Author: On Common Ground News

Out of an abundance of caution and due to President Trump and Governor Kemp declaring a state of emergency, Rockdale County Government is taking measures to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. Rockdale County is enacting a Daily Operation Protocol that will go into effect Tuesday, March 17 and will last until Friday, March 20, which is when executive county officials will make their decision on whether to continue the protocol into the next week. Within the protocol, several measures have taken place to protect employees and citizens including shutting down access and limiting access to several facilities and meetings.…

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary announced today (March 13) that City Hall will be closed to the public starting Monday, March 16 for at least two weeks as a coronavirus precaution.  The mayor said that he is canceling all upcoming meetings to include: March 23 City Council meeting and Work Session Municipal Court on March 26 and April 14 Planning Commission meeting on April 7 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on March 17 City staff, equipped with laptops and cell phones, will work from their homes or remote locations. Building and code enforcement inspections will still be conducted.  The city’s main…

Rockdale County Government, out of an abundance of caution, is taking measures to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. Several measures have taken place to protect employees and citizens including shutting down access and limiting access to several facilities and meetings. Please be advised of the following meeting changes and facility closures which will go in effect starting tomorrow, Friday, March 13: The Rockdale State of the County Address will not be open to the public, however, it will be broadcast live via the Rockdale County Website and Facebook Pages at 3 p.m. on the scheduled date of event –…

No public facilities closed due to Coronavirus Officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are reminding citizens that all state parks and historic sites are open and welcoming visitors. With many Georgians avoiding crowds and canceling travel plans, parks provide nearby places to enjoy nature and solitude. Amenities such as campsites, cabins, hiking trails, picnic areas and golf courses remain open. A small, wooded section within Hard Labor Creek State Park in Rutledge was recently selected as a temporary location to house Coronavirus patients. At 5,800 acres, Hard Labor Creek is Georgia’s second largest state park. Less than…

At the recommendation of Governor Brian Kemp and at the directive of Rockdale County Public Schools (RCPS) Superintendent Dr. Terry Oatts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in communities, RCPS will move to Independent Learning Days beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 for two weeks. Families should plan for schools and facilities to be closed the week of March 16th, the week of March 23rd, and potentially longer if needed. Friday, March 13, 2020 is a normal operational school day. Updated information will be posted atwww.rockdaleschools.org/COVID19 RCPS will implement Independent Learning with students using their school-issued laptops in grades…

Shoppers packed the Kroger grocery store off of Highway 138 in Conyers. The lines snaked from the store’s pharmacy to the check-out registers at the front of the stores on March 12.  As state officials confirmed Georgia’s first COVID-19 death, local residents stepped up their preparations for the global pandemic. People headed to grocery stores to stock up to stay home, heeding federal, state and county officials’ advice to get ready. There were long lines at a Kroger store in Rockdale County, where shoppers filled their buggies with groceries, bottled water and other goods on Thursday evening (March 12).…

Sugar Bowl Bakery, founded in 1984 by five immigrant brothers as a neighborhood coffee shop in San Francisco, one of the leading minority-owned bakeries in America, will locate its first East Coast location in DeKalb County. The company will create approximately 400 new jobs and invest $37 million over the next five years in its new Tucker facility. “Sugar Bowl Bakery is one of the great American success stories, and we’re excited to welcome this internationally known, family-owned bakery to Georgia,” said Gov. Brian Kemp, who announced the company’s expansion into DeKalb County. “Through our outstanding workforce and logistics…

Heavy rainfalls during the week of March 2 flooded the DeKalb County sewer system with an extraordinary amount of stormwater causing a 6.9-million-gallon spill on Meadow Creek Path.  In February, a 9.2-million-gallon spill occurred at this site that also was due to stormwater intrusion into the wastewater system. Stormwater intrusion occurs when rainwater enters the wastewater system from a structural defect, such as broken or damaged sewer lines, root intrusion and aging infrastructure. Identifying the location of the stormwater intrusion can be challenging because the actual source of stormwater intrusion could be located miles away from the actual…

Development Authority Pictured: City of Stonecrest Economic Development Director Clarence Boone; Stonecrest Development Authority member Julius Lee; Stonecrest Development Authority Chair Antonio Render and Mayor Jason Lary.  Photo provided.  Housing Authority Pictured: Members of the Stonecrest Housing Authority Edwina Clanton, Bill Bruckner, Mayor Jason Lary, Marty Garrison, and Dennis Dae. Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary and the members of the Stonecrest Housing Authority and the Stonecrest Development Authority are heading to the bank with their first checks. Last year, the Authorities respectively adopted bond inducement resolutions paving the way for a $70 million senior citizen housing community and a $700 million…

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in connection with a fatal crash nearly five years ago that claimed the lives of three people headed to church . Jurors returned guilty verdicts against Marvin Lynch, 32, of Marietta, on March 6 on charges of vehicular homicide in the first degree (six counts), hit and run (two counts), and driving under the Influence. Authorities said Lynch fatally struck Vernon Hatley, 67, of Raleigh, N.C.; his wife, Willie Mae Hatley, 65; and their friend, Cora Rhodes Lyles, 65, of Stone Mountain. Lynch was sentenced to…