Author: On Common Ground News

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections will hold a special called meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. for the purpose of considering certification of the results of the election held on Nov. 3, 2020. The meeting will be held at the date and time indicated so that certification can be completed as soon as possible to allow the Board to begin a hand recount of the Presidential race as directed by the Georgia Secretary of State.

The 640,000 square foot robotics fulfillment center bordering TSCID is operational. At full capacity, the Stone Mountain/Highway 78 facility is set to employ more than 1,000 workers. “The Amazon robotics fulfillment center is the first of its kind in Georgia, and we are excited to see them open and ship their first packages,” said Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash in a news release. “This project has created a number of jobs, and will continue to be a catalyst for future development in this region.”

Tucker Summit (TSCID) congratulates and welcomes Senator-elect Kim Jackson to Senate District 41. Jackson won the election over Republican opponent William Freeman with 79% of the vote.Jackson replaces Steven Henson, who retired. Henson was a former TSCID board member. Jackson, a 35-year-old Episcopal priest, said she is dedicated to serving District 41 by advocating for mass public transit and bringing new economic development opportunities to the district. Tucker Summit CID also congratulates DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and DeKalb Commissioner Steve Bradshaw on their re-election.

ATLANTA–Beginning Monday(Nov. 16), all licensed Georgia child care providers may apply for a second round of Short Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities (STABLE) payments from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL). Funding for these payments comes from the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress earlier this year. In the first round of STABLE payments, DECAL awarded more than $38.8 million in financial support to 3,789 licensed child care providers. DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs said the second round of STABLE payments will be paid to licensed child care providers who are…

DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs and the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance have launched a “Leave No Trace” campaign to urge visitors to the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve to help preserve the park, located at 3787 Klondike Rd., Stonecrest. All patrons are welcome to take only pictures and encouraged to “Leave No Trace” during trips to the nature preserve by treading lightly and staying on the bare granite as they walk. It is imperative to not disturb puddles, sandpits, rock piles or any other part of the rock face. Rare and endangered species live in these innocuous patches…

ATLANTA—Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have issued the following statement calling on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign: “The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state. Georgians are outraged, and rightly so. We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process. This isn’t hard. This isn’t partisan. This is American. We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it’s in your own party. There have…

The DeKalb County School District’s (DCSD) four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2020 is 75.97, based on data released from the Georgia Department of Education. The 2020 graduation rate is a 2.56 percent increase over the 2019 rate of 73.41. Sixteen of 24 DeKalb high schools (67%) demonstrated a four-year graduation rate increase. The following six schools increased their rate by more than 5%, with the most notable improvement of double-digit gains occurres at Columbia High School and Stone Mountain High School. Both schools have met exit criteria and are removed from the state identified CSI Graduation Rate improvement…

DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs and the DeKalb Community Service Board will partner to hold a free virtual teen talk series. Registration is now open for youths ages 5-17 for the program which runs Dec. 2-18, from 4 to 5 p.m., each Wednesday and Friday. The program will provide teens social interaction and include various topics such as life management, mental health, financial literacy, anger management, problem solving and decision making. To register, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov/parks and click the “Register Online” button on the department’s homepage. All registered participants will receive a Zoom link to participate.

The DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs will hold a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly-created deck at DeKalb Memorial Park, 353 Wilkinson Dr. SE, Atlanta, on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 11:30 a.m. A total of $36,000 was allocated to complete the park improvements. Contributions were provided in part through Parks Pride’s Community Building Grant, supported by The Home Depot Foundation, Commissioner Larry Johnson, the Kirkwood Neighborhood Association, Friends of DeKalb Memorial Park and the Parks Department to complete the deck project. The public is invited to join park staff and county officials via Facebook Live…

Runoff Elections: Tentatively, there are two runoff elections scheduled for the State of Georgia as follows: Public Service Commission District 4 on Dec. 1, 2020 U.S. Senate and U.S. Senate Special on Jan. 5, 2021 Upon the Secretary of State Certification of the Nov. 3 General and Special Election Final Results, additional information on voting in each of these runoff elections will be provided. Election results click here: https://rockdalecountyga.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/unoficial-and-incomplete-Thur.pdf