Author: On Common Ground News

$14.1 million to improve public safety retention, recruitment and training DECATUR, GA – Today, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve CEO Michael Thurmond’s FY2022 budget which includes a 6.25 percent increase in compensation for eligible sworn public safety personnel, making the pandemic front-line pay permanent for these employees. “I would like to thank the commissioners who voted to support this critical budget which prioritizes public safety,” CEO Thurmond said. The budget includes $14.1 million to improve retention, recruitment and training for police, fire, and other public safety personnel. In addition to increasing…

  EAST POINT, GA– The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is working with the East Point Police to identify a teen girl who was found deceased on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. The unidentified girl is believed to be between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. East Point Police responded to a call of a deceased person on Feb. 12 and found the black female’s body outside next to a vacant house in the 2200 block of Ben Hill Road. An autopsy examination determined that she was the victim of a homicide, authorities said. The victim has…

DECATUR—Registered voters in DeKalb County planning to cast an absentee ballot for the Tuesday, May 24, 2022, primary election are encouraged to begin the process as early as March 7, 2022. The application is the first step in obtaining an absentee ballot and a valid ID is required. An application for an absentee ballot can be submitted in several ways: Print and fill out the application available at www.dekalbvotes.com, sign the application, take a photo or scan and email to voterreg@dekalbcountyga.gov. Print out the application from www.dekalbvotes.com, fill it out, and hand deliver or mail to: 4380 Memorial…

Stonecrest Mayor Pro Tem George Turner & Councilwoman Jazzmin Cobble presents: Road Repair & Repaving Summit- How the City and the County partner to repair & repave Stonecrest roads Join us on Feb 23rd, 2022 @ 6:30pm for a town hall meeting discussing roads in Stonecrest. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82412102231 Meeting ID: 824 1210 2231 Proudly Serving, Jazzmin Randall Cobble Councilwoman, City of Stonecrest- District 3

ATLANTA—Mayor Andre Dickens has been named a co-chair of the Truman Center for National Policy’s new Task Force on City and State Diplomacy. Supported by the Open Society Foundations, this effort will address states, cities and other subnational actors as essential participants in foreign policy. This task force will develop a series of recommendations to broaden diplomatic engagement across America, strengthen ties between the U.S. State Department and U.S. City and State governments, and deepen domestic engagement on transnational issues, including: climate change, migration, and trade. These recommendations will be developed by Task Force members, building on Truman’s foundational work…

DEKALB COUNTY GA– The DeKalb County Police Department Homicide/Assault Unit continues to actively investigate and follow leads regarding the Feb. 19 shooting death of Henry Ashley, 24.   Investigators believe Ashley, who worked as a security guard at the business located at 8455 Mall Parkway, Stonecrest encountered the suspects at approximately 11 p.m. as he investigated a suspicious person’s alert on the property.  Moments after the encounter, the suspects shot him while he was in his marked work vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.   The five suspects fled the scene immediately after the…

CONYERS, GA– Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) Superintendent Terry Oatts was recently honored by the Georgia Senate for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Georgia Sen. Tonya Anderson (District 43) presented the resolution during the Rockdale County Board of Education meeting on Feb. 17. The resolution recognized the leadership of Oatts in proactively establishing an epidemiology committee in fall 2019, continuously collaborating with public health and community agencies, and using public health data to guide COVID-19 mitigation measures. The resolution also highlighted Oatts’ efforts to acquire telehealth services with the nonprofit Kids’-Doc-on-Wheels and make RCPS the first district in the…

ATLANTA—Mayor Andre Dickens is marking the first-ever Peace Week ATL with a series of events across the city. The purpose of Peace Week ATL is to rebuild and strengthen the social fabric of Atlanta as cities across the country grapple with violence. “Peace week ATL is week of events, activities and conversations that we hope will build awareness of—and support for—Atlanta’s peace-building practices,” Mayor Dickens told those in attendance at the Peace Week ATL kick-off interfaith prayer service held today at The King Center with Rev. Dr. Bernice King. “We join a host of other cities struggling with outbreaks of…

DECATUR, GA–DeKalb Brilliance Academy is accepting registration for the 2022-23 school year for K-2. The new public charter school, located at 2575 Snapfinger Road in the former Y Academy building, is inviting parents who would like to enroll their child or have them placed at the top of the wait list to apply by Feb. 28. There are no admission requirements, and the school is free to attend. “We are thrilled to get to open the school we’ve worked for two years with the community to design. It will be the first charter school of its kind in DeKalb…