Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA – MARTA partnered with Page Turners Make Great Learners, an Atlanta non-profit focused on childhood literacy, and the City of Atlanta to host the third annual Storybus on Thursday, March 2. Page Turners Make Great Learners launched the Storybus in partnership with MARTA in 2018 to encourage students to read and connect the skill of reading to the wider world. The MARTA Storybus traveled through Atlanta picking up notable local figures including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens who shared his favorite book with the children. MARTA Chief Customer Experience Officer Rhonda Allen joined the children at the “Let’s Paint the Town REaD” reading rally at Heritage Academy to…

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA—Gwinnett County Police Department will host a community meeting to address concerns from residents. The event will be held on Thursday, March 9, 6:30 p.m. at Universal Church, 6081 Singleton Rd., Norcross. In recent weeks, Gwinnett has had a number of tragic incidents, including homicides involving youths as well as a number of overdoses among teens. These incidents have directly impacted the Hispanic community in Gwinnett. Authorities say that false information has been spreading on social media and by word of mouth about these incidents. This meeting will be an opportunity for residents to ask questions and get…

By Mark Brock DeKalb County Public Schools District Athletics Special DEKALB COUNTY, GA—A big 10-0 run to open the second overtime propelled the Cedar Grove Saints to a 94-91 Class 3A boys’ Elite 8 win over the Long County Blue Tide at Cedar Grove on Wednesday (March 1). The Saints (19-9) almost did not get the chance to go on the second overtime run as Long County (20-12) scored three points in a four-second span to take an 80-78 lead on a free throw by Keshawn Smith with 8.8 seconds to play in the first overtime period. Cedar Grove…

Update: Lawrenceville missing teen identified, suspect Dennis Calzadilla charged with murder The victim has been identified as Jose Daniel Martinez, 16, of Lawrenceville. Authorities said he was found shot to death and have arrested a 20-year-old male suspect, Dennis Calzadilla, in connection with the murder. Police issued the following report: At 1:05 p.m., on March 1, 2023, Martinez’s family called 911 to report Martinez as a missing person. Officers spoke with the family and found out that he had not returned home the previous night. While on the scene, officers were notified that the teen’s possible last known location was…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA– Sasha Dinnall, 36, of Lithonia has been arrested and charged with the Sept. 7, 2022 fatal car crash that killed Brionna S. Johnson, 32, of Loganville. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit with the U.S. Marshals Office arrested Dinnall without incident this morning (March 1) at a residence on Pole Creek Drive in Lithonia. Arrest warrants charge Dinnall with Homicide by Vehicle in the First Degree (a felony) and three misdemeanors: Exceeding Maximum Speed Limits, Reckless Driving, and Vehicle to Drive on Right Side of Road. Authorities reported Dinnall was speeding at rates in excess of…

WASHINGTON, D.C.–DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson was in the right place at just the right moment. Johnson was photographed in a selfie with President Biden on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023 as the President attended a White House reception celebrating Black History Month. Johnson called the timing divine. “God is  good!” Johnson exclaimed. His wife posted “Thank you God!!!” on her IG social media account. The photo promoted a PBS NewsHour report in which   President Biden commented  “history matters.”

DECATUR, GA—The DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections meeting for the purpose of conducting its normal monthly business will be held on Thursday, March  9, 2023, at 4:30 p.m.  This meeting will be conducted in person at 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, Ga. 30032. Public comments may be made in person or submitted by sending an email of one page or less to electionspubliccmnt@dekalbcountyga.gov, which must be received between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting. The body of the email must include the citizen’s first and last name, followed by the citizen’s address. Abusive, profane, or derogatory…

DECATUR, GA–  The DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs will hold a Parks Citizen Advisory Board Committee meeting on Thursday, March 28, 6 p.m. at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur. The meeting to discuss current park improvements and will be conducted via Zoom at https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/87648259124. To join the meeting by phone, dial 888-270-9936, and use conference code 829398. For more information, contact Carol Underwood, administrative coordinator, at 404-371-2927 or cjunderw@dekalbcountyga.gov.  

DEKALB COUNTY, GA– The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, along with the DeKalb County Police S.W.A.T. arrested a suspect in the murder of a pregnant woman in Clarkston, Georgia. Investigators located and arrested Diamonte Oiy’Shawn Haithcoats, 22, of Stone Mountain, on Monday without incident  outside of a barbershop on Memorial Drive in Decatur. A warrant for Haithcoats’ charges him with Malice Murder in the Feb. 2, 2023 shooting death of Shaniyah Monet Rodriguez, who was killed on Old Singleton Lane in the Brannon Hill condominium community. According to the warrant, Rodriguez was seven months pregnant with Haithcoats’ child and…