Author: On Common Ground News

Rockdale County Commissioner Doreen Williams invites citizens to attend a Strategic Planning Town Hall on Thursday Nov. 10, 5:30 p.m., at the J.P. Carr Community Center, 981 Taylor St., Conyers. Citizens will have a chance to meet in break-out sessions to discuss transportation, water and sewer, public safety, code enforcement, economic development, parks and recreation and branding and marketing. Future goals related to the Strategic Plan Survey results can be found at www.rockdalecountyga.gov. The meeting will wrap up with the county’s department heads briefly giving their overviews. For more information, contact Commissioner Doreen Williams at 770-278-7001 or…

ATLANTA – Anthem, Inc., one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies, will create 1,800 information technology(IT) jobs in Midtown Atlanta and invest more than $20 million in the community over the next six years, officials have announced. Anthem’s new facility will be located at the Bank of America Plaza, allowing for close collaboration between the IT hub and the Anthem Innovation Studio that recently opened in Tech Square, officials said. “I am excited that Anthem has chosen Atlanta for its consolidated IT business, where the company will have access to a base of highly skilled workers and a…

Would you pour bleach on your private parts? Probably not, but what if I told you that that is exactly what millions of women are unknowingly doing all around the world? Toilet paper, a staple household item in the developed world, is one of the most uncivilized items found in homes and public places across the globe. On average, individuals use toilet paper three to six times a day completely unaware of the toxic chemicals to which they are being exposed. More than 100,000 chemicals are used in commercial paper products, including toilet paper. The most dangerous of these toxins…

Jeffrey Breedlove, DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester’s chief of staff, is facing felony charges after falsely telling police he was held against his will in a motel room during a bizarre incident in which he admitted he was a crack cocaine addictlice said Breedlove tried to convince them not to arrest him. Breedlove, 49, was arrested on Monday, Oct. 24, at the Budget Inn and Suites on Memorial Drive. DeKalb County Police found him inside Room 222 with a 26-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman. Police were responding to a call that someone needed help and that a gun was…

DeKalb County resident Hank Stewart, who is celebrating 25 years as a poet and community servant, will be honored as Poet Laureate by Congressman Hank Johnson and DeKalb ICEO Lee May. Atlanta City Councilman Michael Julian Bond also will be among community leaders and friends who will pay tribute to Stewart on Monday, Nov. 7, 5 p.m., at Atlanta City Hall. Stewart, who is the author of seven books, will release a new work,“25 Years and Still Counting,” during the celebration. The new book highlights Stewart’s 25-year journey, recapturing some of his favorite poems, the lives he has touched with…

After the polls close on Election Day, Dr. Steven N. Dial, Sr. of Rainbow Park Baptist Church in South DeKalb County will begin preparing for a new chapter that will not only include a new leader for our nation but also a new CEO for DeKalb County. Dial and the DeKalb Pastors Alliance, a group of 11 South DeKalb pastors, plan to hold a prayer vigil from 11 p.m. to midnight on Nov. 8, Election Day, on the steps of the DeKalb County Courthouse in downtown Decatur. “I do believe this is the most important election of our lifetime,” said…

Those in the DeKalb County School District who knew Dr. Robert R. Freeman as superintendent for 16 years simply called him “Bob.” It fit the gentleman cowboy’s modest style. “Bob was my mentor. He was my friend,” said Dr. Melvin Johnson, chairman of the DeKalb County (Georgia) Board of Education. “He was one of the most influential people in my life.” Dr. Freeman passed away at age 84 on Oct. 21 in Alpharetta, Georgia, a north-Atlanta suburb. Born in Jordan, Montana in 1931, Dr. Freeman brought the lessons of a Western upbringing to a long career in education. “He had…

Mobile dairy to visit Atlanta-Fulton Central Library The Mobile Dairy Classroom will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 10:30 a.m., at the Atlanta-Fulton Central Library, 1 Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta. The Mobile Dairy Classroom is a dynamic and fun educational program operated by the Agricultural Commodity Commission for Milk. A fully operational milking parlor with a live cow used for milking and feeding demonstrations will be inside of the classroom. ATLANTA   Sixth annual Chastain Park Arts Festival set The sixth annual Chastain Park Arts Festival, Nov. 5-6, will feature approximately 185 artists and artisans.…

The MARTA Police Department will create a simulated full-scale training exercise (Operation Deep Impact) Nov. 5-6. The exercises will begin on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. and end on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 3 a.m. The exercises will be conducted at the Sandy Springs and Decatur MARTA stations. The annual drills are designed to evaluate emergency response capabilities in the event of an actual threat to the system. The training exercise provides the opportunity for MARTA Police, MARTA staff and other emergency response agencies to address potential incidents such as terrorist attacks, pandemics or natural disasters, in a real-life setting. MARTA will…

Don Rubin, a professor at the Center for Health and Risk Communication at the University of Georgia, will present “How to Make the Most of Your Health Insurance” on Nov. 7. The workshop will be held 11 a.m. to noon at the Northlake-Barbara Loar Library, 3772 LaVista Road, Tucker. 404-679-4408. Rubin also will hold the workshop from 2 to 3 p.m. at the REdan-Trotti Library, 1569 Wellborn Road, Lithonia. 770-482-3821.