Newspaper Page Text
LOCAL
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, MARCH 7 - 13, 2024 • PAGE 3
Chamblee officials want Embry Hills/
Mercer annexation on November ballots
BY CHRISTINE FONVILLE
CHRISTINE@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
Chamblee city council members
and Mayor Brian Mock voted
unanimously to approve the
adoption of a resolution requesting
the Georgia General Assembly to
place a referendum on the Nov. 5
general election ballot that would
put the annexation of the Embry
Hills and Mercer areas to a vote.
The adoption of the resolution
came during a special called
meeting on Feb. 26 attended by Sen.
Sally Harrell, Rep. Scott Holcomb
and Rep. Long Tran, among other
elected officials. The Georgia
General Assembly is scheduled to
adjourn on March 28.
The Feb. 26 meeting followed
an earlier in February where Mock,
together with the Embry Hills
Civic Association, hosted town
hall listening sessions with area
residents about possible annexation.
The topic first grabbed news
headlines when Chamblee officials
stated they contracted services with
Rosetta Stone Communications in
October of 2022 to "assist with the
gathering of petition signatures
for the proposed annexation." The
annexation process was done using
the 60 percent method, a Georgia
law that requires 60 percent of
registered voters and 60 percent of
landowners in the area to sign the
petition requesting annexation.
However, that application was
withdrawn in December 2023 after
Chamblee officials said, "a review
of the contents in the proposed
annexation application [led to the]
discovery of technical deficiencies."
Now, Chamblee officials
are hoping instead to see the
annexation, which would add
approximately 3,500 people to the
city, put to a vote as early as the end
of this year.
During the public comments
portion of the meeting, reactions
to possible annexation were
mixed with some members of the
Embry Hills community expressing
that they feel DeKalb County
has neglected the area for years.
Others, however, said they have
been satisfied with the police and
trash services the county provides
and questioned whether Chamblee
would be able to meet their needs.
Mock said that he and other
Chamblee officials have been
approached by Embry Hills residents
for years asking about the possibility
of annexation.
According to residents who
spoke up during the meetings, if
it does end up on a ballot, only
those who would be annexed into
Chamblee would be able to vote for
or against annexation.
A map on the city's website,
labeled "phase one," shows Mercer
University, Embry Hills Shopping
Center, and numerous residential
streets and neighborhoods included
in the annexation footprint.
For more information, an to view
the map in its entirety, visit https://
www.chambleega.com/mayor
counci I/annexation, php.
DKPD officers indicted in
Stone Mountain shooting
BY JAY PHILLIPS
JAY@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
Two DeKalb County
Police Department officers—
one current officer and
one former officer—were
indicted on Feb. 28 in the
shooting death of a man
inside his Stone Mountain
home.
Former DKPD Officer
Russell Mathis, 30, was
indicted by a DeKalb County
grand jury on charges
of felony involuntary
manslaughter and
misdemeanor reckless
conduct. The jury also
indicted DKPD officer Jordan
Vance, 30, on a charge of
reckless conduct.
The charges stem from
the Nov. 4, 2022, shooting of
Marando Salmon, 37, inside
a home on Autumn Crest
Court in Stone Mountain.
According to the
preliminary investigation,
Mathis and Vance
Marando Salmon (pictured) was
shot and killed by a DeKalb police
officer who has now been charged
with involuntary manslaughter and
reckless conduct. Photo provided
responded to a call about
a stolen car parked in the
driveway of a home on
Autumn Crest Court. As
part of their investigation,
Vance knocked on the front
door of the house—which
reportedly swung open—
and Mathis and Vance
entered the home.
A news release states
that Mathis opened the
door of a second-floor
bedroom and encountered
Salmon sitting on his bed
in the dark room. In a
matter of seconds, Mathis
opened fire and shot and
killed Salmon. Salmon had
allegedly thrown a cell
phone at Mathis, which
Mathis believed was a knife.
At the time of the
shooting, Salmon was
unarmed. Paramedics
transported Salmon to
Grady Memorial Hospital
where he was pronounced
dead.
Following the
indictments, warrants were
issued for the arrests of
Mathis and Vance. The news
release states that Mathis
and Vance are expected to
surrender to the DeKalb
County Jail in the coming
days.
The case will be
assigned to a judge and set
for trial later.
More than a bank.
Your good partner.
SBA Loan
Commercial Loan
Mortgage
Duluth Branch Doraville Branch Johns Creek Branch Sugarloaf Branch McGinnisBranch Houston (TX)Branch
SBA
■“ %— f Member
taa M FDIC
Promise 3ne Bank
good people, smart bonking
www.promiseone.bank
