Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA – Members of the Rockdale County House Legislative Delegation will host a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, March 4, 6:30 – 8 p.m. via Zoom.   State Representatives Rhonda Taylor (D-Conyers), Regina Lewis-Ward (D-McDonough), Sharon Henderson (D-Covington), Doreen Carter (D-Lithonia) and Tom Kirby (R-Loganville) will discuss recent election legislation and give an update on district reports. The meeting will also include a guest presenter from the ACLU of Georgia, and participants will have an opportunity to ask questions. To join the Zoom: https://bit.ly/3e8KWOt
    The meeting ID is : 857 1106 1195.
Passcode: 847203

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners will hold a virtual meeting via the Zoom platform with the mayors of the county’s 15 cities on Friday, March 5. The board plans to discuss COVID-19 vaccination programs as well as transportation funding.   The meeting can be viewed live at: https://www.fultoncountyga.gov/watch-fgtv

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA– The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on March 2  unanimously approved a resolution asking the county’s delegation to the General Assembly to adjust the salary of the commission chair to match that of sheriffs of large jurisdictions. The measure would change the chair’s salary from $74,266 to $136,011, the base salary of sheriffs of counties with more than 500,000 people. Cost-of-living adjustments in the chair’s salary would be equal to that of state and county employees. The County typically only offers employees pay-for-performance increases. If approved by the General Assembly, the new salary would be effective…

DECATUR, GA—The  DeKalb County Board of Health has set its schedule to make up remaining Moderna second doses, affected by vaccine shipping delays in mid-February last week. For both vaccination sites, the former Sam’s Club, located at 2994 Turner Hill Rd., in Stonecrest, and the Doraville MARTA Station, located at 6000 New Peachtree Rd., in Doraville: Individuals who were originally scheduled for a second dose Moderna appointment between Wednesday, Feb. 17, and Monday, Feb. 22, and missed their rescheduled date, may  go to the site on Wednesday, March 3, or Thursday, March 4, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m to…

The DeKalb County Police Department has arrested a 52-year-old DeKalb County School District librarian for possessing child pornography. On March 1, Frank Rogers, who works at Wynbrooke Elementary School in Stone Mountain, was charged for Sexual Exloitation of Children. Rogers’ arrest comes after the DeKalb County Internet Crimes Against Children(ICAC) Unit received an anonymous tip while working in partnership with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. The tip alleged that Rogers engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with minors he met on social media. The tip also alleged that Rogers possessed child pornography. A search of Rogers’ home and digital devices…

March 2, 2021 marks 1 year since Symone Thompson vanished from Union City, GA at age 16. She would now be 17 years old.   The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, and Thompson’s family are seeking the public’s help in finding the teen.   Thompson was last seen at her home in Union City, Georgia. Her hair was in purple braids. Investigators believe she could now be in the Memphis, Tennessee area.   Thompson is 5’7 tall and weighed 130 lbs. She has black hair and brown eyes and her ears are…

By Terri Denison SBA Georgia District Office Director The U.S. Small Business Administration(SBA) continues to take steps to make the Paycheck Protection Program(PPP) more equitable for small businesses and underserved communities. Since the latest round of funding opened six weeks ago, the program has successfully reached smaller borrowers. As of Feb. 28, nearly 2.2 million PPP loans have been approved totaling more than $156 billion. The share of funding for businesses with fewer than 10 employees is up nearly 60 percent, and 92 percent of PPP loans to businesses with 20 employees or fewer total nearly half…

DeKalb County Public Library Board of Trustees will hold a regular meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 8. This meeting will be conducted via teleconference (Zoom). To listen in on the meeting, request the call-in number and PIN from weissingera@dekalblibrary.org no later than noon on the date of the meeting. For more details on the agenda and about listening in, click here.

CONYERS, GA– Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) will offer a virtual option for K-12 students in addition to the five-days-a-week in-person default option for the 2021-2022 school year. The elementary virtual option will have teachers solely designated for virtual classes. The middle and high school virtual option will be through our existing Rockdale Virtual Campus (RVC) which also has designated virtual teachers. These virtual models will parallel the five-days-a-week in-person learning option. “As we continue to closely monitor our local, state, and national public health conditions, we remain committed to prioritizing our student and staff safety and well-being…

Progress report on District 7 initiatives and updates on county services among topics to be discussed DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson will host a virtual town hall for residents to provide a progress report on District 7 initiatives currently established, those in development and those estimated for the near future. The DeKalb County District 7 First Quarter Town Hall will be held on Thursday, March 11, at 6 p.m. and will take place virtually on Zoom. “Entering into the third year of my first term, I am proud of the progress District 7 has made towards the…