. The county also will employ several tractor-trailer trucks with the capacity to haul 400 tires each to finalize the cleanup. Illegal dumping is a criminal offense. Any person who intentionally dumps litter including used tires faces misdemeanor charges. Repeated violators face felony charges, fines up to $25,000 for each violation and/ or five years of prison. The county is asking residents to report illegal tire dumping by contacting the DeKalb County Police Department non-emergency number at 678-406-7929.