Author: On Common Ground News

Kristi Castlin, a 2016 track-and-field Olympian, spoke with youths on July 25 at the Hamilton Recreation Center about gun violence and fulfilling their dreams. Castlin, who is dedicating her Olympic bid in Rio to survivors of gun violence, is a victim of gun violence. When she was 13 years old, her father, who worked as the night manager at a Cobb County hotel, was shot and killed for $300 during a robbery. The case went unsolved for 15 years until a man was convicted in March 2016 for the murder. Castlin also experienced gun violence again as a freshman at…

The Lou Walker Senior Center (LWSC), located at 2538 Panola Road, Lithonia, is celebrating the reopening of its hair salon and barbershop. “At the Lou Walker Senior Center, we not only help seniors learn and stay active, we want to promote the importance of healthy hair, skin and nails,” said DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May. “We want to give seniors a total body experience.” The salon, which will be open to LWSC members and the public, will offer services according to the following schedule: Mondays, barber services; Tuesdays, nail and skin care, including manicures, facials, eyelashes and eyebrows; Wednesdays-Fridays, hair…

DeKalb County Police are investigating the abduction and sexual assault of a 5-year-old female.  On July 22, at approximately 4:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of a child wandering alone at the Value Mall at 5616 Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain.  The child reported that she had been picked up by an unknown male at the Clifton Glen Apartments and later dropped off on Memorial Drive.  The child was transported to the hospital for evaluation where it was discovered she had been sexually assaulted. While officers were out with the child, a call was received of a kidnapping at…

ATLANTA 27th Annual National Poetry Slam Festival ribbon cutting The community, business leaders and sponsors are invited to attend the ribbon cutting hosted by the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce and the reception to follow hosted by the Decatur Arts Alliance Monday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m., at 115 Sycamore St., Decatur. The National Poetry Slam festival ribbon cutting will celebrate the one-week national art, music and poetry slam being hosted in Decatur Aug. 1 – 6. The weeklong event will welcome more than 300 poets from across the nation from August 1 to August 6 at various places around Downtown Decatur…

The DeKalb NAACP branch was honored at the 2016 National Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, held July 14-20 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The branch received the 2016 Lucille Black Award for having the highest total membership production in the past year. Of the more than 2,000 units nationwide, the DeKalb branch had the second-highest number of new members in 2015. Students in the DeKalb NAACP also were honored at the convention. Two youths brought home medals from the NAACP ACT-SO competitions. George Olverson IV received the silver medal in Science Technology Engineering Math- Medicine and…

South DeKalb teens are invited to come out and add their voices to an ongoing conversation that will take place on Saturday, Aug. 6, 9 a.m. to noon, at the South Precinct outside the Gallery at South DeKalb Mall. Residents are urged to invite teens who will benefit from having a positive role model in their lives. Major K.D. Johnson, South Precinct Commander, will present speakers who will offer encouragement and inspiration. Lunch will be provided.

The community is invited to attend the Sixth Annual Let’s Move! DeKalb on Saturday, July 30, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., at Exchange Park Intergenerational Center, 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur. Free back-to-school supplies will be given away while they last. Parents must have their child or children present to receive the supplies. There also will be workshops on financial wellness, fitness and nutrition. For more information, visit: www.choicesforkids.org

Phoenix Pass will partner with Positive Impact Health Centers to offer free and confidential HIV testing on Thursday, Aug. 18, 4 to 7 p.m., at Lighthouse Village, 541 Sigman Road. Learning your HIV status is an important step in keeping you and your loved ones healthy. Clients who test negative will learn more about how to protect themselves from infections. Clients who learn they are positive will immediately be linked to additional care services that can keep them healthy for many years as well as learn how to prevent spreading the virus to others. The OraQuick Advance Rapid Test will be used. The test is…

Is your child entering a Georgia Child Care center, Head Start program, pre-K class or school for the first time? If so, the DeKalb County Board of Health offers your family convenient, affordable back-to-school immunizations and vision, hearing and dental screenings. The Board of Health also issues certified birth certificates for children born in Georgia and provides sports physicals. Board of Health Center hours are Monday through Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday, July 30, immunizations and vision and hearing screenings will be offered at all four centers, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Extended hours are available 8:15…

The Rev. Stafford Wicker, who has pastored Antioch AME Church for 24 years, was recently announced the 137th elected and consecrated Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. During the AME church’s annual general conference held earlier this month, Wicker was elected as Bishop and assigned to oversee the 18th Episcopal District in Africa, which includes Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Swaziland. “My new assignment will allow me to preside over and expand the AME church while also assisting in economic development,” said Wicker who will maintain an office in the United States with an official residence in Southern Africa. Wicker…