Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA—Civil rights activist Ina Claire Evans was laid to rest on Wednesday, July 7. She transitioned peacefully on June 30. She was 86. Mrs. Evans served as a member of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education for 14 years and will be remembered not only as a child advocate but for her activism in many spectrums. Publicly known as Ina, she was married to former DeKalb NAACP President John Evans for 30 years. Their joint activism started in Chicago before moving to Atlanta in 1965. Mrs. Evans’ private celebration of life…

STONECREST—Jacobs, formerly CH2M Engineering, has notified the City of Stonecrest that it plans to end its Professional Services Agreement on Dec. 31, 2021. For the last five years, the firm has provided staffing, vehicles and other equipment to the city. Most of the city’s employees were hired through CH2M/Jacobs. In a letter dated June 29, 2021, Jacobs’ Vice President Jonathan Mantay said the company does not plan to renew its agreement, which it has had with the city since 2017 following the city’s incorporation. The letter was sent to Acting City…

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—DeKalb County Police investigators are seeking the public’s help in two separate road rage incidents after the arrests of two suspects.  They are trying to find out if there are other victims who have had encounters with the suspects, said spokesperson Michaela N. Vincent. Damon Fleming, 22, was arrested on June 14 for the May 28 incident near I-20 and Wesley Chapel Road in Decatur. Fleming is accused at shooting at a mother and her young daughter on I-20, a 22-year-old man shot at a mother and her young daughter on I-20…

DECATUR, GA—The DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections (DeKalb VRE) Board welcomed three returning members and two new members this week, as Judge Bedelia C. Hargrove administered the official oath to the entire group during a July 7special called board meeting.   Nancy Jester (R) and Karli Swift (Independent) are the two new members. The five members will serve a two-year term through June 2023.   The DeKalb VRE Board is comprised of five members: ·      Anthony Lewis (R) …

By Mark Brock DCSD Athletics Specialist The DeKalb County School District(DCSD) is investing in its high school athletics programs with turf and track renovations to improve local schools’ ability to compete at even higher levels as part of the E-SPLOST V of 2020. Seven new turf fields and six-lane tracks are already installed at Arabia Mountain, Cedar Grove, Columbia, Druid Hills Middle, McNair Middle, Redan and Southwest DeKalb. Tucker is nearing completion with Dunwoody not far behind as we close in on August football practice. Deluxe Athletics was awarded the contract for the…

DECATUR, GA—DeKalb County Juvenile Court Chief Judge Vincent C. Crawford announced the receipt of a grant award of $949,811 from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration to extend the YouthBuild program through 2024 for DeKalb County residents ages 16-24. The funding is one of only two YouthBuild grants awarded in the state of Georgia. The program has been instrumental in providing alternative education, case management services, financial literacy, mentoring, paid occupational training, paid work experience, and job placement to youth throughout DeKalb County since 2019.  With the extension of funding, Juvenile Court will…

ATLANTA –The Georgia Council for the Arts, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), has announced the recipients of its Bridge, Project, and Arts Education grants as part of its initial disbursement of grants for fiscal year 2022. A total of 266 grants were awarded that will provide more than $2 million in funding toward arts initiatives in 49 counties throughout the state. The Bridge Grant will provide funding for operating support to 135 organizations, the Project Grant will help fund 54 art projects, and 77 programs received funding through the Arts Education Program…

Pictured L-R: Virginia Shepard, Interim Administrator Soukhy Clark and Marie Warrington.                   L-R: Tiameka Hudson-Collins, Latridra Roberts, Virginia Shepard, Yolanda Colbert, Marie Warrington and Desiree Roberson. STONECREST, GA– Traditions Health & Rehabilitation Center, 2816 Evans Mill Road, recently celebrated two long-time certified nursing assistants during National CNA Week: Marie Warrington, who has worked at the center for 35 years; and Virginia “Ann” Shepard, who has worked there for more than 33 years. “Certified Nurse Assistants are quite special to us as they…

HENRY COUNTY, GA—Purple Innovation, Inc., a comfort technology company known for creating the Purple® Mattress, is expanding its operations in McDonough.  The expansion will create an additional 500 jobs across production, fulfillment, customer care, and other areas of the business. and comes on the heels of the company’s commitment last year to create more than 360 jobs in Henry County. Once the expansion is complete, the company will employ more than 800 Georgians. “After recently being admitted to the Georgia Made program, it’s great to see this company already thriving and expanding here in Georgia,” …