Author: On Common Ground News

DECATUR,GA–  On Tuesday, DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson announced a joint town hall, in partnership with Commissioner Robert Patrick. All DeKalb County citizens who wish to meet the new officials in the DeKalb County Department of Voter Registration and Elections are encouraged to attend the virtual meeting. The virtual town hall meeting will take place on Thursday, Feb. 3,  6:30-7:30 p.m. The virtual meeting will be livestreamed on Commissioner Davis Johnson’s and Commissioner Patrick’s Facebook pages, along with live coverage from DCTV. “I am proud to cohost this town hall meeting with my colleague, Commissioner Patrick as we present…

LITHONIA, GA–Martha H. Calloway, longtime executive director of the City of Lithonia Housing Authority, has passed away. City officials said that Mrs. Calloway died on Saturday, Jan. 22. Funeral arrangements are still being made by her husband and family members, said Mayor Shameka Reynolds. “We will provide more information as it becomes available,” said Reynolds. ” The city and Housing Authority plan to have a memorial service to honor her memory in the near future.” Mrs. Calloway was a resident of Macon, Georgia.   Photo: Martha H. Calloway is pictured as the hostess of a high tea that she held for…

Story updated Jan. 26, 2022, 4:14 p.m. ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA –The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office has charged and arrested a teacher at Salem High School in Conyers with simple battery after a thorough investigation involving the assault of a 14-year-old male student. On Jan. 21, Marquette Thinn, 44, of Lawrenceville, was seen on video pushing a 14-year-old male student to the ground in a classroom filled with other students during a verbal altercation in which he cursed at the student. The student complained of wrist pain resulting from the assault by the male teacher. Thinn was a teacher in the…

CONYERS, GA—Conyers Police have released the identity of a man whose body was found on Jan. 20 on the property of the Conyers Post Office on Highway 138. Capt. Jackie Dunn said today (Jan. 26) that the man who was found was John Jerry, 58. His identity had been withheld pending notification of next to kin.  He was believed to be homeless. His last known address was the Horizon Extended Stay in Conyers, Dunn said. Dunn said Jerry died of natural causes. “An autopsy was performed and it is clear from the autopsy that there was no foul play,”…

Applications accepted online for one-week only   ATLANTA—The applications process is now open for the city’s guaranteed income pilot program for low-income Atlantans. I.M.P.A.C.T. (Income Mobility Program for Atlanta Community Transformation) will serve 300 City of Atlanta low-income residents who will receive $500 per month in guaranteed income for one year. The Urban League of Greater Atlanta began accepting applications for the program today, Jan. 26, at 8 a.m. on behalf of the city and Mayor Andre Dickens. In one of her final acts as mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms announced a partnership between the City of Atlanta and the Urban…

DECATUR, GA– The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has installed full-body scanners at entrances to its facilities on Memorial Drive in Decatur to better detect the presence of weapons and contraband on visitors, employees, and arrestees at the DeKalb County Jail. Last year, the agency purchased two units of the Tek84 Intercept Body Scanner for High- Security Screening, a state-of-the-art security scanning system of the type that is being used by more than 500 correctional facilities nationwide. The units are located inside the jail intake area and the public entrance to the jail lobby. They represent the agency’s commitment…

ATLANTA — Atlanta police announced on Jan. 25, that a 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting that left a 6-month-old child dead. The shooting occurred on Monday, Jan. 24, around 3 p.m., near the Food Mart store on Anderson Avenue in the Dixie Hills neighborhood in northwest Atlanta.  Police said the baby was shot while riding in the backseat of a car. The child was identified as Grayson Matthew Fleming-Gray. The child’s mother told WSB-TV that she was pulling into a parking lot when the shooting occurred. The suspect, Dequasie Little, was arrested…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–DeKalb County will open three warming centers for residents to use overnight. Warming centers will be open in the following DeKalb County Fire Stations nightly Jan. 25 – 29, beginning at 8 p.m.: ·      Fire Station 3, 100 N. Clarendon Avenue, Avondale Estates, GA 30002 ·      Fire Station 4, 4540 Flakes Mill Road, Ellenwood, GA 30294 ·      Fire Station 6, 2342 Flat Shoals Road, Atlanta, GA 30316 Anyone staying in the warming centers must follow the county’s COVID-19 protocols that include wearing a mask, social distancing and undergoing a temperature check.

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA– In a virtual voting session on Jan. 25, the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners approved placing the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) on the ballot for May. Rockdale County Board of Elections will meet on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 3:30 p.m. to adopt the resolution. In 1985, Georgia legislators authorized a one-percent sales tax collected by the County and in 1987, Rockdale County began to fund developments and improvements starting with the Nancy Guinn Library. SPLOST money is collected every time someone purchases something in Rockdale County whether they are residents or not. Throughout the…

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA –The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on Jan. 25 to create a new Public Facilities Authority to help facilitate its plan for future growth. The resolution was approved during a virtual meeting, which was held at 10 a.m. The authority will provide the county, Rockdale County School District and the City of Conyers with an additional method of financing government projects. Bonds issued by the authority will have the lowest possible interest rates and cost of issuance, officials said. The authority can raise capital to be used in the acquisition, design, and construction…