Author: On Common Ground News

DeKalb County Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs will host a series of free fall festivals Oct. 21 – 31 at various recreation centers throughout DeKalb County. This year’s festivals will include face painting, hikes, music, games, contests, hayrides, food and more. All members of the community are invited to attend, and children are encouraged to wear costumes. The 2016 fall festivals include:   Friday, Oct. 21 Davidson Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, 4 – 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 Browns Mill Recreation Center, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Midway Recreation Center, 7 – 10 p.m. H. Scott and Decatur Alumni Chapter of…

Toastmasters is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to helping people improve their communication and leadership skills: A Toastmasters’ Club is forming at the Stonecrest Library. The nonprofit club is dedicated to helping people improve their communication and leadership skills. The Stonecrest club will meet on the first and third Tuesday, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Stonecrest Library, at 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia. The club is open to all adults over 18 and will help you: Become a better speaker and presenter Communicate with confidence Develop your leadership skills Listen and give effective feedback Learn these skills and more…

The DeKalb County Board of Health’s STD/HIV Prevention Program will host an STD/HIV Haunted Maze Health Fair that will feature free STD and HIV testing and other health screenings. The event also will offer food, vendor trick-or-treating, a photo booth, face painting, and an entertaining and educational STD/HIV haunted house. This event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2 to 6 p.m., at the Exchange Park Recreation Center, 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur. For more information, call 404-270-2453.

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…

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…