Author: On Common Ground News

Dog parks in Gwinnett County will reopen Tuesday, May 5, as a phased process begins for reopening areas within the county’s parks that were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parks that contain areas for dogs include Alexander Park, Graves Park, Harbins Park, J.B. Williams Park, Lenora Park, McDaniel Farm Park, Pinckneyville Park, Rabbit Hill Park, Rock Springs Park, Ronald Reagan Park and Settles Bridge Park. Guidelines will be in place to help keep patrons and pets safe when the dog parks reopen. Occupancy in each area of the dog park (small dog and large dog) will be limited to 10…

Pictured: Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary STONECREST, GA – The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting was awarded, for the second time, to the City of Stonecrest by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). City officials earned the award for the 2018 comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). In January 2019, the GFOA issue the same honor for the city’s 2017 CAFR. As a part of the award, a 2018 pendant will be placed on the GFOA plaque in city hall’s lobby. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the…

Millions of small businesses across the country that were snubbed by the nation’s big lenders are getting a second chance at applying for the federal Paychecks Protection Program (PPP) program, which was set up to assist them amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) program announced on Sunday, May 3, that  $175 billion in loans has been approved for 2.2 million small businesses across the country in the second phase of the PPP, from April 27 through May1. So far, Georgia accounts for 64,784 of the loans, worth $4,663,014,079, according to the SBA’s latest report. The…

Keep Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful (KCRB) has canceled the May 9 Paper Shredding and Electronics Recycling Event in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents are encouraged to join KCRB for the Fall event scheduled for Sept. 12. For more information, contact KCRB at kcrb@rockdalecountyga.gov or 770-278-7052.

The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) will host a virtual town hall meeting on COVID-19 on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 7 p.m. To register for the virtual town hall meeting, please click here. During the town hall meeting, the GLBC will hold a panel discussion on various topics regarding COVID-19, including the impact of reopening Georgia, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, messages from the faith community, effects on higher education, the impact on the television and film community and more. Click here to participate in the meeting: https://bit.ly/GLBC-Townhall

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners will host the 3rd BOC meeting via teleconference on Tuesday, May 12. 10 a.m. The public is welcome to listen in to the meeting by calling the dial-in number at 929-205-6099. The Meeting ID is 872-8629-1810. After the meeting, the recording will be placed on Vimeo and Facebook for on-demand listening. To access it, the public can go to vimeo.com/rockdalegov or facebook.com/rockdalegov. To see the agenda for the upcoming meeting, residents can click here: https://rockdalecountyga.gov/our-government/board-of-commissioners/board-of-commissioners-meeting-agendas/ For more information, contact Jennifer Rutledge at jennifer.rutledge@rockdalecountyga.gov.

The DeKalb Board of Education will hold the following meetings on Monday, May 11, 2020: 1 p.m.  Virtual Executive Session for the purpose of discussing permitted matters regarding litigation, personnel, and student appeals. 2 p.m. Virtual Combined Work Session & Business Meeting The meeting agenda is attached and can be accessed online by going to: www.dekalbschoolsga.org, click on Leadership, go to Simbli (formally known as eBoard) Home Page and click on the date for the meeting agenda/information.  The virtual meetings can be viewed at the following link on DeKalb Schools TV (DSTV) by going to: www.dekalbschoolsga.org/communications/dstv, or Comcast channel 24 for…

Pictured: Church leaders wearing protective masks and gloves  pass out communion at Voices of Faith’s campus at 1290 Sigman Road in Conyers.  Photos by Glenn L. Morgan Voices of Faith Ministries passed out communion during drive-throughs that were held today (May 2) at its campuses in Conyers and Stone Mountain. The drive-throughs were set up in preparation for Sunday’s communion worship services, which will stream live from Voices of Faith Church Facebook page at 8 a.m, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Voices of Faith’s Bishop Gary Hawkins, Sr. is among the many pastors in the metro-Atlanta area who have asked…

STONECREST—Arizona’s restaurant is closing. It will not be part of Gov. Brian Kemp’s reopening Georgia’s economy. Restaurant officials announced the closing today, May 2, saying that business dried up after restaurants across Georgia were restricted to drive-through or pick-up customers due to COVID-19. The in-dining Arizona’s, located among other businesses that form a ring around The Mall at Stonecrest, had served the city for 15 years. Officials say that its model did not fit with drive-through service but the restaurant tried to adapt anyway. Arizona’s closed toward the end of March after trying unsuccessfully to do carry-outs. Officials said there…

https://youtu.be/4HOzVLpNHTs STONE MOUNTAIN—When students at Stone Mountain Elementary School received their lunches and snacks on Friday, May 1, they got a special gift.  Project Transformation, a partner of the DeKalb County, gave each child a book. The nonprofit joined the DeKalb County School District’s Nutrition and Transportation Teams along their bus routes to deliver the meals to children in their communities. The school system has provided meals to children who have been learning online since state officials ordered schools to shut down to stop the spread of  COVID-19. The organization partnered with Stone Mountain Elementary to ensure students’…