Author: On Common Ground News

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA– Four high school graduates of the Rockdale County School District have been named recipients of the inaugural Rockdale Clerk of Courts Janice Morris Scholarship. Each student won a $1K scholarship after writing an essay about overcoming adversity and their desire to pursue higher education. The 2022 winners shared their experiences with bullying, being raised by a single parent,  coping with isolation, and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic as the virus disrupted the lives of family and friends. “ All of the students demonstrated a strong promise for succeeding in college and beyond in spite of…

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA –Jamichael Jones, 33, wanted for the June 5 murder of Atlanta rapper Trouble (Michael Orr), 34, has surrendered. Jones was arrested in Clayton County. Authorities said Jones turned himself in today around 1 a.m. and was taken into custody by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Eric Levett said Jones’ mother was instrumental in Jones’ surrender. The mother said her son called her and told her that he wanted to turn himself in peacefully. Jones gave deputies a location to meet with them and was arrested without incident, authorities said. Jones was charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated…

Do you wonder why Chick-fil-A has so many loyal customers? The restaurant is sharing its recipe for customer service success at an upcoming workshop in Rockdale County. Rockdale County government, in partnership with Chick-fil-A, will offer a Business Quality Customer Service Training  on June 22,  8:30 a.m.  to 12:30 p.m.  The free workshop, open to businesses and members of the community at-large, will be held at the Costley Mill Event Center, 2455 Costley Mill Road N.E., Conyers. At this morning’s Board of Commissioners’ meeting, Rockdale Chairman Oz Nesbitt praised department leaders for the collaboration with Chick-fil-A, which will facilitate the…

DECATUR, GA– The DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs will host its sixth annual Father-Daughter Dance on June 11, 6 to 9 p.m., at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts and Community Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur.   The father-daughter dance is for all ages and costs $15 per couple and $5 for each additional child. The event will include music, refreshments, and dancing. To register, visit any recreation center or go to  www.dekalbcountyga.gov/parks and click the yellow banner to register online on the department’s homepage.  For more information, contact Wannetter Terrell, Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs recreation…

PINE LAKE, GA—Dahlia Drive, between Ivy Road and Laurel Road, will be closed to through-traffic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, June 9, to facilitate a large crane removal of a tree at 628 Olive Road in Pine Lake. Road closure and detour signs will be placed in the area advising motorists of construction work in the area and of local traffic restrictions. Questions regarding this road closure should be addressed to Julia Novotny, scheduling coordinator, Boutte Tree Inc., at 404-799-5472.

DECATUR, GA— A former Lithonia police officer has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to raping a woman during a traffic stop in a park. David Wilborn, 45, entered a guilty plea to charges of Rape, Aggravated Assault, False Imprisonment (two counts), Sexual Contact by Employee or Agent in the First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Violation of Oath by Public Officer (five counts).  Wilborn raped the woman after ordering her male friend, who was driving, and her from the vehicle in which they were riding, according to DeKalb District…

ATLANTA – The June meeting of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors will be held in-person at MARTA headquarters and virtually on YouTube on Thursday, June 9, beginning with a work session at noon and board meeting at 1:30 p.m.  What:             June meeting of the MARTA Board of Directors Agendas: https://www.itsmarta.com/board-documents.aspx  When:             Thursday, June 9                         Work session – noon                           Board meeting – 1:30 p.m.  Where:            MARTA Headquarters                         2424 Piedmont Rd. NE                         Atlanta, 30324                               6th floor board room                     Virtual:          YouTube livestream: https://bit.ly/MARTAPublicMeeting

MCDONOUGH, GA–Dole Packaged Foods, LLC will host a job recruitment event for McDonough, GA, and the surrounding areas on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, from 10 am until 2 pm. Available jobs include Maintenance Technician I, 1st Shift, Maintenance Technician II, 1st Shift, Maintenance Technician III, 1st and 2nd Split Shift, Production Control Clerk, 2nd Shift, Production Technician I, 1st Shift, and Production Technician I, 2nd Shift. Interested job seekers may visit https://bit.ly/2LSEK0Z to view detailed job descriptions and apply for available positions. Those interested in attending the recruitment event should apply to receive event location details. For more information about this event, email SWAT@gdol.ga.gov.

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—The DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections Board announced today that the May 24 primary election results for DeKalb County finally have been certified. DeKalb elections officials certified the results in a 4-1 vote during a special called meeting  on Friday, June 3. Board member Anthony Lewis (R) cast the lone dissenting vote. The certification was originally scheduled May 31. Certification of the results was delayed due to technical issues in the District 2 Commission contest, which required a recount of the ballots by hand over several days. Officials said technical programming issues arose following one candidate’s withdrawal from the race,…

The DeKalb County Board of Education will hold the following meetings on Monday, June 6, 2022. The budget hearings are virtual and the board meeting is in-person and will be held in the J. David Williamson Board Room, Robert R. Freeman Administrative Complex, 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083.  10:30am       1st Virtual Budget Hearing  1st Virtual Millage Rate Hearing (immediately following the 1st virtual budget hearing)  11:30am       Executive Session for the purpose of discussing permitted matters and  Work Session  5:45pm         Community Input Session  6:00pm         2nd Millage Rate Hearing and Business Meeting The revised meeting agendas are attached and can be accessed online by going to: www.dekalbschoolsga.org, click on…