Author: On Common Ground News

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…

County ranked 4th in the nation   DeKalb County Government has won national recognition as a leader in the innovative use of technology in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center for Digital Government and National Association of Counties (NACo), ranked DeKalb County fourth in the nation among counties with a population of 500,000 to 999,999 in the 18th annual Digital Counties Survey. Out of the 106 counties in this category, only two were from Georgia, the other being Gwinnett that ranked fifth. In March, DeKalb County implemented a “socially distant service delivery” strategy to protect employees and…

Gov. Brian P. Kemp today announced that leading global food company, General Mills, is expanding its Cinnamon Toast Crunch production operations in Covington, Georgia. Improved operations begin next week at the newly expanded facility. “With Global Fortune 500 companies like General Mills continuing to choose Georgia for their expansion projects, our state’s business community, top-ranked workforce training programs, and unmatched logistics network remain strong,” Kemp said. “I thank General Mills for their continued commitment to creating opportunities for the hardworking Georgians in Covington and Newton County.” This expansion project will help General Mills increase capacity and efficiency for producing one…

DECATUR—Global Leadership Christian Center, 351 Snapfinger Woods Drive, Decatur, will host its community food pantry every second Saturday, 10 to 11 a.m., beginning Sept. 12.  Those in need may receive a box of food, while supplies last. This year, Global Leadership Christian Center is celebrating its 10th year in ministry. Under the leadership of Pastor Tony and Eleshia Cash, the church’s goal is to spread love and share resources and with those who are in need. For more information about Global Leadership Christian Center or the food pantry, call 770-686-3765 or e-mail: global.leadershipcc@gmail.com.