Author: On Common Ground News

Virtual learning, current school guidelines and available resources among topics to be discussed   DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson will host a special countywide community meeting to share important information with parents and students on how to best prepare for the upcoming school year. The virtual Back-to-School Town Hall will take place Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, at 6 p.m. and will feature DeKalb County School District Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris. Recently, the DeKalb County Board of Education voted to adjust the calendar for the 2020-2021 school year, delaying its start in order to make accommodations to operate virtually…

The city of Stonecrest is preparing to receive the late Rev. Dr. Noel Battle, who will lie in state for public viewing at City Hall on this Friday, Aug. 7, 1 to 4 p.m. Rev. Battle, founder of First Comfort Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, passed away on July 28. He was 87. “The Rev. Dr. Noel Battle was an important national civil rights and community leader for decades. I knew him personally, and he was one of my heroes and inspiration for creating the City of Stonecrest,” said Mayor Jason Lary. Stocks Funeral Home Kirkwood Chapel, Inc. is handling…

DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris and her cabinet members will host a virtual community town hall meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 5:30 p.m., to discuss measures the DeKalb County School District is taking to protect student athletes from the coronavirus. Joining the superintendent and her Cabinet, will be Dr. Sandra Ford, district director of the DeKalb Board of Health;James Jackson, executive director of athletics; and Vasanne Tinsley, deputy superintendent of Student Support and Intervention. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported on July 31 that student-athletes from two of the district’s high schools have tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting practices to…

                  Superintendent, Cheryl Watson-Harris The DeKalb Cultural Exchange will host its monthly meeting virtually on Saturday, Aug. 8, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Stonecrest City Councilmember Rob Turner and his wife, DeKalb County School Board Vice Chair Vickie B. Turner, will host the meeting. This month, the meeting will focus on the reopening of school and the virtual platform that students will use. The new Superintendent, Cheryl Watson-Harris and members of her cabinet are the invited guests. Parents and stakeholders will have an opportunity to get…

ATLANTA – State Representatives Park Cannon (D-Atlanta) and Renitta Shannon (D-Decatur) will host a candle light vigil and drilling ceremony for Jamarion Robinson on the fourth anniversary of his death by police brutality on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 6 p.m., 842 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive S.W. in Atlanta. State representatives, activists and mothers will each drill a total of 76 holes on a mural to signify the number of bullet holes found in Robinson’s body when he was killed in 2016 in a raid by several metro Atlanta agencies, led by U.S. Marshals. The mural artist is Maisie Thompson,…

L-R: Mayor Jason Lary,  City Council member Rob Turner Special-Called City Council meeting today, Aug. 3, 6 p.m.   STONECREST—Residents are planning to stage a drive-thru protest to stop the construction of a Metro Green, LLC concrete recycling plant, which is now underway in the city of Stonecrest. The protest will be held in the parking lot of Stonecrest City Hall on Aug. 10, 6:30 p.m., said Kamla Gonzales, one of the organizers. Gonzales and other residents say the plant will bring pollution, continuous truck traffic, noise and lower their property values…

Chamblee police responded to a traffic fatality involving seven vehicles around 3:15 p.m. today (Aug. 2). The multiple vehicle collision happened at the intersection of Chamblee Tucker Road and Buford Highway. One person is in custody and will face multiple felony and traffic-related charges, authorities said. One child and two adults were transported to local hospitals with injuries. The scene was closed to traffic, pending the completion of an investigation by the Georgia State Patrol, which was called to the scene. Information and street closures will be updated on the City of Chamblee’s Facebook page.  

Pictured L-R:  Saritha Wood-Harden, Arts Committee chair for AKA Tau Pi Omega Chapter of AKA; Patricia Scott-Harrell; Steve Paul, owner of Lithonia Arts Center; Gwen Russell Green, charter member of Tau Pi Omega Chapter; Connie Hendrix; Audra Martin, president of Tau Pi Omega Chapter; Sabrina Davis; Portia Brantley, vice president of the AKA Tau Pi Omega Chapter; Faatimah Stevens, visual artist and designer of the mural; Jeretha McKinley, vice president of the Council for Community Enrichment; Lisa McMichael Smith;  and Julianne Adams-Britt. L-R: Aidra Martin and Jeretha McKinley, president…

ATLANTA—This week, Georgia House and Senate legislators will host press conferences to discuss backlogged Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits claims. Lawmakers say they are deeply concerned and want Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler to take action to process backlogged claims that are over 30 days late. Legislators say they want more staff to be trained and hired to resolve the issue, as well as an emergency call center to respond to the public. “We are at a critical time for many Georgians,” said State Rep. Sandra G. Scott of House District 76, who is organizing the press conferences. “Failure to…

Toney Valley Elementary School Principal Oliver Dean loads a vehicle. A volunteer from the DeKalb County Board of Health passes out gift bags. Food boxes are ready to distribute at the drive-through event. Photos provided by Curtis McDowell DECATUR—Toney Valley Civic Association recently distributed 400 boxes of food, including meats, and 700 boxes of fresh produce to the South DeKalb community. The association also gave away 400 goodie bags filled with information and gifts. A team of over 70 volunteers helped to distribute the free food, which totaled 28,653 pounds, during a drive-thru mobile…