Archived News

Composting workshop scheduled for June 16

The Wylde Center (formerly the Oakhurst Community Garden Project), DeKalb County Public Library system and the City of Decatur are hosting a workshop in the Living the Green Life series.

During the free event, participants can visit four compost information stations where they can learn about what to add to a compost pile, the micro and macro organisms that live and breakdown compost, how to best use the finished compost product and alternative ways to compost using worms and black soldier fly larvae.

The workshop will be held June 16 at the Oakhurst Garden, 435 Oakview Road, Decatur.

Sessions run from 9-10:30 a.m. and 10:30-noon.

For more information or to register, send an email to andrea.zoppo@yahoo.com.

June schedule set for county community council meetings

DeKalb County Community Councils, advisory groups of DeKalb residents that review applications for land use map amendments and zoning applications, will be meeting in June.

Meetings scheduled for June include:

June 18--District 5 

Redan Trotti Library at 6:30 p.m.

1569 Wellborn Rd., Lithonia

June 19--District 1

Chamblee Library at 6:30 p.m. 

4115 Clairmont Rd., Chamblee

June 19--District 4 

Stone Mountain Library at 6:30 p.m.

952 Leon St., Stone Mountain

June 20--District 2

Mason Mill Center for Seniors & Disabled at 6:30 p.m. 

1340-B McConnell Dr., Decatur

June 20--District 3

Wesley Chapel Library at 6:30 p.m.

2861 Wesley Chapel Rd., Decatur

Relocated St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store celebrates reopening June 15

Shopping at thrift stores is one of the newest trends today in an effort for people to save cash and raise money. While the idea of a thrift store is not new, the popularity is. With these troubling and unstable economic times, everyone is trying to save money.  This popularity coupled with individuals’ desperate need for financial help led St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) to expand its store operation and locate support services in the Stone Mountain community. 

The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Stone Mountain will celebrate its relocation and reopening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. June 16 at the new location in at Rockmor Plaza, 4871 Memorial Drive at the corner of Memorial and Rockbridge Road.

Festivities will continue June 16 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 

The new 14,000 square foot facility replaces the former smaller store on Rockbridge Road, and provides efficient donation receiving and processing and a facility that will conduct the organizations programs and services. 

The original store has operated in Stone Mountain since 1992.

In addition to the increased floor space, the facility is home to one of SVdP’s new service delivery components, a Family Support Center. 

St. Vincent de Paul opened the first support center in Chamblee and added three additional sites since then. Stone Mountain becomes the fifth center, supporting a local community by assisting those in need. 

The services offered within the case management include screening for governmental and community benefits programs, assistance with the acquisition of food and clothing and referrals to partner agencies to augment the delivery of services.

For more information about the Support Center/Store opening or about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, visit  www.svdpatl.org or call 678-892-6160.

Sheriff’s Office fingerprint system upgrade could cause slower release times

Upgrades to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office fingerprint system may delay the release of inmates.

The Georgia Crime Information Center will be installing a new automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) between June 15 and 19. Because the fingerprint system will be down during this time, the release of inmates will take longer, according to a media release from the sheriff’s office.

The statewide system is used in the DeKalb County jail to aid in identifying inmates during the intake and release process.  Inmates’ fingerprints are submitted to database  immediately before their release to ensure that the correct person is being released and to check for any outstanding criminal warrants.

“We have an action plan in place that will allow us to process the inmates out of jail with the same certainty as we have using AFIS,” Sheriff Thomas Brown said. “This plan includes adding staff and using several reliable back up measures to make sure that our release procedures remain accurate.”

It is anticipated that this slowdown could last up to seven days past the implementation of the new AFIS.