Author: On Common Ground News

The Business Network at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church will present “The Marketplace” on Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Beulah Community Family Life Center, 2340 Clifton Springs Road, Decatur. A vendor fair, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., will showcase various businesses for the community. The event will also include a financial planning workshop, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., facilitated by a financial expert who will discuss effective strategies for financial planning. All are invited to attend.

Rainbow Push kicks off GOTV rally ATLANTA–The Rainbow Push Coalition and student leaders kicked off its Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign on Cot. 13 at Morehouse College. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, discussed the “Hope is Alive” through Voting initiative, today’s Civil Rights and announced the 17th Annual Creating Opportunity Conference, which will be held Oct, 20 – 22. The GOTV is being supported by Rainbow PUSH Atlanta; Vote Empowerment Collaboration; the Peoples Agenda; NAACP; SCLC; American Voters League, Atlanta University student leaders; and organizers of the 17th Annual…

  The DeKalb NAACP is holding a “Vote No on Amendment 1” rally on Saturday, Oct. 15, noon, at the civil rights organization’s office, 3015 S. Rainbow Drive, Decatur. The purpose of this event is to inform citizens of DeKalb NAACP’s position on Amendment #1, the governor’s Opportunity School District, which will be on the ballot on Nov. 8. The DeKalb NAACP asserts that Amendment 1 is deceptive and not in the best interest of the children and parents of DeKalb County. For more information, contact Lance Hammonds, Education Committee chair NAACP DeKalb County, Office: 404-241-8006 email naacpdek@comcast.net   Ray…

DeKalb Medical recently hosted a group of doctors from Kosovo who are looking to learn more about US hospitals and healthcare.  The group, which included members of the Kosovo Ministry of Health, traveled to the U.S. to learn best practices as they work to rebuild healthcare and modernize after the Kosovo War. “So much of their country was destroyed by the war, “said Scott Keller, D.O. at Mountain East Family Medicine.. “They are working to rebuild their healthcare systems and came to see how ours work.” Dr. Keller and Dr. Stephen Thomas, VP of DeKalb Medical Physicians, met with the…

The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) recently convened its 57th Biennial Convention in Washington, D.C. and held elections for the organization’s national positions. The Honorable Alexis Herman, the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor, conducted the swearing-in ceremony. Ingrid Saunders Jones, of Atlanta, was re-elected President of NCNW Saunders is past Senior Vice President of Global Community Connections and Chair of the Coca-Cola Foundation. Lois Keith, a DeKalb County resident, was elected to serve as a Vice President. Keith, who co-chaired the convention, also currently serves as the national membership chair. Keith organized Georgia’s inaugural statewide conference,…

As a Rockdale County small business owner, I care about my community and about the youth we are educating to become strong leaders. My children are well beyond school age, but I care deeply about the contract that we foster with our children to help them to develop and nurture our community into the foreseeable future. There are 17 public schools in Rockdale County, serving 14,407 students most are striving, and on the whole, I know that educators work every day to help our children succeed. In my business, I’ve worked side by side with student interns, actively participated in…

The residents of the Stonecrest area will decide on Nov. 8 whether to create a city or not. The proposed city of Stonecrest would be one of the largest cities in DeKalb County with a population of 50,000 residents and the largest city in terms of land area: 29.6 square miles. Residents should vote no on this proposal. Before we create another level of government, we should fix our current governance structure first. A city will certainly create more politicians, however, there is no evidence that any significant economic development will occur as proponents have suggested. In fact, the Stonecrest…

Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) has kicked off its Open House nights for Specialty and choice programs. Students and families interested in applying to a program are strongly encouraged to attend that program’s Open House night. C. J. Hicks Elementary School, which offers kindergarten students dual language immersion, held its open house on Oct. 13. The application window for School Specialty and Choice programs will be open Nov. 28 to Dec. 16. The application will be online at www.rockdaleschools.org/specialtyandchoice. Students may apply for specialty programs outside of their assigned neighborhood school zone. Non-traditional programs such as Rockdale Career Academy, Rockdale…

Rockdale County’s Juvenile Court Judge Maureen Wood took the reigns on Monday, filling a position formerly held by long-time Judge William Schneider. Wood was sworn into office on Sept. 30 by Chief Judge David Irwin, who appointed her to the four-year position. Wood is Rockdale’s first African American to hold the seat. She is also believed to be the first female ever appointed as a Rockdale Juvenile Court judge. “I am looking forward to serving in my new position. I’m still getting acclimated but I would like to encourage more community members to consider becoming mentors for the mentoring program…

ATLANTA Inaugural Atlanta Mac and Cheese Festival set for Saturday, Oct. 8 The first-ever Atlanta Mac and Cheese Festival is Saturday, Oct. 8, 12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m., at Walker Park, 200 Memorial Terrace SE, Atlanta. Tickets are $20 and include tastes of cheesy goodness from more than 20 vendors, live entertainment from local bands in a family-friendly atmosphere. Proceeds from the festival benefit Neighbor in Need, which helps low-income seniors in East Lake, Kirkwood, Edgewood and East Atlanta make emergency home repairs. For more information, visit www.atlmacandcheesefestival.com. 10th annul ATL Horror Film Festival The 10th annual Atlanta Horror Film…