Author: On Common Ground News

DeKalb County School District (DCSD) today (Jan. 8) announced a pay increase for eligible employees. More than 11,000 employees are eligible for this step increase, approximately 6,000 are teachers. During the July 24, 2020 special board meeting, the DeKalb County Board of Education approved a mid-year salary step increase effective the first workday in January 2021 for eligible employees. This pay increase will begin with the Jan. 15, 2021 paycheck, officials said in a news release. An appropriation of $6.13 million was approved by the board for this year’s salary step increase with an annualized cost of approximately $9.6 million. DCSD…

Pictured L-R: Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock Well-wishers extend congratulatory statements  With their historic victories in Georgia’s Jan. 5 runoffs, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will become the 49th and 50th members of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. Senate. Their victories mean that Democrats for the first time in a decade will control the upper chamber. Democrats will hold 50 seats in the Senate—a monumental power shift that will put the Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris in a position to break a tie vote in the Joe Biden administration. Well-wishers from the metro Atlanta area, as well as from around…

The City of Atlanta announced the opening of an emergency warming center in anticipation of frigid temperatures. The center opened tonight, Thursday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. and will remain open through Friday, Jan. 8, at 9 a.m. The warming center is located  in downtown Atlanta in the former Ramada Hotel, 450 Capitol Ave. S.E.. Those in need of additional assistance can contact the City by dialing 311 (inside Atlanta City limits) or 404-546-0311.

The DeKalb-Peachtree Airport Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 11, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom at https://dekalbcountyga.zoom.us/j/99355202202?pwd=blo2WmxRR0Y1SUl0aXZOUTh0QUdVZz09. The meeting password is 443859. The meeting agenda is as follows:  Approval of December 14, 2020 Minutes Information/Old Business Director’s Report – Mario Evans • Airport Master Plan Update – www.pdkmasterplan.com RIM- Phase II, Construction Update PAPI – Installation Update Noise Report – December and 2020 Annual Noise and Operations Report, Korey Barnes Other III.            New Business Public Comments For more information, contact Mario Evans, airport director, at 770-936-5440 or maevans@dekalbcountyga.gov.  

 PUBLIC INVITED TO ATTEND Notice is given that the Rockdale Board of Elections Meeting will meet on Friday, January 8, 2021 for the purpose of certifying the General and Special Runoff Election held on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 Meeting is scheduled as follows: WHEN: Friday, January 8, 2021 TIME:   5 p.m. In-Person: Rockdale Board of Elections Office, 1261 Commercial Drive, SW, Suite B, Conyers, GA 30094 MASK REQUIRED 770-278-7333 Online Via Zoom:  Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7049887949  Meeting ID: 704 988 7949 One tap mobile +13126266799,,7049887949# US (Chicago) +16465588656,,7049887949# US (New York)

https://youtu.be/gtA9W8w3b5o Photo and video by Glenn L. Morgan/OCG News STONECREST—DeKalb County Board of Health officials began administering COVID-19 vaccinations to healthcare workers and first responders on Jan. 6 at the site of the City of Stonecrest’s future City Hall on Turner Hill Road. Officials said the county had received about 8,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and planned to make the shots initially available to healthcare workers and first responders who pre-registered. The next round of vaccines, officials said, would be available to long-term care facility residents. In addition to the drive-through vaccinations…

State Sen. Emanuel Jones (D – Decatur) today announced the DeKalb Senate Delegation’s three appointments to DeKalb County’s reconstituted Board of Ethics.  The countywide referendum supporting the new process for choosing members to serve on the Board of Ethics was passed by county voters in November. The delegation appointed the following to serve as the DeKalb Senate Delegation’s appointees to the board: Candace Rogers, David Moskowitz and Lonnie J. Edwards Sr. “The DeKalb County Board of Ethics serves as a key player in ensuring all Dekalb County officials and employees are held to the utmost ethical standard,” said Sen. Jones, who…

DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson will host a virtual panel discussion regarding illegal street racing on Thursday, Jan. 21, 6 to 7 p.m.     JThe panel will include Sen. Emanuel Jones, Bobbie Sanford, Camaro Nation ATL and DeKalb County Public Safety representatives. “This is an issue we have to talk about and see what we can do together,” Johnson said. “When we work with one another and are willing to hear from all interested stakeholders, we can devise solutions that will yield the best outcome.” The discussion will focus on bringing together the community, police department and car industry…

Today, Senator-elect the Rev. Raphael Warnock was a guest on SiriusXM’s The Joe Madison Show, where he spoke out against Republicans who have their “fingerprints” on yesterday’s attack on the nation’s Capitol. “The President and all of those who had enabled him, including Kelly Loeffler, who I ran against, and who has yet to concede this race, their hands and their fingerprints are on this….,” said Warnock. At the same time, Warnock also told Madison that there’s an important takeaway from the Georgia Jan. 5 election results: “Georgia elected a black man, the pastor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s church,…