Author: On Common Ground News

The DeKalb County School District’s Clarkston cluster will host its annual Back 2 School Rally on Friday, Sept. 25, 6 to 8 p.m. This  year’s rally will include a virtual entertainment program on Microsoft Teams(http://bit.ly/TCCVR) ) and Instagram Live featuring many talents across the cluster. The clusters’ drive-through distributions will include free food, winter clothing, COVID-19 supplies, school supplies, books and other giveaways. The distributions will take place at Allgood ES, Indian Creek ES, Jolly ES, Dunaire ES and the bus distribution from Freedom Middle School will travel to The Lakes at Indian Creek and Willow Branch Apartments. Dr. Angela…

The Stonecrest City Council will hold its work session on Sept. 18, 6 p.m. The City Council’s regular meeting will follow at 7 p.m. The agendas can be found at:

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit has arrested a murder suspect in connection with the shooting deaths of two men in Lithonia on Sept. 22. Lithonia resident Da Shjohn Bridges, 20, is being charged with two counts of Felony Murder and two counts of Aggravated Assault. According to the arrest warrants, Bridges was a backseat passenger in a vehicle on Browns Mill Lake Road when he shot both the driver and a front seat passenger in the back of the head, causing their deaths. The victims were identified as Donnell Roderick Smith and Christopher L. Knight.  No motive…

The DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections will hold a special called meeting on Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 a.m. The meeting will be conducted via teleconference (Zoom). Simultaneous public access to the meeting will be available via livestream on DCTV’s UStream channel https://video.ibm.com/channel/dctv-channel-23. Public comment may be submitted by sending an email of one page or less to electionspubliccmnt@dekalbcountyga.gov which must be received between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on the day of the meeting.  

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections is reminding residents to mark their calendars to remember several upcoming dates related to the special election, general election and other important deadlines. “Whether you are a first-time voter, someone interested in becoming a registered voter or exploring your voting options, we want to share some key dates to ensure DeKalb County residents are aware of both the special election to fill the term of the late Congressman John Lewis and the General Election in November,” said Erica Hamilton, DeKalb County elections director. “With concerns around COVID-19, we want to ensure voters…

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners welcomed Clerk of Courts-Elect Janice Morris to the board’s meeting on Sept. 22. Board of Commissioners’ Chairman Oz Nesbitt acknowledged Morris, allowing her to speak briefly during public comments. Morris told the board that she is looking forward to serving the citizens of Rockdale, saying she would remain approachable accessible and accountable.  Nesbitt said that Rockdale’s newly-elected and re-elected officials will be sworn in on Dec. 29, 2 p.m., in a private ceremony. Nesbitt said the public would be able to witness the installations via live stream at rockdalecountyga.gov. The Board of…

A copy of the proposed 2021 Operating Budget for the City of Stonecrest will be available for review on Monday, October 12, 2020. A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held via Zoom on Friday, October 23, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. A link to the meeting will be posted on the City’s website at www.stonecrestga.gov.   Any persons wishing to be heard on the budget may appear and be heard. The City Council will adopt the budget on Monday, November 2, 2020.  The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be held via Zoom.

The 2020 DeKalb County School District volleyball season gets underway for the 12 teams participating on Tuesday, Sept.29, following the season opening delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No fans will be allowed to these matches at this time. Chamblee, Druid Hills, Redan and Southwest DeKalb host play dates by entertaining two other DeKalb teams with the matches beginning at 5 pm. Stone Mountain and Stephenson travel to Southwest DeKalb to open their seasons in the three-way match hosted by the Panthers. Southwest DeKalb reached the Class 5A state playoffs a year ago. Stone Mountain moves up from Class 3A…

DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, in partnership with the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (FDHA), is hosting the second annual Lock-in for Life, a program designed to promote healthy relationships among middle and high school teen males. The three-hour virtual event will be held Friday, Oct. 9, 6 to 9 p.m., and will feature discussions on mentorship, social and mental preparedness, life skills and conflict resolution. Co-hosted by Berean Christian Church and Prevailing Love Worship Center, Lock-in for Life will address the critical needs of DeKalb’s male students and the unique challenges they face. “We are proud to be able to host Lock-in…

SAT scores for Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) increased,  while scores for the state and nation decreased slightly from 2019, state reports show. The mean composite score for RCPS is 994, up from 979. The mean score for Georgia public schools is 1043 and the mean score for U.S. public schools is 1030, with 2019 scores 1048 and 1039 respectively. “We are very pleased with our 2020 graduating seniors’ collective SAT Performance under extraordinary circumstances,” said RCPS Superintendent Terry Oatts. “Not even an unprecedented public health crisis can deter our graduating seniors from demonstrating their college and career readiness.  As…