Author: On Common Ground News

DeKalb County District 2 Commissioner Jeff Rader has appropriated $800,000 for a Nonprofit Rapid Recovery Grant Program for nonprofit agencies that have their headquarters or primary location in District 2. The nonprofit agency must have either lost the ability to operate, been forced to close, have become negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, or laid off or furloughed employees. Priority will be given to non-recipients of the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. Agencies must meet nonprofit minimum thresholds to become a grant recipient. The deadline to apply Oct. 30, 2020. “The COVID-19 pandemic has undermined the…

The DeKalb Board of Registration and Elections will hold a special called meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 9:30 a.m. This meeting will be conducted via teleconference (Zoom). Public access to the meeting will be available via livestream on DCTV’s UStream channel https://video.ibm.com/channel/dctv-channel-23. Public comment may be submitted by sending an email of one page or less to electionspubliccmnt@dekalbcountyga.gov, which must be received between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. on the day of the meeting. The body of the email must include the commenter’s first and last name, followed by the commenter’s address. Abusive, profane, or derogatory language will not be…

Rockdale opens for weekend early voting starting Oct.  24   DeKalb County Twelve early voting sites are open in DeKalb County this weekend and next weekend: Oct. 17, 18, 24 and 25. Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday hours are 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Fulton County Fulton County is providing early voting this weekend and next weekend, Oct. 17, 18, 24 and 25. Saturday Voting: October 17 and 24 – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday Voting: October 18 and 25 – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Early Voting Locations: Adams Park Library  …

CONYERS—The 40thAnnual Olde Town Conyers Fall Festival takes place today, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., in the streets of historic Olde Town Conyers. The festival will feature live entertainment on the stage at the Conyers Depot on Railroad Street, sponsored by the Olde Town Merchants Association. Handcrafted arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, children’s activities, and a number of local non-profit organizations eager to share their individual missions to serve Conyers and Rockdale County will line the streets. A costume contest for kids and pets with prizes takes place on the Conyers Depot stage at 12 p.m. The Conyers Police Department…

Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlcuuqqjssHNeu6vwT3SvTuDPyn74MpMQB Project Webpage: https://www.stonecrestga.gov/StonecrestZoningOrdinanceUpdate.aspx

DECATUR—Free food boxes will be distributed on Oct. 28, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the parking lot of DeKalb Tax Commissioner Irvin J. Johnson’s office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur.  The food will be give away while supplies last. The distribution is in partnership with Clerk of Superior Court Debra DeBerry, Sheriff Melody Maddox, District Attorney Sherry Boston, and Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling, FODAC, the Interact Club of the Rotary Club of South DeKalb, and JABY, Inc. Food boxes will contain five pounds of meat, 12 pounds of produce, five pounds of dairy, and one gallon of milk. Families are asked…

JenCare Senior Medical Center announced that the company would donate four eight-passenger vans to Atlanta-area organizations that are meeting the needs of seniors. DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson sponsored an agenda item and the Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to receive the van donation for the South DeKalb Senior Center. “A special thanks to JenCare for this van donation as this is about wellness, and connecting mind, body and spirit while working together,” DeKalb County Commissioner Johnson said. “Our seniors are some of the best people in the world and they deserve to have the best transportation in the world.  That’s…

DeKalb County announces its Arts and Culture Relief Grant, funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to support professional artists who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson allocated $250,000 to launch the program which will provide grants of up to $20,000, based on documented financial impact. The Spruill Center for the Arts and the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center will manage the program for the county’s Community Development Department and District 3. The grants are limited to professional artists who reside in DeKalb County, who are at least 18 years…

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond will host a virtual town hall meeting to discuss the details of the modifications to the county’s 2010 federal consent decree concerning the county’s sewer system. Some of the modifications to the existing consent decree include: Increased oversight by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Georgia Environmental Protection Division and U.S. District Court. A deadline extension for completion of major repairs and upgrades of the sewer system. A civil penalty to be paid by the county. Thurmond also will unveil DeKalb’s “Decade of Renewal,” a 10-year plan already underway to upgrade the county’s sewer system. The…

Conyers’ Chief Operating Officer David Spann announced his retirement from the city of Conyers effective Friday, Oct. 23. Spann leaves a legacy of 32 years of service to the city, serving in a number of roles integral to the community’s growth and progress. Spann has served as chief operating officer since 2010, overseeing operations in the departments of Planning and Inspection Services, Public Relations and Tourism, Public Works and Transportation, the Georgia International Horse Park (GIHP) and Cherokee Run Golf Club. His career began in 1984 with the Conyers Police Department (CPD) as a police officer. In his…