Author: On Common Ground News

 A group of supporters held a prayer vigil outside the DeKalb County Courthouse for Anthony Hill, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot to death by former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen. “He was not killed on foreign soil, he was killed right here in the United States,” said Amos King, who led the vigil and heads Justice for Veterans. “I can’t say why the officer pulled his revolver and shot Anthony Hill. There was no threat. Anthony Hill was unarmed.” The group of about 15 supporters gathered on March 9, commemorating the two-year anniversary of Hill’s murder.…

In his inaugural State of the County address, Rockdale County Chairman Oz Nesbitt expressed his desire to work more closely with stakeholders and outlined his vision to fight crime, deter blight and boost economic development. Nesbitt said while some of his goals are long-term, others could be accomplished immediately. Nesbitt announced, for example, that the county and the city of Conyers would jointly host job fair this spring and fall. Nesbitt said the collaboration came about after the Board of Commissioners accepted an invitation to attend the city’s planning retreat in January, a few weeks after he took office.…

The Southwest DeKalb High Tennis Panthers aced two of their most impressive serves off the court recently.  Members of the team spent two weekends performing community service projects that included packing care boxes for the needy and helping with a beautification project. The students worked with Atlanta’s Grace Fellowship in partnership with Hands on Atlanta’s Teen Service Saturday on Feb. 18. Twenty members of the tennis team sorted and packed donated clothing and food, and worked in the kitchen preparing meals for needy metro area families. On Feb. 25, 10 members of the team helped spruce up the nearby Hartwood…

Rockdale County resident Jordan Dillard is a finalist to become a fellow to aid the Basketball Health Corps in Rwanda. Every year, Shooting Touch, a Boston-based organization sends fellows to Rwanda for 11 months to aid the Basketball Health Corps in a number of different outreach programs for local youths. Dillard, who is  a senior on the women’s basketball team at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, is seeking as many viewers as possible to watch her “Shooting Touch” video application to try and win a scholarship for the program. On her YouTube video, Dillard discusses how playing basketball has provided several…

Featured Event Discovery Day at Georgia State University gives kids glimpse into science Explore four floors of hands-on science demonstrations from various GSU science departments and student groups on Saturday, March 18, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Petit Science Center, 100 Piedmont Ave SE, Atlanta. Learn about the science of ice cream (and make some yourself), how scuba diving gear works, the wonders of 3-D printing and get a picture of yourself as a mad scientist. Identify various dinosaur footprints throughout the exhibits and exchange your scientific discoveries for a prize from our Discovery Day pop-up shop. Metered…

State Rep. Karen Bennett, House District 94, will host a town hall meeting to discuss the potential impact of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The meeting will be held on Saturday, March 18, 10 to 11:30 a.m., at Fire Station No. 25, 7136 Stockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. Key components of the ACA include allowing young adults to remain on their parents insurance until age 26, and accessible, affordable healthcare to individuals with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes. “The constituents of my district and DeKalb and Gwinnett counties – in fact, all Georgians – owe…

Keep Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful will meet Tuesday, March 14, 6 p.m., in the lower level meeting room of the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library, 864 Green Street, Conyers. This meeting is open to the public and the public is invited to attend.

High school seniors interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare field are invited to apply for the Dr. Gulshan S. Harjee Scholarship. Applications are due April 28, 2017. The Dr. Gulshan S. Harjee Scholarship was established in 2008. There have been 49 recipients and a more than $70,000 has been awarded. Named for well-known Atlanta-area internist, Gulshan Harjee, M.D., the scholarship will be awarded to students who embody her passion and dedication to caring for others, despite facing challenges in their lives. Eligible students will be finishing high school, accepted to an accredited college and university, and will be interested…

James C. Ward of Antioch Lithonia Missionary Baptist Church has been inducted in the Best Sellers’ Club as a noted music composer. The South DeKalb pastor, who is celebrating his 22-year anniversary this month at Antioch-Lithonia, was inducted after selling more than 100,000 copies of sheet music he composed. Pastor Ward collaborated with Victor Johnson to compose “King Jesus is Alive,” which has sold more than 50,000 copies, and worked with Heather Sorenson to compose “O Sing Unto the Lord,” which has sold 50,000 copies and was recorded at the state-of-the art Disney Studios in Orlando, Florida with Disney’s orchestra.…

The Georgia State Legislature is considering two bills: HB 338 and SB 30. HB 338 is a thinly veiled attempt to usurp the will of the people that went to the polls and roundly defeated the Amendment #1 “Opportunity School District” proposal. Instead of listening to the will of the people, state legislators introduced HB 338. I am amazed that the legislature continues to ignore the real reasons for low- performing schools—poverty and low parent and community involvement. I saw that Minority Leader Stacy Abrams and others from the DeKalb Delegation supported 338 because it now addresses poverty. The bill only mentions…