Author: On Common Ground News

Notice is given that the Rockdale Board of Elections will  hold a regular meeting on Friday, April 23, 2021 at 4pm, per the details below and agenda attached.   Meeting is scheduled as follows:   WHAT:             Regular Board of Elections Meeting   WHEN:            Friday, April 23, 2021   TIME:               4:00pm   WHERE:          In-Person: Rockdale Board of Elections Office                         1261 Commercial Drive, SW, Suite B                                         Conyers, GA 30094                                         (770) 278-7333   MASK-REQUIRED   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)

DEKALB COUNTY, GA– DeKalb County Board of Health officials are hosting a farewell celebration on Friday, April 23, for Dr. Sandra Elizabeth Ford, District Health Director and CEO of the DeKalb County Board of Health. Ford has accepted a job with the Biden Administration that will begin on May 10. Ford, who has served for more than 16 years leading the DeKalb County Board of Health, has been tapped to serve as Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science. She will work as part of the White House Domestic Policy Council under Susan Rice. Ford was presented a…

Iffat Walker, Founder & Executive Director of CAN CONYERS, GA – Community Action NOW! (CAN) is partnering with D.O.P.E. Healing Inc., Personified Lab Services, RxMTM Consultants and Philadelphia Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM Georgia) to launch “ROCKTHESPREADROCKDALE,” a free COVID-19 vaccination, testing and vaccination education initiative. CAN has joined forces with other local Rockdale organizations and churches to provide 200 free vaccines and testing on April 24 and 25. Other partners include Antioch East A.M.E. Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Conyers Rockdale Caribbean Association Inc., and Global Men of Honor. “It is critical that we get into communities of greatest need…

ROCKDALE COUNTY– Rockdale County has joined more than a dozen cities and counties in the metro Atlanta area including DeKalb, Gwinnett, Hall and Henry counties, and the cities of Decatur and Conyers, to name a few, that include the stormwater utility fee on the property tax bill. The decision comes as a collaborative effort of the Rockdale County Tax Commissioner’s Office, Rockdale County Board of Commissioners and the Department of Stormwater Management to ensure the stormwater utility fees are properly billed and collected, and the utility is properly funded. These fees go toward stormwater operations and infrastructure improvement, rehabilitation…

PRESS STATEMENT April 19, 2020 I will be on cancer treatment medical leave until further notice. This is my third round of treatment in two years. This time around will require a longer, more rigorous regimen due to the addition of complications from my contracting full- blown COVID-19 in December and returning early from surgery in January. I want to thank the Emory team at Winship Cancer Institute and Kaiser Permanente Georgia for the excellent care and instructions I have received for a healthy return to public service after treatment and rest. I promised my family I would not…

WASHINGTON – Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced key details on application requirements, eligibility, and a program guide for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF). The restaurant industry has been among the hardest-hit sectors during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help bring jobs back and revive the industry, the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden, established the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA will administer the funds to the hardest-hit small restaurants. “Today, we are starting the process to help restaurants…

ROCKDALE COUNTY – The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC) has appointed Terrence Simpkins as Rockdale’s new Director of Stormwater Management. Simpkins joins Rockdale County with more than 25 years of experience in stormwater infrastructure, project management, floodplain management, and compliance monitoring. Originally from South Carolina, Simpkins received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering Technology from South Carolina State University in 1993.  He relocated to the metro Atlanta area in 1994, where he was hired with the Georgia Department of Transportation as a civil engineering technologist. Simpkins says he believes that through creative thinking, good customer service, and process…

CONYERS—The historic Bald Rock Baptist Church and Pastor Christopher Shipp celebrated two of its congregation members as Rockdale County centenarians today (April 18). The Rev. Willie Clarence Banks, 100, and Deacon John Henry Penn, 101, were honored during Bald Rock’s drive-in Men’s Day worship service, marking a page in the history of Bald Rock, Rockdale’s first African American congregation, which was established in 1861. The church held the service on the front lawn with members and visitors worshipping in their cars with masks on and following COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Brian Jenkins, president of the…

Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Rick Wade headline online business forum   STONECREST—New Birth Senior Pastor Jamal Bryant is hosting a virtual conference for current business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs on April 24, at 10 a.m. Featuring Slutty Vegan Chief Executive Officer and Founder Pinky Cole and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Dr. Rick Wade, “The Launching Pad” is a half-day online business forum created to empower business moguls in the making and enable them to better position their ideas in the marketplace.    “This forum will not only inspire leaders…