Author: On Common Ground News

The City of Stonecrest and Kasoa, Ghana officially became sister cities on today (Aug. 19) during a virtual conference that was held via Zoom. Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary and Kasoa Mayor Michael Mensah signed a Memorandum of Understanding to forge a friendship to promote common prosperity, and open the channels for cultural exchange, tourism, education, and other opportunities to benefit citizens and businesses in both cities. “It’s an honor to share our different operational and municipal ideas. Mayor Mensah and I are committed to growing this relationship to a world-class opportunity between our countries,” Mayor Lary said. Lary said that…

Moody’s Investors Service, a bond credit rating agency, has upgraded DeKalb County’s credit rating. Moody’s upgraded the rating on DeKalb’s outstanding (general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) bonds to Aa2, up from Aa3. The upgrade affects $226 million in outstanding general obligation bonds. Moody’s reported on Aug. 17 that it upgraded DeKalb’s rating because of the county’s “healthy and improved financial position driven by solid management and conservative budgeting.” “The stable outlook reflects the expectation that the county’s financial position will remain sound because of conservative budget assumptions and commitment to maintaining structural balance,” Moody’s stated. “We do not see any…

Pictured: Pastor Jamal Bryant and Dr. Damon Kimes  “Married to Medicine’”s Dr. Damon Kimes brings free mobile COVID-19 testing to Stonecrest After a two-week hiatus, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, 6400 Woodrow Road, Stonecrest will re-launch its weekly food pantry on Saturday, Aug. 22,  beginning at 10 a.m. The King’s Table food pantry, which was briefly paused during the church’s annual sabbatical, provides an array of free groceries, fresh produce and shelf-stable items to approximately 8,000 individuals each week. All items are available on a first-come, first-served basis. “For many individuals…

Rockdale County residents are applauding Commissioner Sherri Washington for the $600,000 in upgrades at Pine Log Park, 1451 Pine Log Road, Conyers. Thanks to Washington’s push to use SPLOST dollars(special purpose local option sales tax) to enhance the park, the public is enjoying four new lighted tennis courts, a new junior basketball court, upgraded lighting on a large basketball court,  new bleachers, playground equipment and new sidewalks, to name a few of the park’s improvements. “Quality of life is one of my main initiatives,” said Washington. “I pushed aggressively for the renovation of the tennis courts because they were in…

The U.S. Census Bureau has begun following up with households nationwide that have not responded to the 2020 Census. So far, about 63.3% of households have responded to the Census, according to the Census Bureau. Census workers now much reach about 56 million addresses to collect responses in person. Up to 500,000 census takers across the country will go door to door to assist people in responding to the 2020 Census, officials said in an update. Census takers began following up with households on July 16 in a limited number of areas and added additional areas each week thereafter. Workers…

Rockdale County Animal Care and Control Division is developing a long-term plan for improvements to its operations.  County officials say the division’s goal is to provide expanded services to pets and pet owners, to hear from residents about improvements needed and for the division to share ideas about how it is moving forward. Animal Care and Control is working with vendor InnerComm to facilitate three virtual community workshops to gather community input. Participants may sign up for one of the three online community input sessions: Friday, Sept. 4, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m. – 11:30…

Congressman Hank Johnson is urging the public to speak out on proposed cutbacks and operational changes for the U.S. Postal Service. Johnson issued a call to action at a press conference today (Aug. 19) outside the post office at Wesley Chapel Road in South DeKalb. The press conference was held ahead of a vote expected this Saturday (Aug. 22) on legislation to add $25 billion to help the USPS. The House will be ending its summer recess early to return for a vote. Johnson is asking the public to contact their Senators and the White House to voice their support…

DAV & RecruitMilitary will host the Eastern Region Virtual Career Fair for Veterans on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST online. The free virtual event is open to all members of the military community, past and present, as well as military spouses and dependents. RecruitMilitary’s virtual events are technologically enhanced to provide personal interaction among job candidates and employers in large group, small group and one-one-one formats. To view a tour of the virtual event format, visit here.

DeKalb County property owners will soon receive their 2020 tax bills in the mail. Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson is reminding residents that those bills can be paid in two installments online or in person at one of three tax offices in the county. Individuals can also use the convenient drive-up drop box to submit payments. Each year, the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office collaborates with the tax levying authorities (DeKalb County Government, DeKalb County School District and local municipalities) in a joint effort to create and generate the annual tax bill. DeKalb’s tax digest was approved by the Department of…

STONECREST—Arizona’s restaurant has re-opened after a nearly five-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant closed in March after Gov. Brian Kemp announced sheltering-in-place and other mandates due to the pandemic. Roberto Woods, Arizona’s marketing/operations manager, said the restaurant had a “soft” re-opening on Tuesday, Aug. 11 after announcing its comeback on the restaurant’s FB page. Woods said patrons are excited about the re-opening. “We opened on Tuesday for dinner. We wanted to do a test run to make sure that everything was in place. We’re following all of the COVID-19 protocols with requiring employees to wear masks and…