Author: On Common Ground News

The Old School Building ruins located in the City of Lithonia. Photo provided by Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance.    LITHONIA—Community members are being asked to weigh in on the future of the Bruce Street School ruins, the remnants of the first public school in DeKalb County for Black students. Also known as the Old School Building, the ruins are located next to the future site of the East DeKalb Community and Senior Center, all within Lithonia’s historic Bruce Street community. The Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, in partnership with the City of Lithonia and DeKalb County government, seeks…

ATLANTA – Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King released the following statement today(Sept. 11) regarding the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: “As a soldier, former police officer, and citizen, I will never forget the events of September 11. Today, my staff, my family, and I have heavy hearts as we remember those impacted by the attacks, from the family members who lost loved ones that day to those brave men and women who are still dealing with ensuing consequences such as trauma- induced mental health problems and the sacrifice of sending loved…

DECATUR—DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs will hold a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly created pavilion at Frazier Rowe Park, 2886 Lavista Road, Decatur, GA on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m. A total of $60,625 was allocated to complete the project. The public is invited to join park staff and county officials by visiting  DCTVChannel23.tv to view a live stream of the ceremony.

DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson will host a special homeowners association webinar for District 7 residents to provide information on best practices for running an association. The DeKalb County District 7 Homeowners Association (HOA) Town Hall will be held on Thursday, Sept. 17,  6 p.m., and will feature county, real estate and HOA experts who will share tips on how to improve communities as well as information on how to form a new HOA. “This event is for both HOA members and non-members,” said Commissioner Cochran-Johnson. “It’s important for residents to combine their efforts in enriching their communities and…

The Rockdale County Board of Education approved a three-year contract extension for Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts during the Sept. 10 work session. Rockdale County Board of Education Chairwoman Mandy North praised Oatts’ leadership. “We appreciate Dr. Oatts for his leadership, engagement and commitment to the well-being and success of our students, families and employees,” North said. “Dr. Oatts has done tremendous work the past two years, especially during these challenging times. He has gone above and beyond to set up Rockdale’s families for success and prioritized the safety of our students and staff. We applaud…

Let Us Make Man, a black men’s group, will host its 14th annual conference, “Reclaim Black Manhood,” on Saturday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m.  Due to COVID-19, this year’s conference will be held via livestream at www.LetUsMakeMan.net.  The event will include workshops presented by Keene Walker; Attorney Mawuli Davis; Chris Leopold; Dr. Gerry White; Rev. Derrick Rice; Terrell Thomas; Durante Partridge; Brian Gaither; and Babatunji Ifarinu. Each workshop is free of change and will cover the following topics: Law and Black Society- teaching youths how to interact with police Awakening the Genius in Black Youth- how to ensure the best possible academic outcomes…

As of Sept. 4, only 54.2 percent of the city’s 53,000 residents had responded to the census, the mandated count of all residents in the United Stated and we’re running out of time. Bureau officials have now moved up the deadline for completing the census count from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30. With the deadline looming, the city and DeKalb County have a lot at stake: Each person counted represents an estimated $2,400worth of federally-funded services per year. That equates to $24,000per person for the 10-year census cycle, which can be used for local schools, parks, roads, hospitals, senior services…

DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha V. Ramos will host the department’s second Virtual Community Q&A on Sunday, Sept. 13, 6 p.m., on the DeKalb County Police Department’s (DKPD) Facebook page. The live event will feature a segment called “Getting to Know Your DKPD: A Candid and Raw Conversation Behind the Badge.” During the segment, the community will hear firsthand from DKPD officers about their law enforcement experience, especially during the current climate. Questions and concerns submitted live will be addressed immediately following the conversation. “As the law enforcement profession is being scrutinized,” said Chief Ramos. “I would like to humanize the…

The National Black Farmers’ Association (NBFA) has called for a boycott of the John Deere company, the world’s leading company of farm equipment. The NBFA said in a news release today(Sept.() that the Deere company executives have “curtly” declined invitations year after year to display equipment at the NBFA’s  annual conference. “We announce a boycott of John Deere. We are asking all NBFA members to stop buying John Deere tractors, implements, mowers and parts,” said NBFA president John Boyd said. “We are now open to new relationships with companies who value the work of NBFA members.” The NBFA said in…

DeKalb County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw has allocated $58,500 of District 4 reserve funds to install several Flock Safety cameras throughout the district to assist the DeKalb County Police Department with crime interventions. “Since taking office public safety has been a priority for me,” Commissioner Bradshaw said. “This action is just one more step in pursuit of this objective.” Flock Safety’s automatic license plate readers securely capture images while the proprietary machine learning algorithm uses vehicle “fingerprint” technology to identify the license plate, vehicle make, type and color. It not only captures the license plate seen, but all the objects within…