Author: On Common Ground News

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA– This evening’s final public hearing(July 18) about the Gwinnett County proposed millage rate was canceled due to a lack of quorum and will be rescheduled. Under state law, a quorum of the Board of Commissioners consisting of three members must be present in person in order to conduct business. Information about the rescheduled meeting will be posted on the County’s website, GwinnettCounty.com.

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA – The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) is hosting a Job Fair this Thursday, July 21, from 9 a.m.-noon, at the Administrative and Instructional Complex, located at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Stone Mountain. Available positions include Teachers, Transportation Personnel, Counselors, Healthcare Professionals, and Custodial Services. For a comprehensive listing of all current DCSD vacancies, please click here: https://www.applitrack.com/dekalbschoolsga/onlineapp/default.aspx For more information or to register for this event, visit: https:/forms.office.com/r/TzZgGqmcTS So far this summer, approximately 550 new employees have been hired, including 380 educators. Teacher salaries range from a starting pay of $53,751 up to $102,608.

NEW YORK CITY—A group of students enrolled in the “2022 Summer Camp Spotlight with Stepp Stewart” in DeKalb County are in New York this weekend enjoying Broadway theater plays, performing arts workshops and experiencing the Big Apple. “We’re here! We’re here!” said an ecstatic Stewart, founder of the performing arts camp, which is open to youths ages 7 to 17 who have an interest in theatre. The trip to New York is the highlight of the three-week camp, which runs July 5-22 at the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center in DeKalb. DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson is thrilled about the youths…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—DeKalb County and its contractors will continue the Georgetown Gateway water main realignment on Chamblee Dunwoody Road on Monday, July 18. County officials say the project, which is underway between Cotillion Road and Chancery Road, could cause outages. Work is planned for up to four hours on Monday. Unless unforeseen circumstances arise.

GWINNETT COUNTY– In response to increasing COVID-19 cases numbers, Gwinnett County is requiring all employees and strongly encouraging visitors to wear face masks or face coverings while inside county buildings and facilities effective July 18.  Mask requirements for visitors inside courtrooms will be at the discretion of the presiding judge.  Gwinnett County’s COVID-19 Community Level — which is determined by hospital bed usage, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in the community — is high, officials stated. Officials did not state the actual number of cases.   “When community levels are high, the CDC recommends wearing…

STONECREST, GA–Vaughn Irons, Principal, Stonecrest Resorts, has been awarded a new construction hotel franchise that will be built under the first BOLD by Wyndham, a new program designed to engage and advance more Black entrepreneurs on their path to hotel ownership. Developed with insight and support from existing and aspiring Black hoteliers, BOLD, which stands for Black Owners and Lodging Developers, aims to expand awareness for the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs while using the scale and resources of Wyndham to help address those challenges and increase the number of Black hoteliers. Irons said today (July 14) that the…

ATLANTA–Jason Lary, founding mayor of the City of Stonecrest, was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday, July 13, to serve four years and nine months in prison for COVID relief fraud charges. Supporters who attended the hearing asked the judge for leniency in hopes that Lary’s declining health and positive contributions to them and the community might sway the judge to sentence him to serve at home. Their comments did not. In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. said he would not sentence Lary, 60, to serve his time at home as Lary and…

DECATUR, GA – The DeKalb County Board of Ethics will conduct a board meeting on Thursday, July 21, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held via Zoom at https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/88137432677 Join by phone at 602-333-0032 or 888-270-9936 and use conference code 171493. Agenda I. Adoption of Agenda II. Approval of the Minutes of June 16, 2022 III. Administrative Items A. Policy Re: Swearing In of Board Members B. Proposed informal advice on Ethics Code Line 336-37 C. Update on newly hired Ethics Officer IV. Ethics Cases A. Robert Buckler v. Jeff Rader and Kathy Gannon [Case No. 2017-24] V. Public…

ATLANTA–David T. Howard Middle School and David T. Howard National Alumni Association, Inc. (DTH NAAI) will celebrate the official dedication of the Walt “Clyde” Frazier Gym Court/Gymnasium on Tuesday, July 19. The dedication will be held 10 a.m. until noon, at David T. Howard Middle School, 551 John Wesley Dobbs Ave., NE, Atlanta. Frazier, an acclaimed NBA basketball player, is a member of the graduating class of 1963 at the former David T. Howard High School in Atlanta, GA. He learned basketball on a rutted and dirt playground, the only facility available at his all-Black school in the racially segregated…